Ten Prepping Items That Could Save Your Life

Summary

Podcast Summary: Practical Prepping Podcast

Episode: Ten Prepping Items That Could Save Your Life
Hosts: Mark & Krista Lawley
Date: March 30, 2026

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Overview

In this lively and practical episode, hosts Mark and Krista Lawley outline the ten essential, affordable prepping items they believe could literally save your life—or the life of a loved one—in real-world emergencies. Emphasizing "real solutions for real emergencies," their discussion bypasses doomsday prepping in favor of down-to-earth, actionable advice for everyday threats like blackouts, accidents, water outages, and getting lost outdoors. The Lawleys also provide brand recommendations where reliability truly counts and share practical wisdom on how to use each item and why it matters.

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Key Items & Discussion Points

1. Reliable Flashlight

Timestamps: [02:05] – [05:32]

• Why it Matters: Turns darkness into safety and control during blackouts, evacuations, or even just reading the menu in a dim restaurant.
• Memorable Quote:
  • Mark: “The flashlight that you have to go find in an emergency is half as useful as the one that’s already where you are when the lights go out.” [05:53]
• Tips:
  • Prioritize a 200-500 lumen compact light.
  • Prefer a dedicated light over using your phone (protects phone battery, offers better output).
  • Suggested models: Streamlight Microstream (USB rechargeable), AA battery models, even affordable no-name lights if well-reviewed.
  • Keep one where it’s readily accessible: nightstand, car, EDC bag, etc.

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2. Emergency Bandage (“Israeli Bandage”)

Timestamps: [06:03] – [09:21]

• Purpose: Stops uncontrolled bleeding—the #1 preventable cause of death in trauma.
• Notable Uses: Designed not just for gunshots, but kitchen accidents, power tool injuries, dog bites.
• Features: Purpose-built with an integrated pressure bar; can be self-applied with one hand.
• Quote:
  • Mark: “It’s a purpose-built pressure dressing with an integrated pressure bar and a self-securing closure. Now that sounds complicated, but it can actually be applied with one hand if necessary.” [07:23]
• Advice:
  • Buy two: keep one in the car, one in the home/workshop.
  • Watch a 3-minute application video and practice, ideally on yourself or family members.

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3. Proper Tourniquet (North American Rescue CAT 7)

Timestamps: [09:21] – [14:16]

• Purpose: Stops severe arterial bleeding on extremities, potentially life-saving within 3-5 minutes when EMS can’t arrive fast enough.
• Brand Warning: Buy the real North American Rescue CAT 7 (Combat Application Tourniquet Gen 7)—counterfeits abound and may break under strain.
• Alternatives: SOFTT Wide (Tactical Medical Solutions), SWAT-T elastic bandage/tourniquet, RATS tourniquet (budget).
• Quote:
  • Mark: “If the bleed’s bad enough, it’s either stopped or the victim dies. That’s the option.” [10:15]
• Tips:
  • Learn and practice application before you need it.
  • Keep it with you, not buried in a distant car trunk: “The tourniquet that’s in the trunk when the accident happens in the passenger seat is too far away.” [14:16]

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4. Water Filter Straw and Purification Tablets

Timestamps: [14:18] – [18:07]

• Why: Water utilities go down, advisories may force you to obtain clean water from dubious sources.
• Health Risk: “In an extended emergency, contaminated water has historically killed more people than violence. That’s a hard fact.” [16:34] – Krista
• Recommended Products:
  • Sawyer Mini & Sawyer Squeeze (lightweight, filters up to 100,000 gallons, 99.99999% effectiveness against bacteria/protozoa).
  • Aquatabs & Potable Aqua tablets (compact, work in 30 minutes, may impart chemical taste).
• Tip: Store water if possible but always have a secondary method (filter/tablets) for when reserves run out.

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5. Fire Starting Kit

Timestamps: [18:11] – [21:13]

• Why: Fire prevents hypothermia, purifies water, cooks food, signals for help.
• Key Items:
  • High-quality lighter (Bic, Scripto) — avoid unreliable dollar store lighters.
  • Ferrocerium (ferro) rod (Texas Bushcraft 3/8” recommended)—reliable in any weather.
  • Petroleum-jelly-soaked cotton balls (practice saturating them for best results).
  • Wet Fire commercial tinder for wet conditions.
• Quote:
  • Mark: “Learning them in the backyard on a Saturday afternoon is a completely different experience than learning them with numb fingers in 30-degree temperatures in the rain.” [20:55]
• Practice: Fire-making takes technique—practice in comfort, not under duress.

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6. Emergency Bivvy or Space Blanket

Timestamps: [21:13] – [23:51]

• Purpose: Prevent hypothermia—an underrated emergency killer.
• Use Cases: Unplanned overnight outdoors, waiting for rescue in cold, wrapping injured at accident scenes.
• Two Types:
  • Basic Mylar emergency blanket (deck-of-cards sized, reflects 90% body heat).
  • Emergency bivvy (Mylar sleeping bag, more coverage, still compact).
• Quote:
  • Mark: “It’s better to have the items and not need them than need them and not have them.” [22:12]
• Tip: Carry multiple (home, car, EDC bag).

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7. Portable Battery Bank (Charger)

Timestamps: [24:22] – [25:47]

• Why: Phones are indispensable but fragile (comms, navigation, documentation).
• Recommended Specs:
  • 10,000 mAh capacity or more.
  • 2-amp output for reasonable charging speed.
• Quote:
  • Krista: “A battery bank without a cable is a paperweight.” [25:41]
• Tip: Keep it charged (quarterly top-off), store a compatible cable with it.

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8. Fixed Blade or Sturdy Folding Knife

Timestamps: [25:47] – [26:52]

• Uses: Cutting seat belts, cordage, cloth for bandages, preparing food or kindling.
• Advice:
  • Foldable knife for EDC, fixed blade for strength (choose based on needs).
  • Hosts promise a resource list with budget-friendly recommendations.

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9. Whistle

Timestamps: [26:52] – [29:07]

• Purpose: Audibly signal for help when you can’t shout (trapped, lost, injured, under rubble).
• Benefits:
  • Can be heard 4–5 times farther than voice, requires less energy.
  • Standard distress signal: Three short blasts, repeated.
• Feature: Peeless design recommended (no ball to jam/freeze inside).
• Carry Tip: Attach to keychain, zipper, lanyard, car mirror, or emergency tool.

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10. Duct Tape & Cordage (Paracord)

Timestamps: [29:07] – [31:15]

• Why: Unmatched versatility for repairs, improvising, binding, fishing, sewing.
• Paracord Specs:
  • 550 paracord (550 lb test, 7 inner strands, can be used for fishing line, sewing, etc.)
  • Carry 50–100 feet (lightweight, multipurpose).
• Tips:
  • Wrap duct tape around flat objects (credit card, lighter, pencil) to save space.
  • “Use your imagination”—hosts encourage creative problem-solving.
• Quote:
  • Mark: “Duct tape and cordage are the two most versatile problem solving materials in existence, along with WD40 right up there.” [29:23]

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Memorable Moments & Wisdom

• “The more you know, the less you have to carry.” — Episode Principle
• Emphasis on practicing skills (tourniquet, fire-starting) before emergencies.
• Counterfeit warning: Especially for tourniquets—spend for reliable brands.
• “It’s not about thousands of dollars. It’s about starting with the right handful of items and…knowing how to use them.” — Mark [00:01]
• Universal distress signals: “Three of anything” signals for help—whistles, fires, gunshots.

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Resource Reminders

• Full links and expanded notes for all recommended products available at practicalprepping.info/549.
• Practice is key: Watch instructional videos and run through techniques ahead of crisis.
• Keep critical tools accessible, not buried in a distant storage spot.

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Final Takeaways

Mark and Krista’s down-to-earth, skills-first approach demonstrates that meaningful preparedness is within reach for everyone. By focusing on these ten items—and investing a little time in learning how to use them—you can be ready for the emergencies that actually happen.

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Stuff happens. Stay prepared!

Transcript

[Mark]

Most people assume that getting prepared means spending a ton of money and buying a garage full of gear. It really doesn't. The gap between having no plan at all and being meaningfully prepared is actually pretty small. It's not about thousands of dollars. It's about starting with the right handful of items and just as important, knowing how to use them. In this episode, we walk through 10 specific items that are all pretty affordable and easy to get your hands on. We've even provided a link to all of these items in the show Notes. These aren't random picks. They're chosen to cover the kinds of situations people are most likely to run into. These are 10 items that could potentially save your life or the life of your loved ones. And we're talking about the stuff that actually happens and. And real solutions to solving problems. It's a simple approach, but it works.

[Krista]

Welcome to practical prepping. Today is March 30, 2026, and this is episode 549. This is the prepping podcast with no bunkers, no zombies, and no alien invas. Just practical prepping, where we teach everyday people how to prepare for life's emergencies, disasters, and crises. And we're here to help you get prepared. I'm Krista.

[Mark]

And I'm Mark. And if you'd like the expanded notes for this episode, go to practicalprepping.info 549. Now, we're talking about 10 specific items that could potentially save your life. And we'll put all of these items on a resource page which we'll link in the Episode [e-mail] 549.

[Krista]

So, number one on the list, your personal favorite, a reliable flashlight.

[Mark]

And what does a reliable flashlight do?

[Krista]

Well, I'm going to tell you what it does. It brings light into darkness.

[Mark]

It solves the problem of not being able to see in the dark.

[Krista]

That's what it does.

[Mark]

And we get that situation in power outages, sometimes, nighttime vehicle breakdowns, navigating an unfamiliar building during an evacuation. We go into a movie theater. I instantly look for the emergency exits, but if something happens, my flashlight's coming out so I can navigate those steps.

[Krista]

You've actually pulled that flashlight out? Not only when we're walking up the steps to get our seats at the theater, but also in those dimly lit romantic restaurants. You can't read the menu. Out comes the flashlight.

[Mark]

Yep, problem solved.

[Krista]

You know it.

[Mark]

You can also use it for searching for a child in a dark yard.

[Krista]

Yeah. Have you ever played after dark hide and seek? I have not fun.

[Mark]

I have when you're missing a kid and I've, I've played it unintentionally when we were missing a kid in the backyard because they were hiding from us. But you can also inspect damage after a storm for sure.

[Krista]

You know, the inability to see is that first domino in a bad chain of failures. If you don't have light and you're stumbling around in the darkness, you're going to make some bad decisions. You're going to have unsafe moves. You're not able to assess your injuries. If you have any. You can't read any labels, you can't read any maps, you can't signal for help. You mean you're in the darkness now.

[Mark]

The phone flashlight is the most common fallback, but it's dangerously inadequate. It drains the battery of your single most important communication device. Its output is poor compared to a dedicated light. It can't be positioned hands free and it's fragile.

[Krista]

You know, a dedicated handheld flashlight can be anywhere from like a 200 to a 500 lumen range. You can even get them with much greater lumens. Your rule is the higher the number, the brighter the light.

[Mark]

Well, that's just a fact. The higher that number, the brighter the light. And you can get them up to absolutely ridiculous. But up in the thousands, it won't fit in your pocket necessarily. I like a dedicated flashlight that fits in my pocket. In the resources for this episode, we've included the Streamlight Micro stream. It's a 250 lumen EDC ultra compact USB rechargeable. And there are times that I really like a rechargeable and times I like a dedicated AA battery flashlight. We've included that one and we may include some others in there. But even a well reviewed, no name zoomable light for 10 bucks. And I've got one of those that came from Rural King.

[Krista]

I remember when you bought it, I

[Mark]

think I paid $5 for it.

[Krista]

Rural King had a very large selection of flashlights.

[Mark]

They did, they really did. But they had some rather inexpensive. I mean, I think one of the ones that I carry quite often is 2 AA and I think it was 5 bucks.

[Krista]

Yeah, it was really very affordable.

[Mark]

Even a well reviewed, no name zoomable light will outperform a phone light by an order of magnitude.

[Krista]

You want to buy it and then put it somewhere specific that you'll remember how to find it. Now don't put it in a bin way out in your garage or in some kitchen junk drawer. You want to put this maybe in your Nightstand, your car, center console, or clipped in your pocket daily, somewhere where you can access it right away. And you will not be stumbling in

[Mark]

the darkness anymore because the flashlight that you have to go find in an emergency is half as useful as the one that's already where you are when the lights go out.

[Krista]

Oh, that's very good wisdom. Now, number two, let's talk about a quality emergency bandage. And I think on this episode you're going to specifically address the Israeli bandage.

[Mark]

Well, that's what it's commonly called. And it's for uncontrolled bleeding, which is the number one preventable cause of death in trauma.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Mark]

It's not gunshot wounds specifically, it's all trauma.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Mark]

Like seriously bad injuries, car accidents, power tool injuries, broken glass, kitchen accidents, even dog bites.

[Krista]

Oh, for sure.

[Mark]

Anything that causes major bleeding. This is a good bandage for it.

[Krista]

You know, we've talked a long time about what we call the band aid boo boo kits. A lot of households have a band aid kit, maybe some gauze pads. But what we're addressing here on this particular one, neither of those things will do anything meaningful for a wound that is bleeding fast. Like if you get a cut from a table saw or a deep laceration if you're involved in a car accident or a puncture, if you have fallen

[Unidentified Guest]

onto a metal object.

[Krista]

These require direct pressure with a bandage, then it needs to be applied fast,

[Unidentified Guest]

held tight and secured in place without someone standing there holding it until the emergency arrives.

[Mark]

It's a purpose built pressure dressing with an integrated pressure bar and a self securing closure. Now that sounds complicated, but it can actually be applied with one hand if necessary.

[Krista]

Can you apply it to yourself?

[Mark]

You can apply it to yourself.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Mark]

That matters because the person that's bleeding might be the only person present.

[Krista]

Oh, sure.

[Mark]

In other words, it might be you that's bleeding from a major accident.

[Krista]

Well, you know, it is compact. It's roughly the size of about a deck of cards when it's still in its vacuum sealed packaging and the shelf life is measured in years, I understand. When it is stored in its sealed wrapper.

[Mark]

Now don't just buy one, buy two.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Mark]

Put one in the car and one in the house.

[Krista]

All right.

[Mark]

If you've got a wood shop, put one in the woodshop. Absolutely not a bad idea there. They're commonly found in IFACs, individual first aid kits for combat type things. The application is really simple. You place the pad on the wound and wrap it and then you hook the pressure bar and you wrap it again.

[Krista]

There's actually a video that you can watch. And it's like a three minute video on how to apply this Israeli bandage

[Mark]

and then practice it on your own forearm. Especially if you buy several. You can use one of those. You can use an expired one. You can buy one just to use for training bleeding control. It's a spectrum.

[Krista]

Okay, sure.

[Mark]

You mentioned the boo boo kits. That's great for small cuts. They get band aids. Moderate wounds get some gauze and some tape. But serious wounds get pressure dressings and extremity hemorrhage that won't stop gets a tourniquet. Now, the Israeli bandage fills the middle of that spectrum, the zone where most real life injuries actually fall.

[Krista]

Now think about this number three. You want to pair the Israeli bandage with our number three choice, which is known as the North American Rescue Cat 7 Tourniquet. That's a mouthful.

[Mark]

It is. They're up to Cat 7 now.

[Krista]

Okay, that's a generation.

[Mark]

That's Generation 7. I think the ones that we have are Generation 5, and we've had them a while.

[Krista]

And what are they used for?

[Mark]

Severe arterial bleeding on an extremity. Okay, this is arms, legs. Profuse bleeding there can lead to death in three to five minutes.

[Krista]

Yeah.

[Mark]

Not 30 minutes, not an hour minutes.

[Krista]

Oh, my.

[Mark]

Now get this. The average EMS response time in urban areas is 8 to 12 minutes. In rural areas, it can be 30 minutes or longer.

[Krista]

That's just reality.

[Mark]

If the bleed is bad enough, nobody's coming in time nowhere, whether it's urban or whether it's suburban or whether it's rural. If the bleed's bad enough, it's either stopped or the victim dies. That's the option.

[Krista]

So this is where the tourniquet comes in. This is the first aid tool that stops that bleeding. And so as mentioned, the gold standard is the North American Rescue Cat, which stands for Combat Application Tourniquet Generation 7.

[Mark]

You know, there are a lot of cheap knockoffs, and they break when you're applying them.

[Krista]

Oh, okay.

[Mark]

If this is to protect you and your family, buy nothing but the North American Rescue Cat 7. Yes. It's around $40. But how much is your family worth?

[Krista]

So let me go back. You're saying that some of these cheaper ones will actually break when you try to use them?

[Mark]

Yes, when the windlasses on them, when you try to crank them down tight enough, they will break.

[Krista]

I see.

[Mark]

And that's worse than not having had the tourniquet because you've taken time that you could have been applying pressure.

[Krista]

So this is one of those Times where you're recommending a certain product by brand name.

[Mark]

Exactly. By this specific one. Now, there are some other options. The soft T wide from Tactical Medical Solutions, the SWAT T elastic bandage and tourniquet. And I carry one of those as well in my EDC bag. And what I like about it is I can stretch it out to make a tourniquet or I can make a pressure dressing.

[Krista]

Oh, it's versatile.

[Mark]

It is. It has, like, a diamond on it. And if you stretch it out to where it's a diamond, I think it is a pressure dressing. If you stretch it out where it's a square, it's a tourniquet. I may be backwards on that, but. And if the budget's really a problem, you might look at the rats tourniquet, and that's vastly better than nothing. And it's really endorsed by enough credible trainers to be worth carrying it at that price point. But be warned, the cat tourniquet is the most counterfeited piece of medical equipment in the preparedness market.

[Krista]

Oh, my.

[Mark]

Counterfeit cats are sold widely on Amazon and ebay, and often at prices that look like a real deal. $8, $10, $12. And that appears to be a genuine cat. But these counterfeits can be dangerous because that windlass does or can break. It's better to buy a different. But a genuine tourniquet at a lower price point than a counterfeit cat at a fake discount.

[Krista]

And it's the same principle as regular bandaging. Learn how to apply it before you need to apply it. Because as we all know, that when the emergency strikes and there's stress and there's pressure and time is of the essence. That's not the time to start cracking open a book or trying to download a video, you know, to kind of watch it work. You need to start doing some practice runs on that.

[Mark]

Yeah. And it only. I mean, three to five minutes of practice on one of these things, and you've got it down.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Mark]

Basically, your arm goes through a loop, and it velcros around, and then you start cranking it down with the windlass.

[Krista]

I see.

[Mark]

And if it doesn't hurt, you don't have it tight enough.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Mark]

You're trying to stop all arterial bleeding, so it has to crank down pretty tight. The tourniquet that's in the trunk when the accident happens in the passenger seat is too far away. If the bleeding is arterial. And think about this. You're in a traffic accident. You're down off the side of a mountain. You've got a severe injury on your leg and you're trapped. You may be able to get this tourniquet own, but you can't get out and get it out of the trunk.

[Krista]

That's a good point.

[Mark]

Good point.

[Krista]

Absolutely. Okay, let's move on to number four, one of my favorite topics. Water. Let's talk about a water filter, straw

[Unidentified Guest]

and or purification tablets for when you're going to need to source some water and make sure that the water that you are consuming is safe. Now here's what can happen. And we've seen this happen time and time again for various reasons. The utility company decides to shut the water off for a certain period of time and they tell the public to go buy some water. Or they may supply you with a few cases of water but they've got a problem and, and they're trying to fix it. So that's one. Or they may issue a boil advisory if there's been some contamination that has gotten through the system. Also think about the hurricanes that can come through, especially this time of year. That's going to absolutely stop water utilities in some cases for days, maybe weeks. The water main may break. Sometimes even when the water company is working on the water main, they break their own water main.

[Mark]

We've had that happen where we lived. But you can also run into some kind of delay in a rural area where there's no potable water source.

[Krista]

True.

[Mark]

Or you might be on a hiking day trip that extends a lot longer than expected. And here you're risking becoming dehydrated.

[Krista]

Now dehydration will impair your cognition. It's going to impair your physical performance and your decision making intelligence within hours in very hot conditions. And how can you become dehydrated? Sometimes becoming ill, especially if you have a gastrointestinal bug that starts cleaning you out, if you know what I'm saying. These waterborne pathogens could be Giardia, Cryptosporidium or all kinds of salmonella bacteria. E. Coli bacteria. These can get into your digestive tract and cause illness that accelerates more dehydration. Vomiting, diarrhea, even profuse sweating sometimes can really get you dehydrated. And in an extended emergency, contaminated water has historically killed more people than violence. That's a hard fact.

[Mark]

Now we carry the Sawyer Mini, but I also like the Sawyer Squeeze. And these are personal water filters and they filter up to 100,000 gallons of water and it removes 99%, 99.99999% of bacteria and the same amount of protozoa.

[Krista]

That's Pretty good.

[Mark]

That's a lot of nines. Yeah, it's the size of your hand. It weighs 2 ounces, and it can be used as a straw directly from a water source. It can be attached to an included squeeze pouch, or it can be connected to an inline hydration bladder or even screwed onto a standard water bottle.

[Krista]

Now, on our resource page, we're including aquatabs and potable aqua water purification tablets. They weigh almost nothing, and these will fit well into your pocket, your bag, your glove box. Now, the tablets do take 30 minutes to activate, and it will leave a very slight chemical taste. But these tablets will produce safe drinking water from questionable sources. A lake, a creek, a river, the neighbor's pool, what have you.

[Mark]

But now, for home preparedness, the personal water filter isn't the whole answer. Stored water is the first line of defense, but stored water runs out. The filter or the tablets are what keeps you going after it does.

[Krista]

Absolutely. Let's move on to number five, a fire starting kit.

[Mark]

The ability to make fire is so fundamental to human survival.

[Krista]

Right.

[Mark]

Fire provides warmth that prevents hypothermia, which is the number one killer in outdoor survival situations.

[Krista]

Wow.

[Mark]

Fire purifies water through boiling when no filter or tablets are available.

[Krista]

True.

[Mark]

Fire cooks food. It provides light. It can be used to signal for rescue.

[Krista]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Mark]

And losing the ability to make fire in a cold or wet environment can be fatal within just a few hours.

[Krista]

So we really recommend these certain components, and we do like brand naming on lighters, like a Bic lighter or a Scripto lighter. We find that those particular brand names are so much more reliable. Each one is going to light. This is where we say, don't really waste your dollars on the dollar tree lighters, because in a pack of five, three or maybe four of them won't work. Well, you can also use a ferro rod. This is known. The long name is ferrocerium rod. It is a fire starter, and it can produce thousands of strikes of white hot sparks, regardless of the weather, the humidity, the altitude. You can pair that with a small bag that you can carry with you of cotton balls that you have soaked or covered in petroleum jelly. Good old Vaseline.

[Mark]

And when you think you have enough on there, put some more.

[Krista]

Right.

[Mark]

You really want those things saturated?

[Krista]

Yes, exactly. You really want them nice and gummy with the Vaseline, throw them in a Ziploc bag, smash it down flat. Keep that nearby in your bag. Well, you can also use commercial tender. Here's another that we carry a lot, and it's called Wet fire. And it means what it says. You can literally light this tinder in the pouring rain.

[Mark]

Right.

[Krista]

And if it's wet, it'll still light.

[Mark]

Yeah. Now we're going to put in a 3, 8 inch Texas Bushcraft ferro rod. Now, that thing's only 17 bucks. These prices are current at the time that we record this. And this is the March 30 episode. We're going to include the wet fire and we're going to include some Bic and Scripto lighters. But I like the thicker the 3.8inch rather than the quarter inch ferro rod because it throws out so many more sparks. Most of them come with a striker and with that ferro rod and that petroleum jelly, that's easy to get a good fire going. But striking it into natural tender such as dry grass, birch bark, wood shavings, that requires a little bit of technique that isn't intuitive, needs to be practiced. The angle of the striker, the pressure, the preparation of the tinder bundle. And these are learned skills. And learning them in the backyard on a Saturday afternoon is completely different experience than learning them with numb fingers in 30 degree temperature in the rain, for sure.

[Krista]

Okay, let's so jump over here to number six, an emergency bivvy or space blanket. You know, because if you're in a situation where you might experience some exposure, specifically hypothermia, it's the most underrated killer in emergency situations. Think about this. If a person is in wet clothing at 50 degrees Fahrenheit with a moderate wind, they can become hypothermic within an hour or two. Think about this. Maybe an unplanned night outdoors after getting lost on a day hike. You know, I'm hearing a lot more of that on the news. More and more hikers have gotten out as the weather turns a little warmer during the day and they've slipped down cliff walls and they've gotten lost in the forest and they've had to spend the night in the woods that they didn't go prepared for. Or.

[Mark]

Yeah, you take a little day pack.

[Krista]

Yeah.

[Mark]

And you wind up spending a night or two.

[Krista]

It can be pretty treacherous.

[Mark]

It really can. It's better to have the items and not need them than need them and not have them.

[Krista]

Another one would be risking hypothermia while you are waiting for rescue in cool weather. These are all scenarios that could happen to ordinary people quite regularly.

[Mark]

I've pulled them out of my patrol car at Rex while we were waiting on an ambulance. And I have wrapped the injured person in the space blanket or the emergency blanket, the Mylar. And that would keep them warm. Now, there's really two tiers of protection. You got the basic space blanket or the emergency blanket. It's the crinkly Mylar sheet, usually silver color. Yeah. At least on one side. It reflects about 90% of the heat back to the user.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Mark]

Now, until you unfold it, it's the size of a deck of cards and it weighs almost nothing.

[Krista]

Right.

[Mark]

I carry a couple of them in my EDC bag just because. Now the upgrade version is an emergency bivvy. It's essentially a Mylar sleeping bag.

[Krista]

A little bit thicker.

[Mark]

Well, maybe. But it. It's a bag made out of Mylar. Okay. Is what it is. You're getting into a Mylar balloon that's big enough.

[Krista]

Sure.

[Mark]

And it's a legitimate short term survival shelter that fits in a cargo pocket.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Mark]

It's really not that big. Size of a couple of tennis balls.

[Krista]

I know that you carry one in the car year round, 12 months of a year. We've got it in there. You've got a couple of emergency blankets in your EDC bag and even more in our car bags.

[Mark]

Oh, yeah. Now, today's cup of coffee comes from Heather, who has been a longtime supporter of the podcast. And Heather, we really do appreciate your support.

[Krista]

Thanks, Heather.

[Mark]

And you too can go to practicalprepping.info support, where you'll find ways that you can support the show, including a coffee membership, which costs only $5 a month. But it really does help us offset the expenses of the show. Now let's get back to the episode.

[Krista]

Okay, next up, number seven, a battery bank, or what we call a portable charger. The modern smartphone is simultaneously the most important survival tool most people carry, yet it's the most fragile in terms of its endurance. It's a communication device, it's a navigation system, it's a flashlight backup. It's got a camera for documenting damage or injuries, and it's an information source and can be an emergency communication device, like dialing 911 for EMS. But when that phone dies, we lose all of those capabilities all at once. So what are we going to do about it?

[Mark]

We're going to add a portable battery bank in the 10,000 milliamp hour or more range. We want a current output of at least 2amps, and that gives us a reasonable charging speed, but we want it small enough to live in a bag or a glove box.

[Krista]

Now, don't just buy it, keep it charged. That's the most Common failure point with portable chargers. So most modern lithium battery banks, they lose about 1 to 2% of charge per month through self discharge. So a quarterly top off schedule does keep that device above 90% readiness at all times.

[Mark]

So keep a charging cable with it as well, because a battery bank without a cable is a paperweight.

[Krista]

Jumping up here to number eight, talking about a fixed blade knife or a sturdy folding knife, this is something Mark knows quite well.

[Mark]

A cutting tool is arguably the oldest and the most fundamental human tool. And in an emergency context, the need to cut things arises constantly. Cutting seat belts after an accident. Cutting cordage to secure a shelter or a splint. Cutting cloth for bandaging. Processing kindling for a fire cleaning game. Preparing food. You can even cut your meat up and feed yourself with it.

[Krista]

You've done that?

[Mark]

I've done that. But a good folding knife has the advantage of clipping into your pocket for easy access, but the disadvantage of not being as strong as a fixed blade for some task. And we're going to add several of these in there, but there are a lot of good options that won't break the bank. And we'll add those to the resource page.

[Krista]

Okay, next up, number nine. A whistle. A good old fashioned whistle.

[Mark]

We talked about this not long ago.

[Krista]

I think so. Because it lets you signal for help when you can't be seen. I know a lot of folks have actually found themselves underneath the rubble of a damaged home after a storm blows through, and they don't have the strength or wherewithal to call out. But a whistle can carry that tone, that pitch, that sound can carry right through the airways if they're trapped in a collapsed structure, if they're lost on the trail. A lot of folks have used whistles when they're out hiking because that also carries and can even echo from like one mountain to the other. If you're pinned in a vehicle that may not be visible from the road, a few blasts from the whistle can really help some passerby to hear you. Or if you're caught, maybe in a flood or like one of those swept water situations where the shouting is drowned out by the water sound. The whistle sound can generally carry four to five times farther than the human voice, and it requires almost no physical effort to operate it. It works when the user is even injured or exhausted. And it produces a distinctive sound that is universally recognized as a distress signal.

[Mark]

You want to do a couple of things here. One, you want the peeless. You don't want.

[Krista]

You don't want the little tiny circular

[Mark]

Sphere in there because that can freeze. That can freeze in place and then you're in trouble. But you want to attach it to something that's always with you or always accessible.

[Krista]

Right.

[Mark]

A keychain, a zipper, pull on a jacket or a bag, on a lanyard or on molle webbing in a pack. I even think about the idea of attaching it to a piece of cord and putting it on the turn signal in the car.

[Krista]

Not a bad idea.

[Mark]

From the rear view mirror or attaching it to the window brake device that we have in the car.

[Krista]

Yeah. Let me tell you about this part. The universal distress signal. This is going to be three short blasts repeated at intervals. Three of anything, by the way. Three whistle blasts, three fires, three gunshots. These are all universally recognized as a call for help.

[Mark]

And number 10 is duct tape and cordage. We're all the time needing to bind things or secure things or patch things or improvising things. And with these you can even do fishing or sewing.

[Krista]

You can.

[Mark]

Now duct tape and Cordage are the two most versatile problem solving materials in existence, along with WD40 right up there. And together they cover an almost absurd range of emergency applications.

[Krista]

Oh, that's true.

[Mark]

And you just have to use your imagination. Sometimes you can use duct tape for things you didn't think you could do.

[Krista]

Now here's a great way to carry it. You can take a maybe credit card sized piece of cardboard and you can just wrap 10 to 15ft of duct tape around that piece of cardboard just to be able to carry a good five yards of it in a very small area. Some people have even wrapped it around a butane lighter instead to have that.

[Mark]

I've seen it wrapped around pencils.

[Krista]

Yes, absolutely.

[Mark]

Anything to keep it small. 550 Paracord.

[Krista]

Right.

[Mark]

And why does it have the name 550? Because that's the tensile strength.

[Krista]

Ah, the number of cords that are wrapped in it.

[Mark]

Well, it does vary by the number of cords that's inside.

[Krista]

That's what I learned when we started collecting paracord. There's all kinds of paracord, right?

[Mark]

You've got 550. You've got 325. 325 is just a much smaller. And then I think we've got some in the, the camping kit that's even smaller than that, that's a little bit bigger than twine, but carry 50 to 100ft. It's lightweight, it's incredibly strong and it's multipurpose, as you mentioned. Seven individual strands inside the outer sheath.

[Krista]

Sure.

[Mark]

For the 550. Now you go up to like the 750 and I think there's 11 strands in there.

[Krista]

So you can pull each little individual

[Mark]

strand out and use it for fishing line or sewing thread or even snare wire in an extended survival situation.

[Krista]

Or if maybe extra shoelaces or boot laces or something like that needs to be tied on or tied down. So we want to ask you this question, friends. Did you learn something today or did you get an idea of something you need to add to your Get Home bag or your edc? Did you somehow receive value from our podcast show today, or do you just love my Southern charm? Would you help us by giving back a little? We'd appreciate it. You can go to practicalprepping.info support where you'll find ways that you can support our show that would include a coffee membership that's only $5 a month, but it really does help us offset the expenses. So please consider doing [e-mail] support and

[Mark]

go to the show [e-mail] 549 and we'll have the link to the resource page for all of these items. And we do appreciate you being here today. And as Krista always says, stuff happens. Stay prepared and we'll see you next time.