Bug Out Bag Suggestions

[Kevin125 4,772]

It does remind me to take a look at what we have.... and what we still need.

[owadj01 0]

Sh*t happens. Maybe there's a Fukushima event at Oyster Creek in Lacey Twp or Salem Nuclear. Maybe you're in the blast radius of a potential dirty bomb . Maybe your wife is about to find out about your girlfriend and love child. Either way, a $200 BOB may not be a bad insurance investment. You don't know what you don't know. Otherwise, shelter in place.

As the resident "engineer who works at a Nuclear Power Plant" I can assure you the NPPs of NJ, which happen to keep most the lights on in this state, are very unlikely candidates to be the initiating event cause anyone to bug out/ bug in. If you only knew the true scope and magnitude of improvements being made in response to the Fukushima event on top of the existing safety features of the plant, you probably say either "gee, aren't you taking this a tad over board" or " I'm bugging out to the NPP when SHTF"

 

[Kevin125 4,772]

Hypothetically.... Would the concerns be about flooded facilities and dealing with that initial event? Or about secondary problems like they had in Fukishima? Contaminated cooling water iirc. And it's containment and disposal. Or both.

 

Glad they're addressing it though.

 

And is Oyster Creek still scheduled to be shut down by 2019?

[owadj01 0]

Hypothetically.... Would the concerns be about flooded facilities and dealing with that initial event? Or about secondary problems like they had in Fukishima? Contaminated cooling water iirc. And it's containment and disposal. Or both.

 

Glad they're addressing it though.

 

Both really. There is already some inherent differences in the philosophy of how US Plants are ran/desiged vs the Japanese plants that makes most US plants at a much lower risk to experince a Fukushima type event to begin with. The plant systems are the same but more in the plant layout and how the perform maintenance windows by not taking out multiple trains of safety equipment at the same time. I won't bore you with those details. So to sum of the changes....Basically we are ensuring that our internal and external flood barriers can withstand a well beyond design basis event (design basis = requirement/commitment of our License with NRC). Then we are adding lots of portable and permanent equipment to allow us to power safety systems and pump water where it is needed in the plant, on top of the already redundant engineered safety systems required for emergency core cooling/accident mitigation. And lots of other odds and ends to ensure we have additional ways monitor the spent fuel pool, and added lots of permanent and portable sat phones all over. And there is a regional center that is a joint project the central and eastern USA are all part of, in Tennessee I think, that can fly in more pumps and generators like with 24 hours of an event. So we won't be pulling car batteries to power emergency lights and have no way to communicate and have diesel generators to pump cooling water where needed if some how lost all the existing emergency diesel generators, like Fukushima had to.

 

[owadj01 0]

Hypothetically.... Would the concerns be about flooded facilities and dealing with that initial event? Or about secondary problems like they had in Fukishima? Contaminated cooling water iirc. And it's containment and disposal. Or both.

 

Glad they're addressing it though.

 

And is Oyster Creek still scheduled to be shut down by 2019?

And yes Oyster will be shut down by 2019 (probably sooner in my opinion...but I don't work there but you hear things). There is another example of decisions being made in NJ due to feelings not facts/evidence/science. Fertilizers from farmers cause algae blooms in the bay, make the nuke plant build a cooling tower or shut down 10 years early, threatening the grids stability because FEELINGS!!! It's the oldest operating NPP in the country, it was there before you built/bought your house, don't complain that it's in your back yard! (And I'm off my soap box)

 

[owadj01 0]

And to contribute to the OP, I use a 5.11 Rush 24 pack for my EDC needs to/from work ( lunch, rain gear, flashlight, multi-tool, paper work) and it works great, takes the abuse of daily use for going on 18 months....but I use LAPG 3 day pack ( http://m.lapolicegear.com/diplomat-3-day-backpack1.html ) for my get home bag. About the same size as my 5.11 pack and comprable Built quailty but it's only $30 vs $130

[MedicYeti 96]

You don't need to spend hundreds on a pack that it labeled "Bug out Bag". 

I think that more MOLLE=More chance of being MOLLEsted. 

Look into frame packs, OK internal frame packs are available at Walmart for less then $50 and are designed to carry gear over long distances. 

Think about the reality of bugging out: where are you going? How long will it take to get there? What resources do you have there? What resources will you need? How long do you think you will be there?  Who is coming with you? What do they need?

I do not have a bug out location.  I do have a source of fresh water on my property and a way to filter it so in a SHTF scenerio I plan on buggign in.  If I'm not home and need to get home I have a bag for that. 

I used to do backpacking so I have a bunch of backpacking gear in my attic and if the need to Bug Out ever happened i have a bunch of stuff for that including 2 frame packs, shelter, stove, water filters, sleeping bags...etc. 

[owadj01 0]

You don't need to spend hundreds on a pack that it labeled "Bug out Bag".

I think that more MOLLE=More chance of being MOLLEsted.

Look into frame packs, OK internal frame packs are available at Walmart for less then $50 and are designed to carry gear over long distances.

Think about the reality of bugging out: where are you going? How long will it take to get there? What resources do you have there? What resources will you need? How long do you think you will be there? Who is coming with you? What do they need?

I do not have a bug out location. I do have a source of fresh water on my property and a way to filter it so in a SHTF scenerio I plan on buggign in. If I'm not home and need to get home I have a bag for that.

I used to do backpacking so I have a bunch of backpacking gear in my attic and if the need to Bug Out ever happened i have a bunch of stuff for that including 2 frame packs, shelter, stove, water filters, sleeping bags...etc.

While I understand the anti MOLLE position, more and more people have "EDC MOLLE" bags, etc. so I don't know that totally true. I think if someone is going be an agressor, it wont matter what gear you have, they are going to try and take it from you, and do whatever they want to you and your family. Regardless if your wearing all milspec camo and gear or the REI "I go camping for the weekend" special. Granted I'm with you that Bugging Out is totally a last resort. Something that is load bearing makes a lot more sense for a true end of days the world is falling apart bug out. So for me that's my camping/backpacking pack with an internal frame that probably isn't big enough to me to really bug out with my wife. Photo care of Zombie Safe Area group on Facebook

 

[Kevin125 4,772]

And yes Oyster will be shut down by 2019 (probably sooner in my opinion...but I don't work there but you hear things). There is another example of decisions being made in NJ due to feelings not facts/evidence/science. Fertilizers from farmers cause algae blooms in the bay, make the nuke plant build a cooling tower or shut down 10 years early, threatening the grids stability because FEELINGS!!! It's the oldest operating NPP in the country, it was there before you built/bought your house, don't complain that it's in your back yard! (And I'm off my soap box)

Agreed. I think we could use more plants, not fewer. The people in the US have gotten pretty good at running these facilities safely. More power. More higher paying jobs. The long term storage issues will be solved.

 

Not to mention, this would likely drive the price of bug out bags way down..... To get back to the OPs question...... :-)

[1LtCAP 4,263]

Agreed. I think we could more plants, not fewer. The people in the US have gotten pretty good at running these facilities safely. More power. More higher paying jobs. The long term storage issues will be solved.

 

Not to mention, this would likely drive the price of bug out bags way down..... To get back to the OPs question...... :-)

WE need something.....'cause it seems electric goes off now if someone just sneezes in the wrong direction, lolol

[Sota 1,191]

forget bug out bag... bug out TRUCK!

[Silence Dogood 468]

Our philosophy is that a bug out bag is also intended as a "get home on foot" bag in the case of a disaster such as an EMP.   Most communities in NJ are "shelter-in-place" towns.

[JohnnyB 4,325]

Most of us here in Jersey have no "bug out" option! I know I don't! To an extent, my home is defensible! If I have to leave my home, I am screwed!!! Besides, in the PRNJ you can't carry a loaded gun off of your property anyway!

In a true SHTF situation I agree that there will be no law enforcement as we know it but still, in this heavily populated state where you most likely live on an acre of land or less! Where the hell can you bug out to??? Your uncles 50 acres

in upstate PA??? You are assuming the roads will be open and safe to travel without being shot! Not to mention the Sunoco station will be closed!

 

For most of us, "Bug in" is the only option!!!

[Old Glock guy 1,127]

For most of us, "Bug in" is the only option!!!

 

I agree that it's a far more likely scenario.  I have a couple of bug out bags packed, but part of me feels it's a waste of a lot of good, expensive gear.

[1LtCAP 4,263]

Most of us here in Jersey have no "bug out" option! I know I don't! To an extent, my home is defensible! If I have to leave my home, I am screwed!!! Besides, in the PRNJ you can't carry a loaded gun off of your property anyway!

In a true SHTF situation I agree that there will be no law enforcement as we know it but still, in this heavily populated state where you most likely live on an acre of land or less! Where the hell can you bug out to??? Your uncles 50 acres

in upstate PA??? You are assuming the roads will be open and safe to travel without being shot! Not to mention the Sunoco station will be closed!

 

For most of us, "Bug in" is the only option!!!

closest place i got is the ex wife's place in upper pa. 70 acres. but she's 4 hours away, and i'd hafta find a way off this island first.

[owadj01 0]

I agree that it's a far more likely scenario. I have a couple of bug out bags packed, but part of me feels it's a waste of a lot of good, expensive gear.

I feel the same way. I find that I half unpack my get home bag anytime I go camping/backpacking.

[Kevin125 4,772]

I think having the things on hand you need to "Bug In" will mean you also have what you need to Bug Out... For the most part. If you can quickly put together what you need, there's no need to have all that stuff stowed in a bag.

 

Even if you don't want a bag on hand, this subject reminds us to make sure we have what we need in different types of emergencies.

 

I think it's likely we'll see situations worse than Sandy in the coming decade. I think our power grid and data networks are a lot more fragile than most people think.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot 358]

Well, the water, energy bars and flask of bourbon from my GHB came in handy today as I was stuck on the NJ turnpike for a few hours.  I will need to get a bigger flask.

[Displaced Texan 11,748]

Well, the water, energy bars and flask of bourbon from my GHB came in handy today as I was stuck on the NJ turnpike for a few hours. I will need to get a bigger flask.

I too was stuck in that mess. Think I need to include a flask of Eagle Rare in my GHB.

Thanks for the idea!!!

[MissionaryMike 1]

Well, the water, energy bars and flask of bourbon from my GHB came in handy today as I was stuck on the NJ turnpike for a few hours.  I will need to get a bigger flask.

 

 

Does that constitute as drinking and driving?  Or does it not count when you're stuck in traffic?  I saw signs that the whole highway was shut down from exits 14-10.  I rerouted.

[Displaced Texan 11,748]

That would count as drinking and driving. I'd save the flask until arriving at my destination.

Took me almost 11 hours to get from DC to New Haven yesterday because of that mess. Needed the bourbon after that!

[Newtonian 453]

Most of us here in Jersey have no "bug out" option! I know I don't! To an extent, my home is defensible! If I have to leave my home, I am screwed!!! Besides, in the PRNJ you can't carry a loaded gun off of your property anyway!

In a true SHTF situation I agree that there will be no law enforcement as we know it but still, in this heavily populated state where you most likely live on an acre of land or less! Where the hell can you bug out to??? Your uncles 50 acres

in upstate PA??? You are assuming the roads will be open and safe to travel without being shot! Not to mention the Sunoco station will be closed!

 

For most of us, "Bug in" is the only option!!!

The voice of f-ing reason.

 

These guys think they're going to jog through the woods at 12 mph with their 8 and 5 year old kids, plus wife, everybody carrying 200 lbs of food and ammo, get somewhere alive, and live off the land until the aliens come to rescue them in 20 years. Next to impossible, even if you divide all those numbers by 10, even where I live. If you reside in any densely populated area of this state you will not get out, period. If you try you will not last more than 1-2 days.

 

For God's sake look how quickly the riots developed in Baltimore, and how impotent the cops were at containing it. Five minutes after the check cashing establishments close and Shop Rite runs out of skittles the hordes will be upon you.

 

Don't waste your time preparing for something with a 0.00001% chance of occurring. That's not prepping, it's delusion. Yeah spend a few $100 if you like on water or water/purification and some storable food but focus your fantasies on your job, your income, your health, your savings. 

[Silence Dogood 468]

Add a bivy sack 

[Vlad G 345]

A lot of that stuff would probably be quite at home in the wilderness, the problem is for lots of us there is no such thing around. I think the urban/suburban bag needs to be realistic about likely events and unlikely circumstances. You are more likely to need a way to charge your phone then a way to fish. You are more likely to need a silcock key to tap in the water supply of a random building then a water filtration kit. A box of protein/energy bars will provide food for a couple of days while requiring no cooking, etc. 

 

Personally I am slightly concerned that the internet tell people to build bags of stuff that might not be applicable to their area, or even if it was they don't know how to use. If you want to build a wilderness bag, thats fine, but then go hiking/camping/hunting with that EXACT bag and nothing else and see how it wears and if you can use and/or need its contents and what you are missing. 

 

What works for one person in southern Ohio, may not work for someone in central NJ. 

[Newtonian 453]

A lot of that stuff would probably be quite at home in the wilderness, the problem is for lots of us there is no such thing around. I think the urban/suburban bag needs to be realistic about likely events and unlikely circumstances. You are more likely to need a way to charge your phone then a way to fish. You are more likely to need a silcock key to tap in the water supply of a random building then a water filtration kit. A box of protein/energy bars will provide food for a couple of days while requiring no cooking, etc. 

 

Personally I am slightly concerned that the internet tell people to build bags of stuff that might not be applicable to their area, or even if it was they don't know how to use. If you want to build a wilderness bag, thats fine, but then go hiking/camping/hunting with that EXACT bag and nothing else and see how it wears and if you can use and/or need its contents and what you are missing. 

 

What works for one person in southern Ohio, may not work for someone in central NJ. 

Excellent idea. Everybody who takes this stuff seriously should attempt at least one dry run. Get all your stuff together. If you're in NJ simulate carrying a firearm and ammo with a couple of bricks at the bottom of your pack. Load your food and water and don't forget the family members. 

 

Pick a nearby trail and see how far you get under ideal circumstances. Divide that distance by some reasonable number, 2 or 3, which is how far you'd get if the SHTF. 

 

Are you someplace where you'd feel safe and stocked up in a real emergency? Will you be able to pitch a tent and sleep there in pouring rain, searing heat, or 15 degree weather? What do you do when your power bars run out and your kids are screaming because they're miserable?

 

Forget driving to your sister's remote estate in Pennsylvania. If you think Delaware bridges from Stroud north are impossible on a midsummer Friday afternoon wait until everyone else and his brother is trying to cross over. 

[Displaced Texan 11,748]

Totally agree with this. Mission drives the gear, or, in this case, AO drives the gear.

 

My GHB varies as appropriate to where I am traveling, as well as the season.

[Old Glock guy 1,127]

For God's sake look how quickly the riots developed in Baltimore, and how impotent the cops were at containing it. Five minutes after the check cashing establishments close and Shop Rite runs out of skittles the hordes will be upon you.

 

 

Newtonian, isn't that exactly the kind of situation from which one would want to escape?  I totally agree with you that if by "bugging out" we are talking about heading out to the wilderness to become a hunter and gatherer for an indeterminate length of time, then most of us would be screwed.

 

Rather, I think the purpose of a bug out bag is to be able to escape from an emergency situation similar to what you have described above.  

[mipafox 438]

Bug Out Bag is pretty simple.

 

I got a blunt up in my right hand, 40-ounce in my lap freezing my balls, Roll another tree, green leaves and all, ya'll. Keep a gun in car and a blunt to spark, roll it up if you want, nigga, get it poppin', dogg.

 

 

Well, the water, energy bars and flask of bourbon from my GHB came in handy today as I was stuck on the NJ turnpike for a few hours.I will need to get a bigger flask.

Oh boy.

 

I was stuck on the ENTRANCE to the NJ TPK from Route 3. I wasn't even going to make it through the tolls. I knew about the problem from earlier in the day but it wasn't reported on the darn traffic! They only reported 2 hours backup on the parkway from the Turnpike all the way up to 80. Which was backed up onto route 3 before I managed an illegal exit and headed for the TPK.

 

All of the sudden, realizing it's still happening, I note I have 90 miles of gas in my car and half a bottle of water. That NEVER happens to me. So this crap strikes the one time I don't have my s*** together, and I come to realize I am probably going to run out of gas and water on the NJ TPK some time in the middle of the night 100 miles from home. F&$^.

 

I have my main bag, obviously I have to keep a separate bag for America since I travel to NJ now and then. I have food in there but no water. I never put the main water back in when winter ended, as I was taking it out from time to time to prevent freezing. I just shoved a bottle in there which I was rotating and managed to use it that very day because I was so busy and just wanted to get home when the day was over.

 

People finally started making illegal U-turns where the median ended in the wait for the tolls and I finally got my chance to make a 1 hr U-turn myself. Took me 3 hours to get home using back roads but it was a lot better than what would have happened to me on the TPK.

 

 

 

The voice of f-ing reason.

 

These guys think they're going to jog through the woods at 12 mph with their 8 and 5 year old kids, plus wife, everybody carrying 200 lbs of food and ammo, get somewhere alive, and live off the land until the aliens come to rescue them in 20 years. Next to impossible, even if you divide all those numbers by 10, even where I live. If you reside in any densely populated area of this state you will not get out, period. If you try you will not last more than 1-2 days.

 

For God's sake look how quickly the riots developed in Baltimore, and how impotent the cops were at containing it. Five minutes after the check cashing establishments close and Shop Rite runs out of skittles the hordes will be upon you.

 

Don't waste your time preparing for something with a 0.00001% chance of occurring. That's not prepping, it's delusion. Yeah spend a few $100 if you like on water or water/purification and some storable food but focus your fantasies on your job, your income, your health, your savings.

Failure to plan, right. You figured out all the reasons you shouldn't bother. Instead of looking at likely events that might affect you, where they are likely to occur, how quickly you will learn about them, the places you might be when they occur, the survival issues and travel issues that are likely to ensure. And what you would do at that place if these things happened, three courses of travel depending upon conditions with each location of event, warning, and where you are at that time in mind, and of course your potential destinations, including ditch/rally points if you can't make it.

 

You can spend 4 to 8 hours over a day or two to get some good plans together that will address almost every emergency or issue. And put them on paper with options and maps. Even if something happens you didn't expect, there are only so many reasonable and effective responses to millions of unfortunate situations. You have determined the things you need in your car, your home, your place of work. And the things you need packed and ready to move if necessary. I think it will be pretty good to break open a 3 to 5 page playbook printed from Excel that gives you preplanned options to deal with a situation and have the stuff you need to deal with it rather than suddenly asking which way is North and desperately trying to make a phone call or get internet access to figure out what to do.

 

Almost all of us here have lived through these situations TWICE at this point, some of us more. It's going to happen again for certain.

 

BTW, I picked on that one comment unfairly and out of context for my soap box Most of what you said in this thread is right on.

[1LtCAP 4,263]

Newtonian, isn't that exactly the kind of situation from which one would want to escape?  I totally agree with you that if by "bugging out" we are talking about heading out to the wilderness to become a hunter and gatherer for an indeterminate length of time, then most of us would be screwed.

 

Rather, I think the purpose of a bug out bag is to be able to escape from an emergency situation similar to what you have described above.  

if i'm at the shop, and those riots are happening in that area......i'm making a few phone calls, then taking up a position on the roof. if at home? same phone calls, then taking up a position out front.

[1LtCAP 4,263]

re gas level in your vehicle.........half tank mark should be your "empty" mark.
not trying to be a wise ass.