Recently, I wanted to get Survival of the Dead on Blu-Ray (yes, I am a Zombiphile, why do you think we have a Zombie Apocalypse category?); I wasn’t even aware it was available for home consumption, until I saw it advertised in Best Buy’s flier, you know, the one that is waiting for you when you enter the store.
I assumed based on its presence within said advertisement that I would be able to procure said goods at the store. But lo, not so!

During my last 3 trips to Best Buy, (the most recent occurring last Sunday), they haven’t had Survival of the Dead in stock. Each and every time (after spending a few minutes looking on my own), I went hunting for an employee and asked if they had it in stock, just in case it was displayed somewhere special and I couldn’t find it. Each time I was told it was not.

This was a bit frustrating to me and not the first time I have had this experience. The time before this, it was Crank 2. Best Buy’s flier showed both it and Crank 1 for a very excellent price and I thought to myself, “self, you don’t have these movies… yet!” I then stalked the aisles looking in vain for these titles, and again, an employee informed me that the titles were not in stock.

In the end, I guess I find myself in a similar position to the ones Jon has described, twice before, in his articles Hard to buy books via Brick & Mortar and Why bother buying local?

Oh well, at least I know I can always depend on Amazon.

In other news, SurvivingTheWorld.net points out that the Living Dead are already among us (for certain values of “among” limited mostly to India).

So let’s start asking the important questions…

Where (and when) are you going to rendezvous?
This is a short term question.   Presuming you want/need to collect people from geographic diverse locations (IE, people that don’t live with you), you’ll all need a common set of rendezvous locations.  You need to think about what will provide reasonably easy access for everyone, along with not being too zombie friendly (parks are right out).  You’ll also want to think about locations that have plentiful sight lines, so you can see friends and foes coming from a distance).  Along with locations that could possible provide a nearby (within sight range) fallback option (IE, maybe the primary location is dangerous for one reason or another, but you can sit safely nearby and watch the primary location in case your friends show).  Do go now and scout your location.  Once you’ve got one location, pick a completely separate Site B, just in case.

Lastly, you’ll want to think when to set meeting times.  For any number of reasons, you might not necessarily be able to sit on the rendezvous point 24/7.  If you pick specific times (Example: Noon, every day) you and your friends will be able to all show up, meet, and move on – without sitting in one location for an extended period of time (making yourself less of a target).

Where are you going to go?
This is a long term question.  Once you’ve collected your friends, where are you going that will be safe-ish for you to hopefully survive the zombies in the long run.  For everyone this is going to be different.  It might be a well stocked cabin in the woods, or it might be the local national guard armory.  The key is to identify where you want to go and know how to get there in advance.  Don’t assume that someone else will know (they might be dead, zombified, or missing) or that you’ll be able to find a map.  As with the previous question, scout out the route you’d use to get to your long term hideout.

Who are you going to get? Who is worth trying to save? Who has useful skills?
Some people will go at it alone, but that is dumb. One person cannot see 360 degrees, and be awake 24/7. You need a group if for nothing more, so you can have someone you trust watching your back. Plus you’ll need an assortment of skills, so you need to think about who can do what. You will want to figure out what friends you know (that you may or may not like that much) that have critical skills. Sure you might know a guy that is something of a douche bag, but if he is a crack shot with a rifle, he might be worth keeping around.

This will seem rather callous, but you need to figure out who is worth trying to save. You can say that you want to get all your friends and family, but how realistic will it be to get a large group mobile and fighting. It is a delicate balance, if you have too few people, you won’t have the protection you need. If you have too many, it might be difficult to get them all moving. Now it is also possible that you live right next to a bus depot and moving a large number of people won’t be an issue. Think about what your transportation will be.

What do you do if the transport breaks down?
Your exfil plan might be the greatest ever, but if it isn’t walking – you must think about what you’d do if the transportation breaks down or is otherwise inaccessible. If you’ve got a mechanic (or someone otherwise mechanically savvy), you’re not going to need to worry as much about a car breaking down. There are other concerns to, like if you are using a car/truck – what do you do at some point when you may not be able to get gas.

Weapons Cache? Food/Water/Supplies Cache
Your final location may not contain all the supplies you need, so think about where you can get/keep those in advance. Maybe someone has a stockpile of supplies at home. Maybe a friend is a weapon nut and has lots of guns (and ammo – also very critical) at their house. It is also possible that your plan may simply be visiting the local Wal-Mart/Target/Grocery store. Of course, you probably wont be the only one thinking to loot Wal-Mart, so have more than one location picked out.

Fortification of your final location?
You and your group have survived all the way to your final holdout location. It might be a “good” place to be, but it is very unlikely to be fortified, unless your going to a military base. This isn’t a “big deal”, because you can fortify once you arrive, but you do need some sort of plan in advance. What sight lines can you create? Will you be able to place traps? How big of an area can you safely secure? If for no other reason, you will know what supplies to get when you’re looting Wal-Mart, or that you need to go loot Home Depot too.

A “Go bag” goes by many names, Wikipedia prefers “Bug-out bag“, the military likes “Bail-out bag”, and I’ve been known to use “GOOD bag” (Get Out Of Dodge).  In the end, all the names serve the same purpose.  Having a totally prepacked bag that is ready to simply pick up and go.  Hopefully, it will contain everything you need to survive on the short term (24-72 hours), until the emergency subsides (unlikely if the undead are wandering about) or until you can get to a bigger cache of supplies.

Your standard Go-bag isn’t all that different from what you’d need in case of a Zombie Apocalypse, but there are some special considerations you should take into mind. The most important difference is weaponry.  Secondarily to that, in my mind, is staying light and agile (Don’t want to get killed by a zombie because your backpack was too heavy).  Sure, if the Zombie Apocalypse strikes, I’d love to have a belt fed M-249 SAW, but that really isn’t “light and agile” (though it is designed to be man-portable).  I looked on Amazon and found a number of Zombie Apocalypse survival gear lists, but none of them really satisfied me.  So I’ve made up a partial list of what we think will be useful while still being light and agile: (Note: ‘partial’ because your needs will vary depending on location)

• MOLLE compatible backpack – The backpack is the single most important part of your Go-bag, as it is the namesake component.  You want a bag that is going to be A) Big enough for your stuff B) Tough enough to take some zombie beating C) Comfortable to wear for long periods.  If you’re loaded up somewhat heavily, a backpack with a comfortable waist strap will be very important.  Additionally, I prefer to use MOLLE/PALS gear as it allows you to easily strap on and off items to the exterior.
• CamelBak Bladder – Hydration is often overlooked when talking about the Zombie Apocalypse.  If you’re running/fighting for your life, you are going to work up a serious thirst.  You don’t want to become undead because you got heat stroke.  I’d suggest at least 72oz (2L), if not 100oz (3L).  Water is heavy (approximately 8 lbs per gallon/3.8 L), but you don’t need to fill up the reservoir completely, if weight is an issue.
• Emergency Rations (erats) – While MREs are great, we’re packing a backpack here with limited space and weight (light and agile).  Plus, you may not have the luxury of sitting about and breaking out an MRE.  If you’re REALLY on the go, you need some erats.  They aren’t as good as real food, but they’ve got all the calories and nutrition you need to keep going.  Each bar is 400 calories (you should have at least 5 a day), so packing just two of these 10 packs will keep you fed for 3+ days.
• Clothing – In your ready-to-go bag you should pack one full set of clothing.  You never know what you’ll be wearing when the undead rise, you could be at a fancy party or in bed.  Even if you’re wearing decently usable clothing, they could get ripped – best to have a backup set.
  • Shirt – Long sleeve, rip stop.  You want to protect yourself from head to toe.  Even if you’re like me and wear short sleeves year round, it is a very smart idea to keep your arms covered.  Besides, you can always roll up the sleeves.
  • Pants – Full pants, rip stop.  I always go for ACU/BDU/Tactical style pants due to the number of pockets and their durability.
  • Socks – Find some socks that are comfortable for YOU.
  • Boots – You want a good pair of hiking boots.  Depending on how things go at the end, you might not have the option of vehicular transportation (Translation: You’ll be walking a lot).  You will want to break these in before you store them.
  • Belt – I like riggers belts.  They are heavy duty, mil-spec webbing, high grade buckles and have a rappelling hook-in.  They aren’t designed for serious rappelling work, but in a pinch, it will do the job.
  • Gloves – You’re going to be fighting.  Be it with guns, swords, axes, knives or bows… you need your hands.  You need something to protect your hands.  While less protecting, my preference is fingerless gloves that allow for finer work without having to remove the gloves.  Get whatever you are most comfortable with.
  • Heavy Jacket – This is somewhat optional, but if you can fit it – you should have some heavy rain gear.  If you live in rainy country, this is crucial.  Of course, if you live in the desert (like say Arizona), it gets damn cold at night – and this heavy gear will help with that too.
• Compressible sleeping bag – You’re going to be strapping this onto your backpack, so get a sleeping bag that can be compressed.  Depending on where you live, you’re needs for camping bag rating will vary.  In the temperate California, 10 or 20 deg bags are fine, but if you live in cold country, get a bag rated for 0 deg or lower.
• 550 Paracord – You always need something that is “rope like”.  You might need to do some climbing/rappelling, you might need to prepare a trap (trip line anyone?) for zombies or maybe you simply want to make an impromptu tent.  My preference is Paracord since it is small and still has a high weight rating.  Since it is so small, you can pack more of it.  If you’re going to buy full rope, don’t just go to Home Depot and buy whatever you find.  Get something that is rated for a decent amount of weight, preferably something like climbing rope.
• Knife – You always need a knife, it has so many purposes (tool, weapon, etc) I’m not even going to bother to list them.  If you want to keep light, get one knife that will serve multiple purposes.  Make sure it is a fixed blade though, as you have no need for “concealing” your weapon.
• Shovel/Axe – A shovel or axe will help you in dealing with those problems that require digging or breaking in somewhere.  Plus they can both be applied as weapons (shovel would require sharpening of an edge).  To keep things light, go with one or the other (Shovel/Axe), depending on your tastes and geographic needs.
• Multi-tool – You might be on your own for a while.  Having a multi-tool with capabilities to help you get in places (and things, like canned food), repair things, and generally make your life easier – is a very smart thing.
• Firesteel – You don’t necessarily want to set zombies on fire, but maybe you need to boil/purify water or stay warm.  Fire is always a good thing to have the capability to make.
• Iodine tablets / Water purification – As previously noted, fighting the undead is a sure way to work up a thirst.  You’ve got a CamelBak for water storage, but you’re gonna run dry in a day or two (tops).  When you need to refill and go FAST, have some Iodine tables, but get the “plus” ones that have neutralizing tablets also (so the water doesn’t taste so bad).   For the longer term, and when you’ve got more time, get a water purifier.  Any pump type unit that will allow you to refill your CamelBak will be a good start.  Also make sure to buy/pack extra filters (and any other “consumable” component).
• Light -
  • Tactical Flashlight – For your primary illumination, you’ll want something bright and resilient.  I picked out the Surefire A2 LED because it is small, light, very bright and very tough.  Additionally, it has a two stage light, a dim red to maintain your night vision and a 150 lumen white.  While batteries are a scarce resource, you can get a box of 12 A123s and they take up almost no space/weight, plus they have a 10 year shelf life.
  • Crank Flashlight – Seeing as how eventually you will run out of batteries, having some sort of self-charging (LED) light will be important.  You can get solar paneled, crank and shake (induction) lights.  Personally, I think the cranks are a little better/faster, but it is a matter of personal taste.  The crank units (like the one linked) have the bonus of supporting multi-function (like AM/FM radio).
  • Chemlights – Chemlights (or “glow sticks” for the ravers) are extremely useful to keep around “just in case”.  You can use them underwater, where case could be leaking, and they are ditch-able (IE, you can crack one and toss it somewhere).
• Comms/Radio (AM/FM/SW) – When zombies attack, you’ll need to talk to people.  You may need to communicate with your friends, and possibly get a hold of other survivors in the area.  So you really should have some form of 2-way radio.  If you’re smart, you’ll get an Amateur Radio license get a decent Handy-Talky.  Failing that, get some GMRS/FRS walky-talkies, since many people have those already.  Also a crank powered emergency radio that can receive AM, FM, & Shortwave is a good addition.
• First aid kit – You’re fighting for your life, probably walking a lot more than you’re used to, and probably mucking about through broken glass: you’re going to hurt yourself.  When you do, you want some sort of first aid.  Getting a non-zombie infection during a zombie apocalypse is just embarrassing.
• Survival literature /Military handbook – Unless you’re a survival nut, ex-military or a public servant (fire/police) – you probably don’t have a lot of disaster survival experience.  That’s okay, not a lot of people do.  So get some books and do some reading, preferably before the zombie apocalypse (you don’t want to be trying to read while fighting).  I also included the suggestion of military handbooks because your best chance of survival during a fight-for-your-life is learning from groups that do it for a living.  When you’re done reading them, toss the books in your bag, that way you have them for reference (or burning material).

Inside Melee you have things like Baseball Bats, Chainsaws, Frying Pans, Katanas, Halberds, Staves, Swords, Truncheons, etc
Inside Ranged you have things like Automatic Weapons, Bolas, Bows, Crossbows, Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns, Spears, Trebuchets, etc

You need to have at least one weapon that doesn’t require ammunition of any kind (bullets, shells, powder, ping pong balls, batteries, electricity, gasoline, etc), so that you aren’t defenseless when you run out of ammo. You will run out of ammo. It is going to happen, accept it, and be prepared to eventually move on. If you are lucky, it won’t happen to you for awhile, but as was pointed out in The Book of Eli, eventually the majority of people will have guns, but no ammo. Humans might be willing to back down from a gun (whether it is loaded or not), but a zombie likely won’t hesitate.

You also have to consider the noise factor. Guns go boom. That’s part of the allure for many people, but in an apocalyptic situation, most of the time you don’t want to draw extra attention to yourself. Also, as guns have moving parts, they are susceptible to breakdown. You don’t need much to clean and lube your gun, but trying to find that in the middle of an undead wasteland could be problematic. So carry a small cleaning kit with you.

What about explosives? Well… much like in video games, you need to conserve your “special weapons”, however don’t conserve it to the point where you are wasting a bunch of ammo/time on a problem that could be solved by a well placed explosive.

What would I take in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse?

1. PS-90 – Accurate lightweight gun. Major Downside: use 5.7 ammo, which will be fairly rare. Perhaps a better solution would be a semi-automatic MP5, chambered in 9mm
2. Silenced Walther P-22 – Very quiet and very light gun, used for operations which would require stealth
3. Glock 17 – Well designed 9mm
4. Machete – Brush clearing
5. Multitool – Leatherman or similar
6. Folding Knife – Emerson or similar – basically something you can put some serious weight on
7. Shotgun – I don’t have a specific model in mind, just something that can handle getting some dirt in it and not necessarily getting cleaned (Mossberg, Remington, or Winchester are some of the most resilient), chambered in 12 Gauge, as it is the most common; ideally with a folding stock.
8. After talking with my father, I think a .22 Long Rifle would also be an excellent tool. Hunting game is going to be a major source of food and a .22 is definitely useful in regard.

What do you think? What is on your “must have” list?

Saeko Busujima (Kendo)

Recently a friend recommended to me a new manga by the name of “Highschool of the Dead” (Editor’s note: the manga uses “highschool” as one word, so when referring to the title we will as well, though the correct use is 2 words: high school). He described to me the basic story following high school students during a zombie apocalypse and to be honest I wasn’t all that enthused. I’m not a fan of the horror/thriller genre in basically any media. The three items that convinced me to give it a try was A) my friend thought one of the characters in the story was very much like me (it involves being trained by Blackwater) B) It’s got some good (funny) lines and C) Tits. Tits sell anything. After checking out the series, I’m glad I did. Enough so that I think everyone should check it out.

Takashi Komuro (Leader)

The basic premise behind Highschool of the Dead (HOTD) is basically as simple as I put it above. Our story follows a group of intrepid high school students who have entirely normal lives (for less than 5 minutes on screen) before the zombies start to show up. They are forced to run/fight for their lives, and make a few (busty) friends on the way.

Kohta Hirano (Blackwater)

One of the first pieces of information I found about this manga is that it is also being made into an anime. In fact, the anime is currently being simulcast in Japan and America (on The Anime Network). I don’t currently get The Anime Network (TAN), but I think this is very cool. I’ve never heard of an anime series being simulcast in both countries at the same time before. I’m not sure if it is the absolute first, but it is a first for me.

Saya Takagi (Genius-girl)

I got my hands on the first 7 volumes of the manga and the first 5 episodes of the anime (of which there will be 12 total). I can safely say that all the episodes of anime I’ve seen follow the manga very closely. There are a few minor changes in the anime (mostly the removal of trivial pieces and unnecessary people) and some minor re-ordering of events. The intro for the anime is also a nice piece of work with some kick ass music.

Shizuka Marikawa (Nurse Tits)

For the most part, I enjoy the characters; there are 7 “main” characters (in the group) that we follow. I gave them all nicknames because it make it easier for me to remember who’s who. You’ve got Takashi Komuro as Leader, give him any weapon and he’ll bash some heads in. There is Rei Miyamoto as Girlfriend, who’s a bit angsty over Leader killing her boyfriend (who had become a zombie), but still has a thing for him (Leader) – she’s my least favorite character. The most kick ass is Saeko Busujima as Kendo, she kills everything with a sword and a touch of sadism. The un-fighty Saya Takagi as Genius-girl: she’s the brains behind the operations and proves herself useful by figuring out what the zombies respond to. One of the reasons I started watching the series: Kohta Hirano as Blackwater – he’s a pansy ass till you give him a gun, then he goes nuts and kills bitches. Of course the over the top eye candy is Shizuka Marikawa as Nurse Tits, she patches them up, drives, and is tits. Lastly you’ve got Alice Maresato as Chibi, she’s just a little kid that Leader saves, she’s adorable.

Alice Maresato (Chibi)

The cast is quite fun, and their interpersonal bits can be quite hilarious. There are some other characters who come and go (most people who “go” end up as zombies), but I doubt the main cast will grow any more. Oh, and an important item to note, every female on the series is big on the top side (if you catch my drift, if not: she’s got big tits). The artists have a thing for big breasts, I guess, even with the female zombies. Nurse Tits is, of course, even more well endowed than the rest and as such gets special sound effects when even they feel like emphasizing her breasts for comic effect.

Rei Miyamoto (Girlfriend)

Overall though, the series is more serious and violent, than horror. There is lots of blood, but not as much as Elfien Lied. As of volume 7 of the manga, the story hasn’t majorly developed. That isn’t to say it is slow, it is very action packed, but they really are just getting up to speed. Generally, the overarching story line of any Zombie Apocalypse media is to get away safely ever after (or everyone dies), which hasn’t happened in HOTD yet. They are still at the point of trying to find out if everyone’s family is okay. I’m really enjoying the speed and curious to see how things progress. I’m also interested to see how far the anime gets, because the episodes don’t cover nearly as much material as the manga has (typical).

If you enjoy zombies, violence, tits, or just a well done anime/manga, I recommend you check out Highschool of the Dead. You can even stream it (legally) on The Anime Networks website (if you pay for an account). I know the series isn’t for everyone, some will be put off by the hilarious large breasts (feminists), others by the zombies and the blood (weak stomach). The rest, will get a series to enjoy (and I’m looking forward to the cosplay).

Gungrave is about the same length as Trigun (approximately 650 minutes), so it is a fairly quick watch. Overall I found it quite amusing, except for one little thing….

There will be some minor generic spoilers with relation to the story progression, though nothing terribly specific.

The story opens with the character on the cover of the DVD (“Beyond the Grave”) saving a girl and a scientist defeat some zombies. Then we get some backstory, and then a whole bunch more backstory. In fact we actually rewind several years and find out how we got where we are today for about half the series. During this, I found myself forgetting about the first sequence of the anime, that is until we find the first zombie (corpses that have been “necrolized” and are actually referred to as “ordmen); then I remembered that we were actually in a flashback and wondered how we were going to get back to where the show started.

I really enjoyed the “flashback” portion of the anime. The story was fairly well done though the protagonist was occasionally annoyingly terse. Once we got back to the main event, lots more death and destruction occurs. Which brings me to the part I didn’t like… the girl, Mika Asagi, is supremely annoying. I realize as the watcher I have more information than her, but she just continues to ask these idiotic questions and makes ludicrous suggestions/demands that make me want very badly for someone to shoot her, repeatedly, in the trachea.

Other than the incredibly annoying chick, this anime was quite enjoyable and I would recommend it to others. One big difference from Trigun: lack of humor, though if it had been inserted I don’t know that it would have held its air of despair as well as it did.

Caution! Zombies! Ahead!!!

I’d like to welcome everyone stopping by to our first ever Zombie Apocalypse week. John is a huge zombie fan and been majorly sad about the last of posts in our ZA category. We talked about doing a series of posts for it, which eventually turned into a week, which eventually got done. Tada!

This week we’ll be covering anything and everything Zombie related. From zombies in modern media to your contingency plans in case of a real life zombie apocalypse. If you’re not a zombie fan… well… just come back next week. If you are a zombie fan, sit down, tune in, and get ready to crack some skulls.

After playing the demo (back when I thought it came out in September), I considered canceling my pre-order. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the demo (I certainly did), but it didn’t seem like it was worth paying the $60 Day 1 price. That was back then. This is now. I’m still not sure if it is worth $60, but it is a ton of fun. Oh and Amazon had a pre-order bonus that I had long since forgotten about until they emailed me: codes for 4 more sets of armor (“Xbox Agent” – Green, Gold, Black, and Gunmetal – which looks almost identical to the light grey suit).

The game starts out with an amusing video detailing what’s been happening in the last 10 years (the time that elapsed between the first game and this one). Basically, “freaks” have overrun the city and The Agency is only now getting the the Agent Program back up and running (the cloning facilities were destroyed during the intervening 10 years). You start out on Agency Island and they have you run through a training program to acclimate yourself with the basic controls, and then they have you hop into an Agency Cruiser (the most basic vehicle) and they lift you out of there via helicopter and give you an amazing flyby of Hope Springs, the starting area/island (which you were able to explore in the demo).

You get dropped off in the same place that you started in the demo, right outside a Cell stronghold. You need to capture this location and one nearby and that gives you your first resupply point. Veterans of Crackdown will recall that you need to bring collected weapons and vehicles to the resupply points in order to store them. Crackdown 2 has made the storing of vehicles much easier, as all the resupply points are on the ground (this is likely due to the resupply points offering vehicle drops as well as weapon drops). As was the case in the first game, your enemies (more on them in a second), at least the human ones, have the best weapons in the game. Right after I got to a sufficient Firearm Skill level to equip the Agency Machine Gun, I found an enemy Machine Gun that was much better, which of course has no level requirement, so when Jon gets started I will be able to hook him up with that weapon right away.

Enemies are everywhere! In the previous game you were dealing with a gang war, however this time you have only 2 enemies: Cell (human group that dislikes the Agency) and “Freaks”. “Freaks” are the enemy of everyone and will attack anyone who isn’t a freak. They come in various sizes and colors and I recently ran into some that are absolutely massive (forget the bullets, you need explosives for these guys), though on the plus side they only seem to appear while attempting to detonate beacons. Cell also comes in various sizes and colors, from the guys packing beginner assault rifles and shotguns (both of which are better than your starter gear, so store them immediately) to armored (actual armor, as in they look like they have steel belted to them) guys carrying turreted weapons. Bullets aren’t really a problem for your Agent; explosives are though. As you progress through the game, more and more Cell warriors are carrying explosive weaponry – rocket launchers, grenade launchers, flocket launchers (I don’t know what a flocket is, but they are launched explosively), and homing launchers (which is like the firefly in the first game).

The Agility and Hidden orbs are back, but they aren’t alone. New this time are the following:

• LIVE Orbs – Orbs that you can only get if you are playing Co-Op and have someone nearby.
• Renegade Agility Orbs – Orbs that run away from you. Difficult to catch, and some require higher levels of Agility to even attempt, fortunately the game tells you when this is the case.
• Renegade Driving Orbs – Orbs that run away from you, but you can only catch in a vehicle. If you are like me, Driving is the skill you neglect, so this would be a good way to get it built up.
• Audio Logs – Backstory information. There are 5 different kinds of Audio Logs:
  1. PCNN – Following news reporter Chris Stroker as he details the fall of Pacific City
  2. Freak – Following the reports of someone studying the freaks, provides intel on the danger level of the various creatures
  3. Surveillance
  4. Catalina Thorne – Head of Cell; so far seem to be gloating
  5. Whistleblower – Someone feeding info to Catalina Thorne

All in all, this is a very fun game and I highly recommend it. If you find the price of admission a bit high, head over to a redbox and rent it for a day or two, it is definitely worth it.

The EarthRoamer XV-LT

It is all moot in the end though, because I’ve found the ultimate in “End of the World” Vehicles. Allow me to introduce the EarthRoamer XV-LT. It is a “compact, energy efficient, solar powered home, built on a Ford F-550 truck chassis”. It runs on diesel, so you can burn a number of different things it its engine and get away with it. It has solar panels on the roof and plenty of space for you, a few friends, and your survival gear. Most importantly it has an option for a “Rainbow 36A Air Filtration System – Provides ISO 9001 compliant protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) contamination for up to six people.” Yea, it is essentially a portable HAZMAT shelter.

They’ve also got bunches of fun “End of the World” friendly options, like increasing the fuel tank to 90 gallons, stainless steel coffeemaker (wouldn’t want to leave civilization behind when it is destroyed), Air ride suspension, military internal beadlock aluminum wheels, 8.5kw mobile power generator, satellite internet (because the internet might survive the end of the world), and a iPod ready entertainment system w/ Garmin GPS. Of course it will cost you a pretty penny, and don’t even think about trying to finance this and stiff the guys when the world ends, I’m sure they’ll have an entire fleet of these to come after you with. If you must know, the cost for just the basics (Truck, Camper & Air filter) starts at around $220,000 USD.

The real question: Will it withstand Zombies?