This is a Guest Post from our friends at APOCABOX. They have partnered with us in the Urban Carry Great Gun Giveaway of 2018. This post was written by Jake Wyld, APOCABOX DIrector of Operations. Learn more about APOCABOX.
APOCABOX: Where a Collection of Unique, Curated Survival Gear Meets Survival Know-How
…The darkness was encroaching. Eric watched the newscast as Sky5ive brought him aerial shots of blackouts rolling across the quadrants of the city. His stomach sank because he knew it was just a matter of time before it hit the suburbs. It really didn’t matter, though, as he already heard gunshots several streets over. He was frozen on the couch, biting his thumbnail nervously while staring in a blank daze at a spot on the wall just above the television. His mind was racing:
“We need some candles and matches. Maybe, if I leave now, I can get to the store before the power goes out. How many do I need? How long will the power be out? What about food and water? What if the stores are being looted as part of the crime sprees the news is talking about? How safe is it to go out? I probably shouldn’t go. What do we have here?”
Eric observed the meager selection of canned provisions and a half-empty 24-pack of bottled water in his pantry. He and his wife both had been so busy working lately that the whole family had been living off takeout and fast food the last couple of weeks. That’s when his thoughts turned to his kids and wife, who were fast asleep upstairs.
“It’s been a brutal winter, if the power goes, how will we all stay warm? I told Karen when we were house hunting that we needed a house with a fireplace, but she just had to have this cookie-cutter slab house, with no fireplace, because it was “Sooooooo close to everything.”
Eric could feel the panic growing inside of him. He was feeling flush and hot, like he was going to throw up. looked down and Rocco, the family dog, was nuzzling his leg, begging for attention and be petted. He had just fed Rocco a few hours before and knew there wasn’t much dog food left in the bag. He had just added it to the grocery list. Eric fought to hold back tears as he realized he couldn’t take care of his own dog in the middle of this disaster, much less his wife and children. He buried his head in his hands.
Karen came down the stairs, completely unaware of what had been happening in their city the last few hours. She saw Eric wiping his eyes. “What’s wrong, babe?” she asked, concerned. Eric looked up and his eyes met hers. For a moment, everything was still. Their eyes met and held each other’s gaze for just a second, but that was all Karen needed to know something was very wrong. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word, the lights in their home cut out.
The Moral of the Story
If you’re survival-minded, then you, unlike Eric and his family, have probably taken some steps to prepare yourself from impending disaster. You may have stocked up with a closet full of supplies or even outfitted your home with survival amenities. Whether it’s the zombie apocalypse, an EMP, or the threat of a violent storm ripping through your neighborhood that you’re preparing for, we can all agree that it’s good to be ready.
Have you thought about how much you’ve prepared your mind for those moments you hope never come? It’s good to have a cache of supplies stored away (you’d at least be one step ahead of Eric in that regard), but what happens if you need supplies for longer than you’ve made preparations? You can have all the gear and gadgets in the world, but if you shy away from expanding your knowledge-base on the subject of survival, then you will only be as good as your gear. And at one point or another, as you well know, gear gives out. It eventually fails.
APOCABOX is the place where survival gear and know-how come together. Creek Stewart, Wilderness Survival Instructor, with a career spanning more than two decades, and Host of SOS: How to Survive on The Weather Channel, is the creator and curator of APOCABOX. His passion for sharing his knowledge of survival with others led him to create a box of unique, specialized outdoor gear that would coincide with skills challenges and knowledge pieces also included in the box.
APOCABOX is designed to engage and stimulate the mind, as well as provide customers with hand-selected survival tools and gear they can’t find at a local superstore. We love to partner with local craftsmen and women, artisans, and survival-start ups to bring you something truly special in each box.
Known for specialized themes/editions of the APOCABOX, some of our most popular recent releases have included the Blackout Box, Nomad Box, Silent Hunter Box, Tools and Maintenance Box, Fire Box, Bushcraft Box, The Mass Exodus Box, and the Foraging Box. Whether it’s knowing how to strip parts of your vehicle to make survival implements if you’re stranded or mastering the bow drill, APOCABOX can help get you there!
Beyond the Box
APOCABOX isn’t just a bi-monthly subscription box, it’s a thriving community of survival students. Across our various social media platforms and exclusive subscriber-only groups we see our amazing customers encouraging one another, sharing their experiences with trial and error, giving valuable advice, celebrating success, and forging friendships that result in group meet-ups, hikes, and friendly competition with survival skills. Not to mention, exclusive content and engagement from the APOCABOX team and Creek takes place within this community!
Affordable Monthly Survival and Wild Edible Courses - In the Comfort of Your Own Home!
If you have ever read a survival manual that left you wanting more details and instruction on how to accomplish a certain wilderness task, then Creek’s other subscription offerings will be of interest to you!
With Survival Skills of the Month Club, you learn one incredible survival skill each and every month. Creek Stewart packs each and every set of skill sheets full of clear directional information he has cultivated through trial and error in over 20 years of field experience. Survival Skill of the Month Club shortens your learning curve and gives you everything you need to be successful in mastering one survival skill per month.
It’s like a mini survival course with Creek that you can do in your backyard! Not only will you learn how to accomplish a particular wilderness skill, but you’ll learn why it’s important and the history surrounding the implementation of a given skill by our primitive ancestors.
That being said, there are plenty of urban skills that will be covered as well, because many of us call the asphalt jungle home! In fact, Survival Skill of the Month Club will cover skills that touch all regions and climates in North America. One of the most remarkable things about this service is how it brings people together. Parents are spending time with their kids as they work together to replicate the skills they receive, and friendships are being forged in our subscriber-only Facebook group, as people reach out for help and give advice on the skills. It Is truly something special.
Whether foraging for wild edibles is something you love to do or something you wish you knew how to do, our Wild Edible Plant of the Month Club subscription is perfect for you. Wild Edible Plant of the Month Club subscribers can expect to build one of the most extensive collections of Wild Edible Plant Identification Sheets ever seen. Each month, survival instructor Creek Stewart emails or ships an exclusive Wild Edible Plant ID Sheet Set to all subscribers.
Each ID sheet set illustrates a single Wild Edible Plant in unprecedented detail. With the use of never-before-seen, full-color, and high-resolution macro photography, as well as extensive, descriptive text, Creek creates a volume of work resembling what can only be described as a forensic analysis of individual Wild Edible Plants. Each Wild Edible Plant ID Sheet Set will be based on true field experience and will be a collection of unique text, multi-season photographs, harvesting information, preparation tips, and even recipes.
It's Not IF, but WHEN
Sure, the story that began this post is fictional, but all too often, as we have seen with instances like the 2017 Hurricane season, the California wildfires, and political tensions between countries with nuclear weaponry—the truth is often scarier than fiction.
Creek’s famous catch-phrase, “It’s not IF, but WHEN,” is the driving force behind each one of his endeavors. To start your survival education, visit us at www.myAPOCABOX.com.
Get entered to win a One Year subscription to APOCABOX in the Urban Carry Great Gun Giveaway of 2018!
