Survival kit. What do you think?

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ricebasher302

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Recently I was given a Voodoo Tactical Pack as a groomsman’s gift at a wedding. These are nice packs. I’m impressed with the quality. I already have several packs that I use for backpacking, hunting, hiking, etc. I thought it may be a good pack to use for a SHTF/Survival/Worst-Case Scenario bag. I don’t lose sleep worrying about the apocalypse, but I think it’s good to be as prepared as you can. So, I set about gathering a lot of my gear, stuff I have duplicates of or don’t use very often. I purchased the rest of the stuff I thought I might be missing.

Obviously, there are items that I’d like to have but can’t fit. I dont have much for means of shelter, but have tools that can be used to construct one, and would be able to start a fire. I figured that if it came down to it, I’d bring my .22 pistol and my AR, so within my pack I’ve included the following items:

1. 6 - 30 rd. AR mags. (2 loaded with hollow points, 2 with FMJ’s, 1 with SP’s, 1 with AP’s)
2. 80 rounds add’tl .223 ammo in boxes
3. 100 rds. 22lr ammo.
4. Folding metal shovel
5. Buck hatchet
6. Benchmade CSK knife
7. Leatherman tool
8. LED flashlight/batteries
9. Windproof lighter
10. Regular lighter
11. Waterproof matches (the ability to start a fire is critical)
12. First aid kit
13. Compass/mirror/whistle/magnesium stick
14. Water purification tablets
15. Fishing hooks, flies, line, bobber, sinkers
16. Athletic tape
17. Orange flagging
18. Knife sharpener
19. Spare pocket knife
20. Duct tape
21. 100 ft. braided nylon cord.
22. Metal clips/carabiners
23. Needle/Thread
24. Metal cup
25. Plastic bags
26. Plastic sheet
27. Space blanket
28. Mesh mosquito face net
29. Gloves
30. Socks
31. Flannel shirt
32. Camo shirt
33. Water bottle

What do you guys think? Am I missing anything important? Good idea? Have any of you got anything similar?
 
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Yea, along with guns, my hobbies include hot rodding. I'm a firm believer in old-school American muscle. It makes me happy. Waxing the occasional import is very therapeutic. Thanks
 
1. 6 - 30 rd. AR mags. (2 loaded with hollow points, 2 with FMJ’s, 1 with SP’s, 1 with AP’s)
2. 8 rounds add’tl .223 ammo in boxes
Click to expand...

Why the 8 more rounds of .223?

Why not carry one ammunition type- suitable for taking down game/humans?
 
Woops! 80 rounds. (4 boxes) Sorry. I figure all ammo weighes pretty much the same. It'll all punch a hole in a soft target, but why not have some different kinds. Never know what you'll be using it for.
 
I'd get a mess kit of some sort in there. Maybe a pot/pan and inside the pan have one of those combo folding spork/knives

Also the hatchet has a hammer on the back of it right?

And also I'd get one of those wheel whistles, they're small and like 6 bucks, and damn are they loud!
 
how about adding a su-16 in there? same ammo as a AR but designed to be compact.
 
#13 is a whistle combo tool type of thing that'll suffice I think. I also think the mess kit/pot/pan stuff is probably a good idea too. I'll see if I can find some stuff that'll fit/strap on the outside. And yes, the hatchet has a butt-end for use as a hammer. Defiantely a good feature.

Stampsm, if you have one, I'll take it! For now though, no new gun purchases are in the budget. Good idea though.
 
A water filtration system. I have a Katydyn (?) Hiker I think.
Climate specific clothing. In wyoming right now I bet its really cold. Might have a seperate bag for extreme cold that should you have to leave now, can grab and change into when you get a chance.
 
SalchaketJoe,

It IS cold in Wyoming now! I do believe it would be wise to have a separate cold weather gear bag. I like where your head is at. Leave it in the summer, grab it in the winter.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that my water bottle does have one of those removable filters.
 
If your worried about just making it out in the wild I guess you'll be ok with what ya got, if your packing for a zombie apocalypse outbreak or a civil war i'd make a few changes. Like starting with a full size pistol, and by that I mean a full size caliber not a .22. The only advantage I can see right now with carrying a 22 and the AR is you can use the same cleaning brush and stuff and the fact that .22 ammo is light weight.

Speaking of stuff thats light weight, AR mags are pretty dang light weight so, I'd ditch the boxed up ammo stuff and put in a few more mags full. If you run into a situation needing that much ammo your going to need it NOW, not when you have time to reload a mag.

One of those folding camp saws could be nice.

For fire starting I love those little butane soldering torches. The kind that have a refillable lighter stuck inside them like thishttp://www.parts-express.com/images/item_large/372-210_L.jpg I use them all the time to light fire in fireplace. If it were me i'd toss it in instead of the standard cheapo disposables. If you carry a few different kinds of plastic bags, a couple small ones to put stuff in, and a heavy duty 55 gallon one you could eliminate the plastic sheeting. Slice off the bottom and split one side if you need a big flat piece.

Oh one last thing what ya planning on eating, I dont' see any food listed :neener:
 
only ONE water bottle? You need water second only to air to survive, besides a filter, I would add some purification tablets and several bottles.

Of course, depending on the scenario, that pack is going to get heavy REAL fast, especially if going uphill, or are you planning on driving? That would change things, IMO
 
How much weight is that fully loaded? It's got to be a solid ton.

I'd have a lot less ammo and a lot more genuine survival gear. I'd also put more emphasis on the first aid kit to ensure that it is a *real* first aid kit not the usual band-aid nonsense. In a genuine emergency there will be blood. You can't do much for internal wounds but if you have the right gear you can keep someone from bleeding out too badly. After seeing the aftermath of bad accidents I've got mine full of 4x4's, quickclot pads, tourniquets, burn kits and wraps. Most folks wouldn't believe the amount of blood that comes out of a person.

Ditto the water filter pump. I'd also make sure to have a good portable backpacking stove and fuel.

In Wyoming you'd also need to pack some serious longjohns and other thick clothing for winter.
 
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If the bag is to hole-up in the woods, it is short on shelter & game processing / mess equipment. (Tent / gambrel / bone saw / latex gloves) If it is for civil unrest, it also needs a pistol & could probably do without some of the survival gear.

What about important papers? They should all be scanned to a thumb drive. What about cash? GPS / Compass? Radio for news? Solar charger for phone & radio? Mirror for signaling? Are you going to be in your car/truck? If so, what about spare hoses / belts / gas / oil / spare / tools?

Are you going to be on foot? It helps to know where you would be going & why. Holing up at home is probably best, in which case food & water & everything needed for time without utilities is paramount. If you are forced to leave, then you will have transport & the ability to carry more stuff. If you are crafting a bag to pack out on foot, then half this stuff has to go.
 
Alright. What is your AO? What is most likely to happen in your AO? Fires? Earthquakes? Tornado? Hurricanes?

It's fun to load up on and ammo and pretend that you're going to be Mad Max, but this isn't the most likely scenario. Prepare for the most likely scenario and mold your bag to best fit these scenarios.

For starters make sure you have the basics covered.
Food, I don't see any food, you may think you can hunt and fish for food but you never know if you're going to have time to hunt, if you can find animals, or any other circumstances that may arise to limit your ability to gather food. Try getting some Mountain House or stripped MREs.
Shelter, At least get poncho and better clothes. Layers are your best friend. Good wool socks. etc.
Water, you've got a water bottle and water tabs, get a hydration bladder at least.
Protection, Drop the boxed ammo, keep it in mags, do you want to fumbling around with lose ammo should you need it? Besides you shouldn't need that much ammo anyway. If you need more than 6 mags you need more friends not more ammo.

Also where are you planning to bug out to? Are you just going to run into the woods and try to live? If you're going to do that at least have a cache somewhere with extra ammo and supplies. Hope this has helped, if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
 
Food, I don't see any food, you may think you can hunt and fish for food but you never know if you're going to have time to hunt, if you can find animals, or any other circumstances that may arise to limit your ability to gather food. Try getting some Mountain House or stripped MREs....
Shelter, At least get poncho and better clothes. Layers are your best friend. Good wool socks. etc.
Water, you've got a water bottle and water tabs, get a hydration bladder at least.
Click to expand...

Yup, first things I thought.

How much does that pack weigh with everything loaded-up? Is it more than 1/3 your bodyweight?

Do you even have any room for food?

What would you have left on your person if you lose that pack?

What are you planning this for? SHTF? Where are you planning to run-to with that pack? Is your destination fully prepped and protected?
 
Sometimes I have to wonder about you survivalists. What SHTF scenario are you expecting that this survival kit is going to help you in? I'm not saying that there could not or would not be A SHTF scenario, I'm just saying, What are you running from??? where are you going??? What are you gonna do when you get there??? How long are you going to need to survive on this kit??? If you do survive what are your plans to get your life back??? You dont need a kit you need a plan. Do you have a plan???

Sheesh.
 
Wow! This is going like wildfire. I like all the input, but I think a lot of you are assuming that I'm planning for a particular event. I don't think it's possible to know what might happen. If I get a phone call or see on the news that there are zombies on the way, I'll ditch the .22, grab the .45, beef up my first aid gear, etc. If it's February, I'll don my cold weather gear. (I've got that covered. I was a logger previously) I'm just kind of shooting for a good all-around pack with some essentials. In this area, the only real concern is Yellowstone blowing up, Obama, and the second coming of Christ, but I plan on leaving with him when that happens.

Also, a lot of you have suggested items I already have listed. (water purification tablets, mirror, mini torch, etc. That's okay, it's a long list. As far as water goes, there's tons of streams here. Most are very clean. Lots of snow too. I really dont need to pack around gallons. (But I can't count on it, right?)

Next, where I'm from, whitetails are like varmints. (Yea, I know, they're like that everywhere.) Good food source. I know how to harvest game, or just animals in general. I once shot and ate a pidgeon just to see how it was. I would certainly take some food with me, and hope to get some good freeze dried stuff as has been mentioned. That's a good idea. I think a camp saw is a good idea too.

Next, the pack, as is is not really heavy at all. I can say that because I am an avid backpacker, and have carried heavy packs many miles cross-country in the high Rockies. I do have experience in winter survival, so I'm not exactly an inexperienced outdoorsman. There is a lot of forested land here, so shelter can be found easily or constructed with some of the tools I have.

So, keep it coming, but bear all of this in mind as we proceed.
 
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Might want to think a bit more 'urban'? At least pack a small bulb siphon and a couple rolls of silver eagles (forget American dollars).

As far as firearms, try to stick to a pistol and carbine that use the same ammo? My gear includes a 1911 and just a MechTech conversion tube on a sling - light, compact weaponry, suitable for any occasion 7-100 yards.

Oh, and a couple cans of sterno for date nights.
 
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