Bug out bag

[Don Roley]

As I write this, we are still seeing image from the quake in Japan 24-7 on the TV. I personally saw some cars get engulfed by the tsunami on live TV. In some cases, the people had no idea of the tsunami warning. For others, they only had a short time to get in their cars and move to higher ground.

I have made some preparations for a bug out bag. That is a bag you can grab in a hurry and be able to get by with for the most part in the short term.

I know some things to go in, I was hoping that folks could give me other ideas and/or point out things I do need, but did not think about or realize.

[Cliff Hargrave]

MRE, water, knife, ammo, small first aid kit, if you are on medication put at least five days worth in it. Depending on how big the bag, a survival blanket, change of clothes, money, maps, radio and batteries...

If you own a Food Saver vacuum packer you can actually wrap a lot of stuff up in sealed packages. We have done that for two hurricane evacuations. You can vacuum pack things like clothes, matches, batteries, or whatever and it's waterproof until you need it. Plus it saves a ton of space.

Thinking a little bigger, if you are going to leave in your car or wherever you are and you are stuck in your car, fill one of those plastic totes with a lid. We have a major storm tote that has canned food, water, radio and batteries, candles, matches, small sterno stove and sterno cans, some camping type cooking gear, toilet paper, aspirin, Tylenol, allergy medication, soap, alcohol hand sanitizer. and a bunch of other stuff. I also have a backpack with emergency water and food ration bars, a five gallon water collapsible water container, flashlight, compass, blanket, and first aid kit.

In my police car I have a grab bag with an MRE, two bottles of water, six full magazines for my AR, two more for my Glock, and some light sticks.

[Ramirez]

Can't add much to Cliff's list except on the signalling end, whistles, (see whistles thread) and signal mirrors, the kind you can aim. Maybe some water purification tablets.

[ride57]

Hi, I am redoing mine now. I just redid my med kits (Replaced gloves, I'm allergic to the hypoallergenic latex free gloves) Below link is to ar15.com thread about BoB's.
The ar15 thread gives alot of different thoughts on the BoB bag.

ar15 dot com click on "outdoors" click on "survival gear" and its the second tacked thread

I think the first thing is to figure what kind of SHTF that you are preparing for. Ie: where do you live, whats the common natural disaster in your area, hurricanes/flooding/forest fires/tornados/earthquakes.

Katrina/or natural cause type, where you have to evacuate, but will be with/near many people and will return once emergency is over. You may not have a home, hence need for documents, but will need to be self sufficient for up to a week.

Economic SHTF like in Argentina. Read this ferfal dot blogspot dot com. He gives info on a country where the economy collapsed. Having been stationed in/visiting third world countries, AFAIC alot of what he says is spot on.

Total SHTF. Nuclear war/ astroid hits earth. You will need to drive/walk out of the are you are in and hopefully find someplace safe to make it to.



I have these quakekare dot com slash 3600-calorie-er-food-bar-p-19 dot html. 3600 calorie bars for food, a water filter, change of clothes, sleeping bag, med kit, knife (I have a regular pocket knife and I just got a *Mora to put in, these are less than $30) canteens, loaded mags (glock 19) I want to get a Ruger .22 instead though, compass.


Also what I don't see to many people thinking about is important documents/or copies. ie: birth certs/ passports/ bank cards and info/ INSURANCE info (emphesis added)

*Mora knives, I have not read anything bad about them. I have the bushcraft stainless, I got mine on Amazon, but here is a place with a selection "backwoods dot com search for Mora knives

here is a website on wilderness survival (1 of probably thousands of websites on the subject)
wildernesscollege dot com slash wilderness-survival-tips-2 dot html


Here's one on urban survival thesurvivalistblog dot net slash uncategorized slash urban-survival


If you start reading about this subject, you will find tons of info, from useful to the tinfoil is to tight useless.

[Ramirez]

good link and information Doug. I also have two Mora Clippers, only in carbon steel, I prefer the way thy sharpen more easily and the keener edge despite the risk of rust....but if a proper patina is put on, it's not much of a problem.

[Don Roley]

I think the first thing is to figure what kind of SHTF that you are preparing for. Ie: where do you live, whats the common natural disaster in your area, hurricanes/flooding/forest fires/tornados/earthquakes.

My basic rule of thumb is that I want to be best prepared for something I did not foresee and the only constant is that I have to get somewhere else very quickly. I chose a place to live where I probably have to leave for reasons like earthquakes, tsunami, hurricanes and things like that. I know where to hunker down if a tornado watch is called. It is the unknown that I do not want to prepare to face, but to flee.

[jjaje]

I would add some simple things to the list.

Paracord - always have uses for paracord.
Duct Tape - we already know there are tons of uses for duct tape.
Safety Pins
Immodium AD tablets - even with water, risks of dehydration increase if you get diarrhea, plus it makes a sucky situation suckier.

[Ramirez]

Good points Jeff, usually we forget the basics. I would add a few Fresnel magnifying lenses , helpful for first aid, and in my middle aged case, reading the small print on the children's medicine for dosage, also for starting fires. EMT shears are also useful if they are not already in your first aid kit.

A couple of those space blankets are good too, although I wouldn't use them as actual blankets (they trap moisture) but to radiate heat back into your vehicle or shelter.

[Abbax8]

Not a bug out bag but an idea I wish I could implement. I know many people who have hunting cabins, beach houses, etc. If things are going bad where you live, head for shelter #2 which hopefully is well stocked.

Dennis

[David Craik]

Not very "survivalist-like", but in a hurricane evacuation some kind of small amusements are a godsend. PSPs, some books (or an e-reader), travel sized checkers/chess, maybe even a portable DVD player or laptop. You will sit in traffic for hours on end as everyone attempts to stream north. Plenty of water is great, not neccesarily for you but for the car.

I don't really have a "bug-out bag". I know pretty much where everything is and can toss it in the old ALICE pack pretty quickly. Where I live I can't really conceive of any disaster which will just spring out of nowhere without advance warning, save things that are spectacularly unlikely. The threat of hurricanes is always there, but we just pack up and head upstate to stay with some friends. For just about anything else I'm staying right where I am anyway.

[Ramirez]

Not very "survivalist-like", but in a hurricane evacuation some kind of small amusements are a godsend. PSPs, some books (or an e-reader), travel sized checkers/chess, maybe even a portable DVD player or laptop. You will sit in traffic for hours on end as everyone attempts to stream north. Plenty of water is great, not neccesarily for you but for the car.

Spoken like a man with children....I can relate, keeping the kids occupied for long boring hours is survivalist like imo, my mental health and general attitude will be greatly enhanced without cranky kids on my hands.


Concerning the bug out bag, one advantage of not having one is that you keep the supplies fresh, there is a tendency to drop everything in a bag and forget about completely, in the mean time the lighter runs out of fluid, the matches deteriorate etc.

Assembling the components at the time like you would from frequently used items would avoid that, a good idea though is to keep a checklist around for quick assembly.

[David Craik]

Kids? The heck with them, I was talking about me!

Also some of the stuff I use in regular life, or is in my truck already. I think in most areas, an event which is so sudden and catastrophic that you can't spare even 15 minutes to throw some stuff in a bag is likely also sudden and catastrophic enough to where you are likely effed regardless of what you do. Not to mention the 15 minutes you save will likely be spent sitting in traffic along with the other thousands of people attempting to flee.

[Don Roley]

Thank you all for your input. One thing I added to the kit I am putting together was a basic first aid kit and then I added extra large bandages and some other stuff. One thing I added that might be of interest to others is sanitary napkins. If we have to stay in a shelter for a few weeks, they will be needed. In a pinch, when combined with tape, they can be used as improvised trauma bandages.

I already have a kit in my SUV for the chance that it might break down in a rural area during very bad weather. Now I am debating keeping more stuff in there or mainly keeping it in the bedroom.

[ride57]

Tampons can be used to plug bullet holes.
Acetone is used in 3rd world countries to sterilize medical instruments.
Yunnan Baiyao works as advertised. (I have some in my backpack, house, bob)

I don't know if you want to carry acetone in a bug out bag,(I don't) but, its good to know a alternate use for it.

[Silent memory]

With all the suggestions that have been placed, have someone forgot to mention water purification tablets?

For me, sleeping bag, poncho, collapsable wood saw, firelighters. Clothing for the time of year. Meds and a compass. Cord and such. All carried in a roll up bag over your back. Why spend money on a large back pack when you have a plastic bag to carry everything in.