I'm sitting here with an empty glass next to me that used to contain Rum and Ginger.....
Aaaaaaanddddd I'm back. With a full glass. So here goes.
I am going through my RUSH72 tonight and looking through it. Man do I have a ways to go to complete my kit. With that being said I'm really starting to question some of the mentality when it comes to the BOB. I'd like some input, both for and against my thoughts.
Fact - A BOB is in the event of an emergency where you must leave your home. Otherwise, your home has all the equipment you'd need.
In all scenarios except about three I can think of, I'm coming home and staying here. My three that could (realistically) happen to me where I need to leave my home and not return for a minimum of 72 hours are:
1: House Fire
2: Tornado (Albeit that's a close dead-last as we don't get them around here)
3: Nuclear Event at the plant that is almost 1.5 hours away (Wind Direction).
Now, I live 15 minutes away from the largest air base in Canada. Our area is so remote, I find it hard to believe someone is going to waltz down my well off the beaten path road to come cause chaos. If it's that bad, I will have had time to prepare and leave.
I have a wife and 1.5 children.
I carry 36 hours worth of food/water/equipment in my truck at all times. My EDC is a RUSH24 and it's fully stocked with three Maxpedition EDC Organizers (Tools, IFAK, Comms/Electrionics), Water, Food and a few other things.
Our BOB is a RUSH72. Here is where my priorities have lied and my mentality with this bag.
Any situation where I will need to leave the home in a hurry has been mentioned above. At worst, we would be 24 hours before the local stores open and we can go get a few items we may need. I have $500 cash in the bag so even if our wallets don't make it we've got enough to get clothes, some stuff for the kids etc. Both our parents live within 30 minutes of us and will be our primary locations to bug out to.
If there is a scenario where the stores will be raided, then I'm an idiot and didn't watch the news. If a Tornado rips the town apart, well that's a local emergency, and not widespread. An EMP/Extended Power Outage is sudden, but not a Bug Out Scenario. If I do have to bug out, I will have exhausted my supplies at home.
I see these bags with enough food, water and equipment to go camping in the woods for 72 hours! In any civil unrest situation you will have ample warning. It's not like you will wake up tomorrow, the stock market crashes, martial law is enacted, and you as a citizen of your own country are stripped of your rights.
There are 2 things preppers need to have before any equipment.
1: Knowledge/Information
2: Health
Without either of them no amount of equipment, food or water will do you any good! It seems that most on here stay informed and as such will know there is impending doom ahead giving you time to, well, grab what you need to survive at a remote location. We would not be preparing for the worst if we didn't know why we were preparing. I'll bet the large majority wouldn't jump on the opportunity when SHTF to grab all our gear and expose ourselves while we travel to a BOL. For me that's a LAST resort. Stay in, stay sheltered, warm/cool, protected.
So in reality, the practical Bug-Out-Bag should not be tied to a number of hours you should have to survive, but the likelyhood of the disaster/emergency that will not allow you ample time to prepare. It's called a "Go-Bag" for a reason.... because you need to drop everything and GO!!!
Here is what I don't have in my bag. I ask you to have a valid argument if you feel I should have it.
1: Firearm/Self Defense weapon. - Not allowed to carry in Canada
2: A way to make fire - Not leaving to go to the woods and live for a week.
3: A way to filter water - Clean water will be on hand when I get to my parents or my wife's parents. There's enough water on the truck for 2 days for all of us.
4: A way to create shelter - Have a truck, and spare beds at my/her folk's.
What I do have in my bag:
1: Complete change of clothes for every person in my family
2: Cash/Identification
3: Hygiene and sanitation
4: Water and Food - 12 hour supply
5: Something to keep my kids occupied.
So there it is. I employ you to tell me why my thought process is out to lunch, or if I do make some sense as to the reality of a BOB.
Aaaaaaanddddd I'm back. With a full glass. So here goes.
I am going through my RUSH72 tonight and looking through it. Man do I have a ways to go to complete my kit. With that being said I'm really starting to question some of the mentality when it comes to the BOB. I'd like some input, both for and against my thoughts.
Fact - A BOB is in the event of an emergency where you must leave your home. Otherwise, your home has all the equipment you'd need.
In all scenarios except about three I can think of, I'm coming home and staying here. My three that could (realistically) happen to me where I need to leave my home and not return for a minimum of 72 hours are:
1: House Fire
2: Tornado (Albeit that's a close dead-last as we don't get them around here)
3: Nuclear Event at the plant that is almost 1.5 hours away (Wind Direction).
Now, I live 15 minutes away from the largest air base in Canada. Our area is so remote, I find it hard to believe someone is going to waltz down my well off the beaten path road to come cause chaos. If it's that bad, I will have had time to prepare and leave.
I have a wife and 1.5 children.
I carry 36 hours worth of food/water/equipment in my truck at all times. My EDC is a RUSH24 and it's fully stocked with three Maxpedition EDC Organizers (Tools, IFAK, Comms/Electrionics), Water, Food and a few other things.
Our BOB is a RUSH72. Here is where my priorities have lied and my mentality with this bag.
Any situation where I will need to leave the home in a hurry has been mentioned above. At worst, we would be 24 hours before the local stores open and we can go get a few items we may need. I have $500 cash in the bag so even if our wallets don't make it we've got enough to get clothes, some stuff for the kids etc. Both our parents live within 30 minutes of us and will be our primary locations to bug out to.
If there is a scenario where the stores will be raided, then I'm an idiot and didn't watch the news. If a Tornado rips the town apart, well that's a local emergency, and not widespread. An EMP/Extended Power Outage is sudden, but not a Bug Out Scenario. If I do have to bug out, I will have exhausted my supplies at home.
I see these bags with enough food, water and equipment to go camping in the woods for 72 hours! In any civil unrest situation you will have ample warning. It's not like you will wake up tomorrow, the stock market crashes, martial law is enacted, and you as a citizen of your own country are stripped of your rights.
There are 2 things preppers need to have before any equipment.
1: Knowledge/Information
2: Health
Without either of them no amount of equipment, food or water will do you any good! It seems that most on here stay informed and as such will know there is impending doom ahead giving you time to, well, grab what you need to survive at a remote location. We would not be preparing for the worst if we didn't know why we were preparing. I'll bet the large majority wouldn't jump on the opportunity when SHTF to grab all our gear and expose ourselves while we travel to a BOL. For me that's a LAST resort. Stay in, stay sheltered, warm/cool, protected.
So in reality, the practical Bug-Out-Bag should not be tied to a number of hours you should have to survive, but the likelyhood of the disaster/emergency that will not allow you ample time to prepare. It's called a "Go-Bag" for a reason.... because you need to drop everything and GO!!!
Here is what I don't have in my bag. I ask you to have a valid argument if you feel I should have it.
1: Firearm/Self Defense weapon. - Not allowed to carry in Canada
2: A way to make fire - Not leaving to go to the woods and live for a week.
3: A way to filter water - Clean water will be on hand when I get to my parents or my wife's parents. There's enough water on the truck for 2 days for all of us.
4: A way to create shelter - Have a truck, and spare beds at my/her folk's.
What I do have in my bag:
1: Complete change of clothes for every person in my family
2: Cash/Identification
3: Hygiene and sanitation
4: Water and Food - 12 hour supply
5: Something to keep my kids occupied.
So there it is. I employ you to tell me why my thought process is out to lunch, or if I do make some sense as to the reality of a BOB.