What is on your emergency packing list ???

[KBintheSLC]

I have a decent 72 hour kit for earthquake prep in the car, but I keep thinking what if my wife and I have to flee our home for an extended period of time at some point? Just the usual SHTF stuff... attacking Russians, civil war, zombies... you know the dance. We have a pair of 4000 cu. in. weekender packs we can fill up and more survival gear than we could ever carry. We live on the east bench of Salt Lake City and would likely retreat to the cover of the eastern mountains (The Wasatch & Uinta ranges in The Rockies).

So, I have it broken up into several categories starting with our most basic physical needs...

1) Shelter: the backpacking tent is too bulky and slow to set up so we will likely bring two tarps and some rope. We will bring our mummy bags to sleep in.
2) Water: we have a pair of hiker water filters for river water and some iodine tablets in case it is very stagnant. We also have a collapsible 5 gallon plastic jug and some stainless canteens for storage.
3) Food: We will likely only be able to carry 4-5 days worth of food on us; nuts, jerky, granola bars, etc. I also have an emergency fishing kit with hooks, line and bait, and will likely bring my pump air rifle to quietly hunt small game with.
4) Clothing: 3 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of underwear, 2 under shirts, 1 poncho, my mountaineering boots, and whatever clothing I am wearing.
5) Medical Aid: We have a good kit with blood clotting sponges, sutures, field dressing, duct tape, antiseptic, pain reliever/antihistamine, etc.
6) Tools: We will each carry the following items... 1 entrenching tool, 1 large fixed blade knife, 1 .22 LR pistol, a couple of thousand rounds of 22lr ammo, 100 ft of rope/para cord, 1 wire saw, 1 Leatherman multi tool, 1 tube of fire paste, 4 Bic lighters, 4 boxes of waterproof matches, 1 magnetic compass with magnifying glass and mirror, and 1 spool of snare wire, and 1 solar/dynamo LED flashlight.

If all of that doesn't bog us down too much, I will carry my Glock 20 with a couple of hundred JHP rounds for hunting/defense, and my wife will bring her 9mm and the 10/22. As mentioned before, I will be packing my pump air rifle with about 1000 pellets and a bottle of lube oil and a field-sized gun cleaning kit.

Just wondering what your emergency packing lists look like... what are your priorities when you have to leave behind the pickup truck, atv's, and 5th wheels?

 

[expvideo]

In before the.... nevermind.

My 72 hour SHTF packing list is whatever is on my person at the time and a bottle of The Glenlevit 18 year single malt scotch.

My plan is to get really hungry and drunk and wait it out, since I can probably survive 72 hours without shooting anyone or resorting to canibalism, regardless of the circumstances.

 

[ShadyScott999]

+100 on the Scotch!

 

[Macmac]

If it were me I would loose one entrenching tool for a light axe, or a big hatchet first off, because you don't need 2 of many items.

To me it looks like you picked out a remote area off the beaten path as well, and since you have, it is likey you know the area well. In that case i would take much of the same stuff in a ammo can you test in the bath tub and fill it with itens that are heavy like that 1,000 rounds of .22's and leave it up there hidden well.

I did something like that with 24 ammo cans in Y2K, and they are still where i placed them. This is the contents I won't have to pack, and 2 can per site can be all I get if something were bad enough.

Way back then I made up a few pvc containers as well and bought 3 12 ga single shot shot gun for a song each, and put the grease to em. In each pvc container there is a jar with keroscene to clean the grease with some rags..

I stuff sheels sealed in plastic wrap and other shotgun related items in these as well.

I check on these from time to time and swap out MRE's.

The ammo cans contain all sorts of items, anything from medicals to spare buttons, and each box has a used multi tool I bought in a used sporting goods store for 3 bucks each.

If I loose any, which hasn't yet happened, I really don't care so long as i don't need it right then, and if i do it is a matter of some miles before I get to the next place. So not all that bad.

I can get 6 feet of snow, so i didn't bury anything really, but never the less even if the land is logged off I will still be able to access my stuff.

Too much to carry is work, and when you want speed work is too slow.

Duplicating water filters is good since one could malfunction for a part.

You didn't metion 'tp', but i would advise a rag you can clean over 'tp', each.

Since it looks like hard times may well be upon us, I plan to add joint compound buckes at sites, to use as chairs, and laundery, beside what ever else i can dream up for them, but I have bear, so no foods will go in them, if they end up containing anything. Set up right these could contain clothing more or less work related and or spares from what we have now. Nothing missed if lost either.

In a stash feminine products work well as bandages, and are cheap enough in pad form to be of some value if you get hurt that bad. I don't bother with little bandaid, because when i get cut I really get cut, and no little band aids are going to do a thing.

I may carry a suture kit, and can sew well, but more often cut bad i use duct tape. It will pull a wound closed pretty well, but is not steril. I don't care much about steril, as I have lots of clean drinking water for the taking where I live and so i can clean any wounds well. i wish, but can't include wet anti bacterial soaps due to being well below 0, but a bar of ivory is in every other box. Candles are in these boxes as is jute twine, which works as well for fishing as it does for tinder.

I would up the 100' of para cord to 500.. 100 gets used up real quick.

If you make your tarps sqaure you can make a diamond shelter, or set 2 diamond face to face and have fire in the middle, but away enough that you don't set plastic on fire.. I am assuming these will be short life plastic over long life canvass for weight.

If you go with one bigger tarp say 10' /9' 6" by 20/ 19' 6" a sort of quad pod can be worked up, with 2 short poles and 2 long poles and wraped for a sort of tee pee like shelter. (more room, and you could stand up)

i would add head lamps, and these days these come in many choices.. many with led bulbs which last a long time on a single set of batteries. These leave both hands free to do as you please for chores.

Since it might be you must hide from a closer up inspection a msr stove you can turn OFF instanly might be something to consider.

Camp fires are not always the best thing. They are sort of like a calling card for a very long distance.

I fear I am running on too long...

 

[SrDedosRapidos]

I agree to the Glenlivet! I love that stuff.

Mine is pretty much the same. Whatever is IN my car... which is usually food

 

[KBintheSLC]

i would add head lamps, and these days these come in many choices.. many with led bulbs which last a long time on a single set of batteries. These leave both hands free to do as you please for chores.

Since it might be you must hide from a closer up inspection a msr stove you can turn OFF instanly might be something to consider.

MacMac,
Thanks for all of the input... We have all of those things that we use for backpacking. However, I would prefer to mainly bring "sustainable" items in such a situation... AKA stuff that does not need things like batteries/liquid fuels in order to work. I may need to grab a flint striker and a bunch of flints.

We might bring the headlamps to get us to where we are going and just dispose of them when we run out of batteries.

As far as fire is concerned, I would likely build a tepee-style shelter with a small vent in the roof and build a tiny fire inside. Fires definitely pose a threat to your safety when you are trying to keep your position concealed.

The axe is a good idea too. Maybe one of us can bring that instead of the entrenching tool.

And the TP!!! I'll have to remember to put a couple of wash cloths in there... good call.

Oh yeah... for the rest of you guys... as for the bottle of liquor... I'll just make my own out of tree bark, deer poop, and glacier water.

 

[exflatlander]

I am with the Scotch group (JW Black) but JD will so in a pinch. I live too close to the city with no viable escape routes during any russian/zombie/what-have-you attacks.

 

[KBintheSLC]

since I can probably survive 72 hours without shooting anyone or resorting to canibalism, regardless of the circumstances.

-expvideo

72 hours is easy, that kit is ready to go... I'm talking about the long haul here. Like surviving a winter in the Rockies.

 

[.38 Special]

As a general rule of thumb, I note an inverse relationship between the amount of guns and ammunition packed and the amount of toilet paper. Normally I tune out somewhere around 2,000 rounds of ammo and not a single square of TP. And by the time people are suggesting you wipe your *** with a damp rag I'm as far away as I can get.

I'm curious, though: you and your wife have packs and a tent, and you referred to your mountaineering boots. I assume this means that you are a fellow mountaineer. This in turn means that A) you know what an utter bastard it would be to haul twenty or thirty pounds of guns and ammunition around the mountains all winter, and B) you know how ridiculous it would be to trade in your tent and toilet paper for tarps and rags.

So unless you are planning to deal with the S hitting the F by freezing solid in the Rockies and eventually being thawed out by a race of super beings -- who have also learned how to cure terminal hemorrhoids -- I'm kind of at a loss here.

 

[agtman]

As a rule, I don't post in these threads and only read them occasionally, as it's always possible I'll see mention of something that absolutely has to be added to the pack, BOB, emergency kit, etc., that's not there right now. So these are learning threads ...

... but here in my A/O I'm sort of in the position exflatlander describes - and, folks, 72-hours ain't really all that long.

The act of bugging-out might actually be worse than staying put for that amount of time. That's something you need to weigh (i.e., the limited resources you're taking vs. what gets left behind, and what is it you're bugging out to: a well-stocked "retreat" vs ... ?, and under what assumed conditions).

For 72-hours, as a last resort, I could probably hold off whatever's banging on my door ...

... in such a short time-frame I see too many downsides to being just another person getting out "in it." Just my opinion ...

 

[VegasOPM]

I'm trying to think of a situation where I would need to leave my house for 72 hours in a hurry. It isn't like there is a lot of natural disasters that hit Vegas. Even in the event of an earthquake- I'd stay home. Home is where my food, water, guns, generator, dogs, tools and most everything else I have is. I'd rather just stick it out.
For a longer stay, I have a travel trailer ready to go with all of the essentials for several days (after I fill the fresh water tank of course). The trailer is not for the express purpose of "bugging out" though. I leave it ready to go because it makes trips a lot less stressful. Grab a bag of clothes, milk, bread, perishables and head for the hills for a quick vacation.

 

[Bartkowski]

I'm trying to think of a situation where I would need to leave my house for 72 hours in a hurry.

That is what I am thinking. What would happen that would make me have to leave, but then come back a few days later? I would either be staying at my house, probably getting a friend or two to come with food, water, clothes, other supplies, and if we think it is neccessary, guns.

If we wouldn't be able to stay, I would probably be leaving for a long time. If that is the case, I have no idea what I would do.

 

[Leanwolf]

KB in SLC - "Shelter: the backpacking tent is too bulky and slow to set up so we will likely bring two tarps and some rope. "

KB, if I were you I'd think long and hard about "wintering" up in the Wasatch or Uinta Mountains with nothing more than a back pack, a couple of tarps and some rope. I've hunted in those mountains when it was snowing and it was brutal, even though I was well equipped and could return to a very nice A-wall tent camp with a great wood stove, Coleman lantern, lots of firewood and plenty of food. If I were to try and survive a winter there, it would necessitate a much sturdier and warmer shelter than a tarp. (Same same as trying to do it here in Idaho's mountains.)

In very short order, when those Rocky Mountains blizzards struck and the snow piled deeper and deeper around and on top of your tarp, you and your wife would be spending most of your day and night trying to find wood and food, etc. You'd either have to get back to civilization quickly... or die. I'll bet your wife wouldn't care much about living like that either... or trying to live like that.


Not trying to flame you but in my opinion, you need to do some very serious rethinking of your plans.

L.W.

 

[mbt2001]

I think you are carrying to many guns. I would have a .22 handgun and .22 rifle (Marlin Papoose or Henry Survival rifle). Carry some Super Colibri's if you are worried about noise.

It's cold were you are, surprised that you don't have warm gear. At altitude it is always cold.

Just the usual SHTF stuff... attacking Russians, civil war, zombies... you know the dance.

Why would you leave for those events? Forest Fire, Chemical Spill, something that requires you to leave I could see. If the Zombies or Russians come, your will need to spend you time digging a moat around your dwelling.

 

[mljdeckard]

Where is your rifle?

 

[2RCO]

72 hour kit = a 1.75 of Maker's Mark a couple two liters of Coke and a bag of beef jerky.

I prefer fortify and defend to run personally.

 

[.38 Special]

Just FWIW, I think most if not all of these "What goes in the BOB?" thread parents would do well to simply look up some backpacking/mountaineering packing lists. Then they should actually spend some time in the wilderness in order to fine-tune their gear to their personal needs -- and also to learn a bit about the unromantic realities of living in the outdoors. Having a really cool looking EBR doesn't make it any easier...

http://www.worldclassgear.com/mountaineering_packing_list.asp

http://www.backpacking.net/cheklist.html

http://zenbackpacking.net/BackpackingPackingListUltralight.htm

 

[Titan6]

Since St. Bernards from the Mountain Patrol carry scotch in a flask around their neck I will rely on that resource even if it is a house brand and not aged properly.

First I would pack a ring of keys to unlock the hundreds (thousands?) of threads exactly like this one where this topic never seems to grow old even though this is not a survivalism web site.

Second- I would bring all of my guns and ammo.

Third- I would bring along a bus load of pot smoking peace marchers (think Donner Party).

Because if the Russian Zombies invade no where will be safe.

 

[KBintheSLC]

If I were to try and survive a winter there, it would necessitate a much sturdier and warmer shelter than a tarp.

Actually, if its winter you don't even need a tarp. A decent snow cave will work much better than any tarp or tent.

and also to learn a bit about the unromantic realities of living in the outdoors.

Yeah... after only 2 decades of hauling my butt around in the Rockies with nothing but a backpack, I wouldn't know much about that.

Why would you leave for those events? Forest Fire, Chemical Spill, something that requires you to leave I could see. If the Zombies or Russians come, your will need to spend you time digging a moat around your dwelling.

I am assuming that leaving would be my last resort... I think my first resort would be to strap on my chest rig and AK and go "hunting"

First I would pack a ring of keys to unlock the hundreds (thousands?) of threads exactly like this one where this topic never seems to grow old even though this is not a survivalism web site.

You sound a little bitter there champ... It probably doesn't help the situation to patronize the post with responses in that case, does it?
Anyway, this is very much about guns and tactics, and how much of a role they will play in various situations.

Not trying to flame you but in my opinion, you need to do some very serious rethinking of your plans.

Not feeling flamed at all... thats why I posted the thread.

 

[Macmac]

It will be hard to take the liquor, LOL....

I agree with agtman to a point too.. it depends on how you can go to a safe place..

Me: I am staying put because i can, and if I go at all i would be on foot.


Where i live a small mountain tent in winter is less than worthless, just another good way to end up dead. The snow falling will seal off air and with out air you wake up dead. I came pretty close to that one day up on Mt Adams in NH, where over night a common amount of apx 6 feet of snow fell. being a bit 'older' I don't sleep thru the night, and it was damn near an emergency to get out and take a leak... I had to do a bit more digging than I had planned on..

I was a ultra light winter hiker over years and still am.

I did live a full 3 years out in a real tee pee, a 18 footer, and saw -50 for a month of midnights and -20 at noon..

Been into 'Buck Skinni' many more years.

That is where the rags came in handy. There were 2 log cabin hooters... That means what you sat on was built of round logs stacked in a square shape.

There were no walls on one of these period. The other was covered over with a canvass tarp like a conestoga wagon, used in storms..

Daily rags were used, cleaned and boiled and were replaced clean.

Why? because the little money we had wasn't to be spent on tp.

The shower consisted of a tree limb, a pallette, and a hand sewn canvass bag with a shower bag shower head because I had had one that split in use during the first year. I saw no need to buy another plastic junk bag when I still had the working part, and could sew another better and bigger.

So even at -20 it was easy to take a shower. I added a gallon of boiling ater into the bag and hang the bag up. Then I added cold water right from a brook untill the temp was right. Took a shower, and went to dry in the tee pee.

The tee pee had a open fire and a cracked woodstove as the fire back and 2 sections of 2 foot pipe.. So this is 2 fires at the same time, and the one in the wood stove held coals all night.

The tee pee was a base camp... You could get a 4x4 truck with in about 1 mile.

Rags are good once you figure out the system.

LED head lamps will last a long time. In winter you keep the batteries near your body, so they stay warm. You don't use them much, and learn to see in the dark. The only times I used them was inside the tee pee when I had misplaced some item, I needed right now.

I also used them in storms when you couldn't see you hand in front of your face.

At night I still hardly ever use a battery lamp, but that don't mean I don't have one.

The problem with canvass is the weight, the same problem comes with tight woven egyptian cotton, but these can stand sunlight long term where current nylons fail in short order in day to day use..

If you do it right you don't really need any gun....

If I were a modern guy I would make sure one gun was a 12 ga... If I had 2 guns i would make sure one was a rifle, and the hand gun?? Don't really need it.. Then with that said i am no pistol shot at 100 yards and taking game with any accuracy is up to that distance where i live.

I am not a modern guy however, so the first gun I would bring would be a flintlock, because i can do what ever I need to do with it. That is another story.. And with that I don't really need it..

And no hand gun, doesn't mean I wouldn't have one, as it is prime for self defence.... I just would keep it for just SD..

Anyone with just a hand gun is either a really great shot, or a fool who will die.

 

[7.62X25mm]

If your house is not the best place to be, you're living in the wrong place.

 

[notorious]

I live in Los Angeles, so the whole state is the wrong place for me.

 

[CoRoMo]

There are several survival forums on the net where you could gather troves of knowledge from. Check them out. I don't know which one is tops, but surely someone here knows and can send us in that direction.

 

[wep45]

when the martians land........they can all come in.......i'll order a pizza and we can sit around the TV and watch M.A.S.H.