Items that SOUND like a good idea.

[Bearman202]

Okay, we've all done it. We saw something and thought it would be a good idea, or a great way to do something, and then reality jumps up and bites us on the you-know-what. I wanted to start a thread for people to list the items that got them, in the hopes that the people who haven't been there yet can avoid that particular mistake. I'll start.

My first blunder was the idea of using totes for food storage. They keep the items dry, reasonably bug-proof, stackable, and as a result, are almost totally inaccessible. If you use them, the next item you want to use will be in the bottom tote. This is a rule of the universe. I don't know how it works out that way, but it does. You end up moving a lot of stuff to get to the item you really wanted, then you have to put everything back where it was. Epic fail on that one. Anyone else?

[tabwyo]

We like using totes a lot. Not specifically for food though. Our food is in 5gal buckets, seal-able barrels and latch lid trash cans. I work in TX and drive back and for from Wyoming and work. I don't come close to spending my per diem allotment so I spend the rest on store-able food each time. U pick up a tote each time just to make it easy to handle hauling all of it home. We itemize our gear into categories and label the totes and store that way. Also keeps non preparedness stuff organized. I figure we could use the totes in a pinch for stuff like water capturing, to melt snow in, container gardening and what not..... heck, I have used a really large tote as an emergency bathtub once to bath my dogs when the tangled with a skunk.

[huckridge]

I have a question about using totes. What if I used some gal. size mylar bags and placed say beans, rice, noodle, bullion cube, even some canned meat, seasonings, etc... so that one tote would have more than just one item in it. I know this is not practical for bulk storage but is there anything wrong with this type of thinking? If it worked ok, you could still use some of your totes.

[MustangGal]

Communism, Socialism, Universal Health Care.... OH! You mean gear related... lol! Sorry!

[Bearman202]

I have a question about using totes. What if I used some gal. size mylar bags and placed say beans, rice, noodle, bullion cube, even some canned meat, seasonings, etc... so that one tote would have more than just one item in it. I know this is not practical for bulk storage but is there anything wrong with this type of thinking? If it worked ok, you could still use some of your totes.

If you set it up so that you had a week's worth of food in each one, it might be a good idea. My problem was that I didn't plan all that well, and just started filling them. It's just me, so each would hold almost a month's worth. The problem came in when I wanted a can of chili. Well, the chili was in the bottom tote, under the other two totes and the toilet paper. If you actually planned it out, I don't know why you couldn't do it that way. Like tabwyo says, they ARE handy for hauling, although if you filled one you would have some weight to deal with. I hadn't even thought of using them for water capture, melting snow, etc. Fill one with snow and bring it inside, then wait a bit. That could work. Depending on the size of the tote, you could have some weight issues to deal with, but there's no reason you would have to fill it to the top either. Again, if you planned it out, had a week's (or whatever) worth in each one, it could give you a pretty quick count of the amount of time you had covered.

[jbman]

I have a question about using totes. What if I used some gal. size mylar bags and placed say beans, rice, noodle, bullion cube, even some canned meat, seasonings, etc... so that one tote would have more than just one item in it. I know this is not practical for bulk storage but is there anything wrong with this type of thinking? If it worked ok, you could still use some of your totes.

I have been thinking a long these lines for a while. I like the idea of using gal. sized mylar bags instead of using the 5-6 gal mylar bags. I realize that the mylar is the oxygen barrier and the key to preservation. I been thinking that the totes are an ease of use verses the better physical protection of a bucket.

Jack

[tabwyo]

I know from experience that mice can gnaw through a tote in short order if they have the motivation to do so. So they aren't the best for storing bulk edibles like rice, wheat, corn or anything that rodents might find yummy. When we fill totes we try to stick to filling it with all one type of item. We have totes full of bolts of fabric. One full of different size tarps. A couple filled with "space bagged" winter clothes. One is full of snare making hardware and aviation cable. Stuff we tend to not need on a regular basis because as Bearman stated... getting in and out of them can be a pain.

On the water collection uses. Water is 8.34 pounds per gallon. So a average tote that holds 15 gallons would weigh 125 pounds plum full. Most good sized totes hold way more. Hard to move about!!!! And these aren't meant to carry that kind of weight constantly and will fail at the corners over time. But what's to stop you in a pinch from leaving the tote in a warm place inside and conveying snow to and melted water from the tote via bucket??

[kihnspiracy]

We like the Rubbermade Action Packers. They get filled with winter gear, mre's, mountain house freeze dried meals, medical supplies, etc. Tons of uses for them.

[RobertJ]

Many years back I bought a Blackhawk tactical vest. I always saw people/law enforcement/characters on TV dramas etc. wearing them and thought, "wow... gots to get me one of those". Even purchased the BH Omega in OD green. Went to my second class ever, an advanced defensive carbine class and there were several of us wearing them. All of us were like "cool" look at the way the instructors are looking at us...after the usual morning class room safety brief and a bit of show & tell teaching we went hot on the range and long boring story short... the instructers picked those of us in vests to go to the line first, "ego boost" or so I thought... "ego crash". The vest did not work so well for that class or style of defence training. The instructors were quick to point out a vests weaknesses, and proved it with us. They did give examples of some areas they work in, then progressed to show what works for prone, sitting, etc.
I personally did not like how the vest fit, its weight, how hot it was to wear (I reside in Florida) And it just did not work for me. This class showed me its weaknesses and I never wore it again. It resided in a gear closet in a spare room, where all my no longer used or "did not work out for me" gear goes... untill last year when a friend really wanted one, even knowing all the drawbacks. I gave it to him. Talked to him not to long ago and he has since retired it.

[WiseOwl]

If you have (or had in this sense) an axe with a fiberglass handle and it starts to split, do not put Space Tape (Duct) over it and think it will hold. Maybe in outer space but one swing and it splits again...hahahah....now I have an axe with a wooden handle.

[Bearman202]

If you have (or had in this sense) an axe with a fiberglass handle and it starts to split, do not put Space Tape (Duct) over it and think it will hold. Maybe in outer space but one swing and it splits again...hahahah....now I have an axe with a wooden handle.

I had a hammer with a fiberglass handle on it once. On a nice warm day, I tried to pull a nail with it, and ended up bending the handle. It sounded a like a good idea. Fiberglass won't rot, etc., but the reality of it didn't work, much like your axe experience. This is the kind of thing I was thinking about when I started the thread. Things that SOUND like a great idea, then don't come through at all. Keep 'em coming, folks!

[LizardKing]

When it comes to hammers, I've had the same 22 oz Estwing for about 30 years. You can't beat them for balance and durability.

When the fuel pump in my Wrangler went south a month ago, I pulled an old one off the garage shelf and put it in, congratulating myself on saving a bunch of money by using what I had on hand. I paid dearly for that yesterday by spending 4 hours in the pouring rain to pull the tank and put a brandy new store bought pump in. Hey, it sounded like a good idea at the time.

[Grinnan Barrett]

The first time I tried to stack 5 gallon buckets full five high and had the bottom two split open after a couple of months. Another was the time we tried to store MREs in a car trunk. Really bad idea. Maybe worse was cooking on the manifold of our jeep. Nothing like food burned up on the engine of your car.

I loved one that happened to a friend of mine. I thought he knew how to cook. We were at a campout with our group of guys and their kids. He put cans of beans in the fire pit to heat them up. they were sealed not vented. Have you ever seen beans embedded in a tree?

[claymore]

The first time I tried to stack 5 gallon buckets full five high and had the bottom two split open after a couple of months. Another was the time we tried to store MREs in a car trunk. Really bad idea. Maybe worse was cooking on the manifold of our jeep. Nothing like food burned up on the engine of your car.

I loved one that happened to a friend of mine. I thought he knew how to cook. We were at a campout with our group of guys and their kids. He put cans of beans in the fire pit to heat them up. they were sealed not vented. Have you ever seen beans embedded in a tree?

I bet you guys were sober too ! LOL thats funny stuff!

[Grinnan Barrett]

I guess since this is confession time I might as well tell on myself. Do you remember Ginsu Knives? I didn't just have one set, I had two. On second thought they are still sharp after all those years. My father in law topped me with the Salad Shooter.

There is one that seriously taught me a lesson about buying quality. I bought one of those hollow handled survival knives years ago with a kit in it. The kit was junk but not as bad as the knife itself. Pot metal from China. Buy from people you know and buy quality and you don't have to look back. That is why I buy from people I know like our admin here. I bought stuff from JRH 13 years ago that i still use. Part of my lessons learned. GB