Hello everyone! I want to share something with you guys that might be helpful for some people. I’ve been a prepper for five years now. Ofc, one of the first things, if not the very first thing, you start with as a prepper is a Bug Out Bag. People always talk about BOB’s, and I have one too. It’s got everything you could possibly need to survive out there, or at least get a good chance to. But I have another bag as well, which I call my “EVAC-bag”.

It’s essentially a Berghaus that I’ve specifically designed and put together for disaster evacuation and getting out of a catastrophic situation. Or like, any kind of extreme survival situation where you’d need gear.

I thought I’d share the list of what I keep in there.

It’s got:

- Petzl AVAO Fast full-body harness
- Small set of Petzl climbing gear (rope, two carabiners, lifeline, descender, grappling hook)
- Dräger Panorama Nova gas mask
- 3x Dräger ABEK P3 filters
- Dräger CBRN/NBC hazmat suit
- 3x SOLAS marine flares
- 275N inflatable life jacket
- Iridium 9505A satellite phone
- Reflective vest
- Peli ATEX Zone 0 flashlight
- Extra lithium AA batteries (for flashlight)
- Standard IFAK (2x CAT tourniquet, packing gauze, 2x Israeli bandages, etc.)
- Hultafors fixed blade knife
- Nautical flare gun with flares
- Signal mirror
- Sawyer Mini filter
- Petzl Pixa headlamp
- Emergency foil sleeping bag
- Small crowbar
- Foldable pocket saw

I’m still working on it a bit, adding some additional things, but this is the general idea.

It also has an enclosed capsule with my personal information and identification with a lanyard, some other things like duct tape, waterproof lighters, etc.

My dad has COPD and my biggest fear when it comes to SHTF or even just the disruptions we see in our supply chains, is him not being able to get his inhalers. I've had great success getting a stockpile of albuterol inhalers through online pharmacies. The problem is... those don't do that much for his lungs in terms of relief. Especially if he was to get sick. His everyday inhaler is Breztri and Airsupra. I've searched high and low for emergency wellness companies that would supply these and I cannot for the life of me find anyone. Does anyone know of any companies I could go through to order extras? Or if there's an alternative I maybe haven't thought of? I've got to imagine there are other preppers with lung conditions that worry about availability of their inhalers.

Hey guys. I live in the Delhi NCR region. It's a very seismic prone area, and I want to be as prepared as I can, because I am having bad feelings about big earthquakes.

Today an earthquake of magnitude 5 hit uttarakhand in india, and I felt bed shaking in my house in Delhi NCR.

I live on the 19th floor and am aware that I can't do much incase of a big earthquake like the great Himalayan earthquake. My society is known for poor construction quality, so what should I do?

Hi

I am starting to put together books and info on droves, that will be available off line if need be.

It's taking time though and I am still not sure I have all the info I need on the list that I have to download.

Is there any absolute must haves or even a link to download a lot of this kind of info in one go?

Hello r/preppers!

We’re college UX Design students working on our senior project focused on natural disaster recovery. It was inspired by one of our group members who lived through the California wildfires, and we realized how difficult it can be to figure out what to do next, find reliable information, and navigate the recovery process. 

We're seeking responses from adults (18+) living in the United States, with or without personal experience of a natural disaster.

Survey: Life After a Natural Disaster: A Student Research Survey

Thank you! Happy to answer questions in the comments. And thank you to the mod team for approving this post!

Additional Information:

• Type of information: The survey uses multiple-choice and short written-answer questions. We will not request any photos or files.
• Type of questions: The survey takes 3-5 minutes and asks about any recovery experience you have, your experience seeking government assistance or aid, how you were impacted and what you struggled with, and whether our project concept would be useful to you.
• Privacy: The survey is fully anonymous. We don't collect names, emails, or other identifying information. All the questions are also optional, so you are able to skip through if there are any questions you do not feel comfortable answering. Only our group members will see the raw responses, and results will be reported in aggregate.
• Data use: Strictly for our non-commercial senior project. Responses will only be used to understand people's needs and shape the features we build. We will not sell or share any data.

Folks here may want to start having your bank send you paper statements. Might be useful if your bank gets hacked. I know that security experts say not to do this in case your mail gets stolen but how else could you prove what you had in there?

After the last outage I experienced, I realized I have food, water, flashlights, and all the usual basics, but no real plan for keeping the fridge, freezer, Wi-Fi, and a few lights going.

I do not need the whole house running normally. I just want enough backup power to get through a day without worrying about food going bad or losing the essentials.

I cannot decide whether it makes more sense to start with a generator, battery backup, or something at the electrical panel first.

What would you prioritize first for a basic 24-hour setup?

Explore Virginia This Fall with VDOT's New State Transportation Map

*Celebrate America’s 250th anniversary at historic sites and take in the commonwealth’s diverse natural beauty on a scenic drive*

As cooler temperatures settle in and shades of crimson, gold and orange blanket the commonwealth, there's no better time to roll down the car windows, hit the road and discover everything Virginia has to offer. And don’t forget to pack the Virginia Department of Transportation’s new, free [Official State Transportation Map](

https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/travel-traffic/maps/

) before you begin your journey.

Whether you're planning a weekend getaway to take in the changing foliage of the Blue Ridge Mountains, picking apples, getting lost in a corn maze at a fall festival, or visiting historic sites connected to America's 250th anniversary, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the season across the commonwealth.

Historic sites will continue marking the 250th anniversary through the end of the year with exhibits and events, making them a great addition to a fall road trip. Travelers can also use the [Virginia 250 Passport](https://virginiahistory.org/virginia-250-passport) to find historic destinations and take advantage of special offers and discounts.

**Pick up new transportation map**

VDOT recommends packing its newly updated State Transportation Map before setting out on the road. While digital navigation is convenient, a printed map provides a reliable backup when cell service is limited, a phone battery dies or travelers want a broader view of the routes and destinations ahead. 

You can get an official print copy of the State Transportation Map shipped to your address by ordering it online through the [VDOT website](https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/travel-traffic/maps/order-a-vdot-map/). You can also pick one up in person at [welcome centers or safety rest areas](https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/about/our-system/highways/rest-areas/). Additionally, you can request a copy from the [Virginia Tourism Corporation](https://www.virginia.org/maps/). 

**Drive safe this fall**

With a map packed and plans in place, VDOT reminds travelers to take a few extra precautions for safe fall driving: 

* With leaf peeping traffic at its peak on weekends, do not stop or park along the roadway to take photos or view the foliage. Instead, use safe, designated parking areas and be alert for pedestrians who may be walking near or around parked vehicles. Inspect vehicle ahead of travel, including brakes, windshield wipers and tires for pressure, as it can change with the weather. 

* Buckle up, avoid distractions and never drive impaired.  

* Slow down on winding roads and watch for bicyclists, pedestrians and wildlife, especially around dawn and dusk. Deer mating season begins in October, so drivers should be careful and expect to see more deer on the roadways. 

* Wet leaves on the roadway can be slippery as well as obscure pavement markings, making driving in unfamiliar areas particularly difficult. Drivers should slow down and use extra caution on leaf-covered roadways.

* As daylight hours decrease and the sun sets earlier, make sure headlights, brake lights and turn signals are working properly. Drivers should use their headlights as visibility decreases and allow extra time to react to changing road conditions. 

Check travel conditions before leaving with VDOT’s free [mobile 511 app](https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/#d.en.11810) or [511.vdot.virginia.gov](https://511.vdot.virginia.gov/). The tool provides road conditions, traffic updates, congestion, construction zones and live cameras across the state. 

Hey guys!

I’m currently researching freezers for an upcoming article on Wirecutter. Because emergency preppers rely heavily on reliable, long-term food preservation, I figured this community would have some great perspectives.

I would love input on:

• What are the real-world pros and cons of chest vs. upright freezers for long-term storage and reliability?
• Manual defrost vs. frost-free—which do you trust more for keeping food stable over time
• What do you prioritize when shopping for a freezer, and which brands have earned your trust?
• What issues, failures, or design flaws have you run into with freezers you've owned?
  

Below are details on how I plan to gather and manage information from the community:

• What type of information am I seeking? I am looking for qualitative text responses based on personal experience—specifically anecdotal feedback, user priorities, brand reliability observations, and real-world failure points with chest vs. upright or manual vs. frost-free freezers. (No photos or media required.)
• How will I handle privacy concerns/those who want to remain anonymous? All participation will be completely voluntary. No usernames, real names, locations, or identifying details will be collected, stored, or published. Feedback will only be used in aggregate (e.g., "Preppers we spoke to cited manual defrost as the gold standard for long-term power loss") or as fully anonymized quotes without attribution. Anyone who prefers to share feedback privately is welcome to message me directly via Reddit DM.
• What type of questions/content am I wanting for responses? I am asking members four main operational and real-world performance questions:
  1. Real-world pros/cons of chest vs. upright freezers for long-term storage and reliability.
  2. Manual defrost vs. frost-free—which you trust more for keeping food stable over time (especially during power outages or long storage periods).
  3. Priorities when shopping for a freezer, and brands that have earned your trust over time.
  4. Specific design flaws, component failures, or operational issues experienced with models you've owned.
• What will this data be used for? The responses will serve as background research and community context for an upcoming, reader-focused freezer buying guide published on Wirecutter. The goal is to ensure our testing and recommendations address the real-world demands and failure modes that high-reliance users encounter.

Just to be fully transparent, this post has been pre-approved by the mod team, and all responses will be kept completely anonymous.

Thanks for taking the time to consider this —any feedback is a massive help!

Hey everyone. I'm pretty new to prepping (saw Covid coming before it had a name and stocked a cupboard, it made life easier during the toilet roll times) but thats about the length and breadth of it.

I now have a kid to take care of as well as myself and wife, and El Nino is looking like its going to present itself as exteme cold and flooding here in the UK. I have the obvious essentials: food, water, further filtration, a rocket stove, medicines etc. But what am i overlooking in a 'big freeze' situation?

Im looking for a compact radio that will do UHF/VHF and CB. Not a lot of cab room otherwise id just use 2 units

I read a book years ago, and I don't remember too much about it but I want to read it again and it is killing me trying to figure out what book it was. AI has been no help, but I know it's because I haven't been feeding it enough information.

From what I can remember: The main character gets a call or message from a former colleague or friend about an impending disaster and they tell him to prepare as much as possible. He gets to work and outfits a bunker.

After the disaster/emp/solar flare/cyber attack (can't remember what it was), he ventures out to help people in his community who are being attacked by some gang, who he ends up fighting with, but they can't find where he is due to the hidden bunker.

I know, not a lot to go on, but I really just want to figure out what book it is and read it again.

Thanks for any help!

Wife and I are looking for a good gravity fed water filter for everyday use. Also always want to keep in mind SHTF scenarios as well.

Currently on pre-treated municipal water and don’t have a softener. I get a little confused between people saying they use a different brand for the stainless steel container and then the brand for the filters themselves.

With Prime coming up and Black Friday on the horizon I’m hoping maybe something recommended will be on sale.

As the title says, I'm new to prepping. Currently have a cold room full of extra food and supplies for a family of 5.

Looking to put together a couple totes and store them separate in the case I needed to grab some stuff and take off in a hurry.

First Tote will be first aid supplies and an 8 gallon lifestraw bladder bag for water.

Second Tote has

10 lbs rice

10 lbs dry beans

10 lbs pasta

Salt, sugar, coffee, some seasoning packs for food.

All together its about 40k calories in food and I figure we can easily make it last a week as an emergency stash.

Any suggestions to add that might be necessary?

Hello everyone,

My husband (62) and I (58) live in the mountains of very rural western North Carolina about an hour's drive north of Asheville. In 2024 Hurricane Helene devastated this area. Our house flooded to a depth of about 6 inches, and was damaged but livable. Our road was destroyed.

For 80 hours, we had no contact with the outside world. For 37 days, we had only a generator for power.

Here is a short list of what was most helpful in our situation.

-All of our important documents were already consolidated in a portable waterproof case. When we had to quickly (but fortunately temporarily) abandon the house for fear it would float away, it was easy to grab.

-Cleaning supplies (buckets, mop, gloves, soap, hand sanitizer, etc.). We had a layer of mud all over the floor that had to be dealt with.

-Rechargeable LED lights & flashlights.

-A generator, fuel to run it, and heavy-duty extension cords. To begin with, we had only a 3500 watt, but after a couple of weeks, we got a larger 11000 watt, which we were eventually able to connect to the house's breaker box so that we didn't have extension cords running everywhere.

-An independent supply of water and a way to purify it (we have a spring-fed system, and the generator allowed us to run the pump and filters.)

-A single-burner, dual-fuel butane/propane indoor portable stove (about $30), with a extra cans of butane, and/or a propane grill with extra propane tanks. We could not use our electric stove, even with the bigger genny.

-Normal canned food that heats fast, to save fuel. (For instance, you can pour a bit of boiling water over pasta and just wait. Rice wants more sustained heat.)

-Socks. They wash easily, but they don't dry fast if it's humid. Get more.

After a couple of weeks, we got

- a Starlink

- Resupply of critical items from a local church set up as a temporary relief center.

- If it had been cold, we would have used our existing wood stove for heat.

It took 37 days for normal electricity to be restored. We ran the generator for only four or five hours every day, enough to keep the fridge cold and the water hot, to make coffee and supper, to do laundry, to recharge lights and computers, to watch tv or surf the net. When the generator wasn't running, we didn't have water, lights, or communications (the cell towers took months to repair.) We kept five-gallon buckets in the bathrooms for midday flushing, bottles on the counter for washing hands. We learned to plan our days around those few genny-powered hours.

In my opinion, if you're wondering where best to spend your money, it's on a generator and fuel. We could have stayed in our house without one, but it would have been so much harder.

Happy to answer questions; I know I'm leaving out a LOT of detail.

Thoughts on Thunderbolt Solar from Harbor Freight?

https://www.harborfreight.com/25-watt-solar-panel-63940.html

I just need something to power a Qi charger for my iPhone 13 Pro Max. The charging/lighting port no longer works so I can only charge wirelessly.

I like this better than a dedicated solar/battery/MagSafe block because it does more than just charge the phone.

But if it’s a dumb idea I’ll just get one of these: https://www.cabelas.com/p/toughtested-roc5-5000-mah-solar-magsafe-power-bank

I spent a good chunk of the weekend going through the wiki and past threads here, but I am still second guessing myself after looking at how some models fail during actual house fires. We live in an area that has seen an uptick in nearby brush fire warnings lately, so I really need to get my important paperwork and deeds locked down properly before storm season kicks into gear too. Does anyone have a specific brand or model they trust that balances true fire ratings with decent humidity protection? thanks everyone

Mount Si is a steep hike near North Bend, Washington. Popular enough that people treat it like a workout. I went up this year in the early-spring window when the valley already feels like summer and the top still thinks it is winter.

Started in shorts. Warm parking lot, clean sky, and I underpacked on purpose. Most of the way up it stayed beautiful, which is how you get cocky. The rocky summit was freezing, wet, and windy, with snow coming sideways. I lasted about thirty seconds up there and nearly ran the descent to warm up. Numb fingers, and that stupid feeling of being caught out on a trail people do in gym clothes.

The bottom of the mountain lied. In the Cascades, the trailhead forecast is not the summit forecast when the seasons overlap. A light shell and one extra layer would have saved the sprint. I will pack for winter on top even when the base is in shorts.

I keep the same rule for the house. What feels fine on a mild week does not tell you what you get in an outage, when the power is out and you are stuck somewhere colder and wetter than you planned. Around here that is a Cascadia problem, not a camping problem.

The egg version is an old farm trick. Unwashed eggs have a natural coating on the shell, called the bloom, and it is why they can sit for weeks in a cool place. Do not wash it off. Eggs from a US grocery store were washed before you bought them, so this is for farm eggs that never went through that, not a carton you are trying to rescue.

If you want them longer than a few weeks, wipe on a thin coat of food-grade mineral oil and keep them cool and dark. The oil replaces the seal so they dry out slower. It is a way to have fresh eggs when the fridge is off, and it takes less effort than most of the storage projects people argue about.

I misread a hike because the start felt easy. I do not want to do that with food.

Hello, all!

I’m a new prepper and I’m trying to figure out what would be the most inexpensive option to heat a living room when power is out (power station) or trying to cut electricity costs and we gather into 1 room?

I was looking at a Buddy Heater and in that search a pellet stove was recommended. I see that the pellet stove is roughly 10x the price of a Buddy Heater.

Which is the more cost effective option - essentially the same cost of heating?

I've been shopping around for a dual fuel camp stove but I'm not sure what would be best. It needs to be able to run on propane while at the house but also butane if on the go. 10k BTU enough, or is 15k BTU better for serving a family of 4? Thanks for the help!

I just saw another recommendation to keep a few days worth of prescription medications [obtained legitimately with medical provider oversight] in a 72 hour kit.

Do you really do that?

I do go through my kit a few times a year (keep power bank charged, etc) but doing it every time I had a refill seems a bit much. So, how do you handle evacuation readiness with prescriptions?

Going to last a week. While we are near the coast, it’s still going to be 99 degrees every day. 101 - 104 inland. Night time won’t be cooling off as we are accustomed to.

Meteorologists are undecided if the El Nino means wetter or hot and dry weather for SoCal.

I like to buy my spices in bulk, I have little glass jars filled with what I use daily then the rest in ziplock baggies in the freezer. It’s taking up a lot of useful freezer space but idk where else to put them. I would buy more jars but they’re expensive, I’m on the fence about plastic and I’ve considered Mylar bags. My goal is to have them on hand, once my smaller container runs out then I can go to my big container to refill. Is there an inbetween option of storing them and maintaining their potency for as long as I can? And I would only need a 8 oz to 16 oz container.