Most of us imagine Sheltering in Place (SIP) during a pandemic, but what if one of the side-effects of a pandemic were to cause some of the situations described in “Father Frog’s Friends’” report? (see thread “Thoughts On Disaster Survival”)
Can we imagine scenarios in which we may have to leave our homes and the majority of our preps?
It makes sense to also have a “bug-out bag” with some essentials that one can take wherever one ends up having to go. Here we should rely on survivalist knowledge.
What contents would you put in it? It would have to be small and light enough that you could carry it while walking (don’t depend on always having a car).
Some people call it the ultimate survival kit.
I would just hope one wouldn’t be accosted while travelling, and have the bug-out bag taken from them. For this reason, maybe it would look better to use a dirty old backpack and even look poverty-stricken and dirty while trying to escape. (Recall Father Frog’s report again about not looking like you know what you’re doing.)
Obvious contents:
I’m the wrong guy to participate in this one. I made a list of what we needed to grab if we had to evacuate the house (after of course getting all those things organized). The list goes from “most important” to “really would like to have”. About half way through the car is full and the rest has to go in my truck.
April started a thread on this in the old Forum, I know it has “Jack Bauer” in the thread title.
If you are single or bugging out alone, you could pass yourself off as a hitchiker (this might work if the emergency situation isn’t widespread, but just local)
Ricewiki I hope it never comes to that. I have three young kids so I would rather not have to ever leave unless for supplies. We wouldn’t get very far on foot anyway. But, if push came to shove I’d have things like: first aid kit, warm clothes + rain coats, matches/lighter, food (that doesn’t require prep)and water, flashlights, plastic tarp (we want to buy tent to take the kids camping when they get older), essential documents, sun screen, bug spray (if summer), hats, at least one change of underwear and two pairs of clean socks, a few critical HBA products like a toothbrush and toothpaste.
I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to bug-out with children, logistically and in other ways. We need more suggestions and ideas in that regard. Not to mention how much unwanted attention that could attract from others.
One reason it might be good to have a weapon, as much as I would otherwise vehemently argue against it.
Good suggestions…
Instead of a “bug out bag”, I have a buried supply barrel at a remote site that is within hiking distance. I have no place to go that is better than a clearing in the woods and can’t imagine where or why I would want to go anywhere else. I can’t imagine leaving for somewhere unknown with nothing there when I arrive - no medical support, no water, no food, not even a tent…. I am too old to carry everything. It is better to stay put or to have a prepared supplied location within reach. Even if my home is robbed, the supplies are within a long hike range. I know how to live of the land- I don’t think I could do the same in a town.
But then I don’t live in one of those scary towns.
LauraB: Why not pack several smaller backpacks and have them sitting someplace in the house. IF the need arises, everyone (able kids too) can carry something. I just started packing a large box that will fit in the back of my SUV if the need ever comes up. Just back up to the garage, toss it in and roll. The one thing I have learned after reading these alarming, and sometimes alarmist, posts is that no matter what you plan for, there is something you will not have considered. I guess in the end I will just take my harmonica and a Pez dispenser.
Didn’t the Inuits have food cache sites, you stumbled on it and were starving, you ate. I’de leave out deodorant for something more important, Smelling gamy might keep people at a safe distance.Something light like those silver wraps they put around marathon runners shoulders.
Lily – at 15:23 “Smelling gamy might keep people at a safe distance.”
I come from a Chickasaw family - we used an “asphidity” bag (not sure of the spelling). It was a “aromatic” mixture of herbs and things (rat’s gall bladder) to keep people away during cold season and to cover your scent when hunting.
It didn’t cure the cold but it sure kept people away. We put Vick’s chest rub in our noses to help us with the smell.
Since 9–11 working in DC has forced many of us to focus on the concept of shelter in place (supplies and back pack in the office and back pack in car) and think about what to have at hand in case of emergency—for me that includes the following cash, flashlight, whistle, emergency radio and back up batteries, water, energy food, emergency blanket, garbage bag, soap, antiseptic wash,, change of clothes, small medical kit, swiss army knife, bandana (cloth for covering mouth) extra meds., extra glasses.
Add to the list:
- A good survival manual - Zip lock bags - Zip ties - bungee cords - some rope
hand sanitizer mask swiss army knife survival tabs or vitamins water treatment tabs satellite phone pepper spray
Add a broken-in pair of shoes or boots if you are thinking of hiking home, along with a big stick and a supply of N95 masks. I was fully prepared to walk 30 miles home from downtown L.A. if an earthquake hit. Had a kit bag in my locker. Everyone gasps at NOPD officers leaving to take care of their families. Are you sure you would not do the same it you thought your wife or children was in danger? A job is a job and you can always get another one, but your family? They don’t come in pairs (unless you are a Utah polygamist). 30 miles is a hard day’s hike but feasible if the reason is important enough.
Good stuff.
Also, a camel back. For those who don’t know what these are, they are a soft sided pack that you wear on your back for carying water. Holds a lot of water and is easy to carry and refill.
Tweezers,small travel sized personal items.
Let’s don’t re-invent this wheel. Check out http://www.equipped.org/
for outdoor survival kits, gear, lists, and advice.
Basically, I want to take my regular backpacking gear. The National Parks in which I typically backpack don’t allow firearms, but for this purpose I’ll add my little ‘tricked out’ .22 autoloading pistol (ammo is light). I’d also carry a few “flu specific” items like a small bottle of bleach to compliment my water filter, a supply of particulate respirators, small bottle of hand sanitizer, and latex gloves.
Lightweight backpacking gear is ideal for a BOB. And, the more in your party, the better off you are (assuming the party is on foot). The entire party requires only one stove, one cooking pot, one water filter, one first aid kit, one latrine trowel, fewer tents, etc. By sharing those items you are able to carry more food (preferably freeze dried or dehydrated), water, and fuel.
This week I am working hundreds of miles from home. This gear (less the pistol, due to company policy) is in my backpack in my vehicle.
Visit a sporting goods/outdoors store and pay attention to the weights of different items. You might be surprised how much gear you can have in a 40–45 pound (20 kg) backpack if you shop with a focus on weight. A four pound two man tent is manageable on foot. A thirty pound four man tent is not. Leave the dutch oven at home.
1. Change of clothing 2. 3 days worth of food that doesn’t need cooking like chocolate bars, beef jerky, etc. 3. Cash 4. Emergency contact info 5. Flashlight w/ batteries 6. Radio w/ batteries 7. Phone card 8. Emergency blanket 9. Water purification tablets 10. Hairbrush/toothbrush/toothpaste/soap/shampoo 11. Packet of Kleenex, which can either be used as Kleenex or TP if need be 12. OTC allergy meds 13. First aid kit 14. Portable backpacking bottle w/ filter 15. Small notebook w/ pen 16. Book on edible plants 17. Pepper spray 18. Mirror & whistle 19. Compass 20. Map of my home state 21. Candle & firestarter 22. Feminie hygeine products 23. Sudoku puzzle book and something to read, for mental sanity
I like the sudoku puzzle book idea! I have used it to keep me calm on airplanes….
2 T-shirts 1–2 Jeans 3–6 Undershirts OR 1 Bra & 1 tank with built-in bra 3–6 Undershorts/panties 3–6 pr. Socks 1 Sweatpants OR Sleep pants 1 Sweatshirt &/OR Long sleeve shirt 1 pr Hiking Shoes Gloves Hat Jacket Toiletries *Don’t forget tampons/pads for women. Towel & Washcloth Sunscreen Insect Repellant First Aid Kit Vitamins Rx Medications Water Bottle (s) Lighter & Waterproof matches Fire starters (I prefer magnesium but there are many types) Hobo Tool & Mess kit Emergency Candle Flashlight Whistle Compass Regional Map *Road map & or Topo map depending on where you live and if you may need to evacuate on foot. Multi-Tool Blanket or Sleeping Bag 5×7 Tarp & Nylon Cord *For a ground cloth or a rain shelter Notebook & Pen *Use notebook to write a phone list in and to write in info about your meds including pharmacy & doctor’s contact info. 3–7 days Food Cash (As much as you can afford in $5, $10, & $20 bills)
A backpacker’s stove & small fuel canister is a great addition if your pack is large enough but you cannot store this in a bag you intend to keep in your car.
Things people rarely keep in their car that they should: Heavy Nylon Rope 50ft-100ft Flares Maps First aid kit
In addition to the above 4 items our car should always have a jack, jumper cables, small tool kit, extra belt(s), Car fluids-oil, brake, power steering, transmission; flashlight, water.
If it is winter: Tire Chains (that have been checked for fit). Because you never know when or where you may need them. Also a small folding camp shovel.
if four people are going to leave a household. maybe two of the bags should contain two-way radios. (family radio service type) could prove to be useful should you be forced to split. also dont forget id for the kids and yourself.
As I was driving home today, and in line with the ,’I am going back to nature’ thread, a question popped up. Does anyone know if you can make pork jerky? Or othewise keep pork from spoiling? 6 years ago, and against much public outcry, Circle 4 farms but in a immense hog farm, in the nature of 2 MILLION pigs, about 50 miles north. If things reach the bug-out stage, there will be no more food for the pigs (not sure what the stockpiled food amount is) and there will probably be some gov’t agency buying the hogs for public distribution. Although, they had some electrical problem 2 years ago and electrocuted over 100,000 hogs and buried them. Food for thought, pun intended. People living near stockyards or other livestock areas may just be the best off among us.
I usually do not “advertise” what supplies we have stockpiled. In fact none in our family or friends know the extent of what gear & supplies we have. LOL – Most of them would freak if they knew; my wife teaches 6th grade in a Christian School & I am a chef – average, friendly, god fearing, peaceful people. But since none of them know me here I have posted parts of this list before and will put it here now in its current entirety. Let me preface this with a couple of statements (1) My wife and I believe in preparing for any/all sorts of disasters, natural or man made, pandemic or otherwise. (2) The backpacks and a bit else are considered our basic bug-out-bags, the other bags etc we can fit in the vehicle if needed BUT, bugging out is a last choice option, we are prepared to fortify our home and hunker down and we do have a place to bug out to if it really comes to that. My former background was military with quite a bit of survival training in many environments so whether we stay or leave we have a heads up on surviving. The backpacks are heavy but we are used to the weight; each week we take a 2-hour walk out on the camp property (owned by my employer, 185 wooded hilly acres).
I have not redone the document formats from this list so not sure how it will look but for what it may be worth here goes…
BACKPACK I 50 pounds
4,500 cu in storage; includes internal 100 oz HydraStorm water bladder w/Delta bite valve (needs to be filled)
TOP POUCH Sleeping Bag Pad, Socks (1pr), Flashlight, Clif Bar Energy Gel (6), Mini First Aid Kit, QuikClot
MAIN COMPARTMENT (Top to Bottom) Gun Cleaning & Repair Kit, Sewing Kit (Safety Pin Assortment, Button Assortment, Needles and Thread), Food: Cooking Spray, Spice Kit (Sugar, Salt, Pepper, Cinnamon, 4 Spice Jar), Instant Coffee, Mountain House Heating Kit (5), Camp Plates (2), Cutting Board, Freeze Dried Meals (6 Entrees +, 14 servings), Silverware Kit, Collapsible Water Jug (2–5gal), Fishing Equipment (Rod & Reel, Lg & Sm Lure Kits, Net, Gill Net), Snare Set, Clothing (2pr Jeans, 3 shirts, 4 underwear, 3pr socks), Personal Hygiene Gear: Toothpaste, Tooth Brush, Dental Floss, Bar Soap, Shampoo, Razor & Extra Blades (10), Shaving Cream, Deodorant, Hair Spray, Micro Fiber Towel & Washcloth, Toilet Paper (2), Hand Antiseptic (4oz-1), Stove Fuel (22oz), Insect Spray, Fire Starter Cubes, Butane Fuel, Rip Stop Tape, Sleeping Pad Repair Kit, HydraStorm Cleaning Kit,
SIDE POUCH (Right) Sharpening Steel, Emergency Food Bars (15) 1500 calories each, Whistle, 6 in 1 Survival Tool
SIDE POUCH (Left) Gerber Knife, Light Stick (1), Rain Suit, Head Lamp, Gerber Camp Hatchet,
FRONT COMPARTMENT Trash Bag (2), Parachute Cord (100’), Head Net, Heat Pads (2), Steiner 10×26 Binoculars, Compass, Lighter
SLEEPING BAG Wiggy’s Sleep System
BACKPACK II 42 pounds
4,000 cu in storage; includes internal 100 oz HydraStorm water bladder w/Delta bite valve (needs to be filled)
TOP POUCH Sleeping Bag Pad, Socks (1pr), Flashlight, Clif Bar Energy Gel (6), Mini First Aid Kit, QuikClot
MAIN COMPARTMENT (Top to Bottom) Freeze Dried Food (4 Items, 8 servings), Camp Stove (w/instructions), Stove Fuel, Silverware Set 2), Fire Starter Cubes, Magnesium Fire Starter & Flint, Butane Fuel, Gill Net, Coffee Cup (2), Knife Sharpener, Spatula, Whisk, Mini Grater, Measuring Spoons, Towel, Scrub Pad, 2 Person Cook Kit, C.N. Soup (1), Knife Set, Tea, Clothing (2pr Jeans, 3 shirts, 4 underwear, 3pr socks), Personal Hygiene Gear: Toothpaste, Tooth Brush, Dental Floss, Bar Soap, Deodorant, Micro Fiber Towel, Washcloth, Toilet Paper, Tampax (36), Pads (45), Hand Antiseptic (4oz-1), Rip Stop Tape, Sleeping Pad Repair Kit, Trash Bags (3), Playing Cards (1 deck), Rubber Band Assortment, Stamped Post Cards, Note Pad, Pen’s & Pencils
SIDE POUCH (Right) Knife Sharpener, Emergency Food Bars (15) 1500 calories each, Whistle, 6 in 1 Survival Tool
SIDE POUCH (Left) Gerber Knife, Light Stick (1), Rain Suit, Head Lamp, Gerber Camp Saw, Katadyn Pocket Water Filter
FRONT COMPARTMENT Trash Bag (2), Parachute Cord (100’), Head Net, Heat Pads (2), Steiner 10×26 Binoculars, Compass, Lighter
SLEEPING BAG Wiggy’s Sleep System
STRONGBOX 5 pounds In Safe - Waterproof Lexon Case – Passport (2), Birth Certificate (2), Marriage License, Will, Cash ($5’s & $10’s, silver & gold coin), Tamiflu (5 courses)
ALUMINUM CASE 8 pounds Radio: Info-Mate World Band, Radio: Sony ICF-SW7600GR Multi-Band, Solar Battery Charger, 2-Way Radios 12 mile range (4), Nuke Alert (2), MIOX Water Purifier. All items wrapped in anti-static bags locked in aluminum case (Faraday Cage).
DUFFELBAG 50 pounds Gas Mask (2) SGE 400/3, Extra Filters (6), NBC Protective Suit (2) CPF-3, Butyl Gloves (2 pr), Butyl Overboots (2 pr), SilverShield Glove Liners (Inner), Military Gas Mask Carrier (2), M8 Chemical Detection Paper (50 strips), Seal Check Swabs (20), Potassium Iodide Pills (200–65mg – 2 Bottles), Pet/Child NBC Enclosure w/Filter System & 2 Filters, Radiometer, Trash Bag (6), Gorilla Glue, Duct Tape, Plastic Tape, Zip-ties, Spare Batteries (Lithium & Rechargeable), Emergency Response Guidebook
WEAPONS 1911 45 ACP Pistol w/ Laser Sight & assorted holsters, Clips (4) Glock 9mm Pistol w/ assorted holsters, Clips (4) 38 Special Revolver w/ Laser Sight & assorted holsters, Speed Loaders (2) High-Standard 22LR Pistol, Clips (2) AR-15 223 Rifle, 30r Clips (4), EOTech Holo Sight, Insite M6 Weapon Light & Laser Sight, 3x Night Vision Scope Ruger 22LR Rifle, Standard Clips (2), 25 round clip (2), 6x Scope Remington 870 12ga Military Spec. Shotgun with Holographic Sight & Weapon Light Fox labs Pepper Spray (2–3oz) Fox Labs Pepper Spray Grenades (6–6oz) Smoke Grenades (6–40,000 cu ft) Katana – Not an antique but the genuine thing
Assorted Ammunition (7) Ammo Containers 28 to 33 pounds each
22 Long Rifle: 2000 rounds CCI Mini-Mag 38 Special: 350 rounds Federal Hydra Shok JHP 9mm: 700 rounds FMJ 45Auto 1000 rounds 230gr FMJ 500 rounds Federal Hydra Shok 223: 2000 rounds FMJ 350 rounds BT Match Grade 200 rounds Tracer 12ga 150 rounds Federal Hydra Shok .75oz Slugs 100 rounds Remington 3” Mag. 00B 100 rounds Remington #4 Shot
MEDICAL KIT
30 pounds
Left Outside Compartment
Adhesive Tape (½”x10yds – 3) Dental Floss (1)
Left Inside Compartment
Cloths/Towels (25) Energy Gel (32gm – 8) Digital Thermometer (2) Surgipad Dressing (5×9” – 12) Blood Pressure Cuff & Accessories Scissors Sawyer Bite & Sting Kit: Extractor Pump Razor
Suction cups (4 sizes) Sting Care Topical Relief, Band-Aids Alcohol Prep Pads.
Right Outside Compartment
Potassium Iodide Tablets Razor Blades, Straight Edge (10)
Right Inside Compartment Suture & Syringe Kit: Wound Closure Strips (¼”x4” – 10) 3cc Syringe (2) Povidone Iodine 5cc Syringe Tincture of Benzoin (2) 10cc Syringe w/ Catheter Antibiotic Ointment (4) 25g x 5/8” needle (2) Antiseptic Towelettes (5) 18g x 1.5” Needle (2) Sterile Surgeons Gloves (4) 21g x 1.5” Needle (2) 4×4 & 2×2 Sterile Dressings (4) Angiocatheter 18g Non-adherent Sterile Dressing (2) Sterile Drape 5×9 Trauma Pad (2) Mayo-Hager Needle Holder 5” Conforming Gauze Bandage Scissors S/S 5” Adhesive Tape Thumb Tissue Forceps 4.5” 3–0 Nylon Suture w/ Cutting Needle Scalpel 5–0 Nylon Suture w/ Cutting Needle I.V. Administration Set
Stethoscope & Accessories Theragesic Pain Relief Cream (3oz – 1)
CPR Mask Surgical Mask (5) Emergency Dental Kit:
Temporary Filling Paste Cotton Pellets & Pain Medication Asst. picks, scrapers, mirrors Dental Stick Tweezers Gauze Pads (3×3” – 2) Aspirin (325mg – 4) Instruction Sheet
Front Compartment
Water Jel Burn Dressing (4×4” – 1) Burn Relief Jel Packets (5)
Emergency Blanket (2) QuikClot Packet (4)
Emergency Burn Kit:
Water Jel Dressing (2×6” – 1) Water Jel Packet (2)
First Aid Cream Packet (2) Sterile Stretch Gauze (3×4” – 2)
Vinyl Gloves (2) Non-Aspirin Pain Relief (6)
Sterile Gauze Pads (3×3” – 4) Sterile Gauze Pads (4×4” – 4)
Triple-Antibiotic Ointment Packets (4) Hand Wraps (4)
New Skin Dressing (6) Book – Burn Guide
Main Compartment Book – Where There is no Doctor Book – Advanced First Aid, Red Cross Tweezers Book – Where There is no Dentist (loose leaf)
Cervical Collar Arm Sling
Scissors (1) Sam Splint (2)
Ace Bandage (1–3”, 1–4”) Hot/Cold Wrap (1)
Triple Antibiotic Ointment (2) 03/07 Campho Phenique Ointment (1) 03/07 Cortaid Cream 1% (1oz-1) Tinactin Ointment (1) Lotrimin Ointment (1) Lamosil Cream (1) Medicated Foot Powder (6oz – 1) OraJel (1) 09/09 Vaseline Jelly (3.75oz – 1) Bag Balm (10oz –1) Lip Balm with Sunblock (2) Blistex Daily Conditioner (1) Sunblock Stick 25SPF (1) Sunblock Cream (36SPF) (5oz – 1) Desenex Spray (1) Liquid Bandage / Nexcare (1) 01/07 Antiseptic Wash (6oz – 1) 02/07 Alcohol Swabs (100) Cleansing Compress (4” – 6) Maalox Tabs (65) 11/06 Activated Charcoal Tabs Pepsid AC (50) 03/07 Tylenol PM (25) 02/07 Excedrin Quick Tabs (32) Aspirin (325mg – 300) 02/07 Ibuprophen (200mg – 100) 02/07 Zicam Cold Remedy (25) 06/06 Theraflu Thin Strips (24) 03/08 Cold/Flu Liquid Caps, Night (20) 03/07 Cold/Flu Liquid Caps, Day (20) 03/07 Dulcolax Laxative (5mg – 25) 03/08 Allergy / Antihistamine (25mg – 100) 03/07 Anti-Diarrhea (2mg – 48) 04/07 Stay-Awake Tabs, Caffeine (200mg – 40) One/Day Multi-Vitamin (300) 04/07 Motion Sickness Tabs (20)
“New Skin” Pads (6) Waterproof Dressing Kit (4 pads, 4 tape) Dr. Scholl’s Blister Treatment (6) Nexcare Eye Patch (6) Hand Sanitizer (12oz – 1) Toung Depressors (50) Insect Spray (10oz –1) Earwax Removal System Poison Ivy Kit: Wash & Cream Band Aids Eye Wash Kit: Wash, Eye Cup Eye patch (6) Gloves
In Medicine Cabinet – Not in Bag Tetracycline (500mg – 200) 12/09 Cephalexin (250mg – 400) 12/09 Theraflu Thin Strips (24) 10/06 Mucinex (600mg – 40) 07/07 Zicam Cold & Flu Swabs (20) Zicam Flu – Medicated Spoons (12) 08/07
Gas-X (72) 12/08 Imodium AD Ibuprofen (200mg – 1000) 09/07 Acetaminophen – Non-Aspirin (500mg – 1000) 01/07 Tylenol PM (225) 02/07 Vaporizer & Vicks Vapor Fluid One/Day Multi-Vitamin (700) 10/06 Vitamin D3 (1000iu – 1000) 01/08 Vitamin C (1000mg – 500) 11/06 TUMS Ultra (265) 12/08
Colloidal Silver (500ml-2) Sambucol (4oz-2) 04/07
Shower Soothers (7 Tabs) Vira-Gard Hand Antiseptic (4oz-10) Epson Salts (2) Digital Thermometer – Ear Bleach, Germicidal Grade (96oz – 4)
MISC. Coleman multi-fuel Lantern Camp Fuel, Gallons (10) Butane Stove & Fuel canisters (12) Sterno Cans (12) 120-Hour Emergency Candles (8) Long Storage Garden Seed package 3M-N95 Respirator Masks (120) Water Stores (3 – 55 gallon barrels + 10 cs – 24–20oz bottles) Food Stores (2 people – 6 months) Enfamil (2cs) Gatorade (2cs) Cabela’s Super Mag Hauler – Will haul up to 500# Plywood Sheeting, cut & ready to cover windows & doors (inside) Razor Wire (4 coils) – for the outside of the doors & windows Wireless Alarm System, battery powered, includes 2 electric eye sensors Fire Extinguisher, ABC (6 big ones) Woodstove, with 4 cords wood Generator 10K, with 250 gallons fuel We are on city water but have a well to use if needed
you need a truck just to haul all the stuff this eod has omg….lol rotflmao Bjs wholesale supplie was selling a be ready kit. for twenty bucks . I bought one…online it sixty bucks.
Ready Kit Plus™ provides one person with complete 72-hour emergency preparedness The Department of Homeland Security recommends that everyone have an emergency kit on hand. contains food, shelter, supplies and protection from particulate contaminants. Full three-day supply of food and water has a shelf-life of five years, so you don’t have to worry about spoilage. And the emergency manual and the family communications plan will keep you informed as well as protected. This kit is intended for one person only
The Ready Kit Plus™ includes: Highly visible orange backpack (I WILL CHANGE THESE ITEMS TO A DARK OLD BACKPACK) 50 square feet of Home Guard Barrier Sheeting™ (4’ x 12.5’) and duct tape 30-piece first-aid kit Facial tissues Three-day supply of food and water (five-year shelf life) Flashlight Water resistant AM/FM radio Four “D” and four “AA” batteries 12-hour lightstick N95 particulate respirator mask Emergency thermal blanket Emergency poncho Two biohazard waste bags Sanitary gloves Two-gallon water bag Bottle for bleach Utility wrench Leather palm safety gloves Emergency whistle Family communications plan Emergency manual
Of course i will add much more to this kit… medicines important papers maps power bars I also bought those small camping lights that take batteries… they last for hours.
How do you plan on carrying all your side arms?
I don’t Major, I don’t plan on leaving unless I have no other choice, and then a pistol & long gun each, the rest will go into hidden underground storage to hopefully come back to some day. Like I said much more stuff that can be carried; the list is the majority of stuff stockplied for emergency & staying put without having to go out.
EOD, wicked list.
Wow, EOD… (grinning in admiration, like a kid walking into a candy warehouse… tries not to drool).
Do you mind if I reformat, and copy to the wiki?
Be my guest, use it however you wish. Just as a disclaimer of sorts, we’ve worked for about 4 years to accumulate all that is on that list, some items are rather expensive and the same things in a lesser quality & cost will work just fine (e.g. the sleeping bags) but the way I look at some things is I am willing to pay more now to only have to buy it once & have it last for ever, e.g. the SVEA backpacking stove - I’ve had that for about 35 years.
nice ammo list :)
you probably have more $$$ in ammo than most people have in total preps!
But then, my grandfather once said if there were a world disaster, he would put all him money into gold. My father said he would put his money into ammo, and then he could take the gold :)
Compasses — do these wear down with age? How long will a half-decent compass last for? Does its magnetic needle “age”?
Ricewiki, I’ve known decent compasses to last for decades, as long as you don’t get it too near another magnetic field (like a cell phone speaker magnet), or get it too hot. Even so, it’s not too difficult to re-magnetize with a strong bar magnet… A decent description how to remagnetize is here - About halfway down the page.
Where can you buy a bar magnet for that purpose? Do you have a specific compass you recommend? I was going to buy a 12 dollar one made in sweden — plastic with a small needle, but looks pretty sturdy, and, it’s made in sweden.
Anyone want to give an estimate of what size of bug-out bag is ideal? eg., is 40L good (oh shoot, I’ve no idea what that is in … gallons?)?? 3L = 1gallon?
I live in hurricane country so the possibility of needing to evacuate is a real, annual issue for me. I’ll be watching this thread carefully.
http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2006/04/29/business/bus02.txt
Above is a link to an article I just read on Bird Flu Ready Kits. Might be work reading.
Alert!!! to this company And Safety
Might be worth reading. sorry for the miss spelling
ricewiki – at 17:12
40 liters is 10.6 gallons or 1.4 cubic feet. conversions here: http://tinyurl.com/jvtle
You can calculate your daily water need here. This is pretty cool.
Most of the “hype” about 8 cups of water a day, comes from estimating that you need about 1 ml of water to process 1 cal. At times of low food intake, you can get by with less if you are not working and sweating. Most survival books will tell you if you do not have the water - then don’t eat. If you get the flu you should increase your water intake to prevent from dehydrating.
1500 millileters a day is a couple of quarts. Getting by on less than 1,500 calories a day isn’t, um, fun.
The last time I checked the Gov. recommended intake was 1,600/ day for women and 2,200 a day for men and 1,200 was the low end maintained level.
At my age, I am around 1,700/day unless I am physically working in the summer.
But again, I think water is the first, primary, and most important prep item. I would not want to try to find out how little I can get by on.
EOD-Impressive! I may have missed it, but do you have a water filter or iodine tablets?
Just had a long post going and the power went out here for half a second…
So, 4L=10.6 gallons. Is that a large enough bug-out bag for most people here?
I’m not going to carry one of those huge antarctic expedition-type packs… attracts too much of the wrong kind of attention. Not to mention I wouldn’t be able to safely run in one of those.
I just bought some BoB supplies tonight… tiny shampoo/conditioner/ etc. things on sale…. (you’ll definitely want a toothbrush and toothpaste — imagine how gross your teeth would start to feel after two days, not to mention dental health!)
So, just gonna sort them out now and see what more I need to get.
I’ve just got a duffle bag. Could be an overnight bag for all anyone else knows.
I know BoB’s are for super-emergency essentials, but, it seems to me that you don’t want a toothache even if you are stranded in the middle of nowhere, or wherever else you still may be.
Ceredwin
Three systems for water; one is for the house only its called a Mission Filter, then also two portables - a Katadyn Pocket Water Filter (It uses a ceramic filter with a 0.2 micron pore size that will not allow harmful bacteria to pass. The ceramic filter is impregnated with minute quantities of silver to kill off microorganisms. Like most water filters, the PF is designed as a pump unit and the water is filtered by hand-pumping action where a hose drops into the dirty, unfiltered water, and the clean filter water exits out a spout into a separate container.)and also a MIOX Water Purifier (uses electricity to turn salt into chlorine).
I chose the Sweetwater filter from MSR, also has a ceramic filter, and iodine tablets it need be. I live near a fast running year round creek, about a block away, so have a good water source if necessary.
My bug out bag has been one to be used for earthquakes. A backpack with essentials for me, and a duffle that can be worn as a backpack with critter items and a few more things for me. And I still always have a day backpack in the car from my days living in Alaska and needing to be self-reliant. Never know if there could be an earthquake that finds me away from home and a bridge out that would stop my return.
I will be so happy if I never have to use any of it.
ricewiki,
If you don’t have insurance, you and your tooth are screwed.
I am scanning all of my important documents and putting them on a CD-rom. I will email these files to myself (cyber-filing) and send 2 discs to relatives in different parts of the country. Something less to carry in the BoB. All of that paper can get heavy, and damaged.
~shad runs up behind ‘On the fence and leaning…a lot more’ and pushes them over…~
Sorry, but somebody had to do it…might as well been me…
You might as well jump on in…the water is just fine!
0:)
rofl
Shad.
Wondering: should I take all of my contents out of their individual cases/wrappers/boxes? That would take up more space, I suppose.
Also: has anyone reached any conclusions about the overall size of theri bug=out bag? How many gallons, or the dimensions?
ricewiki
I think configuration and overall weight are the factors you really want to look at. To me a backpack makes the most sense. If you don’t make it to your destination and for whatever reason have to abandon your vehicle weight and easy of carry will be the two things that will make or break you. A backpack distributes weight much better than any sort of bag plus would be much harder for someone to grab it out of your hands and take off with it. Also a good backpack is designed to keep everything in a tight bundle without stuff sticking out to get snagged on things. Another nice feature of today’s backpacks are built-in water bladders. Weight is probably the single biggest factor. However heavy your pack ends up, spend some time wearing it and walking around. My wife and I love the woods and being out in nature, we take many long walks and at least every other week take a minimum 2 hour hike wearing our packs at full weight. You will be amazed how the smallest, lightest things start adding up and if you are not used to carrying that weight and you end up on foot it won’t be long before you start selecting things to drop and leave behind.
EOD
Yes, I’m planning on a backpack anyway (have no car), but these are additional reasons to want a backpack.
Currently I’m storing everything in an old backpack, but I intend to buy a new one with many compartments etc. and hopefully a water filtration system. It’s great that you and your wife take such long trial walks with the backpacks… good exercise, to boot.
I live in Texas and Have a BOB in my car it took me forever to figure out what food I could carry in the car in Texas in the summer with temp well over 100 most summers. In 1998 it hit 112. As you can imagine anything would melt, so now I have cans of peanuts that is the best I can do in this weather. I worry that something would happen and the roads would be closed to my house and maybe the police would route us in a direction I do not know. So now I carry a Texas road map shows all roads large and small. I am thinking a small water filter would be good too. Change of clothes for me, good walking shoes, I could be in heels. I now carry more cash than I used to, I generally charge everything it is just easier. My husband and I have agreed that if something happens we will try to get to the same place and we will both call his sister in another state if possible. We are still working on it.
Gals,
The DivaCup would be perfect for a bug-out bag: http://www.divacup.com/
Love Texas
How long do the canned peanuts last for? Good idea.
ricewiki—
OK, I guess I have too much time on my hands, but then again, I’ve been at this since before 2000.
About sizes of BOBs — mine’s not just size but number of BOBs:
I bought a huge rolling duffle bag, AND an INexpensive set of nested rolling luggage from ebay & packed the largest of the suitcases (bag #1) with underwear, summer & winter outerwear, shoes, socks, headgear & ear warmers, 2 towel sets, thin travel pillows, 2 sets of sheets, 2 regular blankets, emergency cash, a few other things, some small toys to give away, and important financial records on USB.
Then there is a smaller hard-sided almost briefcase-shaped-but-smaller toiletries bag (bag #2)with a small personal kit inside and they nestle together, then attach to the outside of the large rolling suitcase, and that tiny inner bag is set up with duplicates of all our personal toiletries, and the larger briefcase-sized one holds things I wouldn’t mind someone else seeing, like some prescription & OTC medications, and some give-aways to share like disposable razors, small lotions, etc. if we found ourselves in a shelter situation.
The huge duffle bag (bag #3) has kitty litter & box, scooper & grocery bags for disposing of waste, food containers, waterproof bed liners for their crates, their medication papers & their own cash :-), their first aid kit, water pouches for cats AND 2 adults are inside plastic cases to keep from rupturing them are distributed in outer pockets and at the top of the duffle, also their toys, & extra canned cat food lids. It also has 3600 calorie food bars for us adults for 3 days.
Next (bag #4) is a large fully stocked paramedic’s first responder kit (also from eBay) in my car & a smaller one in hubby’s Jeep which have tons of stuff, the main parts being blood pressure monitor & stethiscope, army shovel, tiolet paper, dental kit, first-aid book & quick charts from Red Cross that I laminated (Kinko’s LOVES me when I come to laminate), a knife with exchangeable blades including a small saw blade, a filet knife, money, emergency blankets & high calorie food bars & water, light sticks, & Frog Togs, which I vacuum sealed so they would be smaller. They stay in the cars always — in case that’s ALL we have.
Those 4 cases are the first to take if we have time to evacuate our home due to neighborhood gas leaks, etc. & have to go to a shelter for a day or two at the most. I also have to have a rolling dolley for those things if only one of us could actually move stuff around because the other person is injured or sick. The dolley is more for moving the cats in their carriers though, which we would also have to evacuate.
Bottom line is that for a minimum crisis 1 large suitcase, and 1 toiletry case & one first aid kit already in the car, would do for us 2 adults and the multiple cats makes our load 1 dufflebag & 5 pet carriers larger-which actually is twice what we have for the 2 of us. This is also what we grab in case of fire in the house — cats in carriers first, then the rolling suitcase & toiletry bag by the door, God willing that we have time to get it all.
If the situation is worse or of a longer duration than a simple neighborhood problem, then I have the following-what I call the ‘essentials duffles’:
A rectangular duffle with MRE heaters, hand warmers, folding camp stove, folding camp oven, nested camp pots & pans, camp utensils for food and a collapsable water container, a tool kit including masks, etc.
A rectangular duffle with various fuels- a case of sterno, matches, charcoal, lamp oil, fire extinguisher, etc., all VERY carefully packed.
A rectangular duffle with kitchen folding stove & utensils-knives, measuring cups, a butane lighter & refill, leather potholders, etc.
A rectangular duffle with foods from MRE’s to dehyrated foods, & regular snacks -from granola bars to sweets & salty treats that I’ve sealed with my Food Saver & all the catfood.
This makes it easy because, with the food all in just one duffle, I can easily rotate out my supplies from one duffle without having to unpack each & every bag to replace something here and there.
Each duffle is marked 2 ways — first it’s permanently numbered in order of need/importance, and it’s tagged with a laminated typed sheet of paper that I hole-punched to put in a notebook if we’re ever actually on the road with the bags. That paper has a big heading like “FUEL” or “KITCHEN” indicating which bag has what in it so if we have to make a choice of what to grab we don’t have to open them to know what’s in them. Below the heading is an itemized list of what’s in the bag. For each bag we carry with us, I can put it’s page in a master notebook so that I know what supplies we have and where to find them. Of course that plan falls apart if I have to split up the duffles into only one like this:
I keep an empty collapsed rectangular duffle, unzipped but still folded so I don’t waste time trying to get it open, if a dire situation (cars break down & we have to walk & carry the cats as well as supplies or we’re loaded into government buses or something wild like that) requires that we can’t carry all 3 of the other essentials duffles and have to repack bits & pieces of all 3 into 1 duffle only. For that reason, a wide assortment of kitchen utensils are in a small plastic box that fits into the kitchen duffle, as are the small tools in a small plastic box and can be grabbed all at once & put into the 1 duffle that may be the only one we can carry. That way we get a better chance of having a good variety of equipment that we can quickly put into the one duffle without having to go through everything piece by piece.
Finally we have an army laundry bag type duffle with a Luggable Loo, baby wipes, enzymes, clay kitty litter & no-center-roll camp toilet paper packed inside, also a tent, & a screened ‘gazebo’ type thing I got years ago for $99 — only used once for a neighborhood party & hope it’s still in good shape IF we have time to get to those heavier items to round out our supplies.
Assuming there is time to leave, all the duffles can be lifted up and placed in a strapped down car carrier so they don’t take up more room inside the vehicles.
The goal is to have as varied a selection of stuff so that we could live in the car (God I hope not) or in a tent at night and a gazabo during the day since Red Cross shelters still don’t take pets. It’s awkard and bulky but I’ve reached my goal — it’s here if we need it.
What I’ve been working on now due to the flu issue, is not only improving those items in the duffles, & increase my food supply, but also 2 duffles for 2 sick room set-ups with portable toilets, water pitchers & plastic glasses, bed trays, foamy placemats for the trays so plates won’t slide in bed, FM radios, disposable thermometers, spray bottles, clock & medicine boxes — those Sun-Sat ones for our prescription meds, so if we’re feeling bad we can at least have a chance at getting our regular meds right along with our flu meds, masks, goggles, plastic sheeting if necessary, hospital gowns, aprons for care givers, extra sheets, waterproof bed liners, washclothes, baby wipes, Gaterade, etc, & buckets to sort water — from clean, to used for cooking but still can be used for bathing or dish washing, to water that can be recycled to the toilet area.
By the way, if the power just goes off at our home for extended period of time, we have our generator from 2000 & it’s propane tanks and I have a huge rolling plastic tool chest I got last year at Home Depot that has what I call my in-house supplies of folding camp stoves, candles, and all the usual household supplies for power outages. I just roll it out of the closet it’s in & we’re in business.
So that’s how I’ve been spending my time — all traveling supplies (except the tent and gazebo) will fit into half the Jeep & on top with the cat carriers stacked in the other half of the Jeep, or in my trunk & top of my car, with the catcarriers stacked in the backseat.
You can’t imagine how I pray we’ll NEVER HAVE TO USE ANY OF THAT STUFF—can you imagine traveling in close quarters with 5 squalling cats??????
I’m sorry my posts seem long sometimes, but I figure someone in the world someone might see something I wrote & actually make use of it!
OMIGOD Workin’On’It —
I can’t keep track of all those duffles! Holy!
But you sound pretty organized, though! That’s great.
But what if you really had to run out quickly? You can’t possibly grab 5 bags and carry them on foot? What if your van is stolen?
I’d still want to have a one-bag version of it all.
Thanks for your post, I’m going to re-read it.
Workin’On’It
How old are your cats? I think that 5 (five) of them might prove an obstacle in certain emergency situations… it seems difficult enough to have to take care of one…
Workin’On’It
That’s probably some of the most amazing prepping I’ve seen here! Wow. So how many duffles in total are we talking about?
I’m a minimalist. I’ve got three bags and two cat carriers and assume the journey out of here is going to be accompanied by enough yowling to make me nuts. Rosie and Eddie hatethe car. The rest of the camping supplies can be in the trunk in under an hour. I do need to top up the camp stove.
I live in hurricane country and get out of here on short notice ain’t a theoretical.
Oh, one of the contents of the bag is one of those really thick Russian novels that I never finished.
Melanie — Shamalov would be a real pleasure in any evacuation scenario — you could always say “it’s not as bad as this!” (he wrote a heartwrenching first-person account of the Gulag…)
Whoops — I meant Varlam Shalamov.
It will be “The Brothers Karamozov.” It embarrasses me to say I’ve never read it.
Ricewiki,
To address your questions:
First of all, the big bag rolls which helps, and so does the cats’ go-bag! We live in a hilly area, but not anywhere near a flood area & if necessary & the cars were unavailable, and if we were careful to not break the wheels, we could manage to roll both the suitcases & the dolley carrying the cat carriers through debris on roads — it would take time & effort & might have to be dismantled & reconstructed several times to get over or around big debris in the road, but if we ever had to leave here in the aftermath of bad weather, time probably wouldn’t be a pressing issue anymore. I’m sure we’d look like idiots but we wouldn’t care.
In case of fire, I have fire extinguishers in every main room of the condo since it’s an older building without brick firewalls between the units.
If the fire is bigger than one I could put out with a fire extinguisher, and time to get out IS an issue, bag #1 sits in a closet by the door — that’s the one I grab if I’m at home & can get nothing but the cats & that bag. It’s set up as if we were to be in a bad weather shelter or at a family member’s house, so we would have clothes & toiletries & it also has the bulk of my cash in it. It is not prepared to feed me other than small high calorie bars & packets of drinking water. It does have a small amount of catfood in it, too, in case there’s no time to grab the cat’s duffle bag (which also rolls).
I put 2 pieces of board (2 makes it easier to get a piece underneath the faucet & knobs) over the bathtub in our guest room bath years ago (that’s our safe room) and the cat carriers are in there stacked on top of the boards and their doors remain in an open position all the time — last thing I need to do is have to fiddle with a carrier door in the dark or with a flashlight! I have a fire escape filter mask (the kind you use to get out of an office building) on top of the carriers so I can avoid suscumbing to smoke for at least a few minutes. I just close the shower curtain & anyone coming over doesn’t know they’re there unless they peek behind the curtain.
If I had to, in case of fire, the PLAN is to just pick up a cat or two, shove him/them in the carrier, shut the door, put on the mask & set the carriers, one or two at a time, just outside the front door & keep doing that till I had all of the cats & bag #1 or until my mask didn’t work any longer. It would take approximately 8 minutes or less, assuming the cats are where they ALWAYS are — being older, they’re such sticklers to their routine that they’re not hard to find. Then, once we’re all outside, I could move all of the carriers as one unit, using the dolley, to get them away from the building. They would not be comfortable being ‘tilted’ on the dolley, but they’d live through it.
So in case of a fire the cats & our go-bag #1 are the things to rescue.
If we had to leave our home for whatever reason & are NOT rushed, we would also use the dolley to move the remining bags to the car.
Now let’s say that we have all the bags in or on top of the cars & we’re on our way to a campsite or family member’s home and a car breaks down or runs out of gas (we always keep full tanks & just top them off at 3/4 tank). If we couldn’t get everything into one vehicle, we’d leave bags behind and go on.
That’s why I keep the spare unopened duffle bag so that we could open it & take some things from each of the other bags to pack a little of all of them into the one single duffle & leave all the other supplies behind. I got the unopened bag at WalMart & it is about 13″x13″ x2″ folded up-takes up no room at all & stays attached to the outside of bag #1 with the toiletries bag - I call it my ‘repack duffle’. I wouldn’t open it up unless we were stuck by the road somewhere & had to travel long distances by foot, making it necessary to leave some supplies behind. Then it would be the cats on the dolley, and one adult would roll bag #1 & the other adult would carry the one ‘repacked’ duffle. That’s assuming both adults are together.
We also took in a stray cat who’s quite well mannered — he had to have had a home somewhere because he’s just to danged gentlemanly. All the cats left are in the 10–12 year old range, except for the new one who’s around 3–5 years old.
We just put our 22 year old cat to sleep this past Wednesday — it was so hard to lose her & I’m devestated at times, and other times I’m able to stay distracted by doing wiki or something else like that.
Rose
PS -we have 5 cats now.
Rose,
Sorry to hear about the loss of your cat… I can imagine how sad that would be, I’m a big cat person — treat cats as if they’re people basically.
Good to hear you’re that organized. Wow. My only thought is that if you did have a fire and you saw one of your cats looking as thought it had already succumbed to smoke inhalation, nevertheless try to bring it with you, because it may just have fainted or gone unconscious. It may not be dead.
Ok, some more questions as I continue to finish up preparing my bug=out bag….
It also seems to me that it’s a good idea to bring along more than one way to start a fire. So - many kinds of matches (only use waterproof when you need to); couple kinds of lighters; a flint firestarter; waterproof kindling. What about a magnifying glass? Can those still be used to start fires?
Part of the trick is what you use for tender. I use lint (from the dryer) and a little Vaseline. Or just the lint. But matches are so easy. Oh yes, I use the dull side of an old hacksaw blade (broken short and use the hole to tie to the lighter) as my striker. The active ingredient in the gel is alcohol and it should be OK “forever” if sealed. The hand gel is also go to start fires with. I use wood pellets and often use the hand gel to get them started- but I cheat and use matches if I have them.
OH yes, another “tricky way” to start a fire without matches is to use the mirror lens out of a large flashlight- just put that lint stuff at the focus and use the sun. Try it.
One thing I haven’t seen many of you lists (and they are VERY IMPRESSIVE lists BTW! Makes me feel way behind) is a copy of all important documents in two waterproof bags (an extra in case the first fails). This would include all insurance info, medical info, birth certificates, etc.). Anything you may need access to quickly. Many of us keep them in a saftey deposit box, but what if the banks are closed? Too many people in NOLA/FL left with little warning and no time to collect all those vital documents, plus had to tramp through three+ feet of water to get to dry ground. If possible, send a copy also to someone trusted far away so that if you need to get vital phone numbers, etc.
ricewiki - I saw a survival show and they said actually a mirror is better for starting fires than a magnifying glass, but the later can work. A mirror generates stronger heat but the angle of the sun may not cooperate.
thanks, lauraB — I didn’t know that about mirrors.
I’ve got my BoB about half done — but I still need to buy a good quality backpack for it. Right now just in an old backpack temporarily.
I realized it’s probably/possibly more important in the short-term to have a BoB than it is to be fully panflu prepped. If anything just because I can have a BoB ready to go much sooner than being fully panflu prepped. And then I know I’m safe on one front, and that makes it easier to prep for me.
I’m ordering 2 of everything for teh BoB because I’m making a smaller, but equivalent, “Bug-out-survival” kit for my backpack — the daily bag I carry around to class or wherever in the city.
Ricewiki - apologies. I didn’t see your “important financial papers” at the very top of the list. Mommy brain.
This thread surfaces at an opportune time, as my pantry is stocked so I’ve spent a week putting together a 72 hour kit.
The thing I learned is that you need to really think about what the kit is for. Is it in case your house and all of your preps are destroyed? Is it in case you have to walk a long distance to another place of shelter? Is it in case you have to leave by car? Do you live in a hurricane area? A tornado or snow-storm area? Each scenario will have a different response. I must have generated a few dozen lists during the week until I figured out what was best for us. Then things were changed and edited again as I gathered supplies. Your milage may vary.
My scenario is that the four of us (2 adults, 2 little kids) have just moments to leave our house by car. Either our house has been destroyed or for some reason we have to go now, with no time to grab anything. We need a kit that we just throw in the back of the van and go. The kit is stored in the garage, in a storage locker with a combination lock. The kit is intended to keep us alive for three days, until we can figure out what to do with ourselves. It is also intended as a kit to put in the back of the car if we’re taking a trip in the winter. It is not intended to have absolutely everything we need, just the bare, bare minimum (and I know there are others who will need even less). With the kit is a list of other items that we will pack if we have a few more minutes - mostly camping gear which is also stored in the storage locker. I also theorized that we would not be bringing our pets, although the cat carrier and extra collars and leashes are stored in the locker, just in case we have time/are able to bring them.
The items are (mostly, except for some water) packed in an old frame pack that I don’t use any more. If we have to walk or bring our supplies into a shelter, they will be easy to move. We also always keep a few items such as tools, jumper cables etc, in the car, so they aren’t on the list. Lastly, I didn’t want to work forever creating this kit, or spend a lot of money, so I settled for readily available items in lieu of exotic, more expensive but potentially better items. I may upgrade the kit as time goes on.
That said, here’s my list:
Crank flashlight
Water in bottles and Aqua blocks
Purification tablets (Katadyn MP1)
First-aid kit w/ extras
Life Boat food bars
Matches
Space blanket sleeping bags
Toilet paper
Tampons
Wet wipes
Garbage bags (small roll of 6)
Maps – our state, U.S.
Hand warmers
Notebook and sharpie fine point
Sun screen wipes
Bug-repellant wipes
Toothbrush/paste kits
Dental floss
Hand sanitizer,mini
Army knife
Duct tape
Light sticks
Hats (4)
Work gloves
Sewing kit (heavy duty) w/safety pins
Roll of quarters
2 pre-paid phone cards from two different national carriers
Addresses and phone #’s of friends and family
Candy
The only thing I would grab from the house is my “important papers” folder. I do not feel secure leaving this in the garage, otherwise it would be in the kit. The folder has copies of all of our passports, birth certificates, insurance cards, medical info, credit cards etc. plus contact info for our insurance agency, bank etc. It also contains $200 in small bills and an extra set of house and car keys (I can never find mine when I need them!).
I found the Equipped to Survive web site to be very valuable for this little exercise:
http://www.equipped.org/72hourkit.htm
If anyone wants my supplimental list I’d be glad to post it, although I have found other people’s lists mostly so individual and idiosyncratic that they aren’t much use to me, and I suppose my lists are the same way.
no worries, lauraB….
Another item I thought could be important:
Agree with Sahara.
It seems on this thread so far there are two main ideas of a BoB.
1) A real survival kit - eg., fire in your house or otherwise evacuation needed - you grab it and RUN! You don’t grab anything else. This kit keeps you alive for 3–7 days and includes other survival items in the event that you’re out there longer than you planned to be. This could include the wilderness (or a farm field, etc., etc,,) — when you gotta stay away from people
2) A vacation kit - ie., when you have advance notice of evacuation and you think you’ll be able to stay with family or friends and generally enjoy the life you had at home, except without most of your belongings.
Something to keep in mind. I’m packing version #1 right now….
If I were in ANY situation that was possibly hostile I would not wear earplugs! Lack of sleep, as they used to tell us in the Army, will not kill you. Yes, it is important to get as much rest as you can, but if you have to use a BOB you will probility need to be alert to dangers in your enviroment. Kelly
Sahara, one note:
you might want to also include a regular pen and also a pencil with your notebook — just because those Sharpie pens will RUN like crazy if the page gets wet…. you don’t want that if you’re writing down important info.
Np1/ Kelly:
True. I would only use the earplugs if I thought it was safe to sleep with them. (eg., maybe if I were in a shelter of some sort with others snoring loudly around me?)
Re: Lack of Sleep
Lack of sleep won’t kill you, but bad decision-making and forgetfulness can! Seems to be a minimum of sleep is still needed on a minimum basis, otherwise you may end up making costly mental mistakes….
My bag currently weighs about 14.5 pounds….
Does anyone know what an average “heavy” weight is for carrying long-distance? Anything will help. I know that this would normally be a dumb Q since everyone can carry different amounts, but e.g., if any military here might know of what you carry in total, it will help me judge the most I should be carrying.
14.5 lbs doesn’t feel too heavy to me yet, just standing around, but what if I have to walk 5 miles?
thanks
ricewiki - Why don’t you go on a little hike? See what its like to actually don your pack and walk 5 miles. Tell us what you discover.
Young, and in good shape, you should be able to carry 35–40 pounds in a pack, and a bit more for water. Big thing is to not be in a hurry and keep up a steady pace. The more you practice, the stronger you get. If I was sure I would have to really need a BOB, I would be taking long hikes in the woods near where I was.
They do make inflatable pillows and space blankets for comfort. The ‘space’ sleeping bags cost more but weigh about the same, just have a velcro strip to close it up. Being chilled to the bone is not a good thing.
ricewiki – at 16:39 --- It all depends on your bodyweight and how good of shape you’re in. If your legs are strong, and you weigh, let’s say, 115–130 pounds, and you don’t smoke, and you load a backpack correctly, you could probably hike about 5–10 miles in roughly 2–3 hours with a pack that weighs approx. 35 pounds, as 3L120 says. But remember…water is going to be your heaviest item, and it’s going to seem a lot heavier as it sloshes around in the container while you’re walking…
ricewiki – at 16:08 “anything that will help you have a goodnight’s sleep (although a pillow and blanket may be too much for a BoB)”
If you have access to a good backpacking store you may find very light-weight and small sleeping bags and pillows. I normally carry a full size sleeping bag and Therm-a-rest self inflating mattress when backpacking. They add a lot of bulk, and aren’t in my BoB. My mini bag and pillow combined take less room than a pair of boots.
ricewiki – at 16:39 “14.5 lbs doesn’t feel too heavy to me yet, just standing around, but what if I have to walk 5 miles?”
15 lbs. can dig trenches in your shoulders. Backpacking backpacks rest the bulk of the weight on the hips (much, much, better than shoulder straps). I’m a big guy and found that, properly adjusted, a 40 lb. backpack is quite comfortable, even walking up mountains. 50 lbs. was a pretty good burden for an out-of-condition middle-ager.
Sites like http://www.rei.com can help with backpack selection and fitting.
thanks everyone…. I’ll try that hike sometime, good idea.
I’m going to aim for 35lbs tops without water; and I’ll see about a backpack that rests weight on hips (although I had one and even after trying many on, I couldn’t notice much difference - it sorta rested weight on my hips, but it didn’t seem too comfy…. this was a woman’s pack, too.
I once worked for the Red Cross & I drove their van that responded to fires & we did an ‘investigation’ so we could make our report, then we passed out clothing, etc.
There were things that I felt I needed since at any time I might need to go open a shelter somewhere, so I packed a backpack for myself with toiletries, a change of clothing, some playing cards for kids that might be at the shelter, a wind up radio — that sort of thing. One day someone else was the driver & had to pick me up so we set up a close location & I parked my car, grabbed my backpack & waited in the parking lot - I waited for about 40 minutes & honestly the next day, I thought I was going to die!!! My lower back was absolutely destroyed. When you carry a pack on your back you have to shift your center of gravity to keep from tipping over & just that short 40 minutes — JUST STANDING AROUND — and even sitting some — I was laid up for a couple of days.
I never was big on exercise, and that didn’t push me over the edge to do it, but now that it’s a few years later, I certainly am exercising and doing ones that target my back so that now that it’s in good shape again I can keep it that way.
Ricewiki, take everyone’s word and GO TEST YOUR LOAD BY WALKING AROUND THE BLOCK! It’s the only way that you’ll ever know for sure. I still won’t carry over 10 lbs on my back — that’s why I opted for a large rolling suitcase and a rolling thingie to carry my duffles on.
If you are going to go the backpack route, take it from this canoist (used to carrying a canoe on her head in addition to a 60 pound pack) and get one on a frame with a waist belt if you are going to have to do any walking at all. These packs distribute the weight better. The first day after hurts like hell, but each day after that gets better.
Thanks…..I have backpacked before, carried one of the expedition packs while walking and hitchiking… so no stranger to it. I was just hoping to not have to go all-out on an expedition pack for the bug out bag…
I guess I’ll just test it out, balance it with the right bag…
ricewiki,
Depends on how much walking you think you are going to have to do. If you are just transferring stuff from car to someone’s front door, one of those wheelie bags is fine.
ricewiki
Try working with a list of items, start with what you think you would need (food, water, clothing, personal hygiene items, if not some form of shelter to protect you from the weather like a tent then at least a real good rain suit, communication device - You can get an inexpensive multiband radio for about $35, one that you can charge with a hand crank or solar. Spend a little more and you can even get one with an adaptor to charge the battery for you flashlight and that cell phone. How will you protect yourself from any bad people - maybe just a simple collapsible baton, perhaps just a good knife that can have a multitude of uses, maybe you’ll need to carry a gun? Only you can decide all those things). At first try to focus on what YOU think the basics are. For the food & water items start with a set number of days, three days seems to be a popular number for that on the pre-made kits. Do you have access to one of those vacuum sealer machines? If you do start to pack the bulky items in them; clothes, first aid supplies, any thing that will shrink down or that is important to keep dry. Now see how much all that weighs, how much space it takes. Then start to add items, either based upon additional items or more days of supplies. Spend the little extra for the good stuff, lightweight, good quality (after all, your life may literally depend upon what you have and its portability. For example water - instead of adding to the quantity of water (which will weigh up very fast) you may want some way to provide more potable water as the time goes by, some means of purifying and filtering water you may find; purification tablets, a decent backpacking filter. Buy a cheap cell phone and keep it in its charger right next to your pack – even one deactivated or without minutes can still call 911. I would recommend working towards a balance in the number of days of supplies you carry, the longer you may have to be out and about the greater variety of items you may need. Always look for ways to keep bulk and weight to an absolute minimum. Think of where you would be heading and recourses you might obtain along the way or once you get there. And by all means, have a destination, or better yet several destinations based upon distance and upon what you may be fleeing from. For example; if you will be crossing through farm land you may be able to forage some food along the way, if so you wouldn’t need to carry as much at the start.
This is much easier to say than actually do but try to think of and plan for the unexpected. For instance your plan is to drive to your uncles country home & its 200 miles, half way there the highway clogs up with out of gas cars and you end up having to start walking. What could/will you need to walk those 100 miles, how long will it take, and if you figure 4 to 6 days, plan & supply yourself for the 6 not the 4. Think this through before you find yourself there. Will you stay on the highway for your walk or will it be safer off road heading cross-country? Do you have a map that covers the area between your home and your destination? Get one, drive the rout, find alternate routes off the main roads, learn how to use a compass.
As you add to your supplies MAKE the time to pack it all up and take a walk with it. If you have backpacked before you will quickly know what you are capable of carrying. If you have to back off on items because of the weight then do it, either that or decide ahead of time the items you will drop first OR get used to carrying the extra weight. Another option is that if you can carry 30 pounds for 20 miles in a day but you have 40 in supplies essential for where you are going, then cut back on your expectation on how quickly you can get there; 15 miles in a day rather than the 20.
The last thing you want is to be stuck out in the boonies exhausted from trying to carry that kitchen sink you decided you NEEDED and your in a position where if you don’t move fast you’re dead. The most important thing here is planning & visualization and be realistic in your expectations of your capabilities.
Like Dirty Harry said, “A man (or woman) needs to know his limitations.”
I still say - at least for me (hay, I am an old guy) - to travel light and fast, and have pre-positioned supplies. But then your “escape” must be planned and you need to know where you are going. Then there is always the electric bike to give you a little speed and range before you go ”off road”.
About getting stuck on a highway in your car and then deciding to walk with your bug-out-bag, if you had to do this would you be worried about other potential rioters (the people still waiting in cars) shooting at you?
This may sound barbaric, but it seems likely if anything in that Katrina-email was at all true… needless to say if I was just stuck in Canada, I wouldn’t have to worry about this… but the way things are going I will prob be in U.S. if/when it hits
ricewiki – at 21:16 stuck on a highway in your car
If you want a scary view of of what it might be like then rent a copy of the new War of the Worlds. The idea is that when everyone else is “stuck” anything moving is a target for the most desperate people. Most people will be unprepared, out of gas, out of food and ??. Have a place, a plan, a prepared distination before you leave - that is more important than anything in your “removable bag”.
thanks Dennis….. I think the plan is a good idea… directions and a couple of options in place so one doesn’t have too much thinking to do if there’s an emergency.
I have a very small bag- passport, important papers, power bars, water, “flu first aid”, change of clothes, poncho, gloves, mask, Swiss army knife, survival tabs and that is about it. I have opted for prepositioned supplies (I live in the forest- and an electric bike (I can hook to my solar array). I have about a 40 mile range in that (everything is down hill from here) and about 1200 mile range in my car (Honda insight at 60 mpg and some “hidden gas tanks”). I love to hike, but I know I could never carry enough to do any real good.- especially in the winter through snow. I have a preselected a campsite within a good un-burdened hike from here and buried the essentials for me and “my Mrs.” Around here it is not clever to get too far from water so I will never be more than an half a day from a water source. But then I don’t think I will ever have to leave.
Ricewiki…as you have discovered, the Boy Scout motto of ‘Be Prepared’ also holds true for a BOB. Know where you want to go and how you are going to get there. Have maps which cover every hill and valley inbetween, in case you do have to bale out of the car and take to the hills. Buy a GPS, they are cheap nowadays and learn how to use it. Knowing where you are can be half the battle, unless you expect to walk the roads. In a rural area that may not be a bad idea, in a city, not so good.
Spend the money for a decent pack, not a rucksack. One with a frame and a hipbelt. Then list the items you want to take and what their priority is. There are a lot of items you want to take but overloading yourself will only lead to failure to reach your goal or you throwing away items. As with prepping in place the most important items are water and foodstuffs. If your path will take you near water, and you are sure of it, you can bring dehydrated food, if not, water becomes even more important.
Are you going to be armed? If so, practice with what you carry. A firearm or knife is a threat that may be called and if you are not prepared to defend yourself, better not to be armed. Only you can decide this issue.
Get in shape, which is easy for a old fat man to say. But I have no intention of leaving home and its surrounding 4 acres. The Israeli Army walks everywhere to get their soldiers in shape. Go forth and do likewise. Walk around the block and go from there. Buy a cheap pack and start loading it with ziploc bags filled with sand. Add 2 pounds a week. Wear the shoes you intend to wear for the bugout. If nothing ever comes of these discussions, at least you will be more physically fit. Go camping with your pack and supplies. See how they work together and fit together in your pack. Determine what else you need. Take a recon of your proposed route. Stop every few miles and look around, maybe take a short hike to examine the terrain. Lots of things you can do, not all of which cost money, just sweat and time. Be proactive and let us know how you are progressing. This site can be a support group for more than stockpiling meds and water! We are pulling for you.
How to choose the proper external frame pack… measure from the bump on the back of your neck (C7 vertebra) down along your spine to a line just even with the top of your hip bones. This is the length of the frame you’ll need. The pack should have a wide, well-padded hip belt, which should ride on or just slightly above your hipbones. When you put the pack on, the shoulder straps should be quite loose. Now fasten the hip belt and tighten it down, REALLY tight, kind of like cinching the saddle on a horse. Now suck in your stomach and tighten some more. The tighter it is, the more weight it will transfer to your hips and legs, which are much better able to stand the stress than your upper back. Now tighten the shoulder straps. They should sit fairly lightly on your shoulders and should be at about a 45 degree angle from where they attach to the pack. If equipped with a sternum strap, it should rest a couple of inches below your collarbone. When you pack items into your pack, put the heaviest items towards the bottom of the pack and close to your back. DON’T pack heavy items on top, or away from your back, or it will make things very uncomfortable for you. A pack with more pockets is generally better than one with less pockets (so you don’t have to dig everything out to find something). It’s best to buy a pack in person, where you can try it on (with weight in it if possible). Daisy chains and clips sewn to the outside of the pack will let you hange stuff from the outside of the pack (make sure whatever you hang there is weatherproof). If you’re going to have to walk any distance, you MUST take care of your feet. You’ll need to always have on hand a dry pair of socks and some moleskin. When you take a break, try to do it near water… take off your boots and socks and dangle your feet in the water while you rest. Check your feet carefully for any hotspots or beginning blisters, and apply moleskin if needed to prevent further chafing. If the weather’s dry, slip on a dry pair of socks and tie the ones you just took off to your pack so they can air and dry out. You’ll be amazed at how much better you and your feet will feel. When walking uphill, give your legs a break… as you step down, let your knee have full flexion, then with your foot planted firmly on the ground, lock your knee straight momentarily before taking the next step. This will give your leg muscles a brief rest with every step.
Thanks, Kim
These are great tips.
If in a 75000 pop type town, is there really a need to leave if an outbreak happens outside 200 miles? I’m outside of a million+ city and have not preped a escape bag.
Here’s an interesting factoid about those of us who are getting older and seeing that “middle-age spread”, useful to know if you may have to bug out on foot…
Sedentary adults typically add 10 pounds of bodyweight every decade during the midlife years. However, this unfavorable weight change results from a 5-pound loss of muscle and a 15-pound gain in fat. In other words, what appears to be a 10-pound weight problem is actually a 20-pound body composition problem. In “Strength Training Benefits: The First Step In Reaching The Sedentary 90 Percent” Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D. reports that 25 minutes of standard strength training, two or three days a week, can increase previously inactive adults’ muscle mass by about three pounds in two to three months of training. What’s more, research reveals that three pounds of new muscle tissue increases resting metabolism by 6 to 8 percent, which represents an additional 100 to 120 calories per day.
Years ago I took kids camping from time to time. Kids are amazingly strong, and their stamina is unrelenting. Make sure they have well-broken-in hiking boots. An extra pair of cross=country type running shoes in case the boots get wet is a good idea. This type of shoe is very light weight and takes up little room. Have back packs for the kids and practice! Insist that everyone who walks carries something. lightweight sub-zero sleeping bags are great, and all you need is a couple of 10′ plastic tarps to make a lean-to or to just roll up in. In the heat of summer, you can make a shade canopy with the tarps and use the sleeping bags overhead to keep out the heat. Peanuts are a good idea, and for a few days of this workout, chocolate is a godsend. Remember to find a camp at the end of the day while there is plenty of sunlight to set up camp, get firewood, secure the camp, and especially, check all those little feet for blisters. Kids might not tell you about pain in time to fix a small problem; if you wait for complaints, you may have a big problem. If you already know your route and are safely not having to race somewhere, don’t underestimate the idea of taking that little red wagon. Kids can take turns pulling it, and little ones can ride on it instead of in your arms—your back will have enough weight on it. Make kids wear their packs all day from time to time, even in the house. They will get used to the type of walking that is most comfortable, and will learn how to adjust their own packs. This will save you from having to make adjustments in the middle of day 1. Your family dog can carry saddle packs, too, and even pull the wagon, if you train him ( kids can help with this, too). Remember that your choice of soap should be for everything: dishes, shampoo, bathing, etc. With kids, a bucket for heating water over the fire is a good thing for a million reasons. folding shovels will come in handy, and kids can learn to use them right away. Start giving your kids responsibility, and do a few “practice” camping sessions—even if you have to use the living room. Just remember that you can’t use anything you don’t take into the living room. Once you get where you’re going, you will need things to occupy your kids, but on the journey, they will be tired enough to sleep whenever they get the chance to stop walking. Don’t forget a hatchet in case you need to make a fire or a frame to make a shelter. lots of extra socks. Wash the used socks at night when you check feet. They will dry on the outsides of the backpacks during the next day’s hike. You won’t get nearly as far with young kids in a day as adults on their own can do, so planning the route with all the possible detours is essential. Get some maps and figure all this out. Big plastic bags make excellent rain ponchos, also you can put a kid in a sleeping bag and put this into a plastic bag with his head sticking out, and the bag won’t get wet on the ground. If you have a pre-positioned camping spot, and are making a cache, an inch of newspapers slid into plastic garbage garbage bags will make a warm “floor” for your tent or leanto. Try to carry most of the food rations yourself, as much as possible. Kids are not good at rationing food they carry for themselves. Even water rationing may be a problem, if you have far to go. Think all this through, and have a weekend camp to practice, even if it’s just in your back yard. If your journey turns out to be more than a couple of days, be prepared to do whatever you have to in order to feed the kids. Plan ahead and cache some granola bars if possible along the way. It’s really not that hard to find hiding places—kids are good at this. Hope this isn’t too scary to think about, but it seems that most of the comments haven’t considered children…Hats and sunscreen!
During the Hurricane Rita evacuation in Texas last fall, family members were stuck for hours in their cars. Two members of the family were approached by folks looking to take what they did not have. Their BOBs were clearly visible from outside the car (SUV’s). Folks could look in the windows and see pillows, blankets, bottled water and snacks. Needless to say, good ole boy redneck ingenuity (a loaded weapon) took care of that situation rather quickly. There was limited law enforcement in the evacuation. Primarily law enforcement’s role was to block roads and try to keep folks out of small towns!
In addition, one group were sheltered at a church. They had to constantly be on the lookout that no one stole their bob.
My husband and I have a small bob. It is intended to go with us in the car to my brother’s land where we have a travel trailer parked. In reality, the bag is not really for flu but for hurricane season. The bag is easily hidden in the car. It contains enough food for both of us for 2–3 days, juice, etc.
Since the Rita evacuation fiasco, we have also developed 3 or 4 routes to use in an emergency. The kit also contains a GPS and very good maps.
I think the security issue is the most important for us. Family members were SHOCKED that they were approached in their cars by folks unprepared for the evacuation.
Bluebonnet,
What do you suggest for preventing this kind of scenario? Is it enough to just hide your BOB? What if you’re on foot, by yourself?
Were you involved in Katrina personally, or how much of this is just hearsay?
Ricewiki - I was not involved in Katrina other than as a volunteer at Reliant Stadium in Houston. I can tell you that was one of the most chaotic scenes I have seen in my 55 years! Folks were coming to us with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Most had not had food or water for days!!!!
My husband’s family members were involved in the incident above during the Hurricane Rita evacuation. This is not hearsay - this is a real situation of folks totally and completely panicking.
You have to understand that prior to Katrina, most evacuees were folks who lived DIRECTLY on the Texas Gulf Coast. Katrina made folks panic so LOTS of people evacuated who didn’t really need to. Thus, a 3 hour trip turned into a 22 hour nightmare for most people evacuating. Most of my co-workers, family members, and neighbors will NEVER do this again. Everyone I know is prepping like mad for the start of hurricane season on June 1.
I, personally, am keeping my BOB small because I can. My home is prepped and my travel trailer is prepped. Thus, I have the luxury (?) of having a small BOB.
On foot by myself is simply not an option for me as I live in a large metropolitan area. If I lived in a small town and had to leave my home, I think it would under the most dire circumstances and yes, I would be prepared to defend not only my BOB but myself as well.
The message is as clear as it has always been: Be prepared to take care of you and yours. This means materials,( refered to here as “preps” )physically ( part of being prepared is being physically fit)and of course emotionally and spirtually. This is not a one shot effort. H5N1 may not become what you think. Or it may. But you can be sure that there will always be a threat, and it may not give you much heads up time. Determine what level of preraredness you want and work to make that part of your lifestyle. Kelly
After reading all the great replies I am thinking of the following (as per ricewiki): One or two smaller bags that are truly BOB - like if your house were engulfed in flames and you had to leave right then and there. This would only carry true essentials and not much in the way of camping gear, etc. other than army knife and a few basics. It must be packed and ready to go AT ANY TIME. It also assumes mainly foot travel so being light-weight is essentail. The second set assumes you may have a bit of time to prep and could do some car travel. This would include camping gear, comfort items for the kids, more food and water.
Having the first is critical no matter where you live. Anything could happen - flood, fire, bf. Be ready.
I agree with lauraB.
I think it might be a good idea to think about even having TWO bug-out bags, just for this kind of scenario.
The “survival” bug-out-bag could be made to fit into the “vacation” bug-out-bag. One would use the vacation BoB if one had advance warning, a car, and a safe escape to a friend or family member and knew one would be living in a relatively decent sheltered place.
The survival BoB is more hardcore — use it if you are unsure of where you’re evacuating to, which path you might end up on, or if in an unsafe area and your stuff might get stolen, or if the situation is really dire (nuclear?) and you think you might need to get far, far away from people.
I haven’t totally worked out the distinctions between these, but it’s clear there are at least these two basic kinds, it seems to me. It could be there are two ways of being alerted to the need to bug-out and then there are two kinds of bug-out materials you might need. You may get lots of warning, but you may still have to get far away from people or do tons of walking, so you’d need the small BoB.
One good question is where to store your BoB.
I kind of think right by your bed — in case there’s an emergency while sleeping. Someone also suggested having a pair of shoes and a robe by your bed, so you’re dressed and ready to bug-out right away.
Lots of people who live in tornado prone areas keep shoes by their beds…….they’ve seen or heard of too many people who were having to pick through debris in the dark in their stocking feet or bare feet to get away to safety. And the Red Cross does NOT provide shoes, only vouchers to replace a few essentials & you have to go to your assigned office (in your bare feet if necessary) to get it.
Yep - still sleep with shoes right by my bed due to growing up in Tornado Alley in Oklahoma.
We keep our BOB right by the garage door in the laundry room. We go through it every year around this time and look at what is in there, what needs to be replaced, etc.
Ricewiki - I think you are right about 2 BOBs. One small and portable and another with more survival things in it.
What you may want to consider is having two BOB’s, the one smaller and more portable taht is part os and fits into the large BOB. A knapsack that fits into the top portion of the larger backpack.
I had to drop off my car for a new tire (nail in the sidewall) and decided instead of sitting there for an hour+ I would make the 1.3 mile walk home (I have a ride back to pick it up). I need to add walking to my Prep list because I don’t think I would make it very far with 40 pounds on my back, especially if it is summer and as hot as it is today here in Florida.
I think if I have to Bug out and it isn’t in my truck, I need an alternate form. I’m thinking maybe a three wheeled bicycle with enough room to store some gear, maybe make it tandem with two people in-line behind each other and some room for gear.
nopower – at 16:02 You might consider one of the electric bikes (like ZAP). I can charge mine from my solar array since I got the 12V kind.
I know what you mean about FL - I went to FSU and did Boot camp at Orlando. It is hot and humid. That is one reason I now live in the cool mountains of NM.
I’m going to put a 100mpg Hybrid and a decked out Jeep Wrangler in my backyard and hope they mate. The off-spring would be my ideal Bug-out vehicle.
The 72-hour kit is an outdated idea that if a serious emergency occurred in your neck of the woods, it would take the federal/state/local government no more than 72 hours to reach you and provide for your needs.
Several years ago (2002) I read an outstanding series of articles on the concept of the 72 hour kit - what the purpose(s) was, how to put them together (you are supposed to have 3 levels) and how to customize them for your needs. This paper (137 pages) gave me an excellent frame of reference to judge other opinions by.
In addition, the author wrote an excellent primer on firearms for people considering their use in a disaster situation. It was not a Walter Mitty approach, but a very sober and realistic method of solving that problem from your perspective. My wife and I are both well trained with firearms in a civilian setting and found the advice very solid.
The author is Glenn Anderson. He is retired Army and a Bishop in the LDS Church in Pensacola. He has extensive experience testing all the advice he offers. Earlier today I emailed him to re-connect and ask permission to forward his material to the list but his email bounced. Hmmmm. The material was also on the LDS website for a few years but has been removed for at least 18 months.
I am not sure how or if I should post this. I suspect it is copyrighted and the firearms stuff was a rough draft. Does anyone have contacts in LDS to get me a correct email for Glenn?
Contents of my BOB:
1. backpack that fits me, that I’ve done considerable backpacking in.
2. WATER. I’m in the desert. If I had to bug on foot for any reason this would be a minor disaster anyway due to lack of water; I’d be looking at five to ten miles between likely sources of water (or a much longer hike if I chose to follow the canals.)
3. Flashlight, extra batteries. See above; in summer, it’d be on foot at NIGHT.
4. GOOD hiking boots, well broken in.
5. More water.
6. Change of clothes, extra socks, clean underwear, windbreaker, warm sweater, — even in summer because if things were desperate enough to bug on foot I’d be heading for the high country eventually. (God, I hope I never have to make that hike — it would be an EOTWAWKI scenario. I’d know where I was going, but it would be a long, brutal trip.)
7. More water. — I have goats trained to pack, believe it or not, and I would load ‘em down with water.
8. Calorie-dense food.
9. Sleeping bags for myself and the BF, and a sheet of plastic to keep any hypothetical rain off.
10. Matches
11. Medications
12. Knife
13. String, duct tape, first aid kit, sewing kit
14. Metal pot for boiling water
15. Leashes for the dogs and rope to tie the goats in a train, for times when we had to cross busy roads.
16. A map.
That’s about it. Though the suggestion to photocopy vital records is a pretty good one; I might do that ….
I can only thing of a few real catastrophes that would cause me to need to bug on foot; chief among them would be a government quarantine (or restrictions due to fuel conservation) preventing me from driving — and a situation bad enough — i.e., civil unrest, out of food or water — where staying home was no longer a viable option. (And the BF would have difficulty with bugging out on foot. We’d have to be really, really desperate.)
If I had at least a day to prepare and could drive, we have a car and a truck & I think I could get everything vital in the truck. (I’ve also carried food, water, hiking boots, and a small amount of camping gear in my vehicle since 9/11.)
Leva
Bump
another reason to have a bag ready is high risk of wildfires in some areas. such areas may also have fire bans due to severe fire risk, seems its good to have matches but be aware of not being able to use them without doing more damage. wonder about the weight of those emergency fire blankets that folks fighting wildfires have in case a fire blows back on them. anyone pack or carry one of these?
Like BlueBonnet, we were involved in the evacuation of Hurricane Rita. However, our experience was very different.
We were well prepared to survive for a month (on the “road”) with a family of 9 children, 7 adults and my 85 y.o. mother who is in a wheelchair and has alzheimers. We did not have to walk out, but we did evacuate ahead of the chaos. We had 7 vehicles, 2 boats, and a low boy full of provisions. I have heard a lot of negative comments about taking more than one vehicle and boats. We needed this for this size family and for the provisions. The boats were needed to get us back into home &/or for rescue… remember rescue by citizens during Katrina?
The first problem we had was the hotel rooms we had booked were “taken” when we got there. Somebody else was in them and under an “emergency” they could not be bumped out. I didn’t know that then, but I do now.
Next, we had to quickly alter our plan. Because we have rehearsed this and planned ahead we knew exactly where we would go. To a fishing camp we go to in a national forest. When we first arrived, ahead of the swarm of people, it was not too populated. But, Rita took a last minute turn. Houston had the main roads clogged. When evac for the areas of SE TX and SW Louisiana began, the small backroads were all that were left. People were walking with their families on these roads to get out of the traffic jams and out of harms way. Although we were secure, it became increasingly evident that massive amounts of people were not. People were pitching tents or staying in parking lots with this massive hurricane heading straight toward us. We were able to get my mom to shelter SE of Lufkin in a few hours after landing at the camp. One of my older sons stayed with her. Our plan had been if the storm had damaged our community, 2 of us would stay with children at this SIP site. The others would return home to protect property and help out. As it turned out, that wasn’t the scenario. The problem was being trapped with all these massively unprepared people in the woods. We had to help secure over 100 people in this area we were at in order to secure ourselves. We had to use our chainsaws to clear fallen trees during the hurricane to make way for emergency vehicles to get out people who had a heart attack and a seizure.
This was the first time in over 20 years of coastal living we have been stuck like this in a hurricane. It is the first (& hopefully last) time we had to depend on FEMA… for ice. After the storm we were stuck for a week at this place because of damage to roads and a dam… there was no way out.
We have BOB provisions, tried out escape routes and have various locations where we can go. But, as a result of this we have revised our escape plans.
My point to y’all is this: have lots of plans. But never underestimate the potential of chaos. Be prepared to do what you can to quell the chaos if you can in order to survive yourselves. Being able to help others secure themselves built commadrity and security. The over 30 people there who were over 70 y.o. even helped out. That part was awesome. It was frightening & challenging trying to hold this “community” together so people wouldn’t go nuts. It meant survival and sanity to my family!
This national forest we went to is in the middle of nowhere and full of woods. It beat the heck out of being in some more populated area, but it was still a mess. It was also far enough inland that nobody expected it to get as bad as it did there. Katrina and Rita proved us all wrong in that regards… both roared much further inland than anybody remembers.
Again, my point is to never underestimate potential for chaos. Even the most well thought out plans can go wrong.
More than one plan is good -
Evacuation plans for large cities are not usually published for security reasons. However, it is not inconceivable that in event of a sudden catastrophe (dirty bomb or equivalent) that the police would divide the city into sectors and guide evacuation over certain routes to get everybody out ASAP.
Which is great - unless your 4 year old is across town.
Its hard to say in advance how schools would handle such situations, but I understand that there was pandemonium around some of the schools close to the World Trade Center. I know teachers who stayed late into the afternoon making sure that the kids went home with the right people.
Make sure that the kids have extra juice and water, and for a small child, contact info for the parents, grandparents, and a backup in their school backpack. You should also have personal cell phone numbers for teachers and teacher’s aids.
This is a little off-topic for flu, but kids might need a little BOB too, especially if they get separated from you…
Awesome thread. I can only emphasize having a pair of good shoes or boots attached or inside the BOB. A simple foot injury would be devastating in the midst of a major disaster.
the ultimate bug out bag.. (bag only, not all the content, but it is a complete solar charger system for gadgets, that is helpfull even when you dont “bug out” http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/09/voltaic_solar_b.php
One thing I have not seen listed here- night vision equipment. I am seriously considering AN pvs 7b night goggles for my wife and I. Willing to spend the 7K just wondering if anybody else has them?
Lots of great info on this thread, not just for a pandemic, but any quick-on-your-feet emergency!
Closed due to length. Conversation is continued here.