There are many different people whom prepare for emergency’s. A lot don’t, some are very casual about it and a few are more serious about it. Even in the serious categories there are many differences. Some are very practical ones and some are consumer driven. The last one is also quite active on the internet.
With preparedness and preparedness items being more and more of a regular consumer product, people act like the manufacture want them too. Manufactures try to make new models each year to satisfy the never ending crave for new things of consumers. This is not always a bad thing. A lot of things have been improved over the years.
However when it comes down to emergency preparedness, when practicability, ruggedness and simplistic plays a role, this generally does not. In the process of making ever new products, manufactures are starting to place ever more features on their products and using more exotic materials, to make them more desirable. This however does not mean it's more practical and useful. Quite often they are less practical, less rugged, and more complicated. Or at least not as time tested. This is fortunately not a problem with large scale equipment. Organisations buying large equipment are all about practical application and costs. It is however a problems when it comes down to personal equipment.
First of all I’m not saying that you should not have new equipment and technologies. Some are great, like modern communication and network enables capabilities. But you should look at equipment primarily at the practical stand point:
- Price; you can only spend your money once, so you better make sure it’s worth it.
- Usability; things needs to be easy to use, with little instructions. People often do not use emergency equipment, so it needs to be easy to understand and use.
- Maintenance; emergency equipment is often stored for long periods of time and when they are needed, there is little time for maintenance. So equipment which require very little maintenance are best. However all equipment need maintenance to work properly. Spare should be on hand and it’s best if they are the same as other commonly used parts on other equipment. Maintenance should be easy and require little (specialist) tools.
- Quality; a well manufactured piece of equipment usually work a lot better than a cheaply made equipment. However don’t confuse a nice finish with quality. They are often related, but not always the same.
- Larger storage and operating range; Equipment should be able to be stored and used in dry, wet, cold, hot and dusty environments. So the equipment should be able to operate in a wide range of conditions. This not only applies for exposure to the elements, but also for the inputs of systems; power input (mains, battery, generators, voltage and type of sinus), water (salt, sweet, dirty), fuel (propane, petrol, diesel or a combination of these) and lubricants.
For proper equipment, look for ‘professional’ or ‘Industrial’ line/grade of equipment. Another good source of equipment are items design for third world/emergency aid. These items are generally made to be practical and nothing more.
With preparedness and preparedness items being more and more of a regular consumer product, people act like the manufacture want them too. Manufactures try to make new models each year to satisfy the never ending crave for new things of consumers. This is not always a bad thing. A lot of things have been improved over the years.
However when it comes down to emergency preparedness, when practicability, ruggedness and simplistic plays a role, this generally does not. In the process of making ever new products, manufactures are starting to place ever more features on their products and using more exotic materials, to make them more desirable. This however does not mean it's more practical and useful. Quite often they are less practical, less rugged, and more complicated. Or at least not as time tested. This is fortunately not a problem with large scale equipment. Organisations buying large equipment are all about practical application and costs. It is however a problems when it comes down to personal equipment.
First of all I’m not saying that you should not have new equipment and technologies. Some are great, like modern communication and network enables capabilities. But you should look at equipment primarily at the practical stand point:
- Price; you can only spend your money once, so you better make sure it’s worth it.
- Usability; things needs to be easy to use, with little instructions. People often do not use emergency equipment, so it needs to be easy to understand and use.
- Maintenance; emergency equipment is often stored for long periods of time and when they are needed, there is little time for maintenance. So equipment which require very little maintenance are best. However all equipment need maintenance to work properly. Spare should be on hand and it’s best if they are the same as other commonly used parts on other equipment. Maintenance should be easy and require little (specialist) tools.
- Quality; a well manufactured piece of equipment usually work a lot better than a cheaply made equipment. However don’t confuse a nice finish with quality. They are often related, but not always the same.
- Larger storage and operating range; Equipment should be able to be stored and used in dry, wet, cold, hot and dusty environments. So the equipment should be able to operate in a wide range of conditions. This not only applies for exposure to the elements, but also for the inputs of systems; power input (mains, battery, generators, voltage and type of sinus), water (salt, sweet, dirty), fuel (propane, petrol, diesel or a combination of these) and lubricants.
For proper equipment, look for ‘professional’ or ‘Industrial’ line/grade of equipment. Another good source of equipment are items design for third world/emergency aid. These items are generally made to be practical and nothing more.
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