Prepping is a lifestyle: 5 dollar preps

Friday, June 22, 2012

Fishing Gear and First Aid

We decided to start another new weekly column here on Survival Cache called 5 Dollar Preps. Each week we are going to buy $5 dollars worth of survival gear to show people that preparing doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive. You can get a surprising amount of useful survival preps with just 5 bucks and here is what we got this week:

Lucas

I got a great little collection of fishing supplies. Fishing Line, Assorted hooks, and a small pack of weights.

I was able to get 500 yards of 15lb test line for $2.50. I went for the 15lb pound test even though it sounds like overkill. Fishing line is one of those things that you can use for a hundred different problems. It’s not Duct Tape or WD40, but it’s on that list. 15lb test is enough to be able to use it for other heavier things and fishing.

A pack of assorted hooks. These were $2.96, and I decided to go a little over budget because of the dial box they came in so I can just toss it in my Bug Out Bag.

Finally, I got a small pack of fishing weights for $1.50.

Like I said I went over budget to get the hooks with the container but for a total of $6.96 I was able to get a pretty effective basic fishing set up. I wish I had looked online before shopping because I found this Hook, Sinker, and Swivel pack all in the same type of dial container for $3.99

We also have a “turn key” Survival Fishing Kit for $7.95 on Forge Survival Supply that covers about everything you need.

Zack

Zack decided to go for some supplies for his first aid kit. First aid supplies are a bit more expensive than fishing line, but every single thing you buy for survival preparedness is a step in the right direction.

The problem with giant pre-made first aid kits is that they have tons of stuff but usually only a little bit of everything. Having something for every possibility is important, but we like to plan our kits based on specific application and the likelihood that they will be needed. Today’s idea was cuts and scrapes too large for band-aids that need to be dressed and protected. We did like the pre-made kits from Adventure Medical Kits, they seemed to have a good mix of supplies (including an emergency first aid book) and different size bags for you Bug Out Bag. We also like the quick clot option for stopping severe bleeding.

A roll of gauze for $1.72 is perfect anything larger than a small cut and once dressed you can wrap it with a self adhesive bandage for $3.84

Use Coffee Filters to extend the life of your Water Filtration System

We have come across a great site that is loaded with survival information. They have a series called 5 dollar preps and I am all about recycling that information.

Water Filtration Systems have a set lifespan. After a while the filters just get worn out. You can use coffee filters to extend the life of your water filter.

Zack and I did a quick demonstration of this system in Mason jars to show how effective it can be. (Click for larger pictures)

Pre-filtering water through coffee filters removes all of the larger debris and a lot of dirt too. This can go a long way towards extending the life of your water filter because it doesn’t have to work nearly as hard.

Not to mention coffee filters are small and light enough for your Bug Out Bag

Dirty Water

Standing rain water from outside the house. We added some dirt to emphasize the effects. In a survival situation you may have to rely on whatever water you can find and chances are in won’t be very clean.

Filtering

The easiest way to get water to drain through the water filter was to push it down into the container and let gravity do it’s thing. It takes a few seconds for the water to drain.