It’s water, isn’t it? And second one is food. Well what about the third?
The will to live
Medicine, first aid material and maybe more advanced stuff like medical tools, painkillers and so on.
Tldr I’ll be good for a week, but after that I’ve only got about 10-15% of a viable setup for long term survival.
I have a 72 hour bag, and about 10 gallons of water in their own containers, as well as the normal household food (assuming the power goes out immediately I will be good on refrigeration for maybe 5 days, deep freezer gone in 2) and another 25 gallons in two large containers that act as reservoirs for my AC condensers, and as long as I haven’t emptied them in a few days I’ll be able to filter the water inside pretty effectively. Failing that, I have enough flammable things and a Pyro background to safely boil water over a small fire inside.
So I should be good on food and water, by myself, for maybe two weeks if I don’t really ration much and plan meals according to what goes bad first. The first two days will see the most wasted food.
I have my wife and two dogs here, so I can’t ration that long and I’m definitely going to make sure they get food and water first. I’d be good for about a week.
We’re lucky enough to not need any medication to live, just function pain and dysfunction-free (or at least diminished symptoms) so the pain meds and 3 med kits I have should be enough for small things here and there. Nothing for big stuff. I can sew up a big wound with my cosplay sewing stuff, but if my small stash of alcohol and peroxide can’t keep it infection free, someone is going to be dying slowly and painfully.
The real question is can I do anything outside? If so, then since I live next to a stream, I can pump water into the several 500 gallon tanks we’ve got leftover from the previous owner owning livestock. They’re clean and dry, so no worries about mold or mildew inside. I don’t currently have a large volume natural filtration system set up, but I have enough 5 gallon buckets, fabric, gravel, dirt, and sand laying around the property that I can make a few filters to get the big stuff, and my inline and tap filters can do the rest.
I’m fucked on food though. Nothing growing, the stream isn’t consistent enough to have fish, and the wildlife around here consists of rabbits and squirrel. I could go to a nearby lake depending on how far I can safely travel.
So yeah. Longer lasting food, and more filters.
Definitely made me realize I’m not as prepared for my dogs if anything ever happened…
Ive got the know-how and experience to make basically any melee weapon, and in a (zombie) apocalypse world where ammo is extremely finite, you need a handheld weapon, and you need one with reach to poke brainy bits from a distance.
Technically I can make firearms as well, I’ve 3d printed the majority of a couple, but without the ability to source high-pressure piping of sufficiently close diameter, barrels and firing chambers aren’t as easy.
If we NEED power hookups, I’ve got solar panels ready but not hooked up due to lack of a charge controller and battery system. So only about 20% of the way to solar power… I COULD hook it up to my dc/dc 48v-12v step down converter and hope the 40v the panels produce is close enough to keep the ONE 12v deep cycle battery I have to charge it.
Wood, for building, shelter, and/or fire.
I’m currently running a zombie survival TTRPG if anyone is interested in exploring their ideas. It starts the day before apocalypse, and we’re currently on day 2.
Water, yes. I want to be look up at least 10 days to get throught the first big panic move of the population and the first zombie win associated. I have 10 days of food and plenty more accessible around when the first quiet time arrives.
Then I miss about everything…I’ve got a gallon of chlorine bleach that can purify a few hundred gallons of water from the lake at the end of my street, a crossbow that can keep us fed for a while, and a smoker that can preserve meat. I do know how to properly can veggies to keep them preserved, but I’d run out of lids after a season. I suppose I’d save seeds from this years garden and grow a lot of winter squash next season, but cross pollination might mess that up.
Depending on whether or not I ran into a marauding gang of savages, I could probably make it longer than most.
• Pole saws.
For decapitation at a distance.
• Solar generator.
To charge batteries and power grow lights.
• Rechargeable batteries/packs for tools, etc.
• Sugar and yeast
To use in distillation. Make alcohol. (For first aid and fuel)
I hate to say it, but my honest answer is probably battery power. Even with the mobile grid down, I still feel like I’ve got a load of rechargeable devices that could turn quite useful in the apocalypse. Even just plain AA and AAA batteries would be more valuable than money.
A portable solar generator and batteries would be very valuable. Smartphones are immensely useful even without internet access. You could even get a meshnet going for medium-scale communication if other people in your area are similarly equipped. No power grid required.
Doors, b/c zombies (& people) seem to always be busting through those… (in TV shows:-).
An energy source with a way to replenish its fuel. Could be as basic as firewood, but nothing comes easy or infinitely plentiful.
Guitar strings.