Richmond Hill eh? That's almost as bad as Brampton...

Look around man, it's impossible to tell you what to prepare or how, simply because we have no idea of your particular situation. What are you bugging in/out from or for?Family or no family? Rent or house? Vehicles? You need to think about these things. There are so many options to a handful of scenarios.

Living in downtown Toronto myself, there are many reasons to bug out, but there are also reasons to wait for the right time to bug out, so I'm trying to prepare to bug in.

For the right equipment, hit up the local sportsmans shops. Learn how to grow and harvest food, learn how to hunt, to butcher, trap and fish. Learn how to preserve food, to dry and cure meat, to 'can' fruits and vegetables. You should have enough food in the house at all times to last weeks, at least.

As a Canadian, you should also prep for the winter. I got everything I need in my bug out bag except a -30 degrees celsius sleeping bag and insulation pad, which makes bugging out kinda useless six months of the year. On a second thought, there's no such thing as a 'finished' bug out bag. Prepping is something that you continually improve on. Hell, I replaced my water filtration system and shelter in less than a year for lighter in weight, less volume, more efficient products.

Priorities should be Water, Shelter, Food, Fire.

You can find firesteel, solid multi season shelters, survival tools, clothing, and general gear, bicycles, snow shoes, backpacks, climbing rope, maps and compass, water filtration, cookware... etc.

http://www.mec.ca/Main/home.jsp

http://www.basspro.com/

Are you in shape? How long can you walk with a 25-35 pound backpack? Do you train for endurance and conditioning? Combat?

That said it would be wise to find the means to protect your operations, via self defence.

EDIT- Don't forget medical supplies.

A gun is a fun place to start. Some will argue the point, but you may well face a self defense situation before you face a food shortage, or anything else.

A gun is a fun place to start. Some will argue the point, but you may well face a self defense situation before you face a food shortage, or anything else.

I did mention it last but I agree, just because it is the most lengthy and prolonged process out of everything I mentioned. Wish I had done it first.

I own guns and don't feel they should be the primary focus of any prepper. In the last 15 years Canadians in various regions have suffered various emergencies (flooding, ice storms, earthquakes, etc) that have affected entire communities for extended periods of time. Never has there been any need for firearms to defend oneself or one's goods.

There have however, been many instances where otherwise intelligent people were not properly prepared with stocks of water, food, emergency supplies, tools and shelter. Start here first.

One of the ONLY good things about living in the GTA is that you can attend a ton of prepper gatherings and meet-ups. There are great people in this community, it behooves you to meet them face to face and get involved sooner rather than later.

Come on now Oddmott, you're taking all the fun and glamour out of prepping by pointing out the obvious. You can't be a real prepper without guns.

This is a very sound piece of advice.

In the emergencies that are statistically probable Food, Water, Shelter/Fire will always be the most important pieces of your knowledge and equipment. If your local environment will tolerate/support hunting, then developing the skills and equipment to hunt become important. But even then, are there more effective means of procuring protein than hunting? In an urban environment, a 50lb bag of birdseed or grain and the ability to trap pigeons or Canada Geese will probably be more time efficient and less noticeable than a big bang stick.

And then, in only the most outside realm of possibility will the need to defend yourself using firearms even begin to factor into your considerations. And if it does get to that point, well......luck and teamwork will probably still be more important than simply having a gun.

Matter of perspective and location I think. Canadians have demonstrated that they'll riot and loot over a hockey game, never mind something important. On the other hand, I've lived in Canada my whole life, including through ice storms and blackouts and never once gone hungry or thirsty. Not saying you shouldn't store provisions, I sure as hell have, but the gun is very important.

Hey everybody,

I've been reading on prepping for some time and I now want to build a list of things I should purchase. Everything from MRE's jarred foods, survival gear, etc. Can you assist me?

Thanks.

snapcase

That's quite the order/list. Let's start off with what you already have.

Everyone is different when it comes to gear. In this respect I would focus on getting the basics together for a bug out bag. There's plenty of information out there on the web for that.

As for food, I would suggest understanding the various types of long-term food storage before spending a dime. This should be supplemented between freeze-dried, dehydrated (mylar bags), canned goods and canning. Those are the most practical from a prepper perspective. I created a huge post on this on my page which you may find useful: http://www.meetup.com/Ontario-Prepper-Survival-Network/messages/boards/thread/31066522

You may also want to consider looking into things like security, power generation, medicines and networking. It can be overwhelming at first. Just take it in stride and don't get stuck in arm-chair prepper mode in which research is the only thing you do...

Look around man, it's impossible to tell you what to prepare or how, simply because we have no idea of your particular situation....Learn how to grow and harvest food, learn how to hunt, to butcher, trap and fish...As a Canadian, you should also prep for the winter...Priorities should be Water, Shelter, Food, Fire....Are you in shape? How long can you walk with a 25-35 pound backpack? Do you train for endurance and conditioning? Combat?...

Well said...

I think for a beginner a good place to begin is with 2 things
1) A 72 hour survival kit for your home
basic survival you know like first aid , food, a way to cook it, water and a way to sterilize it, away to stay warm (shelter)
you will find lots of examples on youtube of ways too do this on a budget
2)A get home bag
the basics of water, a bit of food, dry socks(old soldiers loooove dry socks), safety vest, a good flashlite lots more
There are also lots of examples on youtube

I think it is important to not try and do it all at once. Over stressing you and your budget can freak you out, I know it did me so take it one step at a time
Welcome to the world of preppin friend and enjoy it can get addictive
Mule Skinner

Forgot Potty
Gotta have a disposable form of potty be it in white kitchen catcher bags or small chemical toilet
Sanitation is verrry important to keep down spread of germs