What should a bug-out kit contain?

[Tokugawa]

Goosegunners advice on morale building is good. Some years ago in the ANWR we lost all our cooking gear and most food in a river accident. Having a few cans of beer and one of those tiny bottles of whiskey was really nice as we contemplated our next move.

 

[coylh]

http://www.equipped.com/srvkitstoc.htm

 

[dmftoy1]

One question I had wrt to first-aid. Is it worthwhile to have Quick-Clot in these kits? I've been tempted to buy some for my kit because I do quite a bit of chainsaw work around here and could see it being useful if I did something stupid. I just wonder whether it expires or whatnot. It seems somewhat expensive if I had to replace it regularly.

Regards,
Dave

 

[geekWithA.45]

Spend $60 on a power inverter...

This little doohickey gets you all sorts of options for powering and recharging your gear:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.a...y_name=CTLG_009_001_008_000&product_id=22-148

 

[cuchulainn]

Take a tiered approach. Have both bug-out-bags (2-day supply) and bug-out-boxes (few-week supply). Take only the bags if you cannot drive. Have a bag for each adult or larger child.

Even if you are able take everything, continue to keep the bag stuff separate, unused and never beyond arms reach. Consider them bug-out-from-the-bug-out bags (BOFTBB).

 

[NineseveN]

Wow, lots of info in this thread. I never thought much of packing your Bug-Out-Kit with so much stuff (photos, hard drives, booze). Mine consists of tools (leatherman, camp axe), a radio (world band), flashlight, lighters (zippo and bic), aspirin, DEET, boots, thermal blanket, fleece slumber bag, kneepads, gloves, para cord (100'), knife, map, compass, gun cleaning and maintenance kit, needle and thread, benadryl, iodine tablets, extra .308 and .45 ammo and some food items that I should really check. I hope I put the Coast Guard rations in there, otherwise, I need to figure out where I stashed them hehe.

I then have my LBV with 6 FAL mags, 2 HK .45C mags, earplugs, handkerchief, knife, leatherman tool, flashlight, compass, cash, photo ID, and some other items I forget right now as well.


The point is, this is my do or die pack. If I have to roll out into the mountains on foot because civilization is under military assault or mass rioting/chaos force me to disengage from the masses. I'm not worried about pictures of family or friends or important documents on my computer, or even who owes me money. If I have to roll, chances are, none of that's going to matter anyway. I don't pack enough o be able to save the world (i.e. IV gear, a whole slew of first aid products etc...), I only have enough to save me and maybe one other. Of course, I don't have kids, so that makes it a bit easier.

If I were in the situation like in NO, well then I'd load up the car and ride out days before it got there.

Good info here though, might make me reassess some of my selection on what to keep in my bag and LBV.

 

[ARGarrison]

dmftoy1,
Quick-Clot does have an experation date. I can not tell you when my pack runs out will have to check aid kit in truck. Bought it in December. For me it is peice of mind, both on the farm and on the range. It's like a fire extinguisher or firearm, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I got the public safety twin-pack.

Coylh, great link!

Adding to list of First aid items multiable roll bandages. So many uses from dressings to splints. Plus roll bangages tend to stay in place longer than taped bandages when sweat and movement pulls on the tape.

You might also want to look here:
http://www.escape-co.com/emergency_preparedness.htm
The "Get & Go" bag (or BOB) and the Planning an escape are of intrest.

 

[dmftoy1]

Thanks! If you could check your expiration date I would appreciate it . . if it's 18 months or so then I'd buy some, but if it's 90 days then it's a little too rich for my blood.

 

[Tylden]

I'll try not to be too redundant and post many items that have already been mentioned. One thing I always keep in my gear is a zip lock baggie of dryer lint (yes, dryer lint)...EXCELLENT stuff for quickly starting a fire from a spark. Also, a high quality portable pump water filter, slow burning tea light candles and a small lantern to contain them, extra flash light bulbs, a small portable can opener, rope (you'd be surprised how handy this can be), cookware and backpack stove with appropriate fuel, ketchup and condiment packets from fast food restaurants, sleeping bag, tent, energy bars, vacuum sealed tuna pouches and freeze dried backpacking meals, collapsable drinking cup, and of course, coffee bags .

Note: Think small and portable. Forget the 16" cast iron skillet and huge 4 burner camp stove. My survival stove packs up not much bigger than a soda can and is VERY reliable and efficient. Many useful items can be found in the camping section of a quality outdoors store. I've put to use many of the skills I learned as a boy scout leader and can live quite comfortably for over a week out of a backpack if I have to. Save precious space and weight where ever you can and pack smart. You won't have any trouble filling up the space you save with other essentials. This is about survival...not normal living.

 

[ARGarrison]

dmftoy1,
Checked my Quick-clot exp. date, it is 05/07. I got my package in December of 04. So rough estimate 2 1/2 year self life. Like I wrote earlier I got the twin pack of two 1.75 oz packets. They also make the 3.5 military pack.

 

[Lee F]

The Short List
Ace Bandages
Advil, Cough Suppressant, Excedrin PM, Sudafed, Tylenol,
alcohol swabs
aluminum foil, heavy-duty
AM/FM radio
Ammonia Inhalants, ammonia inhalant caps, asthma med's
anti-bacterial salve, antibiotic cream
ax, entrenching tool, hammer, hatchet,, machete, or saw
bandaids & butterfly closures
Bandanna, large
beef base cubes
belt. Wilderness or pistol
Bic Lighters/Zippo, Matches, Metal Match, 35mm cotton Vaseline
Binoculars
blankets, wool army
boots and 1 pair of shoes
Camera
Camo net
can opener
candles, emergency or multiple wick type
clothes and three extra pairs of socks
compass & map
CPR mask
DEET, bug spray, Mosquito repellent
dinner setot w/foldable handle, silverware sierra cup
disposable razor
duffle bag, backpack
Ear Plugs
EMT Shears
Ex-Lax (or equivalent)
Eye Wash/Drops
Finger splint
fire exten.
firearm/ammunition
First aid kit
First aid Kit Johnson and Johnson in a steel water proof case.
first aid kit that leans heavily towards large wound trauma supplies
first-aid tape
fishing kit, hooks, small bobber, sinkers
Flashlights (LED) extra batteries, emergency flashlight (no-battery type)
Foam pad, closed cell
Food, MRE,
garbage bags, especially 60gal. heavy-duty
gauze rolls & 4x4's
Gloves
glow sticks
granola
hacksaw blade
Hand lotion
Hard Candy
Honey, Sugar
Instant coffee, Drink mix, Folgers single cup bags, teabags
iodine or bentadine
knife/sharpener
Latex Gloves
Leather gloves
leatherman tool
Lip Balm
Magnifying glass
maxi-pads, 2 tampons (don't laugh guys, they work wonders)
Milk, dry, instant
mirror, pocket
Moleskin
Money, small bills and coins
No-Doze
notebook w/pencil (not a pen!)
orange marker ribbon
orange safety vest
parachute cord
Pepto-Bismol Tablets, Imodium, Maalox
phone numbers & addresses.
poncho
powder, medicated foot & body
Q-Tip
reflective road triangle, reflectors
road flares (make good fire starters too)
rope and caribiners, 25 feet of 1/2 inch
Safety pins
Salt & Pepper,
SAM Splint
scalpel
scissors/tweezers
sewing kit
shop towels
sleeping bag
soap
socks, wool
space type blanket
stocking caps
stove, MSR, fuel, and repair kit
Sun block
sunglasses , goggles
superglue
Surgical Tape and tubing
surgical/first aid kit (custom)
suture packs (4-0, 5-0, 6-0)
sweaters, fleece w/hood
tape, electrical and duct
tarp of 6 mil plastic approx 15' x 15'
Thermometer
tie wraps, clamps
toilet paper
tool kit
toothbrush & paste
Triangular Bandage
trioxide bars, MS
tweezers
Vitamins ,One-A-Day & C
washcloths
water/water filter/water filter straw/water-purification tablets
Wet wipes
whistle
zip lock bags

 

[EVIL5LITER]

Here's a question for you guys:

Do you take your bug out bags with you on long trips away from home?

 

[Sistema1927]

Do you take your bug out bags with you on long trips away from home?

If driving, yes, always. If flying, then a smaller "non-threatening" version is packed in my checked luggage. Heck, you can't even carry a pen knife on your person (at present), and you truly place yourself at the mercy of the angels when you board a commercial airliner these days.

I have to fly to Long Island on business the end of this month, and I am rellay dreading it. I know that I will feel naked the entire time.

 

[MudPuppy]

Great information--wife and I are doing a review this weekend.

What's a good schedule for bob review? Twice a year with the time change, same as fire alarm batteries?

 

[ctdonath]

I've seen a lot of BOB threads. This is the most insightful ever.

The computer storage issue is a great point. I just got a 250GB external USB drive (LaCie "Porsche" drive) for $125 that can store all data I've got (including home videos & recompressed DVDs) and fits in a remarkably small space. Failing that, $10 worth of DVD-Rs can store pretty much anything most people need. Tossing backups into a BOB is a great idea: your digital life, backed up, ready to go anywhere.

Before even starting a BOB, decide your target scenario. A 3-day walk-home bag is a whole lot different from filling the car trunk with never-going-home stuff. Mine is designed for the 2 most likely scenarios for me: 1) at work, social breakdown, have to walk 40 miles home; 2) at home, have to get out NOW, walk a friendly home. (Re: #2, had a tanker of gas flip & dump two blocks away - one spark and would have had mere seconds to evacuate.) Other people are more interested in filling their trunk, or covering every scenario, or being ready to go weekend camping on a moment's notice, or handle TEOTWAWKI, etc.

I'm also increasingly considering a "pre-BOB": a bag of stuff to use just before taking off on foot. A change of clothes (office attire won't be suitable for long off-road treks), boots & extra socks, sealed water to fill non-sealed durable canteens, an MRE to consume (best place to carry it is in my stomach), and anything else that I'll want to get ready for bugging out without having to use precious backpack space for stuff that's just going to get used/eaten/ejected in the first few minutes. The BOB contains stuff I expect to carry for a while; the pre-BOB has what I want handy but won't take in the BOB.

And yes, EVIL5LITER, there's a BOB in each car all the time, especially on long trips. Want to make a mini-BOB for non-car trips.

 

[ctdonath]

Best way to do BOB testing is go camping. It should have everything you need for a weekend in the woods. "Hey honey, you want to go camping? starting _right_now_?"

 

[NineseveN]

My newly appointed schedule is 4 times per year, as the seasons change. What I plan on doing is painting a custom Camoflage job on my Bug-out-FAL 4 times per year to capture the usual foliage patterns. You can do this and remove it easily with spray-on paints and I figure every 3 months, when I break out the FAL, I can look over my BoB while it dries.

I haven't started it yet as I just came up with it, but I think it's a good start.

 

[MudPuppy]

ctdonath--funny you should say that. That's exactly what the wife and I discussed last evening. We just got a motorhome (gently abused beyond belief)--but it'd get us to my brother's ranch outside the city. Assuming traffic allows. We'll be towing the 4x4 that would be useful in dire situations.

In Texas the tactical color scheme is "dead grass brown". lol

 

[AStone]

+17

Preacherman, thank you; another great thread.

Everyone: awesome thread. Fantastic information. I'd have preferred to have ended my life comfortably without having to take threads like this too seriously (even if planning for such scenarios always carried a sense of adventure that appealed to the camper in me anyway), but I guess down deep, we all knew it could eventually come down to having to think seriously about this, eh? But all this Katrina stuff, plus these threads on bug out, have stimulated me to update my check lists, jetison stuff i don't need, replace out dated supplies, etc.

Guns-and-labs: my rig most resembles yours; very similar strategy: modular, layered.

My system has evolved over several decades of serious, backcountry travel ranging from 1 - 2 weeks in wilderness from CO, AZ, NM, WA & OR, much of it above 9000', in all seasons. When out there, with all you need to survive on your back (often 60#+), you learn what's really important. (With all due respect - we all carry what we feel is important - my photo albums are not on my list. )

{PS: I had to laugh at myself this morning after rereading that comment about photos. I'm betting that there are lot's of people who will laugh at me for including books in my bugout wagon. (see below) Such is the life of a (recovering) academic. }

Here's a bare outline of my basic strategy, from "base camps" to last ditch bo:

1) Base camp alpha: a warehouse that houses my business, which includes all the gear listed in #2, plus a real bathroom, kitchen sink, experimental refuge shower (70-gallon Rubbermaid stock tank ("tub"), 5-gallon hot water heater, 10' water hose with shower head; shower curtain, kayak bilge pump to pump bath water into toilet); I'd like to add a solar hot water tank to the trailer roof and use this shower system in camp.

2) Base camp beta: if we can no longer stay in base camp alpha, and need to bug out to beta camp, ideally we'll be able to pull a 24' tandem-axel cargo trailer pulled by a diesel truck with 37 gallons (plus 10), stocked with everything needed (for 2 or more) to survive (not live cush, but survive) for 1 month in any conditions from January in western OR to August in northern Nevada: packs from day to expedition; 3 himilayan-worthy pack tents (Garuda & Moss); down sleeping bags (from 25* to - 25*) & pads; 50 gallons water; water filtration system (PUR); 3 sets each of clothing for hot dry, hot wet, cold dry & cold wet, including light weight cotton, polypro, hats, bandanas, underwear, rain gear, fleece, vests, gloves, balaclavas, socks (dozens), mountaineering boots, approach shoes, sandals and other footwear; snowshoes; crampons; ice ax; multiple hats; two folding tables, one plastic; wooden camp "coffee table"; camp chairs; canopy system for trailer custom designed with truckers tarp (stakes out with rebar; bombproof in 60 mph sustained winds); basic shop tools (hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, saws, shovels, axes, crow bar); 3 5-gallon buckets and plunger (the laundry system); light trailer/truck repair gear (e.g. belts, extra bearings for trailer, grease); backpacking stove (MSR whisperlight) with white gas; mountaineering-level first aid; basic hygene needs (soap, towels, razor, brushes, dental care...), assorted ropes, cords, slings, biners (great for hanging things in camp), simple fishing gear, lanterns (coleman & candle), ... among other things...

Cooking is via propane mobile (on casters) camp stove in custom-built kitchen box (back right corner of photo; top is up); it contains a counter top, two kitchen drawers with "necessary" utensils; cooking knives, can open, cork screw (of course), metal plates & bowls, pots, pans, mixing bowls, popcorn pot. We have a sizable ice chest also, assuming there was time to get ice and perishables. More importantly, several hundred pounds of dry staples (rice, beans, oatmeal, polenta, popcorn, noodles, 7-grain cereal, granola, dried fruit...), canned goods (esp. tomatoes, fish, meat), salt, herbs & spices, oils, candies, and of course as much beer & wine as GVWR allows.

Also, a modified road Trek 520 bicycle outfitted with large, puncture resistent tires, rear paniers (if fuel runs out for truck, easier to pedal than walk). I plan to purchase a BOB trailer soon. (Dig the name?)

In addtion, I have outfitted the trailer with my most valued and enjoyable reading material - about 90 of my most important personal & professional books - housed on a rolling, custom-made bookshelf (on the wall at left in image). (Hey, i'm a teacher; books are both tools and entertainment for me. and, in case of SHTF and TEOTWAWKI, i've got my preferred library for a post-catastrophe school i'd want to be part of, including volumes on mountaineering, survival, & medical instruction books.

We own a Honda 6500 W genie that we've used on occasion. The trailer is completely wired for 110 with a 30 A shoreline. But on last summer's camp retreats with students & colleagues, we left the genie behind and opted for coleman lamp, flaslights, candles. The genie makes so much noise, that i'd rather just listen to the wind with candle light. And in a SHTF, I think i'd rather just be quiet and unobtrusive as possible so as not to attract the attention of passing land pirates. (makes mental note: rent Mel Gibson's Road Warrior series soon.)

Oh, yeah, this is a gun forum: Rem 870P {to be added as soon as that overdue IRS refund gets here ) with several hundred rounds #1 buck, and a few boxes of slugs (mostly for deer but ya never know), plus some bird shot for rabbits, squirrels and birds. Kahr K9 with several hundred rounds of 125 gr. JHP's (and some FMJ's just because....)

3) Base camp gamma: If diesel runs out with no option for replenishing, and if - for some ungodly reason - we have to abandon the trailer to base camp gamma, far off the paved road, into some forbidding canyon where water is almost impossible to find for the unexperienced (that would mean things are very, very bad), i hope to transport basic survival gear to gamma base camp via either bicycle + BOB trailer or on foot with an expedition pack (mines a 15 year old Gregory Atlas (it's hanging near the the red climbing helmet at the back of the trailer near the open door); I've carried 70 # in it into CO backcountry many times).

That's about it. I'm sure there will be other things that i'll add by edit later for the archives. If I come up with a good, compact list, I'll post it here.

PS: a note on basic hygiene: my camp strategy for keeping clean, even in situation where water is very short (this can be done with a liter of water if necessary, heated is a luxury) is "pits, parts & peds". That is, if one washes the body parts that get smelly most quickly, arm pits, personal parts (you know the ones) and feet (peds), the rest can wait for days. Of course, handwashing before preparing meals or eating should be standard protocol with NO exceptions unless drinking water is dangerously low.

 

[FireBreather01]

Bartering items - cash, maybe even some gold coins, cigarettes - always in demand in a crisis, booze, a few cheap extra guns with ammo - these will be very much in demand - most likely by panicked liberals that finally understand, water tablets, toiletries, tabasco sauce and spices to make food more palatable, etc, etc - anything that others might find contributes to their comfort and safety.

 

[joab]

Beer and Whiskey are the best trading fodder

In my younger days on a fishing boat we once traded another boat about $200 dollars worth of grouper and a very large Tarpon for 4 beers and 2 porkchops

 

[dmftoy1]

ArGarrison - Thanks!!

 

[rammy]

I dont have a bob kit... YET. That will be corrected tonight. I had an idea ( yeah i know my head did hurt a little ) but for a saw I think that I will put a hack saw in the kit. It can be taken down into smaller parts and with the multi-blade options. it would be easy to put on a wood, metal blade. and all of this would takeup very little space and be able to "hack"throu just about anything. Anyone else have a hack-saw in their kits?

 

[Seminole]

I'm embarassed to admit that in the past I've not assembled a full-fledged BOB. That is about to change. There's a lot of great input here about the contents of the BOB. But what about the bag itself? What size would the bag itself have to be to hold all these things? What material should it be made of? How much will it weigh when packed and how will that impede mobility.

In any SHTF scenario, I will most likely be bringing along a wife (who can and should carry quite a bit of weight), and two relatively young children (who can't be counted on to carry much). I would think that size and weight of the BOB(s) are important. Is there a point of diminishing returns at which anything extra added will actually impede the likelihood of the bag being used?

 

[riverdog]

Bug-Out-Bag

My full fledged BOB is a pick-up truck. It has a full tank and my BOB backpack is in the back. There are no rules regarding the bag itself, only that you can take it with you. My truck will go ~400 miles and by then I either refuel, stop and camp or start walking with my backpack. Considering current events, I may add my bicycle to the BOB so when the gas runs out I can ride.