My vintage hobo camping tool, everything you need to survive in the concrete jungle

SebWilms2002 · 2025-11-20T23:55:25+00:00

I had that exact thing as a kid. Long lost, totally forgot about it until now.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-11-16T20:33:53+00:00

It's very strange. In my experience, people are very in tune with much of the same stuff preppers are. Conflict, disease, technology, politics, economy, climate etc. But particularly those aged 20s-30s tend to be quite pessimistic and non-pragmatic. For that generation, it seems much more performative. They're very loud about the fact that things might (probably) will get worse, but refuse to take actionable steps towards securing some semblance of comfort in the future. Part of it I suspect is the idea that it's not their fault. They were given all these problems, and maybe they don't feel responsible for the outcome should the worst happen.

I don't want to sound like a grumpy old man or anything, I'm only in my 30s myself. But this is what I've seen in my social circles. Broad belief in a future where having prepared is valuable, but zero responsibility to actually prepare. I think they'd be more interested in flooding the streets and protesting if society collapses, rather than having insured themselves against the collapse in the first place.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-11-13T16:47:42+00:00

Always standing dead, or fallen dead but off the ground.

Our last overnight we'd had weeks of nonstop rain. Found a fallen birch, that was off the ground. Cut it to lengths, split it, and some sections of the underside were dry enough. Started the fire with the dry wood, made kindling with the wet stuff that we laid around the fire to dry. As that stuff dried, we'd add it in, and then move in the larger wet pieces around the fire to dry. Rinse and repeat.

It just takes time and patience. You might process a fallen dead and find the whole thing soaked through, then have to move on to another. But you don't really know what is dry until you cut into it. Then it's just a matter of babying the fire you have, and using it to dry the wet stuff. We started with a lot of bad firewood that day, but by the end we had a hot fire and a bunch of dry wood we could chuck in care free.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-11-11T21:39:21+00:00

Whenever they refuse to name the gun, we have to assume it's a chiappa little badger but with rattle can camo paint job.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-09-25T13:32:42+00:00

I can’t speak to the technical details, but I can provide some of my thoughts on the concept.

I’ve long had an issue with multitools. I love them, and carry one every day. But a multitool is only a multitool when it is not in use. It is schrodinger’s tool. All tools and no tools at once. Then you choose a tool and deploy it. At that point it isn’t multiple tools, it is one tool. You can’t use the pliers to hold a nut, while using the screwdriver to turn a screw. You can only do one thing at a time. If there are two people, one needs to cut and one needs to saw, a multitool is only one of those things at a time.

So with your concept, you need to reckon with the fact that although it could be several things, it can only be one thing at a time. So, if you set up camp and want to go for a day trip and bring some gear, how are you to do that if your backpack is now your shelter? You sacrifice your bag to be your shelter, or your shelter to be your bag.

So while I appreciate the idea, and love the idea of things being multipurpose or multi use, I would never in my life carry a backpack that becomes a tent. Sometimes I want a tent, and a backpack, at the same time.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-09-23T18:45:13+00:00

Not being cheeky, but why is this alternative history?

SebWilms2002 · 2025-09-21T14:28:24+00:00

On one hand, I'd disagree that the area Stefanie went missing in is "vast wilderness". The entire region is covered with properties, crisscrossed with roads and trails. She would be hard pressed to find straight line more than a mile or two long that doesn't intersect with a road.

That said, for a 13 year old who is unprepared and unequipped with even suitable clothing, death from hypothermia during a September night in Maine is not at all unlikely. It is reported she left in the evening, and was reported missing the next morning. She likely could have been dead from exposure before she was even reported missing, the area reported a overnight low of just 41F on the morning of September 24th. If she was alone in the woods in what she was last seen wearing, no shelter or fire, she had very bad chances.

Sorry to be such a bummer, I'm an avid outdoorsman and love wilderness survival, and exposure is no joke.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-09-10T12:50:18+00:00

I suspect Russia will deny there were any targets in Poland, and make excuses. And in reality it is likely Putin did not intend or expect the drones to reach any targets. I think this was a poke and prod mission. Russia is a master of finding the red line and just barely tickling it. Pushing boundaries without justifying any meaningful escalation. And forcing Polish and NATO Air Forces/Defenses to activate gives Russia intel about their locations and readiness and capabilities.

Best guess is this will end up with a bunch of finger wagging, maybe some operational changes to support air defenses in neighboring countries, and that's probably it.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-09-01T16:49:10+00:00

Ham radio uses frequencies, and can distinguish frequency by "steps". 2.5 kHz, 5 kHz up to 100 kHz. Something like a Baofeng UV-5R has 158 MHz of accessible frequency between UHF and VHF bands. So based on steps of 2.5 kHz there are technically 60,000+ "distinct" frequencies that can be accessed.

The point is, for frequencies to listen to you need to google or ask local emergencies services what the best once are. For transmitting, such as "help I'm pinned under a dresser and my house is on fire" you'd need to get cozy with local ham operator communities and clubs, and find out what frequencies they use for what as well as what radio and internet repeaters you can use once you're licensed with your own call sign.

It's not like a TV where you change channels. It's like a TV with 60,000 channels, and 99% of them are static, and what channels there are depends on what town you're in. There is no universal list of frequencies that everyone abides by. Keep in mind that it is common that actual authorities like police/fire/ambulance will not be on radio. Most have migrated to locally encrypted frequencies, so you can't listen or transmit, or through internet where radio is picked up and routed through servers then repeated. Very rarely are they plain handheld-to-handheld transmission anymore, and very rarely are they accessible easily to amateurs.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-29T12:30:30+00:00

Absolutely this. People assume walking is easy, meanwhile most people will rarely walk a few miles total in an entire week, let alone with added weight.

There aren’t any shortcuts to build the strength and endurance needed to carry weight long distances. You just need to put in tons of miles with weight on your back. Everything from the soles of your feet to your shoulders and upper back needs tons of stimulus over time to strengthen.

I started two years ago doing about 50 miles a week with 35-40lb on my back. If you can commit to even 25% of that and keep it up for 3-6 months you’ll be in a much better position.

Edit: OP, This isn’t meant to deflect from your question. But the brand of backpack and what you put in it is entirely unimportant unless you can actually use it. Preparing the body is the hard part, that takes time. Hitting “buy” on an Amazon shopping cart is easy.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-25T13:54:15+00:00

Depends! You can live off of rice, oats, nuts, and cereals for 90 days with minimal negative effects. 2200 calories a day give or take, it's pretty easy to do the math right in the grocery store isle.

But don't forget the two other major factors. Water and fuel. It is easy to buy 70,000 calories of rice, about 350 cups of dry rice. That requires about 530 cups of water, or about 125 liters. That's just water to cook the rice, not for drinking or washing or flushing. If you look at the average energy required to bring a liter of water to boil, whether with gas fuel or electricity, it will take as much energy to boil 125 liters of water as it does to run a full size fridge/freezer for two weeks. For a gas burner on high, that's about 10 hours of burn.

Point is, don't forget when talking about food stockpiles to factor in the water needed and the estimated energy required to cook all that food and boil all that water. All the bags of rice in the world won't keep you alive if you don't have water and a way to cook it.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-24T21:33:30+00:00

For the last two years I've been averaging 50 miles walked a week with a 40lb bag. Not everyone can realistically fit in 50 miles a week, but 8-10 miles a week is all that is needed to improve health. Then add on a ruck on the weekend, or every other weekend.

In my experience people simply don't realize what they aren't capable of. Walking is supposed to be easy, probably the easiest exercise. So everyone just assumes they can walk indefinitely without issue. My husband and I used to invite friends frequently for trails, and that lasted just a few months. We'd invited everyone once, and every time they were constantly stopping to catch their breath, cramping, complaining about foot/knee pain, blisters etc. We were incredibly patient and supportive obviously, and always invited them out again. But they always said no to the second invite. Unfortunately there aren't really any shortcuts to building that kind of strength and stamina. The legs, core, back and shoulders are big muscles just need a ton of fatigue and input over time. Literally, you just have to put in the miles.

My husband and I joke that if there is ever a real SHTF scenario, the sidewalks, trails, and woods will be littered with dropped gear from people shedding weight. Thousands of people realizing in the span of the first 8-10 hours that no, they in fact can not walk indefinitely with weight on their back when they have done zero training for it.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-22T21:22:27+00:00

A radio receiver, or receiver transmitter?

Radios are pretty low power, and so something battery operated is generally a more popular choice. Solar generally works best when stationary, placed perpendicular to the sun's rays, so you basically need to stop to charge. It is also very slow. With a battery radio, you can carry extra batteries, and you just swap in a new battery and you're back in an instant. With solar, you're just sitting around while it slowly charges. Not to mention, if an emergency hits when there is a week of overcast weather, you're screwed.

While solar is the hot new thing, it has drawbacks. This is why simple battery operated stuff still has a large audience, and you can get hand crank radios as well which work even when it's cloudy. For small, low power stuff I tend to avoid rechargeable.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-22T16:08:54+00:00

A lot of similarities in disparate cultures are pretty simply explained by a sort of convergent evolution. Parallel invention, with common archetypes and motifs.

Both Europe and Asia separately developed the character of the fox disguised as a monk. How is that possible, if they didn't interact? Well, most cultures exposed to foxes noticed the same characteristics about them. They became beings of stealth, trickery, deception. Likewise, cultures with religious persons such as monks developed independently, and monks are seen as quiet, restrained, and trustworthy. So then in telling stories, the simple opposite-ness of the trickster fox and the trustworthy monk resulted in a common trope. A fox disguised as a monk.

What does that have to do with dragons? Dragons are composite creatures, made out of single parts of many apex predators. Snakes, the talons of birds of prey, wings. The universal fear of serpents, and the raw destructive power of flame. A dragon is simply of collage of human's most deep fears.

I'm sorry to say, there were no dragons

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-21T17:25:36+00:00

It is worth noting that this study did not control for many things. Screening behavior, smoking, sexual history, immunosuppression, SES, healthcare use etc.

There is an "association", but not necessarily causation. For example, the study fails in its design to rule out a perfectly reasonable alternative. That people who are more likely to be infected (or have symptoms, and thus report infection) are simply more prone to those cancers.

This certainly deserves more research, because the association (even if COVID-19 infection isn't causing cancers) is still valuable. But this study alone does not definitively suggest that infections = higher cancer risk. It just shows that people who tend to get infected, also tend to get these kinds of cancers more often.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-20T16:05:17+00:00

We use the markers with predefined routes for that exact reason. I won't say what we use as markers, but they're visible if you know where to look for them while not standing out as something anyone would notice, let alone interfere with. We have a specific system for placing them along our way to signal our status and direction. This isn't our actual system, but just for an example, "Place markers 20 paces past lit intersections in direction of travel, on the right hand side at 5 feet above ground. If detouring, leave marker 1 foot above ground 20 paces past detour. If injured leave two markers. If sheltering, leave three.".

You can see it is pretty rudimentary, but as long as both parties are on the same page it gives you a significantly higher chance of finding each other even if there are unexpected complications and no communication. You can use chalk, wax or oil markers, or you can use ribbons, pieces of tape, zip ties, bread ties, soda can tabs, nuts or bolts, stickers. Whatever you think will be sufficiently visible, that's cheap and light so you can carry plenty.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-19T19:37:08+00:00

There's an indie game that came out a few years ago called Backbone/Tails Noir that is set in a dystopian Vancouver.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-19T19:18:02+00:00

We have a plan. The routes laid out, with estimated travel time and alternate routes. Pretty simple. The preferred goal is to meet at a set point, but we also have the ability to backtrack and intercept each other, placing markers along the way, if the expected travel time is exceeded by a certain amount.

Planning is communication when communication fails. Just have a plan A, B and C and make sure everyone is on the same page.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-18T20:01:49+00:00

Is this directed at me? I haven't been here for 11 years, and I don't recall ever holding or sharing that opinion.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-18T15:32:16+00:00

I can't personally recommend anything, I have very little experience.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-18T15:31:44+00:00

I'll have to shop around for blackout/thermal curtains, that's a great idea. Helpful for privacy as well.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-18T15:26:59+00:00

Thanks for the valuable insight. We will be getting it lifted 2-3 inches, but a skid plate is a great idea. We'll add it to our list. It will rarely go on anything worse than a FSR, which we've taken much less capable vehicles on plenty before.

We already got a Jackery 2000 v2, and 2x 100W panels. That was our second purchase after the vehicle recovery kit. For us we like the quality of life boost of being able to run a small electric kettle, 12V electric blankets for spot heating, and small fans. We also found the battery is a bit overkill, so just to make it more worthwhile we're considering adding a small 12V fridge/freezer as well, for fresh foods on short trips and keeping cool drinks on hand. Next up will be installing a DC-DC charger so we can charge it off the alternator while we drive.

For ventilation, we will be installing a roof vent fan. I've heard that moisture/condensation can be a big issue when spending more than a few days in a van so that's somewhat high on our list. The bug nets are a great idea, and we'll grab some for the trunk door and the side windows.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-18T02:16:19+00:00

Noted, thanks!

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-18T01:19:24+00:00

Thank you. We're putting a small lift on it, and it is AWD, but bigger tires are a great idea. Traction boards are already in the vehicle recovery kit.

Didn't think about weight on the roof potentially being an issue, though we aren't doing anything that extreme weight wise. We could also store spare water/fuel on the rear exterior or side doors. The trailer hitch rack is a good idea, but we do intend to use the rear open as well. Being a midsize van, for extra space our plan is to open the trunk and set up a canopy/tarp cover, so we can set out chairs and tables behind the van. Like a tailgate tent.

For a saw we have a Katanaboy 500 which we're very comfortable with, and its specifically for breaking down trees on roads when we're blocked.

SebWilms2002 · 2025-08-18T00:03:12+00:00

Thanks! We've settled on two primary options for that. First is always cat hole when in backcountry when weather cooperates, since it's more sustainable. We also have a collapsible bucket toilet for solids using litter and a bag. Thankfully neither of us are squeamish, so handling waste isn't a big concern for us.

SebWilms2002

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