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I do not have a BUG-OUT bag but have a get home bag, because I don't just want to BUG-OUT but I want to travel to a specific place. If you do not have a destination but are just fleeing trouble then you are a refugee.
Now in a TEOTWAWKI situation I might have to flee the hordes of cannibal bikers, in which case I will be carrying all that I can. Otherwise my plan is to have something to get me home to where my stores are, to where I have worked with my neighbors to build a community that looks out for each other. This is why I have a get home bag.
This is the basis of my kit for my family of four, it has changed as my boys have gotten older (no more formula, diapers, etc...) and it is evolving still. The pack in my commuter car is geared to mainly get me home (28 miles) from work. The one in the family car is to keep my family alive for 3 days. I add things if we are driving up North to Canada or New York to visit family (no guns or ammo) and add more cold weather gear in the winter. This is as simple as throwing a couple of extra wool blankets in the trunk.
1) Med-Kit
I built my own med-kit but Bark'n recommended this one and it is cheaper than the one I built myself. I would add a couple of Water-Jel burn packs to it.
2) Fire
Flint and steel plus some water proof matches and dryer lint (great fire starter) all double ziplocked bagged. You might include a couple of Bic lighters but the fuel will slowly bleed out with time. I have thought about putting some type of soild fuel in but haven't yet.
3)Food & Water
By far this adds the most weight of all of my items and is the most nessecary. I first just kept a case of bottled water in the car, but after a few months of variable temps it started tasteing funny and had "growth" in the bottles. I switched to Datrex emergency lifeboat rations. The calorie intake is based on sitting in a life boat and not being active, so you have to adjust accordingly, but they have a 5 year shelf life and are meant to survive varying temperatures I have one case of water (weighs 20 lbs) which will only last 2 active adults for one day but since we always have bottles of water in the car when ever we travel this pruely for back-up. We have Datrex 3600 Food bars case of 20 packs. Each pack contains 18 200 calorie food bar. I figure 1 pack (3600 calories) per day per person. These actually taste pretty good (my boys like them) but I would imagine that after day 2 they would start to taste bland. Plus we always have some food in the car for the boys.
I have some water filters too I have this katadyn filter for backpacking and camping but didn't want to keep it in the car all of time and it is to expensive to have more than one. So I got something like this for each car (not the exact brand, I got my at a camping store, but it works the same way).
My plan is to transfer the water from the packs to whatever containers I have (but I am going to carry all of the water anyway) to save as much weight as I can.
4) Shelter
We have some ponchos (one for each) stored, a Blue tarp some mylar blankets plus whatever other blankets or sleeping bags are in our car. 150' of paracord (also in the bag) and a tarp makes a handy tent. We have some glow sticks, a garrity hand cranked flashlight some emergency candles (they can be used as a heat source also).
All of the above with the exception of the water and various other blankets, that we carry as needed, are packed in a messenger bag (this one to be exact)
I have this backpack collasped and empty with the following stowed seperatly due to space constriants in the Santa Fe (family car) in my work car everything is in an old Alice pack that I got years ago at an army surplus store. I am going to just list the tools.
E-tool, small hatchet, multi-tool (either a leatherman or gerber) glock field knife, cable ties, a dozen plastic bags, plus an old pair of shoes for each of us and a box of WWB 125gr +P HP in 38 special.
Each car also has small tool kit containing ratchet and socket set, needlenose and linemans pliers, channel locks, wrench set, jumper cables, tire plug kit, spare tire (full size), etc...
The purpose of these bags is to get us home for daily travels (30 miles or closer to home) in the event of an emergency. Farther travels I will include things that are more trip specfic. If we are traveling to see family in North Alabama, East Tennessee or North Carolina I include a M1 carbine with a para stock 5, 15 round mags plus 120 rounds in stripper clips on a bandolier. I also will probably include my Ruger Speed six with my Taurus 605 and will add 50 rounds of .357 magnum. If I am going to visit family in New York or Canada I do not carry guns, and I add more cold weather gear and food, especially if traveling in winter.
I do not expect these to keep us alive much more than a week (ideally 3 days) but to get us home from most routine travels (and me from work). The idea is that they are always in the car, so I don't have to think about it.
I forgot to add the first thing my wife made me include when we tested this bag....toilet paper!
Now in a TEOTWAWKI situation I might have to flee the hordes of cannibal bikers, in which case I will be carrying all that I can. Otherwise my plan is to have something to get me home to where my stores are, to where I have worked with my neighbors to build a community that looks out for each other. This is why I have a get home bag.
This is the basis of my kit for my family of four, it has changed as my boys have gotten older (no more formula, diapers, etc...) and it is evolving still. The pack in my commuter car is geared to mainly get me home (28 miles) from work. The one in the family car is to keep my family alive for 3 days. I add things if we are driving up North to Canada or New York to visit family (no guns or ammo) and add more cold weather gear in the winter. This is as simple as throwing a couple of extra wool blankets in the trunk.
1) Med-Kit
I built my own med-kit but Bark'n recommended this one and it is cheaper than the one I built myself. I would add a couple of Water-Jel burn packs to it.
2) Fire
Flint and steel plus some water proof matches and dryer lint (great fire starter) all double ziplocked bagged. You might include a couple of Bic lighters but the fuel will slowly bleed out with time. I have thought about putting some type of soild fuel in but haven't yet.
3)Food & Water
By far this adds the most weight of all of my items and is the most nessecary. I first just kept a case of bottled water in the car, but after a few months of variable temps it started tasteing funny and had "growth" in the bottles. I switched to Datrex emergency lifeboat rations. The calorie intake is based on sitting in a life boat and not being active, so you have to adjust accordingly, but they have a 5 year shelf life and are meant to survive varying temperatures I have one case of water (weighs 20 lbs) which will only last 2 active adults for one day but since we always have bottles of water in the car when ever we travel this pruely for back-up. We have Datrex 3600 Food bars case of 20 packs. Each pack contains 18 200 calorie food bar. I figure 1 pack (3600 calories) per day per person. These actually taste pretty good (my boys like them) but I would imagine that after day 2 they would start to taste bland. Plus we always have some food in the car for the boys.
I have some water filters too I have this katadyn filter for backpacking and camping but didn't want to keep it in the car all of time and it is to expensive to have more than one. So I got something like this for each car (not the exact brand, I got my at a camping store, but it works the same way).
My plan is to transfer the water from the packs to whatever containers I have (but I am going to carry all of the water anyway) to save as much weight as I can.
4) Shelter
We have some ponchos (one for each) stored, a Blue tarp some mylar blankets plus whatever other blankets or sleeping bags are in our car. 150' of paracord (also in the bag) and a tarp makes a handy tent. We have some glow sticks, a garrity hand cranked flashlight some emergency candles (they can be used as a heat source also).
All of the above with the exception of the water and various other blankets, that we carry as needed, are packed in a messenger bag (this one to be exact)
I have this backpack collasped and empty with the following stowed seperatly due to space constriants in the Santa Fe (family car) in my work car everything is in an old Alice pack that I got years ago at an army surplus store. I am going to just list the tools.
E-tool, small hatchet, multi-tool (either a leatherman or gerber) glock field knife, cable ties, a dozen plastic bags, plus an old pair of shoes for each of us and a box of WWB 125gr +P HP in 38 special.
Each car also has small tool kit containing ratchet and socket set, needlenose and linemans pliers, channel locks, wrench set, jumper cables, tire plug kit, spare tire (full size), etc...
The purpose of these bags is to get us home for daily travels (30 miles or closer to home) in the event of an emergency. Farther travels I will include things that are more trip specfic. If we are traveling to see family in North Alabama, East Tennessee or North Carolina I include a M1 carbine with a para stock 5, 15 round mags plus 120 rounds in stripper clips on a bandolier. I also will probably include my Ruger Speed six with my Taurus 605 and will add 50 rounds of .357 magnum. If I am going to visit family in New York or Canada I do not carry guns, and I add more cold weather gear and food, especially if traveling in winter.
I do not expect these to keep us alive much more than a week (ideally 3 days) but to get us home from most routine travels (and me from work). The idea is that they are always in the car, so I don't have to think about it.
I forgot to add the first thing my wife made me include when we tested this bag....toilet paper!
