In the case of a zombie apocalypse you will need to know more than just aim for the head. That’s where REI’s Zombie Preparedness Class comes in.
Every fall, REI reanimates its disaster preparedness class with a festive spin by introducing a zombie theme.
“It gets another element to disaster preparedness that engages people and it’s fun too,” Mike Kowalski explained. He runs the class and works as an operations lead at the REI Encinitas store.
He said he gets a kick out of sharing his knowledge with people in humorous ways. This is the third year he is teaching the class. He recalled that the year there was an Ebola outbreak, “The instructions were not to use the Z word, though fortunately after that passed we had a little bit more creative license with this class.”
Kowalski credits his dad and the Boy Scouts as having provided him with the basic survival principles he has brought forward into his climbing and other outdoor activities. REI had one Zombie Preparedness Class earlier this month where Kowalski gave a 90-minute presentation about everything from how to make clean drinking water to the best way to incapacitate one of the walking dead.
“The skills that you take away can be applied to any speed of zombie. The key is really just be prepared before it happens,” Kowalski said.
Those skills can also be applied to dealing with natural disasters such as earthquakes, pandemics like an Ebola outbreak, or wildfires. The class provides a quick run-through of information that can also be explored in greater depth in some of REI’s more intensely focused outdoor classes such as a two-day Wilderness First Aid class that goes for $255 (members pay $225).
The Zombie Preparedness Class is obviously a promotional tool for REI, which has all the items discussed in the class for sale in the store. But you will pick up information about how long to boil water to purify it (1 to 3 minutes depending on altitude) or how many gallons of water you need to plan for in a zombie apocalypse or earthquake (a gallon per person per day). You’ll also get tips about keeping one pair of socks dry and separate so that you can sleep in them and give your feet a chance to be warm and dry for at least part of the day.
Kowalski did enjoy taking out a zombie during class with what he called “The Brutalizer.”
“This is a climbing ice axe. It’s been nicknamed ‘the brutalizer,’ I’m sure for reasons other than brutalizing zombies. But it’s very lightweight and also still sharp and versatile as an anti-zombie weapon,” Kowalski said.
“We hope that people walk away from these classes knowing a little bit more about how to prepare for disaster and have a little bit of fun in the process. And be prepared for zombies because the CDC does have guidelines for those kind of events,” Kowalski added.
The next REI Zombie Preparedness Class is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Encinitas store. The class is free, and if online registration is full you can sign up at the store the night of the class.
Kowalski promised, “There will be even more blood and theatrics at that one than this one [at the San Diego store]. So I recommend you attend the Encinitas one.”
If you are looking for more zombie-specific survival tips, there are also the rules from "Zombieland" to help you out.
