“To be the guide”

We often get asked about our name, and what it means to be Rino Ready. It's both our name and our goal. We could have just called ourselves RINO and been done with it. But we felt we had to set our expectations higher than just a name. We don't just want to sell gear, we also want to share an idea and a mindset, and our name reflects that. 

The simple answer is that we sell quality survival gear at an affordable price. We also explain that RINO Ready is a mindset and a lifestyle. Our first goal is to provide you with the equipment and gear to help you through your next emergency. Our second goal, and our passion, is to provide you with the knowledge to confidently navigate any situation and be able to help those around you. An emergency kit is only as good as your ability to use it effectively. It would be easier to just sell great gear. But as you'll see below, we couldn't stop there. 

We want you to be able to enter any situation with confidence and provide the leadership and knowledge to help those around you to survive. As we like to say around here; “Survival doesn’t happen in a vacuum.” The community around us should be one that we rely on, and that relies on us. Being stranded alone can happen. Most of the time, however, it will be you and your surrounding community. 

Think of the wildfires that ravaged much of the United States in 2020, people were helping their neighbors and their animals to get to safety. In Texas, in early 2021, many places in the state were without power for days. One of our team members traded bananas for eggs with a neighbor.  Building a community that can help each other survive is key to outlasting any disaster situation. 

Where does this start?

Mindset

Survival Mindset - having the confidence that you will make it through the situation that you are in because you have practiced and are prepared. That you will stay calm, think through the situation, and come up with a plan to get out alive. You don't have a safety net anymore because you are others’ safety net. Having the confidence to never say "I don't know" but "I'll find out". 

You have to decide you aren't ever going to be helpless, even in what may seem like a helpless situation. To keep trying even if you fail at first. Turning discouragement into the drive to prove your doubts wrong. To prove your confidence right. To tell yourself "I can do this" even when you feel like you can't. This mindset takes effort, like keeping a knife sharp. It can take years of practice to fully develop and constant reinforcement to keep it sharp.

When you are in a situation where your emotions may be elevated, it is important to center yourself, so that you can make quick rational decisions. This is what survival instructors refer to as Stop, Observe, Think, Plan, and Act. 

Stop: Stand still and give yourself a moment.

Observe: Take in your surroundings and situation.

Think: What is the greatest danger?

Plan: How can you get to safety?

Act: Tell those around you the plan and do it. 

It's as important to be able to lead, as it is to be able to work as a team. There is a line between confidence and arrogance in surviving. Being arrogant about the situation can lead to making things worse. No one knows everything. It takes a team. That's why it's important, to be honest about your weaknesses and allow others on the team to use their strengths.

Game Plan & Training

Good gear is important, but it isn’t everything. You need to know how to use it. Next time you go camping practice starting a fire with and without matches. If you don't know how then ask someone to teach you. Then start the next one. On your next hike try and find and filter water. If you have time, build a small shelter. If you're with someone who knows different skills than you do, ask them to show you. The more skills you have the more prepared you will be. When it comes to survival, you can train your body in repetitive actions so that muscle memory takes over when everything is in chaos. First responders and military personnel are trained so that in many circumstances their muscle memory takes over and helps them through the situations. 

You can get ahead of potential disasters by creating plans and having systems in place for when the situation arises. Plan for situations unique to your geographic climate:

• Do you live in an area more prone to fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, or drought?

• How many people are in your household or survival group?

• Where will you meet if you are in separate places?

• If communications are down, how will you find each other?

To know how to prioritize the skills you want to learn, or what plans to put into place. It's important to remember the Survival Fundamentals.

3 Minutes Without Air | 3 Hours Without Shelter | 3 Days without Water | 3 Weeks Without Food

Execution/Action

So, you have prepared your mind, practiced the skills, and developed a plan...now what? It’s showtime. Have trust in your training and instincts. Be prepared to adapt accordingly. Situations change, yet you can navigate them with confidence. 

How does this all play out? Here is a scenario. 

It starts raining due to the hurricane that is about to hit the coast. The news said it could get worse and there might be flooding in some areas. You live out of the immediate flood zone, so you plan for being hunkered down in your ranch-style home for a few days. You have your water, food, and heat/shelter taken care of so you are ready to go. In the beginning, you check on your elderly neighbors, they do not have a car as they take public transportation everywhere. They have food and some water but not enough. You bring over a few extra gallons and put a Water B.O.B. in their tub just in case the water gets shut off. 

At about midnight, you hear the emergency sirens going off and flip on your emergency radio. Evacuation orders, the rain has caused a mudslide and damaged the dam the next town over. Officials are worried that it might break and want everyone to evacuate. You get your family ready and load your go-bags in the car. You open the garage door and see the street below your driveway is starting to flood. There is a chance that roads may become impassable, so you toss your inflatable raft in the SUV just in case. 

After loading your kids in the back you remember your neighbors are stuck in their house, Pulling out and through the water you pull up to their front door, knock, and open it to find them sitting on their couch with a candle in front of them, grabbing a few nearby blankets you help them into your vehicle. Once everyone is secure you start heading to the evacuation point two towns north.

Along the way, you come to a flooded-out road, with a sedan stuck in the middle and a man sitting on top. The water is up to his doors so there is a good chance you might get stuck as well. Handing everyone a raincoat you pull out the raft and inflate it, and start paddling out to the stranded man. Reaching him you help him in and cut a diagonal back to the SUV. There is a small bridge about ¼ of the mile down the road that will get you to safety. Upon reaching the bridge you head across with the other cars and slowly make your way out of the flood zone. 

Being Rino Ready doesn’t just mean you have some good gear packed away. It means you are ready to step up, take control, and keep yourself safe. To not rely on others the next time a disaster happens, big or small. It means that you will be ready to help someone else. It means you’ve taken the time to learn the basics and taken the time to practice them.

For us, being Rino Ready means you want to know more, not just have more stuff. Having a mindset of survival and curiosity. Always trying to know more and the desire to survive no matter what. That's why for us just making gear isn't enough either. If we stand by what we believe we must try to help anyone interested, to be the guide and show them how to be Rino Ready. 

By building your plans and mindset around these staples of survival you can prepare yourself and your loved ones to face any disaster. In the process, you will find others looking to you as the guide in their survival journey, and others will be able to help you. Survival does not happen in a vacuum. Are you ready?