I don't have a bag, but I have the things mentioned above, plus guns and ammo, meds, toilet paper, bags of lime for the outhouse that I can make in a few minutes, coffee and tea, salt and bouillon, dried and canned milk, tomatoes canned in glass jars, vitamins, and this is just a partial list.
A bar of ivory soap. Wash yourself , wash your dishes and your clothes. In bar form so no spills.
That said water is the most important thing. But tablets are hard on people over 40. So a good filter might be best. A life straw with coffee filters to cover the end and Dave the filter maybe. Maybe a pot to boil water as back up . Use it to cook in too. Food you can eat on the run with no fire. Protein bars , jerky etc. If you bug out you might need to get distance and not be seen.
i'll go with you on the clean potable water.
it's something you can't just up and make in the woods.
i'd have to pick first aid for my second most important.
i know one can go around and gather medicinals and herbs
and such, but when you need them is when you're in the
least shape to spend precious minutes or hours or days looking
for them. you need them right now. BTDT.
as far as cutlery, i'm never without it and feel nekked if i
don't have a couple on my person
I agree and as far as knives go I don’t think about them because it’s as natural as taking my next breath. Others don’t always have one and it’s a good point to bring up. Also I don’t carry one big enough to take down saplings quickly so the large heavy Bowie is going in the pack.
i'll go with you on the clean potable water.
it's something you can't just up and make in the woods.
i'd have to pick first aid for my second most important.
i know one can go around and gather medicinals and herbs
and such, but when you need them is when you're in the
least shape to spend precious minutes or hours or days looking
for them. you need them right now. BTDT.
as far as cutlery, i'm never without it and feel nekked if i
don't have a couple on my person
not a bad idea if you're on a leisurely camping trip.
i carry dish soap and body soap on those occasions.
if you're trying to E&E then there won't be any time
for bathing and setting up an elaborate camp.
i habitually carry a small container of hand sanitizer
with me pretty much everywhere i go.
in this region, there are too many people with extremely
poor personal hygiene habits.
and the sanitizer makes for a good fire starter
One thing I do, but don't hear much about it from others is: I have a fairly large well stocked GHB. In the GHB I have a smaller bag/pack. Depending on the situation and need I can repack just what I need in the smaller lighter Pack. Just allows for more options. I don't need to carry a 35 pound pack when 15 pounds will do.
Most of Florida is sand land. So as a kid I scrubbed my cook pot clean with sand and lake or river water. Of course now days you can’t drink the water without treating anymore.
The only time I actually was stranded in the wilderness I got by with my pocket knife and matches. Amazling enough food was found in float tubes along the river to get by. And I borrowed a few canned goods from a cabin along the way. Left a note & enough money for the food I took.
Seems like the knife is top of the list. Way to make fire second which can be accomplished with a good knife. Also a knife used strategically can get you anything... Thanks guys.
as it should be. i can't think of a more important tool to have than a
good knife. the crappiest knife on your person is way better than the
best substitute that you could rig up in the bush.
A solid cutting tool and at least one reliable firestarter are my MAIN two items in every kit, including my pockets as EDC. With just those two tools, survival is easier, as they provide essential needs, beyond that everything is a bonus.
.
I don't want to throw water on anyone's campfire..but I hope I am viewing the situation in a rational way. There are many ways that the S can HTF... Monetary collapse, plagues or wars..etc.
Generally one should avoid the take-to-the-woods scenario. Why? Simply because it would be very difficult for modern man to exist in that way, when it may not be necessary.
A) Depending when and how such a collapse would come, some, especially city dwellers, may have to "shelter in place", until the fighting in the streets is over.. then evacuate as soon as possible thereafter..to avoid the coming diseases.
B) It seems most have the idea that it would be easy to hang out in the woods for months at a time. Speaking for my area, just surviving in an unobtrusive manner would be extremely difficult. Spring, summer & fall may not be too bad..but then comes the winter..it was about 3 years ago, when we had some time that the mercury hit 25 to 35 degrees below F..
I don't know about you, but this old man could not hack too many days like that in in a teepee made of hemlock boughs..especially in sub zero weather.
Then too, many figure that for subsistence, they can hunt for food...but "man does not live on meat alone".. what will you do for plant nutrition? The old sailing ships had plenty of salt pork..but the crews died of scurvy just the same, until limes and sauerkraut were discovered to be beneficial...
There is no backwoods store where these things could be obtained.
C) Money would be useless in most cases, except possibly for fire starting, but things like .22 cartridges would be a form of currency.
Many of us need pharmaceuticals...some would be facing serious problems within days... but that is a different discussion.
Personally I would probably survive a couple years without same...but not out in the woods in sub zero weather.
Tropical areas would have their own problems..the coming disease would spread more rapidly than up north !
Out in the woods..alone or with a partner or two..would invite marauders... How can anybody maintain a 24/7 guard duty and still forage for food, if there are only 2 to 4 of you?
>>>> The answer, as I see it..community ! Set up a fortress situation..with some type of walls..made from trucks, buses or any other blockage material ..gather all the survival material you can get and stow it away..
If necessary you can dig or drive a well, catch rainwater etc. If the fortress is large enough there cold be a garden etc.
Depending upon the neighborhood, there may be wells included in the fortress.
When marauding groups come out of the cities..they will likely pass up "hardened" enclaves..and seek softer targets ..such as some who are trying to 'go it alone'..
Where I live there are no doctors..but we do have a couple vets and some nurses..
ill let the rest accumulate food, water, gold ect. Me ill be the one with ar15s and a bunch of ammo to take it away from you. I do have some food and a well with a generator to run it. So you will have a week or so to get ready for me.:tango_face_wink: My guess is youll want me for a friend and I could even get plenty of food trading for my ammo. Gold? Silver? S really HTF and it wont even make good bullets. Cash? Might be a bit better. At least it could be used to start fires:tango_face_smile_bi
And while you're out there trying to "maraud", some kid with a single shot .22 will put one between your eyes as you walk up on his hiding spot. Even with your AR15 and 30 round mags.
most don't even have a box of 22s laying around. Theyd have to barter with me to get them. Do you think your going to be safer the me walking around outside if everyone knows you have food? Hungry kid could even possibly beat me to your house. Up here theres no hiding spots anyway. Half the year your going to be marked by wood smoke. To cold to live in the woods. Its suppose to be 12 below zero this morning. Any one that "bugged out" would be a popsicle for the wolves and bears.
Bottom line too is it isnt me that's going to be me coming to your house. Im to old for that crap. It will be young people I would arm and share that food with that would come knocking. Like ironglow said the woods is a phantasy option as is bugging out for most. Bug out bag?? I don't even have one. Closest thing is ammo cans full of ammo for various guns ready to grab. Probably enough food to last just us 6 months. But I putting a couple meals in a bag and heading out into the woods like grizzly adams. That's walter middy crap right there.
The natives in Alaska live in colder temperatures than Michigan and thrive. It’s all in knowing how.
Granted not many folks have the knowledge to live there. But they can learn how to dress for survival in the arctic and how to hunt, and harvest wild editable foods in there season.
The tribe I lived with taught their kids at school survival classes and then took the kids to the field to practice. They learned what to eat and drink and plants to use for medicine. I watched the classes learning how to put on a survival suit in the water every year before fishing season.
Anything that is hard or very difficult to make yourself. Water purification was at the top of my list, have it covered several ways now.
Most recent purchases, Duct tape, Paracord, bank line, Asorbic Acid (Vit C in powder form) Baking Soda.
I make my own soap from scratch, have for years. That includes laundry soap.
Our medical kit grew until it needed a bigger bag, then continued to grow until it split. Basic tools, clamps, forceps, scapel, stethoscope. Bandages, gauze, many tubes of neosporin/triple antibiotic.
In short, anything that could be hard to come by, make, or trade for.
I have always used the term "circle the wagons". There is power in numbers and if two heads are better than one then a community of diversified talent all with the same goal could survive. The pioneers did it and we could too. Egos would be the first thing that would have to go leaving a bunch of humble people willing to work to survive while having each others backs. Natural leaders would rise to the top and it would work itself out for as long as it took. There would certainly be hardships along the way but it could work! it did once in the history of this country and it could again.
I heard a guy say a while back that in a SHTF situation he and his buddies would just hunt and fish for food. Well there are 50,000 people in this rural county and 5,000 deer(just a guess). Those deer would get thinned out in a hurry. The number one thing would be generating your own food source.
Someone mentioned fire starters and knives. I smiled when I read that as I have a case of 12 fire starters and a box of 10 brand new Camillus knives and 5 of their knife sharpeners stashed. Why? Because the price was right and they make good Christmas presents......however I have had them for 10 years and haven't wrapped one of them up yet.....I'm a hoarder I guess.
this isn't aimed at you gpa.
yup we have game up here. Matter of fact the area is known for it. Lots of guys that would be out killing it too. As it is the dnr has bag limits to keep the populations steady. Can you imagine if EVERYONE had to live off of it. Youd not only have the old hunters but everyone that could find a gun wandering around trying to shoot supper. IF you lived though all the idiots shooting at everything moving within a couple months there would be no game left. I chuckle at people that think there going to live off the land. Deer gives you about 40 lbs of meat. If that's all you have a family of 3 or 4 is going to eat that in a week or two. Now figure every family in your area needs 2 deer a month just to exist. How long do you really think your going to survive off of wild meat. Sure people did it in the 1800s but there was probably a 1/10 of the population we have now. Some of you have pretty vivid imaginations. You really think your 60-70 year old worn out bod and your VERY limited survival skills will keep you alive when its below zero or heck even if its 70 degrees and you have to compete for food??? I always tell everyone. If Russia sends some nukes I hope the first one lands square on my head!
My theory is within 6 months in a real survival situation 3/4s of the people will be dead. So if a guy has enough food to make it that long and enough ammo and guns and a few friends to team up with after the 6 months you can go look for whats been left behind, or trade for it or take it if necessary. I can guarantee you one thing. By then gold will be worthless. Guns ammo food and water will be the currency. Youd best have LOTS of at least one of them. Guarantee you that LOTS isn't fitting in a bug out bag. Bugout?? WHY?? I have enough food for 6 months, a propane hog that my generator is hooked up to so I can put water out of my deep well, wood stove to heat the house and more guns and ammo that probably any 10 of the best armed people in my county. Deer in my back yard and 300 yards away is lake superior to catch fish. I live were the bug outers will be BUGGING OUT TO! Do me a favor though. If you bug out brings some extra food:tango_face_smile_bi Most important thing aint in any bag. Its between your ears.
Well, TEOTWAWKI will not provide safe foraging in the woods, or shopping areas.
The lions, and tigers of humanity will be roaming in prides preying on the sheeple.
Armed WALLS will be required, and the news of ones "well supplied compound" will spread quickly, making it a much desired conquest.
So everyone will quickly get to know their "good neighbors" if their smart.
Precisely Dee ! Survival can only be accomplished as a community effort.. Right now (10:45 PM), as I sit here typing this post, I look up at the indoor/outdoor thermometer is
reading a cool, - 12.6 F...and dropping rapidly! I don't know about most of you guys, but this old man wouldn't last long out in the woods, huddled under a bunch of hemlock boughs,
especially since the snow is just as cold and about 2 feet deep ! It will probably be at least, a minus 20 by morning... maybe more.
Even if I could survive through the night somehow...I would play h--l being any good at fighting off a group of those lions and tigers.. Sorry, but I must be a realist !
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