Go bag contents

[Camjr]

I'm putting bags together to keep in each vehicle and the RV to combine 1st aid, safety, and protection contents (and other things). I've had them in the past, but neglected the protection aspect. I would like to see what you good upstanding citizens keep in your similar packs. Living in Texas, I'm out and about in rural areas quite often, sometimes a LONG way from civilization, and often with the family and the ever watchful Australian Shepherd.

Thoughts?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Rob72]

Let's see... 15 pounds of thermite, 12 pistol mags, 4 MREs.....Just kidding!

Actually, mine is pretty basic:
4x4 gauze pads
Kling gauze roll
Med Tape
Bandaids
Greco Hatch-It
CS Voyager
Tylenol
Inova light
1 MRE
come-along (1.5 ton)
Folding shovel
Fleece blanket
leather work gloves
wrench/sockets for my truck
1 qt oil
1/2 gal coolant
1 qt canteen
M65 field jacket w/ liner
wool watch-cap
butt-rags (Mil triangular bandages)

[Tom357]

We have several kits, for different situations. The portable kits that stay in the cars are geared toward the normal occupants of the cars, for a day or two overnight. So my commutermobile has a kit for me. My wife's car has a kit for her and the girls. The first aid kit and car stuff are packed separately, so they can be accessed without having to unpack everything. These kits are for the unexpected, if we are caught away from home. The one thing I do not think they have enough of is water.

If we are evacuating our home for some reason, we have a kit at the house for the entire household for several days to a week, with a full complement of water. We also have a go bag for our pets. We have used these kits in-place, when the power was out for several days in ice storms, and when we were without power and water for weeks after Isabelle. We rotate the contents of our kits so they don't get stale, spoil, expire or deteriorate.

The Red Cross has some interesting ideas for commuters and office workers.

If you want ideas for building your kits, some good places to go on the web include:
The Red Cross
FEMA's "Are You Ready?" Disaster Preparedness site
The DHS preparedness site

What you need in your kit depends a lot on where you are and the conditions you think you are up against. Your kit may be very different from mine. Some pre-assembled kits are a bargain, but you can generally make your own for less.

[Betty]

My newly revised bugout bag is my backpacking bag. It's an REI Aires women's hydration backpack with a 2 liter Camelbak reservoir. (The women's pack has curved shoulder straps designed to comfortably fit the anatomy.) What I keep in my bag is enough to keep me sustained for two to three days on backpacking trips, and works just as well for bugging out. Some stuff can be left behind for SHTF stuff, like the sleeping pad.



FOOD & WATER
• various protein & carb bars
• individual pocket packs of salmon, chicken, tuna, etc.
• bread I add as I go (flat pita bread doesn't smoosh and takes up less space than regular sliced bread)
• 1 to 2 MREs and heaters
• beef jerky
• 2 liters water
• collapsible plastic bottle, water purification tablets

CLOTHES (changes with season, listing summer gear here)
• all clothes go in compression bag to save space
• synthetic undies, a couple synthetic layers of socks with outer wool socks (synthetic fabrics wick moisture away from the body)
• two REI convertible Sahara pants
• a couple tops
• one long sleeve microfiber top for chilly mornings
• one size fits all rain poncho that fits over me and my backpack

PERSONALS
• travel size toothbrush, toothpaste, Oral-B Brush-Ups
• travel size Gold Bond medicated body powder, Ben Gay
• female products
• glasses case with contact lens care kit & old glasses
• pack of baby wipes
• travel size deodorant
• lip balm, small Burt's Bees hand salve
• travel size liquid hand sanitizer
• compact, highly absorbent towel
• hair comb, hair ties

SURVIVAL, EMERGENCY, ETC.
• Petzl Tikka Plus LED headlamp
• Ka-Bar camp knife
• First Aid Kit
• sleeping bag
• mini sewing kit
• waterproof/windproof matches
• fire starter
• space blanket
• fishing hooks & line
• 50 ft. paracord
• a couple yellow lightsticks
• compass
• travel size sunscreen, bugspray

Yep - I had room for all that and managed to stuff a compact pillow in there and can carry it all. It's around 15 pounds and I still have room left in the bag.

Mrshonts and I go camping together, so he packs the two-person REI Quarter Dome tent and his personal gear.

For SHTF reasons and I need to pack extra ammo and firearms, I'll take whatever handguns I'm CCing at the time, plus extra ammo. If I have time to get into my safe, I may choose something else. Right now I can't make up my mind.

[Euclidean]

Here's the current BOB I have assembled.

The housing, after much debate, is a simple but well made black JanSport bookbag. I chose it because I already had it, and it is the perfect hide in plain sight camoflauge. Now this isn't the most rugged or spacious of packs, but I work in education and a bookbag like this one in my posession or in my vehicle looks completely natural. Completely civilian looking.

The BOB is designed to work with a small store of emergency supplies in my vehicle and my home. Here's basically what's in there:

Some paracord

A roll of duct tape

The best first aid kit I could fit in there - I found this 160 piece kit at Home Depot that's surprisingly good. Most first aid kits are just some band aids and a couple of aspirins. This one is OSHA compliant and rated to serve for 25 people on a job site.

A Buck Special

A knife sharpener

20 ounces of water - I know this doesn't seem like a lot but I keep 7.5 gallons in my vehicle and 4 gallons at home and I live by a river

Multivitamins

Granola and beef jerky - could subsist on for 48 hours

A rechargeable 1 million candlepower spotlight

2 light sticks

Some heavy foil

Swiss Army Knife - basic 4 blade pattern

Multitool

Kindling

100 waterproof matches

Rain Poncho

"Space" Blanket

The last couple of items I normally keep in it, but sometimes I leave this item home depending on the situation. For example when I go to the university for a week in late July I will leave these items at home to comply with laws:

One Ruger P 89 with 3 magazines and 100 JHP catridges with a Bianchi Holster

Hoppe's 9mm pistol cleaning kit

I keep a baseball cap with it, and I plan to eventually obtain one of those jackets that folds up and makes its own bag and in there I will try to stuff a T shirt, a pair of boxers, a pair of windpants, and a pair of socks. Perhaps tying a pair of athletic sneakers onto it would be prudent too. The spotlight has a lanyard, and I use the lanyard to attach it to one of the straps.

Low key is key. There's nothing in there that should immediately alarm anyone if they were to just casually unzip it and peek inside. Some beef jerky and a first aid kit shouldn't raise any eyebrows.

Betty's pack kicks mine in the goonies. Walmart sells a little deal that's basically a razor and basic grooming tools for $6 all in a little pouch ready to go. I think if I added that and a change of clothes it'd be much better.

I also want to add a Camelback bladder and a 5x8 tarp.

I think I need a bigger bag.

The thing about a kit like this is that it's constantly changing.

[P95Carry]

I can't compete with some of you!! (most!)

My bugout bag is a smallish backpack containing most of what might be needed but - wicked fella that I am I ''rob'' it sometimes. Stupid to do because I have to check right thru later to see what's missing and replace it! Must be an old age thing!

[Euclidean]

Oh and as for a good way to tote a lot of water in a small space:

There's this thing I just love called the Aquatainer. Before I discovered it I was toting a pair of 2 gallon water jugs around. This thing takes up just slightly more room than they did and it's much sturdier.

It's cube shaped, and my geometry tells me that that's one of the most efficient shapes for holding maximum volume in minimum space. So it packs about 7.5 gallons into a space where all I had before was 4 gallons. It's also cool because while it offers the convenience of a spigot, the spigot stores internally so you don't have to worry about tearing it up.

One bad thing though... 7.5 gallons of water is heavy.

[HotGuns]

One thing about the BOB's that most people seem to forget...

water is heavy...very heavy at around 8 pounds per gallon. One simply cannot carry enough water for any amount of time, escpecially for several people.

A better thing is to carry a filtration unit. There are several good ones on the market. "Pur" makes various sizes that you can put into a puddle and pull clear water out of it. The ones with silver are the best as not only do they remove particulate matter but silver is a natural pathogen killer.

I've been hiking wilderness areas for years and have been drinking from creeks and never once had any ill effect from it. A good backpacking unit weighs about 3 pounds and is good for a minimum if 50 gallons before the ceramic filter needs to be changed out. One will cost around 30 bucks and is the best money that can be spent.

Its simple, lighweight and effective. It could be the difference between life and death in a situation that involves more than a few days.

[P95Carry]

Heck HG that is the most obvious idea - and yet I had not even considered it. Thx for the mention - this is going to be a definite purchase.

[Betty]

I'm bumping this thread up - the recent events in New Orleans is a good reminder to keep a stockpile of emergency goods and a bugout bag (and a boat?)!

[Free American]

5 gallons of water
wally world first aid kit
duct tape
box of trash bags
AR-15, not stored in the vehicle but ready to go because if I bug out the merde has hit le' ventilateur (sorry for using french but it was the only way I could post that phrase)
1 case of MRE's (sorted through for the good ones, chicken and noodles, hot dogs and vegitarian)

[Tom357]

My wife thought I was being excessive when I built our kits. She thought I was nuts when I ran water in both tubs and the washing machine, and 19 gallons into the three water coolers just before Isabelle hit. Then, we lost power for 13 days, water for 3, and then had a boil order once they had pressure on the mains, again. By being careful with our water supply, we managed to stay on our own water throughout the boil period, flushed the house lines, once the boil order was lifted, and never had to chance contaminated water. We didn't have enough food in our kit for the entire period, but it gave us time until the initial panic was over, and by then, new stock was moving into the grocery stores from outside the area. Our kits have been vital more than once. We'll always have them.

[LPguy]

Being a public health inspector I carry an emergency response bag. Lots of biohazard detection and prevention stuff that will fill a large picnic table.

As impressive as your lists of emergency gear are, the one thing that nobody mentioned was a cell phone and car charger. I have both with me wherever I go.

I know this depends on signal availability but now that I think of it.....time to start a new thread and see what you all think about carrying one as a viable self defense tool....

Mike

[Euclidean]

I'd just like to add I picked up some 60 hour candles today and plan to add some to my home supplies and one to my portable kit.

[Betty]

One thing that HotGuns had mentioned was a portable water filtration unit, something I wanted to get for hiking. While the water purification tablets are good for some things, it doesn't eliminate giardia and other microscopic swimmers. You certainly wouldn't diarrhea while you're bugging out.