Provisions that'll serve you well, whether all hell breaks loose or not
Invite the malnourished neighbors over to sample some homemade sustenance, brought to you by the hardy makers of the Country Living Grain Mill ($340; 360-652-0671). Pour
in your grain, crank the six-pound flywheel, and watch fresh flour filter into the hopper. You can also rig it to an exercise bike to truly earn your daily bread.
Nuclear winter and piles of rubble are no match for the featherweight Ortovox Expert telescoping avalanche shovel ($79; 603-746-3176), which is made of titanium,
aluminum, and magnesium. Clear a path through a looted Crate&Barrel store or use the scoop as it was intended, to shovel snow in the backcountry. Holster your all-purpose implement in the Arc'Teryx Yoyo ($59; 800-985-6681), a spartan,
spine-hugging shovel pack with a small pocket for an avalanche transceiver or other scavenged goods.
In the event that ours becomes a hunter-gatherer society again, you'll want to have the Cape Fear Rod Company Live Bait 70 ($279; 888-886-2064) close at hand. The
seven-foot fly rod (it takes 16- to 30-weight line) is surprisingly sensitive for such a big stick. The secret, apparently, is in the hex-shaped design, which harks back to original bamboo rods (this one's graphite).
Cutting across a tranquil lake may turn out to be the safest place to be come January. Redefine the task of portaging with the Klepper Alu-Lite folding kayak ($1,980; 800-500-2404).
The frame is aluminum, not wood, and hence it weighs just 39 pounds instead of 50 or more. The hull is wrapped in Hypalon, a tough synthetic rubber, and the deck is lined with tightly woven, waterproof Egyptian cotton. The 13-foot, 9-inch craft is built to maneuver like a standard recreational sea kayak, and it collapses into little more than a piece of
luggage— 42 by 20 by 8 inches.
That stockpile of canned goods isn't going to amount to a hill of beans without fresh water to drink. Taking opportunistic heed of premillennial paranoia, SweetWater (800-531-9531) has mated its lauded virus-proof purifier with a collapsible, two-liter Platypus water tank to create the Guardian Plus Combo Pack, fire-sale priced at $75. Get 'em while civilization lasts.
It folds, it locks, it cuts. There's nothing fancy about the Schrade Pocket Beast knife ($30; 800-272-4723), save the do-it-yourself surgery one could perform with the four-inch stainless steel
blade. Post-op instructions not included.
Go ahead and let the rioting crowds tromp on these blue suede shoes: They're tough. Protective features on Scarpa's Freney ice-climbing boots ($299; 801-278-5533) include a thick
rubber bumper and a nearly rigid sole that, in addition to protecting your piggies from all manner of debris, fits securely into a crampon. Badder than your best pair of work boots.
Worried your computer will go on the fritz? Revert to analog with good old-fashioned pen and paper. The charming little Fisher #400 Chrome Bullet Space Pen ($18; 702-293-3100)
will work in the most topsy-turvy of above-ground conditions: Pressurized with nitrogen, it promises to supply a steady flow of ink. Pair it with the Lands' End Leather Bound Journal ($36; 800-356-4444). The flap and leather tie-string keep your pensées private, and, best of all, its batteries never need charging.
Though it's not exactly the antiaircraft missile you've been dying for, the Rescue Rocket Kit 5 ($1,300; 858-445-5212) from Rescue Solutions International is a notably useful alternative. The air-pressured projectile launches
from the hip at a satisfying speed of 105 miles per hour, trailing a 220-foot length of high-test polypropylene line. On the receiving end, the rescuee latches onto a self-inflating body sling. Pluck the victim from river, ravine, or any other place millennial chaos might find the both of you.
Invite the malnourished neighbors over to sample some homemade sustenance, brought to you by the hardy makers of the 
