I know I carry on quite a bit about super cheap crap. You go to, say, a dollar store, and buy ten of an item and in theory the rest of your life ( which, one assumes if you are reading this, is anticipated to mostly take place post-apocalypse ) you need not buy any more razor blades ( a ten pack lasts two years when using a Lehman’s Savr-Razr ) or fingernail clippers or wool socks or knife sharpeners or dozens and dozens of other items. And lord knows I have way too many $1 LED flashlights. A lot are secreted away, still in their plastic packages placed in Christmas cookie tins and stored in anticipation of a solar storm ( you can’t let an item stored in this Faraday cage touch the metal interior, so keep the electronics in their plastic or wrap in old socks or underwear ). I’ve tested a lot, and some are waiting around here and there in case I need them. Most are marginal performers, emitting barely sufficient illumination. But the thing about $1 items is that you can own A LOT. In this, I follow the old Soviet model of quantity being its own quality.
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But for day to day use, I like the $6 flashlight from Home Depot. Near the registers is the battery section and they display lots of LED flashlights ( I have 12v lights in fixtures. The flashlights are for the storage trailer lacking a battery and for getting up in the middle of the night and for making coffee in the morning waiting for the solar charging to complete ). I find that a penlight is the best solution. I have a nifty headlamp LED, the elastic band type, not the hat bill clip type, gifted to me by a minion. But I prefer to use that for the eight months of the year I need a light biking in to work at 5 am. I also have lots of other great gifted LED’s, but they are patiently waiting for the Apocalypse. No, the penlight is perfect for holding between my teeth as I perform some task with both hands. None of the $1 LED’s are as thin, mostly being the three AAA battery in rotary drum type. And the $1 lights never deliver enough light. Yes, I know the brighter the bulb is the quicker the batteries wear out. But with my flashlight use being limited to a mere few hours a month, the batteries are either used up by a brighter bulb, or they slowly lose their juice anyway from just sitting around. So for an infrequent use item, the extra bright is a bonus rather than a negative.
Energizer brand penlight, available at Home Depot for around $6. I like them.
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This from the blog of Capt Rawles, worldfamous survival expert
ReplyDeletehttp://survivalblog.com/how-to-choose-a-bug-out-bike-by-b-b/
BB earnestly advises all to buy numerous tires, tubes, patches
and air pumps for the bugout bike. I couldn't agree more
that those who disdain airless tires will need extra tubes etc.
I have used airless tires since 2001, Felix Wong since 2006. Please see http://felixwong.com/2006/12/air-free-tires/
Vlad eventually talked me into the airfree. Although I don't use them. Since my rutted road tears up the actual wheel spokes it isn't as practical for me daily. But for a bug out bike? You are retarded if you don't go airless. Moronic. Dumbass.
DeletePerhaps this wheel with 11 gage spokes would survive your road.
Deletehttp://www.huskybicycles.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=hb&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=500-222
Thanks- I'll check it out. Although replacing a $40 wheel once a year prior to spoke damage doesn't seem too bad to me.
DeleteI like those pen lights James, and think I'll pick up a few. I like that they're small enough to fit into a shirt pocket,and have a pocket clip. I have some of the versions that use a single AA, but they're too thick for a shirt pocket, and missing the pocket clip.
ReplyDeleteI'm a nerd, but try not to advertise. I think a shirt pocket flashlight fairy screams it. Although, it could be gold digger bait if you have Nerd Money.
DeleteDon't forget to pull the batteries out of the LED flashlights that are in long term storage. Making a note or leaving a sample of how the batteries go in the flashlight might be a good idea unless it's immediately obvious to you how things fit together.
ReplyDeleteOnce batteries start to leak they can damage the battery holder and I suppose the electronics. A fair number of the cheapie or sometimes free Harbor Freight LED flashlights need a touch of solder on the plate holding the LEDs. Chinese slave labor can be soooo unreliable.
Damn those ingrat slaves! Don't they get free rice? Almost as bad of an attitude as those old timey Southern slaves
Delete