Hello from Bristol

[BristolPrepper]

Hi all,

I only discovered I've been a closet prepper all my life recently by accidently discovering a web site on the subject, and I must say I am even more interested than before.
I've always had the feeling that I need to be prepared, not sure for what, but always better to have the options.
I've always carried a swiss army knife with me wherever I go (Swiss Champ XL) (and it gets used most days for something or other), I have a survival kit in the boot of my car, together with rope, shovel, first aid kit, sleeping bag etc as I travel round the UK a lot, never been stuck in the car so it works well as an insurance policy.
I've always been happier when we have lots of food and water in the pantry at home, so I guess I am a prepper by nature.

So, since I have discovered my true identity, I have purchased a 2 person 72hour bugout bag from ebay, which is pretty good but lacking a few items which I am collecting and adding, including a hand axe, a folding saw, coffee filters and funnel (for first stage filtration), tea, coffee & sugar, 2 x water bottles, and a folding stove. Watching videos on Youtube and reading what other people put in their BOBs is a great help and gets you thinking. I'm also planning a compact EDC to keep with me always.

What I really need is a legal place for us to tryout all our kit, i.e. some woods where it would be ok to chop up some fallen wood, light a fire, and make a shelter for the night. Does anybody know anywhere near Bristol or anyone with some woodland ? Quite happy to pay for the experience.

Also exploring the option of bugging in rather than bugging out, I've ordered 4 x 25L water containers to fill up in the shed. Reading all the posts about adding bleach to keep the water drinkable, I think I'm better off just refilling every 3 months and using purification tablets should the need arise. We already had 4 x 100L water butts and a pond, but would have to be pretty desperate to drink from those. I need to store some firewood as we don't have any.

Sorry for the long post, I'm getting really into this ! It's addictive.

Always happy to read other people's opinions and tips.

Happy prepping all !

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

[Deeps]

Welcome to the forum, as a self confessed newb the best advice I can give is to take a couple of marching paces. Its easy to jump in and try and do everything at once without researching what works for YOU and not some guy on youtube. I was guilty of it myself, what is it you're prepping for, what are the likelihood of them happening ? Honestly mate, take your time and do your research for what works for YOU. Have a read on here and anywhere else that catches your eye, youtube can be handy but when you're at the evangelical stage you can end up going "oh, I need one of those, and those, and those, and 2 of those......" and you might not. Enjoy prepping though, it can be fun as well.

[BristolPrepper]

Thanks Deeps, sound advice.

[BristolPrepper]

Thanks pseudonym, glad to be here !

[grenfell]

Welcome. You're not alone in suddenly realising that what you thought was just a normal sensible lifestyle overlaps quite a bit with this thing called prepping . Many of the people on here had parents who have lived a life of keeping a full pantry , full linen boxes , full vegetable gardens and so on and would never had considered themselves as preppers. I know mine were like that and I just sort of "sleepwalked" into this whole thing. And being in touch with others with a similar mentality is a comforting thing as well.

[cornerstone]

Welcome Bristol prepper we are neighbours almost if you take the ghastly hills away from my side that is.

[BristolPrepper]

Thanks Cornerstone, where are you then ? Lots of hills around here !

[cornerstone]

Thanks Cornerstone, where are you then ? Lots of hills around here !

Bath