On being prepared

[daveO]

I like a bit of EDC gear and I've found low scale prepping very useful in the past but I've never taking it very seriously, at best it's just made my life more convenient and my living costs cheaper. I've even rolled my eyes at some of the 'urban prepper' stuff I've seen thinking it to be a bit over paranoid. I guess a lot of this stems from my situation where I work in the countryside and live in a small town. If I can I avoid cities and rarely travel abroad.

Then yesterday I got a call from my wife, she was leaving university in Newport at about 3pm and walked out of the doors to be faced with armed police. You may have missed the news but a suspicious vehicle was found and the bomb squad called in to deal with it. The local area was evacuated and the car park where she'd left the car was locked off. I won't over dramatise here as it was a false alarm but the all clear wasn't called until nearly 9pm. The reaction was a bit overblown (if you'll excuse the pun) after the Manchester incident earlier this week.

My wife is a tough cookie and can look after herself but along with the rest of the crowds she was funnelled into the seedier parts of Newport and left to her own devices in an unfamiliar town. I always thought that in this type of situation people would be evacuated somewhere safe rather than just left to find somewhere to wait it out. Apparently there were a surprising amount of drunk people about and anyone vaguely muslim looking was getting an earful. The roads were gridlocked across the city, the bus station was evacuated and there was no way I could get there to pick her up. She's 6 months pregnant and it was the hottest day of the year so I was getting quite worried about her. Modern technology came to the rescue in the form of live news updates and google maps. She ended up abandoning the car for the night and walked across town to the train station to get the first train to somewhere I could pick her up.

In this case it was all a happy ending, she was fine, no one got blown up and I didn't even get charged to get the car out of the car park this morning. It does make you realise how bad things could get though and how vulnerable our infrastructure is. My wife has a handbag like Mary Poppins, full of useful stuff but no backup battery for her phone, she didn't have enough cash to pay the train fare if they didn't take cards, all her warmer waterproof clothing was in the car. Maybe these paranoid urban preppers are onto something afterall...

 

[KenThis]

I think this kind of thing puts into perspective how I feel when I leave the apparent safety of home.
I carry a lot of stuff in my pockets and often a small bag and 99% of the items don't necessarily get used on any given day out. However they all make me feel more confident and comfortable about being away from home.
I definitely go overboard with things, I would be embarrassed to reveal the full contents of my pockets at a recent formal event I had to attend. However for me they help me feel like I have some sort of control of the situation, when I would otherwise be out of my depth.
As a minimum I need to have with me money, emergency cash and cards, phone (I hardly use it so it's almost always full) keys, snacks and water and an extra layer. I have had to use emergency cash and phone before now and it was so important (long walk, sprained ankle and taxi home). I have also had someone try to mug me so I always carry emergency money separate to my wallet. For me it's not about when the poop hits the fan, it's just about being able to function in society. Anyhow I'm way off topic now and rambling..

TL DR -
I agree being prepared is a good thing now more than ever.

 

[Old Bones]

As a minimum I need to have with me money, emergency cash and cards, phone (I hardly use it so it's almost always full) keys, snacks and water and an extra layer.

Add a phonebank (less than a tenner), a small torch (my wife has just borrowed my Olight i3e for an overseas trip, which is cracking for a less than a tenner) and some painkillers/small FAK (I did a first aid course recently, so its become automatic), and thats pretty much what most people should carry.

You get the impression that for some people, 'prepping' seems more about them than the need to be reasonably prepared.

 

[TeeDee]

Add a phonebank (less than a tenner), a small torch (my wife has just borrowed my Olight i3e for an overseas trip, which is cracking for a less than a tenner) and some painkillers/small FAK (I did a first aid course recently, so its become automatic), and thats pretty much what most people should carry.

You get the impression that for some people, 'prepping' seems more about them than the need to be reasonably prepared.

I guess for some that is a very subjective point.

However I can't knock the suggestions for a basic comfort FAK being carried by everyone.

 

[santaman2000]

I guess for some that is a very subjective point.

However I can't knock the suggestions for a basic comfort FAK being carried by everyone.

Yeah. Also based on where you are as to just what you can reasonably expect. Or how you can prep for it for that matter. For me hurricanes are the most devastating with tornadoes being the more unpredictable. Cell phones are all but useless after a hurricane (cell towers down or without power) Landlines are more reliable but still not very good either (the lines are always ovecrowded to the point of being jammed)

I'm on several Rx meds and I usually carry the day's supply in my pocket and have a supply at home from 1 week to 3 months (depending on when my last refill was) Maybe I should start carrying more in case of interrupted travel.

 

[Toddy]

There was a thread a while ago about travelling with kit that you can't reasonably do without in an emergency, and that there were often issues of weight, bulk, theft, etc., to be taken into account.

Someone suggested that simply using a hard shell spectacles case, and using that as a constantly to hand item, filled with good things is probably the easiest way to both carry these, and not have it seen as either theft worthy, or a bother to carry.

I thought it was a good idea at the time, and I bought one of the cases in the poundstore to try it out. He was right, it is easy to carry, and it's just large enough to carry spare cash and medications, etc., It slips easily into a bag or pocket, and it never, ever looks out of place. It's just my 'glasses case'.

M

 

[santaman2000]

There was a thread a while ago about travelling with kit that you can't reasonably do without in an emergency, and that there were often issues of weight, bulk, theft, etc., to be taken into account.

Someone suggested that simply using a hard shell spectacles case, and using that as a constantly to hand item, filled with good things is probably the easiest way to both carry these, and not have it seen as either theft worthy, or a bother to carry.

I thought it was a good idea at the time, and I bought one of the cases in the poundstore to try it out. He was right, it is easy to carry, and it's just large enough to carry spare cash and medications, etc., It slips easily into a bag or pocket, and it never, ever looks out of place. It's just my 'glasses case'.

M

I hadn't thought of that. A glasses case would hold 2 or 3 days of my meds. That should be enough for short interuptions. I do have a small plastic waterproof case marketed for hikers. It's about the size and shape of a cigarette packet. I probably should start carrying it EDC.

For trips over a week my meds take up an old fashioned shaving kit.

That still leaves a gap for my insulin and Bydureon though. I take one shot per day (insulin) and another shot (Bydureon) once per week, so I usually leave it at home unless going overnight, in which case I need a small cooler. That could be a problem EDC

 

[Toddy]

Insulated lunch flask, one of the deep wide ones meant for soup or curry, might do.

M

 

[santaman2000]

Insulated lunch flask, one of the deep wide ones meant for soup or curry, might do.

M

Thanks for that idea! More compact than what I'd been thinking of.

 

[Toddy]

I had a look at the insulated packs for carrying insulin and the like, and they're really expensive for what they are. The insulated coolers meant to carry a six pack of coke/irn bru and the like, seem to advertise the same range of temperature control, and at a fraction of the price.
I think it's like aids for the elderly, folks charge a heck of a premium on the price for labelling it so.

M

 

[santaman2000]

Yeah, I've never used a specially made or marketed cooler. Just the six pack or lunch box types.

I do have one of the Frio wallets but as yet haven't tried it. I got it when I was still just using the Lantus (daily insulin pen) which is the normal sized pen. It's not really big enough for the Bydureon injector though (that one's as big as a cattle syringe although the actual dose isn't near that much)

Bydureon injector

 

[Robson Valley]

Besides a 7-day pill box for Rx meds which I load for 2 weeks, I have an old vitamin, screw-top bottle in my suitcase which holds a 2-week supply of everything.
There are tools in my "bathroom bag" for repairing clothing buttons and for my eye-glasses frames. Leatherman 'Squirt', old SAK and an LED torch.
Remember the old-fashioned snap-cap vials for 35mm film? Good pill bottles.