Urbex is not only fun as fuck, but is a great way to prepare for worst case scenarios.
A thread.
A thread.
Urbex, or urban exploration, is when you explore abandoned buildings. Usually in urban areas, hence the name, but not always. My best finds are actually always rural.
In order to find abandoned buildings in the first place, you have to train your eye. You need to recognize things you'd normally skip over, look for signs like grass growing through asphalt, unmaintained roofs.
(pic related is not an example, you need to know where to find it)
(pic related is not an example, you need to know where to find it)
This sort of perception building is excellent for you no matter what. It can help tremendously to train yourself to see things that you were previously trained to ignore. These can lead you down paths.
You should also follow this guide if you have enough autism and like things like maps and research. If you don't, just go out and drive down roads you normally don't drive down.
You should know how to move quietly. This is very important towards your goal of Not Getting Caught. If you don't know how to already, learn to foxwalk.
The cheap and easy way to walk quietly is heel-to-toe while minding your balance, but foxwalking involves placing the blade of your foot down first and feeling the rest out. Take shorter steps, be aware of where you're placing your foot, back off if it makes sound.
It's a very mindful way of walking, I suppose. Hard to do.
If you can do it naturally, you're probably in a category of that most envied men that Major John L. Plaster spoke of in certain high-end infantry units - those who receive the ultimate compliment of "good in the woods".
If you can do it naturally, you're probably in a category of that most envied men that Major John L. Plaster spoke of in certain high-end infantry units - those who receive the ultimate compliment of "good in the woods".
And being "good in the woods" is a good overall goal, hard if you weren't raised rural! Put on your heaviest boots (to make it harder) and go walk as quietly as possible.
Then do it again, quieter
Then do it again, faster
Then do it for hours, in every environment imaginable.
Then do it again, quieter
Then do it again, faster
Then do it for hours, in every environment imaginable.
Then learn to do it while crouching, too. Foxwalking should always involve bent knees but doing it while properly getting low is like learning to squat below parallel for the first time if you're inflexible. Don't worry, just practice! It'll come. This is what you were born to!
So you can spot and you can move. Now what?
Gear time, every richfag's favorite.
(it's ok, this was a superheavy load from early on in my trials - you can and will go lighter)
Gear time, every richfag's favorite.
(it's ok, this was a superheavy load from early on in my trials - you can and will go lighter)
Thick pants. I wear the same sort of Dickies work pants that I wear to, uh, work. Except usually in grey. Ripstop is nice, but you don't want that swishy swishy sound. It should be decently resistant to abrasion. Same for your top.
Long sleeves, always. Neutral colors are good, it's even better if you have a camo that fits the environment.
Heavy boots. You don't want nails going into your feet. I use ordinary steel-toe work boots, anything an average construction worker uses is good. Combat boots are fine.
Heavy boots. You don't want nails going into your feet. I use ordinary steel-toe work boots, anything an average construction worker uses is good. Combat boots are fine.
Judge your backpack by your need for gear. I have a thing for making coffee in weird places so I often keep an ultralight camp stove and coffee pot in a pack. If you go for only a few hours, no pack needed, just make pocket space.
(always threaten your coffee if temp is off)
(always threaten your coffee if temp is off)
Cargo pants are good for that actually, as dorky as they seem. Keep everything dark tones but never black.
Knife, lighter, 2x signaling devices, and paracord should be bare minimum. I'd personally add a handgun + spare mag but ymmv. Depends on the site.
Knife, lighter, 2x signaling devices, and paracord should be bare minimum. I'd personally add a handgun + spare mag but ymmv. Depends on the site.
I'm actually going to break stride here to bring up something important. I personally emphasize stealth over all else because I always carry a gun.
Trespass is normally a misdemeanor. Armed trespass is normally a felony. Breaking and entry while armed? Oh yeah you're fucked.
Trespass is normally a misdemeanor. Armed trespass is normally a felony. Breaking and entry while armed? Oh yeah you're fucked.
Felonies mean you can't own guns or vote.
Weigh your risks, legal and physical, and act only inside your tolerance. It's no mistake I did my dumbest shit when I was unemployed.
Weigh your risks, legal and physical, and act only inside your tolerance. It's no mistake I did my dumbest shit when I was unemployed.
Another major point: respiratory protection.
You WILL wear the mask.
I didn't wear the mask the first time I did serious urbex and I fucked up my lungs on black mold. Had a persistent cough for months.
You WILL wear the mask.
I didn't wear the mask the first time I did serious urbex and I fucked up my lungs on black mold. Had a persistent cough for months.
You want to gauge the CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) protection required for your trip by the site and not be afraid to bug out if it's too much.
Fortunately you probably don't have to worry about R or N, so it's simple. If you might - geiger counter.
Fortunately you probably don't have to worry about R or N, so it's simple. If you might - geiger counter.
You want a half-face respirator like this with any particulate filter in most locations. It'll block black mold spores, dust, and critically - asbestos.
You really don't want mesothelioma or however the fuck it's spelled.
You really don't want mesothelioma or however the fuck it's spelled.
That's bare minimum and won't keep it out of your eyes. I run a full face mask, an MSA Millennium. I actually love that mask so much that I bought a fuckload at auction and sell them, but I'm not going to advertise because this isn't a shill thread.
(but most of my frens do too)
(but most of my frens do too)
If there's chemical presence - mercury vapors for example, from smashed fluorescent bulbs - you want a full face mask and a full-spectrum CBRN filter. I have a bunch of these Scott ones, expired 2019 but realistically good for another 5 years past. Maybe more.
If you're really going deep or hardcore, keep a gas monitor on you. In enclosed spaces, this will literally save your life. Oxygen deprivation in enclosed spaces is a major killer, even with a monitor I flat out won't solo them and I'll probably have a line tied off to a friend.
That one is chinese shit so don't buy it.
4-gas monitors are ok, but if you've got a CBRN filter you're already set for carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and explosive gasses (unless you light a match). Oxygen is actually all you need, so go balls out on a top tier MSA O2 unit
4-gas monitors are ok, but if you've got a CBRN filter you're already set for carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and explosive gasses (unless you light a match). Oxygen is actually all you need, so go balls out on a top tier MSA O2 unit
So you can move, you're not gonna get tetanus, you're not gonna get cancer, and you're not gonna keel over.
What else can harm you?
Falls. Probably the number one cause of urbex deaths.
What else can harm you?
Falls. Probably the number one cause of urbex deaths.
You absolutely NEED to learn how to spot a bad floor. This isn't always possible, but you need to look for signs like rotted wood, or you're gonna end up dropping a story like my fren from the last thread.
(egirls, he's cute as fuck ask me if you want his @, discord only)
(egirls, he's cute as fuck ask me if you want his @, discord only)
It's really hard. Part of it comes with intuition. Fortunate for you - if you took the lesson about observation, you can do this! Cracks in the floor, rotten wood, bad concrete, rusted steel. Seams. Can you see the danger spots here? Are your reflexes good enough to pull back?
That's actually mostly it, now that I think about it. There are lots of things I can't teach you, I can explain how to walk for ages, and absolutely nobody will internalize it unless they walk the pines regularly like me, and if you do that you already made it.
Every principle you can apply to simply going innawoods applies here, but with heightened stakes - you might actually need to run from cops but it's ok, they're fat and you're fit, or at least you're a better shot and properly prepared, right anon?
Right?
Right?
And every single principle will likewise serve you well in warfare. Sure, you'll need extra instruction for hiding from thermals, but you're fucked then anyways so hope they're hitting the next foxhole over. Or learn to magdump aircraft, but that's very hard.
Hide, run, walk, survive. Eat your own food and know how to pack in for when you can't eat. Gill nets are totally legit btw, just fuckin send it. Learn to build a fire without much smoke, learn to carve corewood. Don't just make shelter, learn to take shelter.
All of these can be honed if you urbex properly, and vice versa. You're an urban God if you can escape a mid-city building without arrest. Read the territory, make mental maps, learn to escape.
Yes, yes. There are cheat codes. we know about NODs and similar. All of them rely on AAs or CR123s. They're excellent, genuinely excellent, a true force multiplier. Don't strive towards it at the expense of anything else, and don't use it as a crutch
Although if you learn to use them in the same way you learn to walk at night, NOBODY will ever find you. I've followed people in the dark purely for shits and giggles, because I could. It's literally easymode, but you need to train on hardmode first so you can be godmode.
If shit hits the fan, every single one of these bits of advice will help you, especially long term.
There are countless volumes written on living off the land, and I'm not gonna pretend to be qualified to write on more esoteric postapoc topics like radiation flow.
There are countless volumes written on living off the land, and I'm not gonna pretend to be qualified to write on more esoteric postapoc topics like radiation flow.
But if you're already doing urbex and basic prep you're above 99% of people easy. I'd just say to toss in some long term supplies like beans and rice and olive oil and a few packs of cigs, and call it good. Buy a geiger counter, understand how radiation works - alpha, beta, gamma
If shit hits the fan, knowledge and gear/supplies (derived from knowledge) are your only saviors. I know we're edging closer to war, my Dad would have been in the basement for the past two weeks listening to shortwave if he was still around.
But none of us can do anything about it. So prepare.
And what's the best way to prepare?
Break into the places that currently resemble what the future is gonna look like, and learn how to loot the shit out of them without getting killed.
And what's the best way to prepare?
Break into the places that currently resemble what the future is gonna look like, and learn how to loot the shit out of them without getting killed.
(disclaimer: urbex as a community does not a condone taking objects from exploration sites)
(secondary disclaimer: as a stalker I'm two steps above an actual bandit, DM me if you wanna buy a cool-ass sign I stole that will scare off all but the most dedicated thots)
/thred
(secondary disclaimer: as a stalker I'm two steps above an actual bandit, DM me if you wanna buy a cool-ass sign I stole that will scare off all but the most dedicated thots)
/thred
realizing only now that I included completely the wrong pic for this
this is what you want and will save you from probably 90% of respiratory hazards, and it's pretty cheap.
this is what you want and will save you from probably 90% of respiratory hazards, and it's pretty cheap.
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