It could save your life.

[ZeroJunk]

I've never heard the zip of a bullet going by

I had some ding bat girl firing shots over my head cause she thought I was hunting on her land. I called the sheriff and she denied doing it.

Anyhow, glad I was never in combat. Sort of made my butt pucker up.

[1goodshot]

I didnt see any tolet paper on your list.

[SerenityNetworks]

ZeroJunk: I had some ding bat girl firing shots over my head... Sort of made my butt pucker up.

1goodshot: I didnt see any tolet paper on your list.

I have pre-packaged antiseptic wipes in my kit - they are multi-use

[sc928porsche]

A small dome tent will attach to your backpack without adding much weight. They come complete and inside a carrying cover. Set up time is very quick.

[Justice06RR]

Excellent thread with good ideas. I'm in the process of putting together a bugout bag, and these lists are very helpful.

[Kreyzhorse]

Dryer lint stored in an old medication bottle makes a great tinder. I'd also pack a flint and steel to spark it with if I were serious about a survival pack.

[kraigwy]

I've never heard the zip of a bullet going by

You don't have to go into combat to hear the zip. Just go to a high power or F-Class match and pull targets.

You get the zip and after a bit you'll learn what "zip" is going through your target and which one is on the target next to you.

Not the same as seeing little green tracers flying over your head but you'll know what a super sonic bullet sounds like.

It just means the bullet is going faster then the speed of sound. Meaning it will get you before you can hear it.

[Buzzcook]

I have a hand crank flashlight that doesn't need batteries. It also has attachments for charging cell phones.

A Sat-phone would make being lost in the wilderness a little less distressing.
http://www.satellitephonestore.com/

And they can be rented.

Which brings us to EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons).
http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/brow...9/4,47765.html

Pretty sure you can rent these as well.

Oh and make sure you tell someone where you're going and when to expect you back and what to do if you don't show up.

[SerenityNetworks]

For signaling, I have also considered obtaining a BaoFeng UV-5R or BaoFeng UV-3R. The 3R is tiny and would be very packable, even in a small belt kit. An EPIRB/PLB is out of my price range right now.

Update: Both are available from sources on Amazon and elsewhere. Also, I have read that you want to be sure and get the brand name USB programming cable (about another $10). You can download Open-Source 3rd-Party programming software from various sources. I need to read more, but I believe the 3R also has a low-power switch that drops the power so it is legal for an unlicensed user to transmit (but I'm not 100% sure on the matter).

[kraigwy]

Makes you wonder how people got by without all this fancy electronic crap.

There was a report in the Wall Street Journal a while back saying that the average soldier in Afgahn carried 7 lbs of batteries for a 72 hour operation.

I'm no different, I was checking my pack yesterday in preperation for the up coming hunting season.

I have to get extra batteries for my GPS, LRF, Wind Meter, Heck I'm getting as battery crazy as everyone else.

I think I'll toss all that crap and go back to doing things the old fashion way.

[1tfl]

Be realistic about your potential emergency and then prepare for it.
I have a BOB in each of my cars and they are no larger than a ladies purse and the item that takes up the most space is 3 bottles of water. In my area there is no place where I can go that I can't crawl (not walk but crawl) out of in one day to get help... usually a road.

If you are truly in an emergency situation who's going to worry about wiping your ass?!?!?! Why pack a GPS plus spare batteries when you can pack a small compass for much less space and weight while serving same purpose? Why carry a tent, rain gear and poncho when a large pancho can be used for all three purpose?

More than anything else you need knowledge and common sense... which is not so common these days.

Most people will never be in a place where it takes days to walk out to a road for help.

[BlueTrain]

I was taking a walk yesterday afternoon, just going out my back door and into the woods. Even though I live in the suburbs, I can go for about a mile and stay mostly in the woods, which by the way is exactly what the deer do around here. The places along the streams or runs are called "flood plains" and are not developed. So they make good places for walking. One thing that makes it interesting is that I've seen every variety of wildlife that I've ever seen except bears, from deer to foxes. There are beaver ponds but to actually see a live beaver is exceptional.

Anyway, it occured to me that the chance of something happening to me on these short excursions into the woods behind the house is pretty much the same as if I were in George Washington National Forest a hundred miles from home. So, in theory, I should carry the same stuff with me and mostly I do, more so just to keep in shape than anything else. Of course, I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I have been injured in any way, however slight, in the last 40 years, so the risk factor is small, at least in my case.

But the risk factor isn't the same everywhere I go. There are no cliffs to fall off, though there are some steep trails in places. There is deep and sometimes fast water in some places, none at all in others. There are trees down everywhere, but the risk is low if you're not out in a storm, though I have been. I still haven't run into packs of wild dogs yet.

[sc928porsche]

The Sierras, Rockies, Wasatch, and others can be awfully desolate. Seems as though someone gets lost in them every year and not all are successful in getting out because they were not prepared.