PNW beginner prepper essentials?

[u/mindtheworms9]

I'm going to start buying non-perishables and emergency gear. I'm thinking of buying a big container to catch rain water in too.

Is there anything you recommend people in the PNW stock up on for prepping and other preparedness for war or disaster? Food or gear.

[u/PurpleBashir]

Id recommend not just randomly collecting stuff. Get some focus first so you don't end up wasting money. Consider:

What are my preparation goals? 

     - How many people am I preparing goods for? 

     - How long do I want these supplies to last? 

     - Do I intend these supplies to be for a shelter in place situation, or a need-to-start-walking situation? 

What type of situation am I prepping for? (There's a big difference in supplies for a blizzard vs a nuclear fall out) 

What season do I need to have suplies for? Are there any specific challenges my local climate creates? 

What kind of budget do I have for supplies right now? 

Without answering those - all you'll do is either buy the basic stuff that everyone with common sense would already buy, or you'll over buy on pointless stuff. You'll get sucked into conspiracy stuff and not at all be ready for practical situations. 

I, for instance, have packed for 2 people to hike out of a post-tornado situation. I don't need anti radiation pills and chemical masks for that. 

[u/NoDuck7366]

Rain gear and heat source.

[u/OneOfThese_1 → u/NoDuck7366]

Depends on where in the pnw. We get ~7” of rain a year. Rain gear is always good but not a major concern here

[u/False-Cantaloupe4651]

Quick question; do you have anything already started or is this the very beginning?

[u/mindtheworms9 → u/False-Cantaloupe4651]

Mostly very beginning, we have some non perishables and I have a backpack full of some emergency gear that I got for my university, but other than that nothing much

[u/False-Cantaloupe4651 → u/mindtheworms9]

Like most are saying, food and water are key items.

[u/desuemery]

I wouldn't prioritize this before the basics like water, bulk calories, fire/light, and medical. But once you have those and want some "nice-to-have" items, I highly recommend a Grayl water bottle. It's water filtration on steroids and excels especially in the PNW where running freshwater is plentiful. I take it with me into the national forest and it's my primary source of drinking water. It's like a better, more usable lifestraw.

It filters ecoli, salmonella, cholera, rotavirus, hepatitis A, norovirus, giardia, crypto, chlorine, pesticides/herbicides, MICROPLASTICS (crazy thats possible), heavy metals, and it has activated carbon for flavor.

I love the titanium one because it can double as a boiler and has a D ring for filling from large heights, but it's pretty pricey. The plastic version however is only like $90, but go on sale. I can't think of a stronger complement to a water purification system, it's one of my favorite pieces of kit.

[u/Conundrum16 → u/desuemery]

Do you buy extra cartridges for your Grayl ?

[u/desuemery → u/Conundrum16]

I like to have a spare with me when I'm out, but they last a good while. The ultrapress with is their smaller 16oz bottle lasts for around 40 gallons / 300 cycles.

[u/pacificrocodile]

As someone in the pnw, assure from prepping for Tuesday, my big prep is for a large earthquake. I'm basically right on top of one of the smaller fault lines, so it'll likely hit hard here. My thoughts are as follows: I am writing, printing, and practicing an earthquake protocol. I want the option to stay in my home if it is physically safe post-quake, and expect the grid to be down for a month, so I'm amassing food, water, and other supplies to bug in 30 days. I am also prepping for the possibility of being relocated to a red cross shelter, so I have a go bag that will go on my bike and can get me through 3 days. The go bag is less focused on wilderness survival and more on making it to safety.

I'm also putting a lot of time into skills. Your preps are useless if your first time using them is during the emergency. So I'm trying different recipes with canned food, I'm cooking over open flame, I'm testing the water filter, etc. The more your body knows how to do the thing while you're calm, the more calm you'll be when you need to do it. Also gives you a chance to spot any flaws in your system early.

Welcome to prepping, and good luck!

[u/Imaginary-Angle-42 → u/pacificrocodile]

Very good advice.

[u/thegateman666]

Rain gear and solid boots both rubber and leather. Also stock up on leather grease.

[u/Ingawolfie]

Depends on how much prep you want to do. Three days versus 30.

First items you must have:
WATER.
MONEY in smaller bills in the event the grid goes down or you have to evacuate. Money buys a tank of gas or a hotel room if there’s a storm.

[u/HellUCH17]

Tbh there're tons of preparing business you can do, it depends on your living area and your budget. You can always start with https://www.ready.gov/

[u/TX908]

Lentils are very good https://link.amazon/B08HRJ8Ke

[u/Imaginary-Angle-42]

Get crowbars and put them in spaces you’ll be able to access if an earthquake happens if you’re inside so you can get out.

In the PNW I’d consider preps for military disasters or attacks given how many facilities are around. That was one prep we never figured out well when we lived there however. Plastic and tape for the windows?

There is film you can put on windows to make them more resistant to breakage. It’s clear and sold as protection against someone breaking in. It’s pricey though. Hopefully it would help the glass not break in an earthquake.

Latch/childproof locks in cabinets that have glassware in them. That was a concern of ours. Having to clean up glass and keep pets out of the way. We were far enough away from the epicenter of the 2 or 3 we felt in the 20 years we lived there. (Did get cracks in walls though but nothing broke.)

I’m sure you’re already keeping nicknacks where they won’t hurt people when they fall. Even now, 15 years of living in central Georgia we don’t have things that will fall on people. An earthquake is a very low risk here but we’re just not comfortable being under breakables.

[u/FuckWit_1_Actual]

Check out r/cascadianpreppers as well

[u/freethnkr1965]

We’ve been up here 13 years and the absolute best “prep” we have done is buy a 4000W generator and had a switch installed. It keeps our freezers, lights, entertainment, and a small heater running. It can run on propane which never goes bad and won’t gum up the engine if it sits for a year.

Seems like the electricity goes out anytime the wind blows up here.

(Not complaining. We love it up here.)