Toulouse42
Enlightened
100% agree. I have flashlights that will use AAA, AA, D/C, 14500, 18650, 21700. In case of SHTF, I even have a couple that are manually operated and a couple of cigarette lighters, candles and some chemical light tubes.
The primary bug out scenario in my region involved the deteriorating condition of the Lake Lewisville Dam whose persistent seepage problems came to the fore after the floods of 2015 (this spillway is bone dry dry something like 364.9 days of the year). The ACOE finally got serious about repairs so the risk of a literal 40 foot wall of water tearing down the Trinity River wrecking everything in its path (read: huge swaths of Dallas proper) has abated. While I'm above the likely path of devastation quite a bit off critical regional infrastructure isn't, so that scenario would have been profoundly disruptive.As you found out during the ammo shortage, having a stockpile can really smooth out the situation. However, sometimes even a stockpile of goods won't help. I think about incidences like the train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, OH, or the wildfires in Kalifornia, the flooding of SS SANDY, Katrina, and other cities, when residents only had mere minutes to evacuate their homes/offices. When time is of the essence, you need a pre-stocked go bag, and maybe some caches in strategic places to resupply from.
Was it winter of '21/'22 when you had the ice storm that froze the wind chargers, and the natural gas relay stations? How were you affected, if at all?The primary bug out scenario in my region involved the deteriorating condition of the Lake Lewisville Dam whose persistent seepage problems came to the fore after the floods of 2015 (this spillway is bone dry dry something like 364.9 days of the year). The ACOE finally got serious about repairs so the risk of a literal 40 foot wall of water tearing down the Trinity River wrecking everything in its path (read: huge swaths of Dallas proper) has abated. While I'm above the likely path of devastation quite a bit off critical regional infrastructure isn't, so that scenario would have been profoundly disruptive.
The risks now are more generalized and/or localized - prolonged power outage, airliner crash (I'm but a few miles from DFW International Airport), tornado, flooding, fire, cicadas (I kid, mostly). Summer of 2020 saw my burg's first notable protests however those were miles away and extremely tame by compare to Dallas (moderate excitement - but a teargas canister or three was deployed) thus spillover reaching my neighborhood would be an outlier atop an outlier.
So ... bugout bag it is for anything that seems seriously exciting. And hope I can take some backroads out of town to the folks' house in SW AR.
2021.Was it winter of '21/'22 when you had the ice storm that froze the wind chargers, and the natural gas relay stations?
Fortunate not to have been meaningfully effected by the blackouts:How were you affected, if at all?
I'm about as diversified as you can get; partly from intercepting cells prior to recycle and sorting out the good ones. Some are virtually new. I have dozens of name-brand alkaline D's and C's, and boxes or bags of AA/AAA/9v. As a result I have a collection lights to run on just about every cell/combination. Talk about cause and effect. None of them is expensive, if the alkalines leak.
In addition to what's deployed in my various and many electronics, I've got something like 40 LSD NiMH AAs on standby.I also know the standard 1,900MAH AA Eneloops hold their charge indefinitely so buy enough for them to hold through a storm, you won't need a store👍
LSD NiMH generally good for a year or more standby. I do a swap-and recharge cycle 2-4 times yearly and haven't had issues with devices being dead end of cycle despite as much as a years' worth of idle time on the cells.I want to use more eneloops but I rotate lights so much sometimes stuff doesn't get used for months at a time.
Cool. I'd like to see a photo of that 'same' end cap equipped similarly from just a few years ago. I'd bet the change in those price numbers would be somewhat shocking, (although in 2023 I'm not easily shocked by much anymore)!As a random data point, a nearby grocery store's commodity battery endcap:
View attachment 45697
- The section labels are not strictly adhered to; there's a slight edge on AA slots vs AAA however more AAA onhand at that moment.
- Did not closely check the store brand to validate chemistry; I would not bet against heavy-duty
- Checkout aisles also have battery stocks that are AA-centric and that's where you're apt to find lithiums - coin cells, AAs / AAAs, the occasional 123A/CR2 at eye-watering prices
February 2020 would be an interesting point of comparison for sure.Cool. I'd like to see a photo of that 'same' end cap equipped similarly from just a few years ago. I'd bet the change in those price numbers would be somewhat shocking, (although in 2023 I'm not easily shocked by much anymore)!