Oct 14 2006

Join The Eddie Bauer Militia

Published by Gaius at 10:56 am under Blogosphere

A developing trend in mainstream American society. Mass marketers carrying survival kits.

SO WHEN I WAS AT THE MALL THE OTHER DAY, I saw that Eddie Bauer had a prominent display featuring this Disaster Emergency Kit for 2. It's not bad, especially for a car or apartment, though I'd certainly want to supplement it.

But what struck me more than the kit itself was the prominence of the display. Put that together with the fact that Target is marketing survival kits with the American Red Cross, Slate has run a series on disaster survival, and Consumer Reports is pushing disaster preparedness and it looks like we've got something of a trend. (Popular Mechanics is on the job, too, but you expect that from them.) And walking through J.C. Penney the same day I saw hand-cranked dynamo lanterns and radios prominently displayed by the entrance.

As an update with reader comments says: "10 years ago, this was the stuff of Soldier of Fortune". Now it's JC Penney and Costco. Cheaper than Dirt has some survival kits that are, well, cheaper than dirt.

UPDATE: Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the link. Visitors, please do take a look around. Welcome to the Crabitat.

UPDATE: Commenter Brass forwards the absolute be all and end all of survival kits: The Zombie Loadout. Guaranteed up to 100 zombies.

7 Responses to “Join The Eddie Bauer Militia”

  1. # K T Caton 14 Oct 2006 at 12:20 pm

    I didn’t see any 9mm handguns in these kits. What gives? When the nuclear radiation-enhanced mutants come, a fat lot of good a bunch of band-aids is going to be.

  2. # Gaiuson 14 Oct 2006 at 12:49 pm

    I linked one of those yesterday.

    http://tinyurl.com/yzqr4k

    .460 S&W Magnum or .500 S&W Magnum. That WILL drop a mutant.

  3. # Brasson 14 Oct 2006 at 2:58 pm

    A little expensive, but the best survival kit for the money IMHO.

  4. # bRight & Earlyon 14 Oct 2006 at 3:09 pm

    What I want to know is where can I get a Jack Bauer survival kit?

  5. # Gaiuson 14 Oct 2006 at 3:22 pm

    Brass, that is outstanding! Moving this up.

  6. # old_dawgon 14 Oct 2006 at 4:20 pm

    THe Zombie loadout is a bit heavy if you have to carry all of it. However, skip the 9mm for anything really serious. Won’t stop mucg unless you use Hydrashock or COR-BON ammo.

  7. # Quilly Mammothon 14 Oct 2006 at 5:21 pm

    The CheaperThanDirt kit is a good starter. I actually started working on some new “boogie bags” for Mrs. QM and myself a month ago. Getting the long shelf life food as a starting point was the catch. I’ve been thinking of making a page for it.

    Just that kit alone would have made things a lot better for the Katrina evacuees. But it needs a better first aid kit, a stove for heating water and sheltering material. Having been stranded where I had to use my kit I can tell you a nice hot cup of coffee is an essential survival step…mentally if nothing else.

    First aid kits are way overpriced. A good way to start is to buy a J&J kit for $1.00 at the Wal-Mart check out line and add to it. For less than $12.00 you make two or three with more appropriate components than you can buy for that price from a retailer.

    For the Zombie Load Out. I like the .45 JHP only because the opening is just about right for the insertion of standard silver solder. It can easily be rounded off to give a good profile and you never know when a Vamp is going to take advantage of a Zombie Breakout.

    A few mags thus loaded will also take care of any Vampire packs. Internal Group dynamics of a Vampire clan being what they are you usually don’t see more than a handful at any time. In a pinch they will still get enough expansion to dispatch a zombie; just like those JHP with the plastic sabot inside.

    Be Prepared!