the $4,000 72 hour kit

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YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


No offense, but it's obvious that you have never spent a weekend in the woods. My suggestion - poke around the interwebs for minimalist hiking websites. Go camping (like as in, hiking during the day, tent at night - not sleeping your car...) a few times and read about real survival craft (not the crazy ninja tacticool LEET survival junk stuff). Then, assemble a 2 week pack under $200 (and that's on the expensive side).
 
I would imagine the multi tool has a can opener of some sort, but a P-38 is simple, cheap and a good add.
 
Boonie hat – Would be better on your head than in your pack
Air filter masks (4) – Is that four masks for one face or one mask for four faces?
Water filter – Always a good idea. A chemical treatment is light and makes a good back-up.
Latex gloves (20) – You can blow them up like balloons; entertaining for kids.
MREs (4) – Humping 50# of gear around, you’ll need them
Mosquito netting – Imagine all the mosquitoes you can net!
DEET – A good idea since you don’t have a tent.
Red light filter – Makes things look weird, sort of cool for the kids to play with
Flare – Good for alerting traffic if you collapse under the weight of the pack on some dark road.
Zip ties (25) – A zombie with zip-tied ankles is a zombie you don’t have to shoot. Saves ammo!
Folding shovel – You never know when a foxhole will come in handy.
Sleeping bag – Useless if it gets wet, and without a tent it probably will.
Crowbar – Just in case the shovel wasn’t enough dead weight.
Framless backpack – I hope it has wheels.
First aid pack – Always a good idea, a lot can happen in 72 hours.
Caffeine mints – You’ll be minty fresh and wide awake. Useful for kissing your way out of a jam.
Freezer bags – A couple are always good, eight might be a bit excessive, so they fit right in.
Wool socks – Always a good idea.
Pepper spray – Makes a neat hissing sound.
10X monocular – Helps you see things you’d be able to walk to if your pack was lighter.
Multi-tool – Always good to have.
180 lumen flashlight – Will light up one of the 72 hours for you. An LED headlamp would be better.
Sunglasses – In case you forget which way to point the 180 lumen flashlight.
Handcuffs – Hey, nobody said survival couldn’t be kinky.
Folding knife – To make the folding knife blade in the multi-tool jealous.
GMRS radio – Ten-four good buddy
Towels and rags – You’ll be dry!
Whistle – Always a good idea.
Smoke grenades (4) – Diversionary tactic or for signaling helicopters.
50’ paracord – Always a good idea.
Sterno cans (6) – Kinda pointless without the chafing dish, don’t you think?
Bic lighters (10) – You can attend a lot of concerts in 72 hours with ten lighters.
Compass – In case you happen upon a hot girl who remembered a map but forgot a compass.
Work gloves – In case you find a job out there.
Water (4) – Fragile bottles, four times the chance for one of them to leak onto your sleeping bag.
Solar recharger – Apparently for the GMRS radio. You’ll be able to talk to all the kids.
Batteries – See the above.
ID and Cash – A bonus for whoever finds your carcass!
Soap – Yes, please use the soap.
Baby wipes – Is there room for a baby?
Crystal Light packets (12) – That’s, like, totally a dozen. That’s a lot of cherry flavor for 72 hours!
Duct tape – Always good to have.
MRE heating packs – Didn’t the MREs mentioned previously already have heaters?
Celox blood clot – Just in case the zombies figure out how to shoot guns.
Severe trauma pack – So that “comprehensive” first aid pack wasn’t so comprehensive?
Glock 9mm – No ammo? Well, jam a rod down the barrel and you’ve got a putter.
SCAR – Another bonus for whoever finds your carcass first!
 
Wet wipes= field hygiene. Staying clean is a strong component of staying healthy "in the field", where I've spent months. I'd take wet wipes over smoke grenades just about every time, especially if you don't have your own air support on tap.

I'd take something like a NEF or Rossi rifle and shotgun barrel over that expensive, heavy SCAR, too.
 
daorhgih, if you can't carry 70 lbs you should get off the internet and start working out! Seriously, your likely poor health is much more likely to kill you than a bad guy or disaster.
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And we have a winner. "Survival" so to speak is a hobby until one addresses the actual, real threats to human life. It's a lot easier to talk about BOBs, 72 (or 256) hour packs, SHTF scenarios, TEOTWAWKI, zombies, etc. than it is to work out for hours, days, weeks, months and years until one can run, climb, walk, drag, crawl and otherwise do anything. We all have physical limits, whether due to injury, age or otherwise, but only people who diligently safeguard their health and physical condition (to their best ability, given those limitations) are survivalists - others are armchair hobbyists.

I'm not hating on armchair hobbyists, I'm one myself for a variety of interests. HOWEVER, if you think you are, or want to be, a survivalist, take care of yourself first and foremost. And to all those armchair survivalist: keep on coming with your BOBs and 72 hour packs - I love the thinking and discussion around that stuff.

To repeat: NOT critisizing the hobbyists.
 
Daaaaaaannnnnnngggg...:what:

Maybe you're a hiker, and maybe you're not, but if you are one... we personally have very different hiking capabilities and preferences. If you aren't one, I HIGHLY suggest covering about a hundred miles on foot in about a week sometime. It'll be an eye opener, I promise.

I bet the first thing you'll notice is that you probably don't need six cans of sterno, maybe not even need any at all. And you'll also notice that carrying useless weight is a no-go. It slows you down, makes you tired, and can cause injuries.

As for the first aid... I have a kit in my pack always, and it weighs less than two pounds. The minor injuries package is separate and not as easily accessible. It only weighs a few ounces... a few assorted band aids, light painkillers(NOT ASPRIN, it thins the blood), anti-diarrhea and anti vomiting capsules, a few Benadryl tablets, a little gauze, antibacterial, a couple of alcohol wipes, duct tape, and some moleskin. That's it. My major injuries kit is slightly heavier and kept where I can get to it quick. It has more gauze, athletic tape, an ace bandage, butterfly strips, and Celox for SERIOUS bleeding only(I thought about getting an Epi-Pen for it, but I'm not allergic to anything). This little kit is plenty for pretty much anything that won't kill me immediately. Broken bones, bad allergies, arterial bleeding, stomach illness... it's enough to stabilize pretty much anything from a bee sting to a gunshot wound and it's only a couple of pounds. No sense in carrying five pounds of band aids and Tylenol for minor scrapes.

I'm an experienced hiker, and I've got plenty more suggestions for changes if it were my pack... but it ain't. It's yours. Just trying to make sure you don't get thought of as that guy with more money than sense.

Oh, there's a lot of stuff that I wouldn't personally carry in your pack, but I feel there's some things that are important that you add... these aren't just personal opinion, these suggestions are probably going to be pretty much universal...That is not enough water. I'd personally add a couple more full bottles of water and a couple more empty ones in case you know you won't be passing any water for a day or so. Eight full bottles of water should be plenty enough to get you to another water source unless you're in a desert. Also, I see no rain protection. It doesn't have to be much, but a rain fly and string to sleep under would make life a lot happier when the weather sucks.

And you say you're making four of them, does that mean for a wife and kids? The wife and kids are not going to be able to walk far with 50 pound packs... sorry. Take that exact pack and spend just one night in the woods with it, and you'll see some glaring oversights and a lot of redundancy ( pepper spray and pistol, zip ties and handcuffs, ten bic lighters).
 
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Mainsail,

Damn that was funny. Especially the one about the flares. I actually laughed out loud.

I don't have a BOB, an never considered putting one together. But, I do find the idea intriguing. It seems like a good idea to have some sort of pack put together if something bad happened around my house that required me to leave immediately, but I'd opt for a hotel or a stay with friends and family.

I guess I can't get my head around a situation that would require me to leave my house and head for a campground or the wilderness. With a Katrina type disaster, I'd hunker down at home. For a biological or chemical type thing I guess I'd just drive out of town and find a hotel or a friends house.
 
You certainly don't need 6 cans of sterno, though I'd keep one. Ditch the handcuffs, pepper spray, 3 of the smoke grenades. Add a poncho, a map of the local area, waterproof matches.

I'm certainly no expert, but this seems excessive. I survived a week in the woods in the middle of winter with 4 feet of snow on the ground in the woods of eastern Washington with much less.
 
LOL JohnBlitz.... capture the enemy and eat them......
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I was a grunt for a lot of years. What I carried minus ammo: poncho, poncho liner, socks in ziplock bag at least 3 pairs, spare T-shirt, poly pro long underwear, rain suit, shaving gear, GP net configured for a hammock, sewing kit, Glock knife with saw on my ruck, Randal model #1 and multi-tool on me, set of pen flares and a couple of lighters, pack of hard candy, E-tool, a couple of mini maglights (better available now). 2 MREs a day, small roll of OD duct tape. spool of 100 pound nylon string, ibuprofin, 1st aid bandage, water proof bag for inside the ruck that holds the contents of the ruck. That is it, one day two weeks did not matter. If it was cold I might take a sleeping bag. Depends how much were going to be moving and generally we slept in the day and moved at night, on a 72 hour mission we may not sleep at all more than a cat nap when we could. When we were going into Iraq my ruck weighed over 100 pounds most of that was ammo for myself and crew served weapons (30 pounds for crew served weapons) and a lot of Army stuff I had to carry. I will say you need more medical stuff than I carried. I had the luxury of an Army medic near me and he carried all that. Parachute cord is over kill, a spool of 100 pound nylon cord gives you more cord for what you really want to use it for and a lot more of it for the weight. In 72 hours you are not going to fish or trap, you are going to be moving. If you are planning on doing that pack a 48 hour bag and forget about fishing and trapping.

Look to your purpose. If you are putting a 72 hour bag together its because you are going somewhere. Keep it light so you can get there. You don't need a fancy firestarter kit in 72 hours a lighter is not going to run out and one of them should stay dry. Don't plan on carrying for every contingency that way lies madness carry basics and expect to adapt.

If you want a good long term firestarter don't get those ones you shave things off of they will run out like a lighter. Get a fire piston, you could use one everyday for twenty years and it will still be working.
 
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that's not a lot of water for 72 hours
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a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. For 3 days if its hot that would be 24 pounds for the whole time which is too much to carry. You have to plan on replenishing your water as you go. In most places that is not a problem if you can purify it.
 
Good grief! I've hiked sections of the Florida Trail and the Appalachian Trail in seven to ten day segments with less stuff than that. Gas masks and filters? Handcuffs!!?? Really??? And where do you plan to GO with that stuff, and do you have a plan to get there? I can say with some certainty that anybody to plans to just pick up a B.O.B. and go live off the land after a disaster scenario (like everybody else in the area) doesn't have a clue.
 
Now that I think about it, I'll give you a list of what I carry when I hike on the Appalachian Trail to give you a good idea of the type of stuff you'll really need when traveling on foot. It's all the same regardless except for the amount of food and type of clothing depending on season and length of hike.

Pack
Rainfly (with string to set it up if it's raining)
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad (optional. you could use leaves to insulate you from the ground)
Pistol (when hiking, I only carry the one full mag)
Eight water bottles(only four are full if there's water on my route in the next ten miles)
Water purification drops (8-16 drops of bleach per gallon of water works too)
Three pairs of wool socks
Medical kit(outlined previously, it weighs less than two pounds)
wool beanie hat
one extra change of clothes(choose carefully. lightweight, warm, NOT COTTON)
FOOD (amount depends on length of hike. I usually carry an extra days worth of food)
1 liter cooking pot (folding handles, aluminum, lightweight)
small alcohol stove
alcohol for fuel (HEET, break line antifreeze)
2 bic lighters
toilet paper in a ziplock (can be used as tinder if you need something dry)
2 pocket knives
Map and compass (compass is basically useless without a decent map)
headlamp
spare small flashlight (try to keep battery type the same as headlamp)
small amount of duct tape (maybe 15 feet taken off the roll)
hefty trash bag
cord (enough to hang your food, plus a little extra)



This type stuff is what you really need if you are trying to cover ground comfortably and safely. If it applies to hiking, it would apply to "bugging out." I get REALLY HUNGRY when hiking, so enough food is important to me. I choose light weight foods that have calories like jerky, rice, noodles, pasta, muffin mix, pancake mix, olive oil, peanut butter, granola bars. Some people can cover ground hungry, but it's difficult for me personally. Lots of food could be optional for you. Spam is good, but it's kinda heavy.

Leave most of that stuff behind. If you are expecting resistance from bad men, carry the rifle and more ammo(sling is important). I can't see the need for smoke grenades, but even if I did I probably wouldn't carry more than a couple. Don't know anything about gas masks, but as long as it's not heavy, go to town.

Handcuffs, zip ties, pepper spray? If they are bad dangerous people, are you going to be restraining them and taking them with you?

Sterno is heavy and you can only find it in camping stores. Alcohol stoves are lighter and you can find break line anti-freeze(called HEET, it's denatured alcohol) pretty much anywhere. Wal-Mart, gas stations, convenience stores, auto parts stores, they all sell HEET for a couple of bucks. I even saw some at Kroger.

Good tips: I only carry duplicates of what I find EXTREMELY important. Like two lighters, two flashlights, two knives, and two extra pairs of good socks. If you need glasses, carry an extra pair. You need to insulate yourself from the ground in cold weather, but you can pile up leaves or pine branches if you don't want to carry a sleeping pad. Drink a lot of water before leaving a water source, it's easier to carry when it's inside you. Pee before going to bed, you'll sleep warmer since your body isn't trying to heat that liquid up in your bladder. Eat your heaviest food first. If you need a compass, you need a map too and you need to know how to use them both together. Hang ALL food downwind from your campsite, always. Even when not in bear country. Wild dogs are everywhere...I'm ashamed to admit this, but I once watched a skunk steal all my food and there wasn't a thing I could do to stop him without gettin sprayed...
 
+1^^^

That's pretty much what I carry, too, except I use a Svea stove with white gas instead of an alcohol burner; it heats up fast, and uses very little fuel per meal. I usually carry a .22 revolver, which in the past 25 years or so I've never actually had to use in a survival situation. When you're off the beaten trail for days at a time, you find out what's important to have, like dry socks and underwear, toilet paper, and wet-wipes. Nowadays, I'll take a cell phone with GPS to go with the map and augment the compass, too.
 
I would ditch the rifle as well. It would draw too much attention, IMHO. Also, as stated, bivy sack, tentage of some sort would be useful.
 
I would almost be tempted to trade one of those guns for a .22 handgun.

I have a slingshot in my kit. And a few pieces of hard candy never hurts (to eat, not for slingshot ammo).
 
I made the super light stove in my kit out of a beer can, it uses any liquid that will burn except auto gas. It works well with Heet or gas tank alcohol. Takes less than 5 minutes to make. Here are a cpl pics. I have instructions how to make if anyone is interested, just PM me your email addy.

1oz of fuel burns about 14 minutes, more than enough for hot liquid and some sort of a meal.

You need a soda/beer can (for a larger stove use a 20-24oz can) sharp scissors, scotch tape (no it will not melt or burn away), leather plier punch or a small diameter paper punch and a 1/4" drift pin punch. 5-10 minutes of time, you just saved yourself $80 for a alcohol stove.
 

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I can't imagine what you are planning for..

What about a glock, a full tank of gas, the tool box from your garage, $3,500 cash, and a phone book or a list of cheap motels a 100 miles north and a 100 miles south? That seems more appropriate in this day and age than cooking mre's over sterno on the side of the highway with a SCAR over your shoulder if TSHTF.
 
If the SHTF you will not be leaving in a car. An enduro cycle maybe, a horse, quad etc. Maybe even "Shanks Mare." Roads will be jammed. A good kit is a good kit, a minimal kit is just that. Yes you can live minimally, but some tools and gear just make the stay (short or long) just easier and better to handle.

I have stayed on out backs for 20-25 days before and as few as just over-night. I have done this in Montana, Ohio, PA, Kentucky and Texas, good solid gear makes all the difference. If you add cheap crap, then your outing will be crappy no matter if it is survival or recreational.

Fire then water being your most important basic needs. Shelter and then food are next. Whatever you feel YOU need to support those efforts based on your skills is what you need. The idea is to be efficient, smart and use your gained skills.

If you never have done it before, then you will soon realize what stuff you need and don't need by practicing. DO NOT wait til SHTF. As I said before, practice, practice and more practice until it all becomes second nature. The more you practice, the less gear you will need in time.

All of us will have our opinions on what to add or take away and why. This is based on YOUR skills and gear use level. All of us will pick apart anothers BOB because we all have different skill sets.

All the money in the world and the most expensive BOB will not help you if you do not know how to survive and handle issues as they come up. Simple wounds can become deadly in a matter of hours if you do not know how to take care of them. Simple situations can become lethal if you make wrong decisions.

Yes, a fire piston is great and light enough for sure and I do have one in my larger kit. I have had my gerber magnisum fire lighter for close to 8 years and have lit prob hundreds of fires with it and it has not worn out. It is smaller, more efficient and when humid or raining it will work every time unlike a fire piston, lighter or matches (even hurricane matches). Just dunk a Bic lighter into a cup of water and then try to light it, it must completely dry before you can use it. Then dunk a First Strike mag lighter into water and try to light a fire, it will work each and every time.

72 hours can easily run into a week or two before help arrives as we have seen during Katrina. 72 hours have easily run into 96 or more realistically. I would rather have the gear and not need it than to need it and not have it. IF you are stuck in town, you had seen the looting going on during Katrina and the armed mobs roving around. A good pack with what YOU need is a good thing to have.

I personally have created a plan to and from my cabin in PA. I have already buried re-supply canisters along 3 different routes and a map and GPS coords as well as simple text directions to them. I have practiced the plan fully for all three routes. I planned out definsive areas, offensive areas, food and water gathering areas as well as practical safe passage areas.

Gun wise - that is truly a personal choice, mine is a rifle and psitol of .38/.357 and some varied ammo. I also have an AR-7 & Marlin Papoose .22 that I accurized and smithed to be reliable and some ammo.

Try the stuff you are packing, see if it works as you intended it to UNDER STRESS, if not, toss it or replace it with something that does work.

A fifty pound pack is hefty over time and miles, I keep mine at most to 25lbs and it is actually near 15 pounds most of the time.

Back in 1978, I went though "Jungle Survival School," in the Navy. We were issued 1- Navy survival sheath knife and 1 - pack of 3 matches and the clothes on our backs to last us 3-5 days. We of course had a 2 week training in military jungle survival first. We did it and survived, some were worse off for it and some were better off for it. I would like to feel that I was one of the ones better off for it.

Your mind is the best survival tool you have. Use it to its full advantage.
 
k, everyone - thanks for the feedback. sounds like i forgot a few things.

but let me add some color as to what the kit is for - this context could help explain the rationale behind it.

first off - what type of situation is this for? one word: katrina. no, i don't expect a hurricane in my town, but katrina is the best example of a major disaster situation that lasts a long time. i live in the high desert rocky mountains, hence the summer/winter mix of gear.

- um duh, this is obviously not a literal a 72 hour kit. that's just a good name for it. it's more like a "if/when something really bad happens like a major disaster and i have to bail out of my house for some unknown number of days" kit.

- so yeah, do you really need all this crap to survive for 72 hours? of course not. the goal isn't to pack a light hiking bag and go on a 72 hour hike in the woods. any idiot can do that w/ minimal equipment.

- the primary mode of operation is to keep this in my home and use it as a supply cache.

- the secondary mode of operation is to keep it in my car as i get out of dodge and use it as a supply cache.

- the last resort mode of operation is to actually carry it on my back.


basically, if bad things happen (eg. major natural disaster) then you will need to be prepared for all sorts of things, and in the worst case, you will have to have your supplies mobile. also, when bad things happen, sometimes there are bad guys that do bad things to people, and the authorities sometimes get really busy with other stuff, hence the defense equipment.

k, now i gotta reply to mainsails funny post...
 
That's a lot of stuff. As I get older, I place more emphasis on resourcefulness, improvisation, skills, and problem solving than gear, equipment, and stuff.

I figure with a few hundred bucks cash, a full tank of fuel, jacket, and a Glock 19, I'm pretty much set, as long as I can scrounge water and food, maybe find a few of my buddies.

If displaced by a pedestrian event like regional wildfires or flooding, what I've done to protect my assets and information off-site prior to the event will have a lot more difference on my future than if I pack a SCAR with TAP ammo.
 
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