Extensive Tool Kit
We’ve discussed a lot of different strategies and equipment to keep ourselves healthy and defended over the course of our long-run survival. What we need to talk about now are tools to keep the whole show running. Remember Murphy’s Law –“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” and let’s be prepared for it. Take a look at your list of equipment and run through potential maintenance issues. If your list is anything like ours, there are a lot of them. So now the fun part is figuring out the most efficient way to prepare for and deal with as many problems as possible with as few supplies as possible. We want to maximize our utility and minimize waste in any ways that we can. By taking a good look at our supplies and equipment we may also identify pieces of our plan that have way too many moving parts (literally or figuratively). These components may be more likely to breakdown than a suitable replacement and it’s always better to figure that out sooner than later.
First things first, you have got to have an awesome drill. That’s what I told myself and I went out and bought the most badass lightweight cordless drill I could find. It’s The Porter Cable PC180DK-2. The first thing I would say about this drill is that I can’t believe how lightweight it is. It uses a Nickel Cadmium battery and that makes it super powerful at 18V but still incredibly lightweight. I couldn’t believe how much torque this drill dished out. The next thing I noticed was that the batteries last a really, really long time. I mean just doing household renovations and small day-to-day stuff, a battery lasted 6 months on its original charge before it started to slow down. Here’s the sad part (for me) I later realized that this exact same drill is available in a full-on portable tool kit. This is awesome news…for everyone but me who has already bought the drill and could’ve gotten all of this other awesome stuff in one complete package deal. That’s ok, you all may learn from my mistakes. The Porter-Cable PC418C-2 includes the badass drill I just told you about, a reciprocating saw that will demolish lumber or walls, a circular saw that is great for carpentry and a really good flashlight that all work on the same batteries (the kit includes 2). If you’re going to get some construction tools for your long-run survival kit, these are the ones you need. This system pairs up very well with the solar chargers we’ve talked about previously. As always, don’t forget to pick up replacement blades for saws and drill bits for the drill.
We’ve talked in previous articles about hammers and axes that you really should have in any good long-run survival kit. Well-made hand tools that will last a lifetime are worth the investment. Tools like the Estwing E45A Campers axe will split logs and zombies like butter all day long. Let’s not forget about the Estwing E3-30SM Framing Hammer, or as we like to call it “Thor’s Framing Hammer”. This big ass stainless steel waffle faced colossus of crush is the only hammer you’ll ever need again in life or beyond. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, this hammer will crush nails or zombie skulls, just give it half of a chance-you won’t regret it!
Another thing you’ll want to include in a good long-run tool kit are 2” coarse threaded drywall screws. If you work in construction already, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t work in construction, take my word for it-these are the only screws you’ll need for the rest of time. Well, you might get a few 1 ½ “ and 3” as well, just in case…but that will REALLY be the only screws you need for just about anything. Focus mainly on the 2”, I’m telling you guys the truth here, that’s what you want to stockpile and then just supplement with the other sizes.
One more thing to consider stocking your long-run kit with is a really serious sledgehammer. When you’re planning for construction, you can’t forget about destruction, the two go hand in hand. Especially during a zombie apocalypse, you never know when you’ll need to get into secure locations and a good sledgehammer is the universally accepted key. The thing about sledgehammers is that you don’t want to get carried away with the biggest thing you can find. You want something that’s heavy enough to do some damage to wall or door, but that will also not throw your back out in the process. That’s why we recommend the Wilton 21036 10lb Sledgehammer with 36-inch handle. This baby is just the right amount of heft and hardiness to really do some damage without wearing you out. The handle is a polymer coated steel shaft they refer to as “unbreakable” and that’s the kind of durability you want in a long-run survival situation. You don’t want to be that guy whose sledgehammer breaks 2 weeks into the zombie apocalypse, do you? Of course you don’t. That’s why you need a Wilton 21036.
Don’t forget to take a look at any motorized equipment you’ll be using and ensure that you’ve got the hardware to maintain those as well. A good socket set as well as a set of wrenches will go a long way, just make sure you know if you need metric or standard or both. Stanley makes a 99 piece black chrome laser etched set that’s just about the most awesome socket set that you ever made. Stanley also makes great wrench sets, just remember to get either standard or metric or both depending on your specific needs. You want to make sure you’ve got a handful of replacement sparkplugs as well as a few cans of starter fluid…make that any fluids your equipment needs (oil, radiator, brake, transmission, etc.). Also (trust me on this one) get a box of fine grain sand paper. If you’re having trouble getting a good spark from one of your plugs, you can use the sandpaper to clean the contact area on the head of the plug and get additional years of use out of them.
So that pretty well sets up a solid long-run survival tool kit. There are obviously a few things some people will need that others won’t and a few things I may have left off. That’s ok, this is about YOUR long-run survival kit and these are just suggestions. Ultimately the fun part of all of this preparation is customizing the kit to suit your needs. If you think of anything we’ve left off that you can’t survive without, send us a note letting us know what you think we should add and why. Maybe we’ll throw your suggestion onto the list!
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