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Quick: What’s your most important piece of equipment for SHTF? I mean the thing that you won’t be able to survive without. What is it?
Many highly prepared people will be thinking of their favourite gear: gun, ammo, hunting knife, or maybe the boots you will need to be on the run, or maybe a compass? A map?
A recent equipment malfunction got me thinking. There’s one piece of equipment I use every single day. In an SHTF situation, surviving without it could be tough. I won’t be able to hunt. I won’t be able to read the body language of people I am negotiating with. I won’t be able to see the rifle pointing out a nearby window straight at me.
Are you getting me yet? I’m talking about my glasses. I am extremely nearsighted.
My Recent Malfunction
You know you’re a hard-core prepper when even everyday occurrences are taken to the SHTF level. This is why, when one of the teeny tiny screws in my glasses somehow got stripped, I immediately started extrapolating to SHTF level.
Of course, I’m prepared enough to be able to pull out my Leatherman Wave + and use the multi-tool to tighten the teeny, tiny screw. However, when I started to extrapolate, suddenly things didn’t look as rosy. “What if it’s SHTF and I don’t have this tool? The screw is stripped. It could loosen, fall out, and then I could lose a lens.” That’s when I faced the full reality of SHTF where I couldn’t see. (This problem inspired Daisy to have Lasik surgery to repair her own bad vision.)
My Current Glasses-Related Preparations
Of course, being a prepper, I have, well…..preparations. I keep all my old prescription glasses. I know that it is nice to donate them, but I somehow feel that I might need them one day. Thankfully, my prescription has not changed that much over the past several years.
I have the most recent pair that I use every day. I have an extra pair out in the car. I have a third extra pair that I carry in my purse. I have a few more older pairs in storage in various states of repair. So, at the current moment, everywhere I might go on the run has an extra pair of glasses.
Just How Bad Is My Vision?
Well, you’ve heard of 20-20, right? Well, I’m at 20-400. When I’m not wearing my glasses, I meet the definition of legally blind in many jurisdictions. I need those special lenses so my glasses don’t look too thick. One benefit of this is that if everyone loses their reading glasses in SHTF, I’ll be the only one able to read any small print! However, it is a humbling thought how difficult life would be if I didn’t have my glasses at all.
In America, research has found that only 35% of adults have natural 20-20 vision. Where are you in those percentages? Are you one of the lucky ones?
Should I Do A Drill?
After realizing how precarious my glasses really are, I wondered if I should do a drill to see what I can (and can’t) accomplish without them. I do think I will try this on the homestead, spending some time outside without them to see how it feels and get a sense of what I actually can see. One thing is for sure: I will not be able to recognize people until they get quite close up.
I did a trial in my mirror to estimate how close I would need to be to recognize someone. It’s difficult to pretend not to recognize yourself, but this is what I did as I walked up to the mirror. I really think I would need to be 4 feet from someone to have any chance of recognizing them. Consider how dangerous that would be in SHTF!
Seeing an Opportunity
I’m a positive thinking person. To me, preparedness has to do with how I think about the problems I face today and might face tomorrow. The fact that a small screw stripped on my glasses alerted me to an opportunity: I am going to purchase some parts for glasses. These parts are tiny, but powerful, and they could be hard to come by in the future. I’m going to buy a few more of those tiny screw drivers and also some extra screws.
I’m also going to put together some ideas for MacGyvering some fixes and put those in a little kit for my BOB. I’m thinking some fine wire that could be threaded through the screw holes in a pinch. I already have my multi-tool with cutters. I have crazy glue in my medicine kit, which would also work. And of course, there’s always duct tape!
I’m realizing that, should the you-know-what hit the rotating spinner, there could be all kinds of folks like me with broken glasses needing help. Hmmm….kinda sounding like a trade or business opportunity, isn’t it? Suddenly, I’m feeling pretty good! For a few bucks and a tiny bit of space in my BOB, I could have a lot of leverage to trade for some lollipops (this is a Selco-related joke….you gotta read his recent article here to get it!)
What About You?
A teeny tiny equipment malfunction helped me realize that a pair of glasses pretty much trumps every other piece of SHTF gear on the planet for me.
What about you? You might have 20-20 vision, but do you have a health issue, like a life-threatening allergy, that you need to consider in SHTF? How are you prepared for your own SHTF blind spot? Let us know in the comments section.
About Rowan
Rowan O’Malley is a fourth-generation Irish American who loves all things green: plants (especially shamrocks), trees, herbs, and weeds! She challenges herself daily to live her best life and to be as fit, healthy, and prepared as possible.
