Questions About Urban Survival
Questions About Purchasing From Urban Survival Tools
Questions About Urban Survival
Q: I'm new to survival--what should my first steps be in preparing?
A: Even before buying survival gear, the first step you should take is to create a "disaster plan", specific to the situation of you and your family. A disaster plan should address the most likely natural and man-made disasters, what you should do about each, emergency communications with your family members, and survival gear to acquire.
Q: Which disaster situations should I prepare for? Which are the most serious?
A: There are a million opinions out there and you should recognize them all as such. Yes, even our own advice is really just an opinion, like everybody elses. Because of that, we put the majority of the responsibility back on you (where it should be), by saying that you should decide which disaster situations are the most likely, and start by preparing for those. After all, it's like Mr. Miyagi said to Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid--it's all about "quality." Better to thoroughly acquaint yourself with the 3 most likely disaster situations, than 100 "dangerous but highly unlikely." That's our two cents.
Q: Why are survivalists so weird and "out there?"
A: Survivalists are cut from all different kinds of cloth. Some of them live in concrete shelters with 20 foot radio antennas, while others live in normal looking houses, drive Hondas and quietly work away at non-descript 9-5 jobs. Like most stereotypes though, the extreme examples are always what get the attention. If there's any common thread between survivalists, it's that they are people who know the necessity of being "self-sufficient." So if you see some "survivalists" turn their backyard into a garden, true it may seem a little odd, but this is perhaps a way that they are trying to become self sufficient. If they have some contraption rigged up to generate their own power, their own communications, whatever--it's because they're trying to be self-sufficient.
Q: I keep hearing abbreviations, but have no idea what they mean. Where can I get some translation?
A: If you're lost in a sea of acronyms such as BOB, TEOTWAWKI, SHTF, GOOD, ALICE, WTSHTFK, BOL, and MOLLE, you're not alone. There is a whole subculture of survivalism, complete with a bunch of slang. For a full list of the most commonly used abbreviations, check out the "Survival Speak" page on our blog.
Q: What equipment do I need to get going?
A: This is a great question, but unfortunately not one that we can answer completely. Every person's situation requires different survival gear (and for that matter, every disaster as well). If you're looking for a place to start though, the advice we always give people is to start with storing food, water, and shelter items. These items include the means to get food, the means to get water, and the means to make shelter as well.
Q: What government or official agencies can I turn to for more information?
A: When people ask us this, we usually refer them to the following resources:
Questions About Purchasing From Urban Survival Tools
Q: Who is Urban Survival Tools?
A: Urban Survival Tools was founded in 2000 with one goal in mind--to provide survival gear and information to help people prepare to be self sufficient in emergencies. For more information, check our About Us page, or contact us directly.
Q: Why should I purchase through Urban Survival Tools?
A: We could tell you the same stuff that everyone else does (rock bottom prices, best customer service this side of the Mississippi, whatever), but instead we'll just tell you the real reasons:
Q: How can I tell if Urban Survival Tools (or any website) is "secure"?
A: Credit card transactions on Urban survival Tools are bulletproof. We have a 256 bit SSL (secure socket layer) encryption security certificate from GoDaddy. You will notice this in 3 places on our site (and on other websites you visit):
Q: Does Urban Survival Tools ship internationally?
A: No, unfortunately not. At this time we actually only ship to the continental 48 United States.
Q: Does Urban Survival Tools accept Discover or American Express?
A: Yes. If you would like to pay with Discover or American Express, you may do so using the Paypal or Google Checkout options to checkout.
Q: I can't find what I'm looking for--can I special request products?
A: You bet. We're always open to special requests. In many cases, our regularly stocked products began as a special request from a customer. Send us an email and we'll let you know what we can do, or at least point you in the best direction we know.
Q: Where do your products ship from?
A: We have warehouses a few different places in the United States. We will ship your order(s) from the closest warehouse possible, to keep shipping costs and time to a minimum.
Q: Where can I view your shipping and privacy policies?
A: You can click on the links at the bottom of the website to view either of these.
Q: How can I contact Urban Survival Tools for more information?
A: We try to make it easy. You can call us toll free at 1-800-399-7183, or send us an email using our form if that's more convenient.
Q: What is the current focus of Urban Survival Tools?
A: There are so many aspects involved in providing you guys with the absolute BEST survival gear and information, that our team truly is slammed. From creating promotions for our members, to ensuring timely order processing, and taking part with projects with the survival community, it's constant. But to be specific, a lot of our current focus right now is on manufacturing and sourcing products where there are currently gaps. Look for a few of these to hit in 2011.
