Santa Barbara’s REI hosted its first course in surviving the living dead Wednesday night, giving a free lecture on basic survival techniques in the case of a zombie apocalypse.
Similar courses have become popular in Los Angeles REI locations in recent years, as various zombie concepts have gained steam in the media. Under the leadership of REI instructor Payton Smith, Wednesday’s course covered several key elements to surviving without first-world infrastructure, including the requisite equipment, mindset, and supplies needed to survive any disaster situation, undead or not. However, the Halloween-night course did not skimp on techniques for dealing with the walking dead, covering several tactics for avoiding and defending against a supernatural foe.
Though this year was the Santa Barbara storefront’s first session of zombie survival training, Smith, an avid zombie fan, said he hopes it will become an annual event. REI offers many other survival and first-aid courses unrelated to the possibility of a zombie apocalypse.