What's in your Bug Out Bag?

Do you have a BUG out Bag

  • Yes

    Votes: 61 40.4%

  • No

    Votes: 25 16.6%

  • No, But I am going to put one together soon

    Votes: 44 29.1%

  • No, and you are paranoid for having one at all :)

    Votes: 21 13.9%
  • Total voters
    151
Seattle10>>I know what you're saying, and not arguing in the least. But I have Aluminium foil, and trioxin tablets that serve the same purpose and take less space where a stove requires bulky fuel bottles by comparison. If there's snow, I can melt it for water the same way, but even more compact. As for tents, the biggest factor I see there is protection from the elements. No matter where you are, there are ways to do that with what's provided for the most part. My tent and bag have a perminent place in the back seat of my truck because I'm known for the spur-of-the-moment camping trips. But my BoB is just that---a bag that I throw over the shoulder and if that's all I have I know I can make it, with what I've packed, with a good chance of survival for an unknown period of time.

A little "game" I played when I was younger was to go camping, then go again purposefully leaving a few things behind to see what I could do with the rest. Little by little I got down to almost nothing and whatever else I brought was almost luxury. From there I figured out what I needed, what I should probably have, what else I could include just for a little extra insurance, and what was just creature-comfort. That's also how I put my BoB together. I think it's a good excercise.
 
I have one of those little triox camp stoves. Doesn't get very hot but the fuel can be used as fire starter and the stove can be put in the fire
My mess kit is an individual unit that will fit in the cargo pocket of a pair of BDUs.
I have many first aid kits from shirt pocket sized to truck mounted
Same with flashlights.
Didn't realize that the magnetics were so cheap now
I've already mentioned my tent, weighs about as much as 2 ponchos
Right now all I have are water purification tabs but will look at a decent giardia effective filter.

I used to go to Vietnam every couple of years.
I would allow my uncle in law to use my checked bags to take things to the family so I was restricted to using what I could pack in a small backpack for up to 2 months.
We went to an island with no plumbing or electricity and what I would consider makeshift housing.
While no where near a life threatening situation I used that to hone down what I would used in a real emergency by adding some of the new technology that was not around when I was a kid. Although I didn't realize that I was doing it at the time
Batteries were the most missed when gone and the hardest to keep
 
California may be safer than Tennessee from earthquakes, California has them frequently which may relieve the stresses and prevent the big one, but Tennessee and Missouri, when they go they go big, very big because of the lack of periodic stress relief.
Click to expand...

Not only that, but the different geological structures in the region transmit energy better, making bad quakes worse.
 
joab

for 15 or so dollars, I am very pleased. Usually LED flashlights are more expensive than their conventional counterparts.

It is a bit of a trade off though (but this is for all LED lights)

pro:
Brighter, intense, white light

con:
less range than a conventional bulb flashlight, chew through batteries (not an issue here)

30 seconds of shaking gets a few minnutes (5-6) of light, and you can shake it whenever to charge it some more. There is no need for violent shaking either, simply turning it over and over works fine.

This style flashlight will not become dull with age either, because capacitors dont loose their ability to hold charge, unlike lithium ion batteries.

I highly reccomend this style of flashlight, because it is nice to have something independent of batteries, and it is also nice to have LED lighting, but for camping I would also reccomend carrying a traditional (read: maglite) flashlight for longer distances and knocking people out :D
 
Hmmm...I think I would add some Strippers, yeah! Blonde, Redheaded or Bald...don't care, just gotta make sure that if it is up to me to re-populate the Earth...my offspring sure ain't gonna look anything like woodland creatures, and of course they also could serve as a sleeping bag warmer upper...oh, and Chocodiles...love those things.
 
HighValleyRanch
Can I order direct, or are there any sources here in the USA?
Click to expand...
You asked Mikkel about the Jerven Fjellduken poncho-shelter-survival blanket, I didn't see an answer. I just waded through this thread. Good thread, but I can see why he might have lost interest - and I read it after some of the posts were deleted...

Anyway, I hope Mikkel won't mind if I answer the question for him. Jerven only lists Scandinavian retailers on their website.

I suggest you send them an e-mail at post@jerven.no - just write them in English, they should have no problem understanding you.

I have two of the Jerven bags myself, one unlined and one large, lined one. Now that I have "discovered" them, I would not want to be without one ever again, whether it's for hunting, hiking, military "camping trips", or any kind of survival situation.
 
Thanks UltimaThule,
I got your PM as well.
Will send them an email.

At least some "useful" information is coming out of the thread.

Those that are not prepared, can only whine about it when they are hungry, cold and wet!
 
I actually have 2, a big one at home and a small one that stays in the car. The big one has clothes, a good camp knife, and a big 3 day survival kit that includes food, water, radio, flashlight, thermal blanket, first aid kit, etc. I also have a weapon ready to pick up and take with me.

The car kit is a smaller one that has a small 3 day survival kit (it was too good a deal to pass up at the gun store) and a big military first aid kit that I've always kept in the car in case I come across an accident. I also always have a coat in the car when the weather is cold.
 
I don't have a bag as such,but I always have a first aid kit, blankets and a couple of spare coats for roadside emergencies. After reading this I will probably throw a small bag together. I do live in a tornado prone state, and it would be good to have a 3 day supply of food/water etc.

edited 'cause I can't spell.
 
99.9% of all of you are correct.............Any one remember that old scout saying, "Be prepared" ?? Do it. I went through all the latest Florida hurricanes. No power for eight days. Lots of MREs, plenty water, medicine, food, etc.
Have had a BOB since 1949.............also a lighter one for hunting/fishing........also.....one in Iowa, one is South Dakota. Each one set up according to the weather conditions one may encounter......both mild and extreme. Not paranoid, just cautious..............sh
 
It costs you very little to have a good BOB prepared for emergencies. It may cost you a great deal to need one and not have it.
 
A Campmor matchcase, full of vasolined cotton balls,
Click to expand...
Do you really think you'll have time or inclination for that sort of thing while you are trying to survive ;)

Other than all the cold weather gear it matches up with what I would want to carry.
Also waxed dental floss makes a good replacement thread for making gear repairs
 
You do know that that was just a bad joke right. :)

I carry dryer lint myself even though there is usually plenty of monkey fuzz around
 
Hanab
Christmas 1990 - - Blizzard hits N.E. FL. It was really only an ice storm but Jacksonville and the surrounding areas were frozen solid for 3 days. Severe power outages, impassable roads, stores closed . . . If you were at your office far from home, you most likely didn't make it home for three days.

Just 2 or 3 years ago a hurricane was bearing down on Jacksonville and they ordered an evacuation. It was FUBAR. I-10, I-95, I-75 were all jammed up for hundreds of miles. I'm not exagerating some people only got a 50 to 100 miles out of town before getting stuck in the HUGE traffic jam. The few who made to exits soon found that gas stations were out of gas. Hundreds or thousands of people ended up sleeping in their cars that night. Luckily the hurricane turned north so they didn't have to endure a hurricane stuck in the car.

No matter what you call it, emergency supplies just make sense.
 
Christmas 1990 - - Blizzard hits N.E. FL. It was really only an ice storm but Jacksonville and the surrounding areas were frozen solid for 3 days. Severe power outages, impassable roads, stores closed . . . If you were at your office far from home, you most likely didn't make it home for three days.
Click to expand...
I remember that. I had some customers that were stranded in their homes because power was knocked out and the electric gates and garage door openers couldn't open :)

My friend's car broke down and he had to walk 10 miles in the slush and got frost bite in his big toe. Never lived down the joke that only a Pollock could get frostbite in Fla ( we were all Polish in the neighbor hood)

The rich home stranded people could have used a nice MRE package and my friend sure could have used a good pair of boots and some warm car camping gear

Good memories
 
Thing in my survival pack not yet mentioned (or read)

superglue

mag worth of ammo for evey caliber I have (extra of some). Who knows which one I will have on me at the time.

can opener

Hot pad for taking things out of a fire

First aid guide (booklet)

keychain rings, garbage bag ties, other attachment/marking devices

hacksaw blade (can't really give a good reason but I'll keep it in there since is is so small)

sunglasses (goggles)/boonie hat

anti-biotics (from Mexico; broad spectrum)

off bug spray and travel toiletries

salt/pepper for the tough trolls (actually to replenish salt)

quinine/ potasium / bunch of other drugs - immodium ect

hatchet - surly someone posted that one and I missed it

painter's cloth (for quartering game and butchering)

fix a flat in the car

pantyhose (so many uses) I like nude :-)

tweezers (cactus around here)

game calls

trail mix

can of corn beef hash (really I needed a can more than the hash)


Things to add:

Epi Pen - who knows, but it's small

Snake bit kit (anybody have anti-venom)

mace

various belts and hoses for the car/ tire plugs
 
Spring break '92 New England Blizzard

I was on a school field trip in NY for that whole week. We rolled a giant snowball of the hotel roof onto a cab (I hope the statue of limitations has passed). We flung waterballons out the window at other students with that slingshot thing. We got busted in a seeding little club by the principal who threatened to send us home. Man, the mispent time of "young, dumb, full of ..." all cooped up on the account of a snow storm. Luckly the power grid was not distrubed or we would have needed the BOB in a bad way.
 
Immodium is a superb idea. There is nothing more debilitating than the black water trots, and nothing easier to catch when in survival mode.

Great tip, that goes in the bag today.
 
I never go anywhere

without immodium....

quick story..1985 or so I was in London and happened to be walking through Hyde Park and naturally when I got right in the middle of the park I had an "attack" I was trying to make it back to my hotel and had moved from a quick walk to a trot and was getting desperate. I came upon a chemist and went inside and asked the clerk for some Peptol Bismol. He just laughed and made some comment about us silly Americans and he handed me a pack of these little green capsules. He told me to take one now and by the time I get out of store
the attack will stop. The rest is history. I went back and bought ten boxes to take home with me. I guess the point of this story is that Europe really does get to try a lot of medicines before we do :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top