The EDC Song

Click here to view the embedded video.

While we’ve considered and support home schooling we are not sure if that will be a good fit for our family. Several of our friends (as well as some fellow authors) have or do home school. In fact, my youngest sister is being home schooled now. This of course would eliminate this as a problem from a school perspective, but what about other situations? Whether it is out at a friend’s house, playing sports or in a church sponsored activity, my children are not going to be near our preps all the time. I personally have by get home bag, but I want my children to be trained and to feel prepared and confident in the case of an emergency.

Valerie over at Prepared LDS Family posted on this topic today and explains what she has done for her school age children. There is some good information in her post and it gave me something to think about. My children will likely find a little note with pictures of our family comforting. I also can’t build a small kit that contains everything my child might need, especially in a size a child will be able to keep in their backpack everyday. However, a few juice boxes and granola bars and a space blanket could make all the diferrence.

I know Phil has invested significant time in preparing his children for an emergency. What have you done? How much is too much? I look forward to hearing the conversation on this in our comments section.

While these young men made an initial mistake that got them lost, they managed to remain calm and focused on survival. Creating a snow cave, starting a fire, etc. are all useful skills and as this example clearly shows can help to keep you alive.

Another aspect of preparedness is learning from our mistakes and other’s examples. In this case, if they had their avalanche beacon and some other gear, (perhaps some EDC items, or an emergency kit)  they would have been located much sooner or not been lost in the first place, and been more comfortable while waiting for rescue.

Read the article and absorb any information you can so you can use that information if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

I won’t bore you with the details of the recovery of the server. While many of the details would serve to re-enforce the point of this article, they are also irrelevant to most of its readers. Over the years I have worked on a lot of computers at a lot of different companies. Frequently, the only tool I had at my disposal was a screwdriver, which the company happened to have laying around. I was always glad to have the screwdriver, but I often wished for other equipment. Sometimes I only needed a spare cable which I didn’t have, sometimes a set of disks. Other times I had what I needed, and was glad for it. The phrase, “wow, I’m glad I had one of those laying around”, sprang to mind often.

Patterns

When confronted with such similar situations on a regular basis, most people will begin to notice patterns, and tools which they use the most. The wisest of these will, if they are able, begin to build kits which contain the necessary tools, and in the case of computers, hardware. They may do this so that they can always be the hero, or they may do it just to make their job easier. The most important thing is that they do it.

If you don’t already have a kit, you may be wondering where to start. If you do already have a kit, you may be wondering how to improve it. Either way, there are two types of items that you should consider, and given the resources, a third which you may also consider:

1. Tools which have been needed before
2. Tools which are expected to be needed
3. Tools which aren’t needed, but make things easier

Type 1

The first type of item is the easiest: “What kinds of tools have I wished I had in the past, or have been glad when I did have them?” Think back to past situations, and try to remember what these items are. It would not be amiss to keep a notepad with you, and keep track of these things over the course of a few days, or even weeks. In fact, as this should be an ongoing process, you will probably want to keep that notebook handy at all times anyway.

Type 2

The second type of item takes a little more work, and at least a few thought experiments. You will want to ask yourself questions that start with, “What would happen if…?” Here are a few sample questions relevant to my job as a systems administrator:

• “What would happen if the operating system on a particular computer failed?”
• “What would happen if we needed to recover files from an unbootable computer?”
• “What would happen if we needed to replace hardware in a particular computer?”

In your situation (be it work, or at home), your questions are undoubtedly a little bit different:

• “What would happen if the main water line to my home broke?”
• “What would happen if I left my headlights on and my car battery died?”
• “What would happen if I got a flat tire on the way to work?”

Obviously, the focus doesn’t have to be on work. These last questions are more general, and underscore the need for a decent set of tools at home (or at least the phone number of a good plumber), and jumper cables, a spare tire, a tire jack, etc in your car. My past experiences have caused me to keep a flashlight (and spare batteries), sewing kit, notepad, and even electrical and of course, duct tape in my car. There is not a single item on that list that has not caused me to say, “I’m sure glad I had that with me”, on numerous occasions.

Type 3

The last type of item includes everything that falls under the “wouldn’t it be nice if…” category, rather than the, “there’s a good chance I’ll be needing this in the future” category. These may be items which may be too cost-prohibitive to get now, but which you may be saving up for. They may be items which you know you could get by without, but which you know will also make life easier if you get the chance to use them. Be wary of this category! These are items which, if left unchecked, could become unnecessary bulk which actually slow you down, rather than help you out. You should be mindful of excess supplies in each one of these categories, but “nice to have” items run the highest risk.

If you’re looking for more examples, there are plenty to be found. They go by names such as “72-hour kit”, “bug-out bag”, “first aid kit” and even “sewing kit”. There are companies which sell each of these, as well as supplies for each of these. Look around, find something that appeals to you and your needs, and ask yourself: “Do I need everything in here? What do I need that’s not here?”

Disaster is always on the horizon. It is not a matter of “if”, but “when”. Preparing for disasters before they occur will help turn a bad situation (when it occurs) into a less-bad situation, and occasionally even a good situation. An appropriate emergency kit is the first step in this direction.

Paris rioters in 2008

This is the seventh installment of the Evacuation Preparedness Kit Series.  The first post, on Evac Prep Basics is here, and the second post, which introduces the Evac Prep Master List is here.  The third post, and the first post on the list review is here.  This post will cover Combat Readiness.

Contrary to the belief of some, being a Prepper is NOT synonymous with being well armed and ready to protect yourself and your preps in a violent situation.  However, this article is specifically about being prepared to defend yourself, your family and your preps if it comes down to it.

History shows us that when things go bad we can expect riots, looters, roving gangs of marauders and plenty of random acts of armed violence.  We have witnessed this just this week with the riots in Iran that ended in violence.  Or we can look at the looting during Hurricane Katrina, rioting and looting during the L.A. Rodney King riots, the French riots (pictured above) and several others.

If you believe that a TEOTWAWKI is rapidly approaching, if you believe in being prepared for economic collapse, civil war, or any other kind of uprising within the United States then you should probably be considering what has happened around the world in the last couple decades when the same kind of collapses happened.   There is no logical reason to believe that if things collapse and your neighborhood can’t feed itself that you won’t become a target.  History tells us that some will ask but others will try to take.

There are several good survivalist books that envision TEOTWAWKI situations and discuss possibilities of what may happen and show possible outcomes.

Survivalist Author James Wesley Rawles who wrote the novel “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse” about surviving a TEOTWAWKI situation envisioned many scenarios in the screenplay of Patriots called “Pulling Through”.  Consider the following scenario from that screenplay (I strongly suggest you read the screenplay and the novel Patriots) This scene occurs as the main characters are trying to escape civil collapse in their cities and get to their Bug Out Location:

JACK MOODY and TIM WONG continue their drive toward Idaho.

We see them take the Highway 97 turnoff from Interstate 5. As the pass through Weed, they see that all of the gas stations have signs spray-painted on 4 x 8-foot plywood panels that read “NO GAS”. The stations are guarded by men with rifles.

The highway is now deserted. Jack is now in the lead.

As Jack rounds a sharp bend, he sees a truck blocking one lane of the road, and a pickup parked alongside it, blocking the other lane. Jack slows down. The truck is loaded with railroad ties. Realization flashes across his face: This could be a road block! By the time he figures this out, his Bronco is within 50 yards of the obstruction.

Jack has no time to call Tim on the CB to warn him. And with trailers on behind their pickups, they cannot easily turn around.

Jack hits the gas and swerves around onto the shoulder, and narrowly misses one of the trucks. Two men dive out of the way. Tim follows Jack’s lead, also accelerating.

As they skirt around the pile, two men armed with traditional long-barreled pump action bird hunting shotguns stand up behind the truck on the right hand side. Tim and Jack instinctively duck down and keep going.

Four blasts come at Tim Wong’s pickup. The first takes out the windshield The second hits the passenger-side window. The third and fourth shots pepper the camper shell–the pellets shatter the back window.

Just down the road, Tim often checks his rear view mirrors, to be sure that the ambushers aren’t following.

Now we’re going to talk about guns and combat readiness.

If considering the things in this post make you uncomfortable and you aren’t interested in learning how to overcome that discomfort, please checkout any other post on Utah Preppers.

If this is new to you and you don’t know much about guns or which type of gun you would want in a certain scenario, please check out this guide for first time gun buyers on GeeksNGuns.com before reading on.  We’re not going to cover guns specifically in this post, mostly ammunition and other combat preps.

So what does all this have to do with 72 Hour Kits or Bug Out Bags or Get Out Of Dodge Bags?  Remember that in the last post I didn’t show my 72 Hour Kit?  That’s because my whole 72 Hour Kit is a little bit different than your normal bag.  Here it is:

My 72 Hour Kit is a breakdown solution.  The backpack pictured here is technically my 72 Hour kit but it is augmented with my combat vest which functions as a survival vest that I can survive for several days with.  My overall system is designed to be able to support me in a combat type situation while getting my family to safety.  My pack is loaded with everything I’ll need to be able to set up a camp for my family.  However, it is configured to be able to dropped in an emergency to allow ease of movement while surviving off of my Combat Vest.

My Pack

Here’s the breakdown of my pack:

There are 4 compartments in my pack – a top and bottom compartment and 2 side pockets.  In the background of this picture is my pack, sleeping bag and sleeping mat, tent and canvas tarp, medical bag and rations bag.

In the left pocket I keep:

• Sewing kit – taped to prevent breakage and filled with cotton to prevent noise
• Red lens flashlight
• Candles
• Hand Warmers
• Emergency Blanket
• Combat Survival Knife

In the Right Pocket:

• Twine
• Quick Access Toilet Paper
• 30 hour candle
• Flashlight
• Pen/Notepad
• Small Flashlight

In the Main Compartment – Top to bottom:

• Water Bottles
• Pack Lantern
• 10 ea Ramen Noodles
• 10 ea Instant Oatmeal
• Leather work gloves
• Playing Cards
• Hydration bladder
• Tums
• N95 Masks
• Backpacking stove
• Batteries (D & AA)
• Insect Repellant
• (2nd Row) Cotton Balls soaked in Vaseline
• Towels & Washcloths
• Qtips
• Hand Sanitizer
• Shampoo
• Lighter & Matches
• 3 Sporks
• Toothbrush
• Candles
• Toilet Paper
• Metal Mug & Bowel
• Contact Case/Saline
• Tissue
• Duct Tape
• Hand Free Talk for FRS radio
• Soap Dish

Bottom Compartment:

• Collapsible shovel
• Ice Treads (for boots, winter item)
• Heavy Duty Rain Poncho for backpacking
• Elbow pads
• Knee pads
• Neoprene Gloves
• Jungle hat

Combat Vest

My combat vest is put together as a multi-day survival kit.  It contains all the tools I need to protect myself and to survive alone for several days.

When fully loaded, my vest can carry 12 magazines for my Battle Rifle, 5 magazines for my sidearm and 12 shells for my shotgun.  It also carries my FRS radio and a survival pouch.  On the belt I carry a combat/survival knife, my sidearm in a drop holster and a leg magazine carrier.  Since I use this regularly to practice and train with, it also has my hearing and eye protection in the black cases on the belt (these would come off in a combat type scenario).

In my survival kit are:

• Altoid tin containing Cotton Balls soaked in Vaseline
• Emergency Blanket
• Flashlight
• Whistle/compass
• Binoculars
• First Aid Kit
• Hydration Adaptable Straw Filter
• Lighter
• Camouflage Face Paint

Nearly every item that I carry in my EDC kit would be transferred to this vest if I was bugging out.

This is a MOLLE ration bag that is normally attached to my backpack but can be removed and attached to my combat vest as needed.

• 2 Katadyn filtered water bottles
• 6 MRE packets
• 1 Energy Ration (tastes like coconut chalk but keeps you alive)

On Camouflage

You’ve likely noticed that all my gear is of the same camouflage pattern – it’s called the ACU Pattern.  It’s simply one that I like, there is no particular reason that I chose that pattern other than several of my friends use the same pattern.  I do have full body coverage in ACU though this includes camouflage pants, undershirt, overshirt, coat, hats, gloves, and boots.  I like having the ability to completely conceal or camouflage myself if I need to, it’s not necessary for everyone to do so though.  The rest of my gear matches that pattern so that everything is able to blend together.  I keep my camouflage uniforms hung up near my go kit so that everything is ready and available if I need it.

Mental Preparedness

This is really a topic for another post but it should be said here that all of these physical items are useless to me unless I am mentally ready to use them.  This means training and a certain mindset.  Just owning a gun doesn’t make you capable of shooting it.  It is paramount that you get out to the range regularly and shoot several rounds through each of your weapons.  This helps keep you familiar with their actions, helps condition you to the sound, feel and smell of gunfire and keeps your mind sharp on how to function your weapons. I strongly recommend getting out at least once a month and putting 20 – 30 rounds through each of the firearms you intend to use.

Mental Preparedness is also about coming to terms with yourself of what you are willing to do to protect your family.  It means picturing scenarios in your mind of what you think may happen and working through them – even practicing your reactions so you have trained your mind to respond the way you want it to. Time at the shooting range should not be limited to standing and firing at a fixed target.  Put yourself in different positions, even uncomfortable ones, and practice shooting from those positions.  Stand, kneel, squat, sit, and lay down and fire.  Practice firing and reloading with both hands in case your dominant hand is injured.

For handgun target practice, one of my buddies recently introduced me to Pistol Bowling as a moving target practice.  Purchase several bowling pins at a sporting good store (real ones that are solid wood) and set them up down range.  Practice shooting at one and when you knock it over, try to hit it again before it comes to a full stop.  Work your way through the pins doing the same thing.  This will give you good experience in tracking, correcting and quickly aiming your pistol.

Combat Ready

If you are inclined to defend yourself, your family and your preps, you need to make sure that you have thought through combat readiness as part of your survival planning.  Failure to do so will result in you not being able to defend at all.  My setup is what is right for me – yours may be very different.  What matters here is deciding what you’re going to do.

In the next post in this series, we’ll be talking about Bug Out Locations and Retreats.

]]> http://www.utahpreppers.com/2009/06/evacuationemergency-combat-readiness/feed/ 17 http://www.utahpreppers.com/2009/06/evacuation-kits-72-hour-kitsbobsg-o-o-d-bag-management/ http://www.utahpreppers.com/2009/06/evacuation-kits-72-hour-kitsbobsg-o-o-d-bag-management/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:44:56 +0000 phil801 http://www.utahpreppers.com/?p=1941

This is the sixth installment of the Evacuation Preparedness Kit Series.  The first post, on Evac Prep Basics is here, and the second post, which introduces the Evac Prep Master List is here.  The third post, and the first post on the list review is here.  This post will cover 72 Hour Kit management.

It seems that every time I inventory my preps I find things that are missing.  It’s usually something like that one time when my wife needed to send a couple water bottles to school and the easiest thing to grab was a couple out of a 72 Hour Kit, then we forgot to replace it.  Or you needed some batteries, or a flashlight, or whatever.  When something can’t be found, it’s hard to not say “Oh, there’s one in the preps somewhere”.   Every time it happens there is always good intent to replace the removed item right away – and invariably it is forgotten about.

Or there are times like this weekend when a huge storm rolled through and knocked the power out for several hours.  My kids being fairly well trained through drills and so on, immediately decided they need to get their “safety backpacks” (as the younger kids call them).  My wife and I were happy that they were thinking this way and it gave us a good chance to do some practical applications.  So the kids all got their safety backpacks out and took them upstairs with them.  Of course, they immediately wanted to dump them out and get to the cool stuff – like flashlights, games and their own food.  We told them to please keep everything in one room, which they did.  However, they ended up ‘accidentaly’ having everything spread out and mixed up.  By the time the power came back on and they packed their bags back up there were several left over oddities.  3 packages of N95 masks, 2 card games, 2 metal bowels and so on.  All the extras got dumped into one pack instead of trying to sort it all out.

In addition to that, as seasons change we need to keep different things in our preps – winter gear vs. summer gear, etc.  Especially for those of us who live in areas where the season differences are quite extreme.

So, for all these reasons and more, it’s very important that two or more times a year we crack open our preps and inventory them.  Spring and Fall are perfect times to do this, and it’s easier to make sure it gets done if you do it in conjunction with a regular event.  Easter and Halloween – or something else important to you that falls around  this times like a birthday or anniversary – are excellent holidays to do this on – just make a habit of Easter and Halloween weekend  breaking out all your preps and going through them.

There are lots of ways to store your preps – my favorites are large plastic bins for Evac Gear and backpacks for 72 Hour Kits.  The kids can barely carry their kits of course, but I don’t expect them to be actually hiking much with them.

Here are some pictures of our 72 Hour Kits and our last inventory (this spring) of them:

Here’s all of our 72 Hour Kits mixed in their rack in our Food Storage room.

Ready to be inventoried

When we do our inventory, we empty all the bags out and lay everything out in front of them.  We have inventory lists for 3 different pack organizations: Adult, Teenager and Young Child.

Here are the contents of a Young Child Pack.

A teenager Pack

And an adult’s pack.  As the packs are targeted to older children, they start having other tools based on responsibilities, such as knives, lighters, etc.

In the next post in this series, we’ll go through my BOB and discuss Combat Readiness.

Equipment

The saw, rope, paracord, raingear and work gloves are typical survival/hiking equipment.  You should keep all of them in both your BOB and your Evac Kit, I recommend you also keep a length of para cord and a pair of gloves in your EDC Kit.

If you are CERT trained, you purchased a hardhat, goggles, ear plugs and vest when you bought your CERT kit.  Your CERT supplies should be on your Evac list to grab but should also be in its own container so they are available to you if you are needed in a CERT role.  If you’re not CERT trained, you should be, we’ll post bout that later.

The Plastic Sheeting on the list is useful for many things but most notably for the ability to seal the airways in your house to inhibit air circulation.  This is useful and could be necessary for survival in a Bio/Chemical/Nuclear situation.

A fire extinguisher should be in your Car Kit already and definitely there should be a couple around your house – if you can, stick another one in your Evac Kit or add it to you’re Don’t Forget List.

Surveyor Flagging can be used to mark a trail, would be useful in your Evac Kit as well as your BOB.  A spare set of keys to pretty much everything – vehicles, house, ATVs, Gun Lockers, etc should definitely be in your Evac Kit, probably in your BOB and absolutely in your EDC.  Additionally, it’s a good idea to have a spare full set of keys just in a bedroom drawer or somewhere out of site but convenient.  I can’t count how many times I’ve needed that spare set!

Light

Light is another area where redundancy is your friend!  The best way to ensure that you always have a light is to carry more than one light source in your Evac Kit, BOB, EDC, Car Kit, Office Kit, and wherever else makes sense.  The main difference is the size of the light that you carry in each of your kits.  Fortunately, technology has given us extremely small flashlights that are still extremely bright.  LED flashlights are fantastic for their ability to last for a very long time without running down their batteries.

In your Evac Kit, I suggest keeping a couple strong flashlights, at least one lantern and several spare fuel/batteries for them.  In your BOB a couple smallish flashlights will work great.  I also keep an LED pack lantern (battery powered) in my BOB.  For EDC, keychain style flashlights work great and a couple lightsticks will serve for a lantern.

Misc

Many of the items in this category are very useful but not necessary for your survival – with the exception of infant needs if you’re planning on having an infant with you.  Wet Wipes are fantastic for keeping hands and faces clean.  I suggest having at least a box of them in your Evac Kit and a travel pack of them in your BOB.

A camera can be fairly important to document an evacuation/crisis.  However, many of us have decent ones on our phones and can use those.  If you want to take a camera with you, it’s probably best to add it to your Don’t Forget List.  A solar shower could make a huge difference in your evacuation experience, we keep 3 in our Evac Kit.

Fishing Equipment

Having a complete set of fishing equipment with you will allow you to catch your own food during an evacuation to supplement your stored food.

I suggest keeping it all in its own container and tackle box, usable day to day but ready to go.  It’s a good idea to keep some line, sinkers, hooks and bobbers in your BOB for the same reason.  You should probably add it to your Don’t Forget List as well since it’s possible it won’t be sitting with everything else.

Medical

The amount and type of medical gear you carry is a personal decision.  Because I have a daughter with Leukemia, I have a very extensive one.  My opinion is that you should have a medical supply kit in your Evac Kit, an extensive First Aid Kit in your BOB and a light First Aid Kit in your EDC.  The Master List has a pretty comprehensive list of items to keep in a Medical Kit and this post outlines the details of my Medical Kits.

Documents/Money

The Master List has a laundry list of documents that you may or may not have and which may or may not be important to you.  The important thing is to consider each document and decide if it would be important for you to have – especially if you were unable to return home for an extended period of time.  Any documents you feel you need, make copies or request original copies and put them all in a water proof container in which they can lay flat.  Give careful consideration to Wills – if someone in your family dies during an evacuation things could potentially be very messy to get straightened up.  Designation of Power of Attorney to your spouse, parents, or whoever can also be very important.  Consider documents you might need if you end up staying in a shelter, etc.

If you don’t have one, I strongly suggest getting a fireproof/waterproof portable safe.  You can get them at Wal-Mart for around $60.00.  Store your document bag in it along with the money we’re about to talk about.  Make sure you put the safe on your Don’t Forget List.

Money

There are several forms of money suggested on the Master List, I suggest you set aside as many of the types as you can – store them in your portable safe.  Once an evacuation starts crazy things can happen – ATMs run out of cash, power is out and credit cards don’t work, things that are cheap become in high demand and prices skyrocket.  If the worse happens and there is an economic collapse, your paper money will be worthless.  Precious metals like gold and silver however will still have intrinsic trade value – as will food, fuel, and other necessities.  Having a cache of these with you will help ensure you can acquire the things you and your family need.  I explain in detail about purchasing silver for this reason in this post.

Electronic Files

Unless you have a laptop with all your files on it, you can’t really take your computer with you and depending on the scenario, it might not be there when/if you get back.  I very strongly recommend you get a 16 GB or larger USB Flash Drive that you can put all your digital pictures, documents, videos, etc. on.  These are wonderful devices that can take a beating and will store all your files on them.  Here’s one of our posts discussing this.

Info Cards

I’ve seen several Info Cards over the years.  I’ve taken several of those and several other suggestions and created a new one that matches the Master List.  Some of the information you may not be comfortable with including or feel that it’s too personal, that’s fine, fill in whatever you feel is necessary.

You can download the Utah Preppers Info Card here.

There are a couple strategies with the Info Cards.  First, each person in the family should have one in their BOB.  For younger children this helps them have information on themselves that they probably won’t know.  If they become separated from you or your spouse for some reason, it will help them get taken care of.  If their is some kind of medical emergency with any of your kids, it will ensure that they have their information with them to help them get treatment.

Second, both parents should have copies of Info Cards for everyone in their family.  If one of your children or your spouse goes missing during an evacuation, the card has everything on it you will need to post a missing persons report.  Also, if you have to take anyone for medical treatment you will have all the information you need for them.

Don’t Forget List

The Don’t Forget List is a checkoff list that will help you be extremely efficient if you have to evacuate.  I recommend you print it out and keep it on a clipboard with a pen attached to the clipboard with a string.  Store the clipboard on one of your storage shelves where you KNOW where it is.  If you have properly maintained your Don’t Forget List, when you are evacuating you can grab it and start checking things off as you load them.  You can also put where they are stored on the list (i.e. outside shed, garage, store room, buried in the backyard, etc), this will help if you’re are panicked and scatterbrained during the evacuation.  If you’ve properly prepared and pre-staged, you should be able to load up in under half an hour.

You can download the Utah Preppers Don’t Forget List here and add to it all you like.

Address/Phone Lists

A Phone and Address List will make sure you have critical information on how to reach those you need to.  It may be that phone/cellular service is down and you have to drive somewhere, you’ll have addresses with you.  Or, if you are somehow separated from your Mobile Phone (oh the horror!) and have to act like it’s the 80′s again, it will provide you with a hard copy of all your important numbers.

You can download and edit the Utah Preppers Address List here.

Communication

Being able to communicate is vitally important.  For most of us, that starts with our Mobile Phone, but those may not always function properly for us. There are several other ways to send and receive communications.

Receiving Updates

With a hand crank radio you can get weather updates and local news information.  Sometimes this is the best way to get this information even if your Mobile Phone is working.  With the hand crank system you NEVER have to worry about powering it and it takes very little cranking to run the radio for several minutes.

I keep one of these in my Evac Kit and in my BOB.

Sending a Signal

A whistle, smoke, strobe light, flare and several other things all send a message of “I’m here, Please come!”.  You should have tools to send these types of messages in your Evac Kit, your BOB and your EDC.  For our post reviewing whistles, click here.

Sending and Receiving

There are several Radio Systems that you can learn and invest in.  HAM radio is the most reliable system out there.  You have to be certified to use them though, it’s very very easy to get licensed for Ham Radio, is very cheap and fast as well.  If you haven’t gotten licensed yet, search for classes in your area and spend an afternoon getting your HAM Technician license.  This will give you a call sign and authorize you for basic HAM use.  There are several types of HAM radios you can get from a large base station to a hand-held portable.  The one pictured installs in your vehicle.

FRS (Family Radio Service) Radios are the cheapest and easiest radios to use.  They only have a limited distance though and are totally unsecured.  Anyone can use them.  I suggest designating with your family ahead of time certain channels that your family will communicate on.  For added security, you can create a rolling system.  For instance, start on channel twelve at midnite and every hour roll one channel or subchannel forward.  For simple family communication, just pick a channel, preset it, and leave it there.  Consider providing every member of your family with one of these.  Definitely put one in each vehicle, keep one in your BOB and in your EDC.  If you’re looking for help, you can scan through the channels to find someone talking – if you can hear them, you know they are close.  Butt in and ask for help.

Keeping writing materials in your Evacuation Kit is also a good idea for several reasons.  In an actual evacuation, it would be wise to regularly journal what is going on.  It also gives you a way to send a message to someone.  Having pre-stamped postcards allows you to address them to loved ones, like your extended family, and drop them a note that you’re ok.

Navigation

Even if you know where you’re going, you still have to know how to get there.  When evacuating, you may NOT know where you’re going to go.  Keeping tools and resources that will help you find somewhere to go and how to get there is very wise.  Storing maps and compasses will help you both on the road and on foot.  Having a GPS will be extremely helpful, but be cautious relying on it.  Make sure you have spare batteries for it or a way to charge it.  If you plan to bug out to the mountains or woods, make sure you have good topographical maps of your region and that you know how to use them.

Nuclear/Bio/Chem

We have several posts on the site that deal with Nuclear Preparedness, with more coming soon to complete the series.  We also have several posts dealing with Pandemic Preparedness including how to put together a full Pandemic Kit.  For a myriad of scenarios, you really should at least have an N95 Mask and Nitrile gloves in your Every Day Carry, Bug Out Bag and Evacuation Kits.  These tools help keep you safe in scenarios beyond those mentioned such as a massive dust storm, wildfire, volcano, etc.  Breathing is important!

This completes our review of the Master Evacuation Kit List.  In our next post in the series we’ll talk more specifically about 72 Hour Kits, inventorying them and putting them together for kids.

Clothing

This is another highly personal selection category.  The main thing to consider is that you have NO idea what type of situation you’re preparing for.  I suggest packing two separate crates for clothing.  The first should be  regular/warm weather clothes with the second containing winter clothes.  This way you won’t have to carry or dig through all the winter clothes unnecessarily.

Consider that during an evacuation you will likely be outside a lot, be doing much manual labor, could be schlepping through the woods, and may be doing industrial type cleanup.  You will want to have good sturdy clothes with you!  Also consider and prepare for different inclement weather.  It could be rainy, windy, sweltering hot, or freezing cold.

Also take your footwear into serious consideration.  You’ll need sturdy boots for clean-up and hiking and tennis shoes for around camp to give your feet a break from the boots.  You’ll also want to make sure you can keep your feet dry as much as possible.  I never met a camper who thought they had too many socks!

Cleaning Clothes

You’ll also want to make sure you have a method for washing out your clothes – especially if you end up outside a lot or doing disaster clean-up.  This is another area that you’ll want to pay careful attention to and make sure you Know Before You Go how to wash your clothes!  There are several techniques for doing this including using a scrub/washboard for cleaning hard dirt/stains, a plunger washer (plunger, 5 gallon bucket, water, laundry soap) for cleaning/rinsing and a clothes line and clothes pins for drying.

Bug Out and EDC Clothes

In a bug out situation, you can’t assume that you will have suitable clothes on when you bug out.  You should have at least 2, preferably more, changes of clothes in your BOB.  You’ll want to add and remove winter clothing considerations as the seasons change.  Gloves are always a critical component of a good BOB.

For EDC consideration, many serious preppers wouldn’t be caught wearing clothes that weren’t suitable for survival.  I personally only wear cargo or BDU style pants (in nice business dress colors), shirts which can conceal a firearm, sturdy boots and carry gloves and a beanie in my EDC bag.  Serious preppers are Ready for Anything Day in and Day out.  If this isn’t describing you, you may want to consider whether your accustomed daily attire is very fitting for an emergency situation and assess whether you want/need to make any changes.

Fuel

There are many, many techniques and tools for starting and maintaining fire – and to survive you MUST have this ability for heating yourself, cooking food and generating light.  I have been working on a post that covers many areas of fire starting, look for it soon.  Here, we will just briefly touch on several ways to start fire (create a flame) that you may include in your evacuation kit – remember, redundancy is your friend:

• BlastMatch
  or similar magnesium/flint combination
• Matches (waterproof)
• Lighter
• Magnifying Glass
• Steel Wool/9 volt battery

The type of fuel you pack in your Evacuation Kit will depend on what type of stove you have.  Make sure that you pack enough fuel to cook and heat for several days.  You may also be using battery powered light sources – if so you may consider stocking rechargeable batteries, a solar battery charger and solar panels.  We’ll have a post soon on this particular topic as well.

Fuel and EDC/BOB

Whereas in your Evacuation Kit you can pack a lot of fuel, your BOB and EDC kits will have much less to none.  For your Bug Out Bag, I suggest getting a compact backpacking stove and keeping the stove and one can of fuel in your BOB.  I also keep a Blast Match (pictured above), 2 lighters, matches and a flint/steel set in my BOB.

For EDC, I keep a BlastMatch and a lighter in my EDC Bag.  If you’re on the run with only your EDC and you need to cook or need heat, a fire is probably your best bet.  It would be wise to obtain the training and experience needed to be able to survive with just a fire.

Food Prep/Eating/Cleanup

I strongly recommend that you buy or build a good Chuck Box to keep all of your camping kitchen supplies in.  I will be following this series up with a full pictorial post and plans on how to build your own Chuck Box.  Not only does it serve to hold all your kitchen gear for your Evac Kit, but it helps keep it clean, organized and accessible.  Camping kitchen gear is famous for being lost, filthy or broken.

From experience, I suggest you pack more silverware and dishes than you think you need (not just one per person).  Make sure that you have a wash and a rinse basin along with sponges, a scouring pad and dish soap.   For you Evac Kit I would pack everything on our Master List for the kitchen.

BOB/EDC Food Preps

In your BOB you’ll want to pack a compact cooking set – the most important things are a pan to boil water in and a frying type pan.  With those two pans you can cook almost anything over a fire.  A wide metal plate, deep metal bowl, a metal mug and a spork type utensil are, in my experience, the best personal outdoor eating gear.  Mostly because they don’t take up much room, you can pack stuff inside them easily and when using them, you can put them over the fire to heat or boil their contents.  I keep a scouring pad with them as well for quick and easy cleaning.

For EDC, a spork and the previously mentioned Hydration Bladder and Straw Filter along with the assumed Pocket Knife will allow you to eat (it may not be the most convienent way to eat, but it’s convienent to carry).  Survival and Foraging skills will help you learn good methods for eathing without containers.

Books

The list has only a few books listed.  A proper emergency and survival book list would have to be it’s own never-ending list.  I’ve attempted to put some examples of categories of books that you might find useful in your Evacuation Kit, you’ll need to choose your favorites that you’ll want as both a reference and as reading material to pass potentially boring time.

I will say however that, if you’re religious, having your scriptures with you can help calm things and provide you with fine reading while you wait out the emergency.  I personally carry a very small set of scriptures in my EDC bag.

Personal Items

Some quick comments about this category:

• Toilet paper is something you really don’t want to be without.  Pack what you think you’re going to need, then add a roll or two.  Keep a roll in your BOB and at least some in your EDC.
• Tampons have their obvious uses, but they also make a great blood absorber.  If you’re in a situation where there’s a heavily bleeding wound, you can stuff a tampon in there to clot it off.
• Extra Glasses – if you missed it, here’s our post about getting quality, inexpensive glasses online.
• Contacts – if you wear contacts and if you don’t have a spare pair in your kit, make sure you put a spare contact case and some saline in there.  Chances are you’ll be wearing them when you bug out and will need to take them out.
• Hand Sanitizer – here’s our post on how to make your own hand sanitizer

Most of these items I keep in both my Evacuation Kit and my BOB, but other than TP, contact supplies, hand sanitizer and glasses, I don’t keep any of them in my EDC.

Basic Tool Kit

The tools listed will allow you to accomplish most of the common types of jobs you might run into in an evacuation.  I suggest putting together a toolbox that is specifically for your Evac Kit and loading it with tools NOT from your workbench, hopefully they’ll still be in there when it’s time to go.  Anything on the tool list that you feel you should take but don’t have doubles of, add to your “Don’t Forget List” and grab them on your way out. If you have a BOV, you can pre-load it with the hand tools like shovel and pick.

There are a few things on this list that make sense in a BOB and possibly in your EDC kit  – duct tape, Multitool, Hatchet, crow bar, wire cutters and a saw.  There may be others that make sense to you.  I keep duct tape in my EDC kit as well as a small crow bar.  I also have several of these tools in my Vehicle Kit.

Defense/Hunting

You may want some/none/all of the items in this category depending on your comfort levels and personal beliefs.  In an extended evacuation scenario, it may become necessary for you to provide food for you family by hunting.  It may also become necessary (witness New Orleans) to defend yourself from those who mean you harm.

Firearms

You’ll notice that the list includes all types of firearms: Rifles, shotguns and pistols.  If you don’t know much about guns but would like an introduction to what types of firearms you might need for different scenarios, you can read this Introduction to Firearms that I wrote a while ago.  Although you probably know what you’ll want to take (if you’re a gun owner), you may consider putting together a “Don’t Forget List” for firearms.  Be sure to grab as many magazines and ammunition as you feel you need and don’t forget your gun cleaning kit.

If you are inclined to prepare for a possible defensive situation, the other defensive items on this list will be useful for you.  I personally include my Battle Vest as part of my 72 Hour Kit and have it pre-packed so I can grab it on the run.

Click here for our next segment continuing the category review.  If you have anything to add about these categories, please do so in the comments!

In this post we’ll be discussing the items in the different categories on the Master List. If you haven’t seen the list yet, you can access it here.

As we go through these categories, keep in mind that your 72 hour kit will be more like packing for an extended hiking trip whereas your Evacuation Kit will be more like packing for an extended camping trip. Also keep in mind that redundancy and the ability to shed your larger kits and still be able to survive with your smaller kits is critically important. You may find yourself in a scenario where you have bugged out with your Evacuation Kit, but for whatever reason you have to ditch most of it and go on foot. Your G.O.O.D bag had better be able to support you while your on foot. Potentially, you could have to drop supplies all the way down to your EDC and be able to survive off the items in your pockets. Redundancy across your kits is paramount.

Pre-Planning

This is a topic we’ll cover in more detail in a later post, but it’s important to start off your evacuation planning by considering several scenarios – what you take with you is only one of the considerations!

Bug Out Vehicles

The first thing to know is, what vehicle(s) will you be evacuating in?  Your Bug Out Vehicle (BOV) is going to be a critical part of your successful evacuation since it’s what will get you there!  We’ll have an in depth post on this later in the series but you need to consider comfort for all those riding, gear storage, fuel capacity, reliability and so on.  If you are able, it’s a great idea to have a vehicle that you can hitch a trailer (camping or regular) to (or an RV).  This way you can pre-pack your gear into the trailer so everything is ready to go at a moments notice.  If you don’t currently have an adequate BOV, you may consider starting to save up for one and looking for good deals.

Timing

Getting out ahead of the crowds is an important part of evacuating.  You do NOT want to be in the situation pictured at the top of this post!  By planning ahead, pre-packing, pre-staging your gear in your trailer, etc. you can get a huge jump on the un-prepared masses and Get Out of Dodge before the traffic jams start.  Meet with your family, plan rally points, make sure everyone knows what will happen in an evacuation.

Bug Out Location (BOL)

Where are you going to go?  You might head to a friends place out of town or state.  You may head for the mountains.  Where you go is going to depend on lots of factors including what the emergency is that made you bug out.  Plan ahead and know where you can go.  Many preppers buy small (or large) parcels of land away from civilization and turn it into a retreat.  This may or may not mean building a cabin, building a storage facility, etc.  But having a retreat provides you with a location to get to and a place where you can pre-position some of your supplies.

You may end up going to a town just outside the danger zone and stay in a hotel or campsite there.  If you’re doing this, plan on having ways to look up phone numbers etc. so you can call ahead and find vacancies to reserve.  Of course, right outside the danger zone will probably be cramped and crazy.  You may want to head another 30 miles or so out.  With this plan, many preppers will pre-stage supplies in small storage units or at friends houses along the way.

Route Planning

Once you know where you’re going to go and you know your family rally points, plan out how to get there.  Consider typical traffic, where traffic jams may occur in an evacuation, types of roads, etc.  The best plan will avoid the masses as much as possible.  Try to figure out a route using uncommon roads to get out of town and hit the highway quickly.  If you can’t avoid high traffic areas, plan multiple optional routes to work around traffic so you can pick an alternate based on the situation.

Comfort

We’ll talk about entertainment later, but consider the comfort of the passengers in your BOV.  You don’t want kids packed unsafely in between storage crates in the back seat.  You’ll want to have games and books for the kids, some snacks, water, etc.  Consider how long a drive it is to your BOL and plan a trip kit accordingly.  Then be prepared for the 2,806 “Are we there yet?”.   You’ll want to keep them from getting bored but also from getting scared.  Also consider weather – if it’s hot you’ll want extra water, if it’s cold you’ll want extra blankets.  You’ll want to avoid wasting gas idling in a traffic jam just to run the heater/AC.

The List

Keep in mind (or re-read the second post in this series) that the purpose of this list is to make sure you’ve considered everything. You should be paring down the list to what you personally feel you need to have. And so, on to the Category review.

Food

The majority of the food types listed are dry, high in energy types of food.  Most of them are lightweight and will keep for extended periods of time.  Note that many of them require water to be added to them – you should keep this in mind when you are deciding your water requirements.  There is a variety of foods listed, these are suggested possibilities.  You should build a list of the foods you want to take with you and stock on those (don’t feel like you need to get each item on the list).

Your Evacuation Food Crate

The Canned foods on the list, which include the liquid foods like honey, should be stored in a box or crate (labeled ‘Food’) and made ready to go.  These are the heavier foods and you won’t want to carry them around in a BOB.  The fragile foods like crackers should also be stored in your food crate along with whatever amounts and types of other foods you feel you need to evacuate with.   Keep in mind that your Evac Kit is your top comfort level, you’re keeping stuff to make several meals on the road – you don’t have to be over-limiting in what you’re willing to pack.

Bug Out Bag Food Packet

The food you store in your BOB should be the highest in energy/protien that you can get.  You’ll want enough to have a few meals with and also several snacks.  Gum and Hard Tack candies are great for you BOB.  I personally keep several packets of Ramen Noodles and oatmeal in my BOB for meals along with a few MREs.  While your BOB will sustain you for a couple days, you’re likely going to need to supplement your food supply with hunting and foraging.   Make sure you have the skills and tools to do so.

EDC Food

In your EDC Kit, you should have high energy foods that you can eat on the run.  I recommend bouillon cubes for their high protein value along with some jerky and a protein bar or two.  A pack of gum and a few pieces of hard tack candy are nice as well.   If you are required to live off of your EDC Kit, you should have or develop foraging and hunting skills as well – you won’t be able to keep enough food to last you long.  Your EDC Kit should include any tools or items you will need for foraging and hunting.

If you’re planning to take a pet with you if you have to evacuate, don’t forget to store some food for several days for them as well!

Water

You won’t last long at all if you haven’t planned for water. Water preparation is one of the most important things in your Evacuation plans!  If you’re going to overkill anywhere, this is the category to do it in!

We’ve covered water preparedness at home, but for Evacuation it’s a bit of a different thing.  Depending on how many people you’re going to be supporting, I personally would start off with a couple 5-7  gallon jugs full of water that can be thrown in a trailer or truck during your evacuation loading.  You can store these full or empty – if you store them full be sure to rotate the water every 6 months (follow other guidelines for safe water storage as well).  The key here is to have something prepared so that in an evacuation you can grab your water and go.

You’ll also need to make sure you have ways of carrying water as you work down through the BOB and EDC Levels.  Water bottles, canteens and hydration bladders work well in your BOB.  It is also a good idea to keep several store bought bottled water bottles in your Vehicle Kit, Office Kit and Bug Out Bag.  An empty hydration bladder is very compact, I suggest keeping one rolled up in your EDC Kit as well.

Water Filters

There are lots of different water filters available and I would strongly recommend you have several of them in your preps.  I suggest keeping a really good and decent sized one in your Evacuation Food Kit so that when you’re throwing everything in the trailer you’ll know you have it. With this filter, keep in mind that the purpose of it is to refill those 5 gallon jugs – so make sure it’s easy and fast to use!

You also need to make sure you have a separate water filter in your Bug Out Bag.  The purpose of this water filter is to allow you to fill a container and take the container with you.  There are some great bottle filtration systems that allow you to fill your water bottle and it is filtered as you drink it.  I carry two of these in my personal BOB.

You’ll also want to keep a Straw Filter in your EDC gear.  These filters are ultra compact and let you drink from almost any water source.  The one pictured can also adapt to a hydration bladder.  If you’re on the move with only your EDC you’ve got to be able to consume water safely!

If you’re using a hydration bladder, there are inline filtration systems you can get that allow you to fill them from almost any source and filter them at consumption time.  (If you’re doing this, make sure you know which bladders have had unfiltered water in them and don’t use them for clean water!)

Hydration bladders can be stored/used independently or incorporated into day packs or backpacks where the drinking tube allows you to use them without removing them.  This makes them ideal for almost any of your Kits.

Fuel (Automotive)

If there is cause for evacuation, history has shown us repeatedly that fuel almost instantly become a rare commodity.  If you’re not already, become accustomed to keeping your vehicle, especially your Bug Out Vehicle (BOV), full of gas as frequently as possible.  Consider your half tank marker to be your empty marker and fill it back up!

If you have a 20 gallon tank on your car, store six 5 gallon cans full of gas at home.  This gives you 10 gallons to top off your tank with when you bug out (preferably you’ll be ahead of the game and be able to do this at the gas station and take that 10 gallons with you) and allows you to take a full tank of gas with you.  If you’re able to, consider storing even more cans of gas at home.  A good way to store this away from your house is to dig a trench at the back of your property, put the cans in it and cover the trench with plywood (to hide it, throw a little dirt over the plywood and incorporate a flower garden around it).  Be sure to use Sta-Bil to keep your gas from going bad.  We’ll have a post going into this in depth shortly.

Be sure you have a plan for carrying your gas with you in your BOV so that when you evacuate you’re able to grab the gas cans and go.  There are external carrying systems you can get for your vehicle, or you can just stow them in a trailer or the back of a truck.  Planning to store gas inside the vehicle you’re driving is a bad idea as there is a good chance that fumes can accumulate in the car making everyone sick.

It’s also a good idea to keep a siphon system or just a length of hose in your evacuation kit (and your Vehicle Kit).  In a pinch you may need to get fuel out of a different vehicle and into your BOV.

Shelter/Bedding

Your Bug Out Vehicle (BOV) might be an RV, Camp or other Trailer that you can sleep in – or it may be a little car that the last thing you’d never want to sleep in (a later post in this series will discuss BOVs). Either way, it is a very good idea to have a large tent that will comfortably house your family and much of your gear for several days in your Evacuation Kit.  You’ll also want to have a box or crate pre-packed with bedding (blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, etc) so you can just grab it and go.  Be sure to include tarps, ropes, tent stakes, etc in your Evac Kit.  Your shelter is a critical part of successful evacuation,  spend a bit of time and effort making sure it is all there and packed properly.

Bug Out Bag Shelters

Assuming you don’t have your Evac Kit shelter with you, your BOB should contain a backpacking tent and sleeping bag or, if you plan to rough it a bit, a tarp can serve just fine as a shelter.  If you’re using a tarp for a shelter, make sure you practice building different types of shelters with it – bugged out is not the time to learn!

For EDC, it’s a good idea to carry an Emergency (or Space) Blanket with you.  They are extremely compact and will give you something to wrap up in during the night.  It is a good idea to also learn survival skills that will allow you to create a shelter while on the run, and then carry the tools with you to do so.

In our next segment, we continue working through the categories in our master list.  If you have anything to add about these categories, please do so in the comments!