Rome wasn’t built in a day.

We have all probably heard this at one time or another. When planning for emergencies this is a good saying to remember. Planning will not be done in a day. I was just personally reminded of this earlier in the week.

Out here in California we had a recent warning put out about an increased risk of a major earthquake. Of course earthquakes are kind of normal out here but to have authorities put out a warning is very far from normal. In response to the warning the ‘Boss’ asked me about her Get Home Back while telling me the warning concerned her. With the mission given I went and started to go through her bag. Here is where the saying comes into play.  

Several months or more have gone by since I looked at her bag or mine for that matter. Looking through the bag along with talking to her, I realized the bag was no longer filling the need the bag was originally put together for.  Our situation has changed, such is life, and I have fallen behind on our preparedness! Quickly I found myself reminded there are no one time, fix all answers to emergency preparedness.

Which brings me back to the point of this post.

Little things matter, little things put together make for big things and build a solid plan for responding to emergencies. The extra cup-of-soup you pick up adds to the other items you have bought and increases your food preparedness. Checking the batteries in the flashlight in the drawer means the light will work when you need it. Reviewing, altering and adjusting what you think is already taken care of might allow you to change things as your situation changes. All of these building blocks lead to the building of Rome!

Do not get overwhelmed by your effort to be prepared. Build your plan one brick at a time. Take time to review what you have done to ensure each brick still fits. Adjust as needed. Before you know it you will be living in a fine Roman city!!!

As Always,

Stay Safe!!   

Planning #3 - How to Cook?

Now that we have sat down and started to think about planning a bit more let's take a trip into the rabbit hole. Grab your government suggested list, coffee and find your favorite place to sit. Think about the situation we have been using for this example, the 'Big One' hits Southern California or whatever the greatest threat to your family is in your area.

Your prior planning has worked out so far and after a few hours of being scared your entire family has made it home and are safe. Why, because everyone already knew the plan was to go home and met there. Your home is standing and you will be able to shelter inside for the duration of this emergency. You look at the stuff you put away for just such an incident and feel good about what you did. Now it is time to make a meal, sit around the dinner table and be thankful everyone is safe. Going to the cupboard you grab a couple cans of chili, some cornbread mix, along with some onions and other vegetables to add to the chili from the fridge.

Taking a can over to the can opener you find yourself confused for a moment or two...... You put the can in the opener correctly? You pushed the handle down correctly? Why won't the can opener work? Of course one of the kids sees you doing this and pops off with "There's no power, duh!" Searching through the drawers you realize you have three wine bottle openers but no manual can opener!!!!!

"MY KINGDOM FOR A CAN OPENER!!"

You can have a pantry full of cans, enough for a year or two but forgetting just one thing can make them almost useless! We relay so much on electricity every day some of us might not have any idea how to function without it. For some of us "older and wiser" folks we remember the way back days...... before the internet....... before cell phones....... but see if you kids can operate a can opener.

Of course you panic looking for some way to open the cans..... until your better half hands you the can opener. Ok, this obstacle has been overcome!!!!

Going to the stove you turn the knob and nothing happens. No clicking, no gas sound, no gas smell? It takes you a moment to realize your home might be alright after the incident but the gas you use to cook comes from somewhere else! Now you have a pot full of chili, with the added parts you put in to make it special and no flame to heat it on.................. "OK NO BIG DEAL!" you tell yourself as you go to fire up your BBQ.

And down the hole we go........... Do you have charcoal? Do you have enough for three meals a day, for at least three days? Maybe you have a hiking stove? Do you have enough fuel to cook for the whole family for three days at the least? Do you have pots and pans you can put on an open flame, you know without the plastic handles which will melt?

You don't have another way to cook?!?!?!?!?!?!? OK........ Maybe you do not BBQ, go camping or do anything where you would have a readily accessible alternative way to cook with no power or gas. You need to find one! Without a safe way to heat up food or boil water if you had to the next few days are going to be long....... Even if you live in an apartment there are small grills you can buy for BBQing.

When you buy one you can get one which runs off of gas like the one in this picture. Just remember gas runs out. If you can find one which you can utilize by burning stuff. Briquets are good and most of these types you can burn wood in if you had to. Besides everyone should have a BBQ! Everyone can have an enjoyable time with friends and a BBQ. You also can get practice using your alternative cook system, always training! Even if you are the only one who knows you are training.

Were good now and your cooking with fire!!! You put the chili on the BBQ and go to figure out how to cook the corn bread.................. The oven doesn't work......... For most of us this means no cornbread to go with the chili. If you have a Dutch Oven and are cooking on briquets your in business!!! Of course now is not the time to try and figure out how to cook cornbread in the Dutch Oven, Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. A few weekends spent at the BBQ will pay off now when you "need" to cook.

 Alrighty, we got the BBQ going, chili is cooking and we got the cornbread baking!! What are we going to eat on? We could use our regular plates, silverware and cups BUUUUT we would need to clean all of those after we eat and the dishwasher doesn't work! Not to mention we only have a gallon of water per person per day...... Hopeful we have some paper plates and red cups sitting around from the last time we you had people over for a BBQ or kids party???? This sure will cut down on the amount of water we have to use to clean up after eating.

Speaking of cleaning up....... Do you have any dish soap? Do you only have soap for the dish washer? This is starting to take us down the rabbit hole a bit far so let's back up a bit........

When your planning you obviously can see we need to use some forethought in the planning. Something as simple as heating up a can of chili can go off the rails because of the littlest thing. For now let's not go too far down the rabbit hole when it comes to cooking!!!!

Do you have another way to cook without power? Can you open a can? Can you heat up food? Do you have the pots to cook over an open flame? Have you practiced cooking with your alternative method? Just cover the basics for now and make sure you have the options available to look after your family if the need arises.

As Always,

Stay Safe.    

What if you knew? California earthquake

If you knew something was coming which would disrupt your life, put your family in danger and you knew it was coming what would you do? Recently the news had a story of NASA predicting an 5.0 earthquake would strike the Southern California area in the next three years with a 99.9% chance of being correct. Of course other people are coming out saying they can not make this prediction but what if they are right? What if you knew with a 99.9% chance something was coming?

For this post let's say the NASA folks are right. Let's say there will be an earthquake of 5.0 or higher in the next three years. What would that mean to those of us in Southern California? "We have earthquakes all the time and nothing really happens? They keep saying the big one is coming and nothing ever happens, why is this different and why should we care?" Odds are a 5.0 would not do much other than give you something to talk about at dinner. Here is a chart of what can be expected for different earthquakes

Earthquake Magnitude Scale

Magnitude Earthquake Effects Estimated Number
Each Year
2.5 or less Usually not felt, but can be recorded by seismograph. 900,000
2.5 to 5.4 Often felt, but only causes minor damage. 30,000
5.5 to 6.0 Slight damage to buildings and other structures. 500
6.1 to 6.9 May cause a lot of damage in very populated areas. 100
7.0 to 7.9 Major earthquake. Serious damage. 20
8.0 or greater Great earthquake. Can totally destroy communities near the epicenter. One every 5 to 10 years

Earthquake Magnitude Classes

Earthquakes are also classified in categories ranging from minor to great, depending on their magnitude.

Class Magnitude
Great 8 or more
Major 7 - 7.9
Strong 6 - 6.9
Moderate 5 - 5.9
Light 4 - 4.9
Minor 3 -3.9


Does not sound like much to worry about, 5.0 won't be the end of the world for L.A. or Southern California! Odds are it won't be but the question to start this post was what would you do if you knew it was coming? Would you take an hour of your day to make sure you have a spare pair of shoes in the car? Would you make sure you have some extra cash on you in case the stores can't use cards? Would you make sure your loved ones knew where you are and when to expect you home? Would you take an hour out of your day to make sure a minor quake is just a minor issue to you?

Even a minor quake can have a large effect on people. Sure it might not affect you but what if the aftermath does? What if the power is off at your house, even just for a day or two? What if your car is struck by failing objects, do you have insurance? What if the route you go home everyday on is blocked?

What if your house is the one on the block which is deemed uninhabitable? What if, what if, what if? Even a minor quake can have larger affects on your life than might have happened before or than what is predicted. What if you knew something could happen? Would you take a few minutes or even an hour to prepare?

News story like this one should serve as reminders. Little knocks upside the head to remind us to take a moment and do what we can to prepare ourselves for what will come. Sooner or later we are all touched by an emergency, be it a flat on the side of the road or some major natural disaster. We all need to take a moment or two to plan and utilize a few resources now to help ourselves and loved ones when something does happen. You in the future will thank the past you when the time comes.

As Always,

Stay Safe!

The Great California Shake Out 2015

It's that time again!!! This year I remembered it was today! For those of us in California did you participate?

Of course this is not just an issue for those of us in California. All across the globe folks have to deal with earthquakes. Here's a link to the program in New Zealand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a7T9Uf-JB4

Today let's take a moment and do something proactive. We all got a old pair of shoes somewhere around the house. Find the old pair of shoes and put them under your bed. Why? Because the day of the earthquake will not be during the day. The earthquake will catch you in the middle of the night and next thing you know your walking barefooted through glass and debris. Which will just make you a casualty instead of being able to help.

Even if you do not have an old pair of shoes get in the habit of leaving your shoes near your bed. That way in the middle of the night you can find them. Might not be a earthquake could just be any of a thousand other reasons you get up and for almost any emergency you do not want to be caught barefooted. Also find a flashlight, any flashlight, make sure the flashlight works and put it near your bed. The light can be in the nightstand, dresser or even in the old shoes under the bed. Just put it somewhere you can find easily. Now if something comes up you have some shoes on to protect your feet and a flashlight to see in the dark.

If you live anywhere on the above photo you should get up right now and go put a flashlight and shoes somewhere near the bed! Go do it we will wait.................................... Good now you have done something proactive and can pat yourself on the back.

Remember it is the little things in life which make the biggest difference. Stay calm realize you are along for the ride if the ground starts moving! Protect yourself the best you can during the event. Be ready to deal with the situation afterward.

As Always,

Stay Safe!

Medication

None of us are getting any younger, some of us have special needs and some of us rely on medications to keep us around. If you need medication on a daily or even a once in a while basis this is something you have to take into account when planning for emergencies. Be it an inhaler you use only once in a while or heart medication you need to take every day. Why? Because the day you are running low on medication or forgot to get a new inhaler is the day something will happen!!! (Murphy’s Law)

Some medication is easier to store then others and in rare cases you might not be able to store it at all. First thing we need to discuss is, do you really need it? What would REALLY happen if you did not have it? We all know people who take something or have some medical condition which really…… let’s just say they aren’t going to die if the condition is not addressed.

Ask your doctor if you can get extra. Tell the doctor what it is for “Doc, I am afraid if an earthquake (tornado, hurricane, insert disaster) comes I will be without my medication! What can I do?” Be honest with them, let them know you value their thoughts and honestly ask them to assist you in doing something to alleviate your concern. They can write you a prescription to have some extra medication. Heck this might even lead into a good discussion about planning for emergencies and having a doctor as a friend is almost always a good thing!!!!

Whatever you do, DO NOT cut your pills in half or some other scheme you think you will be able to pull. If you skip taking your pills or lower the dosage or whatever half brained idea you come up with, this will just cause you issues. Why? Because the doctor said to take a certain amount and now you haven’t. This means the day something bad happens will be the day you are weakened by not taking your pills and this puts you at a deficit right from the start of the emergency. Just ask your doctor.

While talking about medication and emergencies we also have to address the elephant in the room. Some of us cannot live without modern medicine. I hate to bring this up but some of us will die if we cannot stay connected to modern medicine. Of course we will try to go to any lengths to reach modern medicine but there could be situations where we cannot, people will die. If you are one of these people who are alive only because of modern medicine you have a duty to your family to try and learn what was done for people with your condition before electricity. In a lot of cases people lived long and happy lives before what we would call ‘modern medicine’. If there are treatments for your issue learn them now! Ask your doctor what used to be done. You have an obligation to your family and loved ones to learn now what could keep you alive later.

Ask your doctor, see if the can help you. Have some extra medicine on hand. Say a weeks’ worth or even a months’ worth. Just enough in case the "big one" does hit or your home suddenly becomes an island. Remember in emergency situations you are responsible for you………..

As Always,
Stay Safe!!!

Reality of a bug out bag, #2

When discussing bugging out we need to stay clear of thinking we have the knowledge, tools or physically ability to stroll out into the woods and make a new world. We also need to think in terms of reality. Reality is the world does not become a Mad Max wasteland instantly. For most of us the need to bug out comes from a local emergency such as a tornado, flood, storm or wild fire. Even if one region is involved in the emergency other areas will be unaffected.

Yet even a situation like these might lead us to circumstances where we have to abandon our vehicle or do not have time to pack everything we can. Maybe the situation has come upon us so quickly we can only grab a few items and run. Flood waters rising, chemical cloud drifting toward you or a wildfire is advancing toward your home. What can we do ahead of time to assist our family in the moments or days ahead?

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Before we grab what we can and load up we need to figure out one very important thing, the most important thing. Where are you going?

Without a destination you cannot prepare. We have to know the goal, we have to give ourselves a destination and we cannot simply pack our car up to drive in some random direction. This is for obvious reasons, one not really thought about is a destination gives you a goal, gives you an ending to the journey and gives you something to focus on when confronted with despair or obstacles. If the group you are with or if you find yourself alone a goal, destination, will allow you to focus your efforts. This focus could mean the difference between life and death for you and your family.

Having a destination allows us to plan on how much we have to pack. We need to have a destination outside of the affected area. This might be Grandma’s house or a friend in another city, this location needs to be far enough away to actually be somewhere we can find refuge from the emergency. Odds are this means the worst case is we walk for a day or more? What do we really NEED to make this journey?

Imagine grabbing what you need in less than five minutes, putting it on your back and walking toward your safe location. Put your children into the scenario, your ailing parents………….

We need a bag we sling onto our backs as a last resort! Having a bag and nothing more needs to be our last resort. Even if we are fleeing with only a few minutes notice we need give ourselves tools to survive.

The first of these tools is identification. We need to be able to prove who we are. Even if we end up in a refugee camp having identification will allow us prove who we are and allow us to enter faster than those who have none. Our bag needs to pre-packed with copies of identification. This can be a copy of your current driver’s licenses with maybe an old one. Copies of birth certificates, passports or any other valid form of identification but please DO NOT keep the originals in a bag!! Keep them locked up!!

Water, we need a way to carry it and a way to purify any we find. There is no way we can carry in a bag enough water for a walk of several days. One gallon of water weights seven pounds!!! A suggestion would be a light weight hiking filter system.

Food, for simplicity one MRE has enough calories to keep you alive for one day. There are other options but these come pre-packaged with everything, including a spoon.

Shelter, pack at least one set of clothes. Complete with underwear and socks. If you are able and have the room in the bag pack more than one pair of socks. There is nothing better than putting on a clean pair of socks after hiking all day. Add a jacket and a hat to the bag. Our basic shelter comes from utilizing layering to keep us warm. Put an emergency blanket into the bag, the silver reflexing type. These are good no matter what, in most cases you get what you pay for and a good suggestion is to spend more than a dollar or two on these if you can. The higher priced ones are usually made to be used more than once. A tarp or even garbage bags can be used to make shelter and are excellent at just putting something between yourself and the rain. All of the items you pack for shelter need to be appropriate to the climate you live in. If you live in Minnesota your shelter needs are going to be different than someone who lives in Arizona.

Hygiene, pack a toothbrush and other items, do you absolutely need them? No, but it really helps with morale. You can go much longer without a shower or even brushing your teeth than most think they can. TOILET PAPER, is an absolute must!!!! You have to pack at least one roll per person!!! Ladies or fellas packing for ladies, pack items for that time of the month. Because odds are something bad will happen during that time period!!! You can pick up a lot of these items at the dollar store or any of the big box type stores for cheap. Pick up foot powder, fresh socks and foot powder will make you feel human again after walking all day!!!!

Tools, this is an issue of weight. A knife, good solid tang construction, nothing too fancy and something you won’t feel bad hitting with a hammer is the first thing you should pack for this category. With a good knife you can solve many of life’s issues. Fire starting kit with at least three different ways of starting a fire is a good suggestion. Again, with fire you can solve many of life’s issues!! Para-cord, with this you can build shelter, secure equipment and a host of other things. Just do not try and take a tool for everything you think might come up. Keep tools to multi use items, a multi-tool would fit this bill.

Medication or other special needs have to be planned for and packed for. If someone is allergic to bees they need to pre-pack a bee sting kit or medication they will need. This way they do not end up in a situation without what they need. Same goes for any other person requiring medication on a daily basis or with any issue which might require medication. If you have asthma ensure you pack an inhaler!!! Someone needs catheters; make sure they have some pre-packed. Everyone’s situation is different and you need to take your special needs into account.

A bug out bag should remain your last option! This last option should only be put into play once all your other options have been exhausted or cannot be used. This should be incorporated into your planning and thought of as part of a complete plan and not just your “plan”!!! Sure we could add to this bag, remember this is our last ditch item, we need to move and we need to pack only what we can carry.

As Always,

Stay Safe!

Reality of a bug out bag

The reality of the famous “BUG OUT BAG”!!!! The internet, books and the guy your friend knows, who is a ‘prepper’ will tell you the absolute need you have for a…….. wait for it…….. “BUUUUUG OUT BAAAAAG”!!!!!!!

Let’s start with what the purpose of the bag is. This bag is designed to be carried when you have to walk away from everything, your house, your car, your bicycle or anything else which would be better than carrying everything in a bag. You have to be in a situation where you are leaving it all behind and surviving off of what you can carry on your back!!!

Can there be a situation in which you have to pack a bag and run into the hills? Yes, civil war, electric magnetic pulse, nuclear war and a host of other issues at the far end of the spectrum of possibilities. This means we should plan for the possibility because there is a chance of any one of these situations happening and each of them could happen……. Now!

What we want to do is realize in reality most of us are not physically able to carry everything we would need on our backs to survive FOREVER in the frozen, apocalyptic, zombie ruled wasteland! A pack to even think about doing this with is going to weight far more than most of us can carry, say 100 pounds easily. Think about it, you would have to carry water, food, shelter, clothing, fire starter equipment, cooking equipment, lights, medical supplies, communication equipment, batteries for the equipment, cutting tools, firearms, ammunition, fishing equipment, snares and, and, and…………..

The weight quickly adds up and every bit of the weight makes a difference. More stuff equals more weight, more weight causes less speed and takes a toll of your body quickly. Our own personal physical fitness needs to be taken into account during our planning. If you have not seen your feet in over a year, you are not going to go very far with a 100 pound pack!!! Period, end of story and I do not want to hear about how you’re sure you can really do it!!!!! Even if you are the palates doing, vegan who runs marathons twice a year, you are not ready to physically carry the weight you would need to carry in an all-inclusive bug out to the hills for the duration bug out bag! Should you doubt this, put a couple sandbags, full of sand, in a pack and go for a ten mile hike.

Having a bag with items to help you make it 72 to 96 hours is a good idea. These can be stashed in the closet or garage and pulled out when a storm is coming or a wild fire threatens your home. These types of bags should work with other items and not be the sole item or plan you have for evacuation. Think of these bags as more of a step up from your Get Home Bag. Combined with your Every Day Carry items, maybe a Bail Out Bag and your Get Home Bag this type of bag allows you to survive a few more days. Instead of packing a backpack to carry everything you need we need to see what we have on hand which would assist us if we did have a situation where we had to leave our home or bug out.

First let’s think about our cars. Most situations we face the odds are we will be able to use our vehicles to move equipment and people. Major storm heading your way, forest fire or maybe a chemical spill are situations where we would have to ‘Bug Out’. In each of these situations we have to take everything we need to set up housekeeping somewhere else as we live like a refugee for an unknown period of time. The vehicle or vehicles allow us to pack more than we could ever strap to our backs and walk with. Of course we have to only take what we “need” when we pack out.

If you have never had decide what goes and what stays this can be an almost paralyzing decision. This type of situation, bugging out, is where prior planning is the key. You need to have items pre-packed or have the ability to quickly pack them. Items such as your identification, insurance papers, and other items to prove who you are and contact information for family and friends. Clothing, bedding and toys for the kids if you have children in your household. You need food with a way to transport it, a cooler or a couple of ice chest. Any medications you or someone in the house needs. All of these things come first before you even start to worry about pictures, your favorite plant or Aunt Betty’s diary from the 1800’s.

Vehicles should be our first choice to move or ‘Bug out’ with. Next you should think about other means of transporting you and the family. If you have them for the family bicycles are better than walking! Of course you cannot haul as much stuff on bicycles as you can in a car but you can move faster than walking. Adding trailers to the bikes slows you down but allows you to take more with you.

Strollers, wagons, gardening carts and even grocery carts need to be utilized before we resort to carrying everything on our backs. If you have children than you have strollers, when we purchase items such as strollers or wagons in the back of our minds we should be taking into account if we could use these items in an emergency. There is a slim chance we would yet buying the right item could help us greatly later! If you do not have children in your household you could still buy a gardening cart and the right one could come in handy during an emergency. Grandchildren give us a reason to have a stroller or a wagon sitting in the garage.

Thinking of bugging out should not revolve around a backpack with hundreds of dollars’ worth of equipment packed into the bag. “Bugging Out” should be thought of as a worst case scenario and planned with reality at the forefront. Should you have to leave; realistically plan by incorporating everything at your disposal, cars, bicycles, wagons, strollers and even a few liberated shopping carts if need be in to the plan. The last thing you want to do is plan for the fantasy of putting packs on to your family and strolling away from the area only to find out your children can not carry their share, your better half is on crutches that month and you really are not in the physical shape you lied and told yourself you were in……………………

With this in mind, take a moment and consider what you would have to do if you did have to leave your home in the next hour! What would you take? How would you transport it? What is a priority? Where would you go? Then make a list! Make a list of everything you would need, locate these items to make sure you know where they are and over the next few days see what you can preposition or prepack in case you did have to go. Do these things now when there is no pressure instead of adding to the stress of making these decisions when the clock is ticking!!!!! Prior Planning, Prevents Poor Performance.

As Always,

Stay Safe

Get Home Bag

Our first priority when something happens is to get out of immediate danger. Right after that, get back to our loved ones. Maybe this means we get ahold of them on the phone and we know everyone is safe and sound? This should be enough for most situations and what we carry on us every day can handle these situations. For those situations when this might not be enough we should have a plan and some resources to accomplish our mission; get ‘in home.

The subject of this post is building a Get Home Bag, the third ‘tier’ or link in our emergency planning. As stated before each bag or set of equipment you put together needs to be tailored to the task and purpose built. Not everyone is in the same situation or faces the same issues. Each of us has to tailor our equipment to our own needs and abilities. If you have a medical condition this needs to be taken into account when putting items together. Of great importance is your physical condition.

You can have the most complete, everything you could ever want included and expensive pack ever made……………… but if you cannot carry the pack a hundred yards you have collected a lot of equipment for someone else to use!!!!

The bag in the photos is the one keep stashed in my truck. It is purpose built to my needs and abilities. For me the average distance I might have to walk home, in worst case scenario, is 66.1 or 66.7 miles depending on which mapping system I use to check the distance. First thing you might notice is my bag does not have everything you could possible need in it and you would be right! My bag has room to add things and somethings I might take out if I felt no need for them. The point is I have the items on hand to use should something come up. I also plan on incorporating my Every Day Carry (EDC), Bail Out Bag (BOB), other items in my truck and anything around me to help me get home. For me the odds of driving through the Sahara Desert, Alaskan tundra, Detroit or some other area void of resources is slim. Again bags need to be tailored to the environment you most likely will find yourself in.

Not everything I plan on using lives inside the bag. There is just not enough room inside the bag. This is how the items live in the turck. I do not want someone to look into the truck and see a fully packed bag with pouches and attachments all over the place. Instead this stuff looks like a bunch of "stuff" just sitting in the back.

Remember worst case you have to walk home during an emergency. A pair of broken in boots is the best choice for footwear. Keeping them on the outside yet attached to the bag saves space on the inside of the bag for other items and makes sure they are there if you pull the bag out!The waterproof bag contains extra clothing and items to use if the weather is cold. Remember the bag is tailored to the area, heavy winter items are not usually needed to deal with the weather here. The rolled up bedroll can easily be strapped to the bag and also works to cover up young ones when they fall asleep in the truck on long drives. Adding this to a “ranger roll” is living the high life for an old grunt!

These next items cover emergency medical issues, water filtration, fire starting, knowledge and you can never have enough hand sanitizer!! The medical kit would be strapped on to the outside of the bag and can handle simple cuts to gunshot wounds. There is a water filter straw, with the directions attached and some iodine, with directions written on it. I try to leave directions with items because you never know who you might be with during an emergency. Sure you know how to use the equipment but does your better half or the girl from the office you are walking home with? The SAS survival book is also included because there really is no way to know everything unless all you do is training for emergencies and survival every day!!!

The next group of items covers medication, sanitation, extra lighting and some food issues. Hard candy is a great thing to have with you. It gives you the sugar rush and can calm upset children. A can opener is a must! Last thing you want is to have a can of food and no way to open it!!!

Next come another medical bag which contains items for blisters, sprains and other injuries like these. Not life threatening but things you need to address to keep moving. A pair of binoculars, something not everyone needs, this is a item I choose to carry. Cooking gear; small stove which does not require gas, some pots, inside of which is some food items. The last item is a pack cover/rain cover I can put over the entire pack. Why? Because if it is raining I want my stuff to stay dry and I also want to conceal the ‘military’ look of the bag if need be.

I choice this bag for the way it can open up and lay flat as you can see by this photo. Very easy to get to what you want when a bag opens like this. Included in this picture is a pair of gloves and a N-95 mask. Essential if you are in an emergency with rubble and dust. The mask is also good for biological, flu, situations. There is also a plastic water bottle with duct tape and para cord wrapped around the bottle. Neat trick I picked up and not my own idea!!! You can also see several MRE's, poncho and poncho liner.

Last picture shows several water purification systems, roll of duct tape and some garbage bags. I do not plan on carrying a lot of water on me so I have to be able to make what I find safe to drink. Again this is fitting the bag to you!

The key to this bag is to have resources on hand I can use should something happen. Do not over load yourself! I plan on moving quickly and a heavy bag filled with everything for any situation would just slow me down. Once you pack a bag take a walk with it. Try walking two or more miles with all your equipment. Be honest with yourself and see if you could really carry what you have packed. If you can not........ adjust the gear and/or work on your physical abilities. Remember the bag is to help you get home not run into the woods and live for the next twenty years!!!

As Always,

Be Safe!!!

Bail Out Bag (BOB)

“Bail Out Bag, what in the world is that?” I can hear the question being asked as you read the title of the post, this is term most folks might have never heard of before. In a nut shell this is what you grab if you have to get out of your vehicle quickly and might not be able to immediately return to the vehicle. Ideally this bag would have inside of it items to support yourself for a short amount of time if you suddenly had to bail out of your vehicle.

For all of the ladies out there you have a giant head start on the men. Almost everything you would need in a BOB you carry in your purse. Well if you carry one of those big purses. Men this is stuff we might have in the car or truck but odds are it is spread out throughout the vehicle and there is no way for us to gather all of these items and bail out quickly. We want to be able to grab the bag and maybe one or two other items very quickly and leave the vehicle.

Bailing out of the truck or other vehicle is something I have had to do a few times. Most of these incidents were after car wrecks on the freeway. Think of what you would need if your car broke down in the middle of the road and you needed to get away from it with no ability to us any items or supplies you might have in the vehicle. Any bag you put together needs to be customized to you, your surroundings and give you flexibility to deal with fluid situations. The bag in this blog is customized to me and my daily situation. Does it cover every situation you could face? No and it is not designed or meant to do this. This bag gives me tools to work with when something happens and operates as my EVERYDAY BAG.

Just a plain bag, nothing which scream 'TACTICAL' or 'ZOMBIE HUNTER'. The idea is to just blend in when the need to arises which means having a bag you can go anywhere with without drawing to much attention. I live near the coast and the bag is a 'surfer' bag. Nothing which looks out of place in my area I spend most of my time. (By the way, I cannot surf to save my life!) Also from a distance the bag looks just like any other book bag and I try to keep it this way. This allows me to bring the bag with me everywhere I go and not attract unwanted attention. If I covered the bag with motivation patches or stickers I would stick out like a sore thumb. I also fly with this bag and only have to alter what the bag is carrying slightly to make it through security at the airport. Remember customize the bag to your environment, needs and the task at hand.

In one of the outside pockets I carry my wallet when it is not on my person. This way it is not sitting in the center console when I have to get out of the truck. Along with the wallet is another form of Identification and a few other items of I.D. I do not want pictures of on the internet, work stuff. Inside the ziplock is address and directions to the in-laws house and a few others items.

Next pocket holds some emergency medical stuff and a spare knife incase I do not have my normal EDC knife on me at the time. The knife in the photo used to be the my everyday knife.

The upper outside pocket, which is lined with fleece, holds my sunglasses. Also inside the pocket are a paracord bracelet and some extra money. A lighter also lives in the ziplock.

Several of the other outside pockets are empty but a GPS and a way to power my electronic devices live in two of the pockets.

A solar charging system (which I highly recommend) and a few extra items live in one inner pocket.

The main compartment holds items I use all the time and some which are kept there just for emergencies.Rain gear and gear to stay warm take up the most room. The weather out here rarely gets colder than what I handle with a jacket, gloves and a watch cap. Some of the other items are medicine tailored to me, rain pants, hat, back up flashlight, cordage and a Life Straw. My favorite nut mix and some dried fruit is hiding in the bag somewhere also. There are a few other items which come and go depending on what I have planned that day.

I live in an urban/suburban area and my bag reflexes this. There is no need for me to carry fishing gear, hunting gear or a complete armory. Short of the apocalypse there are stores, hotels and restaurants all along the routes I travel on a regular basis. Also I need to keep the bag light, to combine with and enhance my everyday carry items I keep on me. There are other versions or concepts of Bail Out Bags, each designed to the situation those folks are faced with.

As Always,

Stay Safe!!!!