Top products from r/ZombieSurvivalTactics

Ok, well we can start there. This is a relatively easy light to shop for because it really only has to do one, relatively simple thing. It will probably be your most expensive light though, in terms of price, weight, and post apocalyptic energy consumption. But since it’s a light you will use in life or death situations, you get what you pay for.

With a weapon as lightweight as an AR it is possible to use a handheld light in a pinch, but it’s annoying, and you end up giving up some of your weapon support, so a weapon mounted light is a small but significant advantage.

In terms of what to look for, I recommend something that isn’t too powerful. One mistake people make with lights is that they think brighter is always better, which is not the case. On a combat light, a bright light does give you more distance, and also can momentarily make it harder for your attacker to see. The primary trade off is that indoors, these lights will also cause too much splash back, which affects your vision. Since most of your critical fighting, whether against humans or zombies, will be in relatively close quarters, you want to make sure you get a light that’s bright, but not so bright you blind yourself. Brighter lights also tend to suck more power, which often makes them heavier, more likely to die in the middle of a fight, and of course in an off grid situation they will use up more of your limited electrical supply.

Now, what counts as “too bright” does depend on how concentrated the beam is, and different manufacturers measure output differently, but as a general rule of thumb I recommend somewhere in the 200-300 lumen range.

One problem you see with a lot of lights is that manufacturers often add way too many bells and whistles. This appeals to the marketing side of things, but it actually makes a light much more difficult to use under pressure. That’s very bad in a combat light. A good combat light should have two modes, “constant on” and “momentary on.” Those are fairly self explanatory. Any other features are not features, they are bugs. With any combat light, you will use momentary on almost exclusively most of the time, in very short bursts. This is primarily to make it more difficult for a human enemy to pinpoint your location in the dark, and can also help to disrupt their night vision if they are not used to it. But it is useful to be able to lock it into constant on mode in case you need to use the weapon one handed. Ideally, you want both functions to have discrete controls, so each button or switch only does one thing, and you cannot activate one when you mean to activate the other.

Keep in mind that for close quarters fighting, a lot of pistol mounted lights also make excellent rifle lights, and are often much lighter weight, which is important.

I’ll give you a few different options to consider, though there are a lot of great options out there.

Streamlight 69110 TLR-1 Weapon Mount Tactical Flashlight Light - 300 Lumens https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JWD16E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_s0eIDbABDFN0G
This is an excellent all around light, and one of the best for the money. It will mount to any sort of rail on a pistol or rifle, takes 2 CR123 batteries (which do come in a rechargeable, though you may lose some power and battery life that way). On a rifle it’s perfectly usable with thumb switches, or if you prefer they sell an optional remote switch setup. These are one of the most common weapon lights used in law enforcement both for rifles and pistols, and I would not hesitate to trust one with my life.

Inforce W-05-1 400 Lumens Gen 2 Multi-Function Weapon Mounted Light, White/Black, XXX-Large https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LW4MEUG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_57eIDbFCAHNBM
This is a rifle specific light. They are very simple to use, and very ergonomic, which is important on a weapon mounted light. You need to be able to reach it easily. They have a momentary/constant on modes, but you can also flip a switch that will make it momentary only, which is useful, and they have a physical lock that you can use to prevent accidental discharge when not in use. (Accidental light discharge can be a problem on a rifle light because it will bump against your body/gear). There are several versions of this light, some of which are too bright or have features you don’t need or want, but some of which would work very well for your purposes. I have a version of this light on my own rifle.

SureFire M300 Mini Scout M300 Mini Scout Light w/Z68 Click-Type tailcap pushbutton Switch, Black, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KZD83DW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_rrfIDbR1Z7JH4 These are a bit pricier than the other options, and tend to be on the heavy side, but they are absolutely bomb proof. Anything Surefire is going to last a lifetime. This model is right on the upper level of the brightness you would want, and it’s a single battery light which saves you some weight on the front of your gun. It takes a single CR123 battery, so rechargeables are an option. You may lose a bit of power, but like I said this is almost too much anyway, so that’s probably fine.

Or, if you want the cadillac option, there’s this one. https://www.surefire.com/m600ib-z68-bk-scout-light.html This is a big, relatively heavy, relatively expensive light, but it does have surefire’s “intellibeam” system, which is one of the few new flashlight technologies that is actually worth having. What it does is sense the amount of light being reflected back at the user, and adjust the intensity of the output automatically. So no matter what you point it at, near or far, you always get as much light as possible without blinding yourself. I have this on my work light, and it’s a game changer. You can use the same light to search a car or a closet that you use to shine across a field, all without requiring any additional thought or input from the user. So far surefire is the only one with something like this, and only on a handful of their lights, but at some point I have no doubt this will be considered an essential feature in a combat light. It’s that good.

This light does use 2 CR123 batteries, which is ok, though you will probably get a very short run time with rechargeables, even by the standards of a tactical light (which all have fairly short run times). However, I strongly suspect that surefire is currently working on a “dual fuel” version of this light, which would get much better performance with rechargeable batteries, and be able to use a rechargeable 18650 battery or CR123 batteries. Because keeping it charged would be a big deal in a zombie situation, it might be worth waiting until they come out with a version that is both “dual fuel” and “intellibeam.” My (handheld) work light has both, and they are both worth having, in my opinion.

Many handheld lights can also be made into a weapon light with the addition of a rail mount. This is a cheap and reliable option, though these lights are often fairly heavy. Also keep in mind that not all handheld lights are designed to withstand recoil so even if you have a very high quality light you want to check before using it as a weapon light.

Depending on which version of the Ruger you have, you will need to either get an MLOK rail section, or you can get a rail mount that attaches to an A2 front sight post, like this. Midwest Industries Tactical Light Mount for Standard Front Sight, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002E6PAHG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_5hfIDbXM6VMJE I know several people who use these along with a pistol light, and it’s a very functional setup. You can also get similar mounts that attach to the bayonet lug, if you prefer.

How/where to light the mount tends to depend on your personal preferences and shooting style, so there are a million different ways to set it up. You just have to find something that’s easy to use for you.

If you aren’t carrying a pistol, which most people won’t need, then you probably won’t need a handheld combat light, so the weapon light will be your biggest ticket item.

https://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-Rebuild-Civilization-Aftermath-Cataclysm/dp/0143127047 This book is pretty useful, shows the scientific basis for a lot of essential daily things, as well as more general essentials like crop rotation and animal husbandry. couple it with a homesteading book, or the foxfire series, and you'll have a pretty good library for rebuilding civilization

Baseball bat, crowbar, breaker bar, torque wrench, shovel, hammer.

There's very few ranged weapons that aren't "considered weapons" but I can put together a very effective pneumatic "gun" that can run off my air compressor or a bike pump.

Triplines, snares, and deadfall traps would also work incredibly well.

A felled tree swinging with a rope that you can pull back to drop again and again would be great, they wouldn't care that they just saw a couple thousand pounds of wood shatter their friends, they'd walk right into it too.

EDIT: Removing stuff on second thought I don't really want tied to my username.

Have you red Max Brooks zombie survival guide? I swear by it, it depends weather you are doing clean up or travel. 1-4 get the book of amazon or it might be an ebook

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https://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Survival-Guide-Complete-Protection-ebook/dp/B000FBJAOG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543452505&sr=8-3&keywords=max+brooks

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i hope that helps

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he pretty much goes over everything

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-55-099-FatMax-Functional-Utility/dp/B000FCGS0Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367860480&sr=8-2&keywords=fat+max

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-FatMax-Xtreme-55-120-FuBar/dp/B000VSSG3O/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1367860480&sr=8-9&keywords=fat+max

Great weapons, and great tools to have around. The smaller one would probably be best, lighter and shorter so you don't get tired swinging it, and can use it in close quarters.

Thats the premise of this book, though technically there not zombies. It's a really good book and a unique take,on the subject

http://www.amazon.com/Public-Enemy-Zero-Andrew-Mayne-ebook/dp/B0052ZUXPA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394933976&sr=8-1&keywords=Public+enemy+zero

Surgical kits are tiny. Buy them now, rather than pilfer later.

Seriously, start by just getting on Amazon and buying this:

https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Students-Alcedo-Suturing-Demonstration/dp/B07PV14HWF

Then get a good book on medicine and go from there.

You can do all of this now, when people are not shooting at you.

There is at least one book on Amazon that discusses long-term meat storage. I want to buy a copy but I haven't yet. Here it is. I don't have much advice other than buy a fishing pole and learn how to trap fish. That way you can keep them alive in the water so you don't have to worry about storing them.

http://www.amazon.com/Defensive-Tactics-Control-Techniques-Warrior/dp/1880336995

On the contrary, many LEOs are capable and well-trained. Plenty of them have and do regularly deal with combative opponents that they frequently must use hand-to-hand techniques against.

Incidentally this book borrows heavily from principles of Aikido when it comes to force re-direction and takedowns. In cases where police must subdue bodybuilders (or alternatively female officers subduing larger men), they must use the same principles.

posted a link for this a while back. mine is this...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005HAT9SM/uncrate-20

I just found it on Amazon.

Here's the link for the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Survival-Guide-Complete-Protection/dp/1400049628

I would have to say a bush axe.

You don’t have to but I do. Sanitizing the containers minimizes the risk of germs or bad yeasts (which will change the flavor of the wine, usually for the worst). I use this sanitizer

Something that would be better at destroying brains. Baseball bats are too blunt force and need to crush skulls - requiring multiple hits per zombie. I want something that will pierce and destroy brains with single hits if possible.

I would start with a rock hammer because I have one on hand and it is light and compact enough that I can carry a spare if one gets stuck in a skull.

A rock pick would be on my scavenge list because it has a little more reach and can also serve extra functions: pry bar, digging, push off/hold back.

Both of those tools happen to be widely available near me. If they weren't, I'd start with claw hammers. A hardware store would probably have a FuBar, I would have Halligan tools on my scavenge list.

Any melee weapon I would add grip tape and have a backup.

I disagree with WindowShoppingMyLife, reach IS important. You're in trouble if zombies start grabbing you, so being able to kill zombies 24" before they can grab you (25" rock pick) is superior to being able to kill zombies 10" before they can grab you (12" hammer), especially if there is more than one zombie.