Preppers: Five Black Friday Ideas
Kevin Felts 11.22.17
The largest shopping day of the year is a couple of days away, and sales are already starting. As preppers, this is an excellent time to stock up on survival gear–not only for ourselves, but for friends and family members.
Before going out and blindly buying stuff, take time to find out what certain family members need. Do they live in urban or rural areas? Do they hunt or fish? And take inventory of your own stocks.
Flashlights
Everyone can use another flashlight. I usually look for Maglights that use D size batteries. Why not flashlights that use 123 or 18650 batteries? Maglights with D batteries can be used as a baton in self-defense situations.
Besides D-cell Maglight, I also look for keychain lights, such as the Thrunite Ti3 EDC Flashlight. The Ti3 has a range of brightness settings ranging from 1/2 lumen all the way to 120 lumens.
Hand tools
Wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, power tools, ratchets, etc. It seems like every year I buy my dad some kind of tool set. Maybe if I buy him enough I will replace all the tools I lost when I was a teenager.
Places like Lowes, Sears, and Home Depot run discounts on store brand tool sets. Be careful though, some of the discounts are not that great.
Several years ago Lowes would mark their tool sets down 50%. In the recent years, it seems that only 35% was the norm. For example, five or six years ago, I bought a Lowes tool set for $99, regular price was $199. In the past few years that same tool set was marked down to around $135, while the regular price has stayed around $199-$209.
Ammunition
Online stores will probably be running discounts on ammo. So, why not grab it while it is on sale? I know what my brother, dad, and sons shoot (30-06, 22 long rifle, 223/5.56mm, 12 gauge, and 30-30).
A box here, a box there slowly adds up.
My brother has a problem with coyotes hanging around his cow field. A box of target-grade 223 Remington would probably go to good use.
Knives
Not expensive pocket knives; most people should have one of those already. Let’s talk about low-cost knives that can be left in the truck, boat, or tackle box. Something that if it falls overboard, you do not have to dive in after it.
Is there a young person in the family who could use a first knife? Maybe a fixed blade skinning, camping, or backpacking knife?
The past two orders from Amazon have included a folding pocket knife that cost less than $10. One was given to my daughter, the other is in my knife collection.
The two knives were:
- Tacklife
- Elk Ridge
They are low-cost folding pocket knives that can be given out as gifts or included in a handout bag.
First Aid Kits
Who cannot use a first aid kit for the truck, RV, hunting camp, hiking bag, bug out bag, etc?
First aid kits could be an excellent choice for a young camper or hiker. Teach those young people the importance of first aid.
Several years ago my son, nephew, and I were on a hiking trip. After going swimming, I noticed a tick on my nephew’s chest. Tweezers were retrieved from the first aid kit and the tick was removed.
Here is the video from 2008 of me removing that tick.
Final Thoughts
We could talk about all kinds of stuff that would great gifts for preppers. I just wanted to throw together a short list to get the ball rolling.
So what do you usually give to the sportsmen and preppers in your family? Maybe sleeping bags, ALICE packs, MOLLE packs, a tent, or something else?
A couple of years ago, I gave two of my sons each a fully loaded large ALICE pack. The pack included canteens, a sleeping bag, knife, and a few other odds and ends. To complete their pack, my mom gave them each a one-person tent. This left them with everything they needed to go on our next camping trip.
