bug-out bags. do you have one?

[Alphaville]

Methinks, there are two competing narratives wrt bug-out bags. In practice, it pertains mostly to tornadoes and earthquakes which gives ~10 min and zero warning respectively with no time to run around the house to gather materials. However, survival fans and terminology points more towards people preparing for a nuclear war which also gives little to no warning (the missiles are in the air). I probably forget a scenario or two, but in all other cases, one should have enough time to leave or stay in a more orderly fashion.

the 60 seconds out the door is the one i’m more concerned with, having experienced it repeatedly during various emergencies. running around the house like a headless chicken is not an effective form of gathering stuff.

the lack of clear thinking during adrenaline surge is a real hurdle, which is what makes things like fire or active shooter drills useful, as well as having a ready emergency bag.

as for the other stuff...if there’s nuclear war i might just say to hell with it and head towards the impact—one goes out quicker that way. i’m not a fan of surviving under any and all circumstances, and death can be a mercy in some scenarios.

[Alphaville]

No... As soon as you have some animals you'd only leave behind in extremely dramatic circumstances, staying put is more attractive.

we once had an boiler explosion and a gas leak in an old house we were renting. my wife grabbed the cat, put him in his carrier, and ran out of the house to call the fire department.

staying in the house waiting for a second explosion was not an attractive option.

[Alphaville]

Zero because I don’t live in a seismic zone.

you have quakes, just not intense ones:

https://earthquaketrack.com/it-06-trieste/recent

I made a semi conscious decision* to be in a place with zero earthquake risk, zero dangerous flood risk, zero hurricane/tornado risk etc.
Around my area there have been some (few and minor) landslides, but I picked our place in what (should be) a particularly safe place.

In general I believe some sort of planning can be more effective than a backpack.
Sorry to repeat myself, but for example I believe owning a motorbike is more important (in a city setting) than a BOB, as it allows you to leave an area regardless of traffic conditions.
[...]
Always having 7 days of drinking water stored seems more important/convenient to me than a lifestraw kit
Etc

*i say “semi” because career has always been a factor in defining where we live, so it was not FULLY intentional at all times.
We lived in NYC during Sandy, for example, but at the time we had made the conscious decision not to be too close to the water.

so you don’t foresee some sort of scenario where you have 60 seconds to leave your building? not talking about leaving your city via motorcycle—just leaving your building, with the 7 day water supply somewhere in your kitchen.

[ZAFCorrection]

I consider this in terms of the most likely failure mode as a function of time. In a SHTF scenario where I have to go running around, I expect my lack of wilderness/commando skills to fuck me up much sooner (sub 24 hours) than having a sub-optimal kit. My bugout bag would have identity documents, a very small amount of food and water, and a first aid kit. Anything more and I am just weighing myself down unnecessarily. Maybe add a jacket if it is cold out.

Most likely I am either bunkering down at home or have already left the area.

[horsewoman]

The only thing I could think of within my middle European framework, where I had to leave my building in 60 seconds, is a fire.
In that case saving important documents and cash would be more important than a backpack with supplies.
Any sudden calamity befalling us would probably be very local, so my brother or my in-laws (who are 15 miles away) would be over in a trice with supplies.

[Alphaville]

The only thing I could think of within my middle European framework, where I had to leave my building in 60 seconds, is a fire.
In that case saving important documents and cash would be more important than a backpack with supplies.

if you’re on solid ground, a fire safe might keep those documents safer in general. apartment buildings on the other hand... can turn to rubble, and good luck digging through that (i’m currently in an apartment)

in a farm though, you could have caches around the property.

[Seppia]

I can’t see any scenario other than a fire where I’d have to leave my building in sixty seconds.
Or maybe I don’t know a massive pipe leak?
I don’t know exactly how a BOB would help though.

I’d rather have a credit card to pay for a hotel than a safety blanket, 2m of paracord and a Sebenza.
The sebenza looks great though.

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

LOL but hey — Chris Reeves and dozens (hundreds?) of imitators get to make a living playing blacksmith. Beats filling out TPS reports.

I empathize with both extremes, but I do think there’s a middle ground between thousands of dollars of kit and naught-but-the-clothes-on-my-back. Let style and neuroticism determine your specifics.

[Alphaville]

I can’t see any scenario other than a fire where I’d have to leave my building in sixty seconds.
Or maybe I don’t know a massive pipe leak?
I don’t know exactly how a BOB would help though.

I’d rather have a credit card to pay for a hotel than a safety blanket, 2m of paracord and a Sebenza.
The sebenza looks great though.

im trying to redefine the emergency bag and not follow the herd on this. that’s been the main thrust of my questions all along.

you’re looking at an old dictionary, but i’m humpty-dumpty creating meaning as i go.

so let me see if i can rephrase the question for a positive answer, see if we can uncouple the response from the stereotypical expression of survivalist BOB:

in case of fire (besides the credit card) what would you take with you?

in case of severe eartquake (where hotels get damaged) what would you take with you?

but more importantly:

in case of unknowns unknowns, and with 60 seconds to carry your family out the door, what would you take with you?

it’s okay if you don’t want to play the game—this is not an interrogation, just a game.it’s supposed to be fun and creative.

i’ve found it’s sometimes hard to be creative while on high adrenaline or surrounded by terrified people. so i’m gaming the creativity in advance.

[Seppia]

in case of fire (besides the credit card) what would you take with you?

I’d just focus on running out as quickly as I can with my loved ones.
No idea about the earthquake, but again I’ve never lived in an area with severe earthquake risk (I’d think that’s the best strategy actually).

in case of unknowns unknowns, and with 60 seconds to carry your family out the door, what would you take with you?

1- money
2- clothing
3- water

[Alphaville]

1- money
2- clothing
3- water

ah! thanks so much for playing. i appreciate every contribution.

[Seppia]

Have to specify a couple things:
1- I keep my CCs in a small wallet that contains my IDs as well. I have this small wallet with me 99% or the time I’m awake, so I wouldn’t even have to think about getting it.
This again to reiterate my point that planning is more important than anything.
2- if I had 120 seconds instead of 60 I’d also grab some paracord, a “tactical” $200 flashlight, a $500 folding knife and some $10 canned ratios made with 99% salt and 1% glutamate (joking)

[luxagraf]

With 60 seconds to get out the door I would bring my family.

And a towel.

because somewhere down the long road of perdition, I will eventually meet someone who gets the towel joke and we will bond over it, and that will be more valuable to me than any tools.

but then i'm drawn to strategies, not tactics. YMMV.

[Alphaville]

2- if I had 120 seconds instead of 60 I’d also grab some paracord, a “tactical” $200 flashlight, a $500 folding knife and some $10 canned ratios made with 99% salt and 1% glutamate (joking)

i appreciate the glutamate joke especially because i just ate a tablespoon of nutritional yeast mixed with a tablespoon of american industrial “parmesan” cheese (comes in a jar, mixed with shredded paper, and one can learn to like it when in dire straits)

With 60 seconds to get out the door I would bring my family.

And a towel.

because somewhere down the long road of perdition, I will eventually meet someone who gets the towel joke and we will bond over it, and that will be more valuable to me than any tools.

but then i'm drawn to strategies, not tactics. YMMV.

i don’t get the towel joke so i’m sorry for my loss but i dig your approach regardless

[classical_Liberal]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

@luxagraf
I'm going through withdrawals on your blog! How's the towel come in handy lately?

[luxagraf]

@luxagraf
I'm going through withdrawals on your blog! How's the towel come in handy lately?

You know, kidding aside, I am continually surprised by how useful a towel can be. Esp a turkish towel.

Oh the blog. haha. This is probably not the place, but mostly I have been too perplexed by recent events to comment on anything too much. Mercury is out of retrograde though, so maybe I will get back too it soon.

[Alphaville]

since we already have prepackaged travel bags with toothbrushes etc, i decided to add a few things and make those the emergency bags rather than go with tactical type nonsense.

this has the double benefit of being a more comprehensive travel bag while on the road—a bit of first aid stuff, a few handy tools, ready prescription medicines, passport bag, etc.

i like the water filter because a $20 plastic thing is lighter to carry than 2 gallons of water per day, so i will investigate more. but i’ve seen water sold in pouches... still unsure about the water problem, needs more thought.

i’m not worried about computers etc because those would be covered by insurance. my ipad does 95% of everything and packs superlight.

i’m gonna shove some cash in a pocket in that bag instead of keeping backup money in a silly jar

[Dream of Freedom]

Maybe...

• Contacts or glasses if you have them

• Phone numbers for if you lose/damage phone and don't have access to contact list

• Map of city/area

• Multitool

• Needle and thread

• Pen and paper

• Flashlight

• First aid stuff

[jacob]

Just make one of these: http://ericlefou.1.online.fr/MES_TRUCS/ ... tional.htm ... from Eric the Crazy.

I'd like to think this is the better solution insofar one can get used to it. A major take-away from yacht racing was that "if you don't have it on you, you don't have it at all". The concept extends to the grab bag in the sense that "if you can get it within N seconds, you don't have it", where N is slightly larger for most situations beyond getting rolled in a boat.

[Alphaville]

Maybe...

• Contacts or glasses if you have them

• Phone numbers for if you lose/damage phone and don't have access to contact list

• Map of city/area

• Multitool

• Needle and thread

• Pen and paper

• Flashlight

• First aid stuff

yes! basically we’re thinking of keeping the travel bags by the bedside instead of a closet. i already keep a flashlight by the bedside, same with the phone etc., so putting it in/on the bag would not be a major deviation from existing routines. i just need to make it all grabbable.

Just make one of these: http://ericlefou.1.online.fr/MES_TRUCS/ ... tional.htm ... from Eric the Crazy.

I'd like to think this is the better solution insofar one can get used to it. A major take-away from yacht racing was that "if you don't have it on you, you don't have it at all". The concept extends to the grab bag in the sense that "if you can get it within N seconds, you don't have it", where N is slightly larger for most situations beyond getting rolled in a boat.

hahahhaha! that’s creative, but no way

(for one thing it’s summer here, and walking around wearing that would kill me)

i can see if i were going on an expedition to the himalayas or living as a hobo or something. but most likely as @Seppia suggests i’d be checking into a hotel, or as @tsch i’d be crashing with relatives, or perhaps i’d be driving or catching a ride to my cabin.

not gonna get rolled anywhere if i can help it.

travel duffels look nice, won’t spook anyone in a public place, fit in a bus/train/plane overhead compartment (no need for check-in) and one can just wear them as backpacks for walking comfortably.