# Tools, gadgets, technology, gear, and necessities.



## zracer7 (Apr 17, 2012)

So I am new to the site and a fairly new prepper. I have been looking around at the various outlets of finding gear, tools, etc. and I am baffled at the amount of interesting and useful things people have found to help them in the various "end of the world as we know it" situations that people prepare for.

Ranging from hunting supplies to cooking supplies to BOB, BOL, and BOV gear, I have been wondering what types of things people use on this forum. So with that said, what are some things that you find useful in your preparedness that other people may not know about. There is no restrictions on your answers. It can range from something specific like a type of multitool you use to more helpful knowledge like how you can keep food from going bad (I.e. putting carrots in sand to keep them cool). Only condition is that you have to explain why you thing your entry is important: uses, applications, etc.

For example: I was out shopping at my local Costco and they were having a deal on Goal Zero merchandise. I picked up a portable solar power panel unit that powers anything that has a USB connection or car charger attachment. This is great because I have many apps on my iPhone that will help me in a SHTF situation (YOU NEED A MAP app downloads a complete road and topographical map of the US directly on your phone so if you have no gps and no paper map I have it on my phone. I also have alot of foraging and survival guides on my phone).

The kit included a wind up LED lantern that can also be charged with the solar panels.


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## tenntex (Oct 27, 2011)

I'm new to prepping, too, and I don't have much of anything you hear about on these forums.

However, I think a good starting place is: tools. Basic mechanics set, basic woodworking, sewing, and basic lawn and garden hand tools. For repairing, assembling, making something useful from scratch, growing food......

Its hard to do anything if you don't have something to do it with.

One thing in literally everyone's checklist is a Leatherman pocket tool (although I prefer Gerber).

Probably the ulitimate preppers were the early American pioneers and immigrants. They carried a minimum of "stuff", but included tools to make or obtain what they needed.


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

I would say that one of the most basic and useful and possibly overlooked items that EVERYONE should have with/on them at all times is a good KNIFE.

You can use it in preparation of food and shelter. You can use it for hunting or self-defense. You can use it to create other tools (specifically out of wood). 

The (true) American culture is very much a gun culture but most third world nations are very much knife cultures. I think this lead us Americans to sometimes forget how important a good knife is.

MAGUS, what knife would you recommend for the everyday preppers BOB?


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## JoKing (Mar 11, 2012)

Gadgets in my mind...ammo cans and surplus medical trunks. Weather you are keeping old electronics for back up or barter, you can safeguard them from EMP damage by storing them in this type of box(I hope). I plan to scarf up what I can during flee-market season. I am eyeballing some trunks on Craigslist for keeping my cordless tools in. I just put an old ammo can together for my old CB and hand held scanner. I just have to get an old copper door sweep to line the lid(if that's necessary). Oh yeah, I have to find where I stashed the stuff I want to keep in it. The picture is just for show. It's a way to store things without making a big lifestyle change. And it soothes some of my "what if" thoughts so, DON'T TELL ME IT WOULDN'T WORK! On another note, Please tell me if it wouldn't work.


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## JoKing (Mar 11, 2012)

TheAnt said:


> ...MAGUS, what knife would you recommend for the everyday preppers BOB?


You do realize that you could be instigating a cage match, don't you? Put me down for $100 on MAG.


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

JoKing said:


> Gadgets in my mind...ammo cans and surplus medical trunks. Weather you are keeping old electronics for back up or barter, you can safeguard them from EMP damage by storing them in this type of box(I hope). I plan to scarf up what I can during flee-market season. I am eyeballing some trunks on Craigslist for keeping my cordless tools in. I just put an old ammo can together for my old CB and hand held scanner. I just have to get an old copper door sweep to line the lid(if that's necessary). Oh yeah, I have to find where I stashed the stuff I want to keep in it. The picture is just for show. It's a way to store things without making a big lifestyle change. And it soothes some of my "what if" thoughts so, DON'T TELL ME IT WOULDN'T WORK! On another note, Please tell me if it wouldn't work.


Whoa! What is that pink thing you are protecting from EMP?!?!?!?


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

JoKing said:


> You do realize that you could be instigating a cage match, don't you? Put me down for $100 on MAG.


Magus knows his way around knives dont he!


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## JoKing (Mar 11, 2012)

TheAnt said:


> Whoa! What is that pink thing you are protecting from EMP?!?!?!?


That's my cordless back scratcher, Why do you ask?


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

JoKing said:


> That's my cordless back scratcher, Why do you ask?


Whatever you say... nevermind 

Doesnt look too scratchy... so is that a "must have" for preppers you think?

Im just playin' with ya! :kiss:


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## gaspump86 (May 5, 2012)

TheAnt said:


> I would say that one of the most basic and useful and possibly overlooked items that EVERYONE should have with/on them at all times is a good KNIFE.
> 
> You can use it in preparation of food and shelter. You can use it for hunting or self-defense. You can use it to create other tools (specifically out of wood).
> 
> ...


Kabar is good. But i like the Gerber bear grylls fixed blade with the fire starter built in.


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## FatTire (Mar 20, 2012)

gaspump86 said:


> Kabar is good. But i like the Gerber bear grylls fixed blade with the fire starter built in.


Just be sure that's not your only knife, or only fire starter. If you lose one, you lose them both.

For folders I like benchmade, for fixies I like cold steel. Both are spendy, but tough.

Magus has excellent tips on sharpening. I'm wondering about the viability of using rocks for putting an edge on, rather than packing around sharpening stones...


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## zracer7 (Apr 17, 2012)

FatTire said:


> Just be sure that's not your only knife, or only fire starter. If you lose one, you lose them both.
> 
> For folders I like benchmade, for fixies I like cold steel. Both are spendy, but tough.
> 
> Magus has excellent tips on sharpening. I'm wondering about the viability of using rocks for putting an edge on, rather than packing around sharpening stones...


A few years back I was abalone diving with my dad. A couple of the rich guys at the table where we were cleaning our catch were talking about how awesome their catches were (they were actually quite small due to them only diving in shallow water). Anyway, my dad realized that he forgot the sharpener at the camp so he asked me to go find a flat, hard rock. So without questioning I went and got one. With dirty looks from the rich guys my dad sharpened his knife on the stone. When he returned to cutting the ab, it sliced through like a knife through warm butter. Rich guys' mouths dropped.


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## chris88idaho (Apr 30, 2012)

Well I downloaded a bunch of apps on my iPhone for free. I have navigation, local police/ems repeater, app that sends alerts on local emergencies, survival guide, tracking app to. See where my family is, red cross shelter locations, app to scan and inventory food, some FEMA app... I think thats it. Major disaster I expect the phone will be useless pretty quick, may however help get through the initial craziness before battery dies. I especially like knowing where my wife is so I could go get her if I had to.


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## Ration-AL (Apr 18, 2012)

where i live we get rain and cold for months upon months, everyone of my BOB's is lined with a dry sack like used in kayaking and everything is then packed inside compression bags and stored in order of use with tent/shelter/sleeping/cooking supplies on bottom and survival quick grab items on top. Also no cotton, never cotton, cotton is a killer in this climate, anything but cotton, i like wool over the synthetic stuff, though the synthetic stuff is better for convection loss when wet, i just hate the way it smells after a week of not changing or washing it.

your boots, wear them! don't just go out and buy some nice boots and store them, break those bad boys in and keep them broken in, in a BO case you're gonna have to move, and move fast, having to go slow because of blisters can mean lost meals and/or capture as your not chasing anything or going anywhere....

forget the equipment lists,..... #1 item on any preppers list should be "SKILLS"
it's not the gear that will protect you and keep you alive it will be the skills and knowledge you have, supplies and gear will help exponentially but is basically useless if you don't know how to use it or it breaks , redundancy is a big deal , have them, also look for equipment that has multiple uses, such as ponchos, these are great, they can be used for hauling water, shelter,dragging an animals across the snow among lots of other things, always have a tarp for this same reason, even if you are carrying a tent bring a small green/brown tarp, it can be used to hide the tent and if the tent becomes damaged or has to be left behind for some reason you still have shelter or can make repairs from the trap material, they also work great as improvised back packs!









personally i'm a big fan of proper bivouac sacks(i still carry a tarp) , not the cheesy emergency over nighter things but proper mountaineering bivy sacks, much much smaller then a tent, light, easy to hide, quickest/easiest setup/take down of any camping/sleeping system known to man besides just sleeping on the ground exposed, you open it and your done, on long expeditions i store my sleeping bag in the bivy sack it's self so it's ready to go.. fully waterproof and works great in any condition except maybe very high heat. i've slept in some pretty crazy places in mine, it is a bit tighter in there, i call mine the meat sack, a bears best friend, lol, but in all actuality it's really no worse then a tent for most of those attacked in my sleep sort of fears, get one with the hoop for your face with the mesh panels, it makes that feeling much better and gives you a good little spot to enjoy the stars and smoke one of your doomsday cigarettes. here's a pic of the one i've been using for about 5 years now.








http://www.backcountrygear.com/bibler-tripod-bivy-green.html

that said though, check the quality of the gear your buying, that lantern thing is crap for a bug out scenario, should be fine for bugging in, but i would never leave the house with that thing and expect it to last more then a day or 2 on the trail, get yourself an expedition quality head lamp and be happy, they are a bit heavier and $$$ but you get 100% waterproof till a certain depth say like 5 meters, 430 hours of run time and knowing these things have been beat, slammed, and crashed into the sides of caves, crevasses , and some of the harshest environments on earth. you always have a back up, but i would make one of these your primary light sources followed by a cheapish headlamp with filters,mag light , fire starter kit.

there's tons of stuff!!!! alot of good infromation on this forum give it a search! here's a good one i found that mentions some of the things i already have and then some more....without the rambling... ;-)

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f2/bug-out-bag-examples-setups-5914/


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

zracer7 said:


> ...
> For example: I was out shopping at my local Costco and they were having a deal on Goal Zero merchandise. I picked up a portable solar power panel unit that powers anything that has a USB connection or car charger attachment. This is great because I have many apps on my iPhone that will help me in a SHTF situation (YOU NEED A MAP app downloads a complete road and topographical map of the US directly on your phone so if you have no gps and no paper map I have it on my phone. I also have alot of foraging and survival guides on my phone).
> ...


I agree. I think a USB solar setup would be very nice to have for various reasons.

That GoalZero model looks similar to one with a lot of negative user reviews. I ran across it not too long ago doing my own search. I don't want to badmouth your gear, just want you to be aware if it's the same model.

If you or anyone else may still be looking for a solar device charger, consider the PowerFilm AA+USB charger. You have to have batteries installed for it to work when the sun is out. AND, this is my fav feature, any charged batteries AFTER dark can be placed in the same charger to power or charge your USB device.


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## Whoisjohngall (May 21, 2012)

I am waiting on my BioLife camp stove to come in. I pre-ordered it and it is supposed to ship next month. Cost $130 and is about the size of a water bottle. What is cool about it? It is supposed to let you burn twigs and such very efficiently. Can bring a liter of water to a boil in 5 minutes, or something like that. And, here's the biggie, it converts some of the excess heat to electricity. It has a USB outlet that you can use to recharge you cellphone as you cook dinner. I can't wait to try it out. If it works, I might get another one to dedicate to my BOB along with a USB battery recharger...I try and only put things in my BOB that use AA, if they need batteries at all.


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## zracer7 (Apr 17, 2012)

Fn/Form said:


> I agree. I think a USB solar setup would be very nice to have for various reasons.
> 
> That GoalZero model looks similar to one with a lot of negative user reviews. I ran across it not too long ago doing my own search. I don't want to badmouth your gear, just want you to be aware if it's the same model....


Yeah I found that its a pretty good setup for camping and maybe a power outage but in reality I don't think it is durable enough to be in a real SHTF situation. But it was a cool little deal to get for the kids to use without losing the batteries. Haha I used it in a recent power outage (the lamp not the panels) and the cranking system charged my iPhone to 100% in less than an hour. Not bad. Course now that I am thinking about what I'd really take I would probably not rely on my phone at all. Apps are quick... But nothing beats some laminated maps, small SAS survival guide, and a plant identification manual. (the main things I keep on my phone) plus, you can't catch food with a phone, make shelter with a phone, or start a fire with a phone.....well, actually you can with some steel wool... But that's for a different forum.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

gaspump86 said:


> ..But i like the Gerber bear grylls fixed blade with the fire starter built in.


Any suggestions on eliminating the bright orange trim?


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## zracer7 (Apr 17, 2012)

TheLazyL said:


> Any suggestions on eliminating the bright orange trim?


Black permanent marker.


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

chris88idaho said:


> Well I downloaded a bunch of apps on my iPhone for free. I have navigation, local police/ems repeater, app that sends alerts on local emergencies, survival guide, tracking app to. See where my family is, red cross shelter locations, app to scan and inventory food, some FEMA app... I think thats it. Major disaster I expect the phone will be useless pretty quick, may however help get through the initial craziness before battery dies. I especially like knowing where my wife is so I could go get her if I had to.


Good choice, I have several similar apps. on my android with a spare battery and solar charging capability. In Katrina they found that texting worked even tho voice was down. Of course long term grid down it'll all be moot. A major tool for me is chainsaw, I have 2 and will be getting a bigger one for Christmas. In conjunction I also own a Haddon Lumbermaker which bolts onto any chainsaw for ripping lumber. Heat is key up here. Ripping lumber helps with reinforcing existing facilities and building new.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

Speaking just for a moment on knives, I would recommend a knife that fits these very important requirements. 

1 Must be carbon steel. Most stainless blades don't have a high enough carbon content to make sparks for fire making.

2 Must be full tang! A knife is no good if it cannot hold up to abuse, and a partial tang/welded on chunk of threaded rod aint gonna cut it.

3 It has to be comfortable in your hand. You could be using this knife A LOT!! 

4 Blade should be thick enough to withstand batoning.


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## artash (Mar 4, 2012)

I have been using some food prepping gadgets in my recent tour. When it comes to cooking, there are now electronic stoves, which allow you to cook our food without the annoying smoke from burning wood or the risk of explosion brought about by liquefied petroleum gas, which many gas stoves use.
As far as food storage, I recommend some plastic containers infused with silver.

And lastly I remembered lyrics one of my fav songs:

Take your time and enjoy it 



> "I went down Virginia, seekin' shelter from the storm.
> Caught up in the fable, I watched the tower grow.
> Five year plans and new deals, wrapped in golden chains.
> And I wonder, still I wonder who'll stop the rain."


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## deetheivy (Aug 7, 2012)

Pandomonium
Do you have any suggestions on knives that meet your qualifications? I have a Benchmade Bone Collector Mini Axis, D2 steel, with a rockwell hardness of 60-62. It is a folder but the blade thickness is insane, and i love the lock mechanism. Now i have to get a full tang. I don't care too much for the Ontario designs, but i do like the quality. Does anyone have suggestions, I think im going to go with the Kabar ZK War Sword. Sk-5 steel, RH of about 65, has anyone used this knife?


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

A good foldable utility knife that has the removable blades is also a good idea so you are not always using your protection/hunting knife as a tool.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/prime/handle-buy-box.html/ref=dp_start-bbf_1_glance

I actually just put that one on my wish list for purchase soon. I like it better than the one I got at lowes.


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## zombieresponder (Aug 20, 2012)

deetheivy said:


> Pandomonium
> Do you have any suggestions on knives that meet your qualifications? I have a Benchmade Bone Collector Mini Axis, D2 steel, with a rockwell hardness of 60-62. It is a folder but the blade thickness is insane, and i love the lock mechanism. Now i have to get a full tang. I don't care too much for the Ontario designs, but i do like the quality. Does anyone have suggestions, I think im going to go with the Kabar ZK War Sword. Sk-5 steel, RH of about 65, has anyone used this knife?


I'm not him, but I can tell you a little about D2, though I have no direct experience with using it as a blade steel for knives. D2 is an alloy with high wear resistance. Even in it's annealed(soft) state, it destroys carbide cutting tools in short order. When hardened, forget trying to cut it with anything other than abrasives(grinding) or EDM. The tradeoff for higher wear resistance is in toughness..D2 is more likely to break or chip, especially at the upper end of it's hardness range(without looking it up, I think it's right around 65 HRC).

I'll lay this out there too, hardness is resistance to deformation and there are a number of different scales to measure it. The most common, at least for steel alloys, is probably Rockwell C. To put it in layman's terms, if I had two different parts in front of me, one at 30 HRC and the other at 50 HRC, the latter would be less likely to have a mark if I hit each one with a hammer. Hardness is only one component of what makes an alloy suited to a particular use.

I don't have any experience at all with SK-5, but from looking at the data sheets, it's probably not going to hold an edge anything like D2. It should be more forgiving of bending or prying, and less prone to chipping or breakage though.


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## deetheivy (Aug 7, 2012)

zombie
Thanks, thats what my research showed as well. However didn't think that D2 had that big of a problem with breakage. Oh well back to research. Though with the sk-5 I think thats what i want, something with a little flex to it. If I have to sharpen it all the time, then i will relagate it to specific tasks.


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## zombieresponder (Aug 20, 2012)

Again, I have no experience using D2 as a knife blade steel. My experience with it was in stamping dies. I wouldn't have a problem using D2 for a knife, I just would be very careful about bending/prying and impact loading.


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