Bug out bag

[D_odom1600]

I am throwing together a survival bag in case shtf. Was wandering if people could post ideas to add to it or good sites to buy items from reviews etc. thanks

 

[Snow Bird]

There are all kinds of ideas on utube. Go from small to a pickup load. Just depends on how far you want to go and how long you want to hide and try to live off the land.

 

[CCHGN]

IMO, the BO bag is a urban legend,,,,,it doesn't exist. Forget any notions that you'll grab a backpack and simply set out and live out of it. To pack the perfect BO bag, you must reverse engineer the SHTF. So what SHTF are we talking about? Nuclear bomb? Got NBC gear? Hurricane? Civil unrest? Foreign invasion? Occupation? Martial Law?

OK, pick your favorite SHTF, now, where are you going? You do have place to go, right? Completely stocked and perfectly defendable, that survived the SHTF? OK, how far is it? Can you walk there? How long will that take? How many in your party? Just yourself or kids and old folks? any sick or infirmed? Anyone injured or traumatized by the SHTF? Will you be taking them or putting them down before you leave? Plan on hooking up with folks you meet or just killing them as you go? will you need to travel at night? These are hard decisions you'll likely have to make.


Decide now and stick with it. Me? I'll never forget that I'm a human being and a gentleman and will show mercy. I'll help all who are the same and oppose all who ain't.

If you had a point B, then you should have stashed cashed supplies along the way there, so you don't have to carry alot.

If a shtf and you have to evacuate, then most likely so will alot of other folks. You'd do well to hook up with a group of able bodies and try to survive that way.
If it gets too bad, the strong will prey on the weak and if you're alone, you don't have a chance against a pack.


I would travel lite and scavange what I needed along the way. Better to make/pick up weapons than to carry a bunch of weight( I will have a personal hi-cap pistol and 200 rnds of ammo). Most times you'll need to be quiet and avoid folks, so silent ways to kill is necessary. Bow and arrows is better.

Your survival is directly related to you staying healthy, so I'd pack a bunch of medicine( including vitamins and women's products- any females you meet would appreciate it, plus a tampon can plug a bullet hole) and first aid stuff. The old adage of food, clothing and shelter,,,,nah, the new adage of importance: water, water, water, clothing, shelter and then food. Also, the old adage of redundancy, in 3's, so 3 ways to purify and hold water; 3 ways to make shelter, 3 ways to catch food, 3 ways to make fire, 3 different fires(undetectable fires, smokeless etc).. AFA clothes, you can pick that up( assuming radiation isn't a problem), but if you're hiking, you can't have too many socks and too much foot powder. You don't need $500 hiking boots, Combat boots are good enough for our troops, get the USGI. Again, first aid stuff for blisters, bites and bruises, etc.

Don't underestimate personal grooming, it's important both for health and morale. Make it mandatory to keep gear and clothes and bodies clean.

Study Backpacking light and find ways to get everything lighter and smaller. Think and find things that will do double duty- several things.

Take a bicycle tire tube and cut it up into 1/2" pieces- those are "ranger bands"- secure a ferro rod to every knife you own

I find that I use the smaller knife more than the bigger one, so I attached them together and added a ferro rod. I even put bands on the handles , 'cause those handles get slick with blood. The Mora is more for water use.

Compass and topograhical maps will be helpful,,,,,

So, tentative backback( I have an internal framed 3 day pack) would consist of: slap full of all types of medicine and alot of it, preferably the single dose packets: painkiller, cold, allergy,etc; sunscreen, insect repellant; napkins and tampons; all sizes of band-aides and gause pads and wrap; water purification tablets, a filtering/straw system and a pot to boil. I have a percolator, 'cause I want my coffee. Several garbage bags and zip lock bags- containers. A waterproof pancho is invaluable for shelter or rain gear or collecting water. 3 is better. 3-4 pair of good thick socks; foot powder; sewing kit, personal grooming- teeth, hair, body, razor. Small fishing kit: spool of line, hooks and a couple lures( but you should be able to find insects anywhere); 3 Bic liters, waterproof matches, I have 2 compression pistons and char cloth, ferro rods, AF kit, zip lock bag of tender-lint from dryer and bag of cotton balls soaked in vaseline; small LED flashlite and extra batteries; crank radio; hard candy( trust me, they don't call them Lifesavers for nothing); you can't have too much cordage, all sizes, but mostly smaller. Braided stringline is the best. I also took some SS wire and made a dozen snares; knives, machete; camelback and bladders.

The most important thing is to get out there and practice with your gear- making fires( look up Dakota and smokeless fire) and setting traps and fishing and ID edible and medicinal plants( how to render them) and always have a plan A> B> C. keep your head and keep everyone else cool and comfortable as possible. Let the weakest set the pace. Remember the basics: Moss grows on the North side of trees, most all water flows South( and lead to somehwere), the sun goes East to West. Most RR tracks lead to somewhere( and are a great way to travel).

But like I said, BO is a myth and this stuff is just knowledge and skills that all should have.

 

[MIAMI MATT]

IMO, the BO bag is a urban legend,,,,,it doesn't exist. To pack the perfect BO bag, you must reverse engineer the SHTF. So what SHTF are we talking about? Nuclear bomb? Got NBC gear? Hurricane? Civil unrest? Foreign invasion? Occupation? Martial Law?
.

This....This.....and more of this....

 

[CCHGN]

This....This.....and more of this....

Uh, what'd you do there?

 

[CCHGN]

Well, imo, if it gets folks out and practicing camping skills, then it's a good thing. Tempered with reality, then it has merit.

The reality is, if you have a a good place to go to ( that wasn't destroyed by the STF or occupied by raiders) and leave in plenty of time to avoid everybody else BO, then you may just, but if you don't, grabbing a backpack and hitting the road is a bad, bad idea.

I've been reading up on Selco( who survived the Bosnian war of the 90's) and he has some good advise about urban survival, but more home to me is studying our own ancestors. The Pioneers were the original BO,,,They BO to places unknown and untamed. The land and Nature and man and beast were enemies to them.

They learned real quick how to survive. Many died, but alot more survived. Banding together was a must. Strength in numbers was tried and true, but it was important that every person pulled their own weight. The Pilgrims almost perished because of that.

Another major importance: No one would have survived, NONE of them, without the help of the locals. So that has to be in the plans, to have the frame of mind to be friendly and seek the help of locals. Be willing to trade or barter for work for anything, including safe passage. Most folks want to help good folks.

Study occupied France and Italy and Poland. Folks didn't BO, they stayed and BI and fought the occupiers( with our help). I plan on BI and hiding in plain site.

Look at the folks Africa and India who have to evacuate in case of civil war. They try to take everything they own, piled up on a bicycle. Most only get away with the clothes on their backs and rely on outside help.

 

[ccather]

+1 for the Mora knife (top picture). I have them in stainless and mild steel. They are inexpensive (less than $20 for a similar model), been made for years, they come very sharp and are easy to sharpen. I believe they are a good value in small camp knives.

 

[CCHGN]

+1 for the Mora knife (top picture). I have them in stainless and mild steel. They are inexpensive (less than $20 for a similar model), been made for years, they come very sharp and are easy to sharpen. I believe they are a good value in small camp knives.

Oh yeah, when we go kayak fishing/camping, the Mora is the go to knife. Great handle and easily takes care of all camping chores. However, I've cleaned and skinned all forms of animals with that little Buck #107, including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and even 150lb goats.

So, what that means is I have different knives for different jobs. The Mora is great for fire wood, shelter making and cutting cordage, etc, but that Buck is strickly for meat. I also have a Woodman's Pal and a USMC Kbar and they have specific jobs as well.

 

[D_odom1600]

Thanks for all the ideas there great!!!

 

[CCHGN]

This is other folks BO:



View attachment 11063 View attachment 11064

 

[DSPLCD1]

Good Information CCHGN, but with all that being said, I'm going to stay home.

 

[Telum Pisces]

Eglin teaches a class on what you can eat in the woods here along the gulf coast. That's one thing I would learn if I had to do anything. I think during any disaster whether human or nature induced will cause the food sources to run out quickly.

 

[CCHGN]

Good Information CCHGN, but with all that being said, I'm going to stay home.

Me too, unless I can't,,,LOL,,,,,,,well, if you find yourself under water, y'all can come up here,,,,lol

 

[Ric-san]

Lots of good info here, only thing is no one survival literature. Ideally you wont wait until the SHTF before you bust out your Dr Suess Survival book and get to reading. There are hundreds of books, every thing from Cody Lundeen, Bear Grylis and Les Stroud to mention the current crop of TV survivalists, to SAS Survival and even the military FM Series of books. All good, all have their place. My go to book is believe it or not, the Boy Scout Fieldbook. Not the B.S. Handbook, that's the everyday meeting/merit badge/summer camp book. The B.S. Fieldbook has some great info and it would not surprise me if any of the above authors reference whats in the Fieldbook...knots, navigation, weather info, first aid. Hell most folks were in the boy scouts as kids, you may have a older copy of the book kicking around. If not look at used book store, half.com OR stop by the Boy Scout store by UWF, I just picked up a new 4th Edition Fieldbook (previous version) for $10, new. Larger book version. New edition is around $25. Open it, read it, learn it. It may save you in a life or death survival situation IMHO

 

[shootnstarz]

Fact is nobody knows what situation will arise, train derailment w/hazardous materials, riots, fires, nobody knows. I for one would rather have and not need than need and not have.

I wouldn't expect to ever melt into the forest and expect to survive for long but a situation could arise where you just have to quickly leave the area. I would want a pack with food, water, clothes, and anything else that could help me get through a temporary displacement.

Rick