Living Ready Magazine Editors - The Family Preparedness Buyers Guide : The Best Survival Gear, Tools, and Weapons for Your Skills and Budget

Living Ready Books

Iola, Wisconsin

LivingReadyOnline.com

Preparedness requires you to ask yourself many difficult questions. How would my family survive with no power or water for a week? Where would I go if a storm or fire destroyed my home? How would I collect my children from school in the midst of a security emergency?

Preparedness also allows you to remove some of the fear brought on by these questions. When you identify the potential threats and emergencies you may some day face, you can construct well thought-out responses that will help you survive, and maybe even thrive, despite the chaos around you.

One of the keys to being prepared is to have the things you need for survival well ahead of an emergency or disaster. This book will help you identify the survival supplies and gear you need to complete your family preparedness plans.

The feature articles in each chapter explain the importance of each type of gear and demonstrate how to effectively use it in survival situations. The Buyers Guides in each chapter list specifications for dozens of survival products so you can quickly and easily compare among various manufactures and models. Products are listed in order by price from least expensive to most expensive (based on MSRP at time of printing) so you can evaluate what you are getting for your money and choose the gear that is best for your needs, your skills, and your budget.

When you are prepared, youre not just hoping for the best, youre planning for the best possible outcome no matter what life throws at you.

MONTICELLO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Survival kits are an essential part of any preparedness plan. When a disaster strikes, you dont want to be caught empty handed. This chapter explains the many types of emergency survival kits you will want to build including home survival kits, go bags, everyday carry gear, and of course, bug out bags. Vehicle kits are also coveredand not just for cars. Kits for trucks, ATVs, and boats are also included.

While building your own kits is ideal (you can customize each kit for your specific needs), there are many pre-assembled survival kits on the market and the Buyers Guide to Prepackaged Survival Kits found in this chapter details the contents of many of these kits. Use this information to decide which kit is right for you, or use it as a guide for what to include in your own custom-built kit. You could also use a pre-made kit as the core of your survival kit and add to it to meet all of your unique survival needs.

PHOTOEXPERT /SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

By Pat McHugh

This home survival kit can help you in a bug-in situation or you can easily grab it on your way out of your house if you are in a forced evacuation situation. Store the items for this kit in a 5-gallon bucket that has a lid (available at home improvement stores). A small plastic trash can with a good lid and handles also works. Place tape on the bucket and mark on the tape the date you last filled it with the items below. The contents of the kit need to be inspected and/or rotated and replaced every three to six months.