Introduction & Overview

This blog will help you survive in emergency and extreme situations. At least I hope it will, and I sort of think it will.

No guarantees, though.

Let me be straight with you. Until about a year ago, I was no manner of survival geek or prepper. Like a lot of folks, I suspect, it was the onset of Covid-19, and the sudden chill of watching essentials disappear from the supermarket shelves, that provided the spur.

What this means, among other things, is that I have never:

• participated in a SEAL team assault
• fought off a violent attacker (or a grizzly bear, though I did have a one-on-one encounter that I’ll tell you about sometime)
• occupied a tent for more than two nights in succession
• survived a major natural disaster, climate breakdown, or zombie apocalypse …

… And so on. In some of these respects, at least, I am probably much like you.

What I do have experience in, as an academic, is researching, sifting reams of information, judging. So when I set about my new pursuit, I did so pretty methodically and extensively.

I consulted most of the survivalist and prepper tomes out there, and took notes of what seemed especially useful for my not-very-exotic purposes. I watched a lot of YouTube videos, thereby accessing an extraordinary new(ish) medium of knowledge presentation and sharing.

I did a lot of independent thinking, pondering, and mental tinkering (in an academic context, I actually get paid for this). I spoke with my brother, who is a knowledgeable guy and actually did Outward Bound and jungle-survival courses as a Canadian militia member. I ran the First Aid stuff past my compañera, Griselda, who's a pediatric neurosurgeon in Mexico City. And I'm always packing wool socks made by my beloved Momma, whose ability to produce them is apparently inexhaustible.

None of this makes me an expert. There are plenty of more detailed survival tomes out there, written by way more experienced people.

What I propose to do, instead, is to share the fruits of my journey of discovery with you, in the hope that you will find it thought-provoking and useful. I’m going to highlight a lot of specific products  along the way, and claim a small commission on sales. But every item was purchased and evaluated by yours truly – there are no freebies, handouts, or backroom dealings. I’ll include a few photos of my own kit.

You know what, though? Some of this you’ll be able to improve on, with your own innovations, insights, and experiments. You’ll supplement it. And you’ll need to adapt it to your personal circumstances. For example, I’m a single guy who hasn’t thought much further than bugging out with one other person, or hunkering down with a handful of fellow adults. If you have kids and/or a multigenerational household, you’ll have to get more creative than I will. Good luck, sincerely.

For items available on Amazon, I'll provide and try to maintain links to the American (US), Canadian (CA), and British (UK) sites. If you find a link broken or an item unavailable, search the description and see if you can turn it up on Amazon, or in the wide world of online shopping.

I hope you’ll share your thoughts and feedback with me (courteously) at adamj_jones@hotmail.com. I’ll incorporate the best of it and make adjustments in future e-ditions of this blog.

Adam Jones

Kelowna, BC

January 2021