10 Must-Have Items for a Bug Out Bag

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My BOB sounds much like all of yours with the exception of a few items. I have an etool(etrenching tool) in my bag as well. It's a U.S military issue one and would be very handy in an emergency situation. I also have snares and autofishers, that as I'm bugging to another location I can survive for more than 3 days if need be. Just a few more things to look into for your BOB's
 
jimLE said:
10. blankets
i have a spread that i bought at dollor genral year before last.it's %100 poyester.but warm as can be.pluse it folds up rather small and is very light whight.if it aint quiet warm enough at time.then the space banket might work with it.
9. clothes
always change them out of the time of year and weather.include a puncho or 2.never know when you might be stuck on foot in the rain.pluse it'll help you stay warm when needed
8. Battery Powered Radio
i have a eton am/fm/weather band radio.no power cord for it.but i can and do use the hand crank and solar panal to charge up the battries in it..it also has a usb port for chargeing cell phones and a flash light
7. Cash
keeping 1's 5's 10's and 20's on hand will be a big pluse if we get through what ever happens
6. Flashlight
i have 3 flash lights,and one head lamp.in which 2 use tripple a,and 1 uses d..i also recently got a solor pwered battry charger.so i'll be able to keep those battries charge with it if needed
5. Flint
flint fire starter matchs bic and a zippo kept in a water proof contaner
4. water
even if you dont have a gallon of water per day.it might prove usefull to have extra water containers on you.this way you can fill them when needed.especilly if looks like you'll go another 2 or 3 days before comeing across water again
3.food.
thinking packets of food.on acount thier flater then cans.and the packets are reuseable as well as cans are.
2.shelter
a 2 person tent should work if theres 1 or 2 of you.and like you suggested.tarps.pluse a hammok or 2.thier quieker n easyer to put up n take down.pluse some are inclosed,kinda like haveing a tent tied to 2 trees and off the ground
1. first aid kit.
the meds thats taken each day/week..oientments for scraps and posion ivy/oak band-aids.gauze pads tape.even plumbers tape might work on keeping gauze in place
i lil camping cooking kit of some kind.you not only can cook n heat food in it.but if you get the right set-up.you can boil water with the lil pot that comes with it..also maps of where you are and will be. and compass's knifes for hunting and cutting up meats.
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Instead of cash I Cary silver bars. What if cash is useless?
 
good idea captain..but one thing about cash money gold and silver..some if not most folks won't accept any of them on account they'd rather buy/trade for something they need..for example.you might have something i need in the way of food,first aid,or water.and same applies when it comes to what i have and what you need/want instead of money gold or silver..
 
a nice little shovel is a must.
remember still how my DI had a show and tell abt ;how to sharpen your shovel and where to hit it on the enemy, oh-boy some of my fellow recruits had a strange look on thier face
 
Captain said:
Instead of cash I Cary silver bars. What if cash is useless?
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A friend of mine advised not to carry any sort of cash or precious metals. His advice was the most tradable currency during a SHTF event was food and ammunition. Carry extras of both of these for trading.
 
Would suck to get killed by a bullet you traded to someone, eh? I have an etool for mine too, but I wouldn't consider it in the top 10. Nice to have, but other items more essential.
 
yeah,to say the least.trade 1 bullet for a couple of items.then get shot in the back as i'm leaving..definitely don't sound inviting at all.besides.that 1 bullet can put food on the table.or stop a threat..
 
Reminds me of the metro games trading an essential item is not ideal if you think about it, if it came down to it salt and other such items are much better for trade and if you needed to you could take that bullet and put it to better use than just trade, hunting defense or if necessary offense
 
Gazrok said:
Would suck to get killed by a bullet you traded to someone, eh?
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I would never trade my bullets in a WORL or SHTF situation, salt, sugar, food, etc. etc. yea I would trade those kind of things, but if you need something really badly, and the other guy will only trade for ammo, then he’s probably out of ammo and you can, as much as I hate to say it, take what you need since you still have ammo. If it comes down to something that would save your or your family’s life.
 
Ten, are you kidding! I don't know how much my bag weighs, but I know it's too damned heavy! I'm really well prepared but if I had to hoof it I think I'd be dumping a lot of things. By the way I did not see good ole toilet paper. A few rolls can work as fire starter, first aide, pillow, and of course, well you know.
 
Yeah, but nobody (initially) is going to trade you anything vital for a piece of metal, precious or not. Still, silver is better than gold at least, for trading. At about $19 an ounce (today), much more divisible and usable.
 
jimLE said:
only way i'd carry ammo for trade.is if ( I ) decide that i have more then what i need in ammo.and if i know that person wont use it to kill me in a shtf situation..
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That is the point - x-pounds of bullets or food will quickly have more trading value than the same weight in gold or silver. Pretty quickly gold & silver will have zero value.
 
yeah..but i still rather trade a piece of clothing or food if not something else before i trade any amount of ammo.on account that ammo might save my life some day.or put some meat from a deer or pig onto my table.where that 1 round could get me killed in a shtf situation..never take a unloaded gun to a gun fight.
 
The tricky deal with Barter though, is divisibility. For example, you can't trade two goats for a cow, if a cow is worth three goats. I can't give you 2/3 of the cow...well, I can, but now it is meat...vs. a milk producing cow.

We plan on being a trading post once things settle down, but we will certainly not be trading away ammo. Excess food, water, and services, sure, but not ammo.
 
In Australia - In the top ten would add the following to the top ten in BoB, based on rule of threes, "
In any extreme situation you cannot survive for more than:
3 minutes without air - 3 hours without shelter
3 days without water - 3 weeks without food.

Item I would prioritize:
  • Stainless steel canteen that can boil water
  • Letherman type multi tool or fixed blade knife
  • Axe & saw blade
  • Tarp
  • Sleeping bag
  • fly/mosquito net
  • First aid (antibiotics & gasto stop)
  • Food
  • Crank radio & torch & USB charger, fire lighter combination
  • 22LR rifle

Cordage - there is always wire - clothing, seat belts general mess lying around that can be used for cordage - not a big priority but in reality there are a myriad of small items light weight items that can be easily carried or integrated in your EDC, like a wrist watch that can be used as a compass etc..

OK I left out fire, if you have a vehicle can use cigarette lighter or two wires and short out the battery, can use reading glasses that I carry - a lighter can be part of EDC not needed in BoB, also I think some crank radios have fire starter as well - also need to learn to make fire without any modern tools.!!! http://www.amazon.com/SE-FL3139-6-In-1-Dynamo-Starter/dp/B008JRRBJY
 
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would you trust a serial killer with these items? fixed blade knife,Axe,22LR rifle..
chances are you dont..and thats why those items are at the bottom of my list,when it comes to barter/trade. people will change for the worse in a shtf situation..and disparate people will do disparate things in disparate times..
 
I suppose if you a trade in Ammunition - it could end up in the wrong hands. One has to be careful who you trade with. I don't think there will be a shortage of knives and axes etc as there are so many out there and population will have had dramatic decrease - ammo is a different story.
But this is way off topic.
 
true about different weapons like knives and axes being on hand before and during a shtf situation.but why supply someone with something that can come back to haunt you.especially if you can use it yourself?
 
Ammo is going to be plentiful in this neck of the woods for a good while. If you don't sell or trade it, someone else will. You will not be accomplishing anything by not using it for barter. I can't speak for other areas.
 
Hippophibia said:
In Australia - In the top ten would add the following to the top ten in BoB, based on rule of threes, "
In any extreme situation you cannot survive for more than:
3 minutes without air - 3 hours without shelter
3 days without water - 3 weeks without food.

Item I would prioritize:
  • Stainless steel canteen that can boil water
  • Letherman type multi tool or fixed blade knife
  • Axe & saw blade
  • Tarp
  • Sleeping bag
  • fly/mosquito net
  • First aid (antibiotics & gasto stop)
  • Food
  • Crank radio & torch & USB charger, fire lighter combination
  • 22LR rifle

Cordage - there is always wire - clothing, seat belts general mess lying around that can be used for cordage - not a big priority but in reality there are a myriad of small items light weight items that can be easily carried or integrated in your EDC, like a wrist watch that can be used as a compass etc..

OK I left out fire, if you have a vehicle can use cigarette lighter or two wires and short out the battery, can use reading glasses that I carry - a lighter can be part of EDC not needed in BoB, also I think some crank radios have fire starter as well - also need to learn to make fire without any modern tools.!!! http://www.amazon.com/SE-FL3139-6-In-1-Dynamo-Starter/dp/B008JRRBJY
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Only thing I don't see as a must have is a water filter, possibly even two. Yes you can boil, but a filter can help keep you going until you're situated better and can have the time to boil.
 
Brent S said:
Only thing I don't see as a must have is a water filter, possibly even two. Yes you can boil, but a filter can help keep you going until you're situated better and can have the time to boil.
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I agree I keep two filters in my bag
 
jontte said:
I've been looking at ruger 10/22,I would love the tactical but with a prizetag for almost 800 euros,well I keep dreaming :) , and propably take the semi-auto 10/22
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I have the Ruger but I prefer my Springfield armoury M6 Scout.
22 hornet / 410 combo. Also comes with in 22lr / 410. Which is probably a better choice.
Great small rifle that folds up into a BOB or comes apart with one pin. Light weight and pretty accurate.
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WILD MAN said:
I had to line the food saver bags with paper towels to keep the rice from poking holes in the plastic, and still sometimes it didn’t work; for small quantities of rice I had better luck putting it in empty 24oz. soda bottles with a small O2 absorber.
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Good idea ... I'm going to use that !
 
Clyde said:
Water being, in my opinion, the most important consumable should make people want to learn all they can about water purification. Depending on how long you are in survival mode, filters might not last long enough.

Please share what you know about water purification!
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I don't know nearly as much as I Want to know. However, boiling water for 3 minutes will kill most organic toxins in the water. This does NOTHING for chemical poisons. There are also iodine and chlorine bleach methods to purify water, but I cannot remember off the top of my Head how much is safe to use. Again, however, It's useless against Chemical toxins in water.

Does any one know any method is removing chemical toxins from water??
 
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