Prepping and surviving for a real world.

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I ran across this article, and I think that it makes a whole lot of sense.

There’s an essay, well-known in survivalist circles, titled Thoughts on Urban Survival. It was written by an Argentinean who detailed his experiences during the 1990s situation in Argentina and he makes it clear that there are many other sort of “collapses” that are possible, such as the partial collapse. This Argentinean had to survive in a major urban area with a massively depressed economy, issues of hyper-inflation, etc, in an area prone to danger and violence. He reported that simply avoiding being kidnapped, robbed, mugged, carjacked, or killed, on a daily basis, became something of a chore and was seen as an accomplishment. There were no armed gangs (with machine gun armed "technicals") cruising around the city openly looting stores and besieging foreign embassies. Instead there was a massive increase in street level crime against ordinary individuals, which much of the crime being perpetrated by seemingly ordinary individuals who had previously held respectable jobs.

He reported that those who were in the city were in a pretty bad way, but almost as worse, if not more so in some ways, were those who were 30-40 miles outside the city in remote/isolated country homes, as organized criminal gangs numbering anywhere from 5-20+ thugs/criminals would drive out of the cities, go into these isolated areas, case the most isolated and inviting target, and then do a nasty/violent home invasion/take-over, that would usually entail torture, rape, and murder. The people were too isolated to receive any help from neighbors, local/regional police/authorities/etc. They were just as doomed as though they were in the cities, only more so in some cases as the criminals operating in the cities seldom were able to spend hours in an apartment, torturing and raping, they would strike quick on the street, grab a purse, steal a car, and then flee, while in the countryside, with no neighbors, no police, nobody else to worry about, they spent hours on the farmsteads, taking their time to steal everything of value, torturing the residents if they felt they were was a hidden safe or that valuables were concealed somewhere, and raping any women they desired to rape.

The Argentine survivor declared that those who managed to avoid the bulk of the trouble due to the collapsed Argentine economy were those who lived in or fairly close to, close-knit small towns where residents looked out for each other and where the locals (be they basic residents or local authorities) knew who belonged in the town and who did not belong in the town. The people who were most vulnerable were the most isolated rural-dwelling individuals, with a close second being the urban dwellers. The typical American survivalist seems to believe that being in the middle of nowhere in Iowa or Kentucky will assure he is reasonably safe when the fact of the matter is that armed and organized gangs in South Africa routinely drive two to three hours from the cities (such as Johannesburg), into the countryside, to launch their farm invasions/attacks. The only true possibility of total isolation in the United States will be found in Alaska, so unless you are in Alaska you might consider that you’re better off with a nearby small town than you are being two hours away from even a small village of a few hundred people. One step you might take in the immediate future is to get to know your neighbors. A lot of survivalists seem to believe that their neighbors will just prey on them and try to take their supplies or leech off of their preparations and that may prove to be the case. However, it is almost guaranteed that if you have no rapport with your neighbors they probably won’t think twice about harming you. If you have a solid friendship built over multiple years you may be able to guide them into beginning their own preparations.
Full article: http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/05/the ... _of_t.html

Re: Prepping and surviving for a real world.

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Always been my take on survival. If you have good relationships with those around you, even if you're in a neighborhood in the city, people will watch your back. If you're a crazy isolationist, you are absolutely a target and nobody is gonna give two shits about you. Hell, our neighbors even remind us if we've forgotten about street sweeping day so we don't get tickets (A couple of times now). It's easy and cheap insurance to look out for each other.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

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Re: Prepping and surviving for a real world.

10
If this is the guy I'm thinking of (who wrote the article mentioned above), he has a youtube page called 'TheModernSurvivalist'

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrSf5G ... pS5-zHc7Lg

He has a very interesting view of Urban Survival, having lived through a pretty tough patch.

The only problem I see with his information is that he 'got out' of an economically depressed country. if it ever hits the U.S., I don't think there will be anywhere to get out to. If the U.S. tanks, pretty much everywhere else will too.

I do think a lot of preppers think of sudden, TEOTWAWKI stuff, without considering recoverable but brutal economic downturn. Not 'everyone for themselves' so much as 'here comes a few really crappy years'.

I have my own fears, and would do more prepping stuff, except I have a husband. And he keeps looking at me like i'm insane when I mention 'tons of rice and beans'. :roflmao:

A Good Idea...

11
Hi Folks,

This is the Renovo Trio.

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I used to drink reservoir water when I was a teenager, but I'm older and, I like to think, wiser, so I bought the Trio.

I chose it over the Lifestraw or Sawyer Mini (which is the one to beat) because the Trio filters down to 0.05 microns and removes heavy metals as well as cysts, bacteria, and some viruses.

The Sawyer Mini is rated at 0.1 micron and the Lifestraw, at 0.2 microns. Both are single stage units.

The Trio uses three stages: A 5 micron first stage (coffee filters only do 50 microns at best), a 0.05 micron second stage, and an activated charcoal third stage.

All three stages are replaceable.

The cost is only about $33. That's a bit more than the Sawyer Mini, but you do get 4x more filtration with the Trio.

I carry military canteens, both 1qt and 2qt, and the Trio is a backup to those. I do carry iodine capsules in the pockets of the canteen covers but iodine only works on a relatively few nasties. Chlorine tabs work about as well, and chlorine dioxide works slightly better. Still, it's not all that great.

If I ever have to use this thing for any length of time, say, camping with a questionable water supply, the water will be treated in three stages: First, filtered. Second, boiled. Third, iodized. I'm really contemplating replacing my iodine tablets with chlorine dioxide for a number of reasons.

This filter should work plenty well, but if I have the time, I might as well use all methods available.

Josh
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Re: A Good Idea...

12
I honestly can't think of anything that lives in water that's smaller than 0.05 micron and is potentially harmful to humans. With a filter like that, I'd just filter.

For comparison, we consider 0.2 micron filtration to be sterilization in the biotech lab where I work. We operate under sterility requirements similar to drug manufacturers.

Re: Prepping and surviving for a real world.

23
Hi Folks,

I have some bad news nine months later.

The unit cracked:

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The first time I attached the Renovo to a soda bottle, the micro-filtration filter body cracked. It was finger-tight only, and should not have done this. On the plus side, the filter did immediately shut down. While it sprayed water through the crack, it did not let me drink any, so that part worked.

Please keep in mind, folks, that the Renovo unit saw no actual field use, but rather was used to filter water under controlled conditions in my home. I did this prior to ordering a new unit for field use as I test everything I use during hikes and while fishing and hunting.

Upon contacting the company, I received no answer. Trying again, I did receive a response to the effect that the unit is warrantied and the company requested pictures. I received an email later telling me that the crack was normal wear the unit would not be warrantied.

I will be exploring other options as this sample is simply not tough enough for me. Sawyer and LifeStraw are both on my list as of now.

I would still prefer to find a straw with a charcoal filter for chemicals and taste, but the 0.05 microns isn't absolutely essential for my uses, so that expands the field some.

Regards,

Josh
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Re: Prepping and surviving for a real world.

24
Interesting that failure to perform is not warranted and is actually considered normal wear and tear. Retail of $33 should mean a cost or $10 to $15 to build, maybe less. Send them a copy of your forum post, letting them know that they probably lost enough sales to cover your replacement costs several times over.

One of the advantages of small town living is a self reliant attitude. Our water supply runs on electric, with a diesel backup, backed up by a power take off unit that matches any John Deere tractor. Same with sewage. Last storm to hit and cause damage was cleaned up before the state knew. Every second house in town seems to have a chain saw and relatives with tractors and trailers to move trees and brush. All clear signal is usually masked by the sounds of chain saws making fire wood. The presence of hunting dogs and duck boats may discourage looters, as will the presence of a shooting range at the edge of town.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- Ronald Reagan

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