“CDC has a fun new way of teaching the importance of emergency preparedness. Our new graphic novel, “Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic” demonstrates the importance of being prepared in an entertaining way that people of all ages will enjoy. Readers follow Todd, Julie, and their dog Max as a strange new disease begins spreading, turning ordinary people into zombies. Stick around to the end for a surprising twist that will drive home the importance of being prepared for any emergency. Included in the novel is a Preparedness Checklist so that readers can get their family, workplace, or school ready before disaster strikes. ”

View the entire document here.  Found via Laughing Squid.

Run For Your Lives is a zombie-themed 5k/obstacle course starting in Baltimore on October 22nd that will allow participants to pit themselves against a zombie horde as they try to complete the course without “dying”, which sounds exactly like the beginning of a zombie movie where the fake zombies somehow turn into real zombies and actually try to eat the unknowing participants.

If you are anywhere near the Baltimore area and want a great training opportunity before the day the dead walk the earth, this event is for you.

The Zombie Survival Guide daily calendar, while usually a great resource, dropped the ball the other day.  They offered some advice for home defense which involved making a stand on the roof.

The tip for June 10 offered this tidbit: “If you find yourself in a one-story home with no attic, grab whatever supplies you can, take hold of a weapon, and climb onto the roof.” It goes further to say “Remain on the roof for as long as you can, until supplies are exhausted or a rescue patrol arrives.  It may be uncomfortable, but it is your best chance for survival.”

This is flawed thinking.  Not sure about you but getting on the roof of my house is not the easiest thing to do.  The ladder we have is on the lower level, and if that is compromised already by the undead, not sure how you would even get onto the roof.

Additionally, this says “grab whatever supplies you can” when we all know that we should already have a zombie plan and some supplies setup.  As many here would tell you, they already have a roof filled with fully automatic weapons, tanks, and helicopters.  For the average person, know where some type of weapon is and make sure you can easily take it with you.

Lastly, just sitting on the roof waiting is no plan at all.  This does not even account for any of the elements.  What if it is 95 degrees outside?  You really want to sit and bake on the roof of the house?  Since there is no guarantee that a roving rescue patrol will arrive, just sitting on a roof waiting is one of the last things you need to do.

Think about your plan, folks, so something like this doesn’t end up being your only solution.

Stay safe.  Stay informed.  Stay alive.

At some point during the zombie apocalypse, you will be running.  It is just a given fact that it will happen.  Hopefully when you are preparing for the day the undead walk the earth, you are doing so with comfort in mind.  With that said, you need to think about what shoes are best to run in.  Thankfully, RunningShoes.com has put together a great list of shoes that are worth consideration.

Check it out here: “Best Running Shoes for Zombie Apocalypse Survival”.

Stay safe. Stay informed. Stay alive.

What kind of training will most closely resemble the kind of shooting you will have to do after the fall of man? What shooting skills will you need to learn? Short of military training, the next best thing is professional training at facilities like Blackwater, or Frontsight, but what if you barely have enough money in your budget for bullets? What should you do? ZAC suggests that you get involved in a practical shooting organization or take an NRA sponsored civilian marksmanship program.

There are many practical shooting organizations, but two of the most wide spread and best known are IDPA and IPSC. ZAC further suggests you get involved in 3 Gun shooting.

3 gun is a type of shooting that involves a military style rifle, shotgun, and pistol. You transition between all three weapons during the stages, shooting for the most accuracy in the best time. It hones your skills with all 3 weapons simultaneously. However, both of these groups have independent shotgun, pistol, and rifle matches. Learning to shoot against people with a better skill set is the best way to hone your speed and ability. It may be frustrating at first, but you will get better as you train and compete.

Other training organizations can be found through the NRA. One of the best is the Appleseed Project. It teaches you marksmanship at ranges beyond 100 yards.

ZAC encourages you to do your own research, find clubs, and organizations that you like and practice the shooting skills that could save your own life, as well as others.

Most Zombie movies portray an outbreak as an overnight occurance, but in reality this most likely will not be the case. Based on rate of infection and incubation times, you could have anywhere from a few days to weeks to prepare for the deluge of the undead.

To determine how fast the infection could spread, lets look at the last immense biological threat we faced, H1N1 or “Swine Flu”. Generally all types of influenza have the same incubation period, which is 2-7 days. The times vary based on the inital health of the patient and their metabolism at the time of infection. Assuming the shortest incubation period, and that a zombie will infect only 10 others in a 2 day period, lets look at the time table for the infection to spread through out the entire United States.

Day 1: 1 zombie
Day 3: 11 zombies
Day 5: 110 zombies (By now you may have heard some news stories, but they could be unconfirmed.)
Day 7: 1,100 zombies (You will have heard about the outbreak on the national news by now, and the infection will have spread coast to coast.)
Day 9: 11,000 zombies (More news stories. Smart people will have begun stockpiling food and other resources)
Day 11: 110,000 zombies (1 in 3,000 people are now infected. The Government will become involved.)
Day 13: 1,100,000 zombies (1 in 300 people are now infected. Odds are, someone you know is infected. Government recalls all deployed troops.)
Day 15: 11,000,000 zombies (1 in 30 people are now infected. Someone in your family is probably infected. Government declares Martial Law.)
Day 17: 110,000,000 zombies (1 in 3 people are now infected. Odds are, you’ve come in direct contact with zombies, or are buttoned up in your house.)
Day 19: 1.1 Billion zombies (Entire United States has been over run and the infection has spread to the rest of the world.)
Day 21: The entire planet has been consumed by the undead except the lucky few, and only the most remote locations remain untouched.

With the infection spreading in this fashion, could you possibly survive? Well, suprisingly, your odds are not too slim. If you can remain inside and safe until day 21, then your odds of survival increase dramatically. With almost every human on earth infected, the zombies are completely out of food unless they go after animals. Assuming they don’t, they will begin to starve, and if you’re really lucky, they’ll begin to dehydrate. If they dehydrate, then you will only have to wait about another week before its probably safe to go out and rebuild society, but if they have to starve, then it could be another month before you can go out to scavenge and rebuild. This is why it is important to have a supply of food and water to help you stay inside, and stay safe. For this you can make a Button Up Barrel. Good luck!

How great would it be to have a zombie safe house designed by an architect, with all of the bells and whistles for the ultimate defense built it?  Well fellow survivors, that is not too far of a stretch of the imagination.

We just got word of a “Zombie Safe House Competition” where several architects submitted their plans for the best safe house.  To see all of the entries and to vote for your favorite, check out their official page here.

Which one do you like the best and why?  How would you change up the plans?

Stay safe.  Stay informed.  Stay alive.

While there are without doubt a times when the chips are down the rounds are coming back at you where you want if not need body armor. But, the question is when fighting the undead, do you really need body armor? Or are you better off using the weight for other equipment.

Modern body armor is designed to stop a wide range of projectiles, from the low end Level II vest and general pistol rounds too Level IV vest with hard ballistic plates and even vests designed to hinder the lowly Taser. However, modern body armor is not designed to fight the undead, at least not in original design. It is also, and most importantly heavy.

The weight of modern body armor, is substantial. Low level vests can weigh as little as ten pounds while the top of the line military issue OVTs can weigh thirty pounds or more. With the ZAC standard rifle being the AR-15 each pound of weight that you carry means one less magazine you could be carrying instead, or extra food, commo equipment, or any number of other gear.

While those who are dealing with pocket of human resistance or positions where they may be taking fire from others may have a need for a ballistic vest, those fighting solely the undead do not have to, in most circumstances, worry about the undead shooting back. If the undead are not shooting back would that weight not be used better in carrying more ammo, gear, or just plainly lightening the load on the lowly grunt who is pulling the trigger against the undead.

Another consideration is that those wearing body armor who have turned may also pose a risk against the living, since if they turned in full body armor, helmet and all, it would mean that there would be the need to place a kill shot in a tight area as well as making it harder to kill them with non-firearm weapons. On the plus side though a zombie in full body would also be slower. Then again so would you in full kit.

The general seed that I am attempting to put forth is that you will need to be cognizant for the situation that you will be entering and preparing accordingly. However, when fighting the undead, toe to toe, gun to flesh, and machete to skull, full body armor is not a required. If the situation is uncertain perhaps a compromise would best serve you, perhaps a plate carrying Level IV standalone plates.

We can talk about scenarios, weapons, vehicles, and plan like there is no tomorrow.  But to be honest, there are times during the day when we get sidetracked.  We lose sight.  Planning takes a back seat to our regular routine.  Thankfully there is an answer. We were very fortunate to get our hands on the Zombie Survival Guide 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar from the kind, and survival-minded, folks over at Andrews McMeel .  What better way to keep zombie awareness fresh in your mind than a daily reminder?

According to the publisher:

There’s no time to lose. It could happen at any moment. It may have already begun. Everyone must prepare for the zombie apocalypse. “Other monsters may threaten individual humans, but the living dead threaten the entire human race. Zombies are slate wipers,” warns author Max Brooks. Based on the best-selling book of the same name, the daily Zombie Survival Guide 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar  provides on every page valuable information needed to survive a zombie outbreak: the most effective weapons, combat techniques, how to adapt in any situation, and so much more. Be vigilant. Zombies are coming, and they’re hungry.

One other helpful feature, that many desk calendars do not include, is a mini-journal. The journal gives you an area to document date, time, location, distance away, and other specific information from the outbreak.  But in case the outbreak has not yet taken place, this is a perfect location for maintaining notes, numbers, addresses, formulas, and other important information you could use when the outbreak is upon us.

The great thing about this is that in a pinch, you can grab your notes, throw them in your MZPK , and hit the road!

Do not hesitate friends, get yours today! Be sure to check out some of their other zombie related merchandise.  We have some 2 more reviews that will be on the way shortly!

Stay safe.  Stay informed.  Stay alive!

Whether you are trying to get to your stronghold or trying to get away from it you going to need to pick a means of transport. Here we take a brief look at various means of mobility, from your mom’s sedan to your own two feet and grit.

Even if you think you have prepared for every possible event there will still be those that you don’t think of. Those events are the ones that will cause you to reevaluate your situation and eventually you may have to abandon, either under your own accord or under fire, to a possibility more secure area, simply to flee your own death. The cause of your flight might mean that you have no other option other than to use your feet, on the other hand you might be able to pick the means by which you leave, and if that is so you will have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages.

Cars, Trucks, and other Gas Guzzlers: While any kind of large vehicle will mean that you will be able to carry far more than you would otherwise be able to on you back they are not perhaps the best choice if you are planning to hold out in an area of an extremely extended time period. First off even with stabilizers fuel will only last so long and there are other issues, such as the batteries to be concerned able when dealing with a vehicle that will sit for months or years at a stretch without significant use. Also, another concern that some may have is that modern vehicles could possibly be disabled if a nuclear device were to be exploded, be that at low level or at high altitude, which in turns means that the options for motorized transport are severally limited. Barring nuclear war, the fact that modern vehicles are often not the easiest to maintain and once all fuel has been used they become little more than an obstacle in traveling down a deserted road. Also, another concern would be agility and the ability to maneuver in close contact with hostile, dead or alive, as well as the fact that a running vehicle in a world devoid of such things would bring more than a little interest from the locals, even if they were not hostile.

Bicycles: While they are not as fast or do they as easily haul as much as a car or truck they are easier to maintain and the necessary parts to do repairs are not as numerous compared to having to lug an entire transmission just in case the current one goes to hell. They are also much quieter than almost any motorized vehicle and that gives you a better chance of seeing a possible ambush before you are in it. However, a bicycle offers no armor except what you might be wearing on your person. A skilled marksman might very possibly be able to take you out before you are able to react or put up a fight, also a single strand of wire across a path or road could mean you death if you choose to take the path of least resistance. However, for ease of use and the ability to care more than what you could just on your back with less work they are hard to beat.

Trains: While the idea of having a large heavy vehicle that could simply run over an obstacle that is in it’s way may seem like the perfect idea the train is simply not that. The modern pseudo-tactical gamer who thinks they know everything, and think a dessert eagle is not only tactical but can be fired quickly and accurately, has long held that bigger is better. I name this the tank mentality. The bigger, the heavier, the more bang, the better whatever it is. Supersize it and paste a cannon on top and nothing can stop you, forget what common sense says and run everyone over. A train might seem ideal for transport but their possible courses are easily found and either blocked or destroyed all together. Trains also bring the issue of a learning curve that a train is not something that you can simply jump in and drive. But together the requirement for training, the fixed courses, and the great consumption of fuel, a train is perhaps the worst possible choice, next to a skateboard, or a unicycle.

On Foot: Unless you are missing a leg or confined to a wheelchair you standard means of motion are your own legs. From time immemorial man has moved across countries and continent on his own two feet. While you do not have the ability to carry luxury items that you might with a truck or even a car, or the mechanical advantage of a bicycle, walking has the advantage of not having to worry about mechanical failure. While you are still open to the element being on foot means that you will be able to more readily disappear into the brush, maneuver past obstacle, and in general hide from hostiles or sneak around those who might do you harm, be they living or undead variety. With some keen wits, and a little training this very well might be your best bet when your survival is at stake.