Comments on: Common Tips on Avoiding Infection

By: Forbidden Razor

Forbidden Razor — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:40:05 +0000

Insects and animals will stay away from infected so we probably wont have to worry about bugs

By: 3-15 INF

3-15 INF — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:02:37 +0000

well, we all agreed a long time ago that we are talking about max brooks zombies and mosquitoes avoid infected blood, as do most bacteria and parasites. Likewise, the virus will not infect any organism that eats it- it will only kill them, not turn them

By: Hugh

Hugh — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:23:55 +0000

I think we all seem to be forgetting something. Zombieism? is a blood-carried infection. What are we going to do about mosquitoes?

By: ThatScoutKid

ThatScoutKid — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:58:31 +0000

i really need to put my shorter barrel on my mossberg. i have a longer birdhunting one on it rite now. and i want to get a heat shield. but thatll have to wait.

By: Angryvikingman

Angryvikingman — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:08:15 +0000

You’ll hardly ever catch me NOT in camo. I wear it everyday to work. The pants are the best work pants you’d ever want. After almost 5 years of constant wash and wear, my older ones got retired and turned into shorts. One pair was burned in a retirement bonfire at my friend’s house. They really needed burning…

You cant beat a good pair of Rothco BDUs. Who cares if they’re made in china by a 10 year old. (IDK if they are or not…)They’re better than anything that I’ve bought that was “American Made”. Propper brand doesnt fit right, the waist tabs slid every time I bent over, and they wore our really fast.

By: KillerB

KillerB — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:02:26 +0000

Chainmail is a good idea if you have it. I would stay away from it for the simple reason of weight. For the weight of the suit I could simply carry more ammo. I am sure that a leather coat would keep me from getting bitten. Saliva might soak through though but it would soak through cahinmail as well. I like the gas mask idea but running and fighting in one sounds about as fun as having my privates steped on.
I think that I would stick to fire resistant cloathing as much as possible. Yes we all agree that burning the undead will have little effect but if your place is over ran it could serve as a good diversion. Getting burned sucks and having the ablity to run through small areas without coming out the other side looking like the burning man could be a major advantage. Yes this is a worst case senario but so is a zombie invasion.
As far as shoes go. I would stay away from the heavy military or work boots. A pound on the foot is 10 pounds on the back. I would choose a lightweight hiking boot or even one of the new breed of military combat footwear that is light as a regular shoe but offers a little more ankle support. Even standard running shoes would work. I have strong ankles so the support of a large boot is not needed.
What about tactical cloathing like the 5.11 line. Great durablity and many pockets. Tough as nails construction. Cammo might not be needed for the undead but there will be hostile survivors around. You may need to hide from them at some point.

By: 3-15 INF

3-15 INF — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:06:39 +0000

Has anyone thought of the chainmail idea, but maybe made with plastic rings instead of metal?
Would it be less effective against bites?
I mean, we don’t have to have something that works against swords or anything…

By: Perkidanman

Perkidanman — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:22:35 +0000

I’ve always thought that motorcycle gear would be the best in a situation where you needed maximum protection. If you can find one of those full-body suits, some gloves, decent boots and a helmet i’d say you’ve got a good chance of not suffering bites. The stuff is designed to protect you from asphalt as your body skids across it at highway speeds so I don’t see how a zombie bite would get through. Also, if you can find a motorcycle rain suit, you’ve got a makeshift biohazard suit (for your body at least).

By: Stone

Stone — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:41:11 +0000

I think it really matters on the situation. I mean, if we’re talking about post-apocolyptic zombie scenario, your surviving until you die type of affair, my goal wouldn’t be to avoid the zombies. It would be to have as much fun as I can before the inevitable.

Refrencing zombieland (awesome movie. i’ve seen it twice so far), you gotta enjoy the little things. I’m not going to sit there, hide, and wait for a rescue that’s not coming. I’m gonna enjoy myself.

So I have to disagree with you abbaroth. As I posted on the combat weapons page, armor would be my weapon. My plan would to bulk up on armour. My biggest problem would be other people.

As soon as the s**t hit the fan, I’d run to a Canadian Tire. almost everything I’d need would be right there.

Besides, I dont like to run around a whole lot, and I’m a big guy, so it wouldnt hurt me all that much to carry around 30 or 40 pounds of armour, so long as it protected me.

Hell, my old danier jacket weighed 25 pounds. carrying that kind of weight on your shoulders messes up your back, but it doesnt slow you down much.

By: Abbaroth

Abbaroth — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:27:26 +0000

While I heartily agree with many of Angryvikingman’s conclusions on many subjects, I must respectfully disagree on the subject of chainmail. Granted, it is wicked cool to have a set and even better that you made it yourself (MAD PROPS!!) I think chainmail can be discounted for one simple reason- weight. 30 lbs. by itself is easy. A full combat load including multiple ranged and melee weapons and ammunition, plus survival gear, plus water and emergency food at best will weigh in at 40-50 lbs. Add another 30 lbs to that and you’re seriously restricting your speed, agility, and maximum range. I know from experience that my limit in the woods and mountains in a day is between 22 and 25 miles with a 30 lb. load. Double that to 60 lbs. and my range is cut down to 12-14 miles and take another mile off for every 10 lbs. or so beyond that. Bottom line- Every ounce you don’t need should be left behind.

Many have posted excellent ideas for much lighter-weight solutions to eliminate the threat of bite wounds. I can definitely see the advantage of chain- or plate-backed gloves in the event of CQC, so long as they didn’t restrict your ability to operate your ranged weapons, but toting 30+ lbs of armor that is primarily designed to stop slashing attacks from swords is probably overkill.

In all honesty, I think a case _can_ be made for wearing armor, but rather than chainmail, I would suggest the ballistic variety. Remember that the zombies probably aren’t the only beasties you’ll be fighting. There will be plenty of assbags out there who would be perfectly happy putting a bullet through you in exhange for the food and ammo you have on you. Unless zombies suddenly get very good at wielding katanas, I think the chainmail will have very little return on the investment of the survival calories you will be required to burn to carry it.

As for myself, I will be making absolutely sure there isn’t a patch of skin on my body that isn’t protected by at least military grade ripstop nylon, and from my fingertips to my elbows will be protected by kevlar gloves with hard plates. I never go anywhere without my trusty combat boots, and for my face the neoprene and charcoal filter with high-visibility goggles. It seems to me that accidental transmission is at least as much of a danger as anything in a full-blown zompocalypse, so preventing contact with infected blood or fluids will be one of my primary concerns, especially when unloading my 00 buckshot at close range. Armor-wise, dragonskin or some ballistic plate armor may be added to the list eventually, but my combat/survival load is around 55 lbs right now, and I can’t say I want to increase it much more than that.

My opinion is that if I get into a situation that requires me to rely on armor to not become infected, I’m probably SOL anyway. At that point I’m surrounded, out of ammo and about to be torn apart. My plan is to be mobile and deadly enough from farther away to not be contemplating my mortality in the arms of the zeds.