David Canterbury: New Survival Blanket And How To Set It Up As A Shelter

David Canterbury's has a new Pathfinder heavy duty survival blanket available for sale which he describes in the video below. The primary difference between this model and prior models is the addition of a third pair of grommets in the middle of the short edges in addition to the four at the corners to make it easier to set it up a shelter. These blankets are reinforced to keep the grommets from being torn out. Most of the video, however, is on how to set up the shelter going over lines, knots, and other tips and tricks. Most of this will be applicable to tarps and ponchos as well.

VIDEO: "Survival Blanket NEW and IMPROVED"

David Canterbury (10 min.)

Ebooks: Apocalyptic Bunkers & Fallout Shelters

 When I discussed some of the more general sources of info and put together my E-Book Resource page, I generally listed some major repositories with the warning that you would need to explore those repositories to find the books and information that might interest you. But I thought I would periodically post more specific links to a collection, library, or specific titles that would be of interest to the prepper/survivalist.

    Today's selection is a collection of books on the subject of survival retreats and fallout shelters . 

    The books are in PDF format, but you may find the following programs useful to view them on your computer or to convert to a different format: First is Calibre, which is a free-to-download e-book management program. What makes it useful is that it can read many different formats of e-books and can convert between different formats (e.g. from epub to MOBI) as long as there is no encryption, and allows you to organize files into useful libraries. Second, and more basic, is SumatraPDF which also allows you to view all sorts of e-book formats but without the ability to convert a file from one format to another.

Disclaimer: I'm not the author of any of the documents, applications or things linked above and cannot vouch for their accuracy or completeness--use them at your own risk. I am not responsible for the posting or offering of any of the documents or things in the collections and/or libraries and have no control over whether they are posted or taken down. 

Bullet Penetration of Walls

Some information I've found on this topic:

• "Masonry Walls That Resist Bullet Penetration" (PDF)--Clay Brick Association of Canada. This paper details the results of tests done by researchers with Canadian Masonry Research Institute, the University of Alberta, and the RMCP. The article describes the construction of the various test walls, the results, and offers some concluding remarks. From the latter:

The results of this project were somewhat unexpected. The ability of a .22 Long Rifle bullet to easily travel completely through the corner of a typically constructed vinyl sided house was as unforeseen as the clay and concrete brick walls stopping all but the bullet with the greatest velocity. Standard 13 mm or 19 mm stucco finishing does not significantly reduce life-threatening situations for people inside or outside a wall that is subjected to most centerfire bullet impacts. This danger increases with the velocity and energy of the bullet fired. A person struck by one of these projectiles would be at risk of serious bodily injury or death. Secondary projectiles (wood, lathe, stucco, etc.) produced by a bullet travelling through one of these walls would also present a risk to a person. Walls finished with either a clay brick, concrete brick, or Tindlestone veneer prevented all but the .50 Browning from completely penetrating the wall assembly. The ability of the both the high strength (70 MPa) and low strength (17.5 MPa) clay brick walls to prevent bullet penetration was very similar. However, the localized behaviour of high and low strength bricks was substantially different. Upon impact, the low strength brick was turned into powder in the localized region of the bullet impact. 

• Another research paper: "Exploring cross-laminated timber use for temporary military structures: Ballistic considerations"--Georgia Tech. This link takes you to a page describing the object of the research and a link to download the full paper (450 pp.).
• "UFC 4-023-07 Design To Resist Direct Fire Weapons Effects, With Change 1"--Whole Building Design Guide and Department of Defense. As above, this link takes you to a page describing the paper as well as a link to download the full paper (74 pp.)
• Of course, the barrier tests performed by the Box 'o Truth crew are very informative. 
• Olympic Arms has an article, "Real World .223 Testing", that discusses penetration of the .223/5.56.
• A sale brochure from a company called Kibo that makes prefab guard huts and security barriers, touting the various barrier penetration resistance of their products.
• "Safe Rooms and The Active Shooter Threat (Part III)"--CIS World Services. As the author describes, "Part Three of this article continues by exploring options and performance expectations for safe room barrier components." It also has a nice bibliography listing other sources.
• "Designing Bullet Resistant Protection Panel Systems: Capture More than the Imagination"--Continuing Education Center.

Article: "How long can meth residue contaminate a house?"

According to the article, researchers investigating a house that had been used to cook meth, then abandoned for several years, still showed extensive contamination after 5 years.

       For the study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers looked at a house that had been contaminated by people cooking meth before the home was eventually sold to someone else and then left uninhabited for several years. They found that the meth residue was still around more than five years later.

       The study authors noted that the contamination levels in the house were “extremely high in both household items that were part of the house when cooking was taking place (blinds, carpets, walls, etc.) and also in articles brought to the house post-cooking (rugs, toys, beds, etc.).”

       The most contaminated item in the house? The blinds. “These are plastic blinds that were present when [drug] manufacture was suspected to have been undertaken,” said the study authors. “This is consistent with observations from other properties where higher levels of methamphetamine are present in materials such as PVC, polyurethane and stained and varnished timbers."

      The researchers noted that “the methamphetamine is not breaking down or being removed and is transferred from contaminated to non-contaminated objects.”

 (H/t KA9OFF)

Daily Mail: "Inside the luxury doomsday bunker complex the size of a CITY in South Dakota where 10,000 people will prepare for 'the end of the world'"

View of the bunkers as they exist now (Source: Daily Mail).

The article is about yet another developer that has purchased up Cold War era bunkers (in this case, surface munitions bunkers rather than ICBM bunkers) to turn into expensive, luxury survival retreats.

       The bunkers reportedly are spread across 18 square miles in South Dakota, and will be renovated to include interior partitions, flooring, furniture, and could even sport LCD displays to show different natural scenes.

       A couple before and after shots:

Before

After

The article has more photographs as well as a couple example floor plans. The article doesn't say anything about food storage, but mention that there will be "attic" space above the individual rooms.

Diagram of a Vietcong Tunnel Complex

I found this diagram to be interesting:

Source: Survivalist Boards (more information, including video and photos, at the link)

The Doomsday Shelter

The Daily Mail reports on yet another developer planning on transforming an old missile silo complex into shelters to survive the apocalypse (whatever form it may take). 

Built to withstand an atomic blast, even the most paranoid can find comfort inside concrete walls that are nine feet thick and stretch 174 feet (53 meters) underground.

Instead of simply setting up shop in the old living quarters provided for missile operators, Hall is building condos right up the missile shaft.

Seven of the 14 underground floors will be condo space selling for $2 million a floor or $1 million a half floor. Three and a half units have been sold, two contracts are pending and only two more full units are available, Hall said.

For now, metal stairs stretch down to connect each floor but an elevator will later replace them. The units are within a steel and concrete core inside the original thick concrete, which makes them better able to withstand earthquakes.

Hall is also installing an indoor farm to grow enough fish and vegetables to feed 70 people for as long as they need to stay inside and also stockpiling enough dry goods to feed them for five years.

The top floor and an outside building above it will be for elaborate security.

Other floors will be for a pool, a movie theater and a library, and when in lockdown mode there will be floors for a medical center and a school.

Complex life support systems provide energy supplies from sources of conventional power, as well as windmill power and generators.

Giant underground water tanks will hold water pre-filtered through carbon and sand. And, of course, an elaborate security system and staff will keep marauding hordes out.

The condo elevator will only operate if a person's fingerprint matches its system, Hall said. Cameras will monitor a barbed-wire topped fence and give plenty of warning of possible intruders. Responses can range from a warning to lethal force.

The article includes graphics showing the proposed layout and design of the different levels. Cost is $1 million for a "half-floor" condo, and $2 million for a full floor.

Cool as the concept is, I see these as a suckers bet. First, how do these people propose to get to an old ICBM bunker in the middle of Kansas in the middle of an emergency so dire that they need to hole up in such a structure? Second, I suspect that the first person (or family) in will also be the last one in. And, in this case, that will probably be the staff members.

The ironic part is, in the event of a full-scale nuclear attack (unlikely as that is), the silo these are built in would probably still be targeted ... just in case.

Relocating to Pre-Fab Structures After Disasters

Thailand has gone through some serious flooding recently, including some (poorer) areas of Bangkok. In typical DYI fashion, some of the people displaced by the flooding have moved into pre-fab concrete sections intended for an elevated roadway.

Meanwhile, in flood-ravaged Bangkok, a similar story emerges from the waterlogged streets of Pathum Thani. CNN recently released a video that captures Thai communities taking refuge in prefabricated concrete shells used to construct Bangkok's elevated skyway. Within these tiered cement structures, dozens of recently homeless residents have moved in with their most prized personal belongings, from pampered purse-sized dogs to massive flat-screen televisions and refrigerators. More after the break.

While coverage of the flooding in Thailand has dwindled, many Thais continue to wait for the waters to recede from their homes. As much of Bangkok is still only navigable by boat, the concrete hive has proven to be a preferred alternative to more conventional government shelters. The prefabricated units of infrastructure provide evacuees with relatively large alcoves of dry space to call their own as well as sources of electricity to tap into. Moreover, the company that owns the skyway has openly given permission for its new occupants to stay.

 The article also linked to this story about temporary housing in Japan made using shipping containers.