"Go" Bag's

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Jeff Thomas

New member
I've been told recently about the principle of "go" bags ... small to large duffel bags or similar containers, preassembled for disaster situations.

I have sort of an emergency kit in the back of my truck, but this is a different perspective.

A 7-day go bag for an individual might have a firearm, small quantity of ammo, first aid supplies, small radio, food for one week, and so on. A 30-day go bag for a family would have much more gear.

Do you have a go bag, or whatever you want to call it? What did you put into it, how long will it keep you going, did you package per person or for the whole family, where do you store it, etc.?

Or, do you think the whole idea is a waste of good money?

Regards from AZ
 
4

4V50 Gary

Staff
Absolutely

You should have one in event of natural disaster like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornados or even a household fire. Had to do it once when the hillside decided to slide down. Grabbed some clothes, toilet kit, a rifle, ammo, spare uniform and skedaddled within 10 minutes.
 
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Hal

New member
Somebody posted a link to the California Dept. of Transportation, or the CHP (can't remember which) a while back that listed the recommendations of such a bag for traveling, if I recall correctly, through the desert. IIRC, it was a real common sense and comprehensive listing, FWIW, it included a firearm and ammunition.
 
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Jorah Lavin

New member
Jeff, run a search on "bugout bags"

I think you'll find some good stuff. For example, look at this one:
bugout+bag

I've got a cold-weather bag, a "trouble" bag (ammo and knives and stuff like that) and a warm-weather bag... most of it is old clothes that would be taking up space in my closet anyway, so I tried to bundle them in such a way as to allow me to walk or camp out in various situations for a couple of days. I work in an office, and if I had to get home from work by walking the 50 miles, I wouldn't want to be doing the cross-country thing in my dress shoes, so I keep a change of clothes and boots in my car, along with a bottle of water, matches, and so on. Kit changes depending on the season... my to-do list for this week includes a reminder to update the kit, since the season is finally cooling off here.

That reminds me... gotta find a portable water purifier...

-J.
 
D

Dave R

New member
My church, the Church of Jesus Christ (aka Mormons) advises all members to have a "72-hour kit". Food & necessities for 72 hours. Almost used mine twice (lived near a river that flooded).

The list is essentially the stuff you would take camping. In fact, a backpack makes a mighty good place to store your bugout stuff.

And a water purifier (PUR Hiker or equiv) should be a standard item. You could stick one end in a mud puddle and drink the water out of the other end.
 
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nualle

New member
My wife maintains a series of bug-out bags for us. The main one is a duffel with a change of warm clothes for each of us, 3 days of MREs, 3 liters of water, and a mini cook stove with mess kits. Right by it we have camping gear (tent, 2-burner propane stove, axes, shovels, field bag with compass, matches, that sort o' thing). We have another field bag in the car full time with two army blankets and two more of those thin, silvery emergency blankets (we live in Minnesota). We also have three first aid kits -- one in the car, one in the bug-out bag, and one in the bathroom.

We don't keep any of the firearms in the bug-out bags. We keep them where we won't forget about 'em and can keep them maintained properly.

The Red Cross lists a bunch of stuff that might be in a bug-out bag. (And other stuff that it'd be good to keep your home stocked with, in case of hunkering down rather than bugging out.)

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/supplies.html
 
R

Redlg155

New member
Something that might want to be considered in a "bug out" bag or survival bag is currency. You can always store some emergency currency in an envelope in your gunsafe next to your weapons. Small bills will be much better. Heck they can't even change a $50 bill in some places. In the event of a disaster or prior to a major event, you can bet either the ATM's will be out of money or the banks will have extremely long lines if they are even open at all.

Now if you are really preparing for any disaster, you might want to consider some gold in your bag. If we did have a collapse of civilization you can bet money will be worthless. Gold is pretty much the universal currency regardless of the country.

Good Shooting
RED
 
K

KPS

New member
A great informative book to read is "Patriots ,
Surviving the Coming Collapse" by James Wesley Rawles.It is a fiction novel but is written by a former Army intelligence officer.It actually gives you ideas you want to go back and outline after you read it .
 
K

Kaylee

New member
I have to agree with the "Patriots" suggestion! The book is basically a "how to survive the S hitting the F in a MAJOR way" primer in novel form. Right down to "this is what they used and where they got it." Downsides are --

1 -- way more intense, both cost-of-prep wise and para-military wise than many folks would be comfy with, including me. That said, take what you need, leave what you don't.

2 -- if you're not Christian to start with, you may end up getting rubbed the wrong way now and again. Again, take what you need, leave what you don't.

Finally, do a web search on "Frugal squirrel," go to his message boards, and read up. also "Captain Dave" has some interesting primers online as I recall. Both sites definately have their "tinfoil hat" contingent, but also have good info.


On gold .. I think I agree with Mr. Rawles that your biggest problem is that it's just too much money in one chunk to be worth much as a bug-out item. If you're not trying to buy a frickin' car or land with the stuff (which might not be a bad idea), hard to deal with. How do you make change for an ounce of gold for a tank of gas or a couple chickens?

That said.. I don't think silver coins are that great either, 'cause most folks don't know, or don't care, about the whole "pre-65" thing. A quarter is a quarter is a quarter. Through the 70's that might not have been the case.. but I don't think so anymore.

SO... if you're thinking "buying" on the run, I'd say stick with plain old fashion currency, or barter. Better not to need to get something last minute though ;)

Finally... under these conditions, I'd want a bottle of potasium iodate and a hefty bottle of antibiotics just in case, especially near cities. Won't help you against everything... but it's a good edge to have, and more valuable to my mind than an extra gun.
(I'd only keep a couple pills in the BOB though.. all that heat and cold in a truck is bad for meds!)

Good luck all..

-K
 
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hkg3

New member
I'm glad this got posted, I almost forgot about putting one of these together. Being Mormon like Dave R, I should have had one long ago.
 
J

Jeff Thomas

New member
Re: buying things.

My opinion only, but I believe in the initial stages of a crisis, currency would indeed be best. And, the same caution would apply as to gold ... have a selection of bills. Since most crises (all I can think of in our lifetimes) are relatively short in duration, currency is the best choice.

However ... if we ever encountered a protracted crisis that led to a partial or full breakdown of our society, then currency would begin to lose its appeal. As "civilization" crumbled, then currency would become viewed as simply old paper. It would be a matter of confidance. As people lost confidence in the system, then they would begin turning to gold, silver and barter with other goods. Somewhere in that time period, they would begin establishing values for gold and silver ... and, they would learn quite quickly that "junk silver" coins are more valuable than clad silver coins.

Regards from AZ
 
K

Kaylee

New member
FYI..

Captain Dave is here:
http://www.survival-center.com/

He's got quite a list of BOB suggestions here:
http://www.survival-center.com/dl-list/dl1-toc.htm

And GREAT "first timer" intros here:
http://www.survival-center.com/guide/

Frugal squirrel is a much more militia-ish and "tinfoil-hat-ish", a but if you can wade past that there's still some good content (somewhere on his site is a HUGE library of just about everything you can imagine):

http://www.logicsouth.com/~lcoble/

His forums are here:
http://frugalsforums.superb.net/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi



Finally, the potassium iodate stuff -- protects your thyroid in the case of a nuke event. my folks live near Oak Ridge, so for them, these days, that sounds like a good investment to me. $20 a bottle, give or take, lasts bloody forever. KI4U has (somewhat hyped) info, but not the best prices. Shop around online.

antibiotics, well.. preferred for anthrax (since that's the big deal lately), if you get it in time, is Cipro. If your doctor won't prescibe you a "just in case" starter bottle, you can get penicillin, or if you've allergies tetracycline, from less..rmm... preferred sources. Boards above have details. Only for a last resort, KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING if you go this route:
http://www.survival-center.com/med-faq/
(antibiotic section)

also, "Where there is no doctor" is a good book with common medication info in the back section:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...42121/sr=2-1/ref=sr_8_3_1/102-9344099-9292930

Again, DONT mess with this stuff unless you put in the work to know what you're doing. The above is pretty much for "if your city gets sprayed with a bug, everyone's coughing up their lungs, and it's this or die anyway" type of serious. Otherwise the risks FAR outweigh the benefits of being your own doctor.

(would you hand a total newbie an MP-5 and trust him to cover your backside? Same idea)

later all--

-K

I realize this ain't all "gunny" related, but it seems to me that sometimes... a gun ain't the best solution for keeping body and soul together in the face of adversity. one tool of many.
 
D

Dave R

New member
KAM, thanks for putting together that resource.

One suggestions for "essentials":

Cell phone (if you've got one) and spare battery. Communication can be critical in difficult times.

I also never go out in the boonies without FRS radios. I'd add them to the field bag. Allows groups to separate without anxiety. Heck, I use 'em at Wal-Mart to keep track of the kids.
 
M

Mark D

New member
BoB currency...

Money really won't mean JACK if the proverbial "S" hits the theoretical "F".

If you want to roll in Post-Apocalyptic Wealth, stash the following as currency:

1) Toilet Paper. Enough said.
2) Baby Wipes (folks who know, know they're better than TP in third-world scenarios.)
3) Lighters. Why? because your going to have lots of...
4) Cigarettes. Tons of them. No explanation needed.
5) Booze. Lots of it. After a month of no supermarkets, some men will trade their twenty-year old supermodel daughter for a six-pack of their favorite beer. (Just make sure she can shoot and cook. Chopping wood is a nice plus.)
6) Since we're already on a womanly rabbit trail... Feminine products. You will instanly be nominated for ruling monarch of whatever region you live in, when those of the fairer sex learn you posess, "That which makes life better."
7) Advil and tylenol. See item #6.
8) Toothbrushes and toothpaste. Go a week without, then you will know the value. ;)
9) Coffee. Especially here in Western Washington, the blessed bean is worth more than gold.
10) Lastly, my favorite... Chocolate. I really can't envision a world with out chocolate.

Those are Mark D's top ten "Mad Max Currencies."
 
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