In a recent post about wood burning stoves, a few kind readers were quick to point out that my list was lacking safety gear, this made me think about Prepper PPE. Now unless you lace up a pair of work boots everyday, you might not be familiar with the term PPE. PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment, it is the last line of defense standing between you and injury or the Reaper. In the days and weeks following a disaster you may find yourself doing hard manual labor and some Prepper PPE could save you a trip to the hospital or some ouchies at the very least.
Prepper PPE
- Gloves- A good pair of work gloves just isn’t to keep your hands from getting dirty. Traditional leather or the newer Mechanix Gloves
offer far greater protection from cuts and scraps than bare skin ever will. They also protect against blisters and provide a degree of protection against burns.
- Glasses- Safety Glasses
protect your eyes against flying debris and the Sun. The ANSI spec glasses are actually pretty impressive in what they will protect you from. Don’t think a cheap (or expensive) pair of sun glasses will protect you in a post disaster environment.
- Boots- A good pair of work boots with a safety toe will protect your feet and ankles. Tightly laced boots help support your ankles and can mitigate potential sprains. A good Vibram sole goes a long way in warding off stray nails from sticking into your feet. The safety toe is cheap protection against stuff falling on your toes, don’t buy into the old wife’s tale about the safety toe crushing and severing your toes. It is BS, if the weight is enough to damage the safety toe, it would mangle your foot beyond recognition anyway.
- Hearing Protection- All the young guys roll their eyes at this one! Trust me, if you are cleaning up debris after a storm and chainsaws, chippers, blowers, or mowers are involved some hearing protection is in order.
- Helmet- If the disaster that rolls into town brought with it a lot of high winds that damaged trees or roofs, this one might be a life saver. A head injury isn’t anything to fool around with. A falling branch or piece of debris could change your life in a second. I wear one at work everyday and am pretty sure I would have a few more scars if it wasn’t for it!
Prepper PPE will come in handy in a Post-Disaster situation. In the days and weeks after a big disaster the last thing you’ll want is a trip to the hospital, so spend a few bucks and pick up some Prepper PPE.
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I went to look for good leather work gloves in a ladies small size. Believe me they are not readily available. Buy a couple of pairs NOW. They will fly off the shelves after a storm. If I tried to wear the regular size canvass gloves my hands would be full of blisters.
Always a good idea to have some stuff set aside. Thanks for the comment!
There is a folk belief in my cnutmoimy of Earth Quake Weather . So I prepare for an earth quake by storing enough food and water for two weeks. I knew somebody that experienced California’s Northridge earth quake and it took government relief one week to supply victims with water. Always store your own.