BBC: Responsible or panicked? Meet the people around the world already preparing for crisis
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@stevel Ah, good to know on the Trangia lacking at altitude. I found the canister stoves are great normally but not at altitude and/or in cold weather, when I switch to white gas.
@ai6yr @stevel The Trangia is a classic design because it is an excellent system and has a history of being bulletproof, not because of its performance.
It is surprisingly compact. You put a plastic cup, foldable cooking knife, cutlery, film canister of matches, scourer, 2*dishcloth inside the bowls and then the whole 'cooking' apparatus is self-contained in a medium string-pull bag.
US hikers often look to performance because of altitude and the need to melt snow for water. But such stoves often don't pack down well, and spare parts must be carried. Some stoves handle wind and rain much better than others.
The Trangia is a nice choice for a realistic emergency bag, because it's a good system rather than the best item. Basically it's enough heat for instant soup, for tea or coffee, for pasta or rice if you have the time. It's pretty much bulletproof to use: you can sit it in the middle of a rainstorm and it will run, I've anchored one with tent pegs in the wind and it still made dinner.
One day a company will do a multi fuel stove which is part of a good system. The gas canister systems come closest, and some of those would be a good choice. They tend not to pack down as small as the Trangia. If you are looking at gas canister systems then make sure you are happy with the wind shield and its stance on the ground.
@glent @ai6yr @stevel *cough* I have been very happy with my MSR Whisperlite, which I ran on auto gas during the first year of the pandemic
when I dropped it off at MSR for service the following spring the service tech was like, what did you DO with it, we see expedition stoves that aren't this crusty
I was like, yeah so I maintained my research program living independently out of a pickup truck and cooking on the tailgate with this about three days a week for a year
@ai6yr I usually keep some bottled water but cycle through it, otherwise depend on my camping filters. In hurricane country, we cleaned and filled bathtubs (and then boiled if needed).
I have extra backpacking meals I don’t love but they’re there for power outages plus camp stove; however I don’t prioritize food if I’m leaving. Plus sleeping bags etc for no power or in car in winter.
For leaving; generally hard to replace stuff with the expectation that I can buy basic clothes and food.
@ai6yr I did note that the thing the Northern Europeans are prepping for is war. 🥺☹️
@CaramelizedShallots @ai6yr
I believe first official instructions from our government here in Finland came in 1966 to keep a modest ”home reserve”, so nothing new here. In case of winter storm taking electricity or water pipe freezing or similar, you have to have some reserve. Business as usual.
@CaramelizedShallots @ai6yr
We seem to have most of the instructions in english as well… https://www.suomi.fi/guides/preparedness/checklist
@ai6yr Japan's disaster readiness day is annual. It's not new. It is a bit weird that places like the U.K. are doing it as well, though.
@ai6yr My concern is that these articles overwhelm the actual government advice, which can be very different.
Compare the UK-originated advice with my local advice on contents of the emergency kit for the most likely disaster.
https://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/plan-prepare/before-a-fire-be-prepared/emergency-kits/emergency-kits/
Note the cotton full coverage clothing, boots, and a 100% woollen blanket.
@ai6yr Not shown: firearms & ammo stockpiled.
If you read 2A discussion boards for amusement, as I am wont to do, there’s A LOT of discussion about what to have for the SHTF scenario. (TF = “the fan.”) Surprising number of commenters suggest 22LR: light=easy to carry lots of rounds if you have to relocate on foot, fairly quiet=attracts less attention, good for small game. Frequent citation to the compact 22 survival arms issued to military pilots.
V few shotshell fans (weight, ltd range).
@ai6yr Or. Costco shopper? I naturally have loads of supplies in the house - we're lucky to have space for them. Mostly because I hate shopping and don't want to spend the time thinking about stocking up on things all the time. A year of paper towels and laundry detergent. Check. Though granted none of it is in a "go bag." :)
@johnefrancis @ai6yr Ha! During the early days of Covid I forgot that I had disinfectant and somehow ended up with gallons of bleach. I did end up giving a bunch of it away. 😊 😊 :)
@ai6yr Years ago we had back to back snowstorms. Hubby had a SV meeting and managed to fly out to SFO in between storms. Many people were stuck in their homes for days. Colleagues asked Hubby if he was worried about his wife. Hubby: LOL. She's a Costco Girl. She can hunker down for a year without batting an eye. <g>
@ai6yr Especially as we have enough Bubbies Pickles and Major Grey's Mango Chutney - the important stuff. 😊 😊 Our local Indian store rant out of it, and it annoyed me how expensive it was to order online, so I ordered about 2 dozen jars because it lasts forever and we'll eat it. :)
Disappointing that the BBC decided to interview people doing prepping, rather than talking about actual disaster preparedness.
@michael_w_busch @ai6yr sadly that doesn't surprise me...
@michael_w_busch @Lazarou This seems like a socially sensitive BBC piece not to scare people about disaster preparedness, more than a disaster preparedness story. (like "look at these strange people!")
LOL on the lady with fabric softener and deodorant in the disaster stash. Also, mouthwash.
@ai6yr
Yeah, that looks like a sampling of the random crap a couponer picks up. The rest of her stuff is more sensible, though a lot of it requires hot water to make it edible.
But anyone advertising themself as a "leadership coach" is probably at a bit of disadvantage when it comes to make good decisions in general 😂
@me_valentijn Six years worth of hair shampoo... We've been there before 😂 (couponing)
@ai6yr Or the Bounce? Static and smelling nice is the least of your worries
@ai6yr It's better than the time I bought an unopened 72-hour-kit from an Estate sale and got it home to find it consisted of two MREs and 7 sets of Temple garments. I get having spiritual comfort items, but if your God told you to prepare food for the apocalypse, which AFAIK is a thing that goes along with those garments, that probably isn't exactly following the command.
@ai6yr we recommend dollar store sized containers of detergent, fabric sheets, personal care items like mouthwash, toothpaste, travel toilet paper etc...
(a change of underwear and a deck of cards)
If you have to evacuate those comfort items can make a difficult time a little easier to bear.
the #CERT Basic Class manual has several pages of suggestions for emergency supplies
pages 1-14 through 1-17
although we always have to laugh at the "extra medication" suggestions.
Most people struggle just getting their regular Rx filled let alone getting "extra" 🙄
https://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/2019.CERT_.Basic_.PM_FINAL_508c.pdf
@ai6yr
1-34 through 1-37 has an actual checklist dealie
@MsMerope That reminds me, I need some travel size toothpaste, ran out. I guess I should see if they have it at the dollar store. (I know they have it at Target, but I so rarely go into stores, lol)
@ai6yr and we always tell the story of the high school kid who was interviewed about his evacuation from the Camp Fire.
I didn't have much time so I grabbed my laundry hamper
????
well, all I knew all my favorite clothes would be in the wash....
@ai6yr next time you update your glasses, put the old pair in your evacuation kit and go to AAA for some good old fashioned paper maps.
@ai6yr I'd at least have toothpaste and a collection of toothbrushes. It's also good for barter.
"Dan" in the US is your typical probably ex-military or military inspired prepper. Looks like an actual informed first aid kid.
@ai6yr once upon a time I had an old friend and ex coworker who gave me a handmade survival kit for my birthday one year. He had a few(still airtight) 7.62×39mm ammunition boxes from the Vietnam era that he turned into survival kits. Each was packed up with nearly identical supplies as 'Dan' here, but it was all packed inside cool ammo boxes with US military stamps on the side.
Looking at that first aid kit: Now I am wondering how many of the BBC's viewers will recognize a stop-the-bleed kit on sight. Or if it would make sense for them to stock it.
Is everything in the Netherlands in glass? LOL. That would mostly be destroyed in an earthquake in California.
(we'd lose a lot of stuff we have canned here 😬)
ps. pasta sucks for disasters and camping, takes forever to cook and requires extra water, unless you are willing to human sump the water as a valuable resource. (which I recommend). i.e. don't use it to cook your pasta and then dump it out, that's all that extra water you just wasted... use it as soup.
@ai6yr
Also… on a side note: Glass jars can be opened & closed multiple times. No need to consume the whole content at once. Also jars can be re-used as multi-purpose sealable storage containers. And they can be used for preservation of home-made foods.
(Earth quakes are not that common over here ;)
@ai6yr
You're not wrong on that pasta/water/cooking thing. But then again: Have you never seen kids eating the noodle brick from Asian instant noodles right away out of the package?
@ai6yr
Hak is a Dutch brand which cans food that is mostly grown locally. It's cheap and familiar, often on sale as well 😂
I also like that that glass jars avoid the problem with can liners disintegrating.
With all the tropical storms we were through this summer, I made sure we were well stocked up on bulgur.
You can cook it adequately to eat just by soaking it in water a while - even cold water if you have no power or heat source.
Chop tomatoes and cucumbers into it, ideally with some parsley and mint, and you've got a big bowl of tabouli. If you have a way to cook, it's just minutes to make it into a pilaf - throw in some red lentils for balanced protein. Delicious and healthy.
@ai6yr When people want pasta for emergencies, I recommend instant couscous. As long as someone can boil water, five or so minutes later, the couscous is ready. I’ve made it in a hotel room with a travel kettle and thermos. (Instant rice, red lentils, and boiled eggs are some other things friends and I have done with a thermos setup.)
Dehydrated pastas are more easily available these days for making backpacking meals etc, but I haven’t tried one of those yet.
@ai6yr Counterpoint: angelhair is my backpacking go-to. Light to carry, cooks in 3 min., all carbs, toss with Mediterranean sardines (canned with olives etc) olive oil, knife-shaved parm.
@ai6yr You have to buy the right kind of pasta for camping. I buy the 2-minute boil angel hair pasta from TJs. Perfect for backpacking. I use most of the water again for (powdered) pesto sauce or whatever else I have with it (like dehydrated veggies), drink the last couple of swallows if needed. WAY better than most of the prepackaged backpacking meals.
There was a year at the hiking summer camp. I went to many times where they tried out millet as a dinner staple.
It was a fucking disaster because we cooked with number 10 tins over a campfire. The stuff just burned Compared to this stuff, we usually prepared and I don’t remember what it was but definitely was something that was easy to cook, and it might’ve been packaged camping meals
LOL
"In late 2025, Dutch authorities launched a campaign that instructed households to have 72 hours' worth of supplies, much like UK authorities have just done."
Apparently the rest of the civilized world is not like the US... 72 hours minimum. More like a week to 2 weeks in hurricane country. It's better to have a week in California, recovery times are not 3 days for disasters anymore (if they ever were).
@ai6yr clearly the Trangia camping stove flags the owner as Scandinavian camper; very practical and essentially immortal. Good windshielding; best at lower altitude (i.e. not at US Rocky Mountains heights)
W.R.T efficient things to cook with it: porage, custard. Given this is for household use not 24h mountain bike racing, tinned pasta or baked beans.