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Ho Ho Ho Survival
G'day fellow Minions. Got a Bison approved (ha, I'm assuming it's Bison approved - don't lag on me to the boss) prep.
Christmas Lights!
Stay with me on this. Last year I bought a small string of lights that were powered by two AA batteries. They were designed to be put in various places like around picture frames, hanging off the gun rack, that sort of thing. The one I bought didn't flash, it wasn't solar powered, it just gave a steady ice blue glow with a basic on off switch.
How much light did it put off? Enough to light up a room. Not so much you could read, but enough you can see everything.
How long did it last? You know what? I got sick of trying to work it out it lasted so dang long. We're talking days.
There are other solar powered christmas lights. These can be used to provide light in area's so bad guys can't lurk. I use a set around my car port. Now here's something to look for in your lights. Last function memory. The lights around my car port revert back to flashing. Annoying. The new ones use the last function so they'll stay solid.
Another point. The lights appear to be decreasing in quality (length, # of lights).
Last point - don't wait to long to buy them. I had the idea of buying them at bargain prices just after christmas. No dice. They ran down their stock and once christmas hit they were gone.
Here's a link to what I have. I'll be buying more this year. They take up bugger all room to put away for the apocolypse -> https://www.bigw.com.au/product/christmas-battery-operated-24-led-string-lights-blue/p/692603/
*note Dingo Bucks don't translate to well to US Dollaroos. But 3 dingobucks is pretty good
/end transmission
Don't forget to use mirrors to multiple the output of your lights.
ReplyDeleteOr at least paint the walls white. Underground unpainted plywood walls suck. AS me how I know. Don't ask me why I was too frugal for three years I didn't paint.
DeleteThanks for the contribution. I was recently putting together a bugout bag, and was looking for something beyond the standard flashlight/microlight, that would be typically included in such a kit. I immediately thought of those cyalume light sticks, because those suckers work great. The only problem is that they’re a one shot deal. I was kind of hoping that there was a variety that could be recharged via an external light source, and that would last through the night, but I was unable to find such a product. There is the phosphorescent paint, but that generally doesn’t hold a charge for very long. I know that the more expensive GI compass contains Tritium (Radioactive; glows forever and never needs a charge) as a back glow source for the compass dial. But there are no products to my knowledge that feature this element as a light source.
ReplyDeleteI take it you don't want to use the rare earth mineral glow stick you reuse?
DeleteNot sure if I follow Jim? Apparently, the Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. That’s what they use to back light the dial of the deluxe GI compass. I’d imagine that there is some danger involved, but it’s probably minimal, about like the danger involved if you accidentally cracked open an old style thermometer. Otherwise, I can’t imagine that they could sell such a product? I’m thinking that this item has little enough tritium, that for all practical purposes, it’s considered to be safe enough? I was just thinking out loud, and wondering if you had something bigger, using the same stuff, that you’d have a forever light. But of course I doubt that something like this would be available, due to my previous, but likely correct theory.
DeleteIf there was a way to recharge those Cyalume light sticks, you’d have a pretty awesome item on your hands.
https://www.amazon.com/Rothco-Cammenga-Military-Tritium-Lensatic/dp/B0006YXWN2
You can't turn the sticks off. But you can put em in your pocket. I never found much value in em.
Delete11:58-I can never remember their names. Tooblite. Yes, you have to recharge them. Takes literally five seconds with a high lumen LED flashlight.
Deletehttps://amzn.to/2TVHeLe
Ahh, there you go Jim. That’s exactly what I was wondering, if such a thing exists. And it does, but I was unaware of it until you pointed it out. Thanks, and I wish listed it. Reviews are spotty, but I will probably have both the reusable, and single use varieties. I saw a super duper version of the one time use variety, that really lit an area up. But of course, this particular variety had a short life.
DeleteI have a keyring glow in the dark fob. It's awesome. Lasts for ages and if you power it up via powerful torch or if it's hit by the sun. Watch out. It's blinding.
DeleteIf it's been charged it lasts the whole night if you factor in your eyes adjusting to the dark.
Emergency single-use chem stick uses...
DeleteThere's an EMP, it's night, and you find yourself victim of a self defense incident. The circuitry in your EDC flashlight is ruined OR the batteries are dead. Use a white-light chem stick so you can see what you're doing as you render first aid to yourself or someone else.
There is a night-time emergency, now during normal times, or later after a bad event. You need to signal someone at a distant location, or maybe attract an ambulance/sheriff after a telephone call to your rural driveway. Take a chem stick and tie it to about 2' of string or cord. Send a kid or other minimally-useful adult to the signaling location and have them spin it around. It will appear as a highly-visible, giant flaming donut in the color of chem stick that you chose.
Those are my two best uses,
Peace out
Christmas cookie tins, or, just keep the flashlights in their packaging and wrap with tinfoil.
DeleteDingo-a cheapskate alternative is a lanyard for your keys since you can't lose them. It took me one time losing the work keys ( wife had extra home keys ) and I never went without a lanyard again. Extra nerd boy points.
Delete3:14- in my experience, the ToobLite's work great and seemed well made. FWIW. 20 minutes full lite before fading, almost lasts eight hours total. No worse than garden lights for length of illumination.
DeleteMy go to strategy for keys is to keep them in the same place *every* time
DeleteMissus "Where's your keys"
Dingo "in me hat on the kitchen table where they always are."
Contrast
Missus "where's my keys?"
Dingo "did you put them on the hook I put on the wall for them?"
Missus "no"
Dingo "where'd you last have them?"
Missus "the other day."
Grrrr
They have some stuff over at County Comm that glows long time, Joe.
Deletehttps://countycomm.com/collections/view-all-light-products
First thing I did moving into the NOL's place was to hang up all the "roving" items. Emergency flashlight, keys. Old people need help remembering :)
DeleteBut, using power source lights to charge something that is only luminous, i.e. glows for its little purpose is contradictory and only for a specialized tactical usage. Chemlights in any form have a shelf life then are worthless, and time of use of @8 hours, even shorter of both elements now that mostly chicom cheap quality. Not a long term storage proposition any further than regular batteries. A small cache of batteries to cover normal uses for a year, and expected die off period of say six months off and on conservative usage. They will leak,after a couple years. Duracells claim ten years, but? Past these time hack periods only solar powered lights or solar recharged battery set up would be viable. Internally in my cave I use kero lanterns while painting and carving my legacy on the walls. Ymmv.
ReplyDeleteThe reuseable chem lights are of marginal utility, true. Just reaaaallly stretching out rechargeable batts. Instead of twenty hours of flashlight use, a year of just recharging the stick ( yeah, I know, the batts discharge like 10% a month-but you get my point. A ten year supply of rechargeable batts last a lifetime.
DeleteHave the quality of chem lights changed? My stash EXPIRED 20 years ago, and every time I test one, they still glow just as bright, and for the full 8 hours like they were just manufactured.
DeletePeace out
But didn't you just contradict yourself? They expired 20 years ago. So they can't be ChiCom crap such as are made NOW.
Deletehttps://www.survivaldepot.co.uk/product/tritium_torch
ReplyDeletecould use one of these, British army use them for map reading etc.
But it is $120!!!
ReplyDeleteHuh? Didn’t know they had anything like that? Yeah, $120 is a lot Jim, but remember, it’s a forever light source (On edit: It claims a shelf life of 10 years, so they are not a forever item as I had originally thought. Still, 10 years of guaranteed light is probably worth $120). You might get a similar glow enough for emergency purposes, from the $80 tritium compass?
DeleteI’ll probably get those rechargeable light sticks at some point. It just seems like a good idea to have a few.
A ToobLite is $10 ( you can get them cheaper sometimes, down to $6-NOT at Amazon ). A quality LED flashlight $15. $25 for a solar recharger. $1 each for batts. Under $50. Verses $120. Always On is great, granted. But a Forever Light is a better return on investment, even if less convenient.
Deletewhy not just wrap a oil soaked rag around a a branch, light it and use it! It will smoke up the shack and the old lady will bitch about but it will light up things...
ReplyDeleteBecause you want to save the oiled rag ( both non-replaceable ) to fire up a house the enemy is hiding in.
Delete