The Three Survival Essentials

The Survivalist Blog – by Ski

Feel free to use whichever of the following ideas seem right for you and ignore any that aren’t pertinent to your survival plan.

Yes, I said your survival plan. The difference between a dream and a goal is a plan. It’s not a plan until you write it down. Only then can you look at the whole plan at once and see what’s missing. As we already know, the three survival essentials are clothes, water, and food. We require all three at all times. We require all three no matter what disaster befalls us.  

1) Clothes

You and your family can live quite comfortably and survive the elements easily with no clothes at all – if you live in Polynesia. But, here in the United States of America the weather is far too extreme for that. For those of us in the mountains, we would freeze to death in one winter’s night without clothing. For those of us in the desert, we would suffer burns in one summer’s day. For those of us on the plains I need only say bees. For those of us in the forests; poison ivy anyone? thorns? For those on the beaches; seen any broken glass lately?

Think about where you live. Think about the physical hazards your clothing protects you from. Now think about living outside in that environment for weeks without shelter. What type of clothing do you need to face both natural and man made hazards? No one else can tell you what is “best” for where and how you live because only you live there. But, I can offer some things for you to consider.

Make sure everyone in your family has at least two sets of clothing appropriate for your environment in your survival box. Why at least two? Because you need to be able wear one while washing the other; clothes rip, buttons fall off, zippers break, and shoes wear out. It’s OK to buy your disaster preparedness clothing one size too big because you may have to wear more than you do now if your current shelter is no longer available.

Any of us could lose our current shelter with little notice due to any of a myriad of unforeseen circumstances beyond our control such as a fire that covers hundreds of acres, earthquake, civil disorder, aliens heat rays, whatever. (I suspect the probability of alien heat rays to be really low, but the point is you didn’t think of it, did you? What else have you not considered in your survival plan?)

The most common first thought among new survivalists is camouflage clothing. If your disaster plan involves being prepared to hide in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the old army woodland pattern camouflage is the best. After all, it was designed in the forests of the Pacific Northwest – Fort Lewis, Washington to be exact. If your disaster plan involves remaining inconspicuous in a major city (e.g. Denver during a civil disorder), blue jeans and a T-shirt might be your best camouflage.

If “they” do come for “us”, army camouflage will not hide you well in downtown Denver. Indeed, it may be the worst possible choice. Your clothing must both protect you from – and allow you to blend in with – your environment. There are many camouflage patterns available for every different environment in the United States.

Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse, US Cavalry, and Sears catalogs are excellent places to look to see what is available. But any second hand discount clothing store such as Salvation Army, Goodwill, or the local army surplus store may be the best place to actually buy those same clothes.

Make sure you pack your emergency clothes away so they’re available if you need them, just like you pack your emergency food away. Pack them in the box you intend to move them in if relocation is part of your survival plan. Write the date you packed them plus one year on a piece of tape on the top of the container so you remember to take them out once a year and try them on. Kids grow up. Adults grow out. Clothes that are too small to wear are of no use to you, and will need to be replaced.

If your clothing includes field gear such as a web belt, canteens, backpack, ammo pouches, gas mask, body armor, or the like, assemble these during your yearly inspection. Put them on, make sure they fit and are serviceable, clean them, disassemble them, put them away. Add one year to your tape label, then put the box away until next year.

A yearly inspection is the absolute minimum required. Once every six months would be better. Using them every other month to go camping would be better yet. Remember the BEST way to store a gas mask is in the box it came in. The quickest way to ruin a gas mask is to store something on top of it then never clean it.

2) Water

A healthy adult can only live about three days without water. Bare survival is one quart a day, two quarts a day if you intend to do any work – such as fleeing a disaster. But, one gallon a day provides enough for both drinking and washing. TEOTWAWKI is not the time to get sick from something as simple as not washing your hands.

Many survivalists store water. Some buy barrels (15-55 gallons), fill them, then put a tape label on them when they were filled plus one year. Water can be stored this way for one year. Then it should be changed, the barrel cleaned and rinsed with very hot followed immediately by very cold water, refilled, then relabeled with a new expiration date one year in the future.

The prices of barrels vary, but the best source I’ve ever found is eBay. Different sizes of water barrels are available for about one federal reserve note per two gallons (as of March 2009). Anyone who knows of a less expensive source of new barrels please post it in the comments with a link.

You do not have to pay two federal reserve notes per gallon for empty water barrels – that is too high a price. But also let your fingers do the walking through your local suppliers to save on shipping costs. Whatever barrels you buy MUST say “food grade“. Some survivalists try to save a few bucks by purchasing, cleaning, then reusing someone else’s used food barrels. I won’t do this, but if you decide to do so, make sure you purchase barrels that only contained food. Moldy mayonnaise is not food. White vinegar and pickles would be good choices because both are natural preservatives/disinfectants that inhibit bacterial growth.

Some survivalists buy sealed bottled water in one gallon jugs from their local grocery stores. Such water can be stored for seven years. Remember to write that expiration date (seven years in the future) on the bottle before you store it in your survival box.

For those of us who are super cheapskates, we can store water in two liter plastic bottles. Look on the bottom of most plastic soda bottles. You will find a triangle containing a number 1 (one) with the letters PETE beneath it. This particular type of plastic bottle, no matter what it’s volume, is useful to survivalists. You may clean and rinse it with very hot followed immediately by very cold water, then store water in it for a year. Only one year, just like the barrels, because neither are hermetically sealed.

Water acquires a stale taste after being stored for several months. The good taste of stored water can be restored by re-oxygenating it. Simply pour it back and forth a few times between two clean containers.

The second method of dealing with water is to filter it. Modern filters are far superior to any chemical water treatment method (which I will not use). For the survivalist who wants to plan to survive everything except a biological attack, the Katadyn Base campprovides excellent filtering qualities and is the easiest to use.

For TEOTWAWKI, I have applied my many years of Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Warfare knowledge to water filters and found the best choice is the Katadyn Exstream XR bottle. This is what my wife and I have.

I can find no man portable filter anywhere with a superior filtering system. If this doesn’t stop whatever biological weapon is used (and it will stop many of them). There’s nothing commercially available that can. If anyone finds a superior filter, please post the technical specifications in the comments. Technology does improve unexpectedly, and I would very much welcome one of my fellow survivalists finding something better.

The down side of filters is they do require practice, exceeding the capability of the filters can damage them rendering them useless, and they are expensive. Replacement filters may be needed depending upon the time you intend to be able to filter your own water. My wife and I each have a bottle and sufficient replacement filters for one gallon of water per day for a year.

We can easily carry these bottles and replacement filters in our backpacks. Duplication of water purification is a good thing. As strong as we both are from our daily hikes and semi-monthly camping trips, we cannot carry a year supply of water. Each of us have sufficient canteens to carry seven liters each. Obviously my survival plan includes the ability to move. If yours does not, I recommend storing your water because it’s cheaper.

The third method is a UV sterilizer. The Steripen is new. If the technical specifications are accurate, it exceeds any filter (as long as you have batteries). But I have no actual experience with the Steripen, so I hesitate to recommend it. I post this for your information and invite someone who owns one to write a guest article about the worst conditions they’ve actually used a Steripen under.

Water Survival Knowledge: Never drink water from a source you don’t know is clean. Even the most pristine mountain stream may have a decaying animal a quarter mile upstream that you don’t know about. If you lack any technological means, distilling is always the best way to purify untreated water. Distilling means to boil the water, then collect the condensate.

This can be done simply with a clean pot, a clean sheet of plastic, and a second clean container. Notice the emphasis on clean. Place the plastic (a zip lock bag, or aluminum foil, or the pot lid) above the boiling pot with one end lower than the other; the lower end causing the condensate to collect and run into the second clean container. A two liter #1 PETE plastic bottle would be a good choice.

If you cannot boil untreated water, another method is solar distillation. Fill a #1 PETE plastic bottle with water filtered as best you can (dripping it through a folded clean shirt if nothing else). This filtered water must be clear. If it is cloudy, solar distillation does not work well. Then exposing the sealed bottle to the direct rays of the sun for one full twelve hour period. Placing the bottle next to a reflector (any shiny surface will do) makes it work better. #1 PETE plastic has a unique property of allowing the sun’s UV rays to penetrate nearly unhindered. This will kill many biologicals in the water. But, only #1 PETE plastic bottles can be used in this way.

Solar distillation should be considered a last resort survival method only. But it does work. However, we cannot kill poisons nor radiation with UV exposure. For the geeks who just have to know, PETE stands for polyethylene terephalate. No survivalist needs to remember that. Just remember #1 plastic bottle is your #1 choice for solar distillation. Actually, it is the only plastic that will work as all the others block UV rays to some degree.

3) Food

There are three different ways to store large amounts of food. I recommend (and my food storage contains) all three. The three ways are bulk, “one extra for the survival box”, and ‘the best of our technology”.

Bulk food storage is exemplified by our oriental cousins who always keep a couple of one hundred pound sacks of rice in their garage at all times. If you eat rice every meal, as is common in many oriental households, this is an excellent place to begin food storage. Russians farmers still store rye in bulk. American farmers still store wheat in bulk.

If you don’t eat this way, do not store this way. It is not wise to store large amounts of food you don’t normally eat. It is useless to store foods that are inexpensive because they were on sale – but you don’t like. I do eat cracked wheat almost every breakfast. I really enjoy it. So, I’ve stored two five gallon buckets filled with cracked wheat and honey. Buying twenty five pound sacks of cracked wheat is cheap!

The first time you eat cracked wheat regularly as I do, it will clean out your system and be a little rough on your digestive tract. But after a couple of weeks the body gets used to it. I feel better all over. The results have been dramatic. I now understand why the farmers eat this stuff every day. During a national emergency, when you no longer have heat, electricity, clean water, and are running for your life is not the time to strain your body by changing your diet.

Store for the future what you eat now. If you’re looking for an excuse to improve your diet, feel good about using “survival training” as your excuse. And including one bulk food in your diet will save you money. I also have one five gallon bucket stuffed with assorted twenty four ounce bags of all kinds of useful foods such as salt, farina, polenta, nuts, dried berries, and a host of other stuff that I like.

I only stored things that could be eaten raw, or required no more than ten minutes of boiling water. (Again, my survival plan is built around mobility.) I bought them from Bob’s Red Mill. There are a few other lesser expensive lines similar to Bob’s Red Mill, but I paid their higher prices because of their higher quality.

My bulk foods are stored in five gallon plastic FOOD GRADE buckets that have an air tight lid with an oxygen absorber placed inside. Oxygen absorbers require a little explanation before use. They are purchased in air tight containers. Once exposed to the air they absorb oxygen for three days to two weeks, depending on the brand. Then they quit.

If this occurs in a sealed bucket they will create a vacuum. If this occurs in your kitchen drawer because something interrupts your packing, they will create…nothing. I place mine on top of the food inside an open zip lock bag. I tape the label of whatever I stored to the top of the lid, then write the expiration date on it. Bulk foods stored in this way can be stored for seven years.

(M.D. Creekmore adds – storage life will depend on the type of foods stored and the condition and age at the time of storage)

A different way to store food is the “one for the survival box” method. Establish a survival box, preferably one you can carry to your car after it‘s filled. If you can’t lift it, you can’t move it. This box could actually be a particular closet if you don’t intend to move. Whatever canned goods you normally buy, buy one extra can and put it in the survival box. That’s it. Pretty simple, huh?

The advantages are you never notice the price of a few extra cans, they pile up quickly over time, and you’ve stored what you like. Do this for a year and you’ll need a bigger box. I needed several. Once filed, close and label the box, then begin a new one. The biggest advantage of canned goods is they’re good for as long as the can is.

Most canned goods produced in the US of A are guaranteed for ten years. I have eaten goods that were canned forty five years earlier (they were just fine). In reality, canned goods are fit to eat unless the can bulges or rusts all the way through to it’s interior. Canned goods also have the advantage of being good after being dusted with radioactive fallout, chemical agents, or biological contaminants. Just wash the can thoroughly before opening. And, of course, just about everything comes in a can.

(M.D. Creekmore adds – vitamin and nutrient content will deteriorate over time, most canned foods will loose over half of their nutrient content after the first three – five years in storage with vitamin C being the worst offender. The food will still be perfectly fine to eat but will contain less value when consumed.)

The only disadvantage I can see is a lot of cans are heavy. But, this seems a small price to pay when after the collapse you and your family are eating canned beef stew, with a side of canned peas, covered with canned butter, while others around you have nothing to eat except each other, (unless they accept the mark or report to the camps).

The last method of storing food I call “the best of our technology”. It is exemplified by two different ideas. The first is the lightweight pouch of precooked food. The military knows them as MREs – Meals Ready to Eat. MREs are lightweight because they come in foil pouches instead of cans. They are precooked so can be eaten cold, or you can dunk them in boiling water or set them next to a small fire for a few minutes and have a hot meal.

The military MREs are 2,000 calories a meal. This is a good thing in a survival situation. While the civilian camping meals don’t provide as much actual food value, they taste better. Mixing both together will probably give the best results. The disadvantage of these foil pouches is the expense. You must shop around as the prices vary dramatically. These pouches can be stored for seven years.

The last “best of our technology” is the freeze dried food canned in nitrogen. I have quite a bit of this, because they never need to be replaced. If all of my preparations turn out to not be needed, these cans will be good after I die of old age. My daughters will have them. For long term food storage, there is only one “best of the best“; and that is Mountain House .

Why do I have such confidence in Mountain House nitrogen packed freeze dried canned foods? I know that canned goods have been opened and eaten 118 years after they were sealed. This food was packed at the beginning of canning technology, long before our modern improvements. To read the whole story, and to learn something about canning, read here .

And, as I’ve said, I have personally eaten canned foods that were canned 45 years earlier. The advantage of freeze dried nitrogen packed canned foods is they’re good as long as the can is, they’re light weight because they’re freeze dried, they require no cooking because they’re precooked, they taste great!, and they store well in their pre-packed cases each containing six cans. The disadvantage is they are hideously expensive.

I recommend that every family should store some of each; some bulk foods, some commonly available canned goods, and some high technology packed foods. We don’t know what the future holds, but should disaster strike, variety in our food supply is very important to maintain good health (and morale!) – especially if you find yourself in a dying plague ridden wasteland surrounded by mass starvation and anarchy.

That is not the time to get sick or be weakened by a limited diet. There is a huge difference between barely surviving, and eating healthy. But to gain that advantage you must begin preparing now. Remember the number one rule of survival: When the disaster occurs, the time for preparation is over.

Lastly, I’ll comment that I do store some foods I don’t like. I pick them up at ridiculous discount prices (70-90% off) routinely at the local “dented can“ store with a little careful shopping; some were free. They are in my survival box so I can give them away to others who didn’t prepare. Christian charity does not end when our civilization does.

Indeed, disasters are when Christian charity is needed the most. Maybe that little extra that allows you to help your neighbors is just enough to get them through and begin the recovery in your area. Or maybe it is just enough to drop as you flee the starving mob, distracting them. Some survivalists say gold and silver will be the only currency after federal reserve notes become worthless. Some survivalists say bullets will be the only currency. I say food will be currency.

In the next Survival Tip, I will share some information about particular disasters, the special needs each creates, and how to prepare to survive them.

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