It’s good for general protection too. It can soften blows from other humans or just accidental injury while scavenging dilapidated buildings. What we consider to be minor bumps and scrapes now can be life threatening when you have inadequate medical supplies, malnutrition, sleep deprived, no sanitation, etc.
I don’t have a PhD in zombiology but zombies will bite you wherever they can. Depending on what kind of zombies we’re talking about a bite alone might turn you or not. So body armor could be useful for some kinds of zombies and utterly useless for others.
He’s right, unless you study up on making biodiesel. Then you have the upper hand in the argument, as a diesel Jeep can be run on biodiesel. Rendering those fatty zombie corpses to fuel should be a functional disposal method.
Not a terrible play, but it has a BIG downside you might not be considering.
99.99% of the corn grown first world, and a lot of other food crops, are sterile hybrid varieties that don’t readily reseed themselves (Monsanto and company HATE when farmers don’t have to buy seed every year).
Once there is no more harvesting or maintenance on stockpile equipment, that supply will dwindle faster than you might expect.
Fuck corn. It is patently one of the worst feedstocks for ethanol. The only reason you hear so much of it is because there is so much money wrapped up in it already and it is a way to use up excess stock. No, switchgrass is the answer. Hearty, more biomass per km² than just about any other crop, has high cellulose content (which is what gets turned into ethanol), and can be cultivated just about anywhere on the continent with little maintenance or involvement. You could probably get away with planting a few fields in pockets around a stronghold which could be checked on a couple of times a week and harvested for an extended period, then you just have to process it as usual. It is even relatively short and dense, so zombies would struggle to hide in it and it would act as a natural barrier to slow the advance of both Zs and any nairdowells that would seek to assault you. Fuel source and defensive emplacement in one.
That and after a while gasoline expires even in the tank of a car. After like a few months he would have to be making his own fuel anyway, because whatever gets siphoned can’t be used.
I’m swapping the first-aid kit for the crossbow, but spot on for the rest. Body armor is rare and definitely raises your odds of survival in the short term after the initial spread. A machete is the ultimate all-purpose blade, good for defense as well as butchering, breeching, and it is easily maintained. And the water purifier is a no-brainer. Waterborn diseases are a real problem in any situation where public utilities become inaccessible and clean drinking water grows scarce.
Assuming that I am obviously able to expand my kit as I survive, the ranged weapon that uses easily craftable ammo would be ideal. A first aid kit could be cobbled together over the course of a few days of persistent scavenging. No promises on the crossbow, they are far less common than bandaids, gauze, sterilization solutions, and splints. Really the thing that would likely be the hardest to source is the suture needle that you should have in there.
I always loved 10k in Z-Nation for using the wrist rocket slingshot because that is truly the king ranged weapon for a survival scenario. Lightweight, ammo that is infinite and easily accessible, and lethal out to ranges that matter. Not to mention that they are very easy to maintain and repair.
All that said, I would likely accumulate the aforementioned electricity/fuel items as I am familiar with the production of biofuels and can build some alternative generators (wind, methane, solar concentrators) for electricity once I have somewhere secure. Methane in particular has always been attractive to me for survival scenarios because anaerobic decomposition is a great way of dealing with biowaste and what is left over ends up making really good fertilizer. Just need a couple of propane tanks, some steel, and a car battery to rig as a welder and you can turn one into a digestor and the other into storage, then get a couple 2 cycle lawnmower engines and some AC motors and you can get a power supply running. At least enough to run some incandescent bulbs. Need a voltage regulator for more complex electronics to keep the line clean, but that is a different conversation.
They only have to be serviceable, which is manageable just like they were made in from antiquity to the modern era, wood. It might take some practice, but a hand-carved shaft that has the tip dipped into molten lead or pewter could make a rather effective bolt. You could use more modern materials as well; various types of piping, scavenged hardware like nails and dowels, etc. They may be less accurate and harder on the crossbow, but they don’t need the longest range in this topic and the wear and tear on the crossbow may be justified if you know how to repair it and maintain it to ward off failure. Obviously, there would be trial and error, but it wouldn’t take too long to become a competent Fletcher.
Also, as I said, for usability and reliability in efficacy and ammo sourcing, nothing beats a wrist rocket slingshot. The weapon itself is lightweight and can use everything from ball bearings and buck shot to large bolts and nuts to gravel. There is virtually no terrestrial environment that you wouldn’t be able to find something that can be used as absolutely lethal ammo.
Jeep: unparalleled utility. It’ll die eventually, fuel is finite, but it’ll let me establish.
Shotgun: need a weapon, and while not the strategically beat weapon, I have an image to maintain.
Water purifier: water.
Machete: backup weapon, infinitely useful tool, more rugged than the katana.
I think this combination gives me a good shot at establishing a base of operations, securing the area, and settling for long-term. Between the jeep and the machete, most obstacles can be overcome, and scavenging is easier and quicker. Strategically, the crossbow is probably the best weapon just due to the reusability of the ammunition, but it’s not infinite and what you gain in that, you lose in ease of use, which is paramount in a stressful situation. Opting purely for usefulness, the pistol (assuming subsonic rounds and as quiet as possible) probably offers the best balance between reliability and forgivingness, but I like shotguns.
Water purifier is a pretty easy one. Gotta have water, and while most of that will come from rain or scavenging, there will inevitably be periods of literal draught. Finally, the machete. A knife, a backup weapon, a crowbar. Good for clearing small-medium vegetation. Honestly, the uses are limitless, perhaps second only to the jeep.
Honorable mentions:
Dog. If it’s pre-trained, top tier. If you have to train it, mid at best plus another mouth to feed.
Any other firearm: mostly preference, each has pros and cons
Body armor: depending on the zombies, top tier (walking dead style, feral gonna bite you zombies) or reeeally not useful (anything spread by spores, fumes, fluids, etc.)
Gas mask: invert the body armor.
Motorcycle: quicker, less utility than Jeep. I wouldn’t say it’s the worst pick
Everything else is either marginal utility at best (cb radio, NV goggles) or easy enough to scavenge (flashlight, first aid supplies, tent, honestly everything else on the list.)
I’ll just search appartmenta with my body armour,my dog and an ax for a some keys. When I find them I go outside and do that thing we do when we forgot where we parked in a large parking lot
I think it depends on the nature of the plague, is the zombie contagion airborne to some extent? If yes, I think I’d take the gas mask over the first aid kit.
If the zombie plague is airborne, fuck it. Give me a barrel of bourbon and and a couple pounds of weed. That’s guaranteed to last me the rest of my life.
plot twist, the jeep is electric and there is a spinner-bike in the back you can use to charge it with. Only four short days of pedaling will get you 100 miles!
Never understood that about the walking dead. Gasoline stops being vital after 3-6 months, so years into the apocalypse and everyone’s driving cars, and Daryl has that sweet frankenbike. What are those things running on?
Gas is no longer in prime condition after 3-6 months, but is still combustible for at least a year or two. Old gas will damage your engine over time though. Most of the degradation is due to oxidization, so if the gas were in sealed cans, maybe it could last longer.
But yeah, 5+ years in and most gas is unlikely to work in an engine. You’d have to be making some kind of bio-ethanol at that point.
Going with all but the water purifier. Fresh water is too easy to come by where I live. We have pristine wild rivers here, and it rains a lot. I’d be living in the forest anyway if this happened.
I chose similarly but changed somethings for longevity.
I subbed out the jeep for body armor. The jeep will run out of gas eventually, who knows how long the apocalypse will last for. Body armor will be last near indefinitely. Also would swap out the ak for a machete. Ammo will probably be hoarded by others so will be a difficult find.
Fire axe is a great utility tool, once it becomes dull, it’ll be a good blunt weapon. Machete will not be as good but if you learn how to sharpen or find a whetstone, they’ll last you as long as you need.
Most body armor is good for 1 strike. Kevlar thread break, ceramic breaks, and you really don’t want to use dented armor, best case it’s a weak point, worst case is pushing in your chest cavity preventing you from breathing. Any body armor that is remotely mobile is effectively one time use. Now admitted (normally) used body armor can still provide some protection and can be better than nothing (except in situations where the damage impacts you, ie the plate metal being dented and pushing into your chest). And some can be repaired or replaced with the right materials and tools, but those are heavy, and take space
Since you can easily scavange most of these things you only need the hard to find stuff, and stuff that will help you scavange. So body armor and the ak to keep you alive. Axe to help get into places for supplies. Jeep to haul your shit. Drive down to dicks and load up on the rest.
Long term you need a spear and knife for weapons. A horse and cart for hauling shit. Dog for guard duty. And ways to get water and food.
Flashlight, water purifier, respirator, and rifle (I assume with required things like ammo).
Nobody said how this plague spreads, for all we know it’s in the water or Airborne. Flashlight for scavenging and because it’s far more important to know if that’s a pile of scrap or a Zombie than it is to stay super stealthy. And Rifle gets you everything else you need.
Two man tent,axe. and ideally a boy scouts guide and foraging books. Ideally getting myself far way from civilisation as the zombie population is probably just going grow over time
First aid kit would probably be quite useless you can’t put a plaster on a deep gushing wound nor take glass out with a couple alcohol wipes
Add comment