Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Road Trip Vehicle Emergency Kit

Here's my road trip vehicle emergency kit for my truck:
Triangle reflector kit (a set of three portable triangles)
2 flares
Jumper cable
Duct tape
5 gallon fuel can (with fuel obviously)
5 gallon water can (with water)
2 cans of Fix a Flat
Hose repair kit
1 pick and 1 shovel
Tow strap
1 MRE
Sleeping bag

Please send in your suggestions, particularly from those who live in cold weather regions. Someone suggested to have a CB radio in my truck when I travel.  

Monday, May 30, 2011

Road Trip Survival Kit

When I travel, I always have with me my road trip survival kit. This is different than my road trip emergency kit. I will be sharing my road trip emergency kit in my website, as well. I am open to suggestions, please feel free to send me some ideas. My road trip survival kit also double as my disaster survival kit. In California, I hope you have one.

Road Trip Survival Kit:
Durable small backpack. No need to buy expensive backpack, just make sure it is enough to carry what you have decided to put inside it. Make sure it is light enough to carry on your back. Most importantly, durable. Here is mine.


Contents:

Full change of clothes (trouser, underwear, socks, T-shirt. Make sure these clothes still fit you)
Sweater, preferably zip up
                        Running/Cross trainer shoes (I have an old pair of cross trainers)
Windbreaker (similar to a Gortex light jacket)
Space blanket
                        Hat with a brim
                        Sunglasses in a hard case
                        2 lip balm or chapsticks
                        Sunscreen
                        1 lb of beef jerky
                        A bag of trail mix
                        3 protein or energy bars
                        Hydration system with water and a purifier attached to the drinking hose.
Two flashlights (with spare batteries, wind up emergency flashlights works great, no need for batteries).
                        Fire starter kit
                        First aid kit
                        2 two-way walkie-talkie radios (with spare batteries)
                        Wind-up emergency radio with weather broadcast capabilities.
                        Multi-tool (Leatherman, Gerber, etc)
                        Pocket knife with folding blade
                        Fixed blade knife.
                        Whistle
                        Strobe light
Heavy duty freezer Ziploc bags (put your socks, underwear and T-shirt in one)
12 ft of 550 cords (parachute cord)
Laser pointer (ask me why this is in my pack)

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Be a tourist in your own home state.

I'm always amazed at people who were born and grew up in the state they live in, but never really seen anything other than your local amusement parks. I was just talking to a friend who grew up in California and he asked me if I had anything planned for the Memorial Day Weekend. I told him that I probably just drive up the coast and stop by Solvang (just one of many places that I will stop and visit along the way to wherever...no solid plans). I was surprised when he asked me where Solvang was, yet he has been outside California doing the tourist thing.
My point is, before you start traveling outside your state, be a tourist in your own state. I live in San Bernardino County and I can't tell you how many people I know, who has never been to Big Bear and ride the people mover during spring, summer or fall. All they know is the club scene on weekends and when Monday arrives, work.
I own a firearms training company in California, but one of my passion is traveling. I'm constantly around firearms and people who own firearms. Everyone needs some kind of outlet outside what they do on the daily basis. Take a drive to different mall, rather than go to the same mall over and over again. We need a change of scenery once in a while or things start to get dull and next thing you know, you find yourself just sitting at home throughout the whole weekend.
To a lot of people, days off are used to sleep in. For me, I used days off to keep my mind away from and break the monotony of my daily routine. I have learned how to work to live, not live to work.