What is your "Every Day Carry" or EDC?

[chilledwarmth]

For me

• Android phone, I have an In Case Of Emergency app with all medical info about me, and contact info for people I'd want emergency services to notify. That one specific app can be accessed without having to unlock the phone

• Glock 19 and spare mag

• Leatherman Wave

• Wallet with ID, credit card, and a bit of money

• Fenix TK15 flashlight

• Protein Bar

• Waterproof notebook and pen

• Lighter

• Keys (car and house)

There are 0.26 gun related deaths per 100,000 in the uk. There are more than 10 per 100,000 in the USA. (That 40 times higher I think?!) That statistic says it all.

That's why British people are almost universally happy with our gun laws and pretty appalled at America's.

Bertrand isn't 'prepping' just being prepared?

As a generalisation, in the UK we need to be prepared for bad weather; floods, snow, droughts and hose pipe bans and so that's what is mainly being discussed.

In the USA, they have severe weather events, large areas of land with few people per square km and (to my mind) less faith in government and police and more faith in themselves.

Looking out for you and your family in the UK will focus on having an amount of emergency supplies, some basic emergency equipment linked to the sort of life you lead, and having an idea of a plan you might put into action if you needed to. In the USA looking out for your family might involve preparing for a tornado and having to survive for possibly weeks until the authorities found you which, for some, will include the need for some sort of weapon.

Being individually prepared will involve lists of stuff which other people would feel unnecessary. For me personally I wouldn't include tinned hot dogs or tuna in any food stock pile but understand that other people might feel life is unliveable without them.

I think you're being a little unkind deriding people's efforts to prepare for whatever scenario they are concerned about.

ah. In the time it took me to type my epic response the thread has moved on somewhat

BitOutOfPractice "There are 0.26 gun related deaths per 100,000 in the uk. There are more than 10 per 100,000 in the USA. (That 40 times higher I think?!) That statistic says it all.

That's why British people are almost universally happy with our gun laws and pretty appalled at America's."

I agree with this 1000000%. The statistics speak for themselves yet the OP and the gun lobby just seems to ignore these inconvenient facts.

The gun lobby only interested in perpetuating the idea that they are the "good guys" rather than a large part of the problem.

According to the telegraph there were over 43 shootings by toddlers in the us in 2015 ...

Throughthick & Kacie, quite welcome. Gun control is something I feel strongly about. Something needs to be done about it, but unfortunately it seems that hysteria and money (NRA) have a grip on my beautiful country. Just rest assured that if you come and visit us, you won't find a gun-totin' citizen on every corner.

As far as emergency preparedness we're out in the country so have a back-up generator since we're low on the totem pole when it comes to getting power back during power outages. It's only big enough to power the fridge, pellet stove, and a few lights, but that's enough to get us through. I really don't stockpile food but we do have a pretty well stocked pantry as a rule.

As far as true 'prepping' (as we think of it here) I don't do anything like that. If the zombie apocalypse happens or someone drops the bomb, I hope I go first. You all can sort it out amongst yourselves. I'll be up in the clouds, watching you. Or I'll be a zombie, too.

"I think you're being a little unkind deriding people's efforts to prepare for whatever scenario they are concerned about"

I wasn't going to return to this thread, but I had to reply to that. I am honestly not deriding- if anything it's "proper" preppers i have a problem with. It's just that the word has a meaning- and the way it's been used on mumsnet is inaccurate. And will attract the loonytune Confederate flag brigade.

I was stranded overnight in an unforecast blizzard on the M25 when I was 8 months pregnant once. Because it was winter, I had a blanket, a torch, water, some food and a book. I was fine. But that wasn't "prepping". It was just doing what sensible people do in the winter.

Argh. That IS prepping. Like I said, it has a myriad of meanings. But there we go, not a big deal

"the practice of making active preparations for a possible catastrophic disaster or emergency, typically by stockpiling food, ammunition, and other supplies"

Hardly putting a bottle of water, a flapjack, a rug and a copy of Harry Potter in the boot of the car every November, is it?

It's mumsnet prepping. You use the term 'preppers' and you internationally across the www attract the 'totes-normal-to-carry-a-glock-every-day' type of prepper who Google the term. We already have a few rolling about. There are a billion sites available to cater for that, and I am unsure that mumsnet needs to be added to the stockpile, however much interest I have in sharing other cultural experiences.

I am fascinated to see whether mnhq see this board as an opportunity to increase their advertising revenue globally (and if so, I look forward with increasing disbelief to seeing the adverts), or whether they decide they would perhaps prefer to reduce the possibility of the board morphing into something quite outside of a British parenting experience. Time will tell.

Putting blankets and water and a bit of a snack in the car is exactly the kind of prepping most of us are talking about. I wanted to call it The Bunker because I thought it was funny, but it's probably just as well we didn't!

Also how is being trapped in a blizzard in a car overnight NOT an emergency? It can kill you if you are old or young or unprepared.

Don't forget we aren't all in the UK. I get this thread went weird bit some of us will be preparing for not your typical uk stuff and not in the typical uk way. I don't want to pushed onto some confederate flag flying site when I want a clear headed response to things that affect my kids and lifestyle.

Is it allowed to have a Glock?!

Not for us neither of us has a license for a hand gun, we've no use for one. I don't know the laws on them here would have to ask oh.
I'm defiantly more farmers with shot guns and rifles, and may sometimes want to discuss that. Not loads but would prefer not to have a blanket ban on discussing guns.

Anyhoo do we have a real thread actually on your every day carry?

There's this one, winchester.

Bertrand, being trapped in a car overnight by a blizzard while you are 8 months pregnant is an emergency. Particularly when it's an unforecast one. You had actively prepared for potential winter emergencies by ensuring that you had access to warm blankets, food, water and entertainment. Congrats, you are a prepper!

I'm not in the UK either Winchester. And I'm not seeking a ban on discussing guns. As I said, I've got 25 years of experience with firearms, 16 in the military. And I happen to live in North America. It's still a British parenting website and many other sites exist for those that need to discuss how many spare mags they need on their average outing to the liquor store.

If someone pops in thinking it's all normal to tout their weaponry in their purse and we're all going to nod sagely and agree that it's terribly sensible and de rigeur to do so, I'm not playing any more. No matter where they live. And I reserve the right to maintain a pointy stick with which to pop that particular bubble.

Please don't be put off contributing to the board by one American clutching their gun and rolling their eyes.
I rather enjoyed all the very British responses to the idea of an automatic being part of a MN preppers grab bag. In the same way that I prefer raising my family in the UK too.

So, everyday carry in my car and on my person.
Bag:
Keys, cards, cash, phone, pen, paper, wet wipes, tissues, three plasters, 4 neurofen, mini flat torch, swiss army knife, memory stick, discount vouchers for my supermarket (I always forget them if they are on the kitchen notice board.)

In my car
Decent first aid kit, including a foil blanket.
Fleece blanket, towel, tarpaulin, energy bars, trail mix, bottled water, black bin liners, small plastic bags on a roll, waterproof kagoul, spark-lite and kindling materials, string.
Spork and a bowl.
Spare bulbs, jumpleads, maps, WD40, wet wipes, thin rope.
In bad weather, I add a sleeping bag and a folding shovel.
In good weather I carry a picnic basket.

I also found the responses to the gun toter more interesting and reassuring that most of the crowd here is sensible and do not find the normalisation of guns as "edc" acceptable. The later fears that the board is going to start attracting extreme militant preppers is a bit of an overreaction I think but perhaps guidelines would be helpful to clarify the concept of the board for the confused.

I notice there's a bit of worry about people being off. Let me just say please (both people who have already posted and those who haven't) don't be put off by this. I've already said I just won't bring up the weapon subject again, and I'm happy to continue with that. I don't want people to be put off the subject of preparedness in any way. Despite what disagreements there may be on other issues, preparedness is pretty universal. It's always good to be prepared for things that might affect you. It might just be a winter kit in the car, there's not a set standard for what you have to do.

There was a guy asking for suggestions on renaming the preppers subsection of the forum. If you're wanting to disassociate prepping with guns then that might be a good idea because preppers as word is generally associated by the public as being people on those tv shows with guns. I and some other people suggested Emergency Preparedness, which doesn't have any stigma attached. Here's the topic

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/preppers/2515543-Renaming-topic-to-The-Bunker-views?

Since you are brand new to MN, maybe it would be best to just have a bit of humility and read up and listen and get a feel for the culture around here, rather than bursting in to lecture the little ladies all about preparedness?

Because we like male posters, but we don't like people assuming we are men when we aren't, or assuming that they, 5,000 miles away, know more about what we need to prep than we do.

Again, I say this as a non-Brit - I modify my comments and language because I know I'm unusual here, and it's my responsibility to make myself understood with confusing people.

Actually, whilst I disagree with the US position on guns chilled has been nothing but polite and conciliatory and has simply put across (different) views.

Hey there HoldMeCloserTonyDanza. I don't think that I'm lecturing anyone. I don't see humility as meaning that you need to alter your view to fit in with the majority opinion. It just means accepting that someone else has a different idea about something, and respecting and tolerating their views even if you think they are wrong.

I support what you say about not liking people assuming they "know more about what we need to prep than we do", and I've actually stressed that in one or two posts. If I ever give advice on prepping I try to avoid saying do this, buy that, sort this out. My way of thinking is that it's better to give new preppers a basic outline and then get them to think for themselves about what kind of issues they are most likely to face and plan for it accordingly. Everyones circumstances are different. As an example of this I don't have pets so it would never occur to me to work out what to do with pets if I needed to evacuate my home in a hurry. But if you do have pets that's something that you do need to think about.

No, that is indeed not what humility means.

Humility means reading previous threads in the forum before jumping right in. It means realising that you may not understand much about the culture of the place you're advising, and taking the time to learn and understand that culture before taking it upon yourself to teach.

That is good manners and politeness whenever you join any new forum.