Try it before you embrace or reject it

Although I am focusing on preparation items, this principle actually applies to many aspects of life:

• Green eggs and ham,
• A vacation spot
• A new hobby
• A book series
• Etc.

But you certainly don’t want to try anything just out of curiosity that is dangerous, life threatening, or addictive.  Enough said.

Ok back to prep Items:

I have spent a lot of time researching, including on the internet, (General Search, YouTube, etc) for emergency stoves, Tarps/tents, 72 hour kits, alternate energy, and the list goes on.

What I have found is that many, many people are really gung-ho about a particular item or style of item that is “the best.”

But I am somewhat skeptical, so I have been doing my own research to find out for myself.  And here are my conclusions:

#1 DON’T buy or make anything and then let your life and/or family’s life depend on it until you have tried it in real life.

Example: Backup Generators.  I know people that have caused severe damage to electrical appliances in their home when they had an extended power outage and they just cracked open the box on their brand new generator and plugged it in.

There are several steps to take to use a generator safely.  If you follow them, you can have great, safe, backup power.  If you don’t, you can blow out refrigerators, TV’s, Computers, and much more!    (If anyone would like to submit a step by step plan to setup and use a backup generator for their home, I would gladly post it here with appropriate credit given)

# 2 Practice, Practice, Practice, in real life

Example: Back packing stoves.

I applaud a YouTube video that tells about a couple that wanted to lighten their pack, so they pulled their tried and true (but heavier) backpacking stove and replaced it with a “Super Cat” alcohol stove.

They then went on a 4 day back packing trip on the Appalachian Trail.  They got home and threw the super cat stove out.  She said that they could never get the water to boil.  
They may have practiced in a closed or low wind area,  but I don't think they took it out into the bush somewhere to give it an adequate test before they really depended on it.  You MUST try your different equipment in different situations to know what you have and what it takes to make it work well.

This leads me to conclusion #3.

NEVER go camping, hiking or Bug Out with only one form of anything: Heat, light, cook stove, shelter, etc.  The quote that goes along with this is:  “If you have two, you only have one; if you have one, you actually have none.”

That couple didn’t know why the super cat stove wouldn’t boil the water.  Altitude, humidity, temperature of the alcohol?  It could have been any, or all of those or something else completely.  But they only had one form of cooking available, and it failed so they “actually had none.”

Tell us about something that happened to you where you put trust in some equipment but it was only as good as you were prepared.