James C. Jones - The Ultimate Book of Survival Gear

Copyright 2021 by James C. Jones

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Mona Lin

Cover photo credit: James C. Jones

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-5309-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-6060-8

Printed in China

This book is dedicated to our ancestors, who were all survivalists and without whose survival instincts and perseverance we would not exist today, and to our descendants to whom we owe a determination to preserve life and freedom for the future.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I n my previous books, Advanced Survival , Total Survival , and 150 Survival Secrets , I focused on the psychological and skill-based aspects of survival and emergency preparedness. This volume is dedicated to the equipment and supplies needed to survive a wide range of emergency situations. Two of the most important principles of survival relate specifically to material equipment:

Have what you need: This sounds simple, but it requires careful anticipation and awareness to have the right stuff where and when you need it. For example, having lots of food and firearms is not what you need when you have a house fire. You need good fire extinguishers! Having a full NBC suit and mask at home to protect against direct contact with a radioactive substance will not help in the more likely situation of you encountering smoke or biological hazards. Its not what you have, its what you have with you that counts. Prioritizing and acquiring skills, supplies, and equipment based on your personal and realistic expectationsrather than popular media scenariosis critical. The objective is to have safe air, effective defense, adequate shelter, clean water, sufficient food, required medical care, when and where you need it.

Use what you have : The accumulation of stuff alone will not assure survival. You have to know how to use it and then use it effectively. You will also be faced with situations where you need to improvise and scavenge. Junk and scraps can be transformed into useful items. Nature provides food, shelter, fuel, and other necessities when we do not have other options. Survival training greatly increases your options and capabilities with and without stuff. In todays world we have specially made products for every aspect of survival. This may make us complacent and dependent. A good exercise is to take every survival item you have and say what if I had to do without this, then what could I use in place of this. Know how to use it and know how to do without it, then you are a survivor!

The concept of survival gear as a category of equipment is fairly new. Prior to the late nineteenth century everything was survival stuff and a level of self-reliance and preparedness was the norm rather than the exception for most Americans. A knife, a gun, an axe, dried foods, stored water, and most of what we now consider emergency preparedness items were just normal supplies and tools. The evolution of grid-provided light, heat, water, food, protection, and emergency services, combined with the population shift to centralized urban and suburban residency, placed the majority of the population at risk and vulnerable to any large scale disaster or system failure. The wonders of technology and big city life were the dominant factors during the first half of the twenty-first century. The dawn of the nuclear age after World War II initiated the first interests in survival and having survival gear. World War II also generated the development of survival training and survival equipment for downed pilots. The civilian was left with Civil Defense recommendations that only applied to surviving a nuclear holocaust and surplus military equipment and manuals such as FM 21-76 Survival that were of marginal utility for home emergency situations. Even Be Prepared Boy Scout manuals were more about camping than disaster preparedness.

The survivalists or self-reliance practitioners of the 1950s and 1960s, had to get by with military surplus, Boy Scout items, and a lot of homemade and improvised gear. It was not until the late 1970s that we began to see a few good civilian-related survival items on the market. The increasing frequency of natural and man-made disasters, terrorist acts, and potential system failures in the past few decades has generated a market for truly useful and high-quality survival items designed specifically for civilian use. As the narrow threat of nuclear war was replaced by a broad-range of potential emergencies and disasters, the variety and availability of equipment designed to save, preserve, and defend the lives of individuals and families through even the most challenging situations has grown into a major business market. Todays responsible citizen seeking to achieve a greater capacity to survive, escape, withstand, and recover has a wide range of products from which to choose.

In 2013, the American Housing Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau determined the level of emergency preparedness of American families. The results of such surveys can be considered soft data, subject to how the respondents interpret the questions and their definitions of the wording. The survey indicated that fifty-four percent of Americans had at least twenty-four bottles of water for emergencies, whereas a bare minimum of five gallons per person is recommended. Eighty-two percent of respondents said that they had at least three days of food on hand for emergencies. In reality, most homes always have enough residual food, and leftovers for three days, but many emergencies require that at least a thirty day supply of non-perishable (canned, dried, dehydrated) foods be available. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed indicated that they had an emergency evacuation kit. How adequate these kits are or whether they had kits for every family member was not established. As the rate and severity of disasters has continued to escalate, we can hope that family preparedness levels improve.

Furthermore, existing equipment will need to be upgraded and updated to meet emerging challenges and hazards. In this book, I have provided options for those just starting their journey towards preparedness and those engaged in continuous improvement and advanced preparedness. This book explores each category of survival gear and emergency supplies with attention to their importance, functions, and options available. A variety of available products are illustrated with specifications, qualities, prices, and sources. Where possible, products of various price ranges and qualities are covered. While it is best to have only high-quality, high-end items in all these survival categories, everyone will have some budget limitations, so low-cost and surplus items are included wherever possible.