What's in your Bug Out Bag?

[butch50]

Seattle is also a Tsunami zone.

[GodofWar]

Better get a bug out boat then....

[buzz_knox]

Quick quiz: who remembers what movie this line is from?

"They're back!"

Just seemed appropriate right now.

[joab]

Poltertrolls?

[buzz_knox]

Good one, because out of the millions of movies ever made only 1 of them has the words they're back in succession.

Other movies may have had the words, but only one made them famous. Sort of like:

"You are the weakest link. Good bye."

[buzz_knox]

Poltertrolls?

Was that the one that had the angry spirits throwing crap all around forums?

[GodofWar]

what happened to his post? censored?deleted?
so much for freedom of speach,even if he was a troll !!!

[joab]

How about Trolltergeist.

This is not a government entity it is not bound to the BOR.

You and he and I agreed to certain rules pertaining to conduct in order to become a member of this private club.
The penalty for violating those rules is banishment and deletion of your legacy

[joab]

"You are the weakest link. Good bye."

[Rangefinder]

Remotely back on topic...

If you don't have one already, pick up a vaccuum sealer---it's a wonderful creation. Aside from the obvious (food storage) I have nearly everything in my BoB vaccuumed. I could toss it in a lake and none of my precious gear is getting the slightest bit wet. I even have my matches sealed in little 5-pack bundles. Going camping? Vaccuum a couple cans of soup or chili MRE style. Gonna stash some ammo or supplies somewhere out in the middle of nowhere in case the shtf? Vaccuum seal it before you put it in the PVC to bury. My neighbor just sent three handguns to his brother to store before he goes traveling for the fall/winter. For a little added insurance we stripped and sealed them with silica packs before they went into to hardcase for UPS. A million uses besides in the kitchen, seriously. You can pick a decent one up for about $75-$100 at just about any major store chain now (Wal-mart, Target, Shop-ko, etc.). A real handy thing for any sportsman household. Sorry if this reads like a cheezy 3AM info-mercial, but it's good stuff.

[joab]

Rangefinder
I hadn't thought of those in years, but at one time had seriously considered getting one.
The price was more than I could handle at the time though.

I'll have to check them out again, humidity gets into everything down here

[markwf]

I like everything I've read here and picked up some real good suggestions. Here are two I didn't see mentioned which are in my BOB:
$500 in small bills
30 day supply of all prescription meds; everytime I get a refill I replace the ones in my bag.

[Bravo25]

$500 in small bills

This could go either way. Paper money may no longer be useful. Dpending on the severity of the catastrophy. Gold, and/or silver as well might be a good option.

[MillCreek]

Keep a bug out bag and GOOD boots in my unmarked car at work. Seattle comes crashing down I plan on a less than 2 day walk home. Next earth quake is a sure thing just a matter of when..

Sulaco2 (that is one of my favorite movies by the way), for twenty years I worked in downtown Seattle and lived up in Snohomish county. I agree with you that the most likely natural disaster to hit Seattle will be an earthquake. Something I thought about from time to time was how to get home after a large quake: to get north of downtown Seattle, you have to cross a bridge over the ship canal. If all the bridges are collapsed or cannot be crossed by car, what would be my plan B?

I figured if worse came to worse, I would abandon the car and try to cross the ship canal down by Montlake. If necessary, I could 'borrow' a dinghy or make an impromptu float to help get me across the water. If that was not an option, and if the floating bridges over Lake Washington were unusable, I could walk down to Renton around the tip of the lake, and walk north along the 405 route. I also pondered making it to the shore of the Sound and walking north along the railroad tracks, but after a big quake, I suspect that a lot of the bluffs will have slid down over the tracks.

Years of backpacking and hiking experience have taught me that my unladen speed is about 4 miles per hour, and with a full pack over rough terrain, about two miles per hour. So in ideal circumstances, I should have been able to walk home in twelve hours or less.

Fortunately, I now work about ten miles from home, and I would not have to cross any bodies of water to get home from my office. I think the suggestion to have sturdy shoes or boots in the BOB is an excellent point.

[joab]

Collapse of the goverment making paper money, making money issued by that government worthless

Drastic rise in inflation to the point that $500 will buy you a loaf of bread.

Both of these have happened in the 20th century (lol)

[Rangefinder]

Realisticly thinking, nothing in the usual monetary system is going to be worth much, including gold or silver. In the event of a full economic/governmental crash it's going to revert back to the 1800's style of trade and barter. "You have twelve cans of Hormel and a can of creamed corn? How about this old Buck knife? Tip's broke but it'll still skin a deer just as well..." If the shtf I want a tool, a weapon, or something to eat in my pack, not a pocket full of gold. Hell, I think lead would become more valuable than gold in such a case--definitely more useful.

As to the day-to-day crisis that I might need my pack (short of minor catastrophy) a film canaster full of quarters to make a few phone calls wouldn't be a bad thing. Other than that, I don't see the use of keeping money in a BoB.

[joab]

explain to me what could possibly happen that would make paper money useless?

You asked
I answered.

Do a check on how many governments have collapse in the latter half of the 20th century for the answer to your second question.

Remember your question was possible not probable

[Rangefinder]

None of those things could ever happen. Collapse of the government? What exactly would cause this?

It really isn't so far-fetched that it could never happen. Take a look through history. There's a trend of governments falling when they get too "big for their britches."

If you want a recient example of governmental collapse, have a look at what happened leading up to and during the USSR fold. That wasn't much more than a decade ago, and let me tell ya, I wouldn't have wanted to be in any Russian occupied territory during that time.

[Ftom14cat]

Supprised no one mentioned this: Duct Tape. I do a lot of camping/backpacking/hiking, and my first aid kit always includes duct tape. Too usefull to pass up, even if it is bulky and heavy. I don't remeber who said it, but I liked the sewing kit sugestion too. Every once in a while it comes in handy while on a backpacking trip.

[buzz_knox]

None of those things could ever happen. Collapse of the government? What exactly would cause this?

In terms of the national gov't collapsing? Major non-localized natural disasters such as Yellowstone cutting loose or an asteroid/comet strike; or strategic attacks against the national infrastructure (i.e. major virus disables/destroys both computer databases and networks, resulting in a severing of command/control lines and devastation to the economy or there is a successful attack against the Capital and the VP during a state of the union address); or a widespread NBC engagement (not "end of the world" type but combining sufficient nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks over a sufficiently large area that the federal gov't's resources can't hold up, especially if the command and control structure have been impacted as well). In most such scenarios, the national gov't as we know it would collapse as the gov't pulled its resources back to maintain control over the areas it could.

Local gov'ts are more easily susceptible to collapse, as evidenced by federal involvement during major localized natural disasters, such as hurricanes. Local gov'ts rely heavily on federal authorities for assistance, and if said authorities are otherwise engaged, the local gov't could fall.

[joab]

You better never get into a car because it's possible it could crash. Better not even go outside at all because you could be struck by lightning, get bit by a snake, or fall and break your ankle.

During normal times there are emergency services available to handle these everyday emergencies. those personel will not be available or will be severely strained during a widespread disaster.

If there was going to be a asteroid strike would we know about it long before it ever happened

Of all the things he mentioned you only saw asteroid?

There is one example in recent history of a government falling and reverting back to the stoneage overnight.
Where money was made useless and having an education was a crime punishable by death.

Improbable that it would happen here, but you did say possible

[buzz_knox]

If there was going to be a asteroid strike would we know about it long before it ever happened. That doesn't really rationalize what you're saying.

Actually, we probably wouldn't. We've got less people than staff one McDonald's professionally searching for such asteroids/comets. Most of them are found by amateurs. And most of the near misses have come when the objects have been on their way out of the system, having already passed the Earth. At least once in the last few years, an asteroid passed at a distance which placed it within lunar orbit and we didn't know it existed until it was already past.

[joab]

It's funny how some of you are preparing for an asteroid strike but you drive a car everyday which is thousands of times more likely to kill you.

Whats really funny, Josh, is that you keep making the same statements while not bothering to read the answers given to those statements. (lol)

[butch50]

coleman27

Is it your position that our government will exist for eternity, that it will never ever fail?

If your answer is yes, end of discussion. If you answer is no, then the next question is:

When, in your opinion is our government going to fail? If you have a specific answer as to when, end of discussion - assuming you have some very good reason to pin-point the failure date. If you can't answer that question credibly, then the next question is:

What makes you believe that it won't happen in your life time? Is it ego on your part, or naivete?

Or to put the above into a statement: I believe that at some point in time our government will fail, for some reason, but I don't know when it will fail. Given that I believe it will fail, and can't predict when, then it is possible that it will fail in my life time. Given that it may fail in my lifetime then it would be poor judgement not to have made some very basic and preliminary preparations, preparations that take up 2 cubic feet of space and cost me less than $200.

I should also ask you the same series of questions about asteroids - never? if someday, when? Or about yellowstone going off - never? if someday, when?

And those are for the major national type of emergencies. There are other localized situations that can come up, many of which depend upon where you live.

Are the odds that we will need a bug out kit remote? Actually that is not a calculation that can be made, insufficient data - History is replete with episodes of huge upheavals and turmoils that no one was prepared for. Why should we be so special that it can't happen to us?

[joab]

Why would you prepare for something that has a extremely miniscule chance of happening, but not prepare for something that is several thousands times more likely to kill you?

What imminent emergency exactly are we not planning for?