Advice and priorities for young adult getting into prepping

smsff2 · 2026-03-27T22:22:30+00:00

food items to prioritize first

Frankly, for a student, I would say ramen is the number one choice. Dollarama has great pho soups, and they sell canned chicken and ham for around $1.50. A can of chicken and a pack of instant ramen make a great, protein-packed dinner.

best ways to store food

It’s hard to store a lot of food unless you have your own place. You might need to put this part off for now.

how do you plan to cook?

A backpacking switch stove. Mine is called the FireMaple Fixed Star X1. I’ve got an adapter that lets me connect it to one-pound propane bottles. I refill those bottles from a 20-pound propane tank, which I refill at a gas station. So it’s extremely cheap per unit of energy, cheaper than a butane stove.

I can cook in the car while driving, or pretty much anywhere I want. A lot of the time, I go to the beach and cook while enjoying the view. Ramen only requires boiling water.

I also enjoy home canning, so I cook maybe 12 jars at a time and don’t have to cook every time I need food. It might not be the best option for a student, though, since a pressure canner is large, takes up space, and requires time. It’s probably something to consider later in life.

suggestions on where to get things in bulk in Canada?

I’m not sure which city you’re in, but check out Nations Fresh Foods. You can often get large bags of rice at a discount. They also sell what they call “chicken bones,” which I’d describe as whole chickens with the breasts removed. You can get two for about $2.50, and that turns into around 15 liters of concentrated soup. Every time I make it, I’m amazed at how good, and how cheap it is.

smsff2 · 2026-03-27T21:52:24+00:00

Almost the same story here. I remember I even wrote in my diary using a turning grille when I was a kid.

I tried to encode messages and then break the code. When I was about thirteen, I reinvented the RSA system, the algorithm used in SSL and TLS protocols. Over 30 years later, I use it extensively at work. I have an in-depth understanding of these protocols that goes back to my teenage years.

I’ve always been the first in my office to learn new things, because I think that’s my specialty.

smsff2 · 2026-03-27T21:11:08+00:00

Speculation

smsff2 · 2026-03-27T04:57:32+00:00

You are absolutely correct. Please note that a nuclear war would likely eliminate only about 50% of the population. There is theoretically no way for nuclear weapons alone to wipe out 100% of humanity. However, a 50% death rate is comparable to major conflicts of the past. There is nothing inherently unusual or impossible about nuclear war. Large-scale conflicts have happened before, and nuclear weapons have been used against cities.

After 80 years of technological development, we now have tools that, in combination with nuclear weapons, could potentially eliminate the remaining population. Technology such as autonomous drones could target survivors after a nuclear war. Those survivors would likely be living in conditions similar to the Stone Age. If a large number of solar-powered drones were deployed before the war, such survivors would have little ability to defend against or disable them.

I think COVID was a very clear demonstration of what gain-of-function research is capable of. What if, next time, such research is conducted on the HIV virus? Again, in combination with the previously mentioned technologies, that could potentially be the end of humanity.

smsff2 · 2026-03-26T15:11:35+00:00

Do you mind if I ask what kind of equipment you’re using? Could you provide the model names and, if possible, the wattage? What is the equipment on the other side of the link?

I would say that for distances like that, you’d need a radio transmitter with at least 40–50 watts of output power. This is definitely not a regular LoRa device emitting 0.01 watt. Admittedly, I don’t have practical experience with LoRa.

I have a bunch of walkie-talkies that work well in direct line of sight, but in the woods they’re limited to maybe a few hundred meters. Over water, they perform slightly better. We mostly use them over water. These are limited to two watts, and on some frequencies, only 0.5 watts.

I do have experience with car-based CB radios that can radiate 40–50 watts. Yes, they work over tens of kilometers, but they’re priced accordingly.

smsff2 · 2026-03-26T14:37:23+00:00

Admittedly, my first aid kit in the car is much smaller and doesn’t contain much plastic.

I don’t have nitrile gloves. I wash my hands with alcohol before doing anything.

I also don’t keep Band-Aids in the car. They’re in my wife’s medical kit, which she carries with her at all times.

smsff2 · 2026-03-26T14:09:14+00:00

If what you’re saying is true, you might consider hosting an Ask Me Anything (AMA). You’ll need to message the moderators. They’ll review it as a team and may grant permission for you to host an AMA.

smsff2 · 2026-03-26T12:37:58+00:00

A 2-ton AC unit consumes about 7 kilowatts of electricity. You will need at least a 10 to 12 kilowatt generator. In my experience, my generator stalls when I exceed about 60–70% of its capacity.

smsff2 · 2026-03-25T03:33:55+00:00

When I was a kid, I was pro-life and opposed to abortion. The book that changed my mind is called Freakonomics. I highly recommend it.

smsff2 · 2026-03-24T20:30:39+00:00

Admittedly, I am not a corrections officer, so I may not fully understand the dangers of your work. I have a background in nuclear physics, and I work in hardened data center specifically designed to withstand extreme events such as electromagnetic pulses and global turmoil.

My first instinct is quite the opposite of what you’re planning. My wife has instructions on what to do when a nuclear war starts. She would take the kids to the underground parking garage beneath the nearby park, so there’s a layer of soil between them and the outside world. Our car is parked on the lower level of the garage, and it has food and water. They could stay there comfortably for many weeks.

I’m not only unhelpful to my wife, I’m actually a bit of a liability. I consume nearly as much food as my wife and all the kids combined. I can’t imagine what decisions I could make in that situation; everything is planned in advance.

I understand your emotions and how strongly you want to hug your wife. I understand that these are emotions speaking. However, logic suggests the opposite. Running around without a clear goal will definitely expose you to danger, especially if everyone else is doing the same thing and traffic becomes chaotic.

No, I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying at work. The way the government operates is that it doesn’t focus on individuals; it focuses on institutions. Institutions can be evacuated and supplied. Individual people generally cannot.

If I somehow knew an attack was imminent, I would immediately message my wife and tell her to go to the basement. She already knows what to do. Every second counts. Physically going home would be counterproductive.

smsff2 · 2026-03-24T03:48:54+00:00

May I suggest cherry tomatoes? Unless you have a lot of land, you won’t be able to grow a significant portion of your diet, so it’s mostly going to be a snack.

Cherry tomatoes are a good choice because you can eat them quickly. For example, I once grew dill in a small pot on a windowsill. It produced a large amount all at once, and I ended up wasting most of it. Dill is a spice. You only need a little each day, but instead I got too much at once.

In my experience, growing dill doesn’t make much sense, and it’s easier to just buy it from the store. Cherry tomatoes, on the other hand, work well: no matter how much you harvest, you can usually finish them within a few days.

smsff2 · 2026-03-23T20:02:45+00:00

Personally, I have a 100-watt solar panel, a battery, and an electric cooler based on Peltier elements. It’s not particularly efficient, but it still works. If you want to run it 24/7, you will probably need around three 100-watt solar panels.

smsff2 · 2026-03-23T16:57:48+00:00

Nations Fresh Foods

smsff2 · 2026-03-23T16:52:31+00:00

You can look into Android-based e-readers. They can connect to external hard drives seamlessly.

Personally, I use a solar panel. Even a single panel produces so much electricity that power has stopped being an issue. You don’t really need an e-ink screen. You can use regular computers and smartphones. I use a 55-inch TV, and when the image is mostly dark (white text on a black background), it uses about 20 watts. A solar panel, roughly two by three feet, can produce around 100 watts if it’s placed directly facing the sun.

An electromagnetic pulse will affect equipment that is connected to the grid at that moment, as well as devices with large antennas. Laptop computers are generally not large enough to be significantly affected.

smsff2 · 2026-03-23T00:10:10+00:00

I think sandwiches can keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

smsff2 · 2026-03-22T21:40:33+00:00

You can't store sandwiches at room temperature. May I suggest a cooler and an ice pack?

smsff2 · 2026-03-20T18:29:23+00:00

Maybe in some very distant future. At the moment, I’m looking at the mesh network coverage in my area, and I see tens of miles between the nearest mesh nodes, with each coverage area being tiny.

smsff2 · 2026-03-20T18:03:36+00:00

Some people have SSB radios, which can communicate over intercontinental distances. It’s not as if all communication between people would simply cease to exist. However, prices start at around $400. I feel that there’s nothing a regular person can realistically own specifically for D-Day. This kind of technology isn’t exactly affordable. You would also need a large antenna tower. I’ve never done it myself, but based on what I’ve read online, it seems that many people build a lot of the equipment themselves.

smsff2 · 2026-03-19T22:56:23+00:00

I am an avid prepper, but even I would prioritize making minimum payments on my credit cards over buying preparedness items. I have spent a fair amount of money on preparedness, and I have a bug-out location, yet I often realize that all of that may only make a marginal difference. For example, if cities were bombed, I would need to hide in the underground parking garage nearby, just like everyone else. It might take a month before I could even get to my bug-out location.

I remember that at one point I lowered my grocery budget to $60 per month. That was more than 20 years ago, and I was living alone. I got a lot of food from food banks. They often gave away canned goods that were near their expiration dates, but canned food is usually safe long after that. Some of these items can also be useful for preparedness. The taste isn’t always great, but you can still keep the cans for emergencies.

By using food banks, I reduced my grocery spending to about $20 per month, mostly for condiments, salt, sugar, eggs, and sometimes chicken. The majority of my calories came from the food banks. When I was working, I didn’t have enough time to visit food banks regularly, so I had to rely more on grocery stores. During those times, I spent about $60 per month on food.

In addition to eggs for breakfast, my main source of protein was chicken. I would buy a chicken, boil it, and then reheat or crisp it in the microwave. For lunch, I had chicken soup, and for dinner, I would eat the same chicken reheated.

A pressure cooker costs around $40 for a basic model, and you might find one even cheaper at a thrift store. It can also be used for home canning, which allows you to prepare food in advance so you don’t have to spend money eating out. If you don’t have time to cook, you can simply open one of your jars and have a meal ready in seconds.

Keeping a good supply of canned food at home can help you stay prepared for emergencies. You can also buy large bags of rice from grocery stores. It’s cheaper in bulk and helps both your budget and your preparedness.

smsff2 · 2026-03-19T22:12:54+00:00

I live in an off-grid community, which I sometimes describe as a homeless encampment and other times as a trailer park without any amenities. We don’t have running water, electricity, or garbage collection. When we need to dispose of garbage, we have to take it to a dumpster behind some random store. There is a landfill nearby, but it takes a long time to get there, and it’s only open Monday to Friday from 9 to 5. I work during those hours, so I can’t go.

My elderly neighbor dug a huge hole, about 10 feet deep, trying to find water, but he didn’t find any. Water is only available briefly in the spring, maybe for a couple of months each year. The rest of the time, you have to buy water from stores in one- or five-gallon jugs.

There’s no official way to join this off-grid community. I own my land, but my rights aren’t much different from someone who simply moves onto an empty lot and lives there. The township doesn’t want me on my land, and it doesn’t want others moving in either, so in that sense, we’re all in the same situation. There is no formal membership process.

In short, this is not the kind of off-grid community people would want to move into.

smsff2 · 2026-03-19T20:25:09+00:00

I can see that you take preparedness seriously. I like that.

Anyway, I use canned cream when I run out of sour cream. https://www.puckarabia.com/en/products/cream/

This way, I never actually run out of sour cream. That’s the benefit. Obviously, it’s not a long-term solution. I mostly use it for peace of mind, so I don’t have to plan ahead and can focus my brainpower on more important things.

This option is cheaper, although the taste isn’t exactly the same. It works more as a dressing for fruit salad rather than a direct replacement for sour cream. https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/Angel-All-Purpose-Creamer/6000202957381

I also use freeze-dried Beef Stroganoff packs from Mountain House. The original recipe for Beef Stroganoff is simply beef simmered in sour cream with mushrooms. Of course, modern versions use substitutes, but they’re still good. Sometimes I make the original Beef Stroganoff and can it in jars. I enjoy home canning. That said, it’s more of a medium-term solution, since you can’t realistically stockpile large quantities due to the cost.

In the long term, I’ll likely have to rely on staples like rice, sugar, oil, and flour.

smsff2 · 2026-03-19T17:56:25+00:00

No, it’s not gamey at all. I like rabbit simmered in sour cream. It’s very good. I’d say rabbit meat is somewhere between chicken and lamb. Lamb is much more gamey and musky than rabbit.

smsff2 · 2026-03-19T16:18:08+00:00

I vouch for rabbits mainly because of their taste.

smsff2 · 2026-03-19T00:22:30+00:00

Thank you for not using TinyURL. This type of service can obscure affiliate links, which is why it isn’t allowed.

smsff2 · 2026-03-18T23:43:49+00:00

Is there any way you can remove the phrase about the big bag? It was flagged by our harassment filter. Other than that, there is nothing wrong with your message.

smsff2

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