Woods Walker
The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
News of a so-called "Frankenstorm" started days before the weather moved in. Just last Halloween a freak storm knocked out power to much of New England for a week so it appeared history might repeat. When it comes to preps the early bird gets the worm. My ducks were in a row but like most people I had family and friends to check up on living in multiple addresses. I picked up some extra water and gas for them.There were bags packed at two houses incase we had to leave. Shelters often tell people to bring their own bedding so I had sleeping bags, ground pads and blankets ready to go. Also packed extra clothing including rain gear. I recharged all my NiMH batteries for the flashlights and radio.
Policed several yards for potential wind blown projectiles. Strong winds can be damaging but things carried within that wind more so.
It wasn't long before all the bottled water, batteries, gas cans and generators were sold out. Those who didn't have these things weren't going to wait until the power was out. Naturally a person could fill up their bath tub and any containers with water before the storm. The D&C cell batteries were sold out, guessing to feed Mag lights. There are more pre storm shopping dilemmas in the video.
As expected the storm knocked out power for millions but the surge was pure devastation in flood prone areas. There was also a wild fire which burned nearly 100 homes. Around my parts I woke up to fallen trees, no power and some damaged homes. I seen this one fall in my back yard. The speed a wind blown tree crash down is amazing. Like a giant fly swatter.
This one blocked my road but a neighbor used his truck to push it out of the way or so I was told. I helped clean up some limbs on the street after which loaned my cell phone to some guy. Cell phone service was spotty.
Some homes took hits from fallen trees and limbs.
Notice the tree supported by power lines. Yes that's traffic, including myself driving under the tree. Perilously hanging trees/poles, downed lines, closed roads and driving without traffic lights became old hat during the next week.
Poeple sometimes think if forced to leave a compromised location they could simply drive however for days some roads were closed including highways. If more trees and lines went down it would take even more time to open them. The GPS helped me save time finding ways around closed roads in areas I didn't know every side street. Driving beats walking unless you are forced to leave and the roads become impassable for vehicles. Just something to consider.
The house phone was out and no one answered the cell phone therefore decided to drive to the other house to check up on my 6-year old nephew. Everyone was ok but there was some major tree damage. Also power was out, generator not working and no running water. I collected some water from the pond which was now totally swamped with fallen trees. This would be used to flush the toilet.
Took about 4 days for one house to get power the other would be out for 7. A warm house with running water vs. freezing house using buckets to flush? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work this out. We tossed spoiled food and everyone bugged out.
My sister's and nephew's BOBs.
Low on tactical gear but high on clothing, toys, food, headlamps and water. Seeing how these BOBs proved effective in an actual bugout what more can be said?
After about 7 days we all had power. As of this writing there are still people in NJ and NY who aren't all lucky. Some are still freezing others are also homeless.
Gear used:
Stoves.
Stoves for cooking if or rather when the power goes out. The pocket rocket is ok for short term use inside but any combustion not vented could be a risk. I had an alcohol stove and Coleman liquid gas stove at the other house. White gas shouldn't be used inside but alcohol is just fine within reason IMO. They all preformed well.
White gas stove outside.
Alcohol stove inside.
Portable solar recharging gear.
I could have gone to the library in town to recharge my phone. Not sure if they had a generator or somehow escaped the outage but I didn't need to. The battery charger was used mostly for fun given the long runtimes of modern LED lights.
Portable lighting and self defense.
I used candles, flashlights, lanterns and headlamps to see at night and for going into the basement. With the entire area in darkness having a pistol available was a comfort.
Once again tail standing flashlights worked great.
Old school candles also work.
Mostly for fun I dug out these Nightstar shake lights. After years of minimal use they worked. I had some at the other house and those got more use despite availability of headlamps. It doesn't take much light to navigate around a pitch black house. The smaller black light is a 2xAA for size comparison.
Solar lights used for outside illumination worked well inside at night. I didn't need to do this but more options aren't a bad thing. Just don't forget to put them back outside during the day.
The cool white/warm tinted higher lumen "Solar Rock" was actually pressing into useful service over at the other house. Who would have imagined?
Generators.
Our generator failed but lots of people had them left over from the last storms. If setup ahead of time they sure take the bite out of an extended power outage. On the down side they can fail and are a PITA to keep fueled as the days drag on. I helped a friend move this one.
Here is a video that includes all of the above and more but be warned like this post it is long winded.
Hurricane gear reviews:
Just a few reviews of flashlights I made during the black out.
4sevens Quark X AA2/ QP2AA-X
The XM-L LED is great at higher levels. On turbo this light is the brightest 2XAA light I have ever seen.
Nightstar shake lights.
Marginal output but they did work after years of little use.
Thanks for looking.
Policed several yards for potential wind blown projectiles. Strong winds can be damaging but things carried within that wind more so.
It wasn't long before all the bottled water, batteries, gas cans and generators were sold out. Those who didn't have these things weren't going to wait until the power was out. Naturally a person could fill up their bath tub and any containers with water before the storm. The D&C cell batteries were sold out, guessing to feed Mag lights. There are more pre storm shopping dilemmas in the video.
As expected the storm knocked out power for millions but the surge was pure devastation in flood prone areas. There was also a wild fire which burned nearly 100 homes. Around my parts I woke up to fallen trees, no power and some damaged homes. I seen this one fall in my back yard. The speed a wind blown tree crash down is amazing. Like a giant fly swatter.
This one blocked my road but a neighbor used his truck to push it out of the way or so I was told. I helped clean up some limbs on the street after which loaned my cell phone to some guy. Cell phone service was spotty.
Some homes took hits from fallen trees and limbs.
Notice the tree supported by power lines. Yes that's traffic, including myself driving under the tree. Perilously hanging trees/poles, downed lines, closed roads and driving without traffic lights became old hat during the next week.
Poeple sometimes think if forced to leave a compromised location they could simply drive however for days some roads were closed including highways. If more trees and lines went down it would take even more time to open them. The GPS helped me save time finding ways around closed roads in areas I didn't know every side street. Driving beats walking unless you are forced to leave and the roads become impassable for vehicles. Just something to consider.
The house phone was out and no one answered the cell phone therefore decided to drive to the other house to check up on my 6-year old nephew. Everyone was ok but there was some major tree damage. Also power was out, generator not working and no running water. I collected some water from the pond which was now totally swamped with fallen trees. This would be used to flush the toilet.
Took about 4 days for one house to get power the other would be out for 7. A warm house with running water vs. freezing house using buckets to flush? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work this out. We tossed spoiled food and everyone bugged out.
My sister's and nephew's BOBs.
Low on tactical gear but high on clothing, toys, food, headlamps and water. Seeing how these BOBs proved effective in an actual bugout what more can be said?
After about 7 days we all had power. As of this writing there are still people in NJ and NY who aren't all lucky. Some are still freezing others are also homeless.
Gear used:
Stoves.
Stoves for cooking if or rather when the power goes out. The pocket rocket is ok for short term use inside but any combustion not vented could be a risk. I had an alcohol stove and Coleman liquid gas stove at the other house. White gas shouldn't be used inside but alcohol is just fine within reason IMO. They all preformed well.
White gas stove outside.
Alcohol stove inside.
Portable solar recharging gear.
I could have gone to the library in town to recharge my phone. Not sure if they had a generator or somehow escaped the outage but I didn't need to. The battery charger was used mostly for fun given the long runtimes of modern LED lights.
Portable lighting and self defense.
I used candles, flashlights, lanterns and headlamps to see at night and for going into the basement. With the entire area in darkness having a pistol available was a comfort.
Once again tail standing flashlights worked great.
Old school candles also work.
Mostly for fun I dug out these Nightstar shake lights. After years of minimal use they worked. I had some at the other house and those got more use despite availability of headlamps. It doesn't take much light to navigate around a pitch black house. The smaller black light is a 2xAA for size comparison.
Solar lights used for outside illumination worked well inside at night. I didn't need to do this but more options aren't a bad thing. Just don't forget to put them back outside during the day.
The cool white/warm tinted higher lumen "Solar Rock" was actually pressing into useful service over at the other house. Who would have imagined?
Generators.
Our generator failed but lots of people had them left over from the last storms. If setup ahead of time they sure take the bite out of an extended power outage. On the down side they can fail and are a PITA to keep fueled as the days drag on. I helped a friend move this one.
Here is a video that includes all of the above and more but be warned like this post it is long winded.
Hurricane gear reviews:
Just a few reviews of flashlights I made during the black out.
4sevens Quark X AA2/ QP2AA-X
The XM-L LED is great at higher levels. On turbo this light is the brightest 2XAA light I have ever seen.
Nightstar shake lights.
Marginal output but they did work after years of little use.
Thanks for looking.
Last edited:
I assume the upper chamber is just an added "heat exchanger" for lack of a better term? I like the white liner in the tipi by the way, nice and reflective for the hanging lights inside, while acting just the opposite from the outside. No sense advertising... Good insulating layer as well. What brand of tipi, if I may ask?
