NewPrepper - Member - The Prepared

Reply to: When and where to not carry concealed firearms Posted June 8, 2022

In my state, that sign “properly” displayed makes it a felony. Of course properly is rarely done well. But like others said, def know your state laws. On the other hand if it’s properly concealed and no one knows it’s there, how do you get charged… got to weigh your risks and options.

Reply to: Is bamboo the super prepper plant it is made out to be or a nightmarish menace? Posted May 18, 2022

Great info here, on usefulness and management. Will have to put some in the ground when we have more room cleared.

Reply to: Hurricane Preparedness Week May 1-7, 2022 Posted May 16, 2022

Honestly, we would not have been. I didn’t go into too much detail as it wasn’t specifically relevant to hurricane prep. But we actually evacuated before the storm when they were calling for a bad Cat 4. We came back that Saturday and actually drove through it before flooding got bad. We made it within 10 miles, but couldnt get home due to lost roads & damns. Spent 3 days at a church, then 4 days at my in-laws when they opened the island. We could get to our house on Tuesday or Wednesday when they opened a road, but didn’t go home till Friday when power came back. To be honest it kinda has influenced my prep & thinking. Even during that time things weren’t dire. Nat guard was dropping off food and roads were washed out, but the island opened before and actually had power and water. The few days were tense, all major roads in were flooded, I know people stuck on the road 3 days trying to get home. But food / water was fine, we made it out starting Monday as local roads opened. Short term emergencies scare me less than SHTF etc.

Reply to: Hurricane Preparedness Week May 1-7, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022

I live in NC near Wilmington NC, I’ve been through too many storms recently. Including a basic direct hit from Isaias that didn’t really make the news and drove through and still deal with the aftermath of Florence. A few things I’ve been figuring out over the years. Wind speed is a poor indicator. As best I can tell it’s normalized at 5000’ and doesn’t always translate to ground speed. The straight line winds aren’t really that scary in my experience. Worth knowing where the winds are coming from though, and see which way trees are being pushed. Caveat though, if your exposed (on a beach) and it’s a Cat3+ I haven’t been through it and I don’t really want too. Tornados happen WAY too much, especially in the NE quadrant. Seems to be the most consistent threat. Even if you aren’t directly threatened it’s stressful. Speaking of, think about the rotation of the wind. It usually falls apart on land but NE side is generally the windiest. But winds will often reverse on the back side after trees have been weakened and soil has loosened from rain. Every storm is completely different. Moving fast (more tornados), moving slow (more rain), storm surge, high winds etc. Pay attention to the NWC / NOAA for high and low threats. And prepare for isolated spots to be way worse. Somewhat related consider population / infrastructure density, the higher it is where you are the longer recovery will likely be and scarcer supplies will get. With Florence we had power back in 7 days roughly, water took a few more. Nearby Wilmington NC had spots 2-3 weeks later still waiting for power or a simple transformer to be reset to get back online. Forecasting is good but still imperfect. Isaias was supposed to barely be a hurricane. Instead it ramped up and hit near Cat 2. The island was not evacuated and it left a lot of people in bad spots, miraculous there was no loss of life. 4’+- of storm surge totaled hundreds of cars and got buried in sand. Fully agree with the above about prepping early. Things will sell out. Get some basics early and keep monitoring the storm. If you’re in the cone, you’re probably at least losing power for a couple days. Cell data and even SMS are likely to be disrupted. It was a few days in Florence and remember thy might not be able to get help in to repair things right away. So prepare (why you’re hear!) and be ready for a period of self reliance!

Reply to: Do you really need small portable solar power? Posted May 12, 2022

I have to check the brand, I think it’s nitecore but I do have a 2 bay charger for 3.7v lion batteries for a couple flashlights I have. (Just kidding it’s the Fenix ARE-X2). Again the Anker will work worst case but I did want to see (and I think it will) if the Big Blue puts out enough stable current to charge these (and the Panasonic pack direct). I also have 7 LED lanterns that run AAs so I’m feeling decent about light. We’ve camped with them and a single charge will last a while.

Reply to: Do you really need small portable solar power? Posted May 12, 2022

Not a bad idea, not sure I’ll get a week of practice though. I did hook it all up and run it for a while. Seems to charge the Anker well, but only had about an hour to sit with it. I did have that in mind too, could the pack charge fast enough to power what you need to recharge daily… I think so but I’d like to measure time from fully depleted to fully charged. Also I bought the Big Blie cause it says it’ll do 4.8V out but I have no way to measure, but what if I charge 2 packs or a pack and phone etc. Fortunately I’m in the Carolinas, weather and sunshine are fairly cooperative here.

Reply to: Lets see your EDC Posted May 11, 2022

Thanks, will look around some more. If I’m just gonna burn things my BIC should get it done, but I’m guessing these are potentially more useful. Just trying to know for what!

Reply to: Do you really need small portable solar power? Posted May 10, 2022

So I finally caved, y’all convinced me. In fairness, 50% of my question is just to get y’all to talk me into buying something! Anyway, still not overly worried about a bug out scenario, but went with the 28W Big Blue, packable, but better output than more compact options, but still packable. Also added the Anker 10,000mah pack that the panel will charge. While thinking through things I realized without a wall plug, charging the Eneloops that I have plenty of would be tough. To that end I also added a Panasonic BQ-CC87. It takes USB charge input, and can double as a battery pack, with 4AAs holding 8,400mah if I recall. Haven’t had a chance to test if the solar will charge it directly, but worst case the Anker pack will. In a few years when we build I’ll put a better permanent solution in but this’ll work till then. Panasonic K-KJ87MCA4BA Individual Battery Charger with Portable Charging Technology and 4AA Eneloop Rechargeable Batteries, White

Reply to: Lets see your EDC Posted May 9, 2022

Bill, Hope you’re well. Curious if you’ve ever needed the extra ability of your lighter on steroids. Kinda tempted to pick one up, and in theory I can see where it’s be irreplaceable. But also seems like it’s part of the 20%, or even 1% of prepping. I guess it takes the same space as a lighter (roughly) but just curious your rationale (so I can convince myself, haha).

Reply to: Do you really need small portable solar power? Posted April 21, 2022

That’s admittedly one of the better reasons I’ve heard and a very valid point.

Reply to: Do you really need small portable solar power? Posted March 30, 2022

Bill, what are you using for a larger panel? I’ll agree, larger scale solar is interesting. We want to build in a couple years and a small scale solar generation for power outages is of interest. Redneck, I see your point, I just question if the infrastructure is online at that point to make your phone anything more than a paperweight. Lived through Hurricane Florence in NC a few years back. You could make some calls and texts but any data was out. I don’t think that situation would improve, long term once cell generators ran out of fuel it’d be silent. So I just wonder the need to keep it powered beyond say a week which is covered by battery storage, not necessarily solar generation. Again not trying to be argumentative, just examining my thinking and that of others (who are more knowledgeable than me.)

Do you really need small portable solar power?

Gear 27

13

Posted March 29, 2022

Reply to: 300 Blackout SBR (short barrel rifle) Posted February 8, 2022

Sounds like the brace route is gonna get a lot more diecy come August.

Reply to: Request for gear review – Gloves Posted January 2, 2022

Agree they split, but I’ve found they still hold up. Mine have gotten a little split but usually can wear them out anyway. Maybe better options still, but they’re a decent one.

Reply to: 300 Blackout SBR (short barrel rifle) Posted December 31, 2021

Appreciate it. Might have to consider a threaded barrel for the 10/22 TD… I find it plenty accurate at 15-25 yards to eat forever. Recent article about rabbit (and assume squirrel) poisoning would be a bigger concern if I needed to eat. I was thinking chickens for easy food, but great point about a stocked pond…

Reply to: Fireproof safes Posted December 31, 2021

Appreciate it. Took the week off but when I’m back in the office I’ll check out the safe we bought and see if I can find some of the industry nomenclature you’ll want to look for when purchasing. It was an eye opener for me as well, had to protect a system of magnetic tapes for backup, this was 5 or 8 years ago when critical data was local, not cloud based and pushing everything to he cloud wasn’t really feasible yet. Agree now we have a cloud backup and a cloud based image of critical servers, but a lot of folks, myself included personally, still use physical media, so it’s worth being aware of (plus your papers etc will be in better shape after a fire).

Reply to: 300 Blackout SBR (short barrel rifle) Posted December 31, 2021

Good deal thanks. Our land could probably use a small pond as well, might be a good way to go about it. Question about suppressors, I know you have to buy them and file the application that takes forever… does the paperwork follow the suppressor? Or is it weapon / suppressor combo. Wondering if a 22 suppressor could could on my 10/22 and a 22LR bolt gun, or a small can on a 9mm handgun and already threaded PCC? 22 is tempting, I don’t really feel the need for hearing protection on the 10/22, suppressed it’d be a breeze. Good share, Happy New Years to all.

Reply to: Fireproof safes Posted December 28, 2021

Finally got around to joining this forum, largely from this thread. You can probably guess from my screen name I don’t have tons of advice to offer on most topics, but having had to research these for work IT stuff, it’s important to note there’s more than one type of safe which could lead to serious loss. See paper doesn’t catch fire from heat alone too easily, it takes mid 400 degrees. But the plastic in your hard drives, thumb drives, backup drives melts much lower, a bit over 200 degrees. Most fire proof safes you get affordably are designed to keep paper from igniting and water from firefighting to ruin it. The plastic thumb drive you put in there will likely turn too a puddle of plastic. It’s been several years since I bought one, I can check a model is recommendations are needed, but you can start looking at digital media safes. Like most things on here, you get what you pay for.

Reply to: 300 Blackout SBR (short barrel rifle) Posted December 28, 2021

Nice build, even better range. Did you do your own backstop? We’re buying land in a couple months and I need to add one. How hard is 300Blk subsonic to find? It’s be a good round for my location, still have to be selective but better than one going a few thousand yards. Just got a PCC in 9mm as well, it’ll work for now. 10/22 is a favorite gun of mine, tempted to get the suppressed barrel, I have the TD version. With the 25 round mags I’m less tempted by a 15-22.