CVS survival pre-pack review

While waiting for a prescription the other day I looked over and spotted this item. Figured I would pick up a couple and see what they might be good for. To start the price was about $6.50 a piece.

Not to be a complete ass BUT.... the package states this is a "first aid survival prep-pack". Guess what is not inside the package? One piece of first aid kit! The packaging does say this contains supplies for emergency survival situations which it does.

The back of the package does have some good advice if you have no prior planning or training and suddenly find yourself in a bad situation. You can not fault the advice to "Stop, Think, Observe and Plan". The direction on how to use the included whistle is accurate also. The directions on the back are a pleasant  surprise considering some of the stuff we have seen being passed off as emergency equipment.

Inside you find two emergency blankets, two whistles, a button compass and instructions. Not much but if we had to pick between nothing and this, this is a good start. The enclosed items come from Adventure Medical Kits. A good company with decent quality products for the prices they charge. I personally have a few of their kits for my own use. Which is probably the reason this kit is of higher quality then some other low priced kits we have seen which are similar to this one. 

The directions are good to go even if the kit does not include items you would need to follow the directions. The whistles are loud, kids tried them out for me. Compass worked, unlike some we have come across. Blankets are the same kind we see time and again. To thin, rip easy and are impossible to fold back into the little bag they come in. Overall this was not bad for six dollars and the Ziploc bag it comes in allows you room to add things.

A suggestion would be to take these items out the package they come in, find you a gallon zip lock bag and throw them inside. The zip lock is thicker and allows for easier opening and closing multiple times. While you are tossing things into the zip lock grab a few others things and toss them inside.

Throw in some band aids. A small kit like this one would fit.

Something sharp, swiss army knife or a multi-tool. Nothing to big or fancy but something with a blade at the very least.

Finish off with something to start a fire with. Odds are you could pick up a lighter at the same time you picked up one of these packages.

This is not the worst kit I have seen sold in stores. For six dollars it wasn't that bad. Given it says first aid supplies a few band aids could of been included. Over all if I wanted to give someone something to start from scratch with, something to throw in the truck or glove box and forget about until you need it, this is not a bad place to start. You would have to add a few things to keep from being really disappointed if an emergency did find you trying to stay alice with this kit alone.

As Always,

Stay Safe!

Planning #7.3 - Guns, hand guns, what to consider

Again we go down the hole to see what there is to see. This time we are going to get a little more detailed on what you should consider when looking to add firearms to your planning. 

As with our other planning we have to tailor the plan to our situation. The amount of money you have to put toward this, your particular situation and the amount of training you have are all factors which need to be considered. 

If you want to have something which is not very complicated, can be stored ready to use for long periods of time and will not break the bank, a revolver might fit the bill. Stored in a good pistol box, you can bolt down to somewhere, you do not have to really think about it. 

Maybe you want something small enough you can carry it on your person and have the ability to reload quickly if needed. A semi-automatic pistol might fit. Some of these can be picked up for only a few hundred dollars. These can also be stored inside of a secure box yet still accessed in a hurry if needed. 

Some pistols are not really good choices if you want to keep them loaded. The magazines have springs inside of them and if they are under pressure (loaded) for extended periods of time the springs go soft and the magazine might not work properly when you want it to. This is why a revolver is a better idea for long term storage. 

Revolvers and pistols are considered close range, 15 feet or less, tools. Some folks consider them only as backup tools. Yet in a confined space, such as your home, they might work better than some of the larger options. These tools are easier to manipulate when there is not much room. They are also easier to carry and of course they are easier to conceal if need be. 

As far as brands to buy and caliber to buy. This all depends on your experience and abilities. If you have little training or no experience a .38 revolver might be your best choice. Something to only be used during an emergency. The tool is easily concealed, range is not very good but if you are only using the tool as a last resort........ you just touch the bad guy with the barrel while you pull the trigger. Down side of this tool the round is not very large and unless you place the barrel in the right places the bad guy can keep fighting. 

  

For most people 9mm is the caliber you want to consider looking for. There are revolvers and pistols in this caliber. Of course revolvers and pistols both come in larger calibers. You can purchase what could be considered a 'hand cannon'. 

For most of us this is far more than we need or could handle. Believe it or not some people even hunt with pistols and revolvers! For most of us this is not a consideration when talking about firearms but nice to know you can utilize this tool for more than one use. Hunting bear with a .38 or anything smaller than a .357 is not such a bright idea!!!!

So let's take hunting with a pistol or revolver off the table for now. Let's focus on what most of us are considering these tools for, self defense and the defense of others. 

There are hundreds of companies which make these tools and I will not get into a 'discussion' about which one is the 'bestest'! Your personal price point will dictate what you purchase. Why wont you discuss the different brands? Because to some folks brands are like religion and no matter what they have a favorite. Remember we are looking for a tool which fits your needs. Let's focus on tools for self defense.

The Beretta M9 or 92f is a fine pistol. Thousands have been made and are in use. For the novice I think this is a good platform to start with. Most fellas out there can easily grip this tool, one drawback for the ladies is some might have trouble wrapping their hands around a full size version. They make smaller versions so this can be worked around. The pistol is reliable, easy to clean and I personally like the safety feature for those with limited experience. You literally can throw this pistol loaded, with the safety on and it will not discharge. (do not ever try this! do not ever ask me how I know this!)

You can purchase other brands and again it is a matter of what you can afford or have experience with. Look for something simple to use. Some pistols come with all sorts of extras, fancy triggers, fancy sights and all types of attachments. If you understand all of these good utilize them but keep in mind battery powered items might not work when you need them. A suggestion would be to keep your tools simple to cut down on the learning curve and chances of something not working. 

Again a revolver might be the best choice for some of us out there. You load the cylinder, close the cylinder and it is ready to go.  

TRAINING, TRAINING, TRAINING!  No matter what tool you add to your planning you absolutely need to be trained to use the tool! You can add a rocket to your tool box but if you do not know how to use it is useless. What kind of training?  

Here is another question were people like to get their feathers ruffled..... Whoever you go to for training their first priority needs to be safety! If they do not spend time ensuring you understand and manifest safety you need to walk away. If they tell you they can turn you into a Navy SEAL, skilled gunfighter in three easy lessons, walk away! Marksmanship should be the the focus after safety. 

You have to handle the tools safely and be able to hit what you are aiming at before you can do all the other 'high speed, low drag' stuff people want to learn how to do. What people forget is in order to do all the 'fun' stuff you have to have a solid foundation to work from.

If the person you go to does not offer some type of classes which increase your skill set over time just walk away. There really is not rules people have to follow when they decide to call themselves firearms instructors and as with other things some people might be able to do but have no idea how to teach.  

You have to have a solid foundation before you should even be shown a position like this one.

Most folks should never, never be put in this situation!!!!!!

 Most of us will never reach a level of training where this is appropriate!!! This level of confidence takes years to reach. If you find someone offering to show you how to do these types of things in a "Easy to learn, complete gunfighter system, you can master in just one weekend!" walk away!!! 

Ok, this one is getting long! Let's come back up for some air! Remember you need to tailor your planning to your situation. This carries over to what type of tools you add to your abilities. Take the time to research what fits your needs. Take the time to find a good instructor. Take the time to train! The time you spend now will be the difference if you ever need this skill set. 

As Always,

Stay Safe! 

     

Planning #7.1 - Guns con't. this might take a few posts

Here we go again...... Going back into the rabbit hole......... Yes this subject can go very deep and will take more than one or two posts to cover..........

I might say some things here which you do not want to hear..... If your mind is closed to the idea of firearms you might want to skip this one.

If you keep reading you are agreeing to come down the hole with an open mind!!!!!!

An axe is a tool you can use to cut trees down. You can turn the axe over and use the axe as an improvised hammer if need be.

If you want to use an axe to fell trees you will want to know a thing or two about using the tool properly. The axe can be dangerous if you do not use the tool properly. Heck, the tree can hurt you if you do not stand where the tree is going to fall.

Some of us know how to use these tools. Some of us, including me, need to learn how to use these! Some of us can think of three things off the top of our heads which can go wrong with these if we do not use them properly!

Some of us know how to use these tools. Some of us can think of things which can go wrong with these if we do not use them properly!

Some of us know how to use these tools. Some of us, including me, are learning how to use these tools. If we do not know how to use these tools properly we will be disappointed with the results.

How do we learn to use these tools? We read up on it, surf the net and ask people who have the knowledge already. Take a class and eventually get some experience with how to use the tools. No different than the new set of tools we need to be able to use. If we do not learn how to use these tools properly we can hurt ourselves, others and fail at what it is we are trying to do.

Firearms, guns, rifles, pistols, assault weapons, black scary guns, high powered rifles or a horse by any other name is just a tool! Get over it! They are just tools and if you think otherwise you are ill informed. I know that might hurt someone's feelings but this is the part I warned you about........

Assault weapon and high powered rifle or other such words are used to scare you. Why? Because people have agendas personal or public and we will leave it at that.

This is an axe...................................

This is a fully automatic axe with high capacity, multiple cut, long distance, motor driven, fossil fuel burning, greenhouse gas contributing, butcher of trees and was designed for no other reason than to KILL TREES!!!!

This is a chainsaw.............. I guess it is how you see it?????
 

Anyone remember these cases? You know people being arrested for selling or trading raw milk? What's wrong with raw milk? It can make you sick and kill kids!! Do you know how the milk makes people sick? Do you know the types of milk? Do you know the laws concerning milk? How many cows does it take to make a gallon of milk? What time is the best for milking cows? How many types of cows are there?

Don't know? Me neither, until I asked my favorite Hippie. (side note: he better be reading this!)

If you do not know how to do this and do not know how to do this....................

Then there are two new subjects for you to master!!! Shouldn't life be about learning new things??? The more you know about something the less intimidating or scary the thing is. Learning more things increases your abilities and during an emergency your abilities might be all you have to count on.

Knowledge is the key to things, right? Let's start putting some knowledge out there and start to round out people's knowledge base. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" someone asks defensively. Here is what I mean......

You and the children are at the park and there is a GUN lying on the ground. What do you do? Do you leave it there? What if there are a lot of kids and you are not in charge of all of them? Every park full of kids has those two or three kids whose parents are not watching and they run out of control. What if they pick up the gun you do not know how to handle? Are you willing to just leave the gun there and hope nothing happens? Do you know how to handle the gun so you do not hurt anyone on accident? No, let's learn a few rules to follow.

These are the foundational rules everyone should know. You can never go wrong if you follow these four rules. Yes there are variations depending on who you ask but they all should cover the same concept. If the person you are talking to does not cover these concepts stop listening to them!!!!!

Here is what you sit down and tell your kids ASAP!!! Do not make them afraid of the tools! Just explain to them what to do if they see one. The same as you would do if you were telling them what to do if they see a kitchen knife on the ground, stray dog or anything else they might hurt themselves with.

I just like this picture! But you can see the basics of safe weapons handling are covered here. If you do not break these rules you will not hurt someone by accident.

 Another use for these rules....... I see a lot of self defense training being offered and some of them will cover firearms. Most of them do not address these rules and treat the firearm as a simple thing to use.

Do you know how to milk a cow, do you know how to clear a 'stovepipe' stoppage on that pistol? No? Than you need to follow the four rules! Keep control of the tool and leave the area. Pointing the tool at the bad guy is just a bad idea if you do not know how to use the tool.

As with other subjects we have covered this subject has more uses than just barricading ourselves in the closest big box store and holding off the hordes of the undead. Understanding the basics of firearms and understanding these rules can help you deal with situations you might come across. Everything from a child finding a gun, hunting trips with the buddies, to you disarming an attacker and suddenly you have a firearm you know nothing about.

Is she doing it right????????????

Before you plant a garden, can your harvest or treat a wound you had to gather some knowledge to do it correctly. Firearms are no different. Seek out the knowledge and beat back the ignorance which so many people put out there. Do not allow your family or yourself to become victims if a bad day comes simply because it is the 'trendy' thing to do. When you do buy a firearm the trek does not stop there. Training, training, training, you do not become a proficient fisherman by buying a rod and reel which just sits in the garage. Same with firearms, the day you need one is not the day to figure out how to use one.    

As Always,

Stay Safe

Planning #5 - Lighting

Time for another trip down the rabbit hole......... Once again we will slid into a subject which can drive you insane if you are not careful!! All it takes is one situation of you sitting in the dark and next thing you know you are trying out every new flashlight and hoping to never be caught in the dark again!!!

For the train of thought we have been going with here, something happen and you are staying at the house. So far we figured out all kinds of stuff but now the sun is going down and we have to prepare for the night. A night when no lights come on when you flip the switch......................

Hopefully we have a few flashlights around the house. Hopefully we have good batteries for the flashlights. Yet the flashlights are not good for lighting a room up. We can not sit around and play monopoly or cards easily by the beam of a flashlight. We want to be able to push the darkness away if we can. We, people in general, do not enjoy the darkness. We can not see what is around us and most of us fear, even if we do not admit it, what is out there in the night.

 
Doesn't matter how cool you are during the day...... something goes bump in the night, you want more light.

Most of us do not really remember how dark it can be without electricity being brought into our homes. The kind of dark where there is no glow from the router, microwave or digital clock. The kind of dark where there are no streetlights or the reflection of those lights off the clouds. For most of us even if we turn all the lights off in our house, there is still the glow from the neighbor's house or other light sources. Here we are talking about options when it is dark, dark........

 
Candles are a good place to start. Most of us have candles somewhere in the house. Even lighting just one candle will push the dark back enough to allow you to sit around a table or in some cases light a room enough to comfortably see what is around you. Keep in mind being able to light a room is of great comfort to the little ones when something is happening.

Gentleman or Ladies, if your significant other has a "thing" for candles you can use this to your planning advantage! Buy them candles as if you are indulging them but know you are secretly stockpiling for an emergency. Heck even scented candles burning brightly in the dark are better than sitting in the dark!!! Just do not burn to many scented candles at once. Why? Because you never know who they might attract................... hehehehehehe

Before we go any further we have to remind everyone about the dangers of having an open flame inside of the house. Does not matter if it one candle or several hurricane lamps. You have to safely use the sources of light or you can end up burning your home down and adding to your problems! Here are a few basic rules to follow when using open flames inside the home.

NEVER, NEVER PUT THEM NEXT TO A CURTAIN!!! Not even if you pull the curtains back and think you have tied them in place. The heat rising from the flame can travel several feet and still cause things to catch on fire!

NEVER, NEVER PUT THEM WHERE KIDS WILL KNOCK THE FLAME OVER!! If something can be knocked over kids will figure out how to do it. Like moths, kids are drawn toward the flame!

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER LEAVE A FLAME UNATTENDED!! Fire has a mind of it's own, ask any firefighter, if you leave the flame alone it will find a way to burn something! You do not want to wake up to the sound of your fire alarm (you have smoke detectors right?) or to the heat and smoke of a fire out of control! You could find yourself going from a bad day to a horrible situation quickly!

Oil lamps, hurricane lamps or other lamps using liquid or gas are something most people seem to have or are something most of us can afford. Maybe you have something you use for camping? Camping items can quickly be utilized during an emergency and hopefully you have experience using the items. During an emergency you do not want to be trying to put together and fuel up a lamp or something you have never used before! If you do have a lamp try to ensure you have a lamp with a cover of some type. Do not leave an open flame like in the above photo if you do not need to! It is too easy to get burned, plus glass covers or other types of covers magnify the light. You can light more area with less energy.

Containers like these for candles are a great idea!

An easy, inexpensive tool for lighting during a power outage is the Luci Inflatable Lantern. We have talked about these before and for a while now my Better Half has kept one in the kitchen windowsill! I literally got up from the table I am typing at, walked into the kitchen and grabbed the lantern to remind myself of the brand name.

Other options you can think about.

Some folks sell items like this. I bet some of us out there have already figured out how to make their own? Looks like a good weekend project. Maybe I will give it a try myself..... if I can ever clear the To Do List!!!

A lot of people have these small LED lamps in the yard or maybe your apartment building utilizes these. These will work good  if charged during the day and brought in once it starts getting dark. Only issue I have had with items like these. They seem to only hold a charge for a few hours and the ones I have used seem to stop working all together after a few months.

My personal favorite non-emergency emergency lighting system is Christmas lights!!! Over the last few years we have changed out our regular plug in lights for these. Not only have we saved on the electric bill during this time of year, we also have ready made emergency lights! I have found the same issues with these as the garden lighting. some last only a few hours and some stop working all together. Yet we have enough working lights I feel good about being able to festively light up the house if we needed to!

A little prior planning can really help out when the power goes off. You can comfortable sit in your little circle of light and keep the Boogie Man at bay!!! Once you have done this going outside and looking up might be an interesting idea..... You might be surprised how many stars there really are out there without city lights. You might also gain more appreciation for why our ancestors thought more of the sky than we might do now..................

 
As Always,

Be Safe!