What should a bug-out kit contain?

[Preacherman]

Following comments posted in this thread, I thought I'd start a thread to discuss the actual contents of a bug-out kit. Note that I don't say "bug-out BAG", as one's kit might occupy a pick-up truck, never mind a bag!

So, what are the essentials that should be included? Let me throw in a few suggestions for starters:

1. Six changes of underwear and socks: four changes of outerwear.
2. Personal toiletries.
3. Guns and ammo for personal defence, and secondarily for hunting if you plan to live off the land.
4. First aid kit - as comprehensive as you know how to use.
5. At least a week's supply of food per person. Choose non-perishable foodstuffs that are easily prepared over a camp hot-plate, without needing electricity, baking, etc.
6. Food preparation equipment (cooking pot, knives, utensils).
7. Plates and personal cutlery (can be disposable to save weight).
8. Cleaning gear and supplies for everything you might have to clean (guns, kitchen utensils, yourself, your vehicle, your dog, etc.).
9. All important personal documents (or copies thereof).
10. Contact information for all those who owe you money; all those to whom you owe money; all insurers (personal, property, medical, car, etc.); relevant Government agencies; etc. (so that you can notify them of your new address, and know who to write to or call).
11. Enough money to survive for at least two weeks with careful use.
12. A basic toolkit.

Come on, folks, you add to this.

 

[Mnemesyne]

Some ideas from our kit:

Flint and steel kit (for making a fire)

Fishing line and or snare trap wire (takes up less space then a roll of quarters)

Solar or hand crank radio

mercurocrome, bactine, rubbing alcohol and antibacterial ointment

flour, rice, coffee and water purification tabs

unscented/undyed women's tampons (good at stopping a bloody nose or a perforation/puncture wound)...I'd say the OB brand is probably a safe bet for this...

we use a foldable set of utensils and we've got a small enamel coated cookware/dish set for camping

husband would probably add in hardtack biscuits and pemmican (true pemmican not just the brand name of jerky)


I've managed to cook some decent meals while in the bush if anyone wants recipes

 

[goosegunner]

I would add

1- Some luxury food items

If all your food is "survival food", morale will be low (especially for children). The chocolate in military field rations is there for a reason!! By adding some 'unnesecary' extras like a bottle of good booze, a few beers, chocolate, dried fruits, coffe, a box of crackers , a jar of olives or a salted/dried ham you will pass time more plesantly once you have exited the danger zone. Try to have something extra for every day you plan to bring food for. This ofcourse takes plase for something else, but my experience is that it is important. If stuff gets really bad you can usually cut rations in half without problems, and you don't need to eat every day anyway.

2- some books

Obviously they can help you pass time, but they have allmost unlimited possibilities; aid for making fires, insulation (in boots), toilet paper, drying of clotes and boots etc..

 

[Trebor]

Check out www.frugalsquirrels.com Those guys make a living hashing these things out. Not trying to stifle the discussion, but I don't want everybody to have to reinvent the wheel on this topic either.

 

[JamisJockey]

Things such as extra clothing items can be scored pretty cheaply at thrift stores and yard sales.
Personally, I'd cut the clothing amount in half and plan on washing it when you can.


Edit: First aid kit should be as comprehensive as you can afford and include directions. You never know when you're seeking shelter with the injured and someone nearby is a trained healthcare professional. Being able to provide them with the necessary tools to help is a good idea.

 

[Len]

Excellent post, Preacherman!

The subsequent posts are superb, and one from YammyMonkey hit one of my pet peeves/concerns...first aid/medical kits. Keep in mind, that a good first aid kit probably has a potential for being used at one time or another much more often than any other disaster planning component!

Coming from 25 years of EMS and medical work, I can tell you that pre-packaged kits are almost useless! You will not need band-aids and tweezers to save lives! Disaster and emergency medical treatment quickly goes from dealing with annoyances to life saving treatment.

A medical kit should help you in grave situations. Medics like me are always thinking the "ABC's." Airway/Breathing/Circulation. Those are the issues that are going to kill people.

Most people can stop arterial bleeding, open an airway allowing the unconscious person to resume breathing on his own, perform CPR, splint a fracture, clean a dirty wound.

There are some issues which, sadly, in a disaster situation, change. For example, if you're forced to start CPR, and there is no expectation of EMS availability, you will be limited by how long you can continue. Also, keep in mind, CPR rarely "restarts" the heart. Be prepared to end CPR due to exhaustion of the first-aider...without guilt!

If it all begins with taking some training, and I suggest a CPR/Advanced First Aid class if you have the time and inclination. A good kit should have some handbook on first aid. There are a bunch of them out there.

Yammy Monkey is right on the money...most first aid kits do not contain the things you need to stop life-threatening bleeding. A couple large packs of sterile gauze...the hospital size, 4x4 inches, and a foot tall. A bunch of bandage rolls and/or Ace wraps to secure the gauze. [There are a lot of useful items that can be substituted...as long as they're clean.] Remember that tourniquets are a last-ditch treatment. Most bleeding can be stopped by arterial pressure and pressure dressings.

You can use a ton of items found laying around to make splints...and yes, you can actually save a life and/or limb with a splint! Some clear plastic wrap or vaseline gauze for open chest wounds. Several rolls of two or three inch adhesive tape. A clean space blanket, to maintain body temps, to warm up, to use as a sun shade, or as a body bag.

As an antiseptic, numerous studies have shown that clean [boiled and cooled] water, used copiously to irrigate wounds and burns, is almost as good as any chemical antiseptic. Add a germ killing soap, and it's almost even with rubbing alcohol, peroxide or betadyne. The key is use a lot!

A flashlight and a good pair of sturdy shears is a must. Some note-taking supplies...allows you to track condition, treatment, and your observations for the pro's when and if help arrives. A box of disposable latex gloves...which will protect you, and help prevent spreading infection from one patient to the next.

[If you have the stuff above in your kit already, you can also deliver a baby successfully!]

Your normal prescription meds are covered already in depth and well. Some good things to bring along in the drug bag are: Aspirin...a wonder drug. Treats pain, fever, and is a first line drug if a heart attack is suspected. Some broad band antibiotic, maybe a cephalasporin type, [keeping in mind that this should be taken only by people who know their allergies!] Benadryl, an over the counter allergy relief medicine. Neosporin ointment, several tubes. Something to treat vomiting and diarrhea...which, over the course of several days can be life threatening, especially in older and younger patients. An epi pen [for those with bee allergies] couldn't hurt and doesn't take a lot of space. Prescription drugs, i.e., narcotics could be very useful...and very dangerous if used incorrectly with a severly injured patient.

This is just scratching the surface, but I think the point is made. Final comment is that a lot of military and wilderness survival books cover this well for the layman...and have much better advice/kit composition suggestions that in crunch time are much more useful than a prefab kit which has a bunch of cartoon band-aids!

My kit also contains emergency cigarettes and bourbon...to treat the medic.

 

[72Rover]

BOB's yer uncle

Excellent thread, indeed. Driving in today - after seeing the devastation on the morning news - I was thinking of starting a similar thread, if it hadn't been already started.

The first thing to add is a water purification device. There are a variety of 'micro-filter' pumps designed to be light and compact enough for backpacking. Some of these can make potable water out of a cesspool. If relying on purification chemicals of some sort, add some sort of powdered beverage to kill the taste.

The order of importance or hiearchy of survival items is shelter, water, fire, food. Unless you are retreating to or entering an environmentally-benign area, lack of shelter will kill sooner than the lack of any of the other items. You can last a couple of days without water and a month or so without food...some of us longer....

 

[chopinbloc]

i agree that one should have at least all the medical equipment one is trained to use, but that presents a problem for some of us. like many (most?) soldiers, i'm combat life saver certified but find it difficult if not impossible to get bags, lines, and needles issued when i'm in the states. it is illegal to purchase these on the civilian market, i believe, but not illegal for me to have them.

i'm going to try to skirt illegal activities but the only way i can think of to get broad spectrum oral antibiotics is to buy them in mexico. i wonder if i could get the iv supplies there too.

 

[joab]

I'd cut the clothing amount in half and plan on washing it when you can.

If you live in an area like Fla lose the underwear also. Certain areas of the body do not respond well to being hot and humid for extended periods. I learned that the hard way many years ago.

 

[warthog_62]

As a former Paramedic, I agree that one needs to have the capability to maintain the ABC'S and stop big time bleeding. As far as some of the more invasive ideas, let me give you a thought.

Check out your local farm supply store. Vet quality supplies may serve the purpose in an emergency but you would have to watch dosing as some small animals weigh as much or more than humans do. IV supplies may be obtainable through vet suppliers.

 

[JamisJockey]

If you live in an area like Fla lose the underwear also. Certain areas of the body do not respond well to being hot and humid for extended periods. I learned that the hard way many years ago.

There are athletic underwears designed for coping with such conditions. Might be a good idea.

Edit:
The problem we have is that we're in a climate with four real seasons. We've got to be prepared for 100* summers and 20* snowing winters.
I'm realizing that we're woefully underprepared, and we'll be picking up some more supplies as soon as we can.

 

[joab]

There are athletic underwears designed for coping with such conditions. Might be a good idea.

I bought some, didn't work

 

[JamisJockey]

What kind? That crap at walmart isn't very good. I like it for cold weather, though.

 

[joab]

Something I bought from Sports Authority one day when I had more money than sense.

And I'm not spending $20 a pair of drawers again when I can go commando for free.

I bought those particular briefs for a trip to Vietnam where my wife does not allow me to go commando. I came back with a fungus that made my doctor wince in sympathetic pain.

I never have had a problem with the 3 other trips we made since I told my wife that my parts were my business and either the drawers went to VN or I did.

 

[30Cal]

We had a scare a couple months back with a brush fire. I headed for the door; the wife headed for the photo albums!

Since then, I took my digital camera and took a hi-res shot of ever page of all of those albums (took about an hour to do) and burned them onto 2 DVDs which are now in the bug-out box (I put a second copy in our safety deposit box at the bank). Hopefully, this will allow us to focus more on the essentials the next time we need to bolt.

Also, I printed out a copy of our address book(s) including email addresses for everyone we know and put that in there as well. It's nice to be able to contact your people when the situation permits.

Tom Brown Jr's Field Guide to City and Suburban Survival is an excellent (and compact) reference.

Ty

 

[Guns_and_Labs]

i agree that one should have at least all the medical equipment one is trained to use, but that presents a problem for some of us. like many (most?) soldiers, i'm combat life saver certified but find it difficult if not impossible to get bags, lines, and needles issued when i'm in the states. it is illegal to purchase these on the civilian market, i believe, but not illegal for me to have them.

i'm going to try to skirt illegal activities but the only way i can think of to get broad spectrum oral antibiotics is to buy them in mexico. i wonder if i could get the iv supplies there too.

Get a doctor to prescribe them "for your personal use only". My doc thinks I'm a little paranoid, but she did it. Even the IV gear. Now with New Orleans as the example, I'm sure she'll let me double my supply.

 

[sumpnz]

We had a scare a couple months back with a brush fire. I headed for the door; the wife headed for the photo albums!

Wife and I talked a little last night about what to do in a NO situation. She didn't mention photos except that they're on the computer. Since there's so much other vital info on the computer in addition to photos we decided that if time/space allow we'd grab the tower and stuff it in a corner of the car. If time allowed, but there wasn't space for the tower, we'd crack open the tower and just take the hard drive. That should only take a couple minutes, provided I have the drivers handy to unscrew things.

The other thing we talked about was fixing how remiss we've been in not haveing a coherent BOB or plan for where to go. I'll be printing out much of Preacherman's list of things to have and consider before disaster strikes. At least this will give me a good reason to stock up on ammo! On the ammo front, since space (and weight) are at a premium, I can really only see taking maybe a hundred rounds for each of 2-3 handguns, a few dozen rounds for the centerfire rifle, and one brick of .22lr. Any more than that seems like it would weigh things down too much in a hurry-up-and-haul-butt scenario.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

Wife and I talked a little last night about what to do in a NO situation. She didn't mention photos except that they're on the computer. Since there's so much other vital info on the computer in addition to photos we decided that if time/space allow we'd grab the tower and stuff it in a corner of the car. If time allowed, but there wasn't space for the tower, we'd crack open the tower and just take the hard drive. That should only take a couple minutes, provided I have the drivers handy to unscrew things.

For about $10 you can buy a hot-swap style carrier. Power down, life the handle underneath the CD-ROM, and you've got your data...

 

[riverdog]

Speaking of digital records

Get one of those memory sticks that plugs into your computer's USB port. I picked up a 512MB stick at Costco for $45.00, that is cheap insurance for all your digital files and records. My main PC is a Dell laptop with 40GB HD that's not full. If I bug out it goes in the truck too. Other important docs like titles go in the computer case.

 

[sumpnz]

Get one of those memory sticks that plugs into your computer's USB port.

Got one. Won't come close to the backup we'd need, plus you have to either take the time to update it just before leaving or remember to back up to it on a regular schedule (which neither of us are especially good at remembering).

For about $10 you can buy a hot-swap style carrier. Power down, life the handle underneath the CD-ROM, and you've got your data...

Could you give some more details on that system? Is this just a quick disconnect for the HD?

 

[Guns_and_Labs]

I have three levels of bug out gear, and resupply caches.

1. All backpack-based, one pack per person. Absolutely essential-based: food, water purification, shelter, weapons, and first aid. The five year old only gets a stick for defense, the fourteen year old wants an RPG, but will have to make it with his .22LR. Should be enough for 4-7 days for four people.

2. Back of the Suburban: duffle bag based, augments #1 with more of same. Fuel and water go on the roof rack, with four spare tires (which I think are quite flat right now). Should be enough for another week.

3. Trailer-based: this has all the comforts of home, and enough gas to last 500 miles. I really ought to get a few more cans of fuel while I can still afford it. This thing ought to be good for a couple of weeks for the four of us and my parents.

Both north and east (I would never "escape" to SoCal), I've buried ammo cans and gas cans to resupply food and fuel. I'm supposed to check them every so often, but really only check them once per natural disaster reminder. [Note to self: check caches this weekend.]

Then there's the house-based supplies, which allow for a week or two of waiting.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

(The following is actually from my wife...)

I'm a physician and I agree with much of what Len said. Clean water and soap are excellent for cleaning dirty wounds. (Of course being up to date on your tetnus shot helps too.)

WHO's oral rehydration solution is a powder that when mixed properly with water can effectively rehydrate anyone with vomiting or diarrhea. It's cheap, small and has saved countless lives.

Antibiotics are a whole different ballgame. There is widespread resistance to many cephalosporin antibiotics due to overuse and misuse. The better choice would be an oral quinolone. As for topical antimicrobials, Neosporin is no longer good enough. Mupirocin (AKA Bactroban) kills the newly pervasive MRSA. MRSA is a very scary Staph that was only seen in ICUs 5 years ago and is now the #1 cause of cellulitis in my healthy pediatric patients. (Cellulitis is a soft tissue infection that usually originates from a minor skin injury like a bug bite. If untreated it either spreads to the bloodstream or is walled off as an abscess.) I suspect that overall, more morbility and mortality would be prevented by topical rather than oral antibiotics in this type of SHTF scenario.

The other important supply to have is a plastic material to suture wounds with. 3-0 prolene would be ideal. An inexperienced health care provider could easily close a gaping flesh wound if they first read a brochure on what to do. (I'm not saying I want my husband to suture a 5inch gaping wound in my thigh if there was a doctor nearby but if indicated, he could save my life and get me back on my feet sooner.)

As for IV supplies, they are impractical. They will be more likely to prolong life than prevent death in a limited resources scenario.

No one has mentioned DEET. If you live where there are mosquitos, it should be a consideration to prevent both disease and misery.

(It's me again...)

My wife also pointed out to me that she thought it was...Ummm...misguided (she used the term "dumbass") to think IV saline would be useful in these scanarios -- she wouldn't even carry one, as if you're in a scene where someone needs an IV to stay alive, they're going to die anyway unless you've got a lot more stuff (like a hospital, which, by the way, has plenty of saline...)

 

[Guns_and_Labs]

The other important supply to have is a plastic material to suture wounds with. 3-0 prolene would be ideal. An inexperienced health care provider could easily close a gaping flesh wound if they first read a brochure on what to do. (I'm not saying I want my husband to suture a 5inch gaping wound in my thigh if there was a doctor nearby but if indicated, he could save my life and get me back on my feet sooner.)

Surgical staples are somewhat easier to use than sutures. I used to carry them as a backcountry guide, and still have them in my "big" kit.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

Could you give some more details on that system? Is this just a quick disconnect for the HD?

here is the one I'm using.

 

[Guns_and_Labs]

if you're in a scene where someone needs an IV to stay alive, they're going to die anyway unless you've got a lot more stuff

Probably, but two reasons to have it:

1. You can sometimes stabilize a patient until air evac comes, and
2. It gives you something to do, which is psychologically helpful to the survivors.