Your BOB should address basic survival requirements - food, shelter and water.
If you're too lazy to make your own BOB, there are some commercially available, like the Safecastle Rig and the Go Bag Survival Kit.
In Sydney, Australia, Mayor Clover Moore is advocating citizens create a 'go bag' - the idea is not new, and has been mooted by US authorities for its citizens. The Go Bag recommended (see picture) is just about the poxiest piece of kit you could ever devise (including the 'disc containing back-up files of work' - your life is at stake, stuff the paperwork!), but it's a starting point - especially for women wearing high heels. Commuter 'Go Bags' will be much smaller than the list below, but stick to the basics - first aid, water and food - and build from there. Consider having multiple BOBs at work, home and on your person.
BOB elements and sizes vary, but if you want to be prepared for an emergency, think about including some of the following:-
Fully-charged Mobile (Cell) Phone - the network may go down, but if it doesn't, you can still contact family and friends.
Personal papers of importance
$100 in cash
Prescription medication
Family photo(s) in the event of a disaster, for use in the search for missing people
Maps (topographic) of your work and home area - if public transport fails, you need to know alternate routes/ways to get home.
Compass - and make sure you learn how to use one
Basic first aid kit
Dust masks x 2 - try not to crush these as you pack them as it makes them less effective
Water bottle (full size - enough for a 72-hour period)
Water purification tablets for when the good water runs out
Torch with fresh batteries
Knife - Swiss Army at the very least, or a Leatherman tool in knife/gun-phobic countries such as Australia
Can opener
Radio with fresh batteries (rotate batteries regularly - old batteries are great for remote control handsets)
Toilet paper
Antiseptic gel handwash
Aspirin/Panadol - or headahe/painkiller equivalent
Fire starter/matches
Space blanket
Beanie (in the winter, it's important to keep warm - you lose a considerable amount of body heat via your head)
Energy bars/chocolate
Packet soup/museli
Tissues or baby wipes for cleaning/personal hygiene
Duct tape - has 101 uses and is indispensable
Binoculars are a handy piece of kit that can also help you find out what's going on around you.
If you have room (and depending on how big you want to go) a cheap tarp and some rope is a great addition.
In an emergency, your core objective is to survive, and then to relocate to a safer area - usually your own home. Don't hang around in the city. Help those that you can, but your chief aim should be to get to a safe place and regroup with family and friends. From there, if it's necessary (ie. in a natural disaster situation), plan your next move.
8 comments:
Bug out bag. Try to take foods that do not take water to prepare, I see so many 72 hour
kits with things like, instant oatmeal, hot chocolate & soups. The water should be for
drinking & take vitamins & protein bars. I also take a bottle of fiber, not only is
fiber needed but it also swells for a full feeling. I came across what is called
Lifecaps. They are a capsule that has everything needed to survive without food with
the exception of water. It is full of vitamins & minerals plus Iodine. Anyway, you take
three of them a day & drink water. I can actually take enough food in one backpack to
las 6 months because of these little Lifecaps, protein bars, fiber & water. I will run
out of water in a week so I do carry a small filter & a couple of those straw water
filters that filter the water as you suck.
You do not always have the ability or time to heat water to make soup or oatmeal. Anyway,
after I bought 25 bottles I found a coupon code & bought 75 bottles more. The coupon code
is... healthcap It will get you 33% off. There are also sites that have those filter straws
that are cheaper than any of the stores around here. (SLC) I think they are a really good
idea along with some purification pills. I cannot remember the sites off the top of my head
but you can Google for aquamira filter straw. Aquamira is the manufacture but do not buy
off there site because I have found them for almost 1/2 what they want on their own site
on other sites. Good luck, Gods speed & get serious about your bug out bag!
I wouldn't trust these pills for my survival diet. I'd rather eat something tangible and hunt/fish.
I carry life caps as a back up plan. I keep plenty of MREs in my BOB as well as basic fishing equipment and my .22 for hunting. These things are great though. If TSreallyHTF, you might need them, and they take up very little space and weight.
I would like to add this to what Todd said about the Lifecaps. It sounds like he is using them as a food replacement, and that they most certainly are not. They include nutrients to make you FEEL full that tricks your body into using it's own fuel stores (fat and muscle). This might be ok for short periods of time but not for extended periods because you will starve. It is not a meal replacement, just a vitamin.
Great list and comments - a fun site to check out is http://bugoutbagquest.blogspot.com/. This guy is the bugoutbag master.
For the folks in Australia, try www.survival-kits.com.au ...thats where I got mine, its great!
Cheers
Pete
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