Real Life Bug Out Bag

[RSKY]

Sitting here bored to death and I got to thinking about several doomsday scenarios that have been broadcast about on the Net. They involve everything from a North Korean nuclear blast, an EMP attack, nation wide electrical grid failure, and so on. In my area near the New Madrid Fault an earthquake would be the most probably disaster scenario. Anyway, since I am on this weight limit from hernia surgery, and I'm doing fine thanks for asking, haven't taken the first pain pill. Where was I?? Oh yeah, can't do anything without getting hollered at because she-who-must-be-obeyed wants me healthy again. So I sit here and play on the computer. And as I surfed and read all this doomsday crap I got to thinking that it might be a good idea to have a bug out bag (herefore referred to as the BOB) in case we had to leave our home in a hurry. The constant TV broadcast of the ongoing disaster in The Peoples Republic of California really got me to thinking about this.

What should I put in my BOB?

I have a backpack that is comfortable to wear and holds a LOT. Used it for ten days at Disney World in October. Carried diapers, wipes, sealable plastic bags (to put poopy diapers in if no convenient trash can nearby), snacks, bottles of water ($3 each if purchased at Disney), and cellphone chargers. Also carried these twist off top flexible baby food and applesauce pouches for the one and four year old grandkids. A little off the subject hint, TSA does not like those pouches when you go thru an airport. Especially when the baby is on the other side of the airport going thru security with his parents. The security guard took each one out and squeezed it feeling for a bomb. I offered to just trash them but he suddenly let me board. Guess he was afraid the bomb inside of the applesauce would go off in his trashcan..... I got way off subject there. Let me continue.

I decided that I should plan on being out of my home for one week. I plan on having five minutes to grab stuff before leaving. So packing winter clothes etc. would not be necessary. That would be grabbed before exiting the house. Other items such as my carry pistol is stored with the extra ammo as is my wife's. Our emergency cash is hidden but easily accessible. I recently changed it from all $100 bills to a mixture of $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50 dollar bills. Learned my lesson on that during the Ice Storm Of 2009, just took it six years to sink thru my thick skull. My shave kit is stored beside an emergency first aid kit. It has shaving gear, toothbrush and paste, soap, shampoo, and disposable wipes in it.

I will grab the three password books that my wife and I store all our computer passwords on. If we lost those we would be in serious trouble.

I am not planning on a complete societal breakdown doomsday prepper scenario where we have to start shooting deer for food and fight off the Democrats who have turned to cannibalism..... Well,...sorry, I'll stop with the political talk, got carried away there. I'm talking about a leave right now or die one week out of the house emergency evacuation.

WHAT SHOULD BE IN MY BOB BACKPACK ??

I went thru my medicines that I take every day this morning. I put aside a one week supply of everything in the proper, but out of date, prescription bottles. These will go in a zip lock bag in the back pack. Also a card with all the prescription numbers. So if I can get to a CVS anywhere they can look up the information.

I will make copies of all important documents such as drivers license, deeds, birth certificates. Each of these will have COPY across them in big letters. There will be a small notebook and pencils in the bag along with a couple Sharpies.

I will have a list of all family members with addresses, telephone, and cellphone numbers.

I will have a cell phone charger, and a couple of those extra battery thingies with all the proper cables.

I have a couple small flashlights and a large head banger Mag Lite stored near where the BOB hangs. They would go in it in a hurry.

I will have a cigarette lighter of some sort along with matches in the bag stored in a Ziplock bag.

I will put one of the small bottles of dish washing detergent in a Ziplock bag.

A pack of disposable wipes.

A pack or two of the long life emergency rations. Supposed to taste awful but keep you alive.

Bootlaces, folding knife, plastic forks and spoons, a couple plastic cups, and a couple small plastic bowls.

Any more ideas? Remember, this is not a shoot your food and live off the land deal. This is an evacuate in a hurry and be out of your home fleeing for your life disaster deal. In other words I'm looking at something that could realistically happen at any time in any part of the country.

What would YOU pack??

RSKY

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I would add extra batteries for each battery powered item.

Ron

 

[bcp]

A solar recharger.

A crank recharger: Amazon.com: Eton FRX3 Hand Turbine NOAA AM/FM Weather Alert Radio with Smartphone Charger

Bruce

 

[4570Man]

I'd probably skip the BOB in favour of a crate I loaded in the truck with the tractor. If it actually comes down to the actual domesday crap you see in tv, a pistol with 1 bullet should be enough gear.

 

[oosik]

If you are talking a truly catastrophic situation - then, NO BOB, here. Where would a person go to be any better off. How would a person know where to go. No I'll just rough it out right here. If I don't make it - that's OK. I've had a good life and I'm not about to spend the last year(s) running around the country.

 

[Ken]

Sitting here bored to death and I got to thinking about several doomsday scenarios that have been broadcast about on the Net. They involve everything from a North Korean nuclear blast, an EMP attack, nation wide electrical grid failure, and so on. In my area near the New Madrid Fault an earthquake would be the most probably disaster scenario. Anyway, since I am on this weight limit from hernia surgery, and I'm doing fine thanks for asking, haven't taken the first pain pill. Where was I?? Oh yeah, can't do anything without getting hollered at because she-who-must-be-obeyed wants me healthy again. So I sit here and play on the computer. And as I surfed and read all this doomsday crap I got to thinking that it might be a good idea to have a bug out bag (herefore referred to as the BOB) in case we had to leave our home in a hurry. The constant TV broadcast of the ongoing disaster in The Peoples Republic of California really got me to thinking about this.

What should I put in my BOB?

I have a backpack that is comfortable to wear and holds a LOT. Used it for ten days at Disney World in October. Carried diapers, wipes, sealable plastic bags (to put poopy diapers in if no convenient trash can nearby), snacks, bottles of water ($3 each if purchased at Disney), and cellphone chargers. Also carried these twist off top flexible baby food and applesauce pouches for the one and four year old grandkids. A little off the subject hint, TSA does not like those pouches when you go thru an airport. Especially when the baby is on the other side of the airport going thru security with his parents. The security guard took each one out and squeezed it feeling for a bomb. I offered to just trash them but he suddenly let me board. Guess he was afraid the bomb inside of the applesauce would go off in his trashcan..... I got way off subject there. Let me continue.

I decided that I should plan on being out of my home for one week. I plan on having five minutes to grab stuff before leaving. So packing winter clothes etc. would not be necessary. That would be grabbed before exiting the house. Other items such as my carry pistol is stored with the extra ammo as is my wife's. Our emergency cash is hidden but easily accessible. I recently changed it from all $100 bills to a mixture of $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50 dollar bills. Learned my lesson on that during the Ice Storm Of 2009, just took it six years to sink thru my thick skull. My shave kit is stored beside an emergency first aid kit. It has shaving gear, toothbrush and paste, soap, shampoo, and disposable wipes in it.

I will grab the three password books that my wife and I store all our computer passwords on. If we lost those we would be in serious trouble.

I am not planning on a complete societal breakdown doomsday prepper scenario where we have to start shooting deer for food and fight off the Democrats who have turned to cannibalism..... Well,...sorry, I'll stop with the political talk, got carried away there. I'm talking about a leave right now or die one week out of the house emergency evacuation.

WHAT SHOULD BE IN MY BOB BACKPACK ??

I went thru my medicines that I take every day this morning. I put aside a one week supply of everything in the proper, but out of date, prescription bottles. These will go in a zip lock bag in the back pack. Also a card with all the prescription numbers. So if I can get to a CVS anywhere they can look up the information.

I will make copies of all important documents such as drivers license, deeds, birth certificates. Each of these will have COPY across them in big letters. There will be a small notebook and pencils in the bag along with a couple Sharpies.

I will have a list of all family members with addresses, telephone, and cellphone numbers.

I will have a cell phone charger, and a couple of those extra battery thingies with all the proper cables.



I have a couple small flashlights and a large head banger Mag Lite stored near where the BOB hangs. They would go in it in a hurry.

I will have a cigarette lighter of some sort along with matches in the bag stored in a Ziplock bag.

I will put one of the small bottles of dish washing detergent in a Ziplock bag.

A pack of disposable wipes.

A pack or two of the long life emergency rations. Supposed to taste awful but keep you alive.

Bootlaces, folding knife, plastic forks and spoons, a couple plastic cups, and a couple small plastic bowls.

Any more ideas? Remember, this is not a shoot your food and live off the land deal. This is an evacuate in a hurry and be out of your home fleeing for your life disaster deal. In other words I'm looking at something that could realistically happen at any time in any part of the country.

What would YOU pack??

RSKY

Rsky !st. worry about getting healthy.
The comment of New Madrid fault reminded my of when working at Blytheville Ark. there was a scare about this fault and the preparations to survive. Some big brain stated the ground would sink 50 to 500 feet and so preparation was to have coils of rope to be able to get back out. others called into the radio station that not to worry since ladders would be lowered. No one mentioned the Mississippi river would be flowing into and in time would fill the hole.
In the 60's working in N. Mex. to S.Dakota we carried what was called a jungle lunch. personal items then stack of Dinty Moore's canned meat. blanket and water .

Then one night in Nebraska driving rural road saw where the snow plow had cleared the road and at intersection had turned around. wind had cleared the road ahead so continued over ridge . onto snow drift and jeep sank until top only could be seen. crawled out of window used hub cap to clear area to put on chains and some area behind Jeep to try to get out .only to break something inside of transmission.
engine dead cannot get transmission in neutral decided to wrap feet in over coat and only blanket could find was and electric intended for Christmas present. about the coldest night i ever had. day light pink in the East crawled out of jeep and walked couple of miles to a ranch surprising a man feeding his cattle .thought I was some kind of Indian with the elec. blanket wrapped around my shoulders.
So all planned needs there will be something unexpected needed.
ken

 

[Bocephous]

If you are talking a truly catastrophic situation - then, NO BOB, here. Where would a person go to be any better off. How would a person know where to go. No I'll just rough it out right here. If I don't make it - that's OK. I've had a good life and I'm not about to spend the last year(s) running around the country.

Same here. Not worried about dying.

 

[sseelhoff]

Espresso maker.

 

[rekees4300]

Toothpaste?

 

[FarmWrench]

Condoms. Very best ingredient to guarantee that you will NEVER need any part of your "Bob".

 

[Garandman]

We consider things like an EMP pulse (which would most likely result from a massive nuclear strike) to be a distraction. The most likely life-threatening emergency here is a major winter full-moon Northeast storm in winter, which would result in poor visibility and travel conditions, coastal flooding, and power outages. Salt water flooding is extra fun.

So we plan for the most likely event. We even keep our dinghy and a small outboard at the house over winter.

If you are talking a truly catastrophic situation - then, NO BOB, here. Where would a person go to be any better off. How would a person know where to go. No I'll just rough it out right here. If I don't make it - that's OK. I've had a good life and I'm not about to spend the last year(s) running around the country.

I agree, and have to laugh at all the preppers preparing for invasion from cities. In most real-Life catastrophies, people move to cities, which are a lot more resiliant than one might think.

That said, right about the time we moved to a house near Boston Harbor, Hurricane Sandy hit. We looked at everything that happened for lessons learned. One of the lessons was a homeowner who weathered the storm just fine. But they were near n area where houses had been swept away, so after a few days, the gas company turned off their natural gas! So they had to leave anyway. Even though our house has had a total power outage of three hours in 20 years, we are wired for a generator, store water, food, medical supplies, etc.

FEMA has well-thought-out lists for staying in place, or if you have to leave, which we would have to do if there was an extended natural gas outage in winter.

Build A Kit | Ready.gov

 

[3930dave]

That FEMA list gman linked is a good place to start.

Note that they list maps. Being able to charge your cell phone is only a tiny piece of what most people rely on to work every day. Cell towers can and do go down, or out of general service in an emergency.

Short term, drinking water is the limiting factor. For mobile or stationary use, something to create potable water manually is important. One of the small kits for a hiking pack is enough to keep you alive.

Shelter - fire can be important to minimize exposure risk, or for cooking. For mobile fire-starting, one of the best compact DIY portable kindling solutions I've seen is cotton-balls slathered with petroleum jelly, packed into small pill bottles.

I usually wear a Leatherman every day. One in a BOB would be appropriate. Two of the things I find I use more often (given all the discrete tools I usually have around) than I expected are the pliers, and especially the scissors.

Rgds, D.

 

[Garandman]

We buy the 6 gallon AquaTainers, which stack, have a handle and spigot.

 

[Ken]

West of Seligman , Ariz. there is a large cavern with tunnel to lower area. And inside this is enough food to feed a army. interesting that all the water containers are empty. The person showing us around said the water was dehydrated.

ken

 

[Steppenwolfe]

If you are talking a truly catastrophic situation - then, NO BOB, here. Where would a person go to be any better off. How would a person know where to go. No I'll just rough it out right here. If I don't make it - that's OK. I've had a good life and I'm not about to spend the last year(s) running around the country.

:thumbsup: Agreed. I've got more guns, ammo, and food here than I could possibly carry. Got water, game, and 94 acres that don't fit in a BOB... I'm stay'n put. Matter of fact, some of my buddies plan on coming here when the pooh hits the fan...

 

[RSKY]

During the 2009 ice storm we had about a dozen people with us for a week or so because we had natural gas fed logs in two rooms of the house. We also had plenty of blankets and quilts. We have frozen and canned food galore even though the diet might get old with green beans or peas each day. We can survive a month or more in our home IF the home is still standing.

What I'm asking about is a "get out of your house and evacuate" situation where you were forced to leave in two minutes with what you could carry.

Or a situation where your home is leveled by an earthquake or fire or flood.

RSKY

 

[MossRoad]

Did you mention a first aid kit?

If you're only planning on being out of the house for a week, why bother with a shaving kit?

And if you're going to be out of the house for a week, where are you planning to spend the week? I guess that depends on how extensively the region is damaged.

Make sure the matches are "strike anywhere" type and waterproof.
Get some water sanitizer tablets.
And get a collapsible water container with spout.
Get one of those "life straws" for filtering drinking water.
Get some plumbers candles.
And a bag of hershey's kisses (I just like those).

 

[kevinwak]

First aid kit
Glow sticks
Underwear
Socks
Large ziplock of pet food if you have a pet to bring along.
Toilet paper

 

[davrow]

In California, we only worry about fires. Our BOB has family photos and legal documents. That's it, as we will be going to friends or relatives that are not impacted by the fire.

Any other SHTF scenario we will weather right here at home, thank you very much.

If I were a prepper I would want a preloaded bugout vehicle. No way I could cart enough for two on my back!

 

[oosik]

RSKY - strange, very strange. Three years ago I had a situation just as you indicate. Mid-July - around 4pm - watching TV thru the pin holes in my eye lids. God dam wild a**ed knocking at the door - loud shout "STATE POLICE - OPEN THE DOOR". Christ, what now - - opened the door and there is a State Police officer - he says - - "you must evacuate this property RIGHT NOW - - an uncontrolled wildfire is rapidly approaching your property and very likely will burn your house and all outbuildings". To be honest - I was dumbstruck and just stood there for a moment. He then said - "I will be out in my vehicle and will not be leaving until you are following me".

Well, I put on a pair of pants, my Carhart jacket and grabbed my wallet, check book and keys for my tractor(most valuable vehicle I own). Out the driveway and down the county road four miles to my nearest neighbor. From there we could look back and see all the black smoke.

It was called the Watermelon Hill Wildfire ( 2014 ) and it missed the SW corner of my property by 100 yards. After watching all the smoke from my neighbors house, I said - what the he** and went home to see what was left. At the very last moment the wind changed direction and drove the fire to the north - just missing the west edge of my property.

It was the action of several local farmers and their large tractors cutting a fire break that stopped the fire. Unfortunately, all the fire depts equipment had been previously committed to fires in the Okanogan and Wenatchee areas.

We were very lucky - very few outbuildings lost, no homes lost - a lot of baled hay was lost. A lot of "haying equipment" lost.