We often talk about trying to get our family and friends to be Survival Prep oriented. We discuss hints and approaches basically because we want these people to be prepared and to not be a burden on those of us who have prepared but not prepared to the extent to take in a bunch of stragglers.
Some of us undoubtedly keep quiet as to not appears as some loony, camouflage clad, rifle toting extremist (my apologies to those of you who wear cammies). Some of us are also careful for another reason, as to not advertise the fact that we have stocks, even substantial stocks. of Survival gear, material, food, firearms and in some cases precious metals.
The Operational Security (OPSEC) effort required to protect the knowledge that you are preparing in any way is a huge undertaking. Risks may come from the UPS or FEDEX delivery man noting one time or multiple deliveries of ammunition, precious metals, and other survival oriented material simply from the shipping tags or the warning labels (ammunition); maybe a loose conversation from your wife to a friend,…”My husband is scaring me,…buying all this silver, food, sleeping bags, water purification stuff. He thinks the world is going to end!” Knowledge and innocent remarks can be very real violations of OPSEC. Please warn, brief and train your family and friends to use discretion.
If you cannot stock your supplies in a hidden manner, be prepared to use disinformation or just plain excuses. I recently had a plumber fixing my hot water heater and he stood in my garage looking at shelves of stacked boxes of dehydrated foods. He asked “Is that all food?”. I said "I got the boxes at work, but I have excess clothing in them that I collect for good will and the salvation army.” I said it nonchalantly, and he just replied “Oh”. Maybe I fooled him, maybe not. For the people I don’t fool and who intend to take what I have, I have motion lights, entry sensors, several dogs, constant situational awareness and the final option, flashlight equipped firearms within arms reach.
Below is an article from Canada detailing the silver bullion robbery of someone who did not have tight OPSEC.
Article from Resource Investor.com, by Roman Baudzus, Feb 2011
Robbers Make Off with $750,000 in Silver Bars
A man who decided to store his precious metals in a vault at his home in Chilliwack, Canada, was robbed of US $750,000 worth of silver bars in broad daylight. This case, which was first published about two weeks ago, shows that storing large amounts of precious metals at home is a very risky undertaking.
The 52-year-old victim is still traumatized after burglars intruded into his house where he had stored his life savings in silver bars. Based on the current silver price at the New York Comex, the silver was valued at about US$750,000.
Two burglars entered the house and attacked the man with a knife before tying him up. One of the thieves also carried a gun. The intruders were dressed in fake police uniforms and told the victim that they were investigating a crime and needed to ask him some questions. Once inside the house, they attacked the man and forced him to provide the combination for his vault. They then headed directly for the vault, which contained several thousand ounces of silver. After they had emptied the vault of the silver bars, the two robbers disappeared without a trace.
The victim is now wondering who could have provided the intruders with hints about the silver bars stored at his house. Friends, neighbours and relatives are the main suspects. Someone might have mentioned something to the wrong people, thereby letting the burglars find out about the silver bars, or they might have been informed by a third party.
The culprits are expected to try selling the metal to various precious metals traders. The victim did not say how much he paid for his silver stocks. Within one year the silver price has almost doubled from US $17 to US $33. A bank had refused to arrange for the storage of the silver for practical reasons, since it did not have enough space to store several thousand ounces. Moreover, the silver was not insured because the insurance cover had been too expensive.
This incident clearly demonstrates the importance of secure and insured precious metals storage to efficiently protect your precious metals from risks such as theft.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Reader Question on Body Armor for Survival
UrbanSurvivalSkills.com received the following e-mail request: ”Hey urban man. just thought I'd drop you another line. I was wondering if Kevlar vests would be a practical piece of your survival kit. I seem to be one of the few in my circle to think so, I made the argument it weighs close to nothing and will quite literally save your life on multiple occasions, but nobody thought it was worth spending the extra money on it. I’ve done a little research on it and come to find out a plain old kevlar vest that stops up to a high velocity 5.56 FMJ bullet is only around 350$-650$, so I guess is do you think its worth it? Get back to me man and stay prepared.”
UrbanMan replies:Before I answer that lets review the levels of body armor under the National Institute of Justice Ratings for Body Armor,.....NIJ Standard 0101.03, 0101.04:
NIJ LEVEL I: This armor protects against .22 caliber Long Rifle Lead Round Nose (LR LRN) bullets with nominal masses of 40 gr impacting at a minimum velocity of 1050 fps or less and 380 ACP Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose (FMJ RN) bullets with nominal masses of 95 gr impacting at a minimum velocity of 1025 fps or less.
NIJ LEVEL IIA: Lower Velocity 9mm, .40 S&W. This armor protects against 9mm Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose (FMJ RN) bullets with nominal masses of 124 gr impacting at a minimum velocity of 1090 fps or less and .40 S&W caliber Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) bullets with nominal masses of 180 gr impacting at a minimum velocity of 1025 fps or less. It also provides protection against Level I threats. Level IIA body armor is well suited for full-time use by police departments, particularly those seeking protection for their officers from lower velocity .40 S&W and 9mm ammunition.
NIJ LEVEL II: Higher Velocity 9mm, .357 Magnum. This armor protects against .357 Magnum jacketed soft-point bullets with nominal masses of 158 gr. impacting at a velocity of 1,395 fps or less and against 9mm full-jacketed bullets with nominal velocities of 1,175 ft/s. It also protects against most other factory loads in caliber .357 Magnum and 9mm as well as the Level I and IIA threats. Level II body armor is heavier and more bulky than either Level’s I or IIA. It is worn full time by officers seeking protection against higher velocity .357 Magnum and 9mm ammunition.
NIJ LEVEL IIIA: .44 Magnum; Submachine Gun 9mm. This armor protects against .44 Magnum, Semi Jacketed Hollow Point (SJHP) bullets with nominal masses of 240 gr. impacting at a velocity of 1,400 fps or less and against 9mm full-metal jacketed bullets with nominal masses of 124 gr. impacting at a velocity of 1,400 ft/s or less. It also provides protection against most handgun threats as well as the Level I, IIA, and II threats. Level IIIA body armor provides the highest level of protection currently available from concealable body armor and is generally suitable for routine wear in many situations. However, departments located in hot, humid climates may need to evaluate the use of Level IIIA armor carefully.
NIJ LEVEL III: High-powered rifle. This armor, normally plates of hard or semi-rigid construction (steel, composite armor, ceramic), protects against 7.62mm full-metal jacketed bullets (US military designation M80) with nominal masses of 150 gr. impacting at a velocity of 2,750 ft/s or less. It also provides protection against threats such as .223 Remington (5.56mm FMJ), 30 Carbine FMJ, and 12-gauge rifled slug, as well as Level I through IIIA threats. Level III body armor is clearly intended only for tactical situations when the threat warrants such protection, such as barricade confrontations involving sporting rifles.
NIJ LEVEL IV: Armor-piercing rifle. This armor protects against .30–06 caliber armor-piercing bullets ( US military designation APM2) with nominal masses of 166 gr. impacting at a velocity of 2,850 ft/s or less. It also provides at least single-hit protection against the Level I through III threats. Level IV body armor provides the highest level of protection currently available. Because this armor is intended to resist “armor piercing” bullets, it often uses ceramic materials. Such materials are brittle in nature and may provide only single-shot protection since the ceramic tends to break up when struck. As with Level III armor, Level IV armor is clearly intended only for tactical situations when the threat warrants such protection.
You can see that to protect against 5.56 (.223 Remington) you’ll need Threat Level III protection. Very few companies offering Level III armor under $650. You need to check your state laws. A lot of disinformation out there on whether or not body armor is legal to own. Best to get your local and state laws. Another issue is many that companies will not sell armor to people without a law enforcement nexus or certification,...... and possibly require a supervisors approval on agency letterhead, although Level IIIA (one step lower than Level III and will not stop 5.56mm) is commonly available but starting around $400.
A lot of personnel are wearing Level IIIA armor with Level III plates in an insert over the chest and in the back. There has been a lot of technological improvement in body armor from steel plates, to composite plates to ceramic plates. In the old days, we used to cut steel and use that as surrogate armor for our vehicles, even then 5.56mm ball and tracer would penetrate one-quarter inch mild steel. When we used a harder steel, such as T1 or T520, 5.56mm ball and tracer were defeated, but not 5.56mm SS109 steel core penetrator, whic punched right through unless you went to a thicker and much heavier chunk of steel. We used to buy pepper popper targets and IPSC sized steel target as they fit behind our seats for rear protection from small arms fire coming from our six.
It's probably more common for personnel to wear Level IIIA or even the lower rated Level II, under their shirts, then wear a plate carrier Molle platform to carry plates and gear pouches. It will be hard to buy plates. They are expensive. An enterprising individual could make his own plates, buying the appropriate hardness steel plates then having them cut to size to fit the plate carrier pocket. You could even coat them liquid rubber coating which hardens to a rubberized surface for easier handling. These field expedient plates are necessrily going to be heavy.
Body armor has an expiration to it, usually 5 years if stored correctly. After that it is de-certified, therefore hard to get second hand as nobody wants the liability. I think if you store it correctly (flat and in a humidity controlled environment) that it can be viable years after,..hell I’m counting on it.
To answer your question, yes, body armor is essential item of kit. Just usually outside the procurement capability of most people. I particulary like wearing II or IIIA soft body armor ovr my t-shirt and under my work shirt, then adding a molle plate carrier.
UrbanMan replies:Before I answer that lets review the levels of body armor under the National Institute of Justice Ratings for Body Armor,.....NIJ Standard 0101.03, 0101.04:
NIJ LEVEL I: This armor protects against .22 caliber Long Rifle Lead Round Nose (LR LRN) bullets with nominal masses of 40 gr impacting at a minimum velocity of 1050 fps or less and 380 ACP Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose (FMJ RN) bullets with nominal masses of 95 gr impacting at a minimum velocity of 1025 fps or less.
NIJ LEVEL IIA: Lower Velocity 9mm, .40 S&W. This armor protects against 9mm Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose (FMJ RN) bullets with nominal masses of 124 gr impacting at a minimum velocity of 1090 fps or less and .40 S&W caliber Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) bullets with nominal masses of 180 gr impacting at a minimum velocity of 1025 fps or less. It also provides protection against Level I threats. Level IIA body armor is well suited for full-time use by police departments, particularly those seeking protection for their officers from lower velocity .40 S&W and 9mm ammunition.
NIJ LEVEL II: Higher Velocity 9mm, .357 Magnum. This armor protects against .357 Magnum jacketed soft-point bullets with nominal masses of 158 gr. impacting at a velocity of 1,395 fps or less and against 9mm full-jacketed bullets with nominal velocities of 1,175 ft/s. It also protects against most other factory loads in caliber .357 Magnum and 9mm as well as the Level I and IIA threats. Level II body armor is heavier and more bulky than either Level’s I or IIA. It is worn full time by officers seeking protection against higher velocity .357 Magnum and 9mm ammunition.
NIJ LEVEL IIIA: .44 Magnum; Submachine Gun 9mm. This armor protects against .44 Magnum, Semi Jacketed Hollow Point (SJHP) bullets with nominal masses of 240 gr. impacting at a velocity of 1,400 fps or less and against 9mm full-metal jacketed bullets with nominal masses of 124 gr. impacting at a velocity of 1,400 ft/s or less. It also provides protection against most handgun threats as well as the Level I, IIA, and II threats. Level IIIA body armor provides the highest level of protection currently available from concealable body armor and is generally suitable for routine wear in many situations. However, departments located in hot, humid climates may need to evaluate the use of Level IIIA armor carefully.
NIJ LEVEL III: High-powered rifle. This armor, normally plates of hard or semi-rigid construction (steel, composite armor, ceramic), protects against 7.62mm full-metal jacketed bullets (US military designation M80) with nominal masses of 150 gr. impacting at a velocity of 2,750 ft/s or less. It also provides protection against threats such as .223 Remington (5.56mm FMJ), 30 Carbine FMJ, and 12-gauge rifled slug, as well as Level I through IIIA threats. Level III body armor is clearly intended only for tactical situations when the threat warrants such protection, such as barricade confrontations involving sporting rifles.
NIJ LEVEL IV: Armor-piercing rifle. This armor protects against .30–06 caliber armor-piercing bullets ( US military designation APM2) with nominal masses of 166 gr. impacting at a velocity of 2,850 ft/s or less. It also provides at least single-hit protection against the Level I through III threats. Level IV body armor provides the highest level of protection currently available. Because this armor is intended to resist “armor piercing” bullets, it often uses ceramic materials. Such materials are brittle in nature and may provide only single-shot protection since the ceramic tends to break up when struck. As with Level III armor, Level IV armor is clearly intended only for tactical situations when the threat warrants such protection.
You can see that to protect against 5.56 (.223 Remington) you’ll need Threat Level III protection. Very few companies offering Level III armor under $650. You need to check your state laws. A lot of disinformation out there on whether or not body armor is legal to own. Best to get your local and state laws. Another issue is many that companies will not sell armor to people without a law enforcement nexus or certification,...... and possibly require a supervisors approval on agency letterhead, although Level IIIA (one step lower than Level III and will not stop 5.56mm) is commonly available but starting around $400.
A lot of personnel are wearing Level IIIA armor with Level III plates in an insert over the chest and in the back. There has been a lot of technological improvement in body armor from steel plates, to composite plates to ceramic plates. In the old days, we used to cut steel and use that as surrogate armor for our vehicles, even then 5.56mm ball and tracer would penetrate one-quarter inch mild steel. When we used a harder steel, such as T1 or T520, 5.56mm ball and tracer were defeated, but not 5.56mm SS109 steel core penetrator, whic punched right through unless you went to a thicker and much heavier chunk of steel. We used to buy pepper popper targets and IPSC sized steel target as they fit behind our seats for rear protection from small arms fire coming from our six.
It's probably more common for personnel to wear Level IIIA or even the lower rated Level II, under their shirts, then wear a plate carrier Molle platform to carry plates and gear pouches. It will be hard to buy plates. They are expensive. An enterprising individual could make his own plates, buying the appropriate hardness steel plates then having them cut to size to fit the plate carrier pocket. You could even coat them liquid rubber coating which hardens to a rubberized surface for easier handling. These field expedient plates are necessrily going to be heavy.
Body armor has an expiration to it, usually 5 years if stored correctly. After that it is de-certified, therefore hard to get second hand as nobody wants the liability. I think if you store it correctly (flat and in a humidity controlled environment) that it can be viable years after,..hell I’m counting on it.
To answer your question, yes, body armor is essential item of kit. Just usually outside the procurement capability of most people. I particulary like wearing II or IIIA soft body armor ovr my t-shirt and under my work shirt, then adding a molle plate carrier.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Survival Planning - Advice from Sovereignman - Simon Black
At UrbanSurvivalSkills.com we have written many times about having multiple sources of financial and economic information in order to assess the timeline of the coming collapse and not let it hit you by surprise. One more source of information is Simon Black's Sovereignman.com
Simon's motto immediately intrigued me,....."There are two ways to sleep well at night,....be ignorant or be prepared." I think I'll choose the be prepared method.
And while Sovereignman's primary advice is unrealistic for most Americans (including me) which is to send money overseas to protected bank accounts and either re-locate now to different countries or to be prepared to on short notice, I do think Simon has other good advice and forecasts which should be considered.
One of Simon's latest posts, on February 17, 2011:
Recent headlines,......
“World Bank: Global food prices are rising to dangerous levels”
“Sysco declares force majeure, raises grocery prices”
“The J. M. Smucker Company Announces Coffee Price Increases”
“Kraft warns on price increases”
“Kellogg says it will raise prices”
“Sara Lee to raise prices again on higher commodity costs”
“Bridgestone To Raise Prices”
“Goodyear will raise tire prices up to 6%”
“Allstate rates rise; patience with execs runs thin”
“State Farm wants 28 percent rate increase in Fla.”
“Blue Shield to delay Calif. health rate hikes [for only 60 days]”
“Wellmark [Midwest division of Blue Cross] Rate Hike Approved”
“Abercrombie & Fitch CEO says retailer will have to raise prices”
“Sprint bumps up its smart-phone data plans $10 a month”
“Xcel Energy customers to see rate hikes”
And then there’s this quote to tie it all together:
“Overall inflation is still quite low and longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.” — Ben Bernanke, February 9, 2011
If it wasn’t perfectly clear before, it should be now. This man (Bernanke) is either completely out of touch, or he’s a conniving liar. In either case, you should not allow him to be responsible for your well being.
Don’t let the rising stock market fool you into thinking that everything is back on track. It’s impossible to read these headlines and not see at least half of the things that you use frequently– food, coffee, electricity, mobile phone, insurance…
Here’s the bottom line– failing to properly protect your savings, seek alternate sources of income, and diversify your sovereign risk gets you a free one-way ticket on the economic Hindenburg.
Inflation begets economic trouble. Economic trouble begets social unrest. Social unrest begets political instability… and as we saw in Egypt, political instability (and social unrest) begets a police state.
If you don’t want to be around for it, I’d suggest taking action immediately. The quick start guide is this:
1) Open a foreign bank account. Even if you don’t fund it yet, at least have the means to shovel your money overseas in a hurry. UrbanMan's comment: Good idea but unrealistic for most American's living pay check to paycheck.
2) Park at least a portion of your savings in stable, inflation-proof assets, preferably overseas. UrbanMan's comment: Again a good idea but unrealistic for most American's living pay check to paycheck. Better to get what you can in Gold and Silver.
3) Look for alternate sources of income– don’t rely on the traditional job market or wait for the government and central bank to create jobs… everyone is good at something, most likely a lot of things. Think about how you can add value, how you can solve problems. UrbanMan's comment: This is called the multiple streams of income strategy. I use it and have solid contingency plans if I lose my job as losing one stream of income won't put me on my back.
4) Look at your own personal vulnerabilities. What would happen if you lost your job? If food became extremely expensive? If gas prices made normal commuting and errands cost prohibitive? If your healthcare became unaffordable? Consider lifestyle changes to reduce these vulnerabilities. UrbanMan's comment: I have a list of savings measures to be implemented upon various layers of inflation, such as cutting my landline telephone and cutting satellite television, reducing gasoline use, etc. I am already growing my own food, not in a quantity to completely feed myself by any means, but a fairly significant amount and plan to trade or barter vegetables for material and services when the collapse is significant enough.
5) Begin researching, in earnest, places overseas where you can go and can live comfortably with the right opportunities you’re looking for. Frequently, the lifestyle changes you need to make can be easily found overseas. UrbanMan's comment: Again a good idea but unrealistic for most American's, but what is realistic is a Bug Out Plan to a Safe location. A must have is a safe place where you have a year round water sources and ability to grow your own food.
Look, if the skies open and some white knight comes riding in to save the day and stave off any major crisis, you won’t be any worse off for increasing your self-reliance and making preparations. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being cautious.
More than likely, though, the miraculous white knight will never come, and just a few years from now, people will be wondering, ‘how the hell did we ever reach this point?’
I think at that point, a few years from now, people will look back today and wonder why they didn’t see the warning signs… in the future, when hindsight is 20/20, it will seem to have been so obvious today.
Stop listening to national leadership and start listening to your instincts. They’re telling you that something’s wrong, and the clear, obvious facts confirm those suspicions. The only people who don’t get it are the ones pulling the strings.
Simon's motto immediately intrigued me,....."There are two ways to sleep well at night,....be ignorant or be prepared." I think I'll choose the be prepared method.
And while Sovereignman's primary advice is unrealistic for most Americans (including me) which is to send money overseas to protected bank accounts and either re-locate now to different countries or to be prepared to on short notice, I do think Simon has other good advice and forecasts which should be considered.
One of Simon's latest posts, on February 17, 2011:
Recent headlines,......
“World Bank: Global food prices are rising to dangerous levels”
“Sysco declares force majeure, raises grocery prices”
“The J. M. Smucker Company Announces Coffee Price Increases”
“Kraft warns on price increases”
“Kellogg says it will raise prices”
“Sara Lee to raise prices again on higher commodity costs”
“Bridgestone To Raise Prices”
“Goodyear will raise tire prices up to 6%”
“Allstate rates rise; patience with execs runs thin”
“State Farm wants 28 percent rate increase in Fla.”
“Blue Shield to delay Calif. health rate hikes [for only 60 days]”
“Wellmark [Midwest division of Blue Cross] Rate Hike Approved”
“Abercrombie & Fitch CEO says retailer will have to raise prices”
“Sprint bumps up its smart-phone data plans $10 a month”
“Xcel Energy customers to see rate hikes”
And then there’s this quote to tie it all together:
“Overall inflation is still quite low and longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.” — Ben Bernanke, February 9, 2011
If it wasn’t perfectly clear before, it should be now. This man (Bernanke) is either completely out of touch, or he’s a conniving liar. In either case, you should not allow him to be responsible for your well being.
Don’t let the rising stock market fool you into thinking that everything is back on track. It’s impossible to read these headlines and not see at least half of the things that you use frequently– food, coffee, electricity, mobile phone, insurance…
Here’s the bottom line– failing to properly protect your savings, seek alternate sources of income, and diversify your sovereign risk gets you a free one-way ticket on the economic Hindenburg.
Inflation begets economic trouble. Economic trouble begets social unrest. Social unrest begets political instability… and as we saw in Egypt, political instability (and social unrest) begets a police state.
If you don’t want to be around for it, I’d suggest taking action immediately. The quick start guide is this:
1) Open a foreign bank account. Even if you don’t fund it yet, at least have the means to shovel your money overseas in a hurry. UrbanMan's comment: Good idea but unrealistic for most American's living pay check to paycheck.
2) Park at least a portion of your savings in stable, inflation-proof assets, preferably overseas. UrbanMan's comment: Again a good idea but unrealistic for most American's living pay check to paycheck. Better to get what you can in Gold and Silver.
3) Look for alternate sources of income– don’t rely on the traditional job market or wait for the government and central bank to create jobs… everyone is good at something, most likely a lot of things. Think about how you can add value, how you can solve problems. UrbanMan's comment: This is called the multiple streams of income strategy. I use it and have solid contingency plans if I lose my job as losing one stream of income won't put me on my back.
4) Look at your own personal vulnerabilities. What would happen if you lost your job? If food became extremely expensive? If gas prices made normal commuting and errands cost prohibitive? If your healthcare became unaffordable? Consider lifestyle changes to reduce these vulnerabilities. UrbanMan's comment: I have a list of savings measures to be implemented upon various layers of inflation, such as cutting my landline telephone and cutting satellite television, reducing gasoline use, etc. I am already growing my own food, not in a quantity to completely feed myself by any means, but a fairly significant amount and plan to trade or barter vegetables for material and services when the collapse is significant enough.
5) Begin researching, in earnest, places overseas where you can go and can live comfortably with the right opportunities you’re looking for. Frequently, the lifestyle changes you need to make can be easily found overseas. UrbanMan's comment: Again a good idea but unrealistic for most American's, but what is realistic is a Bug Out Plan to a Safe location. A must have is a safe place where you have a year round water sources and ability to grow your own food.
Look, if the skies open and some white knight comes riding in to save the day and stave off any major crisis, you won’t be any worse off for increasing your self-reliance and making preparations. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being cautious.
More than likely, though, the miraculous white knight will never come, and just a few years from now, people will be wondering, ‘how the hell did we ever reach this point?’
I think at that point, a few years from now, people will look back today and wonder why they didn’t see the warning signs… in the future, when hindsight is 20/20, it will seem to have been so obvious today.
Stop listening to national leadership and start listening to your instincts. They’re telling you that something’s wrong, and the clear, obvious facts confirm those suspicions. The only people who don’t get it are the ones pulling the strings.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Reader Question on Water Purification
UrbanSurvivalSkills.com received the following email from Norman,..I scored some points with my wife during that recent big storm as a public notice went out in our city telling people to boil their water before drinking as there was damage to the city water company's back flow preventers due to several broken water mains. And we had several power outages so we couldn't boil water consistently if we wanted to. Didn't need to anyway, as I had four cases of bottled water in the garage and some water purification tablets. I think now my wife is more inclined to listen to me about Survival readiness since she has now seen the value in being ready. Now I need to buy some more water purification products just in case I don't have enough bottled water next time. What do you suggest? Should I rely on the pills?
UrbanMan replies: I have water purification means in depth. Meaning I am not relying just on one technology or one means. I have individual and group water filters, as well as water purification tablets (which I think you are calling "pills"), and can build field expedient water filtration methods when necessary.
I have several Aquamira Water Bottle and Filter units which is like a sports drink bottle with a filter,..just fill up with questionable water then drink. Best to run dirty water through cloth before hand to help prolong the filter. The filter removes 99.9% of Giardia, Cryptospordium and other contaminants as well as removing the chlorine taste. Each bottle filters up to 50 gallons.
I have several larger, group sized units, one a Katadyn hand pump unit and another a Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter System which uses a gravity feed water filter system, which I really like. It can filter 200 gallons or more.
For my Bug Out Bags, I have added the Frontier Pro Ultralight Water Filter, which is approx 6 inches long and one inch in diameter. This uses a straw not shown in the picture (right) so you can directly drink water from a bad source. You can also remove the bite valve and gravity filter water from common bottle. It comes with 4 replacement pre-filters that will extend the internal filter life. This will filters up to 50 gallons.
Click here for prices and more information
UrbanMan replies: I have water purification means in depth. Meaning I am not relying just on one technology or one means. I have individual and group water filters, as well as water purification tablets (which I think you are calling "pills"), and can build field expedient water filtration methods when necessary.
For my Bug Out Bags, I have added the Frontier Pro Ultralight Water Filter, which is approx 6 inches long and one inch in diameter. This uses a straw not shown in the picture (right) so you can directly drink water from a bad source. You can also remove the bite valve and gravity filter water from common bottle. It comes with 4 replacement pre-filters that will extend the internal filter life. This will filters up to 50 gallons.
Click here for prices and more information
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