There’s a lot to be said for having the gear necessary to keep yourself alive in a SHTF scenario. Fire, flood, hurricane, civil unrest…you simply never know what might happen and how long it could take to restore order and civil services. Having basic survival gear on hand and at the ready could be the difference between living and dying.
And what are you gonna do, brother, when these 24-inch pyth…nevermind.
A lot of people like to talk about “survival guns” because it’s fun. We’ll get into that, but let’s dive a little deeper. Guns are tools and the movies have given people the impression that your guns will be used a lot more than they actually would in a survival situation.
We’ll cover that, of course, but for now, let’s go over what sort of basic SHTF gear you’ll need.
It has to be durable (shoulder straps and zippers are the main failure points) and should be adjustable to fit your torso length, with an adjustable waist belt because you need to put the weight of the pack on the hips rather than the shoulders. I would suggest no smaller than a 50-liter pack, about standard for two to four days on the march, with a hydration reservoir. You can select bags that are tactical gear – MOLLE and all that – or a more conventional hiking or hunting pack.
Personally, I’m a fan of Kelty external frame packs. They’re tough, they work incredibly well (the external frame lends itself to strapping extra stuff on) and your back doesn’t turn into a swamp like with internal frame packs. If they’d only make one in OD green or Realtree…but I digress.
You may only have to go a few miles, or you may have to cover dozens. Therefore, make sure to pick a bag that can handle a longer trek.
Speaking of hydration, you should have multiple containers in your bug out bag. In a SHTF situation, the most essential survival gear is hydration, because you’ll die without it after a day or two. A hydration reservoir in your pack is a great idea. You’ll also need at least one water bottle (and you should have more. If you have no reservoir, pack no fewer than two water bottles, with at least one readily accessible.
You’ll also want a water filter and purification system. Iodine are easy to pack, but give water and food a funky taste. In a survival situation, though, who cares? Have some as a backup.
Boiling requires at least 10 minutes to kill bacteria, which consumes a lot of fuel and time, so it’s unwise to rely on that method alone. Other filtration systems are also available, such as the straw type (LifeStraw) and pump-actuated water filtration systems. Katadyn has a pretty good system, which attaches to a Nalgene bottle.
Some tactical gear, such as waterproof clothing and good boots, are also a good idea to have in your bug out bag and/our survival gear. It should be lightweight, waterproof and packable. Rain gear is a must. If you live in an area that gets cold, you also want base layers and mid layers, as well as gloves. It’s also a good idea to have a suitable hat in your survival gear, ideally one for cold weather and one for warm weather.
A headscarf also comes in handy for all kinds of uses. You know you’re totally tactical once you’ve ordered a shemagh from Amazon. It can keep your face warm and doubles as a face mask.
A comprehensive first aid kit is also a must. Yours should have all the basics including bandaging, disinfectants, a tourniquet and a small supply of OTC medications. Those should include painkillers/anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and a few other assorted common medications including antidiarrheal (diarrhea is merely annoying for modern Americans; it’s deadly elsewhere) and other OTC meds.
It’s a good idea to have at least a three-day supply, if not more, along with some good energy-dense snacks (nuts, seeds, beef jerky, dried fruit, energy bars) for supplementation.
Canned food is heavy, but cans double as a cooking vessel. However, freeze-dried and evaporated foods (Mountain House, for instance) and/or military MREs are a better solution. You can pack more food more easily, but remember that freeze dried food requires a cooking vessel. So therefore, you’ll need a backpacking mess kit to go with it.
It goes without saying, but a backpacking stove is also a good idea. The Jetboil or other stove that can also charge your cell phone or other communication device(s) is also a good piece of gear, as you may be able to get to somewhere with a signal and call for help.
If you have anyone in tow with you, such as a spouse and children, they should each have a bag of their own with an amount of essential gear and food that they can carry.
A Lansky puck would be best as they are easily packable and can get an axe or hatchet sharp in short order. We all love the idea of an old-growth hickory handled $5,000 hatchet, but the truth is a hatchet and light axe from the hardware store will work IF properly sharpened.
These tools let you gather firewood and help setting up a shelter if traveling in the backcountry. Getting through the urban environment makes them a little less necessary, but they are vitally important in the out of doors. If you anticipate that survival for you will dictate time spent there, you should have them.
It goes without saying that you’ll need a few knives. A small knife for small tasks and a larger one for larger tasks. Gas station knives are insufficient; you need good blades that can take and hold an edge. Pack a portable sharpener; Sharps and other companies make decent ones.
Other SHTF gear that’s good to have are for food gathering.
For starters, you should have a bit of fishing tackle (hooks, fishing line and so on) in case you’re in a marine environment or find yourself by a river. A collapsible pole doesn’t work as well as your favorite Shakespeare, Fenwick or Orvis rod (I’m partial to Ugly Stiks; the comments section probably thinks I was beaten with one) but works in a pinch. A bit of Powerbait is also a decent thing to pack if fishing is going to be a possibility.
For small game, a .22 LR is always a good choice. A .22 rifle is most preferable; if you’ll be traveling in a group, make sure someone is packing that Ruger, Henry, Marlin or Mossberg .22 plinker. (Or Nylon 66, if you have one.) You’ll get far more meat on the table by shooting squirrels, rabbits, grouse and other small game.
For self protection, we all know the guns that work. A .22LR pistol like the Ruger Mark IV or simliar pistol is ultra versatile. For those willing to pack more size and weight a 9mm pistol is good for dealing with two-legged threats, with a quality self-defense load.
Pepper spray is a good non-lethal alternative for humans, and bear spray IS proven to be effective…though just like a TASER, it’s effective until it isn’t, and you need to be ready to switch to a different means of self-protection.
A pistol-caliber carbine is arguably the best long gun for SHTF scenarios. You can defend yourself against humans, animals and hunt in the bargain; this is why lawmen and folks out on the range often had a rifle and pistol chambered for the same round. It just sort of speaks for itself.
You can also use a carbine conversion upper or carry a carbine in the same caliber as your pistol. In this role, 10mm is exceptional. This class of long guns are effective up to 200 yards, depending on the chambering and load.
Some folks prefer an AR. The AR-15 is fantastic for self-defense, but .223 is poor for hunting. An AR-10 has more wallop for game and on the shoulder, but is equally suited to these roles as is a scout rifle. Toting magazines will be a pain, but it works in the urban and rural environment and for both roles.
Shotguns are excellent for defense at close range, but longer ranges require a rifled barrel and slugs which are not convenient to change at a moment’s notice. Carrying defense and hunting ammunition adds weight and complicates matters, so there’s that to contend with, and you don’t want to hunt small game with buckshot. If you don’t anticipate hunting or long-range shooting, buckshot and a tight choke (full or turkey) will get you up to about 50 yards.
It sounds like a lot, but it’s kind of like backpacking. You have to be able to survive for several days (or longer) on your own and potentially on foot in an urban, suburban, rural or wilderness environment, and these are the things you need to keep yourself alive in those environments.
If there’s anything you think I missed, sound off in the comments! If you want to tell us what’s in your emergency kit of bug out bag, sound off in the comments! If you have finally accepted that pineapple actually does belong on pizza, sound off in the comments!
A good fixed blade knife with a full tang.
Plus that!
A knife is the single most important tool And saying a cheap hardware store axe and/or hatched will do just fine is a flat out lie. Not only do they suck, but if you believe that, you should not be carrying, let alone swinging, a dime store blade.
Flashlight?
Paracord?
Flashlight?
Headlamp?
Flashlight?
Hat?
Flashlight?
Duct Tape?
Flashlight?
This list is more Amazon.com than actual survival. But hey, those that follow it will just leave more for me.
Scared of the Dark?
Without a flashlight, *you* will be scared of the dark very quickly. Without a solar battery charger, it will take only a moment in time before you have no flashlight.
How many guns are you gonna carry? This packing list is ridiculous weight and needless redundancy. People who make these lists often don’t test them out nor are they in shape to hump 70 lbs more then a few miles.
The list is ridiculous for an urban situation. Carry a rifle down the street in LA? Ha ha. You’re going to make a campfire? With a flint? Wield an ax? Then sharpen the ax? Hell, even a mid-sized backpack would attract unwanted attention. Food- you really think you’re going to starve to death in a couple of days? Fishing tackle- if you have time to fish, you’re not in trouble.
Instead: Whatever handgun, knife, is your EDC, all of it concealed. A few power bars. Water bottle. Minimal first aid- your regular Rx’s (if any), a TQ, Israeli bandage, and some bandaids. Extra magazine or two. Charging brick for your phone. Several hundred dollars in 20s. Jacket or coat, hat.
I realize that the people in California aren’t the smartest in the world, but are you on DOPE or DOG $H!+?
Yeah, the author forgot cordage, duct tape, flashlights, and a COMPASS!!!
DING DING DING!
A compass? In case you need to draw circles?
That’s funny, in case you need to draw circles on your map
Map, flashlight, money, water. food, boots, spare socks.
I carry a few packets of Emergency in my BUG bag. Flavors nasty tasting water
Let’s count how many of the basic five needs he did cover.
1. Combustion? Nope, I see nothing about fire. No accelerators, no lighters, no ferro rod, not even a match! Well, maybe he figures on making a bow drill set in the rain.
2. Cover? I don’t see any. Not even a tarp or a garbage bag. Well, maybe it doesn’t rain wherever this author lives.
3. Containers? For carrying water? Well, if it doesn’t rain, seems like more than one plastic water bottle would be important, but maybe he knows something I don’t.
4. Cutting? Nope, I don’t see anything about knives. Well, maybe the little folder in the Gerber will suffice. But I’d rather have a good full tang sheath knife too.
5. Cordage? I didn’t see it mentioned. Well one can always make it from tree bark. At about a foot an hour……..
You could never carry enough ammo. A bow or crossbow would be better. You can reuse your arrows and bolts.
The fact is that you are far more likely to need to “bug out” for other reasons than the END OF THE WORLD
Want to know the #1 thing in your bug out bag? A rugged, encrypted flash drive with copies of you bank accounts, driver licences, insurance, passport, professional certifications and so forth.
I don’t know any place that will accept ‘copies’ of an ID in lieu of an actual ID. People walk into where I work all the time, “I lost my ID, but here is a photo copy of it.” Cool story bro. Bye.
You’d be better off ordering a US Passport and Passport Card. The card isn’t good for international travel, but it is a good form of ID and allows you to cross into Canada and Mexico.
Having a backup of your important documents is fine but they are worth the paper they are printed on….or stored on.
When did the State Department start issuing “Cards”…
A while back. We renewed our passports last year(maybe 2017) and had the option to get a card as well.
Because we are dicks to the Canadians, so they want a passport too now.
You can get a new driver licence and passport. Having copies makes it a LOT easier. The other documents are just as important. An ASE certified mechanic was able to get a job before he even had housing after Katrina because he had the certificate on his flash drive.
Want to know just how helpless and dumb the current young generation is? The last major hurricane I lived through (in a major city before I moved back to the country), I went for a short walk around outside as night began to fall, about an hour so after the hurricane had left.
You know what I noticed?
There were hundreds of people, most of them young, all sitting in their cars, with them running.
You see, the power had been out for mere hours.. and they all just HAD to recharge their phones and iPads.
They were all wasting the valuable gas in their vehicles, their only means of escape, to post shit on Fucking face book and text.
Just think about that for a few minuets.
I was a patient in a Hospital a couple of years ago, and my Nurse asked me what kind of Smartphone was appropriate for a 9 year old child. I looked at her as though she had lost her mind. A 9 YO with a Smartphone…
The correct answer is, a TOY smart phone!
She said Smartphone by “Apple”, NOT by “Fisher-Price”…
Yeah, I believe that. They haven’t realized yet what a boon those usb powerbank’s can be. Charge your phone 3+ times before you need to charge it again. I recommend 20,000+ mah in case of a SHTF scenario. It will last my smartphone about a week now, maybe 3 solid days if I am on the net constantly. If your smart with energy consumption, it will do till you get safe. The are those now designed to power tablets & laptops in a pinch too.
But my best advice is to always think ahead – if packing for a week, what will you need?
Pretty sure that by definition there will be no net if SHTF.
I have a wind up flashlight that has a charging port for cell phones.
Say what you will about the younger Generations not being prepared for emergencies, being hopelessly addicted to smartphones, but hey, that’s what they grew up with. They’ve never known a time where we didn’t have every kind of Technology at our fingertips. And if they’ve never experienced an emergency, how are they to know? And who’s supposed to teach them this stuff anyway? Their parents! Their teachers! People like you who are instead complaining and shitting all over current Generations. You think you’re so smart? And yet, you couldn’t even bother to fix climate change before it destroyed the world? And now there are a bunch of teenagers who aren’t sure if they have a future at all. Thanks a lot, assholes. If any generation wants to shit on any other generation, I should think it would be the younger ones who have no future because a bunch of old greedy assholes stole it away from them with their constant need for money money money money money. So suck on it. We will survive just fine thank you very much.
Climate change huh…. the climate has been changing for millennia and we are still here. what we are seeing is just part of the normal cycles and our pollution of the air is but a mere fraction of what the earth itself puts out….. less than a single active volcano of which there are usually at least half a dozen active in some part of the world at any one time.
As for the rest of what you said, yep your parents should have been more proactive in teaching you instead of handing you over to modern tech baby sitters (computers, tv etc)
If there was a question about your age and intelligence you just answered it
“destroyed the world…” Damn it am I always the last one to know…I must a missed the party cause I’m still here.
Mixed Up, You forgot “/sarc”, need to be careful about that or people will think you are a moron! Because your post is internally inconsistent in ways an 8th grader could avoid. Like, the world has been destroyed but you’ll be just fine?
A bit of paracord, a spare pair of glasses, and cash. I always have at least $200 bucks on me.
And I agree with Greg above. A good fixed blade knife.
I can’t have a fixed blade on my person or car in my state, “unless I’m hunting”. Keep them in my go bag along with a small game license 😁
What POS state is that?
MI, okay gun laws, shit knife laws
As a backpacker, I can state that a single-wall (not insulated), steel water bottle functions great as a boil pot, if needed. And, a 50 liter pack is too big. Get what is sized right for the stuff you need, otherwise, people tend to take what they don’t, just because they have the space. Choose gear wisely and 35-40 liters ought to be plenty -including dehydrated/freeze dried food. Keep in mind, moving quickly may be important in this scenario, and taking too much isn’t going to be conducive to that, especially for smaller framed folks.
I second that. 50+ liter packs are probably on of the most common newbie mistake. Generally the more experience you have the smaller your pack gets. I am fairly new myself but started at 34l (25l for my wife) and find they have ample space and keep the weight you are carrying closer to your center.
Your definitely on the right path. Also exercising your equipment, if you don’t know what 40 lbs + on your back for over 6 miles feels like their is no time like the present to find out.
Totally agree. My early backpack was too big, I filled it with stuff I wanted, and my knees, ankles, and back paid a price.
Get the gear you want, buy the bag that will hold it with A LITTLE extra space. Otherwise it’s not a B.O.B., its a sea anchor.
Axes and hatchets are good for a multitude of purposes…but, for firewood collection it is hard to beat a folding Sven saw or even one of the 10″ folding saws from a Box Store…much more efficient use of your energy.
Yes. Or just using large downed branches and slide them into the fire.
The reality is after moving all day your going to want to conserve your energy, their have been times on hikes were I went to far/hard and decided to forgo a fire altogether. In fact in the military rarely do you stop to make a fire, it’s too big of a signature.
Understandable, but if avoiding detection there is options. Dakota Fire Hole would be my go.
Is that anything like a “Swedish Fire Pit”…
Is that anything like a “Turkish Hot Box”
YMMV…six to seven months of the year in my area the downed branches are under a couple of feet (or more) of snow….could be a month longer at higher altitudes. Far less energy intensive to break or cut the squaw wood.
As far as a firestarter…my cheapest, most reliable source is cotton balls soaked in Vaseline stored in old film canisters (6 – 8 balls per canister)…take one out and the merest spark from a flint and steel ignites a 2 minute fire that is great for starting kindling….the Vaseline also is good for chapped skin or dressing minor burns you might suffer.
So will an “SOS” or “Brillo” pad, but if the Wood is Wet. Magnesium will generate enough Heat to Dry Out the wood…
True. Magnesium works well…and it is one more specialty, single-purpose item to carry. I prefer that my supplies be more multi-functional. Back-country / survival supplies are like firearms…find what works for you and practice with it to know its capabilities and limitations.
For the last ten or so years my overnight camping shelter has been mostly a hammock and tarp…really light and adaptive to terrain and conditions. A lightweight sleep bag from MEC that has two different fill weights…one to a side for differing temperature ranges. I suggest reaching out to local SAR teams and back-country Rangers (Fish and Game, Parkies, etc) for ideas on durable, cost-conscious equipment .
I already do that! The CrewBoss M-Pac Modular Pack, is standard issue to US Forest Fire Crews as a General Purpose Backpack. CrewBoss also make excellent High Wear clothing for the Backwoods too…
WTF is a “film canister”? Are you talking about the container for a Hollywood movie, 70 mm x 18 inches or more? A 35mm camera film canister (1″ x 1.5″)? What are you talking about? Now that I think of it, how do you “soak” a cotton ball in Vaseline? And wouldn’t it be a better idea to carry cotton balls and a container of Vaseline, to be combined or not, as necessary?
He means those little black plastic containers the size of pills bottles which is what I use(pill bottle) I don’t know if you can find those film containers very easily anymore
Sorry Larry, my bad. I’m an old-school photographer with lots of the really old aluminum screw on top 35mm film canisters (AGFA brand containers). The more recent Kodak snap lid plastic canisters work also. If you live in or near a larger town or city then there is probably still a wet-film processor that has the containers laying around for free or cheap.
EDIT: Just read what DZR said above. Yup, a pill bottle would work too.
Take a pretty good sized dollop of Vaseline in your fingers and work it into the cotton ball (real cotton not the rayon imitation stuff) until it is saturated. If your cotton gets wet prior to your saturating it then it is pretty much shot until it dries…the saturated cotton sheds water and is usable in the rain. I combine the two at home and carry the prepared cotton with me…if you want to carry dry cotton and separate Vaseline container that’s your call (saturating the cotton is a bit messy, I find it more convenient to wash up at home where there is hot running water and towels).
LarryinTx-did your mother drop you on your head when you were a baby? Lighten up
you dont even need a whole cotton ball. a tiny bit of the Vaseline impregnated cotton wool stuffed into an inch piece of plastic straw with the ends sealed will do for at least one fire if not 3.
A piece of magnesium rod does not take up much space, is far lighter than a decent ferocium rod and will get you out of trouble getting a fire going if the wood is really wet such as the only wood you have available has been under water.
A good quality heavy bladed knife is crucial as is a smaller one. Axes i would not skimp on the quality of as the cheap ones are prone to ending up with chips out of the blade and then you need a grinder to clean them up to use again. They also dont sharpen as well and a blunt axe is more dangerous than a sharp one as they glance off easier and dont bite in as well. They also take a hell of a lot more energy to do the same work.
There are packs that have a compartment to take a rifle such as an AR15 or a little lever action. This keeps it out of sight if you have to go through an urban area.
Paracord while great is not essential. It is easy enough to make your own cordage out of the inner bark of green trees.
Learn navigation skills that will allow you to operate without map or compass. These also help improve overall situational awareness so they are very good skills to have on more ways than one. Yes it is good to have a compass and topographic maps of the area you are in but they are not vital if you have those other skills.
Learning to track game is also a good skill to have and like navigation without map or compass also helps build situational awareness.
Old Guy, I see now. 6-8 cotton balls in one of those? I think they were steel, by the way, but I don’t have any that aren’t plastic any more, probably 100 of those. Some good ideas there! And I can see that if you wait until point of use to saturate, if it’s raining at that point you’re screwed.
Right on.
Nothing beats a Silky arborist saw. Tons of models of all sizes. Axes and hatchets are great ways to sustain a serious bleed-out injury if you’re not experienced in using them – especially these idiot hatchets with the spike on the opposite side of the blade.
Also carry a “chopper” knife – either a machete or a kukri. Better than an axe or hatchet because the blade surface is longer than an axe or hatchet head and you’re less likely to miss a stroke and whack your femoral artery.
Saws are more human-energy-efficient than axes and hatchets as well.
Some “experts” claim you need a machete for the southern woods with softer wood trees and axes for the northern woods. Wrong. You’re not building a log cabin. At most you’re chopping 1-4″ thick saplings. An axe is way overkill for that. Anything bigger, say, for a large log long-burning fire, can be handled by the Silky saw. The Youtube channel Survival Russia has videos showing how this can be done.
Fishing kits are another waste of time, as are any snares or traps. You’re not going to be out there for weeks or months because you aren’t trained for those food-gathering methods and without that experience you will fail. Also, when on the move you don’t have time for waiting around for fish to bite or animals to wander into a snare. Either carry the necessary food or have it cached along your route to your destination.
And HAVE a destination! Just wandering into the woods is a non-starter all around.
Although this discussion is focused on what you are going to be carrying I find that a 15″ hand saw with 9 teeth per inch is the one pioneering tool in the back of my vehicle that gets used the most. Downed trees tend to come down when the soil is saturated. I had to remove one blocking a lane last week at night on an embankment with sloppy wet poor footing and would not wanted to be swinging an axe there.
quite agree. most of the time a saw is better than an axe. make sure you have several of the right sort of files to sharpen it.
Or an Essee Junglas.
You are correct about Esse Junglas. Got mine last week. Trying to destroy edge. Batoning like crazy. Chopped up soda cans. Edge still sharp. Fits in your hand perfectly and well balanced. Just ordered another one to keep in car.
ALICE pack, packed up and ready to go, pup tent and sleeping bag. I camp out quite a bit and that should work for a bug out. Meals Rejected by Ethiopians.
CrewBoss M-Pac Modular Pack has ~1,600 Cubic Inches of carrying capacity, along with a ScottVest 42 Pocket Vest to augment the Packs carrying capacity. And a DPx HEFT 12 CHOP 12.5″ Drop Point Blade which easily doubles as a Machete or even a Makeshift Axe…
You forgot to include the Bradley AFV to pack all that gear you and your buddies will be carrying.
But seriously, as a Red Cross disaster volunteer I recommend sheltering in place if that is an option. You don’t want be out in the anarchy and do not want to end up in some form of shelter.
The only time you can really rely on premade rations is if you are going to be out for a short period of time so you are going to have to hunt/fish/trap for food. You are spot on with the choice of 22lr. In a SHTF scenario medical care will be in short supply and getting shot with caliber is going to fatal. For the skeptics take a 50 round box of 223 and fill it with 22lr and the count the rounds. Space and weight is the critical parameter. I would just go with a lifestraw and iodine pills as backup. Water is way to heavy to carry an adequate supply.
The one thing missing in the kit is an entrenching tool. You need to deal with waste especially if you are in a fixed site. You can get a NATO standard spade for about $40.
The truth is most of aren’t going to do that well in the wild more than a week or so.
IMO you are truly screwed if you have to walk away from your home for anything more than a very short period, unless you are at the Horace Kephart (when he was alive of course;-)/mountain man level of skill. If you believe that some sort of serious disruption is coming you are taking a big risk living in an urban or suburban area. I suspect it is not very likely you’ll make it to your bug out home once it is clear things are falling apart. Probably won’t survive very long no matter where you are and what you have with out civilization providing for and protecting us.
If at all possible stay put, plus bugging on you can have a lot more stuff.
…”Probably won’t survive very long no matter where you are and what you have with out civilization providing for and protecting us….”
One of the .gov studies I read concerning loss of power grids puts the survival rate at 1 in 10 surviving after one year.
Anybody on maint. meds is going to have a hard time and that includes alot of our population, me too.
I partially agree with the fact that if you require meds you may eventually have a problem when they run out that I don’t have an answer for however other than that let me be clear you don’t need anything from government to survive, you don’t need an electrical grid, your cell phone,internet ,paved roads or a Senator to survive. If your email goes down you can still survive
Loss of the grid would turn the big cities into 24/7 killing & eating zones. Thence huge mortuaries. If you have to be near that, better to have a large secret room with several months of stores/water and toilet plumbing. You may outlast the worst carnage.
@Bob Jones
…and in related news…I read today that the State of Washington is taking the first step towards Soylent Green by allowing human dead to be composted rather than buried or cremated…only a short step from compost to compote.
Grids aren’t going to go down for a year unless 1) an EMP, or 2) nuclear war.
And an EMP isn’t going to happen by anyone unless followed up by nuclear war.
And if you’re in nuclear war, the last thing you’re going to worry about is your iPod not working.
Nuclear war is a valid risk. EMPs are just nonsense hype produced by people like Newt Gingrich and those who want to start a war with North Korea (which has no demonstrated EMP capability.)
North Korea has nukes and [unreliable] long range missiles. Therefore, they pose an EMP threat. Actual EMP effects are somewhere between not much and the EOTWAWKI. There is also a natural EMP threat from a Carrington Event.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859
Buy a commercial generator and convert it to run on woodgas.
Honda produces a Home Power and Climate Control System called the “Vaillant” ecoPower 1.0. Which produces ~1.0 kW of Electrical Energy and ~2.5 kW of Thermal Energy. Also surplus Reciprocating Piston Diesel APU, that uses a “Hatz” Diesel Engine and is capable of producing ~10 kW of electrical power. It’s also Thermal Neutral from distances exceeding 50 meters and is capable of burning JP8, DF-1, DF-2 & DF-A (i.e. NATO F-76) fuels. Entire APU measures 53.5″ x 24″ x 12.5″ and weighs ~420 pounds, fuel consuption is ~0.96 US Gallons/Hour…
Or Sylvan Hart.
I worry much more about having to walk TO my home. It’s 25 miles of solid city from office to the house. And, I can see MacDill AFB from my office window.
Yeah in your case if you don’t have to go home like to get to family you might want to consider an alternative location that wouldn’t take you that far thru the city depending on what SHTF
I’ll double up on the good old fashioned spade advice. I found one with a small saw in the handle and folds into a neat little package.
One thing I’d advise against is MREs. While I’m one of those mutants that actually LIKES MREs, they are not exactly the most compact or energy dense emergency food supply. That makes them less than optimal for having to move. I prefer lifeboat survival rations that, while not as tasty (most of them taste like shit flavored chalk), they do a better job of keeping your ass alive for 72 hours and pack a lot neater than the grab bag of shit you get in an MRE.
“Malaya Pekhotnaya Lopata -50”, a Soviet era Fighting Shovel invented by the “Danes” in 1869…
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Russian-Army-Soviet-Sapper-Shovel-Infantry-Portable-Military-Surplus-50cm-Lopata-/263251609474
WWII ex german ones are better and have a pick as well and are quite solid and will stand up to abuse….. if you can find them. Australian soldiers used to pick them up sharpen the sides of the shovel and put a spike on the end of the handle and use them as a CQB weapon as well as a trenching tool
Russian “Spetsnaz GRU” Unit are specially trained with the “MPL-50” as a Close Quarters Combat Weapon. It can also be used as an alternative throwing Tomahawk, and has been known to be able to penetrate curtain kinds of Body Armor…
Yeah i could bet they are. Those guys are trained to use anything as a serious weapon and it would be a good weapon. Part of why i like the WWII german one is like many modern ones it is folding however it is sturdy and will take almost as much punishment as a well made shovel (not talking the cheap hardware store ones you see these days) and it also as i said has a pick as well.
I have a “Pulaski” type Fire Axe which is well balanced and can be thrown like a tomahawk. It can also be use as a “Hop Hoe” or “McMahon Spade” medieval fighting hoe
Yeah so long as the steel in the head of it is good quality it could be a very good tool. with many of the cheap axes these days that is the major problem…. the steel in them is crap and they either wont harden and temper or they are brittle. as with many things metallurgy is somewhat of an art form
1055 Carbon Steel…
so it should be fairly reasonable. have never seen one of those style axes here in australia but there is a lot of stuff you guys can get that is just not available here. In saying that though i can get ideas from the net and then make it myself
“Bare Bones Living” of Australia sells them. Their also available through the Australian Forestry Services…
ok thankyou. I used to be a volunteer bush fire fighter about 25 years ago now and had never seen them though we were a very small brigade with just a landcruiser 4WD with a tank and pump on the back and a water trailer also kitted out there were maybe a dozen of us all landholders
Without knowing anything about your background history, what did you expected to have been said…
Urban Prepper on his Youtube channel tested all the main lifeboat ration bars, eating one bar every day for three days. Check his results – the only one that actually didn’t make him sick or weak was the liquid bottle version.
If you’re relying on those, also have plenty of constipation medicine because they will lock you up tight (as well MRE’s or any “dense” food.) A lot of “experts” recommend diarrhea medicine, but forget the constipation medicine. Constipation will drop your immune system which will make you susceptible to colds and infections and you don’t need that in an emergency situation.
Thanx, tdi, I agree completely. My bugout bag is a Toyota Avalon, since I don’t intend to go anywhere except maybe to the top of the hill if a dam breaks. My deer buddies, constantly getting in the way when going in or out of the area, would be in the smoker pretty quick, and all the water I need is right down the hill, in the lake, along with a pile of fish. I will not be trying to escape my neighbors, whether I try to help them or shoot them will be up to them. I don’t know about all of them, but Mountain House freeze dried food is fine right out of the pack, no cookstove required, although my gas grill does have a separate burner for such uses, as well as frying eggs and bacon. If your bugout plan includes staying home, you (I) might want to obtain some chickens! I keep enough gas around to operate the grill/stove for several years (not that much). Main things I can see that I need, long term, are as I mentioned earlier, several good rechargeable flashlights and a solar charger or 3. 20 years later that is what you would worship. My guns would still work, and I would still have ammo for most of them, but the magic would be in a flashlight.
“If your bugout plan includes staying home, you (I) might want to obtain some chickens!”
50 lb. bags of chicken feed makes a crude survival ration. Grind it and boil…
No need to grind if you get “scratch” feed.
Corn, barley, and oats. Yum.
“In a SHTF scenario medical care will be in short supply and getting shot with caliber is going to fatal…”
This may be true but it is irrelevant. If you are defending yourself from a predator on 2 or 4 legs it doesn’t matter if it suffers a fatal wound (due to lack of medical care), it matters how fast it stops killing you. Similarly when you are hunting that animal may go a very long distance if it suffers what will only be an eventual fatal wound.
The two legged predators aren’t likely to press an attack home as long as there are easier targets out there. You don’t have to be Rambo. All you do is have raise the risk level. They will act like four legged predators who encounter resistance and move on to greener pastures.
Getting in shape is one of the most important preparations one can make for SHTF. Half the people with all the guns and bug out gear wouldn’t even make it on a 5 mile ruck march.
This is also a great point!
Lifestraw has a product with a plastic bottle and straw filter. Fill the bottle from nearly any source and purify thru filtration. Anything with multiple uses is a plus. In an urban setting I’d prefer handgun to a rifle for concealment. Blood clotting agent seems a nice addition. Including high density energy (chocolate) can be a HUGE benefit to both provide quick calories and a psychological boost.
I know this isn’t exactly what you mean, but I think the most important thing to bring is havtdone it meaning if you bring a flint and steel to start fires you need to have used and practiced with it, if you use water purification methods have tried and used them before, my point is bringing the right items is extremely important but know how to use them, practice practice practice, don’t find yourself in the shit with untested equipment
“Paper Straws and Magnesium Shavings”! A company called “Massdrop” offers Magnesium Shavings in One Ounce Bags, fill Paper Straws with Shavings and Crimp the ends. Makes Pre-measured Emergency Firestarting easy and a must…
Also a great fuse for home-made thermite. But I wouldn’t know anything about that…
Thermite in a cinderblock on the hood of a vehicle makes a dandy immobilizing device.
So I’ve heard… *cough* 😉
We used to use magnesium wire – at the lab.
Just use a clay flower pot. The hole in the bottom is perfect for the thermite jet. Allegedly.
Fishing pole. Hahahaha. Good luck if you end up in a survival situation. You’ll be better off using the line for snare traps for small game and dropping out a modified trout line. If you’re fishing with a pole you’re doing it for pleasure.
Exactly. If it comes down to it, I’d take a cast net over a rod any day. I’m just fine with grilled mullet
In a real SHTF situation, expect the woods to be *empty* of game in short order. And the sky clear of birds shortly after…
Small game=Rats too
Geoff – I always hear the large game will be hunted to extinction (or nearly so) after a SHTF scenario. I kind of doubt that. You and I would do some damage but think of all the young people you know (maybe not so much for where you live but think of Tampa or Orlando for instance). And the urbanites. Do you really think they will suddenly develop the skills to become successful hunters? I don’t. They don’t have the skills nor the guns, bows, boots and other things that are near necessities for hunting. Starting down the survival hunting path after the SHTF is a losing proposition. And really, many “hunters” today are weekend warriors who once or twice a year pay someone to go to their land and climb into a stand over a bean field and shoot a deer that happens to walk by. Those people will be out of luck as well. Also, try as we might right now, we can’t hunt wild pigs to extinction. Deer and turkey populations may take a hit, but the piggies will be around long after we’re gone. I’m just not so sure we’ll see the average Joe stomping through Green Swamp or Walk-In-The-Water after the apocalypse.
Yeah I have to agree with you brother, most guys 25 and under with a few exceptions won’t make past their smartphone not working
All game would be quickly wiped out in the attempt to feed 7 billion people. Any SHTF scenario which would need massive consumption of game would also see a world of less than 2 billion people within 6 months.
…and the world population goals of Agenda 21 would be (almost) achieved. Net gain for the UN…not so good for the 5 – 6 billion dead. Speaking of good news: the State of Washington is approving the composting of human remains…so there will be lots of “organic” fertilizer for the survivors to use in building AOC’s vision of Panem.
Depend on where you fish.
Re: 223 poor for hunting.
I suggest it’s the bullet, not the cartridge. 70+gr bullets at decent velocity tear up hogs, deer, and could likely take larger game if you were able to get decently close. You’re bugging out, not going on a guided elk hunt. If you can kill the animal then you get the meat—ethical shots on game take a backseat to feeding the family.
If I had to hump enough gear for myself and the kiddos, an AR or anything heavier wouldn’t be with me anyway. At best it would be a 10mm handgun and maybe a small/lightweight braced 10/22 Charger. And if food, water or other essentials added up too quickly, I’d slim down to just the 10mm and accept whatever small game or very close shots on hogs/deer I could take.
Ghillie Kettle.
“Baby Bear Blue”! Is a 32 ounce Folding Lightweight Cooking Pot, folds nearly flat when not in use and sells for about $30.00 USD…
Gonna tell you right now that you will never be prepared. I thought I was. Then the fire took out Paradise, CA. When seconds count you WILL screw up. I had a go bag. I had important stuff ready to grab. And you know what? I screwed up. Grabbed the wrong hard drive (there goes all my photos). Grabbed the wrong tote (there goes the last of my child hood). Grabbed some guns but left others. The “oh it can’t happen here” mentality is real and even I had it to an extent. We evacuated multiple times and learned from each but this one… it’s been 5 months and I’m still not done learning. Best advice I can ever give is to double check your insurance and plan. Plan to run in 30 seconds. 5 minutes. 30 minutes. And stick to that plan. I second guessed myself that day and still do. I consider my actions a partial failure, however I did manage to get my wife out of the inferno alive. I call that a win.
As for data, cloud, cloud and cloud. When I comes to data centers, they don’t play games. IF you can’t get your photos back, then they are the least of your problems.
Unless they go out of business…or get hacked…
Best data protection – external SSD or hard drive stored in a bank safe deposit box. Short of a nuke (or bankruptcy, not too likely for a big bank – the government won’t allow it, as we’ve seen), it ain’t going anywhere.
Hacking is a possibility, but Amazon or Microsoft are not going out of business in the foreseeable future.
I had been to war and back before I had ANY capability to safeguard “important papers” or whatever silliness we are discussing. My wife and I knew full well who we were married to, did not need any paperwork to consult. Likewise which car we owned, and later who our kids were. The cloud is an easy way for our masters to keep track of us and control us. When you can buy several terrabytes of storage for $100, there is absolutely no justification for submitting the first kilobyte of your personal data to be available to just anyone, which the cloud certainly is! Store movies in the cloud, fine. Personal photos? How stupid can you be?
yep and in a real SHTF situation there will be no need of “documents” or “licenses” (nothing more than a means to steal a right and sell it back to you at a cost) possibly in your lifetime and maybe not even in your kids lifetime. Our forfather’s never needed them so why do we? Yeah might come in handy if it is just a cyclone, tornado, hurricane, flooding, fire or earthquake but if it is a major one that is going to turn the clock back more than 80 years technology wise then all that will be useless for quite some time
To get funk out of any water container I always carry a few foil wrapped denture cleaning tablets. If you toss a half tablet into the container after you’ve wiped out any cooked particulate matter it will fizz up and clean the inside of the container better than anything else. You can re-use this water for anything except drinking or cooking. -30-
All you need is a good survival knife. Don’t believe me? Go watch Rambo.
wasn’t there a bow involved?
If you have a knife, you can make a bow. If you have a bow, or a computer, that does not help you to create a knife.
The just take a good file LOL. You can make a knife with a file.
If you need anything else, just take it from the people chasing you.
I’m getting too old to carry this stuff on my back. I’ll fill up my granny cart and waddle down the highway …
Jogging stroller.
LOTS of great suggestions! And for even more SootchOO has a SensiblePrepper channel on YouTube. Stuff you may never have heard of too…
One of the better emergency blankets
As Eric O. stated in a comment above, the pack and the amount of stuff that the author stated is too much.
Keep to the absolute bare essentials.
compass
flashlight
knife
hatchet or saw (optional)
cordage
tarp
duct tape
rain coat/pants
water bottle/s
small metal pot for boiling water
water filtration/purification
fire starting (including starting sticks)
a small amount of high-calorie food
extra (and extra thick) socks
space blanket (reflective mylar)
and one additional lightweight blanket
All of the above items weigh basically nothing except for some high calorie food and the optional hatchet/saw. That allows you to carry extra water (which weighs 8 pounds per gallon) and maximizes your mobility.
Finally, of course, some sort of firearm and ammunition. Because speed and mobility is important, I recommend a short rifle with 16-inch barrel chambered in .22 LR (with 100 rounds of ammunition) and a handgun chambered in 9mm Luger with two full magazines (one in the pistol and one on your belt) plus enough spare ammunition to reload those two magazines.
Unless you routinely go on 10 mile hikes with 40 pounds of gear to maintain top physical conditioning, you will be glad that you kept to bare essentials.
Though I prefer bolt guns for survival the new Winchester Wildcat looks like a good option. It’s about 4lbs
Try the Henry AR 7. Collapsible 22LR. Fits into the stock of the rifle including three eight round magazines. Fits into backpack. I think weight is under for pounds. Assemblies in about 1 minute. Deadly accurate at 35-50 yards right out of box with these 77 year old eyes. Oh, it also floats.
I think what the author fails to mention that your pack needs to be tailored to YOUR environment. Also, the most important thing that needs to be said is…. DONT BUG OUT…. you are far better off staying put, especially if you have family. Elderly parents, children and pets don’t travel well.
Yeah, KMA with the “elderly parents” crap. One child lives here, if SHTF I would expect the other to arrive by the end of the day. And neither will need a bugout pack. We “elderly” would be the destination. As would be many others.
You got that right. If the SHTF, my 2 oldest and my son-in-law would make a beeline for crazy old dad’s house with all the guns and ammo, medical supplies, food and all the other shit I spend a week or two every year working on.
Funny you guys say that I’m in my 40’s reasonably armed and supplied and I’m headed straight to my Dad’s if SHTF, he’s got 4 ARs multiple shotguns and handguns, he’s a Costco Dad so he’s got 3 weeks or more just in can foods, HELL YA HEADED STRAIGHT TO MY 70 YR OLD DADS AS FAST AS I CAN
So a pistol caliber carbine is good for hunting, but a .223 AR is not? oh ok.
“Kitbash Carbine”! A FN5.7 with Barrel Extension. Thirty rounds for Self Protection and 30 rounds for Hunting. Or just a .30 M1 Carbine…
I think what he was saying was a 22cal pistol is decent for hunting but an AR is too much for small game as it would tear it up too much, pretty sure he’s just referring to squirrel, rabbit and grouse. Again I could be wrong
Subsistence hunting on the go. You’re much more likely to get a shot at a rabbit, squirrel or other such small critters than you are to get a shot at a deer. And a rimfire will kill a deer.
Gloves : leather palm like Mechanix and pair of warm ones. And a towel.
What the dickens FOR? Your car’s heater will still work, and you should continue south until gloves are unnecessary. If you remain where you need gloves, you are going to die.
You’re assuming your heaters working or your car for that matter and just heading south till it gets warm is completely a crazy risk if you are starting in let’s Montana
I would imange in a SHTF situation, thr first thing the government would do is to confiscate everyone’s weapons like a repeat of Katrina. They don’t need much of an excuse to do so anymore.
I hope government realizes there are more armed citizens than they entire US Armed forces combined
And How Many Armed Civilians have Artillery, Tanks, Fighters and Logistics Support…
Confiscating firearms and declaring war on the American people are two different things, how Many soldiers do you think would fire on American citizens
And IF you decide to Fire on American Soldiers! Are they going NOT going to Fire Back with something Heavier, and let GOD sort out later that you were the Good Guy…
Ok I will admit that’s a good point, but let me point out that it’s illegal to deploy the military to police the public
Not to mention the ILLEGAL ACTIONS perpetrated by the POLICE in certain places like New Orleans who not only confiscated guns from citizens, but killed a number of them while stealing lots of stuff they had a hankering for. When the SHTF there is NO telling what people will do or who the Good Guys ARE until you SEE what they DO. If you’re not prepared to deal with it??? It’s on you. All you can do is your best and hope it’s enough.
And how is that working out for the US in Afghanistan where a bunch of guys in robes, flip-flops with AKs and RPGs are running rings around the US? We haven’t won that one in what, 17 years?
In this country we have 80-100 million people with 400 million firearms, many of which are equivalent in caliber to what is carried by the military. Granted, not all of those people are military veterans – but quite a few are.
Tanks, planes and other expensive hardware don’t work so well when they or their fuel farms are blown up in guerrilla operations, or their expensively trained pilots are assassinated.
Look at Ukraine. The neo-Nazis in western Ukraine went after the ethnic Russian civilians in Donbass and got their asses handed to them (with minor assistance from Russia itself in the form of a few advisers and some armament – forget the “100 tanks crossing the border” nonsense – never happened.)
The only reason the US “won” in Iraq was because the Shiites were in power and moved against the Sunni insurgents along with many of the Sunni tribes being bought off by Petraeus. Otherwise we’d still be fighting there – and may yet.
Don’t even think about fighting Iran, which is four times larger than Iraq and not so religiously divided. Iran won’t surrender for decades. (And no, Iran does not and never did have a “nuclear weapons program”, regardless of what Bush, Obama, Trump or Netanyahu says.)
And exactly how many Afghan Tribesman have Internet Services. There the equivalent to living like the Amish, living off the land and not the grocery store. Not exactly the typical American lifestyle…
You forgot the nukes.
“And How Many Armed Civilians have Artillery, Tanks, Fighters…”
They don’t live in those tanks, and those fighters are on the ground in a few hours…
Unfortunately not everyone in the Military works a 9 to 5 Job. In some cases 100 hour work weeks are not uncommon…
Yo! Freaking WAIT! Pop a bullet or 2 into the airplanes, fine. But leave us drivers be, let’s be fair. A pilot without an airplane is not a threat.
IF you’re alone on foot, what are the chances of YOU evading a Hundred Men. At some point within a 24 hour day cycle your going to have to Sleep and or even take a Sh|t. Which reduces your chances of not being found…
Tanks and fighter planes are only as good as their supply lines. Those lines get cut, those items will become useless rather quickly. Especially since tanks, fighter planes, and other military are not built to be fuel efficent.
A “EPF” consists of ~312 Marines, 600 short tons of supplies and at least one M1A2 Abrams Tank. Enough supplies to last at least 4 days of combat. If the USMC felt they required more than One M1A2 Tank, they would have changed its organization. And You?
humm. If they’re wasting all those grunts, supplies and that one tank to look for my puckered old ass they’ve already lost the war. And since you’ve identified yourself as a quisling………
They can also send a Forced Recon Company (i.e. Grunts with Attitude and Heavy Weaponry) of ~104 Marines instead. 600 short tons will support 104 Marines ~2 weeks…
yep they can but that is where you need to learn tracking and anti tracking, how to make primitive booby traps (the fancy gear they carry now can detect mines etc somewhat but it cant detect some of the more primitive traps made out of natural materials). You need a good level of fitness and keep disappearing and reappearing when they least expect it, draw them towards your traps (of various sorts as if you keep using the same sort of style they learn what to look for). It is guerilla style warfare strike and disappear and if they are sending that many after my sorry ass it is giving others a reprieve from the police state. I never have and never will bow to “authority”. Any who wish to force their will on me can KMA
I don’t suspect that members within the USMC’s Forced Recon Units are considered STUPID. Or they wouldn’t be members of Force Recon in the first place…
No i was not meaning they are stupid however i was suggesting skills that need to be learned by those who wish for liberty who are not involved in the military. For Recon guys it should be one of their supreme skills as much as skill at arms
And after “they” send all those Marines, I would expect all those Marines to kill “them” and be no further problem.
I was using Force Recon as an example, being the Smallest Unit of an EPF (Fast Expeditionary Fighting Force. It could also be a Recon Unit of a Stryker Brigade or None of the Above. Whatever force does react to you being the Threat, is going to have Overwhelming Force, compared to anything that you can muster in the fight…
Hopefully, they will bring me some nice toys when they come to confiscate my guns. Hell, I would actually like a tank!
That’s my favorite reply allday
That would be wonderful! Then I could choose between my own weapons and the ones the government had delivered to me. A bit of experimentation would determine whether their select fire lowers would match up with my suppressed .300 SBR uppers.
All of this is just good to keep in a car. Blankets in case the kids fall asleep on a long drive. Snacks and water in case they get hungry when there isn’t someplace nearby. Having a spare change of clothes is 2nd nature for children going through potty training and convenient after they’re potty trained (kids are messy). Flashlight, first aid kit, knife, multi tool and tow rope are all useful if you have car problems or run into someone who has car problems. What extra is there to add more the food and water, throw in a lighter, keep some extra pairs of socks/underwear and something to purify water? Maybe throw in 500 or a thousand rounds ammo.
The car will probably be my initial form of transportation anyway.
And if no fuel is available, don’t forget bicycles. Walking, at best you could do 3-4 miles per hour. On a bicycle you could travel 15-20 miles per hour or carry a much heavier load at walking pace. Bikes are almost in every house, garage, or shed, so spare parts and bits for accessories, such as s trailer, are readily available.
It’s on thing Hollywood almost always overlooks in post-apocalyptic movies, with the notable exception of the miniseries The Stand.
Great mechanical advantage in some places… not so much in others. Riding a bike uphill will drain the hell out of you.
Pretty sure *pushing* a heavily loaded bike uphill takes less energy than carrying that heavy load up the same hill, and then going down the other side would be really easy, even fun.
Based on many of the comments, be sure you have a small dictionary and an electronic device with both spelling and grammar check applications!
Or enough extra ammo that you can shoot anyone complaining about such things when SHTF.
That list is long on theoretical and short on practical.
Let’s face it, any or BOB’s is going to be a Mish Mash of assorted weaponry by the user of their respective BOB Kit, or their personal likes in firearms. I was invited to a Ozark Mountain Militia Group outing back in the ’90’s, which included everything from AK’s to Flintlocks…
I have posted this elsewhere.
If you live in town and are away from home when things go south you will likely need a “Get home bag.” (Similar to a bugout bag, but not identical.)
How long would it take you to walk home from your workplace?
Interesting. Because according to demographic studies, most people live within 10 miles of their workplace. Even more live within 15 miles. Something like 75-80% live within 20 miles.
In other words, even allowing for disruptions in traffic, etc., most people can walk home from work within an eight-hour period.
So all you really need are some walking shoes, some water, a couple snacks for energy, maybe rain gear (and your concealed carry depending on where you have to walk.)
The whole 15-30 pound “get home bag” is way over-hyped for most people. If you’re someone who works much further away, say, commutes into San Francisco over a possibly-damaged bridge from East Bay, then your mileage obviously varies.
Agreed but don’t forget you may not be able to go directly home or even home at all depending on what SHTF
Where I am, an hour after dark after the SHTF, it would be like walking 20 miles through the fucking Mau Mau uprising. So, I’ll be bringing some shit with me including a BFG and a lot of ammo.
When I lived in a rural setting I lived 35 miles from work. I kept a small get home bag and my kids folding scooter in the trunk of the car. I knew it was hilly, so it’d give me an advantage on the walk home of coasting half the trip.
I will be packing with horses. Up to the foot hills to a semi safe area. Horses can carry way more, forage for their own food or be eaten if needs be. A good 2-3 person tent or tarp. I use canvas manties ( tarp over packs on the horse). 10/22 with at least a brick of ammo. Kelly Kettle for boiling water/cooking and multi use mess kit.. Misc. as above. Plus a military style surgie set w/staple gun and remover. (available through amazon). Good for horse or man. I would not spend much weight for a large caliber anything. I know that a .22 lr will kill any food animal below elk size. Will kill a 2 legged animal if I need. No electronics. A spring loaded fishing reel and lures/bait. This covers the most expected EOW scenario, EMP, and/or social breakdown. If I must walk a 25 pound rucksack will carry the minimum. My and wifes ruck have the same survival stuff. Clothes for the seasons. Which, in Wyoming is fall/ winter wear all most year round.
Dave, that sounds freaking wonderful. However, I am assuming you own the land in question, otherwise you are likely to be shot dead before you get the tent pitched. If you do own the land, I would have expected you to mention armament which allowed you to protect it. The cops won’t be coming, unless it is to kill you.
You forgot the Jack Daniels
*LOTS* of Jack Daniels! 10 years later, the only thing which could make you more popular would be flashlights.
The shit you lug with you makes things easier, nothing more.
If you can’t survive with just a few odds and ends and the knowledge between your ears you’re pretty well fucked when you run out of those convenience items.
For example: Learn about the wood that grows in your area and have a decent knife with the ability to sharpen it. You’ll never be without the ability to start a fire quickly. Boots, knife, change of socks, spare laces and appropriate clothes are what you really need. Everything else you can make if you know the area and how to survive in it.
“The shit you lug with you makes things easier, nothing more. “.
Absolutely true. The author and 99% of the US population that even think about this SHTF BOB nonsense are thinking like “civilized” people. Wrong attitude. And they ain’t the biggest bear in the woods. You want to survive in that scenario, think like the rabbit, not the wolf. The REAL wolf will sneak up and kill you in your sleep or when you’re taking a dump, and walk off with all your precious “survival” shit, leaving nothing behind but a naked body.
Comments like yours give me some hope that rational people still exist.
Sometimes I wonder how this species got to where it is.
Christ, if our ancestors were like most people today we’d have been extinct a long time ago.
“I don’t have time for that” just gets a big “fuck you” from me. Our ancestors somehow figured out all this survival shit while dodging predators and still had spare time to advance the species from beating two rocks together next to a fire where some animal corpse was roasting on a stick and mud huts for shelter to iPhones, McDonald’s burgers on demand and skyscrapers but people can’t figure out how to budget in a few minutes here and there to improve their own grey matter cause Susie has piano recital? They’re not trying or they’re dumb as fuck. Either way I hope they didn’t reproduce. If they did I hope gramps and grandma get custody of Susie because otherwise her parents are going to fuck her up.
Most people are too busy trying to earn a living and raise a family to play mountain man and go out communing with trees. Luckily, inventions like firestarters and guns can make up for much of that.
Hope those people at least take the time to learn how to use that firestarter and shoot that gun
Most people don’t have five minutes to learn how to identify wood and bark for a fire kit and another 10 to learn to make a fire board and bow drill? Bullshit.
If you can’t make 15 to 20 minutes to learn something that basic it’s time to cancel Netflix because your binge watching of RomComs has gotten to levels of massive retardation.
Next you’ll tell me people don’t have time to not run out of gas because life is too busy for a stop at a gas station.
I’m not a big fan of using a gun for anything in this SHTF scenario that get’s endlessly discussed on practically every website on the planet. Guns are noisy, and only attract unwanted attention. There are other ways to get what you need, but they nearly always require patience, stealth, and careful prey selection. Most folks in today’s world don’t have the patience or the skills for that, individually or collectively. They could learn from watching a wolf pack, a lion pride, or even their own house cat staking out a gopher hole in the back yard.
The objective is to survive, period. You don’t survive by advertising your presence or your intentions.
Not to be too obvious Gunny…but, quiet is why my 10-22 and Ruger 22/45 have threaded barrels to work with my Sparrow in reducing my noise signature. A hundred yards away in the woods and you will not hear the shot that feeds my family.
Thank you Montana for minimally infringing my 2A rights.
Ask the ordinary people in Venezuela about all this. They can tell you what SHTF is all about and how to survive – if you’re lucky.
A good threat assessment. How far do you drive to work? High crime areas on your E&E route? Things will be different for Urban vs Rural folks for preparing.
I recommend a life straw as part of kit. Cheap,easy to use.
Lifestraw my ass. I recommend a 1911.
Stay put if you can, have hard to get essentials on hand. Keep several cases of cheap whiskey/ vodka on hand to barter for everything else you will need.
Wool blanket wrapped in a mylar lined emergency tarp with grommets, my modern confederate bedroll. Always have a couple of pairs of boots in my 4runner with fresh wool socks in both. Food and water. Firestarter kits. Candles. 2 stainless steel sierra cups and a stainless steel 1 quart pot with lid and bail. Folding and fixed blade knife. First aid kit.
Surplus canvas shoulder bag. Hard to overload yourself if you don’t have a back pack. Season appropriate clothes.
And the 4runner.
Firearms for a bug out? Ruger 10/22 I can wrap in my blanket roll and a j frame for the pocket. CA, after all.
Am tempted to buy a used jogging stroller and just make it part of the 4runners load out.
jwm,
Having two or three candles makes a LOT of sense:
(1) They will ignite even if they were submerged in water for days.
(2) You could use them to heat up your fingers/hands.
(3) You could use them to boil water.
(4) You could use them to dry-out tinder.
(5) You could use them to start a fire.
(6) They can provide light of course.
(7) They are fairly lightweight.
(8) They work after 100+ years of storage.
For these reasons I would add two or three candles to my previous list of bare essentials.
No shit! I am converted! Hell, 6-8 boxes of birthday candles would be priceless.
Larry. I spent a very rough night in a busted car in sub freezing weather. No mobile phones then. What I did have was some of those white emergency candles.
It wasn’t the Ritz. But I made it thru ok. A single candle in the pull out ash tray gave off enough fire to heat my hands with. And that little flame gave me some comfort thru a long. cold night.
Since then my vehicle kits have always included candles.
My question is…… where are you going.
If I am away from home in my vehicle, I have a bunch of stuff. Including a backpack with food, water, towel, soap, First Aid kit, etc. So to me it’s a get home bag.
If I’m at home and have to leave (like hurricane Michael), I’m going somewhere with a roof and someone I know. Again with my vehicle and maybe my wifes vehicle. I ain’t going camping willfully unless it’s for fun.
I keep two cases of water in my truck and rotate as the year goes. I also keep nabs, jerky, peanuts, peanut butter, and fruit cups. Then a couple or three MREs. And several cans of Chunky soup.
I agree freeze dried food has the best life and lowest weight, but takes a good bit of your drinking water (as we found out after Hurricane Michael). So a good mix of stuff seems best.
Is there something I need to learn, here? Why in the world do you rotate bottled water? Like, *ever*?
Of course, if you have a decent firearm, know how to use it and are fairly callous/survival motivated, you can probably get just about anything else you need from the poor schnooks you encounter who do not have a gun…
I ran that scenario by a school guidance counselor ca 1999- she was in a hissy-fit over Y2K preppers stocking up on guns and ammo. “What good are those? You need food, water, shelter…” were her comments. I told her “no- if I have a loaded gun I know how to use I can probably get that stuff”. She didn’t get it at first until I told her I could probably “get it from you”. Holy crap! Fun to see the light come on! She went down the hall shaking her head and saying “I don’t know about you, I don’t know…” I suppose she put something in my personell file but I’m long retired, so who cares?
Amazing what one might resort to when needs arise. I remember Jeff Cooper’s question to a German POW who’d escaped from the Russians during WW2 and survived by raiding remote guard posts along a railway line from Russia back to Germany. Times were tough and often the outposts, manned by a single guard didn’t have much as far as provisions. Cooper asked the soldier if he ever had to eat a Russian? I guess that even rattled the German quite a bit but in times where survival is either/or, it’s something we all might need to consider. We are, after all, bugging out- if it’s good enough for my dog…
And thats why anyone on my road during a disaster gets a gun pointed at them.
There are a lot of good ideas on this list. A lot of good comments. .22 caliber is shit. Don’t do it. The CDC has a list of things for a 72 hour emergency. Do some research and see what your options are. Carry what you think you need. Most people are good, regardless of race, creed, religion or politics. Be good to each other and help how you can. SHTF is better as a team sport.
Why no 22cal. ,perfect for small game hunting right? Or were talking just self defense
I am instantly suspicious of anybody that denigrates the .22.
Yeah I don’t get it, 22cal should be in everybody’s bugout bag, cheap ammo perfect for hunting alot of what would be available for most people, very lightweight
And, as another commenter stated earlier, there would most likely be ZERO emergency medial care in a disaster scenario. Thus, any gunshot wound would be life threatening, whether due to unstoppable bleeding or infection. That being the case, only a mentally ill person would want to risk ANY gunshot wound of ANY caliber.
The result: even a rifle chambered in .22 LR would be a formidable and highly effective self-defense caliber in a disaster scenario.
As for the mentally ill person who does not care about gunshot wounds and attacks anyway, you will still probably be in pretty good shape if you have a semi-automatic rifle in .22 LR since you can empty its magazine in really short order while maintaining acceptable combat accuracy. I am having a hard time picturing how a mentally-ill person would continue advancing after absorbing about a dozen .22 caliber bullets at close range, especially if you opt for head shots.
First thing you need to do is identify the top five threats and estimate their likelihood.
Second thing is to mitigate those threats up front.
For example, in the above picture, be the guy who built the house that is still standing.
Building codes are a minimum guideline.
The flattened homes adhered to the minimum guidelines.
Now that you have your top five and you have mitigated those threats to the extent possible,
make a plan.
Now, build your talent stack to match your plan: e.g. learn basic rope craft. Actually go camping.
Then go camping with a plan to use none of your food and try to live off the land (legally).
Learn to butcher.
Learn wood craft
Learn to use tools.
Learn to navigate.
Navigate your urban area, investigate the history, demographics.
FEMA has some good stuff. Read it.
Make a P80.
Get a part time job in construction.
Take a class in blacksmithing?
Learn economics, have bartering items.
Stockpile some cash and something liquid like silver.
And, according to that plan and your talent stack, make your bug out bag composed of proven tools.
Survivors hope for some luck but don’t count on it.
Or be very, very rich.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/30/doomsday-prep-for-the-super-rich
Overkill on the gear is useless. My “bug out bag” is non-existent. Everything I need includes: tarp, blanket, metal pot, firestarter, knives, machete, and foodstuffs wrapped in cordage. Anything else is an unnecessary luxury.
pepperoni pizza is great with pineapple
MRE Pizza…
Pack a few tampons in the kit, they are sterile and sealed until you need them should you get a wound, pinch off a short piece and you can use it to start a fire with the spark tool.
The future has not been written.
Some freeze dried food does not need a separate cooking container, MountainHouse for example…you still need to heat water of course…
I’ll repeat myself but if you have a Flex spending account you can use it at places like Rescue Essentials or Chinook for medical gear and supplies. At the end of every year I take what’s left (I always max it out so usually have 5-600 bucks left) and spend it all on good trauma kits and other stuff.
It’s use it or lose it so you might as well.
Good quick article to get people posting!!! :^) And finally someone mentioned boots!
Ok, time and time again the firearms rehash on the exact same calibers, and options is pretty much beat to death. It’s silly, and it doesn’t cover the realities of what a person needs in a survival situation the best it possibly could, as space efficient or as cost effective as possible.
To say the AR-15 is not great for hunting is sort of like saying cheddar wursts don’t taste good. It’s a nonsensical opinion inserted into pretty much half or more of every one of these “articles”.
5.56/.223 may not be the best, but that is one of about 50 different calibers you could chamber in your AR-15….
CMMG makes a .22lr adapter for the ar15 allowing you to shoot .22 through your 5.55 /223 upper without modification and have 25 round mags to feed it with. It might weigh a whole pound with a magazine in a pack. So that is two bases covered, small game/varmint, and defense.
Next is the ease to make one compact, allowing your (two in one) gun to be concealed within your bug out bag.
Third is yet more caliber options depending on your needs.
-.224 valkyrie for hunting and long range shooting up to 1300 yards or more. It very closely replicates the 6.5 creedmor in a smaller, lighter, cheaper to shoot platform.
-6.8spc because it can closely mimic the .308 Winchester
There are of course a bazillion others.
Not to mention the Ar-10 has quite a bit of versatility also, and can accept a semi auto 12 gauge upper reciever to shoot standard 2 3/4 shot shells.
Next on the .22 pistol….
The glock 19 and other models and makers produce 22 caliber conversions, such as advantage arms. Allowing your 9mm, .40, or .357 sig pistol to be a .22 for about $300.
If you want the maximum versatility in calibers, look no further than a glock .40 caliber pistol, which can be converted to shoot .357 sig , and 9mm, as well as accept the advantage arms .22 slide conversion. All cheaper than buying another gun.
If you think you somehow need or want a pistol caliber carbine, about 10 different companies make a chassis system that accepts a glock pistol, and then gives you a brace/stock, and the ability to install red dots, lights and lasers and any other peripheral equipment you may want.
Btw, we all know the only real multi tool (besides whoever gave you your firearms advice for this article) is made by leatherman. 🙂
I have an advantage arms kit. I gotta say the accuracy is just terrible and why I seldom take it out to the range.
Fits on a Glock lower I had. It functions fine as long as you use the Remington ‘Golden’ .22 rounds.
For some reason you forgot the #1 basic necessity. CONDOMS! Strange shows up in the worst possible places. And partaking without protection can lead to strange issues in the worst possible place.
Just go to: https://www.survivalistboards.com/
Where ya’ll going? Everything I need is right here on the farm, I would hunker down.
That’s a thing a lot of people don’t have a plan in place. May I suggest you have plan B to move. What if SHTF means a statewide fire or massive flooding?
I read a fictional book about Zombies once. The characters rushed North because they thought they could eat moose burgers and sit around a campfire until things “got fixed” didn’t end well for them.
Thanks for the reminder to get more gear together, author.
Thanks to everybody in the comments for adding more insight and helping me pare down my list, select the most important items and forget the rest. I’m not a prepper, not an Idaho Libertarian paranoiac ready to shoot any human in sight, but I’ll happily soak up the knowledge y’all have gathered since Y2K and share it with my community. The amount of selfishness I see from these survivalist/doomsday prepper types is sickening. You sit around heckling younger folks for their dependence on smartphones but did it ever occur to any of you that they’ve lived in that world for most of their lives and certainly for all of their adult lives?! You want to call them spoiled and sheltered but who did the spoiling and the sheltering?! YOUR generation did it. So take some damn responsibility and take them out hunting or fishing or take your kid or grandkid or niece or nephew on an intensive 3-day backpacking trip. Tell them what it’s for. Share something instead of laughing at the thought of these young folks not knowing what to do in an emergency. How is that funny?
I love poaching all your survival tactics and advice about guns, knives, and supplies, but I will never be that selfish old white guy standing guard over a stockpile of supplies and shooting at anyone who comes near. Skills and supplies can be shared among communities and that’s what we’re doing in my community. Planning together. Building a network of mutual aid. Everyone has something to contribute. Have fun jerking off in your hidden fortresses, alone and paranoid…
Another kid with no responsibility blaming others for their circumstances
Good for you! I imagine you’ll be really proud at SHTF + 1 week, when you are really hungry and have absolutely nothing left, if you are still alive. If you had a wife and kids, I doubt they will be so proud, wherever they are.
You really, really need to spend a six month vacation in Venezuela or Cuba, then come back and teach your betters how to sing Kumbaiya.
The problem has been the continual promise of free shit, and I had absolutely no part in that, with my kids or anyone else.
Yes, in California all is good and half of your backpack will be filled with dope and candy that you will gladly share with anybody showing up to say Hi…
Nothing wrong with sharing knowledge while you can, but in a life & death/SHTF situation, even my next door neighbor better will not try to take something from me.
Uh, no. Try this instead.
https://mountainguerrilla.wordpress.com/2019/04/08/the-more-you-know-the-less-you-need-a-personal-example-of/
Iodine is worthless for giardia and cryptosporidium. In bug-out-bag scenarios, you’re hiking and/or hiding. Tough to do when you’re puking and pooping your guts out. You won’t get far with cramping, fatigue, loss of appetite, and dehydration. If you make it to your goal, you still have a good chance of dying from dehydration without medical help. Boiling, UV, or cyst rated filters are the way to go.
Not joking – two rolls of toilet paper… spare glasses (if you wear glasses of course…), handheld radio with small solar charger (making sure you know when the situation normalized).
ロボット セックス ダッチワイフや電話セックスとの性交を始める方法
What about using ferrocerium rods for starting a fire? The sparks that they give off when scraped with the back of a knife are 3,315 °C (6,000 °F).
real sex dolls How to manage lewd behavior in office How single ladies settle sexual needs Are You Prepared For Sex With Robots? Our Top 5 real sex dolls Forecasts for 2021
Comments are closed.