[5tepheWalker]

Sure, we all know there are certain things that are absolute must-haves when whatever flavour of apocalypse we end up getting eventually drops: good hiking boots, well oiled katana, boom-stick, 30' of rope and a 10' pole....

 

But THIS PUPPY right here just jumped to the top of my list:

 

http://biolitestove.com/

 

(CAVEAT: I am in no way connected to the company which makes this, nor do I own any stocks or anything like that. I get nothing out of this. I just think it would actually be a great thing to have in a zombie apocalypse.)

 

And they actually do pretty great things for the third world, too. Nice one. Well, it's on my Xmas list now.

 

What other innovative bits of gear can you suggest?

[Chinghis]

Many have suggested the LifeStraw. 

 

That Biolite looks like a pretty cool company, too.

[5tepheWalker]

Oooh! That's on the list, too! Nice one Chinghis.

 

Yeah, Biolite started as a way to reduce smoke-related deaths in developing countries, and decided to fund their ongoing efforts by selling the small stove to recreational campers. They're still pursuing that goal, so good on them, I say.

[compyguy85]

I spent 10 years in the military, and 2 tours in Iraq, and have thought (playfully so) on how best to survive a ZA and here is what I have come up with. First off, in the beginning, chaos and panic will ensue, and many people will die in the battle or become infected, and that confusion doesn't just extend to civilians, but to people with training and experience as well, myself included. As tough as I am I have yet to fight a hungry zombie horde, or even one lone zombie for that matter. My instincts are strong though, and, my aggressor being undead, I am hoping that those instincts will kick in long before it is close enough to bite me. Now, a couple of things about me, I was Airborne in the Army (11B, Infantry) and I am usually armed wherever I go. Now, some background on the military, since some of the posts I've read on other threads here have mentioned the military failing....and they are right. Marksmanship training teaches many valuable tactics about aiming and conservation of ammo and whatnot, and one of the things they teach is to aim "center-mass" as in the chest-belly area....because it is the biggest target available and requires less focus to aim....but that wouldn't be very effective on a headshot only zombie and many lives would be lost because of that. I'm going to skip ahead to the fall of the military and the zombies starting to take over. My first order of business would be to gather my family and all of my friends, especially guys I served with, and then head north from my home (I'm in Michigan) to a place called Camp Grayling, a national guard base just south of the bridge in a sparsely populated area (less zombies therefore)...and to make it better, very few outsiders even know it exists. There I would commandeer as many PLS trucks as I could (A ten-wheel drive monster that I swear was designed specifically for zombie hordes....look it up...it's up-armored, has a gun-turret, and carries a conex...like the boxes on cargo ships, and can onload them without a crane or any special equipment). I would then load up a humvee on one (scout vehicle) and the others I would put conexes on and fill to the brim with weapons, armor, ammo, food, water and distilation equipment, generators, and field housing systems, as well as soft barriers and alarm systems. Each truck can carry two people and depending on how many people come with me, that will be how many trucks I take...grab a couple of tankers and then head out from there. I now have food, weapons, ammo, water, and all the things needed for survival...and then I would head to the hiawatha forests in the Upper Peninsula, where there might be a living soul every five miles and set up a camp that was well armed and well defended and proceed to enjoy my MREs. Of course many things can go wrong getting to that point but essentially we would be ok....and the trees make for great firewood for heat :-).  

[Chinghis]

Have never heard of that truck. That's a great vehicle.

[compyguy85]

http://www.military-...oshkosh_pls.htm

This is a PLS...it even has an onboard air system, push button automatic transmission, run-flat tires, and a whole bunch of other survival goodies like bulletproof glass and armor. For scale, the tires are about 5' tall...so this really is a monster....it also has a built in crane

[mudge]

Hmh.. do you think you would be able to even get the key then?

 

They had just another poll/test what would happen when there would be a worst case scenario

like it happened in Fukushima.

 

The test ran for half a year.

 

What came up: They didn't agreed on terms. So: The nuclear cloud hit the citizens while they

were still arguing about concerns and who-is-to-blame.

 

So: Good luck with your PLS

 

 

Trying again to let "Edit(h)" come to word here:

 

Wonder, how this test would work out in the states.. ?

 

 

Edit(h)s sisters says: +n!

[compyguy85]

Hmh.. do you think you would be able to even get the key then?

 

They had just another poll/test what would happen when there would be a worst case scenario

like it happened in Fukushima.

 

The test ran for half a year.

 

What came up: They didn't agreed on terms. So: The nuclear cloud hit the citizens while they

were still arguing about concerns and who-is-to-blame.

 

So: Good luck with your PLS

 

 

Trying again to let "Edit(h)" come to word here:

 

Wonder, how this test would work out in the states.. ?

 

 

Edit(h)s sisters says: +n!

Hmmm...a nuclear war would be an entirely different set of circumstances, and luck would be a factor, if you are in the fall out area, you are dead, regardless of whether you have a PLS or not. And, for the record, military vehicles don't have a keyed ignition, just a start lever, the doors and steering wheel lock with pad locks...this prevents key-loss (and ignition replacement) so all you would need is bolt cutters. As far as a nuclear apoc would be concerned....NBC suits my friend....(Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) Charcoal lined waterproof uniforms that fit with gloves, chemical boots, and a pro-mask (I have a set at home actually) they are hot and cumbersome but you will survive. 

[mudge]

Ah, didn't know about that. Thanks for sharing, pal - so i will consider buying bolt cutters, heheh.

 

Another thing that comes in my mind - and is even sold here around this times - is a water-saving

device which turns.. well.. urine through a filter and you get clear water again (or nearly).

 

Haven't bought this and never had informations about somebody who already tried something like this out.

(But: There must be people using it already, surely the army has something similar for extreme missions)

 

The only other thing to get water would be the old: dig-a-hole-and-span-a-tent-like-stuff-above-it

for fetching water. (sorry for my rather bad english. I try to improve that again.)

 

@compyguy85: You got such a set already @home? Makes me think..  ..

 

ah, googled it. Not that expensive, i see.

[compyguy85]

Ah, didn't know about that. Thanks for sharing, pal - so i will consider buying bolt cutters, heheh.

 

Another thing that comes in my mind - and is even sold here around this times - is a water-saving

device which turns.. well.. urine through a filter and you get clear water again (or nearly).

 

Haven't bought this and never had informations about somebody who already tried something like this out.

(But: There must be people using it already, surely the army has something similar for extreme missions)

 

The only other thing to get water would be the old: dig-a-hole-and-span-a-tent-like-stuff-above-it

for fetching water. (sorry for my rather bad english. I try to improve that again.)

 

@compyguy85: You got such a set already @home? Makes me think..  ..

 

ah, googled it. Not that expensive, i see.

Mudge,

I've never heard of a urine filtering device, but there are sanitizing tablets that turn untreated water into potable water (despite the taste) and I've used those before on long missions.  Depending on the circumstances there are several things that are easily made for desalinating salt-water, distill grey water, or to collect rain-water. 

The system you are talking about in your post is a salt-still and I've used them before, you are close, its to desalinate water, not filter it. To build one you need a shovel, a cup, a stone, and some plastic. In a sunny area dig a bowl-shaped hole and a piece of plastic (like a tarp or painting plastic) in it to create a barrier, then put a cup (or bucket) in the center of it with a CLEAN rock in it (for weight), then fill the bowl with salt-water, but not enough to overflow into your cup. Take a second piece of plastic and place it above all of this, big enough to cover the entire bowl, use rocks to hold it down, then place one small rock in the center of it directly above your cup, this will weight it. The sun will evaporate the salt-water, but not the salt, it will collect on the bottom of the plastic and dribble down to the lowest part (where the stone above is) and then drip into the cup...tada...desalinated drinking water. 

Just boiling most found-water is enough to kill the bacteria, then, using your shirt or other semi-permeable device, you can filter the water to remove particulate. 

Consider this though, survival tactics are area-dependent. A general rule is that if there is wildlife present you are in good shape...game animals must have fresh water to survive, so track their game trail and see where they are getting theirs. Now if you are in an area with no vegetation or wildlife (like a desert) then you are going to be in a for a bad time and you first order of business should be to relocate to a better area. If wild animals can't survive in an area then you are certainly going to be screwed. (there are tactics to get out of a desert but in a ZA you are more than likely going to know where you are so it's something to cover in a separate forum I should think, but to touch on it, GET YOUR BEARINGS....make a compass (small bit of magnetic metal, some water, and something to charge the metal with, like wool). If no compass, use the sun and stars to navigate out)). 

I'm rambling now, and I do apologize for it. 

[BigEd]

Mudge,

I've never heard of a urine filtering device

 

It's already been mentioned Life Straw.

 

Watch the video: Filters Urine and even Vomit!

 

 

Found them on sale somewhere and picked up 4 of them for $43 shipped.

A gift from Santa to me, wife & kids.