OK, So I consider myself a novice with firearms and and extreame novice when it comes to survival and preparedness. With the recent events (Katrina) it finally got me to thinkin' I need to do more to be ready for when (no if) disaster strikes. I have read many of the threads here and on GlockTalk about what to have in the BOB's, but I must confess, it's all a bit confusing (who's got what and why type questions). Let me explain what I was thinking I needed and y'all can correct me when (not if 8) ) I'm wrong. I'm thinking the following: Small bag in each vehicle (2 vehicles - car and minivan). Each bag should have a first aid kit, jumper cables, flashlights, fire starters, emergency food, and I'm sure much, much more. Can each car bag be put in a school sized back pack? Since we live in the city of Memphis, and only occasionally travel out side the city, should that have any beargin on what gets packed in to each bag (since this is Membabwie, I will definatly pack extra ammo in each vehicle for my carry gun). A larger, family sized BOB. (well 2 larger bags, one for the wife and one for myself). These should contain 3 days supply of food and water, heat, light, shelter, and change of clothing. In the near future (by Christmas is my plan) I will be buying a generator for the house and a few (3-5) 5 gal gas cans. The gas will be treated with stabil and rotated every 12 months (well, if I had 6 cans then every 2 months I could put the gas into a vehicle and go fill up the can with fresh gas, that's a schedule I could handle ) Well, I gotta get back to work , but please let me know if I'm at least heading in the right direction with this. Yes, I have many more questions since I'm a . Thanks in advance.
http://survivalmonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=102 This is a link to 'emergency kits at the top of this page, it has a lot of the info you seem to be looking for, I think it is the 8th post in that thread has a full list of the things in my BOBs/emergency kits and the larger of them is in a school type back pack. Small bag in each vehicle (2 vehicles - car and minivan). Each bag should have a first aid kit, jumper cables, flashlights, fire starters, emergency food, and I'm sure much, much more. Can each car bag be put in a school sized back pack? Good start on what you have listed and yes a very comprehensive kit can go in a school size back pack espescialy if this isnt includeing the tools and cables for the car. Since we live in the city of Memphis, and only occasionally travel out side the city, should that have any beargin on what gets packed in to each bag (since this is Membabwie, I will definatly pack extra ammo in each vehicle for my carry gun). My opinion would be that the main thing this would affect would be that you may want to be sure to add some kind of breathing mask like say the ones you would get at the hardware store that are cloth in case there is a building/buildings destroyed or fires and such they could make breathing easier and you would likely want to add some kind of fuel like sterno or an alcohol burner since fire wood may be scarce if needed to stay warm or to cook something. I would still put in at least a sheet of plastic, some cord and duct tape that could be used for a makeshift shelter among many other uses. One thing to keep in mind is that if a disaster hits say while you and the family are out for the evening across town from home do you want to be forced to go home to get a better BOB to be able to leave town while the dust settles or would you want the option of going from anywhere. In general you are on the right track, make sure you have at least 2 to 3 gallons of water per family member on hand and at a minimum 1 gallon each in the vehicles, this can also come in useful if you need it in the radiator but gives you enouph to at least go a day and could easily be stretched for 2 or maybe even 3 days for drinking. Especialy with just getting started you may be interested in the group buy in general discussion here for "McPhearson materials', its got a sticky there, there is a book available at discount there thats written by a guy who trains the instructors for special forces survival schools on how to survive with nothing. Its called 'Naked into the wilderness; primitive wilderness living and survival skills', while it focuses on doing with nothing but what you can find in the woods the info can easily be applied to what you could find in the city and make things even easier. It covers makeing friction fires, shelters, traps, bows, leather, stone tools (can also be done with glass), and so much more. I have been camping and such since I was a small kid but I still make sure to keep a copy in each of my BOBs as well as one at home for referance if needed in a crisis. Glad to see you getting into being prepaired to to handle what ever comes, if you have any questions let me know, I'll be happy to help as much as I can. Also check out the thread here on 'the minimum', Ive done several threads in here to try to help show folks that getting set up dosnt have to cost a fortune and give some tips on how to do it on a budget.
Sounds like a very good start. Cover the basics first and then you can expand into other more advanced areas as you can. We have some basic info here, (just looked and It's time for an update) http://www.survivalmonkey.com/sf_faq.html feel free to ask away. Some of the members here are Survival Oriented and some are here for other areas of the board. A very good collection of people here and all are wiling to help you out. Welcome!
Clipped post. I have a question about food and water in your vehicle. Winters are cold- water freezes and summers are hot and things spoil. What do people keep in their cars for food and do they leave water in their car that they would in case of emergency drink? I carry a pack daily. It goes in with me at work and home. I have water and a bit of food but it would be nice not to have to lug it to and from everyday. I would like to leave food and water in the car but will it keep?
When we are driving down in the FlatLands, we keep a couple of Gallon Milk Jugs full of water in the Trunk, along with the EMS Kit.... You just never know when you might need to put it in the Radiator, after a Hose Leak, in the middle of the desert....
Your "when(not if)" comment puts you way ahead of most. Am growing more confident that the time is fast approaching that we will need our preps--and security measures.
Water keeps well in most situations. I change my water storage in the truck every year. Some people like to place their water jugs inside milk crates to protect them. If you store any kind of food, be sure to swap it out every so often, and depending upon your environment this will vary, but I do it every year. What type of food? I only keep freeze dried food in the vehicle. Every other food I have stored hasn't lasted a season or was questionable at best. Some MRE meals may do very well, however. I wouldn't push anything stored in a vehicle past a year, though.
I have crackers, snack bars and Mainstay bars. I have them in my day pack but I fear they would spoil. It gets hot 100 plus inside the car and I do wonder if it would spoil the food. I don't think you can spoil Saltines but the other stuff maybe. Those Mainstay bars are pricey but are good. Mainstay 1200-Calorie Food Bars - CASE of 30
Regular bottled water works well and survives getting frozen. While my winters don't have weeks/months of subfreezing temps it does get cold enough to freeze the bottles in my truck (and the water in my wifes car trunk). I've had bottles get loose and roll around and get all dingy looking, but the water was still good. I stopped keeping mainstay bars after several of the packages failed while in my pack in my truck. Nice to see a thread from 2005 come back to life.
Yeah, I've had food with no moisture content like freeze dried go bad over time, and it's tough to gauge because temperatures fluctuate. The dehydrated and freeze dried food will stick together and pretty much taste horrible. I think the only way to prevent this or keep it from happening as quickly is to vacuum seal freeze dried food and store it in a thermal container like one of those Thermos bags people use for lunch. Even this isn't fool-proof. Anything will spoil in extreme temperatures, I believe.
Different foods have calculated shelf lives that are rated against recommended temperature / humidity environmental variables. The Method of preserving and packaging will extend shelf life. Increasing the temperature in the storage environment will usually decrease the storage life of food, while decreasing the storage environment temperature will usually extend the rated shelf life (Though some food products may degrade if frozen instead of being refrigerated) for example It follows that if keeping a 72hr kit long term in a vehicle or boat...best try to keep the foodstuffs in an insulated container and, wherever possible park the vehicle under shade. You will most likely need to rotate the stored food more frequently than might be necessary in a cooler environment.
Great info @chelloveck, thanks for posting that really helps. As I think about it I wonder if other stuff is affected. I keep a first aid bag in the car that has pain reliever and some anti-bacterial plus alcohol wipes. I think I will need to rotate these out at least yearly. I know that the anti-bacterial say store in normal temps. This has really got me thinking. I keep candles in my car during the winter but I know the summer heat melts them.
Medications and supplies not requiring refrigeration would also benefit from insulated storage. Suppositories are probably not best kept in your BOV glovebox!
I keep a couple 1 gallon containers of water and a bunch of the small personal water bottles in the truck at all time. We have a lot of water out here in our area.... lol, so I keep multiple means of purification including life straws to supplement in my GHB. I store the water and food under the back seat to at least keep in the shade at all times. My food stores are mostly geared towards get home supplies with little prep required such as freeze dried or energy bars and other similar packaged items which are rotated every few months along with the water.
A mobile elements to preps is very important [vehicle and on foot]. Certainly we would all like to stay at home during a crisis but circumstances may demand that we flee. Survival considerations do not change all that much within the same geo-location. If you are prepared to answer the following bullet points then you are well ahead of the majority of the population. -Generally think 72hrs How will you maintain hydration How will you tend minor/moderate injury How will you shield yourself from the elements How will you make fire How will you make usable light How will you protect yourself How will you dig, cut and use cording How will you receive information How will you communicate with others How will you maintain reasonable hygiene How will you stave off hunger -Vehicle specific Can you replace critical fluids Can you replace a drive belt Can you replace or repair a damaged radiator hose Can you change or repair a flat or 2 flats Can you replace broken hose clamp Can you repair damaged electrical wires Can you replace a blown fuse
My BOB can probably be considered [minimal] at best but it does address some very basic survival consideration. My concept was to be able to mitigate likely life-safety threats while keeping things light and mobile within an crisis event duration of 72hrs. This is not a perfect kit but I am confident that it will afford many options that I would otherwise not have. Contents: Food/Water: 64 oz of canteen water which will have to be replenished by way of a Katadyn water filter. If I am able to stay with or have access to my vehicle (another 2.5 gallons). Food is limited to (1) Datrex food brick (18 bars), unsalted peanuts, vitamins and perhaps a couple of cliff bars. Shelter: French Shelter Half 2 emergency blankets USGI woobie plenty of 550 cordage First Aid: Compression bandages 3m large wound strips tourniquet self adhering gauze assorted boo-boo items Fire making: Cotton balls bic lighters mischmetal Enemy: personal firearm of choice 1 extra magazine Tools: folding pocket knife fixed blade knife leatherman squirt cold steel shovel 2 led flashlights (extra batteries) metal canteen cup w/ integral stove 8 in spork p38 can opener 3 feet of speed tape USAF sewing kit dummy line (decoy line) Utility (other) eton radio w/ cell charger $200 cash extra clothing (season specific) Well broken in 8" boot Hat Gloves 2 cotton bandanna's poncho Sillcock Key iPhone life straw Hygene: Warrior wipes
@Motomom34 A stainless steel vacuum flask to store heat sensitive medications might be an option. The flask will provide physical protection against thumps and bumps for anything fragile, and thermal protection also. The flask will have many alternative uses when on the road as a bonus.
@The Original Tempo What are you doing for Comms, if the reason reason for "Git Home" also takes out Cell Service?
My family only has short range walkies that we normally carry while hunting and such. Unless I am really close to home, it doesnt do me much good.
