Tell me about it. I've been working on a bicycle compatible bug out bag, and building several bikes from scrap used parts. The bike I'm working on now probably cost like 40-50 bucks in total, these are durable, standard(easily replaceable parts) and mostly steel mountain bikes, capable of hitting the trails(or roads) and taking you hundreds of kilometers, its ridiculous. I go to this anarchistic do it yourself bike shop, non profit, everything is donated. They teach you everything.

Tell me about it. I've been working on a bicycle compatible bug out bag, and building several bikes from scrap used parts. The bike I'm working on now probably cost like 40-50 bucks in total, these are durable, standard(easily replaceable parts) and mostly steel mountain bikes, capable of hitting the trails(or roads) and taking you hundreds of kilometers, its ridiculous. I go to this anarchistic do it yourself bike shop, non profit, everything is donated. They teach you everything.

Good for you Singlecell. Last year I saw a cardboard bicycle. It's amazing what one can do with alternative materials or with "found objects".

I hit up a flea market this weekend, managed to pick up a bunch of tools I'm missing out on, foldable steel shovel, with a bit of rust on it nothing some grease, sos pad and some paint won't fix.

Pretty much managed to pick up enough stuff to create an urban survivalist bag, which is good for me since I'm in the city, and to get to the actual bug out bag I would need to get home first. Bolt cutters, allen keys, wrenches, flashlights, pry bars as well as an old school super light steel bike frame, just gotta put some new brakes on it. Wasn't gonna be thrown out, but still, recycling perfectly good stuff someone wanted to get rid of.

Not to hijack the thread, but on the topic of urban survival... I started building one to keep in my truck for when we go in the city. Problem is that after putting the bag together and looking at the content, I realized I wouldn't want cops to see this as it really looks like I was on my way to break in to some place. So, how do you keep all that good stuff on hand without getting too much attention at "random" police check stops?

Not to hijack the thread, but on the topic of urban survival... I started building one to keep in my truck for when we go in the city. Problem is that after putting the bag together and looking at the content, I realized I wouldn't want cops to see this as it really looks like I was on my way to break in to some place. So, how do you keep all that good stuff on hand without getting too much attention at "random" police check stops?

I honestly had to a double take and see what I wrote down after I read your post. This question is one to be seriously considered and should be mentioned more often on a website like this. How do you get away with carrying a huge amount of tools on you? There are many answers to the question.

One is don't get caught. Where are you going and what are you doing? If I'm going to and from work, walking around, shopping, or even traveling by bus, hell yeah. Think about security, where are you going where you're bag is gonna get checked. Also, I don't drive a car, so I'm not worried about getting pulled over.

Second, attempt no harm. I have a clean criminal record, I do close protection. I'm not in this world to break the law or harm people, it's just not my way and never has been, and I'll convince anyone of that.

Third, what is the impression you give? I try to communicate honesty, sincerity, compassion and concern for everyone's well-being. I've gotten out of some incidents before with the police because they believed me. Not because I wasn't doing something stupid, not because I wasn't doing something I shouldn't have been doing but because I honestly meant no harm and had the humility to admit I was an idiot.

And fourth, Be respectful. These are police you're dealing with. Show them your hands. Make them feel like they can relax, and not have to take you seriously. Make yourself a human bystander, going about your day, doing your thing.

Let's be honest, having a backpack full of tools is not like doing drugs, drinking and driving, stealing, or getting caught with a legit weapon. They're tools, so you have a bolt cutter? So what?

Like I said, don't get caught, don't look, dress or act like a sketch bag, don't bring your tools with you when you know you'll be searched, and if you didn't know laugh it off. Make it seem like a big joke or misunderstanding.

That said, I keep my tools in multiple bike pouches, that attach to the frame, handlebars, and seat, so if they ask, they're for my bike.

Not to hijack the thread, but on the topic of urban survival... I started building one to keep in my truck for when we go in the city. Problem is that after putting the bag together and looking at the content, I realized I wouldn't want cops to see this as it really looks like I was on my way to break in to some place. So, how do you keep all that good stuff on hand without getting too much attention at "random" police check stops?

I agree - very, very good hijack.

Depending on how much stuff you're carrying (and where) part of the solution for everyday walk-around is to carry more stuff. Make it "normal" stuff. The back of my pickup kind of looks like a homeless person with 52 cats and 3 hobbies. But because I have the garden weasel, four-pronged cultivator thing (awesome for foraging wapato and other roots, plus digging out clumps of unwanted weeds), tow chain, overhead tree lopper, the emergency plug-in air compressor, a spare suit and dress shoes, waders and hiking boots, emergency tennis balls for the Lab's health and happiness, and various bags of trash I picked up while I was last gathering, they never get too deep in when searching my vehicle because I was in an odd place doing odd things. (I really do use most of those things at any given point in a month or season.)

In an emergency, maybe add something innoculous - a set of screwdrivers, saw and a mallet and hammer. If you want a face mask and ski/watch cap for extreme cold, make them not-black - dark green and dark red and dark blue will blend in just as much at night and allow crossing peopled places without and "black = badass" connotation. Make the bag innocent, too. If it's in the truck, maybe consider a bucket with the tool-hanger pouches instead of a military bag or a big black gym bag. I also keep a folding dolly in my truck. Bungee the bucket to that, and you're just a guy with a tool kit because almost for-sure burglars are going to have a bag, not the dolly. A pull cart for a bike or a folding game rack or the old folding newspaper "carts" also work well, fold flat, don't weigh much, and don't take up a ton of space, plus say "just a person, here".

Again, good consideration.

Sorry to take a wile to get back. Yes. the best place to hide tools...is in a tool belt. Keeping a hard hat with it is also a usable prop. A shinglers axhammer and a pry bar sitting in your passenger seat will get your a$$ in jail. The same items in a tool belt on the passenger seat...or even slung over a shoulder has a totally predictable expectation. No one wants to bother with one more dirty, rough construction worker. In a crisis, a hard hat, dickies, a reflective vest and a tool belt makes you seem like you belong there. If you are a well dressed person, simply replace the dickies for a clip board at which point you are suddenly a supervisor or inspector in your hard hat and vest and also to be ignored. Replace the face mask with a dust mask . I am so ninja. This is my second request for a ninja emoticon, admin ➡ never a ninja when I need one. 😆

Hey everyone. Once again, My apology for note posting The Survival Science Of Dumpster Diving For Food. I put it in the guest writers competition over at CPNs blog. It won so now I can post it to you guys.
http://www.canadianpreppersnetwork.com/2013/11/the-survival-science-of-dumpster-diving.html

C5,

I really enjoyed reading that article. I was just wondering about one thing though. Looks like dumpsters offer a great opportunity right now, but what about in a longer term situation? You referred to a hurricane as an example, but I'm guessing that past day one or two, with the stores closed/damaged/without power, what is being thrown out might be in very poor shape. Then soon after, there would be nothing thrown out anymore so this resource would quickly dry up no? That said, it looks like a good option to go ahem, procure, some produces for canning and dehydrating for gratis!

C5,

I really enjoyed reading that article. I was just wondering about one thing though. Looks like dumpsters offer a great opportunity right now, but what about in a longer term situation? You referred to a hurricane as an example, but I'm guessing that past day one or two, with the stores closed/damaged/without power, what is being thrown out might be in very poor shape. Then soon after, there would be nothing thrown out anymore so this resource would quickly dry up no? That said, it looks like a good option to go ahem, procure, some produces for canning and dehydrating for gratis!

Well, its not an ever flowing cornucopia. People always assume everything stops equally. You may be fleeing from a devastated area with nothing and make it to a place where every thing but you is fine. If you see that every one is looting the superstore, that is probably a good time to head to the back alley with a set of bolt cutters or a hammer instead and begin loading back home anything you can find. There is always the assumption it is complete and permanent. Argentina collapsed...but Argentina remains. Same with Russia or Jamaica. How long now has the Greece thang been going on for? Now lets say...50 % of the population is now unemployed in a collapse... and you are not one of the lucky ones. The rest of the system goes on but you are now one of the dirty unwashed. The lucky 50% may not have even really noticed that a collapse is real but they will be busy scapegoating and criminalising you. That's a real world disaster with a high probability that you need to psychologically prepare for. If you lose your job and cant find another one, then the house, then the wife, then....Its easy to think that you are the problem and want to eat your gun, instead of facing the new reality. Ive pushed this skill set because its a psychological Buffer. If you can face that this is possible, you can start thinking of how you will adapt to it.

Hey everyone. Once again, My apology for note posting The Survival Science Of Dumpster Diving For Food. I put it in the guest writers competition over at CPNs blog. It won so now I can post it to you guys.
http://www.canadianpreppersnetwork.com/2013/11/the-survival-science-of-dumpster-diving.html

Not at all surprised that you won the contest. Great article and well written. I certainly enjoyed reading it the other day after our emails. good stuff. Even managed to get the wife to read it through.

On another note, this is one of the best threads I've seen yet. Lots and lots of good ideas in here. Keep it going guys!

This post has slowed down a bit so why don't I kill two birds with one stone. Construction waist. One more big bin. Lumber can be expensive but having some on hand is helpful in disasters...especially if you want to board up vulnerable windows or build a quick fence around the front of your house to slow people down. Big sheets of plywood are hard to get but a couple pallets nailed together with a couple of used 2x4s is a pretty solid barrier.

Bricks and cinder blocks are also useful for a number of purposes like keeping things off the ground where they would rot in contact with bacteria in damp earth. But my main thought is for improvised rocket stoves so you can cook outside with twigs instead of logs. Ive seen a few versions of this but this one was fantastic. I think I will start a new post just of it.
http://www.peakprosperity.com/dailyprep/83683/cinderblock-rocket-stove .

As for a single cinder block. I first saw this concept used by a homeless woman in BC. Just one single block was her fire pit and cook stove. Where I would haul in firewood from the beach, stacked on the back of my motorcycle for a fire that would summon the gods, She just collected an armful of twigs for the night. The cinder block kept the fire contained with just enough light for comfort and it didn't throw light that could be seen for miles. It was small enough that it was still safe to use right under trees. Another brick or piece of sheet metal underneath it would have made it even safer. It focused all of the heat upwards so cooking on it was very effective. Stupid simple. lifting one side of it half an inch creates air flow when she needed it to go from fire pit to instant rocket stove. In many ways, this is a step up adaption of the coffee can hobo stove. I was shamed of my fire pit from that point on. A recluse alcoholic mentally ill homeless woman had better survival skills than me.

Yes I was thinking about some urban people discussing how if there was a blackout they would have no way to cook . They simply would have no clue they could put together some cinder blocks and cook in their little back yards . When not in use they could insert some plastic pots of herbs into the blocks and it would look usassuming like a herb garden beside a patio. An easy prep .

Nice clean quick cinderblock setup, for sure. There will probably be thousands of the variations in neighborhoods in future.
Not to be picky though, many of the stoves i've seen on u-tube refer to them as being rocket stoves, whereas the main criterion for the term is the feature of built-in secondary gas-burning for efficient hi-heat for a given amount of fuel....and low-temp end-gasses.
I'm still slowly working on mine, a h-duty, but portable unit, and not a quick-fix version at all.

On another heat related, but homestead item, it's also an idea i've had to take to where i'm going, to construct. I've stockpiled about 30 single tempered pane, sliding patio doors for front-entrance greenhouses, etc.34"and 36", (and several functional screen doors for ventilation).
But, i envision using the same units for making fixed solar collectors on the ground, with multiple uses, but particularly for pioneering offgrid in cooler times.
Basically, using 2or 3 panels , depending on your positioning and insulation method, laid horizontally, with 3/4 ply cut to fit inside the ends for rigid stability.
Use the aluminum frame to screw thru into the plywood on the 3 exposed sides at each end. ( a stronger version would be to include 2x4 frame along the plywood edges as well.
So, u picture a glass coffin/rectangular box....right? what good is that?

Now picture inside of that, a whole bank of reclaimed 2'x2' or 2'x30" cleaned, flatblack painted edges of patio stones standing on edge, separated by pallet-reclaimed 1x4 boards.(leave 4" from each end of box clear of stones.) The patio stones should ideally be stood with their typical sloped edges making them lean back to back, from the middle, outwards. This will make them more secure...assuming the floor has been levelled and graveled, foamboarded underneath, and with heaped sand around the glass/wood walls to seal. (gravel heaped around the outside to keep critters out in the cold. 🙁
A simple cable and turnbuckle around the "radiator" , with an overslung wire suspenders will keep it together. Or , simply make a 2x6 rectangular belt , using screws at its corners.
This would better enable 2x4 triangle-braces down to the ground on both sides for extra lurching safety. All this fits inside the box.
If using for auxilliary heat in a cabin, from the outside, just cut the same size hole for big-O in both plywood ends...one near the bottom for screened intake air, and the other end near the top to enable better convection.
in the evening, it would be covered with insular foam boards or drystraw/leaves and plasic sheet.
Such units could be used for natural veggie dehydration via airflow , or for animal comfort , or forced convection for outhouse exhaust. Probably you could fry eggs in a thin stainless pan on the top pane., or preheat dish water.

I was even picturing it as a warm bed outside, with a removable or hinged sleeping/mattress frame over the unit, and a simple flip tent/ cover at night .
I'm betting with some modulation of thermal release, it would last the night easily. Assuming it's still sunny next day, uncover and start again.

If anyone else makes it before me share your observations in all temperature ranges with us?
----hoping there's time for all this kind of thing 🙂

This post has slowed down a bit so why don't I kill two birds with one stone. Construction waist. One more big bin. Lumber can be expensive but having some on hand is helpful in disasters...especially if you want to board up vulnerable windows or build a quick fence around the front of your house to slow people down. Big sheets of plywood are hard to get but a couple pallets nailed together with a couple of used 2x4s is a pretty solid barrier.

Bricks and cinder blocks are also useful for a number of purposes like keeping things off the ground where they would rot in contact with bacteria in damp earth. But my main thought is for improvised rocket stoves so you can cook outside with twigs instead of logs. Ive seen a few versions of this but this one was fantastic. I think I will start a new post just of it.
http://www.peakprosperity.com/dailyprep/83683/cinderblock-rocket-stove .

As for a single cinder block. I first saw this concept used by a homeless woman in BC. Just one single block was her fire pit and cook stove. Where I would haul in firewood from the beach, stacked on the back of my motorcycle for a fire that would summon the gods, She just collected an armful of twigs for the night. The cinder block kept the fire contained with just enough light for comfort and it didn't throw light that could be seen for miles. It was small enough that it was still safe to use right under trees. Another brick or piece of sheet metal underneath it would have made it even safer. It focused all of the heat upwards so cooking on it was very effective. Stupid simple. lifting one side of it half an inch creates air flow when she needed it to go from fire pit to instant rocket stove. In many ways, this is a step up adaption of the coffee can hobo stove. I was shamed of my fire pit from that point on. A recluse alcoholic mentally ill homeless woman had better survival skills than me.

Man I used to work in masonry restoration and demolition. Basically loading bins. Materials were ridiculous. Upon tearing down some walls to restore them we would find the guys who did the patchwork decades prior used FIREBRICK! Talk about building an outdoor stove... There were enough to create ten different generous setups. Or a small bin packed with them.

Lumber would be useful for sure. Another solid building material is rebar.