There are many things that can be said of Tim Ralston. Maker of the crovel. The prepper version of Alec Baldwin. And eventually, the first man to come under the line of fire during the filming of doomsday preppers.

1. EMP

In previous blog posts, I have said that I had my doubts about the seriousness of an EMP attack from a solar flare. After doing some more research on EMPs caused by tactical nukes I have been forced to revisit the threat of this type of situation. More on this in an upcoming blog post.

3. The crovel

I’m not going to lie, I want one of these things. It’s possible that Tim and his friends took a page of of the Deadliest Warrior playbook in bringing out that dead pig but man was I impressed. The most appealing thing about the crovel is the fact that it combines so many useful tools into one. I was looking to buy a standard issue e-tool but with the added functionality of the crovel it’s a no brainer

This was a great example of prepper entrepreneurship. Even as we prepare for the worst, it’s great to see people like Tim who are able to take advantage of the existing structure in the economy to help others out and make a little cash on the side. Some might be turned off by his lack of focus but at the end of the day, if he has more resources he’ll be able to prepare better, maybe get a jacuzzi in his underground bunker.

6. Bug out bunker

This was really interesting for a number of reasons. First, we are revisiting the idea of shipping containers for the second time in three episodes. I did not know they were as affordable as $2500. And in addition, they act as a fully functional Faraday cage, insulating from a potential EMP strike! Our friend David Sarti would love to hear about that.

A main concern which wasn’t addressed on the show was the complicated nature of getting circulating air within an underground bunker, especially without electricity. Being literally 6 feet deep is as grim as it sounds, without air one is basically in a tomb. HVAC systems are greatly aided by fans to get air out and in. It would get very uncomfortable at best, and dangerously high in CO2 at worst to rely on passive air supply. Maybe Tim could outfit a solar generator or some other renewable source to power his ventilation.

8. Bug out strategy

Overall Tim’s strategy is very much in line for what the reality is going to be for urban preppers. He is wisely avoiding stockpiling food in his home location. Although it wasn’t mentioned on the show I’m sure someone of his intelligence is planning to keep food stores in his bug out location. The only problems with this are the limited space in his underground shelter, and the difficult terrain with which to forage food locally.

One thing that was great to see in the episode was how safe his kids felt. As preppers, some of us take a lot of fire (so to speak) for involving children in our lifestyles, but the words of Tim’s sons are proof that it can be good. To kids aware of how crazy the world really can be it can be comforting to know someone has a plan.