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Most of it is pretty basic, but it will work as a starting point for your own.
A lot depends on your location and climate, but most items will be useful for a variety of situations.
This is a city kit, so its missing much of what you’d have for a wilderness kit.
I posted this somewhere else, maybe it will give you some ideas for a BOB
Not a B.O.B. precisely, its more of a Survival/Emergency kit . Should work as a get home bag, help to survive for a while if something unexpected happens and get you out of some minor troubles as well.
It’s actually divided into two. A small Samsonite backpack and an outdoors Doite fanny pack with webbing to carry a ½ liter bottle.
I carry the fanny pack with me at all times when traveling for any period of time. It’s gone with me to many countries as well. ( I leave the gun behind, of course)
The backpack stays in the car at all times, but the fanny pack comes and goes depending on the situation. I find it easier that way. Leaving the backpack there and having the more valuable items (gun, ammo, binoculars) in the smaller fanny pack, which is much easier to drop into the car or retrieve it.
There also another bag in the car with more spare clothes, a blanket/sleeping bag, etc as well as a big 5 liter bottle of water. Those stay in the car at all times, along with the backpack.
Notice that the bags are pale green, the Samsonite back pack has some camel on the sides, but it all blends pretty well in the city and doesn’t catch the eye as bright collors or distinguishable patterns do.
OK, lets start with the samsonite back pack.
It’s really small, kind of flat. But has excellent cushioning for the back and the shoulder straps fit nicely and are wide where they meet the shoulders, cushioned and comfortable to wear.
Contents:
Outside pocket:
Candy. Sugar, fast energy.
Cutter.
Scalpel.
Folding knife with pocket clip. Sturdy enough. Aluminum handles. Half serrated, half straight.
Floss. Can be used for a lot of things other than actually flossing.
Small Bic lighter.
Lighter.
Super glue.
Contact cement. ( inside superglue box)
Salt.
LED light. ( 5 LED kind). Used it for a few months to test durability, works ok and its’ pretty sturdy.
Small radio. Gather news and information during troubled times.
Roll of coins. Extra money, bending machines.
Compass-waterproof match box-flint-whistle thing.
Batteries. AA for the LED and a couple AAA for the radio.
Scotch tape.
Red Duct tape. Flat core.
50 feet of thin steel cable with plastic covering. Not sure how much weight it can tolerate, but it can easily handle my weight.
Note pad.
Isostar fast hydration tablets.
2 Peanut bars.
Missing in the pics: Roll of Toilet Paper with the cardboard removed inside a ziplock bag. TP moistures real soon, I’ve used damp TP before ands I don not want to repeat the experience! : )
3x ½ Liter bottles. Good measure. Can be used to refill if another source of water is found. I also keep a 5 liter bottle of water in the car at all times.
Emergency blanket.
New Testament.
Map of Buenos Aires.
50 feet of 300 kg rope. Enough to climb down a 4th floor. Many uses. Always good to have rope.
The Tasco binoculars stays in the fanny pack, not in the backpack, Isostar tablets already listed.
First aid:
Dressing.
Tape.
Band aids. Different sizes.
Antibiotics.
Hand wipes.
Cauterization powder.
Iodine.
Paper handkerchiefs.
More energy chewing tablets.
Ibuprofen pills.
Tuna Pouch.
Spare clothes. One pair of socks, underwear and t shirt. There’s more clothes in another bag in the car. T shirt can be used as a towel is needed.
Metal Cup. Cooking, drinking, etc.
Candle with 4 wicks. Made it myself using wicks , paraffin and a tuna can. With the 4 wicks lit it boils a cup of water in 10 minutes. Not perfect but good enough to cook. Also good heat and light source.
1 hour Epoxy. Chose it over the 10 minute one because you can work calmly and the final result is usually better.
2 Tuna pouches. Tastes good, 3 or 4 years. The thick aluminum pouch is pretty sturdy. You can eat it without preparation and will keep you going for a while. Takes up very little space in the pack, you can combine it with some rice for a real tasty meal. Best emergency meal out there, at least from those available to me.
Can of corned Beef. Heavy, but needs no cooking and lasts forever. If weight is a concern, it would be one of the firs meals to go.
Isostar Energy chewing tablets, lemon flavor.
One orange powder envelope.
2 soups.
2 Rice Mix. Cheese and with dehydrated vegetables. Taste good and provide enough calories.
2 Soup cubes.
Old Gerber Multi Tool ( not here, but in the fanny pack)
1Kg of dry Pasta.
Mc Donalds salt, Ketchup, Mustard and Mayo.
Some medium gauge cord.
Pencil. ( Just ½ actually)
Hotel Sewing Kit. You know the kind. Needles, buttons, some threads, hook needle, etc. The cotton thread is too weak for serious repairs. I added one quality needle and some black nylon thread ( unbreakable) , the kind I use in my cordura gear.
Tooth brush.
Small tooth paste. Tooth paste does little to keep your teeth clean, brushing them is what really cleans them, so I’m not carrying a big tooth paste tube during an emergency. I may add a Noc10 tube, small one.
Saw.
Deodorant (1/2 way through to reduce weight)
Lighter.
Rubber bands and tire bands, also called Ranger bands.
Soap. Thought about including a small hotel soap, but I found out that soap is a valuable commodity and the small ones don’t last that much. I’d like to take as much baths as possible.
Ear muffs. Shooting, explosions, who knows?
Nivea body cream, free sample. Precious for the ladies, and also valuable for those that have dug out a tire with their bare hands. Little space and weight, but may be extremely valuable if you do need it.
Now the fanny pack.
Browning Hi Power 9mm. Nothing fancy but it works ok and its the most popular pistol in my country. I polished the feeding ramp for added JHP reliability. No problems. Depending on the situation ( holydays, etc) it may get replaced by the Bersa 9mm or Glock. But most of the time the Hi Power stays there, even if I’m carrying another weapon. It’s part of the kit, and not readily available. Its inside the IWB holster, and inside the cotton bag as well. Sometimes when I travel I use the fanny pack to take money/documents and end up opening it in front of strangers. The small cotton bag keeps the gun hidden even if I open the fanny pack.
Tuna Pouch.
Fire starter.
Lighter.
Wire.
Lip balm.
Small pliers.
Aluminum foil.
Candle.
Contact glue (fixing shoes)
Magnesium and flint.
Emergency blanket.
Epoxy band-aids.
Tasco binocular.
Small can of meat pate.
Funny looking tin. 50 rounds of +P+ 9mm. Sealed.
Inside the plastic bag:
Big Victorinox.
Emergency poncho.
Candle.
Whistle
Compass
Duct Tape (removed cardboard core and flattened)
String.
Windproof Fireproof Matches.
Signal mirror.
Epoxy band-aids ( inside mirror envelope)
Lighter.
Solitaire MagLite with AAA batter. ( will replace it soon with a key chain LED light)
Wire saw.
Box of 10 firecrackers. (signaling, diversion)
Two heaters covered in plastic foil.
That’s about it. It all fits in the fanny pack and the Samsonite backpack. 2nd and 3rd back up for many items, a lot of redundancy in lighters, but its all part of the plan.
Hope you guys liked it.
FerFAL
16 comments:
Nice, gave me some good ideas. I like the way you have the spare ammo stored. Not very many people would think hey I bet there is 9mm rounds inside that tin. Thanks for the ideas.
I'd bump the binocs down to the backpack and replace them with extra pistol mags or water. The tin of 9mm ammo is cool but loaded mags would be more useful.
I notice you don't have any fishing hooks, though, fishing by it's nature does take time that could be spent traveling..
I thought the firecrackers were an interesting addition.
You extend a lot of credibility to the idea of a BOB, simply because you carry one so frequently!
Thank you for sharing your information.
Most BOB’s seem to have been designed for heading for the hills and living off the land for six months. I've put something like that together myself, but I’ve always felt that if the SHTF, a lot of the stuff I’d packed wouldn’t really be that essential in a likely real-life emergency (where simply “getting myself home” might be my number one goal).
But, this “city bag” variation of the traditional BOB is a great idea, and this has inspired me to make one for myself. My thanks to you, FerFAL, for your insight and suggestions!
FerFAL - Gracias por este pagina del web..... :)
I agree with steve. Fishooks can be one of the best ways to get food since fish are oft relatively easy to catch.
Absolutely, a small fishing kit is a great addition for a wilderness kit or if you have a clean river or lake nearby .
I didn’t include any in mine because there’s simply no clean natural water sources within Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires is huge, it would take a few days of walking just to reach an unpolluted source of water where fish could be found.
FerFAL
FerFal, a great bag.
About fishing, why when TSHTF goes everyone want to go fishing?!?!? Better to pack enough food to get you to where you want to go. I doubt anyone of us is going to starve til we get home or safe in a couple of days.
Jerry
Thanks for posting this. Your real-world experience is much more credible than the 'you oughta have this' lists provided on other sites.
Most of the items you chose are easily understandable, or you provided an explanation. But there are a couple of items that I didn't get the 'real-life' value of. Could you please explain what you actually do with these items:
Rubber Bands
Scalpel (I understand a knife - or knives, but...?)
New testament? If this is a 'comfort item' I understand, but I was wondering if there was other value to it?
And finally one item I didn't understand - heaters? are you referring to hand warmers, or sterno (canned heat) or what?
Thanks in advance for your answer - I can't wait to read the next post!
Hi,
Big rubber bands (ranger bands) made out of tire rubber have countless uses.
You can tie/bond things together with it, or use them like you’d use normal rubber bands.
You can use it as a tourniquet, you can burn it, use it to tighten up and secure gear on your pack.
You can use it as an improvised handle grip, just google “ranger bands” and you’ll find tons of uses.
I was referring to hand warmers.
The bible is good for those times when the world crumbles around you.
FerFAL
Great article, very informative and revealing (much like most of your previous work). I cannot thank you enough for your previous writings over the years, really helpful, especially for those of us not planning to move to a unibomber shack in Idaho.
On a side note, I found it comforting to see that you like the Magtech ammunition.
Your Browning High Power would be nearly prohibitively expensive in the US btw ($1000+), not to mention rare.
Fallout11,
His Hi-power is likely an Argentine FM Hi-power. One used to be able to find them all over the US, as offloaded Argentine Police specials.
I bought one circa 1997-1998 for about $350USD.
Risasi
FerFAL, I had a somewhat related kit when I didn't have a car and needed to walk around to get around.
About a year ago I didn't have a car, so I used to walk to college, walk to see my girlfriend, and walk home all on the same day for a total of about 10 miles a day and 50 miles a week. My shoes had holes on the bottom from the worn rubber.
I also had a backpack where I carried my books. I always had a plastic bag wrapped around my books in case of rain, which it did often. I also had an umbrella with me and at least one plastic water bottle that would be refilled at each location.
This is in America by the way. One time this middle aged guy thought that I was cute or something and kept driving up and down the block trying to get my attention. I pulled out my cell phone and even though it was dead, I acted as if I was calling the cops and wrote down the street address of where I was at on my hand as I pretended to talk. Sometimes weird things can save your life.
Light sticks or glow sticks are a good idea too. Good for light, signaling and safe if there is a gas leak. Good for front and end person if you are in a group too.
Buenisimo. Me encantaria ver como se acomoda todo en la mochila. Soy de Argentina. Muy bueno el blog.
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