Creek Stewart

Let me start off by saying that this is the first Bug Out/disaster preparedness book I've ever read - so I have nothing else to compare it to at this point. With that said, I took a tremendous amount of information from it. Creek does a great job of focusing on the items you need to make sure you have with you in the event you need to bug out. The thing I appreciated most was that he did it in a very matter of fact manner and kept some of the apocalyptic tone out of it that you may run into show more from time to time with survivalists.

EVERYONE needs to think about these things. Forget about the big things we hear like nuclear assault, terrorist attack or the zombie apocalypse. I live in earthquake territory, so that's the thing I am thinking about as I go through this exercise. Everyone - no matter where they live - has some kind of disaster they should have to plan for. I work in an industry that deals with disaster preparedness, and when the fit hits the shan you'll be happy you took the hours you did for planning, preperation and practice. When the disaster hits, you will be so amped up it will be hard to keep your head about you. You'll be happy you took the time prior to develop and practice a plan.

Creek makes it very clear that you should view this book as a set of guidelines and you need to tailor your Bug Out Bag (BOB) for your particular scenario. One of the main differences between Creek situation and mine is he lives in a much more rural area than I do. I'm in one of the largest metropolitan cities in the world. Our challenges are different. But he gives ideas on how to handle my challenges as well, and gives me a lot to think about.

I borrowed this book from my local library, but I'll be buying a copy for when I start putting my BOB together in the next month or so. The back of the book has tables in it that ell you how much of each item you should pack based on your age, skill level, and how many people are bugging out with you.

Highly suggest you give this book a read show less

I haven't read a lot of these type books, they always seemed to me to be for those paranoid "end of the world" type folks. But, living in the Pacific Northwest, and with the possibility of "The Big One" earthquake occurring, I thought it was time to start to prepare. I found this book was a good place to start. The author clearly and simply explains the who, what, where, when and how of to prepare. Nothing scary or unrealistic (to me) like preparing for the zombie apocalypse, he offers show more instructions on how to make oneself ready in case a major natural disaster occurs. Things we should be doing now to protect ourselves from the environment, and to ensure we have enough supplies to survive a couple of weeks until help arrives. Things that I will be implementing in my own home. All in all, I found the book to be informative and sensible. show less

This book was very helpful in offering suggestions and quick tips to create a more effecient bug out bag. There are lots of helpful tables and charts for reading a bag for 1, 2, 3, or more people in a family. The book is divided up into succinct chapters starting with the most top priority: water. The thing I liked about this book was the authors commitment to realistic planning and situations. He doesn't get bogged down in rants or conspiracy theories, it's just plain and simple info.
My show more only gripe is that the book is written with the assumption that the reader has never slept outdoors before in a wilderness setting. A lot of the advice is fairly basic stuff: don't wear cotton, layer up for warmth, carry dehydrated food to decrease weight. The best advice comes in the logistical areas for how to carry enough gear for you and a toddler for 3 days. That is not an easy task so it was interesting to learn what others have done. Stewart's ranch sounds cool and I would consider visiting it for some of his bush craft classes if we lived closer. show less

A must-read for preppers. Some really impressive improvisations using everyday objects, either in advance or scattered among trash you would come across in the bush. Other books promise "survival hacks." Forget them...this delivers, big time. You won't believe some of the ideas like the one Stewart came up with and showed on Fat Guys in the Woods: fire-starting with a tampon and ashes. .