bug out bag contents advice needed

Having ingested heaps of garden hose water as a kid I've got one of these, no need to worry about water given the amount of commercial/municipal buildings in my AO.
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Push comes to shove, I'll boil water if needed.

My real problem is if something really shitty happened work is 32+ miles away which means I'd prefer to do most of my traveling at night, which means NV/thermal(preferably) that I don't currently own.
 
Actually, in all seriousness, as bizarre as it sounds, a small jar of vaseline and some cotton balls can serve as a medical salve, as well as a fire starter.
I'm what people in the backpacking world call a weight weenie. A jar of vaseline sounds horrible. But a few foil pouches of vaseline is just about perfect. Great idea.
 
For my Run to Home bag I have a polymer type 3A Level Ballistic plate. It is very light weight and I hope to show trouble makers nothing but elbows and a$$H0le as I head for the wood line.


Saw some good suggestions, time to add some minor upgrades to my pack.
TJR - I'm not saying this describes you.

But how many people with tactical crap in their get home bag would die of a heart attack if htey ever actually had to walk more than a mile or 2 with any weight on their back??

I mention this because after mindset, fitness is the next most important tool/weapon. I realized this a few years ago when I was tired of being fat and weak and decided to get in shape. One thing I do is whenever I have to walk anywhere I carry a small backpack with anywhere from 20 to 40 lbs of lead in it. Humping 45 lbs of backpack without a waist belt is a great workout. And it actually builds a fitness that may come in handy sometime. The great thing about lead as a weight is it doesn't take up much space in the pack, so I can actually put stuff I need in it. It also lets you turn a casual walk into a real workout.

My attitude is that by building a very light actual pack with things that I need. (weight weenie) and training to carry heavy, I will be able to move faster and/or farther than I otherwise would if I had a standard weight pack and/or were untrained. When I put on my actual get home pack at 6 lbs plus water, it feels like nothing.

p.s. I'm in my 50s, only 5'8" and not particularly athletic. Its just a moderate amount of work and discipline.
 
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Sorry, I can't resist educating you neophytes!

In my bug out bag I'll have:
...
strangelove-7.jpg


Actually, in all seriousness, as bizarre as it sounds, a small jar of vaseline and some cotton balls can serve as a medical salve, as well as a fire starter.
There's a thread for that.

Warm Vaseline in a vessel about one third to one half full on stove in pan of water on low. When fully liquid add cotton balls until vessel is full.
Emphasis on "in a pan of water".

My 7th grade buddy's grandmother gave him a candle kit for Christmas.
He got that wax melting at her house,
but blew off the double-boiler water bath part...

It exploded on the stove.

She had a literal heart attack. [shocked]


I had my oil changed & tires rotated a few weeks ago, guy told me they had to search for the lug key which I leave in the glove box.
My last car the dealership threw on a set of these stupid things,
"for the anti-theftiness".
0001650_wheel-locks-and-key-set-oem-new-locking-lugnuts-locking-lug-nuts-3000gtstealth.jpeg

One time (at Maynard and Lesieur?),
I neglected to give them the sekrit keyed socket.
Rather than disturbing me in the waiting alcove,
they just tore apart the car until they found it,
and left the socket in the cup holder when they were done.
I was all like, "OMG, I'm sorry I didn't give you that".
They were all like, "no sweat".

I asked some Sales/Service Advisor, "how do you like those things?".
He sez, "the crappy socket usually rips apart around the third use".[shocked]
Next time I gave them the original lug nuts,
and said, "give me the locking nuts".
They're still in my garage.
Ain't nobody got time for that.

Having ingested heaps of garden hose water as a kid I've got one of these, no need to worry about water given the amount of commercial/municipal buildings in my AO.
View attachment 440806
See also this thread.

Humping 45 lbs of backpack without a waist belt is a great workout.
Fail.
Epic Fail.

A hip belt is not a fashion accessory.

As a long-lost article in Outdoors stated,
one of the modern day learnings is that
human shoulders are not made for weight-bearing,
but human hips are perfectly suited for it.

I favor Mountainsmith packs,
which have so many flapping adjustment straps
that you look like a shoggoth hiking along the trail.

The way you put a pack on is to loosen everything,
shrug it on,
tighten the hip belt,
bounce it up and down again and re-tighten the belt,
and only then do the shoulders,
and then the shoulder pitch adjustments and other crapola.

Because a great fraction of the pack's weight
should be born by your pelvic girdle -
not your frigging shoulders.


With my luck you'll now tell me that
your day job is general manager of an REI store or something,
and I'm full of it.

But you've heard my story and I'm sticking with it.


Oh look.
Everything old is new again.
They recycled the article.

AMC Outdoors: Carry in Comfort: How to Fit a Backpack

...​
BACKPACK FIT BASICS​
A properly fitting backpack should comfortably transfer approximately 80 percent of its weight to your hips and lower body, 20 percent to the front of your shoulders, and exactly zero to the top of your shoulders. The goal is to carry most of the load on the strong bones and muscles of your lower body, rather than on the easily fatigued muscles of your shoulders and torso.​
IT’S ALL IN THE HIPS​
A properly fitting waistbelt is crucial for transferring weight to your lower body. When trying on a backpack, first loosen the shoulder straps and position the waistbelt so that the bony knob on top of your hips (the iliac crest) is in the middle of the waistbelt. (Wear pants or shorts akin to what you use hiking; at a minimum take off your belt if you’re wearing one.)​
Now, snugly cinch the waistbelt and evaluate it for fit. It should rest flush against your body to evenly distribute weight. ...​

I'm sure you can carry more weight further than I can.

But don't screw up your joints or back, or get bursitis,
by "training" to prove you can lug some lead weights around
by hanging them off of the wrong body part.
 
It appears that you have a reading comprehension issue. Of course a belt makes it easier by transferring the weight to your hips.

If I actually had to bug out and my pack weighed much more than 10#, you could be damn sure I'd use a waist belt.
But if I'm trying to work out, its a whole different story.

I'm not sure if you ever exercise, but the whole purpose is to make it . . . well . . work.

Like I explained above. I carry a heavy pack working out so that when I actually have to go long distances. (like the one day presidential traverse I am planning) with a light pack and a waist belt if necessary, it all feels easy.

Your quote:

BACKPACK FIT BASICS
A properly fitting backpack should comfortably transfer approximately 80 percent of its weight to your hips and lower body, 20 percent to the front of your shoulders, and exactly zero to the top of your shoulders. The goal is to carry most of the load on the strong bones and muscles of your lower body, rather than on the easily fatigued muscles of your shoulders and torso.


Implicit in this is that if you don't wear a belt you will be working the "easily fatigued muscles of your shoulders and torso".

And if you start out relatively light and go short distances you can gradually work and STRENGTHEN the "easily fatigued" muscles of yoru shoulders and torso.

Its called exercise. That's the whole point. To fatigue the muscles.

I advocated working out like this. Not BUGGING out like this. Carrying a pack without a belt and gradually upping the weight is a reasonable way to build strength.
 
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One more thing. If you are a weight weenie like me and on days when I am actually hiking, my pack is under 10 lbs, a belt is absolutely unnecessary.

Do't forget that a belt is not without its own costs, which is agility. You can't twist and move with a belt on like you can without it. You can move faster without a belt.

But again, if I ever actually HAD TO move a 45 lb pack, without knowing how long I'd have to do it, I would most definitely use a belt, properly adjustted to carry most of the weight. But when I exercise, I know exactly how long I'll be moving for and plan my weight accordingly. (1 mile walk my kid to school - 45#, 3 mi hike with the kids on the flats of MA 35#, 5 mi hike in southern NH 25#, 10 mile hike in the presidentials. As light as possible, usually under 10#)

And no. I haven't worked retail since I finished college in 1991.
 
I recommend this to pretty much any emergency kit:
  • Tourniquet
  • Israeli/trauma bandage
  • Quickclot
I also have a few other things (triangle bandage and tape) in most medical kits. Also keep mylar blankets and Chem lights (glowsticks) in the car.

Food and water is a decent idea for a car but the number of heat cycles they will get in a car makes them deteriorate quickly so choose carefully. Probably a water bottle with space for ice expansion and dried sealed foods. Can't emphasise mylar blankets enough and even a couple tea lights for heat in a car can do wonders.
 
Implicit in this is that if you don't wear a belt you will be working the "easily fatigued muscles of your shoulders and torso".
Fail.
Implicit in this is that if you don't wear a belt you will injure the easily damaged structures of your shoulders and back.

By your logic, you must be running marathons barefoot to toughen the soles of your feet,
and flagellating your back with a cat o' nine tails to toughen the skin.

ETA: And jamming your shirt into an appendix carry holster,
so that you can draw quick by just tugging on the cloth.
When you have the occasional appendix pop,
it will just toughen the organs that are shot.
 
Fail.
Implicit in this is that if you don't wear a belt you will injure the easily damaged structures of your shoulders and back.

By your logic, you must be running marathons barefoot to toughen the soles of your feet,
and flagellating your back with a cat o' nine tails to toughen the skin.

ETA: And jamming your shirt into an appendix carry holster,
so that you can draw quick by just tugging on the cloth.
When you have the occasional appendix pop,
it will just toughen the organs that are shot.
Dude. Plate carriers have no belts and weigh upwards of 30 lbs.

It's easier to use a belt, but with appropriate training, carrying on your shoulders is fine. Everyone's level of fitness is different, and will set their ability to do any task.

Hell, I've carried adult humans on my shoulders. If you learn to use bone stacking to your advantage, and strengthen your core, you can do you've got to do.
 
Further, squats remain one of the most important whole-body exercises available. They, like deadlifts, overhead presses, etc. direct load carriage through the shoulders and back. I'm sure Rip would love to hear your thoughts on this.

If you're this worried about everything going through our hips, I pray that your children are using mountaineering packs at school. We now have 40+ years of gangly tweens with active growth plates carrying 30+lb Bean bags full of books. We have at least 30 years of them wearing those bags slung way down and/or on a single shoulder because "it looks cooler" even though that is the worst possible way to carry them. We should have a significant fraction of them with at least modest spinal compression and related injuries. Where are they? I'm talking about generations of actual experimentation on our entire population.

The simple reality is that occasionally putting 20 or even 40 lbs on an adult's shoulders can be perfectly safe.
 
TJR - I'm not saying this describes you.

But how many people with tactical crap in their get home bag would die of a heart attack if htey ever actually had to walk more than a mile or 2 with any weight on their back??

I mention this because after mindset, fitness is the next most important tool/weapon. I realized this a few years ago when I was tired of being fat and weak and decided to get in shape. One thing I do is whenever I have to walk anywhere I carry a small backpack with anywhere from 20 to 40 lbs of lead in it. Humping 45 lbs of backpack without a waist belt is a great workout. And it actually builds a fitness that may come in handy sometime. The great thing about lead as a weight is it doesn't take up much space in the pack, so I can actually put stuff I need in it. It also lets you turn a casual walk into a real workout.

My attitude is that by building a very light actual pack with things that I need. (weight weenie) and training to carry heavy, I will be able to move faster and/or farther than I otherwise would if I had a standard weight pack and/or were untrained. When I put on my actual get home pack at 6 lbs plus water, it feels like nothing.

p.s. I'm in my 50s, only 5'8" and not particularly athletic. Its just a moderate amount of work and discipline.
I carry a 30 pound baby around... same thing lol
 
TJR - I'm not saying this describes you.
In my prime, I would hump a large ruck with a KY -38 radio (Secure version of the PRC-77). I was light Infantry grunt for 12 years. Today after years of doing the airborne shuffle and 4 decades past my prime it is a fair & accurate observation. The plate only weighs a pound and the entire kit is probably about 15 lbs. Before the pack wears me out, i would expect the knees would go first.

I basically agree with you that people probably do over pack an emergency kit. I learned those lessons early in life.
 
And in 20 years?
Todays gear will look like woven pack baskets to people looking back,
even if that's what the coureur des bois used to explore a continent...


That's an entire category of Instapundit posts I deny myself the pleasure of reading.
Gear keeps getting lighter, yet rucks continue to get heavier. Within certain limits, our bodies are as strong as we want them to be. While there are always risks of injury, proper training prevents that. A moderately healthy individual is not going to get a hernia from a 20 lb backpack.
 
Gear keeps getting lighter, yet rucks continue to get heavier. Within certain limits, our bodies are as strong as we want them to be. While there are always risks of injury, proper training prevents that. A moderately healthy individual is not going to get a hernia from a 20 lb backpack.
Sure, sure; training builds strength and all that.

And there are a plethora of ways to bear a load.

Look at it this way:
is there a training regimen that emphasizes
lifting with your back instead of your knees
(I mean, precisely doing the Thing that the truism says
you're not supposed to do;
that One Innocuous Thing that gets blamed for normal people wrecking themselves
doing a little unaccustomed labor
)
to strengthen your back?
 
Sure, sure; training builds strength and all that.

And there are a plethora of ways to bear a load.

Look at it this way:
is there a training regimen that emphasizes
lifting with your back instead of your knees
(I mean, precisely doing the Thing that the truism says
you're not supposed to do;
that One Innocuous Thing that gets blamed for normal people wrecking themselves
doing a little unaccustomed labor
)
to strengthen your back?
Sure - stripper deadlifts. [rofl2]

But that injury has way less to do with slowly carrying weight close to your center of gravity, and everything to do with jerky, off-angle effort at or near extension.
 
I am not reading this entire, but the 4 lightest things in my hiking backpack:

1. Zpack backpack.
2. Tent from tarptent.
3. Sea to Summit ultralight sleeping bag to 20 degrees (real 20 degrees).
4. Ultralight sleeping pad.

Those 4 are expensive, but they are super light and will cut your weight by at least 3-5lbs depending on what you own. The tent sleeps two adults and some bags, and it weighs under 2lbs.

The sleeping pad is very important and you should never buy the cheap Amazon crap. I slept in a cheap Amazon pad once in 20 degree weather on the white mountains. I was freezing, didn't get any sleep.

The sleeping bag is so light you forget it is there and it packs tiny, smaller than a water bottle.

The backpack os amazing and super light.

5. Cologne.
 
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“Survival kit contents check. In them you’ll find:
– One forty-five caliber automatic
– Two boxes of ammunition
– Four days’ concentrated emergency rations
– One drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
– One miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
– One hundred dollars in rubles
– One hundred dollars in gold
– Nine packs of chewing gum
– One issue of prophylactics
– Three lipsticks
– Three pair of nylon stockings.

Shoot, a fella’ could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.”

543A6C30-F91A-4FBC-8871-4002BAE57855.jpeg
 
I carry a 30 pound baby around... same thing lol
A friend of mine had her second child 18 months ago. She started hiking with her in back shortly after she was born. No the child is pushing 30 lbs and she is still hiking with the baby. Its really impressive.

We hiked up Waterville Valley this summer and she humped that kid right up True Grit. She is a beast. I was actually a bit intimidated. ha.
 
A friend of mine had her second child 18 months ago. She started hiking with her in back shortly after she was born. No the child is pushing 30 lbs and she is still hiking with the baby. Its really impressive.

We hiked up Waterville Valley this summer and she humped that kid right up True Grit. She is a beast. I was actually a bit intimidated. ha.
Its definitely affective.... ever want a biceps workout hold up a baby who likes to be in a bouncer for about 5 minutes....
 
Something else I did recently... in addition to the GHB's I have in my truck and my wife's I grabbed some cheap lightweight Osprey bags and tossed them in each vehicle as well.

Theoretically if someone else is in the car they can help split the load and/or use it if they find anything along the way.
 
Urge you not to do what 90% of youtuber bag guys do, which is get caught up in "gadget syndrome". They've got every tool in the shed, a gadget for this, another for that, etc. Skip most of that and focus on water, food, shelter - then a couple of basic tools. Our cars all have emergency bags in them. Each one has water + filter, food items, tarp, a skivvy-roll (t-shirt, socks, underwear), work gloves, sleep bivvy, basic medical kit, multi-tool, flashight/headlamp, cordage, fire starter w/ kindling, TP, map + compass. After that, everything's gravy and seasonally dependent. When there's extra room or weight permits, add more food/water maybe shelter, not gadgets like fishing kits and snare wire. And make sure decent walking shoes are on your feet or in the car.
 
+1 on TP. HAND SANITIZER TOO.
I mentioned a small kit I keep in my pack earlier in this thread. The kit includes a small plastic bottle of 195 proof Everclear.

I love this stuff. Its very versatile. Its a hand sanitizer, its a fire starter, its a sedative / relaxant.

I remember reading a few years ago that a lot of people on the AT end up with intestinal problems that are caused by a lack of hygiene when they take a dump. You can't wash your hands properly because there isn't any water around and its time for lunch. . . .

hand sanitizer is stupid for 99% of people in every day life. Its smart for hikers or people who don't want to wast a half gallon of drinking water trying to wash their hands. i
 
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