Preparedness for when

ginnyknit

Meme, where did you get your weed burner from? I have been looking for one for weeks, saw them last year and didnt buy one and regretted it ever since!

SpikyHedgehog

Popperwell wrote: »

I wanted a wind up head torch but had to get one like you suggest but it coist me approx £3 in Wilkinsons.

I'd already bought a kettle and it cost me £13 but it's good and solid and will work on a stove or camping stove(I already have a sewing kit)did not think I needed a compass...I have whistle that is loud if I can find it!

I also bought a keyring that has a wind up LED torch built and it seems quite bright...

Need to get those water purifying tablets sometime soon...

I have a minichopper that does not need power to chop up small amounts of herbs and onions etc...

DS1 has a 10 yr old head lamp mum got him from L1dl, I think, & a wind up 1 I got him last year from Amazon: the light is better from the old battery 1, & he uses rechargeable batteries.

Fruball wrote: »

FOR ANYONE OVERWHELMED.... (as I once was, and still am when I read about others' preps!)

Prepping can be as big or as small as you feel comfortable with - I know when I started prepping it was small - ie I lived out in the sticks and felt that a few cereal bars, some water, spare hat, gloves, scarves and wellies for us all stashed in the boot would make a difficult situation easier so I put them in the car..... It has escalated but that is where I started...

So for anyone reading this who thinks OMG I AM SO UNPREPARED... Don't worry - a trip to your local supermarket with £10 and a clever list will make you more prepared than you were yesterday... It takes time to prep - and to get your head around it.

Think about the basics and build from there. Water #1, food #2, and whatever thereafter.

Never panic - whatever small preps you have will be more than someone unprepared

Hope that has been useful to someone xxx

Thank you, Fruball, I am certainly not as prepared as I'd like to be, but am getting more so & encouraging my boys to be so too.

valk_scot wrote: »

The storm kettle mention suddenly reminded me of what they teach at Scouts, how to make a storm kettle/emergency cooker out of two tin cans. We tried it one year on a particularly wet camping trip and it worked very well. They learn all sorts of useful things in Scouts, like how to build bivvies and essential camp furniture using only a knife and piece of string, campfire cooking, first aid etc etc. My OH was an Adventure scout back in the dark ages and both DS and DD are Scouts atm. It's amazing the things they know when taken out into the woods or a field! (I wish I'd been a Scout...)

Anyway, it's something to think about if you're into serious prepping and you've got suitably aged kids. Send them to Scouts or Guides and get them trained in bushcradt skills, no?

But make sure the troop does these things... DS1 didn't do a lot, & DS2 does even less at Cubs. Hoping DS1 will take up Duke of Edinburgh at 6th form & gain more skills there.

prepareathome

Don't worry many have first read it as stopped smoking weed, :rotfl:honestly it was tobacco.......7 months today whoopee......

Right back on topic I love the doggie bag, I have printed out the instructions going to try and make one. Knowing my 3 though they will be on for 2 secs as the are the worlds best escape artists, a wiggle and a shake and out they come from their harness in the car, but I can try.......

SpikyHedgehog

Angel_Jenny wrote: »

Thinking about this sort of thing always freaks me out! I have no stockpile and no skills! Basically if zombies arrived you wouldn't want me on your team and I would just cry and panic.

I live with my parents who don't want a stockpile of anything and there isn't really much free room. If I had space I think I would have 50 of everything - preparedness hoarder. I have 6 tins of tomato soup though!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

I'd want you on my team - I'd use you as [STRIKE]bait [/STRIKE]a diversionary tactic whilst I got away.

:whistle:

Angel Jenny, I was going to say, 'Of course we'd want you! & better to have people who are already interested in preparing than those who'll argue that nothings wrong.' And you can see Jojo wants you too ;-)

nuatha wrote: »

You don't want a solid fuel (hexamine) stove for indoor use. My suggestion would be a gas hob that runs off small cylinders, something like this which I've just seen reduced to clear for £2.50 in my local Asda. They also have the cylinders reduced to £1.75, though these can be found cheaper online. You will get about 2 hours of cooking time from a canister.

HTH

I was looking at 1 with a double burner earlier, but wasn't sure about the safety of using in the house... Think I'll get it as we're reliant on electric here.

nuatha

valk_scot wrote: »

You absolutely mustn't use one of these indoors...you need proper ventilation. And if you really must then at least change the cylinders outside. The camping forums are full of reports about leakage and side flares from this type of cooker. Also remember not to use a pot that overhangs the cylinder, the flames flare out and can overheat the cylinder. The cheap versions can be pretty iffy too, with poor seals. I've got a Coleman one which is as good as anything but even when I'm camping I only use it ten paces away from the tent.

I agree with the need for ventilation (for any form of naked flame cooking) and I do change canisters outside (sensible precautions being key to minimising risks). I've used these for about ten years without coming across the problems you mention, though I appreciate the warning.
I regard these as one of the easier and safer stoves to use. For camping my preference is a Trangia - I'm a backpacker, though if I'm ultralighting it I'll use hexamine or sterno and I carry a hex as my backup.
All the stoves have risks and having started camping 35 years ago with paraffin pressure stoves, (the flares from those can be seriously frightening) learned never to cook close to my tent or bivvy bag.

SpikyHedgehog

valk_scot wrote: »

You absolutely mustn't use one of these indoors...you need proper ventilation. And if you really must then at least change the cylinders outside. The camping forums are full of reports about leakage and side flares from this type of cooker. Also remember not to use a pot that overhangs the cylinder, the flames flare out and can overheat the cylinder. The cheap versions can be pretty iffy too, with poor seals. I've got a Coleman one which is as good as anything but even when I'm camping I only use it ten paces away from the tent.

And Val gave me the answer on the next page - might not get a 2 burner stove then, as cooking outside in bad weather would not be easy as theres no shelter from wind.

newlywed wrote: »

just wondering whether this would get more use than a camping stove...

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-portable-bucket-charcoal-bbq/207-3429.prd?recommendationId=7126e251-626f-4e65-86b8-4a46bab22bc3.0&skuId=207-3429

We've got the Mr S version, & DS1 says its not as easy to cook on as the old bbq...

valk_scot

nuatha wrote: »

I agree with the need for ventilation (for any form of naked flame cooking) and I do change canisters outside (sensible precautions being key to minimising risks). I've used these for about ten years without coming across the problems you mention, though I appreciate the warning.
I regard these as one of the easier and safer stoves to use. For camping my preference is a Trangia - I'm a backpacker, though if I'm ultralighting it I'll use hexamine or sterno and I carry a hex as my backup.
All the stoves have risks and having started camping 35 years ago with paraffin pressure stoves, (the flares from those can be seriously frightening) learned never to cook close to my tent or bivvy bag.

Ah, the old paraffin stoves, I remember them well! We've still got ours, relic of the days we used to strap it and the Force 10 onto our bikes and go away for weeks on end. It's horrible how much our old tent, stove and bags weighed compared to modern kit...my lad has a two man Vango Tempest that weighs just under 3kg, a Trangia that weighs less than my old fuel bottle and a 3-season sleeping bag that weighs less than a bag of sugar. And that's just DofE kit, not for anything extreme!

I think the two main issues with the suitcase stoves are (1) people buying really cheap gas cylinders for them, with poor quality connectors that you could eaily cross thread and which subsequently leaked and (2) using pots and pans so wide that the edge overhung the cylinder and deflected the flame onto it. Scarey stuff!

valk_scot

ginnyknit wrote: »

Meme, where did you get your weed burner from? I have been looking for one for weeks, saw them last year and didnt buy one and regretted it ever since!

Lidl have then in atm, so be quick.

valk_scot

Has anyone seen the trailers on the National Geographic Channel for a new telly program, Doomsday Preppers? It starts next week apparently though I'm not sure yet what date and time. Sounds like compulsory viewing.

Popperwell

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_33864.htm

Weed Burner..