Prepping, Every Day Carry and the commodification of the apocalypse.

[zedr]

My idle internet window shopping for bits of titanium outdoor trinkets keeps leading into the weird and wonderful worlds of prepping and EDC.

Wow

I mean, I have some empathy, I do love a good post-apocalyptic book or two. And who doesn't want a hair clip that doubles as a saw and a screwdriver (60p ish from AliExpress if you want one). But it's like a while couple of scenes with a burgeoning industry to supply your survivalist dreams.

I have to admit the experience of COVID, coupled with older memories of other times and places, makes the idea increasingly seductive to me, and I guess to others too.

Are we going to see a whole new market opening up in responses to people's very real fears, and very real need to find some aspect that they can take some semblance of control over?

I think the market is very much open and has been for a while. I regularly have to reign in my prepping internet browsing because it is highly unlikely that I will be trying to set up a local intranet on my street anytime soon (though that doesn't mean it wouldn't be great!). I’ve also definitely noticed more people speaking about it after 2020, and I got lots if targeted ads for silly gadgets during the lockdowns.

I've also noticed (though this might just be because I hadn't considered it previously) a split in what prepping looks like, between libertarian types who want lots of gear and storage for me and my own, and the more communalist types who focus on skills and community solidarity. Now obviously there's a big spectrum out theres. The Live Like the World is Dying podcast is very good both in explaining the latter and critiquing the former.

 

[story]

I confess that one of the many reasons I chose my career was because with my knowledge, it’s pretty much guaranteed that I won’t be given up to the zombies, come the apocalypse.

It was a joke entry in the “Pros” column when I was trying to decide whether to finally do a degree in my 40s. Little did I know how real it would start to feel as time went on.

 

[Idris2002]

Ever since my speech therapist told me that I reminded her of Marvin the android (imagine being told that at the age of 8), my plan has been to hitch a lift on a passing Vogon construction ship.

 

[story]

Ever since my speech therapist told me that I reminded her of Marvin the android (imagine being told that at the age of 8), my plan has been to hitch a lift on a passing Vogon construction ship.

Christ.
The way we were treated as children beggars belief dunnit. Even as kids, we knew it was wrong but since the grown-ups all seemed to endorse it, we just swallowed it all down.

 

[Idris2002]

Christ.
The way we were treated as children beggars belief dunnit. Even as kids, we knew it was wrong but since the grown-ups all seemed to endorse it, we just swallowed it all down.

No, she was cool. Let me sit in her office and read English war comics (e.g., one called Killer Kane about a Hurricane pilot). And now can I pronounce the "sh" sound as if to the manner born.

 

[May Kasahara]

I can have all the survival kit in the world but as soon as my glasses break, its game over. So

 

[iona]

If it can’t be fixed with gaffa tape or WD40, it can’t be fixed. I’d add baling twine to that list myself. Not least because when deployed correctly, it’s far more deadly than the other two.

I have enough baling twine that the stuff not in various pockets and bags is sorted into different grades of knackeredness, with additional categories for pieces much shorter or longer than what you'd cut off a square bale.

 

[editor]

What is EDC?

I've added the explanation to the title as I'd never heard of it either.

 

[story]

I have enough baling twine that the stuff not in various pockets and bags is sorted into different grades of knackeredness, with additional categories for pieces much shorter or longer than what you'd cut off a square bale.

I’ve had to stop collecting it. It was getting to be more than the rubber bands. Which is a lot.

 

[iona]

I’ve had to stop collecting it. It was getting to be more than the rubber bands. Which is a lot.

I use mine up because there's almost nothing it can't fix

 

[BigMoaner]

I’m holding out for a post apocalyptic urban75 commune with each week a member plating up their fry up and Saul Goodman judging it intensley

Every six months someone will flounce spectacularly, try and make it on their own, and get shot in the face by a Zuckerberg robot android six miles beyond the communes border.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Ever since my speech therapist told me that I reminded her of Marvin the android (imagine being told that at the age of 8), my plan has been to hitch a lift on a passing Vogon construction ship.

I identified strongly with Marvin as an 8 year old so would have taken this as a compliment.

 

[VivaE]

I don’t think most EDC stuff is likely to save you, or possibly even be useful, in an end-of-civilisation event.

I always carry a couple of emery boards in my 'EDC' pack so, if I'm caught short when the apocalypse comes, I can give my nails a good tidy.

That's about the extent of my preparedness to prep.

 

[JimW]

Always said I'd try to make my way back to the mountain villages I worked in doing rural development, though whether the younger generation are still there and as capable of surviving largely off grid, or willing to take in a spare part, not sure.

 

[Dystopiary]

Carry a condom and a sock because if you put a sock round a condom you can fill it with water without it bursting.

 

[DaveCinzano]

Carry a condom and a sock because if you put a sock round a condom you can fill it with water without it bursting.

Checks out

 

[Brainaddict]

I can see the appeal of this because it's nice to have fancy gadgets, but if global systems go down then the food system would break pretty quickly. You can't use a fancy knife to grow food, and if you did, someone with a fancy gun would come and take it pretty quickly. We really have to stop the apocalypse happening guys.

Seriously, lots of civilisations have broken down in the past, but people were still mostly farmers and living close to their food sources. I guess Rome might be the biggest urban conglomeration to break down, but it did so over a long-ish period of time, and there was Byzantium to flee to if you understood which way the wind was blowing. But for us, even if there are some Byzantiums, they will be overwhelmed by millions of refugees and it won't be pretty.

 

[danny la rouge]

I've added the explanation to the title as I'd never heard of it either.

I thought it was a European jazz label.

 

[Orang Utan]

I never heard of EDC, but know what prepping is.
I never think about it myself. Thought it was only nutters who did that sort of thing.

 

[nottsgirl]

My old boss was a prepper. The whole thing is a bit odd. He has lots of cans of food basically, and every now and then eats them all up and replaces them. I think he goes in for the other stuff too but I wasn’t really listening.

 

[Spymaster]

How does the direction indicator work?

 

[Brainaddict]

I have a few gadgets like that, but obviously they're just for camping or cycling, not for the apocalypse. I would feel ill-prepared for the apocalypse with that.

 

[Lazy Llama]

View attachment 473297

How does the direction indicator work?

“It’s essentially an improvised compass. You place it flat on a table, fill the hole with water, and then place a magnetic metal item on top.”

Seems unlikely but there it is ….

 

[Saul Goodman]

View attachment 473297

How does the direction indicator work?

Take your shoes and socks off and line up the cut-out with your big toe, then draw an imaginary line from the cut-out, through the spoon, and that's the direction you're walking.

 

[two sheds]

I thought it was a European jazz label.

I have several of its cds

 

[danny la rouge]

I have several of its cds

Me too. Also I like my black and orange Inpulse! CD spines better. In my head people see them and are impressed by my good taste. In reality nobody notices.

 

[two sheds]

Jan Garbarek Legend and Rosensfole essential preppers music.

 

[story]

Some friends of mine are prepping in a pretty good way imo. They’re learning stuff that would conceivably be useful come the apocalypse, but it has to also be fun and/or useful for right now too.

So they’ve learned how to drive big trucks, use CB radio, build a crystal radio set, make and use a coracle, knots, astronavigation, whittling, beekeeping, smelting and forging and other metal skills, stone knapping, foraging (plants and mushrooms), curing skins and using the leather to make useful stuff. And they’re good at DIY/ building, vegetable gardening, mechanics, sewing etc. Loads of other stuff.

They’ve learned so much they have started to offer weekend workshops to others, so they’re making money on what they’ve learned. Last time I visited them they were saying they wanted to learn how to build and use bows and arrows and crossbows.

And they’re not off-grid hippies.

 

[LakieLady]

I always carry a couple of emery boards in my 'EDC' pack so, if I'm caught short when the apocalypse comes, I can give my nails a good tidy.

That's about the extent of my preparedness to prep.

I've got my late father's Swiss Army penknife. It has a small saw, scissors and a magnifying glass, so I'll be able to light fires on sunny days.

Of course, the magnifying glass will be no use on cloudy days, which is when you're most likely to need to light a fire...

 

[ID47]

Entrenching tools don't kill people - speedfreaks do

Search results for query: entrenching tool

www.urban75.net

MPL-50 says otherwise, as the Wiki article states it is still being used in close combat by Russian forces in Ukraine.

MPL-50 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org