Survival Storehouse Pty Ltd

Spring 2026 bushfire outlook: risk is up in 7 states and territories.

The Bureau of Meteorology and AFAC have released their spring outlook, and it's not good news for a lot of us. Northern and southeastern NSW (that's us, Central Coast included), southeast Queensland, northeastern Tasmania, parts of WA, SA and Victoria, and large parts of the NT are all facing higher bushfire risk this season.

Dry soil and low rainfall are driving it in the east. Heavy fuel loads are driving it in the north and centre. And AFAC's warning is worth repeating: fires can still happen in "normal risk" areas too, so don't switch off just because your postcode isn't on the list.

Here's the thing the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission found. 113 of the 173 people who died were inside houses. Most had left the decision, stay or go, too late. The single biggest factor in surviving a bushfire isn't what's in your cupboard. It's the decision you made before the smoke showed up.

So before anything else, two free things worth five minutes each:
🔗 Check your local hazard risk: tools.survivalstorehouse.com/my-area.html
🔗 Build a written emergency plan: tools.survivalstorehouse.com/plan_builder.html

We're a kit business and we'll say it straight: kit is fourth on the list, behind information, a decision, and a connected community. Get those right and kit just backs up a plan you've already made.

If yours does need restocking before the season turns, we've got 5% off everything in the shop this month with the code spring2026: survivalstorehouse.com/shop-1

Stay ready.

Your water filter probably isn't broken — but it might not be doing what you think

There's a chat doing the rounds on forums that squeeze and straw filters are basically useless because people have gotten sick using them. Worth untangling, because a "filter" and a "purifier" are different things, not two names for the same product. A standard hollow-fibre filter reliably strips out bacteria and protozoa, but its pores are too large to catch a virus — that's not a manufacturing flaw, it's just what the product is rated to do.

Since these reports are written for American or European trails: Australia's own bushwalking safety guidance and national drinking water research point to protozoa — Giardia and Cryptosporidium — as the dominant documented risk in our wilderness water, not viruses. Viruses still need water boiling, chemical treatment or UV purification.

So if you are looking for a device to do both - some products combine a fine membrane with a built-in chemical or electrostatic element specifically to also catch viruses. Its important to be aware of the difference and always read the fine print :-)

Australia's new emergency alert system gets its first nationwide test today (2pm AEST)

If your phone screams at you around 2pm today 27th July, that's AusAlert — don't panic, it's just the first national test of Australia's new emergency warning system. Unlike the old SMS alerts, this one broadcasts straight from the phone tower to every compatible device in range, no phone number or app needed, and it won't clog up the way emergency texts do when everyone's networks are already jammed.

It'll vibrate and blast a siren for about 10 seconds even if you're on Do Not Disturb, and it covers two tiers — Critical for an imminent threat, Priority for watch-and-act advice. You'll need a SIM made from 2019 onward to receive it, which covers roughly 90% of phones here.

It goes fully live in October, so today's test is a genuine chance to flag anything that doesn't work while it's still adjustable, not after the fact. One honest caveat: this solves the warning problem, not the "what do I actually do now" problem — Australia still doesn't have one unified national platform for that, just eight separate state and territory sites. Worth checking your phone got the test alert today regardless of carrier.

It will be interesting to hear what types of unexpected outcomes this test triggers....

🏕️ What survival skill looks simple… until you actually try it?

One thing I’ve noticed with camping, bushcraft and survival skills is that a lot of things look easy when you watch someone else do them.

Starting a fire? Looks simple… until everything is wet, the wind picks up and your first three attempts fail. Fishing? Looks simple… until you’re actually trying to find food instead of just relaxing by the water. Sharpening a knife? Looks simple… until you realise there’s a lot more to it than rubbing a blade on a stone.

A few examples:

🔥 Fire making
❌ Wrong idea: “I just need a lighter and some wood.”
✅ Reality: Understanding tinder, preparation, airflow and having backup methods makes the difference.

🔪 Knife sharpening
❌ Wrong idea: “More pressure means sharper faster.”
✅ Reality: Consistent angles, patience and practice matter more than force.

🎣 Fishing
❌ Wrong idea: “Just throw a line in and wait.”
✅ Reality: Reading the water, understanding conditions and choosing the right location are the real skills.

🧭 Navigation
❌ Wrong idea: “I have GPS, so I’m covered.”
✅ Reality: Knowing how to use a map and compass before you need them is what matters.

🏕️ Shelter building
❌ Wrong idea: “I’ll figure it out when I need it.”
✅ Reality: Practising setups before bad weather arrives saves a lot of frustration.

The funny thing about many survival skills is they don’t look difficult — until you’re tired, cold, wet, hungry or under pressure.

A lot of survival is not about owning the right gear… it’s about having the confidence that comes from actually practising.

What’s a skill you thought would be easy, but reality taught you otherwise?

👇 Share your lessons — I’m sure everyone can learn something from the experiences of others.

For anyone interested in building up their skills, we’ve also been putting together a free survival knowledge library covering topics like fire starting, navigation, water, shelter, first aid and more:
https://wiki.survivalstorehouse.com

Most preparedness advice online is written for America. Different hazards, different laws, different gear.

We've spent years building the Australian version:

📚 A free wiki with 180+ articles grounded in Royal Commission findings and Australian research — not generic advice
📱 An app that syncs the wiki offline, so it still works when the mobile network doesn't (and in every major Australian disaster, it hasn't)
💬 A community of 1,500+ Australians on r/OZPreppers comparing notes on what actually works here

The kit we sell is the last step, not the first. Start with the free stuff:

Wiki: wiki.survivalstorehouse.com
Main site : https://survivalstorehouse.com/
Reddit: reddit.com/r/OZPreppers

If you've already got a kit sorted, what's the one thing you wish you'd known before you started?

Survival Storehouse Australia Australia's emergency food and survival kit specialists since 2009. Long shelf life food, bug out bags, and offline survival knowledge — built for Australia

🚨 eBay AUCTION — STARTING AT 99c, NO RESERVE 🚨

The Ultimate Australian Survival Bundle is live — and we mean it when we say no reserve. Whatever it sells for, it sells.

Built around our Tactical Tin Plus, this bundle is a genuine grab-and-go emergency kit — not a novelty box. Here's what's in it:

🪖 Tactical Tin — 12 x 200g survival biscuits, sealed in a rugged .30 cal ammo tin
💧 Puravai Emergency Water — 3 x 1L, 20-year shelf life, no rotation needed, drink straight from the pouch
🍫 12 x High-Energy Survival Biscuits — Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Honey Butter & Gluten Free, 475 calories each, best before 2045
🧢 Survival Storehouse Cap — camo, Velcro patch panel, Aussie flag patch included
🃏 5 x Credit Card Survival Tools — fire starting, signalling, navigation. One for the wallet, one for the kit, one for the car
🎒 Full MOLLE First Aid & Utility Kit — torch, folding knife, flint & steel, multi tool, rescue saw, compass, whistle, rescue mirror, fishing line, emergency blanket, emergency sleeping bag, bandages, gauze, antiseptic wipes and more — packed and ready to go

Individually, everything in this bundle adds up to over $200. It's starting at 99 cents.

Why we put it together this way: the Tactical Tin covers your core 72-hour kit, the water and biscuits extend it for decades with zero maintenance, and the cap and tools are the kind of everyday carry gear that doubles as emergency kit exactly when you need it to.

Australian owned and run since 2009, out of the Central Coast NSW. Free shipping on every order. 5.0★ on Google.

Link to the auction in the comments 👇 No reserve means the first bid could be the winning one — don't sleep on this one.

Survival Bundle - Tactical Tin + Water + Biscuits + Cap + First Aid | RRP $200+ | eBay Australia 🍫12 x High-Energy Survival Biscuits — 20--year shelf life Mixed flavours: Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Honey Butter and Gluten Free. 475 calories per bar. Best before 2045. Food, water, First Aid Kit and tools.

Six new wiki pages, one BOM declaration, and some excellent community corrections on radio frequencies. Here's what went up in June and why it's worth syncing our app in July.

What went live this month:

El Niño declared — full breakdown of what it actually means for Australian conditions, a month-by-month impact calendar, and what the preparation window looks like before spring. BOM confirmed it on 16 June. The modelling is not subtle.

Heatwave preparedness — the hazard that kills more Australians than bushfires, floods, and cyclones combined, and the one most households have no plan for. Covers who's actually at risk, the overnight temperature problem, cooling fallback options, and when to call 000.

Australian emergency radio frequencies — a full cheat sheet covering UHF CB, 27 MHz CB, HF networks, BOM weather broadcasts, ABC Local AM by state, and SES HF monitoring frequencies by state. Worth printing and laminating. Got some excellent community corrections from people who clearly know their radios — thank you to everyone who weighed in.

Reading weather without instruments — cloud texture, smoke behaviour, sky colour, animal signals, and how to read a barometer properly. Draws on observation systems documented over centuries including the original guide compiled by the Royal Navy admiral who founded what became the British Met Office.

Distress signals field reference — the full signalling sequence from Triple Zero through to ground-to-air symbols and mirror signalling, with the AMSA rescue chain explained.

Personal water filtration — what portable filters actually remove, what they don't, and why the Australian protozoa situation is more complicated than overseas content suggests.

Why sync the app now:

Everything above is now in the offline cache. If the power goes out, if you lose mobile coverage, if Triple Zero is down — the information is on your phone without needing a connection.

El Niño peaks November through January. That's our bushfire season, our heatwave window, and for northern Queensland the start of cyclone season. Having the heatwave page, the distress signals page, and the radio frequencies cheat sheet available offline before that window arrives costs nothing and takes about thirty seconds.

App is detailed on the wiki — search Survival Storehouse in the App Store or Google Play. Sync button is on the home screen.

New here? The wiki is at wiki.survivalstorehouse.com — 200+ articles written specifically for Australian conditions, cached in the app for offline access.

Something pretty cool happened this week.

Our r/OZPreppers community on Reddit just hit 1,000 members — and we wanted to take a moment to explain what it actually is, because it's grown into something bigger than we expected.

About two years ago we started working on a problem that frustrated us: there was nowhere online with good, Australian-specific emergency preparedness information. Everything we could find was written for Americans — different hazards, different emergency services, different warning systems. None of it quite applied here.

So we built something.

The wiki at wiki.survivalstorehouse.com now has 190+ free articles grounded in Australian Royal Commission findings and peer-reviewed research. Bushfire, flood, cyclone, heatwave, communications, first aid, food and water — all written for Australian conditions. Free, no account required.

Then we realised the wiki had a problem. The moment you actually need that information — 2am, bushfire warning, no mobile signal — is exactly when you can't access it. So we built the app. It syncs the wiki to your phone for offline access. When the network fails, the information is already there.

And then there are the free tools at tools.survivalstorehouse.com — a scenario simulator built around Royal Commission research, an emergency plan builder, a 72-hour checklist, and more. All free.

1,000 people have found their way to the community. The questions they've asked have shaped the wiki. The gaps they've identified have become new articles.

If you've been meaning to sort out your household emergency plan, the tools are free and take about 15 minutes. If you want the wiki available on your phone when you need it most, the app is waiting.

Links in the comments.

SALE 📣 12-Pack High Energy Biscuits — now $45 - We have the best used by dates and prices in Australia for this product! 2-45 Expiry date!

Our 20-year shelf life survival biscuits are on sale. All three flavours — Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Honey Butter — down to $45 for a 12-pack.

475 calories per biscuit. Designed for emergency food supply. Best before 2045.

These are the biscuits that go in your emergency kit and stay there. No rotation. No checking expiry dates every year. Pack them, forget them, and know they’re there if you ever need them.

All three flavours available at the sale price:
🥜 Peanut Butter — $45
🍫 Chocolate — $45
🍯 Honey Butter — $45

Bulk pricing available — contact us directly for case pricing if you’re stocking up for a larger household, a property, or a business.

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📧 [email protected]
📞 0418220461

👉 survivalstorehouse.com/shop-1