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the SAS Survival Guide is generally thought of as a good go-to book for all preppers to have in their library and specifically those who are building their cache from scratch. Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Survival-Handbook-Third-Edition/dp/0062378074

Also, water and heat are good initial topics to cover for your survival mindset as a beginner. For these topics, you'll need to consider questions like, "Do I live near a water source other than city water?" and, "How would I best get clean water?" and, "What is the best way I could create heat to boil water, cook food and stay warm/dry?"
Remember to buy within your budget and don't go overboard. Take the time you need to purchase wisely for your cache.
Good luck and have fun.

I'm in Orange County.

To my north is LA. To my south is San Diego. I'd have to go through something worse before getting to something better there.

To the east is desert (part of it it literally named death valley. To the west is Ocean. There's nothing there for me unless I've specifically planned something beforehand.

There's local mountains, but those are two lane, winding roads and are likely to be jammed up or (intentionally or accidentally) physically obstructed. Any chance at scoring some game will be exhausted in a matter of weeks due to overhunting.

Unless there's a deadly environmental effect like radiation, your safest bet is to hunker down. Keep a couple months worth of shelf stable food, get a WaterBob and keep it topped off until you've got no running water. Make sure you know of the closest location you can get more water and come up with a plan to get it and purify it. Keep stocked up on plenty of ammo.

Then if you find yourself in a food riot kind of situation, do your best to remain hidden. If it's known no support would ever come, you'd have better chances of relocating to a more suitable place after 1-2 months and most everyone is either gone or dead.

The Sawyer Mini is an great all around filter that can be purchased for $20. tablets aren't a bad idea either. Do not waste your money on a lifestraw though. the sawyers are good for like 10-100x the lifespan(in gallons of course)

This is a tough one, as someone else has mentioned, it might be a little tough to do it on a budget of $300-$400... The solar panels and batteries could end up more than that. If you're going to end up with a system like that, you might as well just go all out.


This is 4x the cost yes, but as far a prep goes, they can keep food for longer as well. An actual DC refrigerator that is compressor driven and operates on 12V/24V will be more efficient and reliable. In terms of systems it would be more or less the same minimum specs.

200W-230W Solar (single panel)
300Ah 12v battery

https://www.amazon.com/VoltRay-6-1-Cu-Solar-Refrigerator/dp/B017MV6BF2/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1527519784&sr=8-2&keywords=voltray+refrigerator

These are pretty well liked in the camping community, and they are pretty well made IMO

https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Aqua-Tainer-Gallon-Container/dp/B001QC31G6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=188BU925CUZ5H&dchild=1&keywords=reliance+aqua-tainer+7+gal+water+container&qid=1571190451&sprefix=reliance+%2Caps%2C247&sr=8-4

This is a more common shape

https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Jumbo-Tainer-Gallon-Container/dp/B000GKDFH4/ref=sr_1_5?crid=188BU925CUZ5H&dchild=1&keywords=reliance+aqua-tainer+7+gal+water+container&qid=1571190481&sprefix=reliance+%2Caps%2C247&sr=8-5

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I've got a pair of the reliance desert tanks. They have poor reviews, but I've been bouncing them around the desert for about 5 years without a leak.

I know you're not looking for a siphon but I'd recommend one of these for transferring gas.
Just put it in the can shake up and down and you're good to go

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Siphon-Hose-Pack/dp/B000ZORJ1E

You're going to have a hard time getting smaller. If your radio has a battery that can be used to charge your phone in an emergency, it could take a week or more to charge that battery with the tiny solar panel, and hours of cranking. Those radios can run on very low current. Your cell phone takes a ton of current.

Something like this solar charger that folds flat is about the best you can do to get small and actually charge devices. You can get one that's lighter with fewer panels, but it'll increase charge time by a factor of the area lost.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YUJJM8

That said, if you're willing to let the solar panel charge all day in direct sunlight, something like this battery pack could charge your phone, probably around 2/3 full during a full sunny day. The battery is huge, and can charge your phone 3x or so, so it is a decent option if you're planning on charging from mains power every few days, but want a backup in an emergency.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077BQQX3L

That pack is similar in size to many phones (and thicker), but you can absolutely get smaller packs, usually without the solar panels. I prefer packs without tiny solar panels that I view as gimmicky (I'd rather have high quality panels and high quality batteries that I can mix and match) but if you're looking to reduce volume and weight, they might suit you.

I recommend Anker brand. They're not remotely the only good brand out there, but I've bought around a dozen of their products and used some of them to failure, and I've never once seen signs of cheap design like I often find when (for example) other products just fall apart after a few weeks of heavy use.

Anker costs more, but a few years ago, I got tired of replacing broken stuff, and only look elsewhere when Anker doesn't make exactly what I'm looking for.

This is the bag, I've gone through quite a few. Finally decided on this one it is fantastic!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CICGI40/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Don't waste your money with harbor freight unless it's tarps, car garage or other items. I've bought this for what you are looking for, but the 100watt panel.

Renogy 60 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Foldable Solar Suitcase https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JX3XKFC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZouwybVDE8VSQ

Stove, Walmart had a butane single burner stove for $19 and a can last 30-45 min depending on the setting. They have the Colman in store. I get the gas from the Chinese store, 4 pack for like $6



https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gas-One-Portable-Butane-Gas-Stove-W-case/152360889

I find this book to be very useful. It isn't all knowing but it has a lot of information on everything.

I know people suggested the Baofeng BF-F8HP (careful there are other versions that are cheaper, but very different), however if you want cheaper options with a lot less range (because they are not HAM/shortwave). Here are some options that I have been suggested in the past.

• eSynic 4 pcs Rechargeable Walkie Talkies
  
• Midland - X-TALKER T71VP3

sas urban survival handbook
http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Urban-Survival-Handbook-Terrorism/dp/1620877112

You're looking for "The Encyclopedia of Country Living", by Carla Emery.

https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402

Maybe not exactly this, but the "Pocket Ref"

Just some really quick searches. Probably not the best quantity or size. But shows that both can be found on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/HiMedia-GRM3949-250G-Sodium-Acetate-Anhydrous/dp/B00DYO5ED2?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_3

https://www.amazon.com/Acetic-Acid-Glacial-1-Gallon/dp/B07TK4CL6V/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=glacial+acetic+acid&qid=1571782525&sr=8-10

I would advise against an ammo can for any situation. For a number of reasons:

• No in-built ability to organize contents. (You don't want to dig through everything you have to find what you need.)
  
  
• "Quick, go in the house and grab that green ammo can/box." How many green can/boxes/bags do you have? Probably a Hell of a lot. You want something that, one, you don't have a dozen of, and two, just about everyone instinctively associates with First Aid. I use one of these as my trauma bag in my car. If I'm helping someone on the side of the road, wherever, I just say: "Grab the orange medical bag from behind the driver seat of my car". Remember: When emergencies hit, most people go into anywhere from an urgent to a panic mode. You want something even the most flustered person is going to be able to find/recognize.
  
  
• Ammo boxes are heavy. If you're sending a 6 year old kid to get it, besides the possible confusion in finding it among two dozen green things, it could be hard for them to lug it across a yard. Even a loaded bag is shedding the added weight of the box. And even if it's heavy and/or awkward for a child, they can drag it a long way by the strap.
  
  
• They can be hard to open one handed. If you're solo and injured, losing blood, zippers are easy to operate with one hand. Good bags use YKK self lubricating zippers that open easily, with the weight of the bag providing counter-balance. The organization aspect comes into play in this scenario. If you're becoming confused, light headed, or losing conciseness, you don't want to be digging through a box of stuff for a tourniquet or blood stopper or an Israeli bandage. You want to know exactly where in that bag to reach.
  
  
• A bag will hold a lot more than an ammo can. I carry just about anything you could need, and I've still got room for more if I really needed it.
  
  This is a smaller, less expensive model of the bag.