This post is all about my bugout bag. I sorta have two, the first one being my tactical vest described in an earlier post. This one is the one I will more likely end up using. Ideally I would be at home when the shit hits the fan, as this is where my rifle and most of my gear is stored. The reality is that I'm out of the house a minimum of 50 hours a week, and that's if I only go to work. So I've decided to put together a more comprehensive bag for the Jeep. This is alot more involved than the survival tin, as its made with the idea of keeping you alive for about three days.
Start off by thinking,what's the bare minimum I would need for a weekend trip? Now going from there scale down the clothing and add food and water and you're pretty close. Make sure you consider things like medications, contact lenses, glasses etc. I wont get into all that sorta thing as everyone has different needs in those areas.
The basics aside from meds and toiletries I keep in my truck are as follows.
-Three days food and water, taking into acoount my girlfriend and the dog
-Basic first aid kit, be sure to include splints and trauma gear, I will get into first aid a little later, maybe my next post
-2 gas masks and spare filters (cheaperthandirt.com)
-7 day course Iosat radiation tablets for two
-50' paracord
-Cleaning kits for any firearms I may be carrying
-KA-BAR, I went with a tanto tip in black
-Multitool, I use a Colorado river Zillatool
-3a rated concealable body armor, not really a necessity but nice to have if things get really bad, check local laws on that one as well.
-MSR camp stove and three cans of fuel, Jetboil is a good brand too
-Minimum 2 flashlights, I use a maglight aa led, and a Streamlight Stinger led rechargeable (the Streamlight is cool because you can charge it through the cigarette lighter)
-Flint, matches, lighters
-Canteen and Steel canteen cup for boiling
-Iodine tablets for water purification
-Either a small tent or tarp for shelter in case you need to abandon the vehicle
-Collapsible shovel or entrenching tool, just a good idea to have in the car anyway
-1 pair of boots, decent hiking boots are a good idea
-Gas can, I just have a 2 gallon one for space but bigger is probably better
-I also recently added a small sterno stove and 6 cans of fuel in addition to my msr, this will mostly be for melting snow.
These are pretty much the basics, obviously your region and potential threats can change this kit drastically. Being that I live just north of the Indian point nuclear power plant I feel the iosat and gas masks are an absolute necessity, if you live in Canada lets say, warm clothing would be much more important.
