In a true shtf world, warm homes in winter are a target.
Posted by Nomadent91@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 47 comments
Bit of a doomsday post, but play along for the sake of discussion.
Coming to a realization that there is a high chance of societal collapse within my lifetime (climate change, thermal war, financial collapse etc) within the next 30-50 years if not sooner.
Let’s say you prepped properly and somehow your family survived the violent uprests, food and water shortages.
Let’s say you’re a year or two into this lawless world, so a good chunk of society is gone.
It’s now winter and you have the ability to keep warm.
Every single day, you are going to have a target on your back and all it takes is some armed cannibal gang with thermal imaging to easily find you.
Maybe you can survive in a community, like the one in “the last of us” in Wyoming.
So my 2 points: 1) prepping beyond a year is pointless. 2) establishing a community is the only realistic (still low odds) of surviving beyond a year and hard to actually set up cuz : 2a: pre shtf, it’s awkward to discuss and end up being shunned as the crazy person. 2b: post shtf: probably too late and everyone distrusting/killing each other for resources.
Anyways, happy Saturday! 1st soccer game of the season for my 6 year old :)
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kkinnison@reddit
You don't even need to wait for SHTF for someone to seek a warm home. the homeless will do the same, looking to break into empty or abandoned properties
A few years ago a 6'5" man showed up in the evening after dark at my front door, it was around 40-50 degrees F. The fact he had a headlamp instantly made me suspect he was a druggie or homeless looking to steal or a burgler, and was hoping for an easy mark
Asked me if he could come in cause he was cold.
told him not a chance, and there was a 24/7 wal-mart down the road a mile where he could go spend a few hours "Warming up" and to get off my property.
I love to live in a society where everyone is housed, fed, and given access to free and affordable medical care and no one would need to worry about someone having to break in to steal and find warmth.
Traditional-Leader54@reddit
So you’re saying at best we have a year to live after SHTF??? If that’s the case then what you’re really saying is don’t bother prepping for SHTF at all?
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
You definitely only have a year since you don’t know how to read.
Traditional-Leader54@reddit
So my 2 points: 1) prepping beyond a year is pointless.
2) establishing a community is the only realistic (still low odds) of surviving beyond a year and hard to actually set up cuz : 2a: pre shtf, it’s awkward to discuss and end up being shunned as the crazy person. 2b: post shtf: probably too late and everyone distrusting/killing each other for resources.
What did I misread?
melympia@reddit
Of course, one or two years after SHTF, roaming gangs will still have thermal goggles. Of course they will. Thermal goggles and guns, of course.
datguy2011@reddit
Came to say the same. If they are advanced enough to have thermals that far in then they are probably self sufficient enough to not risk going raiding homes
Cixin97@reddit
Honesty I’m confused as to why everyone in this thread seems to think thermal imagers are somehow gonna disappear off the face of the earth rapidly. They can last for thousands of hours of use. Why are you all acting like they’re some unicorn post apocalypse?
In any case this is a ridiculous proposition, yea.
melympia@reddit
Because, well, how many people actually have thermal imagers?
How many of those people (who, as proposed by OP) who have them will be able to attack numerous "targets" and keep their thermal imagers in one piece?
_marxdid911@reddit
between thermals and NODS way more than u think. and the ppl who can afford those u better belive are STOCKING UP on batteries. just browse any gun/nod-tuber and thats all they are aboit
Jealous-Papaya4233@reddit
No one will even have batteries ffs
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
You know solar panels exist right ? And they last a while ….
melympia@reddit
And, of course, everyone is going to have solar panels for just that purpose: Recharging their thermal goggles. It's not like anything else matters. Much less like anyone might get the idea to just attack the house with solar panels for their own use. After all, solar panels are such a hidden commodity.
Cixin97@reddit
No one in this thread knows how technology works I guess? Thermal imagers can last thousands, even tens of thousands of hours of use.
And modern batteries properly cycled can last thousands of cycles and decades themselves. Solar panels are ubiquitous at this point. Why exactly wouldn’t batteries be a thing? Does the apocalypse involve a battery monster?
davidm2232@reddit
I disagree with 2a. I have 3 serious prepper friends that I didn't even seek out as preppers. They are just coworkers and people I went to high school with. And overall, everyone sees the benefit of at least basic preparedness. After our month long power outage everyone knows to keep at least a few weeks of supplies on hand. Plus covid which was a great refresher.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
That’s great. I’m just thinking of the average person/prepper. Getting something set up in case of shtf isn’t easy to do without being labeled crazy. Case in point : I’m being ridiculed on a prepper thread about it haha.
Having a couple buddies who have each others back in case of smaller events…sure that’s easier relatively
Error_506@reddit
Strange how a lot seem to believe thermals are a rarity? I picked up a thermal monocle a little over a year ago to use for a research project, and then after, used it once and a while around the home to check the HVAC, spot animals, and just see what things look like under thermal.
The unit cost less than $400, gave me the ability to spot the difference between cars that have run and cars that haven’t, things that have moved/haven’t using residual thermal history, and spotting warmer thing (humans/animals) out of colder environments much easier than with the naked eye. The intended purpose of the monocle was for hunting applications so it was not anything extreme. It has an integrated battery that I have yet to charge since I received it.
My point being is that this device was readily available, not insanely out of the budget of many, and provided a plethora of tools that expanded my visual capabilities. Given that the onboard battery was intended to support a video camera and Bluetooth function, I have no doubt that it’ll last quite a while by just flipping it on, using it to glass an area for less than a minute, and flipping it off. It is also easily recharged through microusb.
It may definitely be easier to just dismiss thermal capabilities and assume no one will have them, but if you’re truly planning for worse case scenario, it would be something to simply consider. For example, an area that has a prominent hunting community may be more likely to have thermal capabilities.
TLDR: Thermal capability is achievable in more than just expensive goggles and is more readily available than the general consensus seems to believe.
OriginalJomothy@reddit
The likely hood of complete societal collapse in the next 50 years is hilariously slim we have had some form of functioning society in the majority of populated areas for at least over 2000 years. Prep for more likely things than fallout 4.
Plus between getting shot and freezing to death I'm lighting a fire in hopes that they do find me with thermals.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
Bro…..I would love if I made it to 70/80 and felt so stupid for worrying about this. Would truly love to eat that humble pie, seconds even. Cuz that means my kids grew up in a “normal ish” world.
But I don’t think the thousands of scientists are wrong, hell they are probably down playing it. I believe them when they say the uncapped use of fossil fuels is going to heat up the planet and cause major struggles.
Climate change/pollution etc will be the driver for every other bad thing coming our way, mass migration, shortages, wars.
Give me one reputable source that argues climate change isn’t happening and I will genuinely read it .
OriginalJomothy@reddit
I'm sorry, I can't find where I claimed that climate change wasn't happening are you able to help me find that quote?
While there's some dubious claims about climate change (mostly on who is to blame imo) I don't for a second believe it isn't real and I wouldn't claim thst so I really don't know where you've gotten that from.
Additionally migration, shortages and war don't instantly mean societal collapse. And to claim they do flies in the face of all of human history.
40 years ago everyone was convinced we would all be engulfed in nuclear hellfire. And yet here we are. Before that spanish flu was gonna wipe out the whole planet and before that a comet was gonna wipe us out in 1705. And before that judgement day was to be in the year 1000 according to Pope Sylvester II. And yet your doomsday prediction is the one that will happen. Maybe hubris will be the actual cause of the apocalypse.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
Gotcha. That was a response to your first sentence about hilariously slim chance of collapse in 50 years.
Personally I think at the rate we’re going, climate will be unrecognizable within 50 years (especially with feedback mechanisms).
Don’t know if it accurate but I saw a scientist saying even tho we make new sources of energy, we’ve actually have never have decreased the use of previous one, they just become a smaller percentage of the total use.
Unfortunately I don’t see humans coming together globally to stop this train.
Cute-Consequence-184@reddit
You assume that the marauding gangs survive.
You assume that they will have thermal imaging tools, know how to properly use them and that they still work properly.
You assume... or maybe not--- that we have either run out of ammo or that we only depended on ammo to protect us. Many of us have many different ways to protect ourselves.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
If your reply is genuine I will respond.
1) ya I think there will be groups of bad people taking advantage of weaker people to survive…do You disagree ?
2) in the terms of a few years, yes there will still be functioning tools like this, as far as I know the tech isn’t uncommon…looks like Amazon , harbor freight carry them….can it be strapped to a drone or something? Idk, I’m sure someone has.
3) no I think guns and ammo will outlast the last human in the us haha, that’s part of the problem. How many gun fights are you going to last?
Cute-Consequence-184@reddit
First off not all bad people will know how to survive, so the numbers will be cut down dramatically.
Yes, sure some tech will survive but eventually batteries will run out. No power, no way to recharge, eventually they will be gone. And batteries will be one of the first things stolen from stores after the grid goes down.
Those who survive will gather together eventually. Without farm equipment running MAGs will form. Most farms have those going already-- they just aren't called MAGs. And farmers are an amazing resilient group with livestock guardian dogs, hunting dogs, protection dogs, angry, territorial bulls who love to chase idiots, burros who hate everyone...
Really, do you know any farmers without at least one angry animal? I've had bantams that could even run off the LDS and my Minpin can hear someone approaching from a quarter mile away, letting everyone know to be on alert. Even my cats hate people coming up to the farm.
And if the angry livestock doesn't get you and you try to sneak through the fields, the coyotes will get you or something else.
Honestly, I think you are watching too much Hollywood.
snailbrarian@reddit
"armed cannibal gang with thermal imaging" okay buddy, take a nap
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
lol, your right too dramatic. I guess some hyperbole makes it all make belief. I’ll let those in Haiti know it’s all good!
Shadowfalx@reddit
You're*
Make believe*
Also, the hands in Haiti aren't roaming cannibals and are far more interested in money than liking and eating people. Probably because while the Haitian government has failed the whole world hasn't so money is still important.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
Think you’re missing the forest for the trees….point is when society in US collapses …never mind. Your right Haitian gangs are cannibals…it’s all good
Raisedbypsycopaths@reddit
Why are they denying the existence of canibal gangs in Haiti? It's happening.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
Is it? Idk, but imma bout to delete the post since it’s apparently a dumb one ( watch this get the most upvotes ) ok 50 upvotes and I’ll delete
Raisedbypsycopaths@reddit
Yes it's happening. I saw a video on telegram I wish I could unsee. Yes your post was a bit silly as I guess the smoke coming out of the chimney is enough evidence of having heating but they're being too harsh on you. It brings up a good discussion regardless IMO.
snailbrarian@reddit
your post is all over the place lol , but yeah, sure, I agree that prepping beyond a year for a total SHTF scenario WITHOUT a community aspect is pretty pointless. Not sure what the hell that has to do with "warm homes in winter" though.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
Hahaha thanks. Idk, just figured if I was desperate in the winter the warm house is probably a good bet for supplies and food. Just easier to spot I think with thermal cameras.
Kevthebassman@reddit
I thought school was back in session?
ThePenIslands@reddit
LOL, damn.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
lol, well it’s Saturday so my assignments aren’t due till Monday and my mom let me use her phone .
Shadowfalx@reddit
I too think pop-sci-fi is true and not only will SHTF causing roving Mad Max style gangs who will have thermal imaging and tanks or whatever, but that they will want to destroy me so they can use my warm house for a day or two.
Or, we can look at reality. SHTF is slow (usually), is more likely to result in fractured communities (so there will still be community), and result in starvation more than roaming bands of high tech mercenaries.
Nomadent91@reddit (OP)
I think you underestimate humans at time of desperation. Look at how Ukraine is using basic drones to drop gernades on enemy soldiers, of course drones and thermal will be used when shtf….its a slow burn till it boil overs….see Covid hysteria over toilet paper….wait till it’s food people are fighting over .
PartisanGerm@reddit
Winter with global hyperwarming the way it's coming? What winter?
Mechbear2000@reddit
Life is easier in a warm climate. No firewood stockpile to keep you warm and you can grow vegetables all year long.
curiousCat999@reddit
In Florida you can plant sweet potatoes and papaya once and they will grow by themselves perpetually. Add some fish from the ocean or gulf and you can survive indefinitely.
silasmoeckel@reddit
Your base assumption is your dumb enough to stay in a densely populated area.
Any survival plan for that sort of scenario needs to include a buffer that keeps you out of line of sight or subject to riffle fire.
If a marauder(s) goes past the keep out fence they go boom you then go out to clean up the mess. This scenario pretty much has us reverting to WWI sure marauders could decide to find an armored vehicle then log through the woods disarming things as they go while under fire. Very few forces have the willpower to do that.
Funny as a sensible prepper finding people to bug out with hasn't been hard. Good friends and family is where they come from. Randos are never the solution for this.
sum1sum1sum1sum1@reddit
What if a large enough solar flare causes the shtf scenario? And then no more technology or modern vehicles unless protected with faraday/ EMP guard beforehand?
Shadowfalx@reddit
Most small electronics will be okay from even a very large solar flare induced EMP.
The grid, and things connected to it, will likely be harmed but risk is proportional to the length of the conductors.
InsaneNorseman@reddit
Wood heat is the norm in my neighborhood, so I'm not too concerned about that. It would be more unusual for a house not to be heated around here.
I use the term "neighborhood" loosely here, since the only way I could potentially see a neighbor's house from mine would be if I strapped on a set of climbing spurs and scaled one of the 200' trees on my property.
DeafHeretic@reddit
If someone can see my house (surrounded by acres of trees and not visible except from my private road), at all, then they are the target because yes, I do have a thermal scope, and eventually will have NV too.
To see my house you have to travel 5 miles up a mountain on a back country road, then turn down my private road and pass six other households which have good views of the private road.
Then (if you make it that far without the whole neighborhood being notified) you have to come up my private driveway about 50 yards before a thermal scope would see if my well insulated house is "warm". By that time you have walked past three motion detectors (and eventually I will have NV surveillance cams with motion detection also installed).
As for the smoke from my woodstove - most of the time it isn't smoking (unless I just started it, or added wood) and you can't see the smoke unless you are already within view of the home (i.e., on my property) and I can see you.
RedYamOnthego@reddit
Lol, underground housing ftw! My hometown had a place called "Little Prairie on the House".
Also, I live in the country.
Honestly, a lot of low tech solutions involve preventing heat from escaping. Proper insulation, passive solar, layers and layers of clothes. These can make cold weather bearable.