Twelve Preps From A Discount Tools Store
Like a lot of folks I know, I’m not really somebody who enjoys shopping in places like malls or big-box all-in-one stores like Walmart or Target.
There are a few stores I do enjoy spending time wandering around and shopping… first and foremost for me on this list is a good, well run gun shop. I also enjoy a well-stocked camera store (photography is my “thing”).
Spice pretty much despises shopping, with one notable exception… greenhouses and garden centers. You should have seen her eyeing the chocolate mint plants yesterday… but anyway, back on topic. (Salty’s Note: I just read her this line after I wrote this and she laughed and said “I just fertilized their future bed this morning…” but it’s still to early here to put them out, more freezes yet to com)
Probably third up on my list is shopping at tool stores, even cheap discount tool stores like Harbor Freight and Northern Tool.
China
There are a lot of interesting and affordable items that are available at discount tools stores.
Having said that, anybody who has ever shopped at one also knows there’s a lot of cheaply made imported junk there too. When shopping at a place like Harbor Freight, one really has to keep in mind that they sell items that ranged from actually very good to absolute garbage… and it’s often buyer beware on a lot of the stuff.
Yes, it’s imported, most of it from China (with all that entails, poor labor conditions, often bad quality control, cheap materials, etc.). We all know that.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, the vast majority of tools are imported from China. Even the big, expensive, mechanical tools companies like Mac & Snap-On import some of their products from China and other overseas manufacturers. You need to check the country of origin for each tool if you want to buy American made.
For years, Craftsman tools were the staple of affordable, bullet-proof American made tools for the home toolbench, but in 2010 they were moved to China and Taiwan production in most areas. When what’s left of Sears sold the Craftsman brand to Stanley Tools, Stanley pledged to “focus on U.S. manufacturing, using global materials, with the confidence that this will grow the Craftsman brand.” That’s corporate gobbledygook for “we are going to find a way we can stamp “Made In USA” on them again legally while still outsourcing.
Sears gets to sell their own version of Craftsman tools for the next 14 years, and I doubt seriously they will move production of those back to the USA. Then again, the chance that Sears is a viable retailer in 14-years is less than that of the moon spinning around and showing us it’s other side for a while.
Enough BLAH BLAH BLAH let’s get to the stuff!
Right!
I wandered around a Harbor Freight store the other day with my phone and found a bunch of things that might interest a prepper.
I can’t list everything so I decided to narrow it down to twelve preps.
I’m going to enter the caveat that I don’t necessarily recommend THESE versions of the items (you might want to shop for better quality ones). These twelve preps are, however, really great to have around.
Goop
Goop is some of the greatest stuff ever invented for cleaning. There are many types of citrus cleaners out there, but it’s just hard to beat Goop!
WD-40
Paranoid Prepper did a whole article on WD-40 and duct tape, you can click here and check it out! I didn’t put duct tape in my twelve preps list because EVERY prepper should have duct tape in their top 10 prep list already.
Small Power Inverter
It pays to have several small power inverters around, and at least one REALLY BIG ONE. Turning 12 volt DC electricity into 110 AC is a very power-wasteful thing to do, but if you have 110 AC items you need to run, then you need one or more inverters. We have one in each vehicle, plus a really big one mounted in our truck that can serve as a large-scale generator in a pinch. Look for articles about this in the future.
Low Profile Bottle Jack / Jacks
Here’s something I’ll bet most preppers don’t have on their list and in their supplies… at least one heavy-duty low profile bottle jack. These jacks are one of my twelve preps because they are immensely useful around the home & garage. You never know when you need to lift a heavy something safely and slowly. We have used one of these Harbor Freight low profile jacks to level the cabin for years now, it works great.
Cheap Multipurpose Scissors
Need to cut through a bunch of stuff that will nick-up your good scissors? Well, that’s why you want several pairs of these cheap multipurpose cutters. We have a bunch of these, and they are actually a lot tougher than you would think. They can cut soft wire, roots, stems, all kinds of things, and when the surface gets too damaged? Trash bin them.
Safety Goggles
These will work just fine, but I have to admit I prefer a bit better models for comfort reasons. Having said that, these are dirt cheap and will protect your peepers from damage from flying gunk.
Knee Pads
You would think the way that some people treat their knees that they actually don’t like having kneecaps at all. Me? I like my knees. Cheap knee pads are better than no knee pads. Another inexpensive option for better pads is to buy military surplus pads.
Nitrile Disposable Gloves
I keep a box of these in both of our sizes. Pro Tip: Store the box inside of a gallon-sized zip plastic bag, it will keep the nitrile from oxidizing and they will last much longer.
Multi-pack of button cell batteries
This is kind of a different idea in this twelve preps concept. These alkaline 1.5 volt batteries (in various sizes) are not as good or long lasting as the lithium versions, but they work fine in a zillion different devices that they power. I keep a couple of cards of these on hand in the battery drawer.
LED Motion Sensor Light
This particular light is sitting in my living room (still in the package), I took it home and will be testing it out. You can set these around the house and they can light your way through dark rooms. They also would light up any intruders. Your “usefullness” mileage may vary if you have pets running around the house at night.
Window & Door Alarms
On the one hand, these are not nearly as useful as a real home security system. On the other hand, if you don’t have one of those, these might well serve. Additionally, these can be used as a secondary system and backup.
Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector
Every home should have multiples of these, a couple of carbon monoxide detectors and one smoke detector in every room. More information about my thoughts on this can be found by clicking here.
Wrapping Up The Twelve Preps
I could go on and on, but let’s leave this at these twelve preps for now. I hope you find the ideas useful.
Really good article. The knee pads in particular come in handy at my place due to all the rocks. Also, when the ground is damp (which is most of the time) it keeps your knees dry and reduces wear on your clothes. In a SHTF situation, this is huge.
A word on inverters: I recommend pure sign wave inverters. They cost more, but they are more efficient and they are better for sensitive electronics. In a SHTF situation, the use of electronics will be diminished most likely, but my high end battery chargers will work better and longer with a quality inverter.
The harbor freight knee pads are great for garden work, they go into the bucket every single time! Their shop rags and maxpedition knock off gloves would be my runner ups.
I also shop at Horrible Fright. Centech inverters, at least the small ones are not all that good and I personally will avoid them and choose the Energizer. I had TWO 400 watt Centechs burn out on me and the Energizer has kept on running like that darned wabbit. The Centech was 400 watt and the Energizer was 500 watt and before you yell about apples and oranges the LOAD was 120 watts. My AC refrigerator in my motorhome was the load on both inverters. I also have a 2000 watt Centech that has not been hooked up yet. A matter of need and time for the Project. Keep in mind if you have a 1.5 or 2.0 KW inverter one battery is not enough. You will need at least two deep cycle marine batteries, maybe three or you will get a low voltage error when the inverter first kicks on. The button cell batteries are also to be avoided if you want reasonable battery life. There are multiple battery outlets online as well as the online store that has EVERYTHING. You know the one. The gloves we use around the house in all thicknesses. WD40 is a must. Look online for the 50,000 uses for WD40.
Great stuff in this reply, thanks!
I’ve never used the Centech’s, I don’t want to give the impression that I am endorsing them as a brand, I’m not. I’m just saying that I think having several of them in our preps is a good idea. I personally use Ampeak branded 400 watt inverters and they work pretty good.
Okay, Salty. I recognize the Internet equivalent of a social psychology experiment when I read one (at least that was my interpretation).
Harbor Freight has many good quality items. They have several items I will choose over ‘crud’ that Home Depot has become accustomed to selling for 3x the price of Harbor Freight. I have written HD and my local store manager that I don’t want them to carry specific items any longer (because the HF merchandise is FAR superior and a lot lower price), and I have even started shopping at Lowes for that reason. I don’t tolerate retailers marketing products as ‘pro’ grade when it should be labeled ‘crap’.
I don’t care where something is made. I care about HOW it is made (Who here does not own an AK, H&K, Walther, Baretta, or BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, Georgio Armini and a host of other brands to prove a point?). HD has started carrying so many inferior products over the past few years that I have begun to appreciate Harbor Freight as a substitute. I recently discovered that Wal-Mart has FAR superior tools at a much better price than Home Depot and Harbor Freight. The Wal-Mart tool department is new to me, but from what I have seen, several of their items are replacing the ones in my toolbox I purchased from Home Depot. Yeah, I will be the first to say it, Wal-Mart has tools far superior to Home Depot. Yes, I am a “Pro Rewards” member at Home Depot.
I write my local store manager and respectfully request he quit carrying certain items, and I write reviews of the crap products on the HD website giving the readers where to find a higher quality alternative. Guess how many of my reviews show up on homedepot.com. Not many. They are censored.
So, back to you, dear readers (and Harbor Freight bashers). Please be specific. I will be specific with you about the items I will absolutely not purchase from HF, and the items I prefer over HD brands (consider Chicago Electric at HF).
General bashers of anything should go into the category of those who are either 100% Glock or 0% Glock (to borrow a point from one of Salty’s earlier posts). Neither opinion should count. Just for the record, I don’t own a Glock, and I want to own a Glock, but I don’t for one very specific reason that doesn’t have a darn thing to do with quality or reputation.
Personally, I rarely visit Harbor Freight, but when I do, I find some things that are every bit as good as everything else. What amazes me about Harbor Freight, is the things they suck at are inexcusable. The things they make well, I just wonder why? I see no rhyme or reason. Several of the items on the Prepper Toolbox series will be from Harbor Freight.
Just for the readers, Harbor Freight carries a brand of power tools called Chicago Electric. I own multiples of them. I’m talking about versions of tools that cost $400+ at HD or Lowes. They work great, but have limitations (what do you expect for 1/3 the price of the big box retailers?).
I post this because there are those who will bash HF because they have had a bad experience there. I’ve been shopping at Home Depot for decades, and their quality has gone to crap in the gardening department. It has gotten so bad at Home Depot that I won’t purchase anything in their gardening department unless I have prior experience with the item and I have already tested Harbor Freight’s comparable item and judged it to be inferior (HF is now superior in most cases).
I used to question Harbor Freight because their quality was very erratic. Because Home Depot’s quality has become so horrible in the gardening department, I have started roaming the Harbor Freight stores. I have purchased MANY of their products, and I have been impressed in areas I did not expect, and HORRIBLY disappointed in others.
So, I have contributed something worthwhile. You should, too, and please be specific.
More thoughts on discount stores. The Mrs. and I regularly stop at the local surplus stores in our area. We have three or so different stores not including The Salvation Army and Goodwill stores. Various tools and equipment can be purchased there. The giant superstore that begins with a W should not be overlooked either. They have a well stocked (depending on location) camping and outdoors section including long guns and shotguns. W stocks products by “Outdoor Products” and their house brand Ozark Trails. I have purchased for all the family interested, the Quest 29 liter pack by OP. It is loaded with MOLLE strips (this tacticoolness is offset by the choice of colors, which are not tacticool at all) I use one everyday and it is holding up well. You can also get them from Amazon. Salty or Spice, if the name brand thing is a no-no please delete and substitute something appropriate. You can also find ration bars, one person tarps, tents, mess-kits, camp stoves, silverware etc. On the subject of silverware, the Mrs. and I bought a couple three sets of stainless silverware at one of the dollar stores and she made pouches for each set. Much cheaper than the hotshot camping stainless sold for $24.95. We’re cheap and we embrace it.
Hey, Merman, I am 100% in agreement with you with regards to HF. I personally own every torque wrench they sell. They are great and the 1/2″ drive version has been fixing machine tools with me for 25 years. the 3/8″ and 1/4″ drive wrenches work just as well.