Emergency survival kit

[bczoom]

BC-- Why not keep all that stuff right in the bunker? (Or did you ever sell it?)

I still have the bunker.

I guess I could but for now, everything but the bulk water storage is at home. This "stuff" has taken a good chunk of space out of my "man room" to store it so I may consider moving some down there.

My reluctance is also the humidity level in the bunker can run a little high in the spring and fall since we have the HVAC off. I'd hate to loose food or get mildew growing on my sleeping bag. If I do move the stuff down there, I'd probably put it in the conference room and install a dehumidifier.

I'm actually thinking of doing a "dry run" emergency and taking the kids down there for a weekend this winter. Mrs. Zoom wouldn't do it unless it's an actual emergency.

 

[Deadly Sushi]

I have a spork in my glove compartment

 

[The Tourist]

I prefer the threek.

 

[bczoom]

A couple other points to consider as you develop your "Emergency Survival Kit" or "Bug-out Bags" or other emergency preparedness items.

Determine what YOU need
There are many scenarios that can play out for each one of us. Be it a natural disaster or whatever, each has to determine what the plan is for themselves and to have whatever items are necessary for your situation. It's a worthwhile exercise to go through many emergency scenarios that could happen in your area and develop a plan for what to do for each. Once you developed your plan, come up with a secondary plan in the event the first fails or isn't viable.

Time to get everything together
Should you need to bug-out (or even if you're staying home), what are your emergency essential items? Are they scattered around the house? Can you find them? Do you actually have them?
It's a good idea to at least compile a list of items you think you'll need and then annotate whether you have them or not. If you do have them, give a location (I do this in Excel). If you don't, make a shopping list (then see "cost" below). What about seasonal items like winter clothes?
After getting my bug-out-bags, duffel bags and tubs filled, I was surprised at how long it actually took me to do it. In the event of an emergency, I wouldn't have thought of 1/2 of the stuff. At least make yourself a list (and have it handy) of the things to grab/gather in the event of an emergency. My preference is to have them already packed. It's a no-brainer then. I (as well as the wife and kids) then know exactly where everything is should it be needed.

Cost
Many of us have "staples" for general emergency preparedness. This may include stocked freezers and pantry, generators, extra fuel...

Where I got caught myself was in the details. Once I compiled a complete list of what will or may be needed, I realized I came up short. As long as I was staying put (at home), I was pretty well prepared. If I had to leave the house is where I came up short, especially if I went into a camping or other non-structural (with all the amenities) living.

Those backpacks I showed above... As loaded, probably $1000 for the 4 of them. That one caught me off guard.

Those Rubbermaid tubs as stocked. I haven't counted but it could easily be another $1000.

Tent, sleeping bags and other camping stuff. Probably another $1000.

Food and cooking equipment. Another $1000

Body armor and Night Vision scope. Easily over $1000.

Guns and ammo not listed. You don't want to know.

Generators, power inverters, batteries... easily another $2500.

I guess where I'm going with this is that although I "thought" I was prepared, once I created a list of what was needed, I fell way short. A couple grand later after thinking I was already all set, and I'm a little closer. If you need to buy things, it may take a bit of time to get everything together if you need to spread out the cost over a period of time.

The way I look at it, except the food and batteries (which will get rotated), everything else is good forever. Should we need it or not, they're things I can use with, then pass on to the kids (primarily thinking of camping gear here).

Rotate stock
As just mentioned, be sure to rotate your perishable items. Food and any batteries in particular. Shake your fire extinguishers a couple times a year.

Test your plan
At any time, create yourself a disaster situation and test your plan. This may be as simple as throwing the main electric (and water?) off on the house and see how you do for a long weekend. To make it a bit harder, do that in an extreme weather climate for your area (hot or cold).

How about grabbing your emergency "stuff" and kicking yourself out of the house and live in the yard for a few days.

 

[The Tourist]

How about grabbing your emergency "stuff" and kicking yourself out of the house and live in the yard for a few days.

Nope, that's not a good enough test. You can always just walk ten feet and be back in your nice warm house.

I suggest that you take your survival kit and go camp at Buffalo Chip during Sturgis.

Unruly people, aggressive law enforcement, loud noises, intense heat during the day, freezing cold at night, the occasional bull bison angry and horny and returning to the herd about that time.

You need something, you have to "barter it." Can't find it, then you do without. Bugs, sweat, limited showers, over-priced food.

Yup, now there's a post nuclear, apocalyptic "Mad Max" world if there ever was one.

 

[rlk]

Thanks for the info BC. I'm impressed by the thought / effort you put into this.

I was thinking I could pick up a kit that contained most of what I needed, but now realize how unprepared I am, and would have been with one of the online kits.

Bob

 

[bczoom]

I suggest that you take your survival kit and go camp at Buffalo Chip during Sturgis.

Not me...

We were headed that way this past summer but then realized by time we got there it would have been the Saturday before the big Sturgis event. We then turned south and just took our good 'ole time going through Wyoming and Colorado.

 

[bczoom]

Sorry, towards the end there, I posted pics of what was in the tubs but never said what it was.

I can't see through some of the plastic bags that things are in so I'll just give a list of the things I had in mind when I made the list. See below.

Note: Some of the things in the list need to be broken down in more detail. E.g. Fishing Kit and Gun Cleaning kit would need a compilation of several items. I have a general item of "food" that obviously needs details.

I have this in Excel. I need to tweak the spreadsheet some (any Excel gurus care to volunteer?) but I have it by Phase as well as season and whether it's packed or a "grab" item. If you want a copy of the spreadsheet, PM me your e-mail address.

Here's what I have on the list for phases 1 & 2 (up to a week or 2).

Call forward phones
Notifications to family/friends
rubber gloves
Rain coats/pants
1 shirt
1 pants
2 underwear
2 socks
Cell phones & chargers
Games
cards
kids activities
Bottled Water
Dry foods/MRE's
Chewing gum/tic tacs
Medications
Toilet Paper
Toothbrushes and paste
Hand/baby wipes
Hand sanitizer
Sunglasses
Prescription glasses
Toiletries
Mosquito repellant
Aspirin
Pepcid/Tums
Chap stick
mirror
Cortizone cream
Neosporin
Sunscreen
Benedryl
Actifed/decongestants
Cold medicine
Kleenex
Sun screen
Bug spray
Light sticks
Cash
Cigs, chew…
Copies of Birth Certs, SS Cards
Checking acct book(s)
QW powder (quick clot)
First aid kit
Flashlights
Ace bandages
NOAA Weather Radio
Signal Mirror
dust/respirator masks
Backpacks
Utility knife & blades
Lighters
batteries
Pens/pencils
Notepad/paper
Sharpies
Road map
Multitool
Fleece sleeping bags
1 sweatshirt
hats
gloves
coats
hand warmers
Shut off electric
Shut off gas
Put Laptops and external drives in safes
rubber boots
Wind up radio
Cooking utinsels
Paper Plates
Plastic Cups
Silverware
Dish soap
Paper towels
Coleman stove
coolers
Can opener
Coffee cups
Sterno cans
Plates and silverware
books
Coffee
Salt & Pepper
Cutting/butchering board
Contact lens case/cleaner
towels
bath soap
Eye glass repair kit
Anbesol (teeth/mouth)
Feminine pads
Sleeping pills
Fire starters
Lanterns
Candles
Laptop & External drive
firefox books
USMC books
Fire Extinguisher
First aid books
Surgical kit
Sleeping bags
tents
tent stakes
Pillows
Cots
Duct tape
Zip ties
rope
FRS Radios & Chargers
Air horns
Hunting knife
Propane torch
Propane tanks
AA battery charger
hatchet
binoculars
ratchet straps
12V batteries
12V inverters
tarps
Compass
Para cord
Waterproof matches
Folding shovel
Scissors
Magnifying glass
Steel wool
9v batteries
Bleach (regular, unscented)
Butchering kit
CamelBak packs
Kitchen set (counter, sink…)
porta-potty
Porta-potty shed
Hiking stick/staff
Pruning saw
Electric Tape
Fishing kit
Kevlar gloves
Compressor
Fire gloves
Contact cement
Whistle
light bulbs
Tow strap
PB blaster
Camp dry
Alarm clock
bungie cords
CS Gas (or pepper spray)
Body Armor (bulletproof vest)
Gun manuals
Gun cleaning kit
Rifle scope (3rd set binocs)
Baseball caps
flannel shirts
Propane heaters
snowpants/bibs
Space blankets
Cold weather sleeping bags

 

[The Tourist]

The reason I bring up the importance of "trials" is that this is one of the reasons I hate camping. No matter what list has been made, and my Dad used to make some doozies, there were always many things forgotten--and necessary.

There are places in or coastal southeast that still sit damaged and vacated. You would think that someone, some stoic invividual, would be living there off of the grid.

I've heard urban legends that numerous Southeast Asian veterans got off of the planes in California and disappeared into the wilderness. Some are seen periodically, but not much is documented.

Even that well-trained abortion clinic bomber got caught--going through a dumpster.

The older I get the more I believe this is almost an impossible task.

 

[darroll]

I've heard urban legends that numerous Southeast Asian veterans got off of the planes in California and disappeared into the wilderness. Some are seen periodically, but not much is documented.

.

Tourist,
The last time I went fishing in the eastern Oregon high country there were squatters living off the federal lands. I noticed this first about twenty years ago. They tried not to be seen, but I knew they were there.. Some of them could of been Nam Vets.
Now days I really doubt it. Yes, there are squatters in the woods.

 

[bczoom]

Bump.

Tourist - There's been mention of my bunker. HERE are some pics.
If I'm not staying home and the emergency isn't such that getting completely out of town is required, it's where I go.

We also use it when the weather is nasty as a place for the kids to play.

 

[The Tourist]

Obviously, yours is an incredible living space, and well thought out. If there's a place to survive, it would be in such an example.

But I'm saddened by the overall idea.

I'm a 'boomer. And I remember when every mother's son was converting some form of fall-out shelter in their backyards. Now granted, a few years later these structures became storage areas and kids' forts, but they are a reminder of just how serious this is.

For example, in the 1950's my family lived on N. 36th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Perhaps a mile north of my home was a "Nike Site."

These were fully functional military bases armed with missiles. The Nike was one of the cutting edge examples of that era. I never gave it a thought. To me as a young boy the idea of nazis or communists trying to kill us all while hiding in a root cellar amid Nike launches was a real, tactile possibility of life.

I was twelve during the Cuban missile crisis. Again, I was going to die in a rocket blast, a very real given concern.

I read all of the SAC books, and marveled at the hardware. By that time we had moved out to the suburbs and real-deal X-6 Hustlers broke the air speed records right over my house! What incredible excitement!

But I'm not a boy anymore. I've seen hospital photos of Nagasaki.

I've stood in the middle of a student riot in college when every civil restraint leaves a mob, only to be quelled by brutal authority.

I'm not really sure I want to swing open a vault door after the blast to find my world incinerated.

As for minor emergencies of weather, flood or riot, I still believe in the "three day rule." If you can hunker down for three days the idiots will have drown or killed each other.

 

[bczoom]

Obviously, yours is an incredible living space, and well thought out. If there's a place to survive, it would be in such an example.

You're not thinking I built that are you?

It was built as part of the AT&T "long line" system which was for communications should WW-III would have happened with the USSR. It was built to withstand a nuclear blast as close as a few miles.

When the cold war ended, the site was decommissioned and the communications equipment was removed. The infrastructure (generators, blast doors, HVAC equipment, sewer treatment system...) were all left in place (although some of the HVAC was "retired in place" and the freon was removed).

I (with a partner) bought it a few years back just because it was "so damn cool".

Here's a thread where we talked about in more detail.

 

[EastTexFrank]

I'm not really sure I want to swing open a vault door after the blast to find my world incinerated.

As for minor emergencies of weather, flood or riot, I still believe in the "three day rule." If you can hunker down for three days the idiots will have drown or killed each other.

I've followed this thread with interest because, by nature, I am a good Boy Scout. I like to be prepared but the first statement above pretty much sums up how I feel about it. In the Armageddon scenario, where the heck am I going to safely bug out to for at least three months that's going to be any better than where I am right now and where I have all my resources. I could quite easily turn the "three day rule" into the "one, two or three month rule" because my "bomb shelter" is right under the house.

I think that any plan has to be location specific. I commend BCZoom for the though, planning and preparation that he's put into his evacuation plan to safeguard his family but I can't think of any emergency that would drive me away from home except for a few days at most. Anything more serious than a temporary local evacuation then I'm staying put.

 

[bczoom]

Bump.

Luvs - read through this to see if there's more you should have and put in a bug-out bag.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Luvs isn't the only one who needs to read it, I read it again too.

I still basically agree with what I said in my last post. I can't think of many kinds of emergency that would drive me away from where I live because I already am in my bug out location and essentially have everything I need right here.

One thing that did catch my attention though zoomer was the comment you made about how long it took you put all your bug out stuff together. If I was forced to leave this place for 3 or 4 days, I already have my mental list of what I would grab (my bug out bag sits by the office door) and where it is but if I was to bug out it would be an immediate kind of thing and I wouldn't have the time to go running around picking things up and throwing them in to the truck.

I may have to rethink this whole thing a little bit. Two old people and a dog don't need as much stuff as you guys need to take but maybe I need to consolidate it into some plastic containers that can stay in their present locations but at least I'm not running around, finding and packing individual items.

Good bump!!!!

 

[squerly]

Yes, an excellent bump. But the link to BC's bunker is broken.

 

[Doc]

Yes, an excellent bump. But the link to BC's bunker is broken.

The pics were in a gallery I had back then. One of the VB upgrades stopped working with the gallery software so we lost a lot of pics.

 

[luvs]

i have. that's not all i'll pack, bczoom. just only listed a few items i keep on me. i put my medic alert stuff, beverages/food (hence the supplement drinks- very nutritious sustainable pseudo-food source)/h2o/sanitizer/glasses/a change of clothes/$/cell & charger/i.d., & meds in my bag daily already. i can stash some of this stuff far away from here. my wellies stay where i can jump into 'em & bolt, stat. they get me over most any terrain. i have so much h2o here due to those main breaks. i stocked on that. my fave Chef's bag goes where i'm going. knives & tools galore in that. & my schoolbooks for self-entertainment. i have scads of batteries, matches, a bic, candles, a flashlite, food, drinks, meds, pet supplies, t.p., female items, soap, tools, etc.- an excess of most of those here already.
not getting a generator unless my family has a spare. i should get a snoozin' bag & a tent. seriously, leaving the cats would be my phobia. oh, & no kidding, i shall have a bottle of jager sqeezed in there, too.
btw, great call on the litestix & bug spray. those can be very well-utilized in vaious situations, too- from camping to being prepped.

 

[Kane]

Luvs isn't the only one who needs to read it, I read it again too.

I still basically agree with what I said in my last post. I can't think of many kinds of emergency that would drive me away from where I live because I already am in my bug out location and essentially have everything I need right here.

One thing that did catch my attention though zoomer was the comment you made about how long it took you put all your bug out stuff together. If I was forced to leave this place for 3 or 4 days, I already have my mental list of what I would grab (my bug out bag sits by the office door) and where it is but if I was to bug out it would be an immediate kind of thing and I wouldn't have the time to go running around picking things up and throwing them in to the truck.

I may have to rethink this whole thing a little bit. Two old people and a dog don't need as much stuff as you guys need to take but maybe I need to consolidate it into some plastic containers that can stay in their present locations but at least I'm not running around, finding and packing individual items.

Good bump!!!!

I'm a bug-in kinda' guy too, Tex, and wouldn't plan on going anywhere. But in the event that some unforeseen force said "bug out", I keep what I would need in one of those big plastic bins, staged in the garage. Just heave it into the Grand Cherokee and go.