EW’S
gift
GUIDE
PRESENTS
FOR PREPPERS
Gifts for the beloved camper or
doomsdayer in your life by Kelly Kenoyer
f you have a friend who lives in the woods or
in a bunker for much of the year, you know
how difficult it can be to pick a gift: What do
you buy for the person who has, and needs,
nothing?
Stuff that makes it easier to have less, of
course!
And even if doomsday may seem far in the future,
presents for your prepper friends can double as
camping gear.
Added bonus: If it’s a close friend, you, too, can use
these items to survive when the big earthquake hits!
For the backpacking prepper in your life, you can
find high-quality water filters that are lightweight and
easy to pack out. The quintessential example of this
is the LifeStraw Personal Water Filter ($19.95, REI):
a straw that filters water as you drink it. This is a neat
thing to whip out while hiking to drink directly from
the river, but avid hikers might tell you it’s best to
have something with a pump or a self-contained
bottle that makes it easier to get water to cook with
on the trail.
Another option is the SteriPEN Quantum Water
Purifier ($54.95, REI), which emits an ultraviolet light
to destroy viruses and bacteria. Though it won’t filter
out debris, it’s lightweight and easy to use.
On-the-go hikers and survivalists can get the
LifeSaver water bottle ($89.99-$115.99), which
requires no batteries — just fill, pump and drink. One
replaceable cartridge filters up to 4,000 liters of water.
For the straight-up disaster preparedness people
in your life, the best gift might be the guarantee of a
I
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full stomach, post-disaster. A 14-day supply of non-
perishable food is nothing to sneeze at — and
Oregon-based Mountain House has your back. With
food packs varying from two to 14 days of food
($41.99-$285), and a guaranteed 30-year shelf life,
Mountain House Emergency Food Supply packs will
make any prepper swoon.
As for nifty tech, my favorite bit of survival gear
this year is the Biolite CampStove 2 ($129.95). This
lightweight stove uses twigs and pinecones to create
a fire, and the newer model turns the energy from
that fire into useable electricity — you can use the
USB port to charge your phone!
After the Cascadia subduction zone earthquake
takes out half of Oregon and the tsunami hits, this
gear will prove indispensable.
Eugene Weekly’s GIFT GUIDE 2017 3