It’s the go bag! You need a go bag. Whoever you are, with few exceptions (like if you live out of a go bag already), you should build a go bag. It’s the bag you grab if you have to go. Wildfire, hurricane, rightwing militia takeover, your piece of shit stalker ex-husband is in town, someone invites you on a weekend getaway? You get your go bag and head out, because it’s packed and ready to…. go. Because it’s a go bag.
i live in a hurricane prone area and would suggest anyone dealing w/ those or rampant flooding get those large vacuum storage bags for important things that will be damaged by water. like all my important documents live in a vacuum bag.
2nd: n95s are commonly available at hardware stores (3m auras are the best, but cup style n95s work too - look for the NIOSH logo) and are better than kn95/94s. if you can't tolerate head straps then by all means use kn95s/94s. if you're dealing with wildfires it may be more cost effective to get a 3m half face respirator with the pink p100 filters, also available at hardware stores. again look for that niosh logo to make sure you're getting legit tested filters. don't buy ppe from Amazon or wish or temu or whatever
Our pup tends to drink smaller quantities than you'd think, so something like this is MUCH easier than trying to gauge how much to pour into a collapsible bowl.
Our pup is black with thick DENSE fur. She overheats pretty easy in super hot weather, and this thing took carrying water for her from "Wow that's kind of a pain. What can I do to avoid it?" to nearly effortless.
Related to entertainment being important to stay functional: When some people I heard of were barricaded against cops to do forest defense, it was very useful to have books one could read aloud and storytell with stories likely to engage that particular audience in oral form (such as the Danielle Cain series and many of the "We Won't Be Here Tomorrow" short stories, pretty engaging and inspiring all). It was also useful to have minimalistic games a group can play together with minimal investment when they're stressed, scared, angry etc.; I now keep a list of one-page RPGs from itch.io specifically for barricade situations. An ebook reader can last weeks with one charge.
A regular card deck is also great, as well as things like "Tiny Library" (a compendium of microgames, each with instructions fitting one card). Also cartomancy and stuff like it—you'd be surprised at how many people enjoy tarot even if they don't believe anything supernatural is happening, and for aficionados it's like a powerful form of mutual therapy.
Do you like songs? Practice the lyrics of some empowering, motivating anthems and/or dancy and funny tunes, call-response folk songs etc. It doesn't matter if you can't sing with good technique—pulling a work song in a group is a wonderful way to create bonding and purpose and combat the trauma of bad situations.
I would include a baofeng radio. I don't expect everyone to be a ham radio operator, but they receive FM radio and weather radio and most can be used on FRS/GMRS frequencies.
From someone with no knowledge about ham radio—what are practical uses of these frequencies in addition to the channels we get from a regular AM/FM radio?
in addition to Gregg's point about two-way communication, I'd say even if you're talking about a simpler, non-broadcast radio, I personally prep with radios that get the NOAA weather bands, for weather information, and then shortwave, just because shortwave carries really, really far and it would make it possible in an emergency to hear news updates from halfway around the world. I also prep with GMRS radios (basically walkie talkies but slightly beefier) because they're really easy to use, in contrast with full-on ham radios.
Great question, FRS and GMRS are essentially your "walkie talkies" frequencies so anyone can use them without a license (well there is a gmrs license that gives you more watts but I wouldn't worry about it unless you want to nerd out) and it would give you the ability for local communications without Internet or cell service
If you're interested in learning more about radio stuff let me know, it's good stuff
for water, I usually recommend people get a LifeStraw. it's a lot easier to use than some of the alternatives available, plus some LifeStraw models are threaded and can be screwed onto a plastic water bottle--the ease of use and small size is a real boon, especially if your carrying capacity is limited. I personally carry one of those camelbak hydration bladders; I have a hard time remembering to stop for water, so being able to drink while moving is 100% worth any extra weight.
Perfect timing. I had just downloaded the transcripts from your podcast episodes on go bags, and was going to put together a list from what was mentioned there. I assume this is more complete, but I'll listen to the episodes again anyway. They're quite good. Thank you!
this is probably more complete but includes less of the like, discussion about various items! I've also I think switched bags since then and started to prioritize low weight and minimalism more since recording that episode.
This came at just the right time. I used it as a prompt to check and re-pack our go-bags, as well as fill some gaps (had cat food! Did not have collapsible pet bowls!). Very thorough and well-reasoned. Thank you!
unrelated but i just listened to the episode of Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff where y’all proclaimed the sponsor was tea and then a Lipton Iced Tea ad played 🫣
i live in a hurricane prone area and would suggest anyone dealing w/ those or rampant flooding get those large vacuum storage bags for important things that will be damaged by water. like all my important documents live in a vacuum bag.
2nd: n95s are commonly available at hardware stores (3m auras are the best, but cup style n95s work too - look for the NIOSH logo) and are better than kn95/94s. if you can't tolerate head straps then by all means use kn95s/94s. if you're dealing with wildfires it may be more cost effective to get a 3m half face respirator with the pink p100 filters, also available at hardware stores. again look for that niosh logo to make sure you're getting legit tested filters. don't buy ppe from Amazon or wish or temu or whatever
This is beautiful. I am not a prepper but one of the points you make that I love is you don't have to be to benefit from some basic preparedness.
One tiny note you or others may find helpful - collapsible bowls rock for feeding your pet, but we found a better way to keep them hydrated:
https://a.co/d/icwoWgF
Our pup tends to drink smaller quantities than you'd think, so something like this is MUCH easier than trying to gauge how much to pour into a collapsible bowl.
oh wow these look really useful! stopping to give water to my dog while hiking is kinda a pain right now.
Totally is!
Our pup is black with thick DENSE fur. She overheats pretty easy in super hot weather, and this thing took carrying water for her from "Wow that's kind of a pain. What can I do to avoid it?" to nearly effortless.
Related to entertainment being important to stay functional: When some people I heard of were barricaded against cops to do forest defense, it was very useful to have books one could read aloud and storytell with stories likely to engage that particular audience in oral form (such as the Danielle Cain series and many of the "We Won't Be Here Tomorrow" short stories, pretty engaging and inspiring all). It was also useful to have minimalistic games a group can play together with minimal investment when they're stressed, scared, angry etc.; I now keep a list of one-page RPGs from itch.io specifically for barricade situations. An ebook reader can last weeks with one charge.
A regular card deck is also great, as well as things like "Tiny Library" (a compendium of microgames, each with instructions fitting one card). Also cartomancy and stuff like it—you'd be surprised at how many people enjoy tarot even if they don't believe anything supernatural is happening, and for aficionados it's like a powerful form of mutual therapy.
Do you like songs? Practice the lyrics of some empowering, motivating anthems and/or dancy and funny tunes, call-response folk songs etc. It doesn't matter if you can't sing with good technique—pulling a work song in a group is a wonderful way to create bonding and purpose and combat the trauma of bad situations.
I would include a baofeng radio. I don't expect everyone to be a ham radio operator, but they receive FM radio and weather radio and most can be used on FRS/GMRS frequencies.
From someone with no knowledge about ham radio—what are practical uses of these frequencies in addition to the channels we get from a regular AM/FM radio?
in addition to Gregg's point about two-way communication, I'd say even if you're talking about a simpler, non-broadcast radio, I personally prep with radios that get the NOAA weather bands, for weather information, and then shortwave, just because shortwave carries really, really far and it would make it possible in an emergency to hear news updates from halfway around the world. I also prep with GMRS radios (basically walkie talkies but slightly beefier) because they're really easy to use, in contrast with full-on ham radios.
Great question, FRS and GMRS are essentially your "walkie talkies" frequencies so anyone can use them without a license (well there is a gmrs license that gives you more watts but I wouldn't worry about it unless you want to nerd out) and it would give you the ability for local communications without Internet or cell service
If you're interested in learning more about radio stuff let me know, it's good stuff
for water, I usually recommend people get a LifeStraw. it's a lot easier to use than some of the alternatives available, plus some LifeStraw models are threaded and can be screwed onto a plastic water bottle--the ease of use and small size is a real boon, especially if your carrying capacity is limited. I personally carry one of those camelbak hydration bladders; I have a hard time remembering to stop for water, so being able to drink while moving is 100% worth any extra weight.
This is the reminder I needed to get my go bag together, and to put together a paper list of contact info for my friends and family. Thank you!!
Perfect timing. I had just downloaded the transcripts from your podcast episodes on go bags, and was going to put together a list from what was mentioned there. I assume this is more complete, but I'll listen to the episodes again anyway. They're quite good. Thank you!
this is probably more complete but includes less of the like, discussion about various items! I've also I think switched bags since then and started to prioritize low weight and minimalism more since recording that episode.
This came at just the right time. I used it as a prompt to check and re-pack our go-bags, as well as fill some gaps (had cat food! Did not have collapsible pet bowls!). Very thorough and well-reasoned. Thank you!
unrelated but i just listened to the episode of Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff where y’all proclaimed the sponsor was tea and then a Lipton Iced Tea ad played 🫣