Good thread continued from here.
One great relevant book you should consider is “Deep Survival” by Gonzales. Taking off with only a bug-out bag (in a vehicle that may get stolen, run out of gas, or tires slashed)… sounds simple, but the simplest situations can be matters of life and death. The book covers the psychology of being lost, and just “giving up.” Quite informative and inspiring.
After much procrastinating I finally created two bug-out bags. One backpack in my pickup and a duffel that I can grab if I have to leave the house quickly.
I decided that I would not be leaving if TSHTF so I went for the more likely - house fire or hurricane evacuation preps.
I just bought a new bag for my evacuation kit. It rocks. Tons of pockets, a raincover, and it is small enough to still look like a school backpack. Now I just need to top it off with the other thigns it needs: food and first-aid and water.
ricewiki,
So give us a brand name and a link, if you’ve got one. If it is so hot, the rest of us might like a look, too.
I was thinking maybe a BOB would be good to have in the car if something terrible happened and I had to walk home from work. I figure, it would take me about two days of hiking to get home. Just a wierd thought.
the bag I bought is probably smaller than some here have said they have wanted - it is only a 28 litre. Brand name Deuter Futura - it is German-made. I’ll see about a link.
Here is Deuter’s website.
the good thing about the bag (which i have not seen on any other backpack) is that there is a space between your back and the pack, for wind to blow through, so you don’t get soaked with sweat while hiking etc. There is also a raincover included for the pack at the bottom of the bag.
Thanks ricewiki, those backpacks look great, and I like that they have slimmer ones for women. For those in U.S., L.L. Bean at llbean.com carries some of them. The company also makes combination kid carrier/backpacks. I’m very impressed.
ricewiki, which one did you get, and did it have the hydration kit?
Hi, before on another string I mentioned evacuating if riots and major crime in my neighbors seemed emminent. In that case a bug-out-bag makes sense. However, I received a lot of advice and out-right pushback about not leaving home, 1) best place to hang if we do get sick, and 2) other people don’t want you in their back yard aka “NIMBY”.
I am curious, in what situations will you use your BOB’s for avian flu?
Thanks.
PS I have very basic survival supplies in the car and a kit in my desk at work.
desert - there are many unknowns out there in terms of why you might need to bug out (break-ins of people looking for food, etc.). Besides just AF, think if your house caught fire (or when the levees broke in NOLA) and you had one minute to grab what you could and leave? What would be in that bag to get you through say two days?
Those are all good reasons. I was wondering if anyone was aware of alternate plans that communities have that require evacuation due to BF. Or if you are trying to get out of an area before it was forcefully quarantined, etc.
BOBs are important in addition to our 3 month preps.
Here’s a couple of survival/medical kits that might be good for the backpack:
Desert Eyes - Those are good questions. Perhaps the BOB discussion is not entirely about pandemic flu, but that preparing for one possibility raises the level of awareness about response to other emergencies.
I become alarmed realizing that I drive around in my state’s severe winters with no more supplies that a roll of paper towels. I remember the couple that froze to death, driving around in Nebraska (?), lost, talking to the police on their cell phone trying to figure out where they were. So, a BOB in the car as a winter emergency survival kit seems like a good idea. I’m sure all the folks around here who live in hurricane areas, next to nuclear power plants, and beside railroad tracks have their own concerns. As for pan-flu, who knows what may happen.
Sahara, my dad learned about emergency kits when he first moved to northern New York state and had to do a lot of driving in winter. The old-timers told him to never drive anywhere without such a kit in the winter. Now, of course, in those days you couldn’t go to the Sharper Image and buy a gen-u-wine official Emergency Kit with cordovan leather case, you had to figure it out for yourself…but being recently discharged from the army, he was in a good position to do so. He’s always carried a kit, and when each of us kids grew up and started driving he taught us to do the same. In the winter, my car always contains a sleeping bag, bivy sack, camping stove, flashlight, powerbars, candle lantern, and a few other goodies.
My bugout bag (and bugout bag philosophy) is at http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeprsy4/id22.html. Got a picture and everything!
lbb - That’s a nicely done page. I’m bumping this thread to the top so that everyone can see it again.
tjclaw
the one I bought actually doesn’t seem to be on there, but it is close to the other biking packs at about 26 litres. It doesn’t have a hydration pack, but has an opening so you can put one in there. the brand name I have is “futura” (model name, I guess). It looks pretty similar to others there - maybe it is only being offered in Canada.
As for NIMBY, I’ve never imagined that anyone bugging out would be staying in someone else’s “backyard.” I don’t know who started that idea or where they got it from. If an expansive, uncultivated field with no houses in sight is still someone else’s backyard, maybe that’s differetn. But I know that for myself, I would not be thinking of trying to sneak into someone’s backyard. Bugging out is about surviving on your own for up to 7 days if you have to. Of course you can make your BOB as extensive as you want. the way I understand it certainly is not about “sleeping over” at someone else’s place. It’s a survival mechanism - you put everything in there that will keep you alive until you can get somewhere more safe, or until danger passes etc. So you have things that let you fish, or hunt, if need be. etc. etc. This is what I think of, anyway, when I think of bugging out. I am starting to understand, though, how some others here may think of it more in terms of “staying over at a friends” if they think of it like a hurricane evacuation kit. in that case, I can see why some may confuse it with “NIMBY” - since in the context of a pandemic, well, you don’t want anyone in your backyard, so to speak. So I guess I answered my own question!:)
lbb
that is a great page!
ricewiki, thanks — I had fun taking pictures of my bag and picking the best one.
“Bugging out” does mean a lot of different things. I think, though, that as much as the conditions under which one might bug out can vary, two things remain constant:
1)You are leaving now, in a hurry, as quickly as possible, in a matter of minutes.
2)Whatever your destination plans may be, whether staying over at a friend’s or heading for your county’s designated refuge, Murphy (the guy with the law) may intervene and your plans may go down the toilet. For that reason, even if you’re bugging out by car, I think it’s a good idea to have a bag that truly is the bare necessities, and that you could carry on foot if necessary (or that someone assisting you could carry if you’re not able-bodied). And always remember, as the High One said, “Better gear than good sense/a man cannot carry.”
Many people won’t keep water in their kits in the winter because they are afraid it will freeze, rupture and ruin their bags. I have found an excellent solution to this problem. It is called the Platypus. It is freeze proof (the water will freeze but it won’t rupture) and boil proof ( you could boil water in the bag to sanitize it if necessary) and guaranteed for five years!
I did a price search for ones that were lost by family members (be careful of things falling out of over-packed minivans!) and found that Paragon Sports had an excellent price, had them in stock and quick shipping.
http://www.paragonsports.com/Paragon/Shop?Dsp=30000&OFFSET=24&PCR=1:101:1012:10115
We keep fully stocked BOB’s for several reasons: fire, earthquake,toxic spill, civil unrest, AF. If a quarantine is announced and my family needs to make it to our refuge, they can head out on foot on unpaved roads or through the woods and get to our home. There is only enough water for half a day in the bags, but we added a Katadyn Filter to each bag (Big bucks- was the biggest investment in our kits). A little civil diobedience? You betcha. But they’ll be here and we’ll take care of them and won’t come into contact with anyone to infect or be infected if they are on foot.
I believe it best to have a series of bug-out type bags – similar to lbb’s but more and more extensive. The more serious the threat to you reaching someplace where “normal” life can restart, the more serious the threat to your returning home anytime soon (if at all), the more complete your gear needs to be. If you figure you’ll be back home in three days … no big deal but what if that three days turns into three weeks, or even longer? What you are ABLE to successfully take with you will depend mostly upon how quickly you can get out of harms way before everyone else. I say everyone understanding that I am not speaking literally but meaning the vast majority. If by the time your emergency light comes on all the roads out of town are filled you may well end up abandoning the car and walking. On the other hand if you are watchful and perhaps even have a healthy bit of paranoia you could be out & gone & safe by the time most others survival instinct kicks in. And your plan had better include anticipating the route most others will take and avoiding that unless you are on the move before most others even think of getting outa town. We have what I consider our essential gear in small ‘day packs’ – very similar to lbb’s. Those packs (1200 cu in) are actually stored in the top portion of larger expedition type packs (4000 & 4500 cu in) with other stuff below and in the side pockets. Beyond those packs we have three other duffle type bags that will also go in the vehicle if time and perceived necessity permits. The way I look at it, if it’s that bad I can always drop or give away stuff along the way but once you hit the road you probably won’t be able to just find a Wal-Mart along the way to get that one thing you were wrong in thinking you did not need. As far as important/vital doc’s and all that go, the wife and I each have a 2 gig waterproof USB drive with all that stuff on it in both photo’s and PDF files; the first of each month I update those files as needed.
lbb – at 22:04
Nice setup, its obvious good thought went into that plan. As for the:
“Firearms. What for? I don’t need to hunt, and nothing and no one is going to hunt me.”
Good luck with that. If you are wrong, you’ll be dead wrong. Unless you live next door to and plan to head to Disney Land, most of the planet has numerous predators of many species, man being the most prevalent and widespread.
Come to canada! You’ll be safer:)
ricewiki
I live in Michigan and I do get to Canada fairly often. In earlier years I backpacked around Georgian Bay quite a bit and also further north and west up in the areas of Glacier Bay & Tongass a couple of summers. Canada has one of the widest ranges of terrain and scenery on the whole planet, beautiful, wonderful places.
But safer? Tis all in the eye of the beholder!
EOD,
Two words: national health.
Melanie, Two more words: Gun Control
With the greatest respect to Ricewiki, and while I do not deliberately criticize other’s home countries, I must say that I doubt Canadians are less innately dangerous than Americans. We are all members of the most dangerous predatory species the earth has yet evolved, homo sapiens sapiens. So lethal are we that we are one of the very few species Earth has evolved which kills for pleasure, even killing and eating our own species. Such predatory behaviour is embedded in many human cultures. So being in Canada would not make me any less concerned with my safety.
Getting back to the subject of the thread, I agree with EOD’s approach. HAving prepacked duffel bags and containers makes loadout much faster.
I also agree with EOD’s assessment of the need to be properly armed. Better to have it and not need it than the reverse.
One item I pack in everyone’s bugout bag is a stainless drinking cup with about 150′ of fine brown nylon twine. When srung around a campsite and tied to the handle of the cup, with stones in the cup, it makes a good warning rattle if somebody’s trying to sneak into your campsite. Not as good as the trip flares and claymores that the military use, but still handy.
Snare wire is another handy thing, as is a coiled up wire saw. Finally, some of those spring-loaded automatic fishing reels with appropriate sized hooks are pretty handy if you are in fishing country….
EOD:
‘’lbb – at 22:04
Nice setup, its obvious good thought went into that plan. As for the:
“Firearms. What for? I don’t need to hunt, and nothing and no one is going to hunt me.”
Good luck with that. If you are wrong, you’ll be dead wrong. Unless you live next door to and plan to head to Disney Land, most of the planet has numerous predators of many species, man being the most prevalent and widespread. ‘’
There are two problems with your assessment, EOD. The first is that you do not, in fact, know more about my safety situation than I do; I am in the better position to judge whether possession of a firearm is necessary or appropriate for my safety. The second is in the statement, “If you’re wrong, you’ll be dead wrong.” Should a dangerous situation present itself, firearms are not the only solution. I have several others at my disposal, which do not, by and large, depend on gear or gadgets.
lbb
Touché You are correct, I do not know you or your situation and you are also correct in “firearms are not the only solution”.
Good luck all the same.
Make sure you have gear stashed outside the perimeter of your home which includes a high-powered rifle with a scope. You want to be able to reach out and touch someone. The other thing to consider is whether you want to retake your home from whomever drove you out. You know the area better than the intruder (or intruders) more than likely. Set up an ambush and make them pay, and take back what is yours. But make sure you get them all, you don’t want the situation reversed by an absent straggler. And give them a few days to settle in so they become confident in their new situation. This may sound cruel, but if they have most of your supplies, they have “your life” in a high CFR pandemic. So you either roll over and die or become a predator. And who should rightfully be your target? The ones who drove you out.
closing this now