Surviving the zombie apocalypse

[nukeduster]

Whether or not people believe that zombies will bring the end to civilization, or it will be a civil uprising, terrorist plots, natural disasters, or many other scenarios, a lot of people believe that an end-of-civilization scenario can and will happen.

If that happened, would you be prepared?

Do you practice wilderness survival? Most deaths in survival situations aren't from lack of gear, they're from lack of training.

Do you plan to "bug out" or "bug in"?

I keep my go-bags in various easy access locations and plan to leave town if it gets rough.

Curious what everyone else does to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

My Go-bags (camelbak BFM):

1 week food
1 gallon water (approx. ) (2 camelbak bladders)
water purification kit
1 change of clothes
3 pair socks
1 pair extra hiking shoes
Gerber LMFII survival knife
magnesium fire starter
1 sealed bag drier lint
1 sealed container holding pack of strike anywhere matches and wind-proof lighter
3 flashlights with rechargable batteries
Garmin Rino Gps/emergency weather band/2-way radio
enough spare batteries to change all twice
100 foot para cord
100 foot 1" nylon webbing
10 pairs quick detach buckles
pocket sewing kit with synthetic thread
fishing line, fish hooks, lead sinkers
first aid kit (read: antibiotics)
survival blanket
SAS survival handbook (boyscout handbook is decent too for you eagle scouts out there)

100 rounds rifle ammo
50 rounds pistol ammo

I also do food and water storage in my house too. Working on getting approx 2 years worth of non-perishable food storage that does NOT require water to rehydrate it. Have to keep that in mind when doing food storage. During an emergency where you have to rely on emergency supplies, potable water is almost the first thing to lose. Do not rely solely on dry foods that require boiling in order to be edible.
Also, keep track of expiration dates, and buy food you'd actually eat, so when it comes close to expiring and you need to replace it with fresh supplies it will not be a chore to eat the item. I've seen too many people fill trashcans with expiring canned spinach.

Thoughts?

[PhoenixShadowCompany]

Whether or not people believe that zombies will bring the end to civilization, or it will be a civil uprising, terrorist plots, natural disasters, or many other scenarios, a lot of people believe that an end-of-civilization scenario can and will happen.

If that happened, would you be prepared?

Do you practice wilderness survival? Most deaths in survival situations aren't from lack of gear, they're from lack of training.

Do you plan to "bug out" or "bug in"?

I keep my go-bags in various easy access locations and plan to leave town if it gets rough.

Curious what everyone else does to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

My Go-bags (camelbak BFM):

1 week food
1 gallon water (approx. ) (2 camelbak bladders)
water purification kit
1 change of clothes
3 pair socks
1 pair extra hiking shoes
Gerber LMFII survival knife
magnesium fire starter
1 sealed bag drier lint
1 sealed container holding pack of strike anywhere matches and wind-proof lighter
3 flashlights with rechargable batteries
Garmin Rino Gps/emergency weather band/2-way radio
enough spare batteries to change all twice
100 foot para cord
100 foot 1" nylon webbing
10 pairs quick detach buckles
pocket sewing kit with synthetic thread
fishing line, fish hooks, lead sinkers
first aid kit (read: antibiotics)
survival blanket
SAS survival handbook (boyscout handbook is decent too for you eagle scouts out there)

100 rounds rifle ammo
50 rounds pistol ammo

I also do food and water storage in my house too. Working on getting approx 2 years worth of non-perishable food storage that does NOT require water to rehydrate it. Have to keep that in mind when doing food storage. During an emergency where you have to rely on emergency supplies, potable water is almost the first thing to lose. Do not rely solely on dry foods that require boiling in order to be edible.
Also, keep track of expiration dates, and buy food you'd actually eat, so when it comes close to expiring and you need to replace it with fresh supplies it will not be a chore to eat the item. I've seen too many people fill trashcans with expiring canned spinach.

Thoughts?

i'd say add some medical supply's for gunshot wounds and some more pistol rounds and you got a solid loadout

[Rogue Fox]

get some powdered cayyane pepper.[too lazy to look up how its spelled] It stops bleeding and has many other medicinal uses. I would also throw in 2 other knives, even if they are just folders. As the old saying goes, 2 is 1 and 1 is none. Also, a large piece of aluminum foil that is folded up into a small square does wonders for cooking or reflecting heat back from a fire. If you dont mind the extra weight, add a hatchet, machete or saw. I personally like my gerber gator machete, its not full tang through the handle but the saw on the back will cut through any piece of lumber, and sports authority has them for 20 bucks.

Do you plan on making your own shelter if you bug out? They make it look easy on tv, but from my experince finding the right lumber is the hard part, for that reason I picked up a parachute hammock to add to my kit, it sure beats sleeping on the ground and doesnt take up much room.

[Shdsteel]

To be honest, MIT up in Massachusetts had a professional class about how realistically zombie outbreak can be. It would only last about a week at most though since all the zombies would starve. Downside? They would have complete motor skills and be able to do whatever the could have done when alive, like pick a lock for example. Kind of off topic but there is a fungus among ants where an infected subject would mindlessly find the highest point he could find (a mount of dirt over looking many ants, and once there, his head would explod sending more of the fungus over all the other ants. So again for the zombies' abilities, an Olympic runner would be able to sprint at you as fast as they went but wouldnt get tired. Last day of the class brought discussion of the use of guns. Zombies would probably be able to use it once or twice if they had it on them but wouldnt go out of their way to find a gun. So as for your list, a weeks worth is all you need. And as for the possibility of zombies, can be possible. All you need is a brain fungus which takes over your control.

[gilandb]

I would recommend a sheet of plastic or a tarp if you have any room.   Also, a camp cup that can be placed in the fire for boiling water, etc.

[Jason@TempePB]

Solar panel that has charging outlet for gps or flashlights.

I have a solar panel that attaches to the back of my b.o.b. I have used it to charge my phone when at paintball events or when I'm out hiking and my phone is about to die and I'm listening to music.

also unlike most I have a markII .22 and a 10/22 cheap ammo in large quantities. now I also do have a 1911 and my bird hunting but realisticly .22

[Rogue Fox]

I would recommend a sheet of plastic or a tarp if you have any room.   Also, a camp cup that can be placed in the fire for boiling water, etc.

A trashbag would work just fine in place of a tarp, wont last as long but it takes up almost no room. Camp cups are good, but I use an old german mess kit, has 1 large cup for boiling and 2 smaller ones, The nice part is that you can store stuff inside of it when your not using it.

And for the op, dryer lint is ok, it works better if its 100% cotton since the nylon doesnt burn well. Cotton balls coated in vasaline works much better. I personally carry both since they are light and take up almost no room, plus the lint doesnt cost anything.

[rictas777]

Dude, if it happens, im moving to alaska, because even undead can freeze and they wouldnt be able to survive in the cold for long anyway

[Shdsteel]

Dude, if it happens, im moving to alaska, because even undead can freeze and they wouldnt be able to survive in the cold for long anyway

Exactly true. Even though they would have all their basic skills, advanced thought process would not be one. Putting on a jacket would never occur to them lol

[ghosthollow53]

Dude, if it happens, im moving to alaska, because even undead can freeze and they wouldnt be able to survive in the cold for long anyway

But the zombies will be preserved for many more years because of the cold. They'll outlive you

[birdman]

Dude, if it happens, im moving to alaska, because even undead can freeze and they wouldnt be able to survive in the cold for long anyway

But the zombies will be preserved for many more years because of the cold. They'll outlive you

Let's face it... We're fucked.

[Shdsteel]

Dude, if it happens, im moving to alaska, because even undead can freeze and they wouldnt be able to survive in the cold for long anyway

But the zombies will be preserved for many more years because of the cold. They'll outlive you

Well actually the fungus would be killed by the intense cold, thus killing the host. We have tried cryogenics on dead people, and brains, but they always end up "freezer burnt".

[ghosthollow53]

Dude, if it happens, im moving to alaska, because even undead can freeze and they wouldnt be able to survive in the cold for long anyway

But the zombies will be preserved for many more years because of the cold. They'll outlive you

Well actually the fungus would be killed by the intense cold, thus killing the host. We have tried cryogenics on dead people, and brains, but they always end up "freezer burnt".

Its a Virus, not a fungus. And a zombie will continue to live even without a body (i.e. a snapping head). all that is necessary to function is the brain. The zombie doesn't require rest or nutrients, which then also makes them unable to starve to death, so lack of food isn't necessarily the end of zombies

[nukeduster]

My ASU project for the last year has been the medical viability for a zombie plague outbreak.

The fungi and viral options are hardly the scary ones, though they do provide a good idea of just how many ways there are to create a zombie. Though a protozoa called Toxoplasma Gondii is a nice little bug that infects cats/rats/humans and mind-controls rats to be fearless of cats. Its estimated that 1 in every 2 people on the planet are infected with it, with varying but mostly benign effects.. Look it up.

The biggest scariest one is Variant Creutzfeld Jakob disease. Normally, by itself, its not terribly sinister, though it does in some cases create a damn near text book zombie.

Wide gait, hunched over appearance, mumbled speech, hallucinations, hyper aggresiveness, lack of food preference (read: eats anything in front of it), among other symptoms. This is an unaltered un-genetically modified version of the prion that causes the disease. There have been successful weaponizations of it in Switzerland and Germany, both which had 100% infection rates and 100% mortality rates when tested on lab mice populations. Mice, which were 96% genetically identical to humans.

Mix that with studies to reanimate dead tissue that have already been done (they took near brain-dead comatose patients, did a procedure on their brains, and after a time 87% of the patients regained consciousness and cognitive function), and you get pretty close to being able to create a from-the-movies zombie.

Even Carleton University's School of Mathematics and Statistics in Canada (the same guys who do viral modeling for the Canadian government) did a projection on a zombie outbreak, and if it did ever happen, with a contagion anywhere even ballpark similar to how it happens in the movies, human kind does not stand a chance.

Mainly because their projections state: "We show that only quick, aggressive attacks can stave off the doomsday scenario: the collapse of society as zombies overtake us all."

And this quick reaction will not happen, because the American public will see them as people, with civil rights, and the right to due process. You cannot go around shooting people just because they are aggressive and insane if they are not armed. They'll attempt to arrest them first, the contagion will spread further in their limp-wristed attempts to quell the problem, and then it will be too late.


Lock and load.

[Fresnel]

Mice, which were 96% genetically identical to humans.

This sounds impressive until you realize that bananas are 90-some percent genetically identical to humans, too.

These threads are always great entertainment though. Do continue.