Some advice on where to begin?

OneGoalNoSoul

I’m now house-sharing in Dublin, which presents a dilemma. I’ve always been interested in…theoretical survivalism and self-sufficiency (does that make sense?) but my interest has never evolved into practice. Whether it’s my newly established independence or the uncertainty of the unfamiliar I’ve been considering my options.

As mentioned above I now house-share in Dublin with a number of individuals. How can I begin to prepare without raising eyebrows or creating concern? How do I assemble and store equipment/supplies without drawing attention? I have no interest in involving my housemates but how do you explain the likes of large quantities of food or mysterious packages arriving to the house from survivalknives.co.uk, etc…I understand it’s private and they are in no way invasive but it's something for me to consider.

The Commute
I currently live within a minute’s stroll of work, however in the majority of theoretical SHTF situations my primary goal would be to travel to my parents and family. Now considering the hysteria caused by both the big freeze of the year previous and the downpour in October what can I expect to happen to public transport? How do I go about establishing a BoB (or Get Home Bag) for such a scenario (I know there is plenty of great advice on basic BoB’s already but I mean travelling this distance specifically) and what should I take into consideration?

How quickly can a situation degenerate and become chaotic?
Luckily I have several modes of public transport available to me however my major concern is that I am competing with the population of Dublin. Considering my proximity to my initial BoL/BoB will I gain an advantage? How can I calculate the required reaction time in such a situation and anticipate congestion? What do I avoid?

What to prepare for? What are the most likely SHTF situations to expect? Currently extreme & adverse weather must be a priority as would the collapse of the euro?

Coriolanus

Don't presume you can depend on the kindness of strangers or the continued operation of the public services.
So, you'll be walking at worst. It's Ireland so count on rain. Food and water for the journey, if you're a desk jockey you'll be burning a lot more calories per day so take that into account. Know the route, the walking route, often public roads aren't the most direct, you can cross Dublin city for example in many ways.
Start with getting the necessities for the above including the non-material, ie getting physical fitness up to scratch and organising at least one dry run.

Grizzly 45

TBH Ireland isnt THAT massive either,and by and large fo you to get to your folks should take no more than five days on your part,give or take .
Thats by walking,cycling,[hitching a lift possibly by fair means or foul:)].

So I would be looking at putting your BOB together with that time limit in mind.That can be put into a decent sized rucksack with room to spare.
Which is somthing you can sling under your bed or into the close and is ready to go in an instant.You are not going to need massive amounts of food at your present location.So I would stash that at your parents with any other needed supplies.You dont need to take the kitchen sink with you either.Remember you will have to lug this and might have to do abit of climbing or running with ths on your back..Think on it as food&water,warmth,shelter,communication a little bit of all will get you home no trouble.BTW if you plan on walking this,I'd suggest a good pair of already broken in boots alongside your BOB;).

Doc Ruby

OneGoalNoSoul wrote: »

How can I begin to prepare without raising eyebrows or creating concern? How do I assemble and store equipment/supplies without drawing attention?

Keep it small and light. Buy a few bic lighters, matches wrapped in well greased greaseproof paper, and see if your local camping supplier has firesteels. My locksmith has them, for some reason. Likewise water filters or just plain water, keep a non plastic 5-litre supply handy, get yourself an emergency blanket and hold a few cans of spam/dried potato from Dunnes, that stuff will last decades, and is part of the daily shopping routine for many people. Learn to check shelf lifes, corned beef last an astonishing length of time. Dried vitamins, honey, even jerky. A camping shop will also have a wide variety of knives and other related supplies. Most of this stuff you can fit into a single CAMPING belt pouch, but buy a bigger bag for spare socks.

OneGoalNoSoul wrote: »

How do I go about establishing a BoB (or Get Home Bag) for such a scenario (I know there is plenty of great advice on basic BoB’s already but I mean travelling this distance specifically) and what should I take into consideration?

Do it! Walk it, take the commute, pick the busiest shopping days, around now is good, and OBSERVE. Look around you, note obstacles and possible resources. Keep an eye out for choke points so you know where to get off and start running. Buy a map of the area and draw out alternate routes, note the buses and maybe commercial activity in the area, trucks getting stalled in the morning will stop any traffic dead. If you want to be really conservative, double the time on the busiest day and see how that works.

Take your time, know your territory, have plan A through Z. Think, always think.

OneGoalNoSoul wrote: »

How quickly can a situation degenerate and become chaotic?

Depends on a lot of things. Some scenarios take centuries of continuing degradation, some can be over in minutes, like nuclear war. The level of adversity will vary based on the problem.

OneGoalNoSoul wrote: »

will I gain an advantage? How can I calculate the required reaction time in such a situation and anticipate congestion? What do I avoid?

One important rule - the government in some situations is not your friend. The people who call the shots will be calling the shots to look after themselves in the event of a serious problem, and unless you are such a person, you are at best on your own.

OneGoalNoSoul wrote: »

What to prepare for? What are the most likely SHTF situations to expect? Currently extreme & adverse weather must be a priority as would the collapse of the euro?

The euro is a passing of gas in the grand scheme of things. The weather, you should be okay unless you're unlucky. The two I've my eye on are contagion and methane clathrates. In the first survival possibilities are random, buy an air filter mask, in the second survival rates are minimal, even for the prepared.

KrustyBurger

Re air filter masks most of the stuff you see is rubbish as they are not airtight and have spaces around the nose/mouth therefore airborne bacteria/viruses/asbestos etc can easily get into your airway.

eth0

you need a good proper gas mask and change the filter in it.

some people don't realise you have to change the filter in these at all and leave it in there for years. not good.

OneGoalNoSoul

Thank you guys for all the advice, I'll take it on board. I've calculated it and the distance by foot is more than manageable, even for a novice like myself (or so I think, we'll see when I do a practice run).

I'm young and active so I would imagine it wouldn't be a problem but having said that I do want to get out and begin hiking for fitness and guage the task involved.

I've purchased a few items and hope to post further on what I've assembled in the future.

SasQuatch88

This is something i would like to put together too, im moving to dublin so im in the same situation as yourself nosoul,
good to be on a thread with like minded people

crackcrack30

survival kit.
Sportsden.ie (camping access/necessities)

go on its xmas.................:D

Tabnabs

Hey J*** R*** aka crackcrack30 - opsec catastrophe with your post, you have failed the survivalism entry test

crackcrack30

:cool: feck,..... oh well, will just have to change my name now........

Khannie

If you have distance a cover and weather's not the main issue, a bicycle is going to be the most efficient way to cover it that doesn't require an external fuel source. I used the bike as my failsafe during the floods there recently. Worked a treat. Heard all sorts of stories about people being stranded on buses for hours on end. I was home in 90 minutes on the bike (33K trip). If you're reasonably fit you could cover 150Km a day on a bike without being a total mess.

Nevore wrote: »

if you're a desk jockey you'll be burning a lot more calories per day so take that into account.

I don't think that's true. I think you wont be able to cover as much distance per day, but the total calories burned per kilometre would be the same because the total amount of work remains the same. There might be a small differential for the desk jockey as their fitness improves (i.e. their recovery will be slightly more costly, calorie-wise).

bonniebede

Thinking and planning for survival should not be under-rated as not 'doing' anything; it is only by using your brain that you have a fighting chance to survive anything.

Make a list of possible scenarios in order of likelihood. Then make a list of what you can do to prepare for them, and work through it. Some things will overlap, making them worth the investment first.

For me that looks like

Family member having a heart attack.:mad:
Response: Need to update my first aid skills. Soluble aspirin at home, in cars, in everyday carry pack. Need to buy and learn to use ambu bag for breathing support, defibrillator.

House fire.:eek:
Response. Fire alarms. Have some, need to develop regular maintenance schedule, also get carbon monoxide telltales. Fire extinguisher, have one, need more and better locations around the house. Also fire blanket. Smoke hoods, highly recommended to help in a house fire sit, need to source, buy, locate around house, like beside the bed. Escape routes, need to develop, including ropes for upper story, with prettied climbing loops. Need to have evac plan and run drills.

Economic collapse, pandemic, invasion by aliens whatever.:cool:
Mostly for me these scenarios mean some circumstance or combination of circumstances whereby civilisation is not functioning, law and order breaks down, chains of supply disrupted or disappeared, in other words it’s time for self sufficiency, and money in the bank means zippo.

I am left with the resources of knowledge skill food and water supplies, equipment and food foraging and growing resources which I have developed with no outside help or input.

The plan is to :P
· have a food supply for one year for immediate family. I wrote more in ‘stocking up at tesco’s’ thread.
· Have means to collect, filter and boil water for safe drinking and cooking
· Have some resources to trap, fish and forage, including knowledge of where to find food sources others might not recognise like acorns.
· Have as well developed food garden or mini farm as possible, at the moment that means developing my urban back garden, about 20 x 20 but I am learning skills like how to grow food, save seed and preserve food
· Have a bug out location with access to more land. Sorted, but undeveloped as yet. (for many people this will be relatives in the country.)
· Have an evac plan, this means getting bikes, best escape vehicle for Ireland.
· Work on personal security skills, like self defence, also on plans to make our urban and country locations secure against marauders.
· Have a seed bank suitable to Ireland and the local microclimates I am likely to be working with.

In other words the plan is to be resourced to sit tight and keep low for a while, with food resources for this, get out to the country when the going is good, be able to transition to self sufficiency with regard to food and water with the skills to grow and store food. And be safe.

Finally I think any scenario like that is going to be much more survivable with a group. So I plan to continue to develop contacts with a group of people who will also be preppers like me so we have a joint plan for such a major situation.

Oh, and I like hill walking, so some skills and kit relate specifically to walking and camping in Ireland, main dangers being hypothermia and not knowing how to navigate so you walk off a cliff. These are useful skills, but in a real hitting the fan scenario my plan is not to go strolling across the bogs, though it could be useful to skirt population centres or road blocks by a bit of judicious circumnavigation.

I only started acting on the plans this year, but bit by bit is the way to get there.

OneGoalNoSoul

Ok so I've found the following, a Petzl Tikka Headlamp, a Light My Fire Firesteel and Emergency Whistle and I've purchased the following a Small First Aid Kit and A Bk-11 or "Becker Necker".

Theres a number of addition objects on the list but these are the humble beginings of my BoB/GHB.

First Aid Ireland

bonniebede wrote: »

Family member having a heart attack.:mad:
Response: Need to update my first aid skills. Soluble aspirin at home, in cars, in everyday carry pack. Need to buy and learn to use ambu bag for breathing support, defibrillator.

A pocket mask will be cheaper and easier to use than an ambu bag!

kildare.17hmr

OneGoalNoSoul wrote: »

Ok so I've found the following, a Petzl Tikka Headlamp, a Light My Fire Firesteel and Emergency Whistle and I've purchased the following a Small First Aid Kit and A Bk-11 or "Becker Necker".

Theres a number of addition objects on the list but these are the humble beginings of my BoB/GHB.

How long have you had that firesteel?? If you have never used one get out and use it a few times because they are tricky at the start, no point having it and not bein able to use it when the time comes

Doc Ruby

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

How long have you had that firesteel?? If you have never used one get out and use it a few times because they are tricky at the start, no point having it and not bein able to use it when the time comes

Yeah I heard there were a couple of types of firesteel, the normal ones and the Ray Mears brand, which produces a lot of sparks more easily but they aren't as hot, and so are suitable for beginners.

OneGoalNoSoul

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

How long have you had that firesteel?? If you have never used one get out and use it a few times because they are tricky at the start, no point having it and not bein able to use it when the time comes

I've had it a couple months and when I got it first I learned exactly how to use it with cotton balls and vaseline as tinder and it worked well, I tried briefly to light feather-sticks but failed more than likely because it was a very breif attempt...

kildare.17hmr

OneGoalNoSoul wrote: »

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

How long have you had that firesteel?? If you have never used one get out and use it a few times because they are tricky at the start, no point having it and not bein able to use it when the time comes

I've had it a couple months and when I got it first I learned exactly how to use it with cotton balls and vaseline as tinder and it worked well, I tried briefly to light feather-sticks but failed more than likely because it was a very breif attempt...

Good man, You should try it out on loads of different tinder too

OneGoalNoSoul

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Good man, You should try it out on loads of different tinder too

We have a genuine fire place in my folks house and I'd regualary be the one starting it. We rarely used the likes of fire lighters or fire logs, it was always paper, sticks and eventually coal. I've plenty of experience starting a fire from paper and considering how abundant it is in modern society its a great skill to have, I would recommend anyone with a fireplace to use it to practice their skills.

Theres one in my new place aswel so I'll have to clean it out and start practicing myself with feather sticks, no excuses now!

bonniebede

First Aid Ireland wrote: »

A pocket mask will be cheaper and easier to use than an ambu bag!

True, true, and i do want to have masks, however I am likely to be panicky and asthmatic, so my long term dream is an ambu bag. but so pricey!

Mungrus

Hi, I currently live in Dublin and am interested in this.

I was wondering do people meet up and practice skills for a few hours every couple of weeks or so to keep sharp and honed?

I must admit my idea of starting a fire in the wilderness is a 9 volt battery and steel wool :eek:

I have extensive emergency care knowledge which I could like to pass on to others in return for been shown how to do simple survival tactics in the wilderness.

I believe that we need to pass on our knowledge to others, I did hear of a gang leinster bushcraft but they seem to have vanished. They had a youtube channel but are gone.

I was going to arrange a few hours training with them in return for practical training. As they said its all well and good having the gear but putting it to use and being comfortable with it is the key to survival

Can anyone shed any light on the subject?

Tabnabs

There's a bushcraft club thread in outdoor pursuits http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055315103

Mungrus

Thank you

nuub

https://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-05-70.pdf

Great document to read. Survival from a military manual and remember knowledge is your best weapon and it weighs nothing.