Lighten Your Load . . . .

 

There are some tricks you can use to lighten up that ruck / pack / sack (or whatever you call that huge transport bag you strap on your back when you want to move your “things” over long distances by foot.)

Most importantly packing your ruck sack correctly, more so, distributing the weight correctly by the order in which items of differing weight are packed, really helps the fatigue factor when hiking or rucking.  Read about that here:  http://defensivetraininggroup.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/ruck-sack-packing-a-primer/

Aside from that, there are some ways to “shave” ounces and eventually pounds off your overall ruck weight so you can go farther in a shorter amount of time.  Regardless of your objective, if you have a survival load on your back you need to pack with you the things that will continue your heart beating.  Here is an excellent article on the packing priorities in regard to survival in hostile environments:  http://mountainguerrilla.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/travel-light-freeze-at-night-comments-and-notes-on-packing-the-bug-out-baggo-bagpatrol-pack/

 

Now, in the context of those two articles . . . .

Here are some ideas / products that will help you save some ounces:

The Sawyer MINIFilter:  Fits in the palm of the hand small.  Filters out all sorts of things that make you have the “runs” such as ecoli, bacteria, protozoa, cysts, giardia, etc, etc.  (those are the ones that can make you really really sick).  The filter is good for 100,000 gallons of water (and comes with a back-flushing kit).  Which if you use 2 gallons of filtered water a day . . . would last you for over 130 years.  Over 65 years if you and another person are using it.  It only weighs a few ounces. 

 

*If viruses are a concern, you might consider adding a small bottle and household bleach and eye dropper to your pack.  Read the previous post on waterborne viruses to understand what they are and what they are not. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vargo TitaniumHexagon Pack Stove:  Again, it only weighs a few ounces.  The stove is very efficient, blocks the wind, and folds up into a very thin space.  The ability to build a small contained but efficient fire could be a key survival ingredient you need. This especially is the case if you do not want to broadcast to anyone in the area your presence with huge beach fire flames.  The GLSC Team packs this Vargo stove wherever we go in the wild.

Wiggy's Sleeping Bags:  Pound for pound, Wiggy's Lamilite filled sleeping bags and garments, wick water the best, and provide the best insulation when the temps go down, than any other product on the market.  "ask us how we know".  Wiggy's 5 lb sleeping bag offers cold weather insulating qualities that beat a bag with twice the weight. 

*The fact that these relatively light weight bags have saved lives, when guys in the field have broke through a frozen lake without any available rescue crew to bring them back is a testament to the value of the product.

GLSC Level 1 Wilderness First Aid Kit:  Big enough to handle your wilderness first aid emergencies but light weight enough to carry all day and not know it's there.

Knife Sharpening Supplies:  Need to keep your knife sharp?  Try a leather hone with hone compound instead of a heavy stone.  Made for GLSC here in Michigan, we carry these to touch up our knives in the field.  This will save at least a pound in your pack.

Level 1 Survival Kit - Re-visited

 

 

The Level 1 Kit pictured serves as a primer for setting up your survival kit the way you want it.

We love the idea of having consolidated and compartmentalized kit organization.  The level 1 kit below, is right there on the knife! 

 

Of course this kit is not complete.  There are some pocket items that you would want to have, such as a compact water purifier, compass, 4 mil plastic sheet, etc.  However, it is set up in a way that you could meet immediate wilderness survival needs. 

 

With a figure 4 para cord lace pattern, it's very easy to attach a Molle type pouch to your favorite knife sheath and have almost all your level 1 survival items right on your knife.

 

Here we show an Ek Model 5 Bowie.  You can see the sheath has had a snap added to the Velcro closure.  (Just a little extra insurance against losing one of my favorite survival knives.)

 

In a normal Molle pistol pouch, we were able to add a fire steel and scraper, fishing line, fishing hooks, cotton balls with Vaseline as tinder, water purification tabs, and a miniature leather hone for sharpening.

This post is just food for thought.  Really the para cord lacing on the sheath makes this all possible.  I'm sure there's a million and one ways to add a utility pouch to your knife sheath, this is just one.

It sure is easy to grab one knife, strap it on the belt and have a way to get food, build fire, and construct shelter, all in one package.

Providing some more food for thought,

Thanks for reading,

- The Great Lake Survival Team

The .22 Survival Pistol

 

Everybody has one of these tucked in a waterproof container inside their ruck sack right?

For what it weighs, the match grade .22 pistol can mean a great deal to the stranded survivor who is either trying to be found, or escape and evade.  From taking wild game to quietly defending one’s life, for the return on investment you cannot beat a match grade .22 pistol.

Major benefits of the .22 Survival Pistol

 

1. 150 rounds of .22LR ammo weighs very little
2. Generally quiet report when rounds are fired compared to larger caliber handguns
3. Pretty decent accuracy with match grade sights / trigger out to 60 yards
4. Ability to take up to deer size game with proper shot placement
5. Highly concealable and easy to keep waterproof for long term storage in a ruck

It’s generally accepted that being able to shoot golf balls at 25 meters is a pretty good standard for accuracy.  If you can hit a golf ball with your .22 pistol 9 out of 10 times at that range, you’re doing well.

Match grade iron sights work well, but optics give one a better chance to hit what they’re aiming at.  A note though, . . . if you do have optics on your survival pistol, make sure you have quick release levers in case your scope gets “boogered” and goes “tits up”.

Browning, Smith & Wesson and Ruger make the most recognized match grade .22 pistols.  They are all easy to customize with optics, lights, ammo and grips.

As far as ammo goes, your “survival pistol” can eat all sorts of specialized .22 LR rounds.

We recommend you try different types of .22 rounds as long as they are specifically made for your firearm, and see how they perform for you.

One last note, a day at the range with the .22 pistol can be fun for you, your spouse and your young adult.  Ammo costs next to nothing, and learning to shoot builds confidence in one’s person.

Thanks for reading,

The Great Lake Survival Team

GLSC LEVEL 3 SURVIVAL KIT

Level III Survival Ruck Purpose:  Remote wilderness excursions, SAR, hiking and hunting trips. 

USMC ILBE Ruck Sack w/ Small Pack

USMC ILBE Large Ruck Sack

USMC ILBE Large Ruck Sack

USMC ILBE Large Ruck Sack

If we’re out in “the bush” and any significant distance from home . . . the level III kit is a great thing to have.  As you can see, the level III kit has the original level II kit attached to its back.

With the items listed below, the large ruck shouldn’t be too heavy, but should be able to sustain an individual for several weeks in the wild (assuming proficiency in bush craft).  Whether you are hunting, hiking, or just plain surviving, the level III kit should give a trained individual the tools to “keep on” for quite a while.

As listed in the previous blog entries on survival level kits, this is an outline.  It can be changed to meet the needs of the individual or team.  Obviously in an arctic environment, you’ll need a few different items in that you may or may not need in the desert.

Level III Survival Ruck items:

Level III gear laid out

Level II Kit: The level II kit should be in or on or attached to the large ruck.  The level III Large ruck is not complete without it.

Waterproof Containers:  One of the best things that any of us here have been taught and taught to others about organizing your gear is to use waterproof bags.  When you do that, you can organize your gear in to “cells”.  Food goes in one, clothing goes in another, etc., etc.  MAC Sacks pictured below were developed for the USMC.  There are a number of different styles and manufacturers, use the ones that seem most durable.

Waterproof Jacket / Pants:  There are so many out there.  One of our favorites is the condor “Summit, Softshell” purchased from www.ravenswoodenterprises.com .  Actually there are a couple of these floating around here at Great Lake Survival.  A good quality for a waterproof jacket to have would be a hood and opening under the arms for proper ventilation.  With the advent of Gortex, finding something that suits your needs shouldn’t be too hard at a reasonable price.  Gortex pants are good thing to have as well.  Pictured below are a set of ECWCS Multicam Gortex coated jacket and pants.

ECWCS Cold / Rain gear

Light Weight Poly-Propylene Long Johns / Extra set of Pants / Shirt:  You can get a pair of poly-pros for $15 online and they are guaranteed to keep your skin drier and warmer.  A cheap set of cargo pants and flannel shirt run about $18 at the local Walmart.  In a waterproof sack, dry clothes to change into after a river crossing sure is a nice thing to have.

Poly Pros and Extra Clothes in Waterproof Bag

Tinder / Fuel for Stove:  If everything is wet, it’s nice to have some dry oak splinters and some good tinder.  This is a weight vs. return on investment depending on where you are and how much your level III kit weighs.

Candles: They can bring up the ambient temperature in a shelter even in arctic conditions.  They are a must.

Hydration Bladder:  Most small packs have an area built into them for a water bladder.  With the survival straw or whatever water purifier you use, you can keep up to 100 oz clean drinking water on you.  In arctic weather, you can keep your hydration bladder from freezing by wearing it under your coat.  The hydration bladder can be thrown in the Level II or Level III kits pretty easily.

Hydration Bladder

Frog Gig:  A small recurring pond is a great place to gig frogs for dinner.  Such a lightweight tool . . . all you have to find a straight-ish pole to attach it too and you’re set.

Survival Pistol:  .22 caliber pistols make collecting wild game a much easier task.  A match grade barrel with premium ammo is the way to go.  Below you can see a Browning Buckmark.  Some prefer Smith & Wesson models, some like the Ruger models.  If it works for you, and you can hit a golf ball at 25 yards with one try . . . you’re doing pretty good.

Browning Buckmark - Survival .22 Pistol

GMRS Radio:  Get the best you can afford.  We like the midland waterproof series.  Extra batteries.  Extended range models.  Most claim 25 to 35 mile ranges, but that’s usually only over open water or from mountain top to mountain top.  We’ve personally seen brush so thick with a distance of less than a half mile, reception between two parties was lost.

Waterproof HF GMRS Radio

Survival Tomahawk:  Obviously at GLSC, we’re partial to our product improved ‘hawks.  They have paracord handles, a hammer on one end, and a blade on the other.  You can build, destroy, defend against wild animals, and break free a trapped person with a ‘hawk.  The personal favorite is the GLSC Pipehawk shown below.

GLSC Pipe Hawk

Food Ration:  Something lightweight and highly nutritious is the best option.  Met-RX type “colossal” bars are what’s used here.  3 bars can sustain a person for 3 days.  With 12 bars and a few “freeze” dried meals, you can be set for 8 to 10 days without resupply.  And the best thing are those rations in a waterproof  bag weigh only a couple pounds.

Food Rations

Sleeping Bag or Poncho Liner:  Depending on your climate you may only need a poncho and liner for your sleeping bag.  In the northern great lakes region we experience lows at night that dip to -20.  One night during a winter survival course, a reading was taken with an outside temp of -30 F .  Pictured below is a Wiggy’s “ultra-lite”.  The bag itself is good down to a real 0 degrees.  If you add the over bag it covers you down to -40 F.  Snugpak makes some good bags as well.  There has not been a bag made yet that seems to do better than Wiggy’s lamilite filled bags.  Worth their weight in gold:  www.wiggys.com

Wiggy's Super Lite Sleeping Bag

Climbing Rope & Snap Links:  A good length of rope and a couple snap links can help a team across a river.  There are countless uses for rope and snap links for search and rescue, or survival training.  One member in the team should carry a large rope.  The rest of the members can carry 12 ft. lengths for tying a “Swiss seat”, and a smaller length for attaching your pack to the crossing rope.   

Climbers Rope & Snap Links

Survival Trowel or E-Tool:  A full blown e-tool might be a little too heavy for what you need.  We recommend that you carry at least a high impact resin “survival trowel”.  If you frequent remote areas that are generally subject to wild fires . . . you may bite the bullet and pack the extra weight of a full blown entrenching tool.

Survival Trowel

With bush craft skills and the right tools, and individual can survive for quite a while in the wilderness.  The best way that we’ve found to get used to our gear is to get out in the woods and go camping.  We’ve tested these kits in all four seasons and they work great.

Here are the kits, Level II and III next to the Level I gear.

Level 1 Gear next to Level 2 and Level 3 Ruck

So there you have it, Level I, Level II and Level III kits.  "Wired tight".

As always thanks for reading,

- The GLSC Team

GLSC LEVEL 2 SURVIVAL KIT

Level II Survival Kit Purpose:  Supplement to EDC / Local Search And Rescue, hiking,  hunting

This Level II survival kit is based on what has been most useful to have in a second line of gear outside of “pocket gear”.   With experience, no one knows what’s best for your kit than you.  This outline is a good general place to start though if you’re looking for suggestions.

Level II gear all laid out

The idea of the level II kit is to have a few more items that are highly useful, but in a small pack, so that you will be more likely to have it on you when you're in the wild or far from home.  Some people like to use fanny packs, some like satchels or other things.  This particular pack, attaches to a larger ruck (the level III Survival Kit).  This small pack is part of the U.S.M.C. ILBE load carrying equipment.

 We’ve found most useful, that a small pack with a canteen pouch and first aid pouch attached to the outside, fills the role of a level II kit very nicely.  It can be carried all day and hardly realize you have a pack on your back.

Level II Components:

Level II container:  Small ILBE detachable pack, with military canteen pouch and first aid kit pouch.

ILBE day pack - great for Level II small pack

Poncho:  If I have a survival vest on, my poncho is in my kidney pouch.  If I didn’t have anything but cargo pants . . . my poncho would be in the cargo pocket.  Poncho’s are great for shelter, collecting water, and keeping dry.  There are literally bunches of things to use a poncho for.  You’d be hard pressed to find anyone from GLSC without their poncho in the wild.  Old stock rubberized ponchos are tough and don’t leak.  German surplus models are just about as good as the USGI models that are getting scarce.

Canteen Cup:  This is my drinking cup, my frying pan and my cereal bowl.  It’s light weight and can hold a lot of items when not in use.  There are more light weight options out there, but these old USGI models give you the best bang for your buck.

Canteen Cup & Canteen Stove (fits right over bottom of cup)

Canteen Cup Stove:  This stove fits right over the bottom of my canteen cup, and both tuck neatly in my level II canteen pouch.  It was purchased from the www.canteenshop.com .

Insect Repellent / Insect head net:  A little bottle fits right on the side pouch of the canteen cup pouch.  (best to keep 100% deet away from the inside container that you drink and cook from).

Bug Juice

Tube of Peanut Butter:  Unless you’re allergic, peanut butter offers a great source of protein, fat and salt.  In a pinch, it’s easy to get yourself some calories for energy.  Most importantly it never seems to go bad, and it’s compact.

Peanut Butter Tubes

Bullion Cubes:  If you need to harvest wild game, you’ll be happy you had something to season it with.

Professional Game Snares:  Professional game snares are worth their weight in gold.  The locking kind sure beat using paracord to make your game traps with.

Small Game Snares

IFAK:  (Individual First Aid Kit.)  Band-Aids, Pain Relief, Burn Gel, Anti-Bacterial Ointment, Electrolyte Tabs, Alcohol wipes, etc in a smaller kit.  Great Lake Survival makes a handy little packet to throw in your level II kit.  Again, it’s easy enough to make yourself if you want a more simple kit.  Probably the most important items are the Israeli Battle Dressing and Tourniquet  for major bleeding.  The “IBD” and TK4 tourniquet put compression on the wound and can be applied by the person wounded if necessary.

*** Also, we recommend some sun screen.  Being sun burnt anytime is bad, but being sun burnt when you're far from home just plain stinks.

GLSC Level 1 - Individual First Aid Kit

Water Filter: We like the Sawyer .10 Absolute Micron water filter.  Where most water filters only do .20 absolute microns, the Sawyer line of handheld filters double the filtration effort.  Not only that, they come with a 1,000,000 gallon guarantee.  If you have something you like though . . . use it!  You know what you like, and if you’re experienced, you know what works.  The best thing is to have a filter that fits in this kit.  You can go a long time without food, but not so long without clean water.

Sawyer .10 Squeeze Water Filter

Gloves & Socks:  There should be a pair of socks in the level II kit, but another couple pairs don’t take up space and dry socks are a life saver.  A good pair of gloves does wonders for keeping the hands from getting cuts and infections.  Anything is better than nothing in this category.  There are better wicking socks out there, it’s all in what you want.

Boonie Hat and Balaclava:  If it gets chilly, you have to cover your neck and your head.  With a brimmed hat and a balaclava to keep your face and neck warm, you might just be a little bit more comfortable in bad weather.  The boonie hat is a must though, it keeps the rain and sun out of one’s eyes.

Boonie Hat & Balaclava

Distress Strobe:  If you plan on, or could be ever assisting in the rescue of a person, or be rescued yourself, you might have one of these little guys with you.  It too can fit inside your level II pouch if it’s compact enough.

Coffee or Tea Bags:  You have a stove, you have canteen cup . . . a couple of coffee or tea bags are next to nothing as far as weight and size.  Imagine being part of  a search for a missing child in the wilderness, driving rain and sleet for the last 12 hours . . .  The ability to make a warm cup of coffee and continue on the search might not be a bad thing.

Life without Coffee isn't worth living . . .

Paracord: 20 – 50 ft of paracord.  There’s not much bush craft that doesn’t have a use for paracord.

Paracord

Hygiene Kit: Kept in a Nalgene collapsible bladder there is Camp suds, mineral salt deodorant, dental floss, tooth brush, a shaving razor, tooth paste and whatever other small items you need to keep clean, of high morale and free from infection.

Hygiene Kit

Each level kit, builds on the lower level.  For instance, I have items in my level II kit that should be in my level III kit.  If I can easily attach the level II kit to the outside of my large ruck, I’m less likely to have redundant items in my next higher kit, which will lighten the load.  Lighter loads tend to have more of a chance of being taken with you, than left back at camp because “I’m just going up and over this hill for a few minutes . . .”

The purpose of the level I kit obviously is to have an everyday carry.  Yes you might not have all the “pocket items” or a BIG KNIFE while you’re at work.  But we can all carry a credit card sized survival kit.

Any place from short hiking trips in the local wilderness to more remote areas.  You might be able to get away with leaving your large ruck in the vehicle if only a mile away, while taking your smaller pack.  With the items above, a person can survive in the wild for quite a while. 

The important thing is that each level kit has its place and its practicality.

Level I and Level II kits side by side

Again, it seems that the smaller and lighter the kit, the more likely that you will have it on you.

Thanks for reading,

-          GLSC Team

GLSC LEVEL 1 BASIC SURVIVAL KIT

We would like to take a look at Survival kits.  Most people organize their survival kits into “Levels” or “Lines”.  In this post we’ll discuss the most basic of kits.  People in the survival community would agree on certain items to always have in their most basic Level 1 or first line kit.  BUT, best thing about your kit, is that it’s yours.  You can go out, practice and see what works for you and what doesn’t.  If you’re not sure what works, a good place to start is by reading the “6 ways in, 12 ways out” manual put out by  www.USRSOG.org .  Practice those techniques in the outdoors, or even in your backyard.

Great Lake Survival suggests using 3 different Levels of Survival kits.  The 3 levels of survival kits are very similar to what the USRSOG manual suggests.  There’s a reason for that . . . IT WORKS!  Level 1 kit, going forward, is the most essential kit you would want to have, and at the same time, you’d be willing to carry it with you every day. 

The next Level 2, and 3 are essential survival kits, but get bulkier as the kit level increases.  The idea is that the bulkier the items, the less likely it is that you’re going to carry that item everywhere.  If you happen into a “bad situation”, you’re more likely to have your essential Level 1 kit, any given time of the day, than your monster size, end of the world, ruck sack.  So it’s important to think about what will go into that little tiny kit, because THAT’s the one we’re most likely to be carrying “on our person”.  Bad things never seem to happen when we’re expecting them too.

One of the reasons we really like the USRSOG.org guys, (aside from the fact that most are US Special Operations survival experts), is that they encourage people to test their kits.  It’s easy to theorize about your abilities or kits, (and that has its place), but it’s entirely different to get out and used your kits and train with them. 

What good is a kit that always sits in your pocket and you never break open and test out once in a while?  If nothing else, using our survival tools once in a while will cement things we already know, force us to “rotate our stock”, and there’s always something new to learn “out there”.

Level 1 Survival Kit Purpose: Every Day Carry

So here are our Level 1 four major components:

The Credit Card Survival Kit: One Sided Razor, 6 Fish hooks, 20’ Fishing line, Flint Rod, 4 water purification tablets, a sewing needle, 3 wind/waterproof matches, 2 credit card size cardboard pieces, and enough “100 MPH” tape to seal the whole thing.

Credit Card Size Survival Kit

Mid Assembly

Level 1 Survival Kit, Credit Card Size!

3” Folding Knife or BIG KNIFE:  We’re not even going to touch on what kind of knife to get, it’s WAY too personal . . . kind of like what underwear you have on today . . . Pictured below is a CRKT M21-02G, available at www.greatlakesurvival.com .   For developed areas, carrying a 3" folder should be sufficient.  If in the wilderness, the level 1 kit has a Big Knife included in the kit.

Bark River "Bravo 2" - (The Big Knife)

Every Day Carry Firearm:  Something that is lightweight, that you will carry every day.  Some people are denied the right to carry firearms where they live . . . we’re not even going to get into that.  Your level of self-protection is up to you, handle it as you see fit.  At Great Lake Survival we believe that the Right to defend one’s life, liberty and property is inherited at birth and is not given through permission.  We’re Americans dammit.  ‘Nuff said. 

Pocket Gear:  Essential items that cannot fit in a credit card sized contraption.  These are add on items, but can however, fit into pockets all over your body.  When not on your body a small pouch can keep these items on your belt or next to you.   Either stuffed in a cargo pocket or my briefcase, these items are always with me.  A survival blanket, 20’ of Paracord (more if you do your boot laces with paracord), Booby Trap wire (great for small game snares), 1-2 butane lighters with bicycle inner tubes over the body, a signal mirror, 4’x4’ of clear plastic, a small LED light or headlamp, Firesteel flint rod.

I should never be without AT LEAST, the first two components of this Level 1 Kit:  my credit card size survival kit and my folding knife. 

We recommend unless you’re not able to because of work, you have all of these items on you at all times.  Even at the office you can have at least your pocket knife and Level 1 survival kit.  Pocket gear is pocket gear, spread out, you'll never know it's there if you're not in dress clothes.  Going into the wilderness, I'm never without these items though.  Really, the pocket gear is part of the first line of survival tools. 

These are just suggestions, you know what works for you.  The bottom line is this:  With the most basic of items, can I defend my life against the elements, dehydration, and would be attackers at any given time?  If you’ve proven to yourself that you can, then you’ve got a leg up on most Americans.  Congrats.

So there you have it.  Our take on what constitutes one's 1st line of gear.  4 Major items:  a pocket knife (or big knife if in the wilderness), a credit card survival kit, a concealable firearm, and a small handful of “pocket gear”.  Spread out on your body, no one can even tell that you’re prepared for the worse.  You can go on living out your days ready to be a Rock for good people in a bad situation.

In the Next Post we’ll look at Level 2 gear.

Thanks for reading,

- GLSC Team

The “Bug-Out-Bag” and METT-TC

Every survival blog, editorial, forum or article has discussed the over used term “bug-out-bag” or BOB for short.  There’s nothing really wrong with the term other than that it can be misleading to the purpose for which it serves.

First, the BOB is generally viewed within the “survival community” as a small to medium size satchel or backpack that holds essential survival items that one might need if they were displaced from their domicile or area of operations, i.e. their hometown.

Okay, you have a BOB, the question remains, where are you bugging out to and why?  Quite honestly, your BOB could be helping you get you and loved ones back home in a bad situation, not getting away from home.  I think that gets over looked.  You might not be using your BOB to go anywhere at all; you might just be helping apply first aid to a person who’s stuck in a traffic jam that doesn’t have access to an ambulance.  This brings up a good point:  The best BOB is the one you have with you when you need it.  So don’t be without it.  If you have your car with you all the time, keep one in there.

What should you put in your BOB?  The BOB isn’t supposed to have everything but the kitchen sink inside.  Then it would become a heavy ruck sack and you wouldn’t be as likely to have it with you.  There are so many things that “could” be useful to have, where’s a good place to start?

You might be familiar with the military acronym: METT-TC.  If you’re not, it’s used in military operation planning.  You might not be planning a military operation, but planning is no less important when considering what items to carry in your BOB.

Below is the breakdown of what METT-TC stands for and some of the factors that might come to mind during planning.

METT-TC STANDS FOR:

Mission, Enemy, Terrain & Weather, Troops & Support available, Time available, Civil considerations.

MISSION:  Your mission should be to get yourself and/or your loved ones to safety, and more resources that you cannot carry with you.  This will bring up questions like, how far could I possibly be traveling?  Who will I be trying to get to safety with me?  The mission can change at anytime, and it’s important to remember that.

ENEMY:  Your enemy will be anything or anyone that threatens your life.  The elements, injury, lack of water, exhaustion, and hostile people in a bad part of town.  The list goes on.

TERRAIN & WEATHER:  What region do you live in?  What time of year is it? Snow can easily effect southern US states more than northern states.  If I did not have transportation could I get to safety and more resources on foot? These are things to thing about.

TROOPS & SUPPORT:  For civilian purposes, this comes down to: Am I own my own or do I have friends to help me out?  Maybe I don’t have to traverse 20 miles on foot with no transportation, when my friends that live only 5 miles away are willing to help me.  It always helps to have predetermined support for “bad times”.  Being a hermit is not a good thing to do.  Have friends and lots of friends you can count on, and who can also count on you.  A 20 mile drive home from work during severe tornado weather might not be so bad if your buddy lives right around the corner and has a basement.

TIME:  How much time do you have available to have to accomplish your mission?  Your mission is to get you and yourself to safety and more resources during a “bad event” right?  Okay, so how quickly do you think you can make that happen?  How much time do you have to get things done before other issues become a factor?  Time may or may not be on your side.

CIVILIAN CONSIDERATIONS:  Just as important as terrain and weather, are the considerations of the people you might come in contact with during a “bad event”.  What is the population level like?  Is it rural or urban?  What is the civilian culture like?  Do they not like outsiders, are you considered an outsider?  This is important when realizing that the people around you can be support, enemy or just indifferent to your existence.  If you’re familiar with the area you are in during a “bad event”, you might be able to better read the populous around you and predict whether you’re going to run into support, enemy or indifference.


In the picture above, I’ve listed my “Bug out Bag”.  You might notice the items show are a pistol, extra mags, a holster, head lamp, a lighter, paracord, a wrist compass, a bottle of water, assorted Band-Aids, medicines and creams, a topo/road map, a tube of peanut butter, a survival straw, a tourniquet, a compression bandage and a good size folding knife.


All of these items fit very nicely into a rather small BOB.  I can always have it with me.  It fits my mission requirements, which because we are not all the same person, are different than yours.  My BOB fits my area of operation and has taken into consideration the distance I regularly travel from better and more resources.

Regardless of what you call your Bug Out Bag, hopefully you do similar “mission” planning when considering what you put into it.  Not every BOB is same, because your mission might be different. So don’t feel like yours should have a trendy kit item if you wouldn’t use it.  Always have some cord, a knife and a sparking device, but other than that, tailor your bag to YOUR individual METT-TC requirements. After all, getting home safely, is YOUR mission, wherever “home” happens to be during a bad event.

Thanks for reading,

- GLSC Team