Ebook Reader for Survivalists – The Kindle
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Survival Gear
In a Bugout situation taking all of your survival books and manuals with is probably not very practical. As ebook readers increase in popularity, many survivalists are buying them as a way to back up manuals, books and other survival materials.
The newest Amazon Kindle can hold up to 3500 books, requires very little power and can easily be recharged with a small solar charger or hand crank. While I wouldn’t go betting my life on it, the Kindle is a great back up or supplement to your books and is a great way to store how to manuals and information that you might need in a long term survival situation.
The newest version of the Kindle allows you to read for up to 2 weeks on a single charge.
For more information check out the Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device on Amazon
Interesting. I never thought of using a Kindle for that type of application. But sure, why not? Makes perfect sense. I have a Kindle and I’m loving it although I must admit I have my sights set on the horizon…lots of exciting things happening in the e-book arena.
I received a Kindle for Christmas this year. This occurred to me right off the bat and I started downloading manuals. Most military manuals are around .99 . Can anybody offer some recommendations on good, basic survival manuals?
Don’t forget that with native pdf support (now also on the older model w/ the firmware update), you can print-to-pdf your own documents (emergency contacts/plans/etc as well as snippets for web sites, etc.) and copy them over. They’re not always pretty, but it can beat lugging around binders full of printouts in your BOB
what about EMP? if thats the survival situation this will be absolutely useless unless its protected against it beforehand.
There is always going to be something that could possibly wipe out whatever gear or equipment you relay on. A fire or a flood could wipe out your books, a thief could steal your bugout bag…… There is no substitution for the power of your own knowledge and your ability to survive without gadgets..
I put up the article because I think the kindle or device like it are a good backup and can also provide entertainment during a survival situation. It’s not the be all and end all answer to surviving any situation, it is just another tool in your arsenal.
*anything information that you cannot live without should always be backed up with a hardcopy
One small problem that has popped up with Kindle. When it links up with Amazon, they can delete any material on your Kindle. This recenlty happened with a book that was distributed and the author pulled his permission. Kindle linked to Amazon and 10,000 purchasor’s of the book woke up to find out it had been deleted from their machines.
Great take on the Kindle as a compact way to store and carry all those resources. I’ve been researching these for a few weeks and have about decided on the smaller Kindle2 reader for my own use. I also have a lot of ebooks in PDF format so this is a great device to read those as well as books purchased on the Kindle. My own books are available on Kindle, including my forthcoming Bug Out book, and I recently formatted one for Kindle that I self-published a few years ago.
The low power consumption and long battery life is especially appealing compared to other options like netbooks, the Ipod Touch and the new Ipad. Although I probably wouldn’t take any electronic device other than a GPS if bugging out on foot, for bugging out by boat, (my preferred method) I wouldn’t want to be without the Kindle, as it would be easy enough to carry a means of recharging (small solar panel).
Argh! Annoying ads!
Kindle is not the most price/performance leader.
It only is pushed by Amazon and nothing else.
It isn’t more robust or more convenient or bigger or savvier with power. Just another toy.
Look at Wikipedia’s e-Readers table, but don’t trust their data – it is outdated.
I prefer my iTouch with the Kindle app on it. Not as nice as a kindle, but with the three hundred dollar price difference, I don’t mind. Great alternative to a kindle in my opinion.
It is all good if you have the 3g in your neighborhood…but it true, once they are uploaded…you are all good.
Good luck with all that crap when the power goes out. GPS. Hee, hee, that made me giggle…If you think a gps is essential to survival you are screwed.
GPS can be a good thing to have during an emergency. Yes if the system goes down it’s useless but it’s still not a bad idea to have one. And as for the ebook readers they will still work with a small fold-able solar panel.
GPS should by no means be considered ‘essential’… but certainly not laughable either, jeni. GPS signals rely on no ground support, it is all via satellite, remember? a real handheld gps unit has maps pre-loaded and only relies on coordinates from the satellites to place your position on the map.
now, your fancy cellphone gps of course will be useless the minute the 3g/cell coverage goes out, but a real backcountry gps will be useful as long as those satellites are in orbit.
as far as the electricity being out… i think we all are aware of some type of off grid charging solution. i myself have a couple of solar / hand crank radios that can also charge your cellphone (or gps, kindle, ipod, whatever…) via USB.