Diesel for SHTF: 5 Big Advantages

Hi Fernando,
I re-read one of your blog posts (Surviving Argentina) where you were very pleased with your diesel Honda.  You said that diesel is cheaper and available in all gas stations where you live.  I'm in the U.S. and I understand only about half of all gas stations have diesel and I have observed prices vary and may be more expensive.  In a SHTF scenario, would you still recommend us in the U.S. to drive a diesel engine vehicle given all the positives but in SHTF will be even harder to find diesel.
Thanks
cheers,
Dan
....

My diesel Honda CRV, manual 6 speed transmission.
Hello Dan,
Indeed, here in Europe, every single gas station has both diesel and gasoline at the pump, one right next to the other (yes, you gotta be careful)

Diesel has several advantages.

1&2)Cost and efficiency. At times it’s even cheaper per gallon than gasoline, but what’s even more important, it’s a lot more efficient. This means you do more miles on the same money, a lot more (50% more) and also important for SHTF, you cover more distance per gallon. What I mean is its cheaper as a daily driver due to price but if SHTF and you need to cover miles, you’ll cover a lot more of them on the same number of gallons in your tank. These two are key advantages.

3)Diesel is also a LOT safer. A lit match thrown in a puddle of diesel will extinguish itself, unlike gasoline which is downright explosive. Remember Paul Walker and that terrible death in a burning inferno…

4)Torque. Diesel has almost twice as much torque. This means it crawls uphill a lot easier, deals better with off road, pulls a trailer better, you can push stranded or blocking cars better too. Last year I was caught in fast flowing flood waters while going uphill. Having had a similar CRV in gasoline I can say the difference was big.

A car that got caught and dragged by the current that same day.

5)Diesel has more “compatibility”. By this I mean its found in different places “hidden” and its available in unexpected places.  Airplanes use diesel, Jet A fuel. Heating oil? tinted diesel. In farms you’re likely to find diesel for tractors.
Finally, diesel stores much better. It will hold for many years in a well sealed container. Even in less than ideal ones diesel is more forgiving.

Disadvantages? Its not as common in USA. During recent storm disasters in Texas and Florida gasoline was resupplied much faster than diesel. In other cases it has been reported that diesel was still available when gasoline was sold out, so I suppose it’s a toss disaster-wise. Cars are more expensive too and mechanics that know their way around diesel in USA are not as common.
Still, with an older reliable car, diesel is still hard to beat as a SHTF car.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Seal Team Six E&E kit: cash, Copenhagen and cigarettes

Sure they have some great gear, and small survival tin kits with a lot of useful tools (and of course the training to go along with it) but I think it’s interesting that Robert O'Neill mentions CASH as the first thing that comes to mind if he ever has to make his way home on his own after a mission. What does he do when he gets a call right before getting in a plane to go God knows where? Hit the ATM for as much cash as he can and buys some tobacco.

“I know I’m going to jump somewhere but I don’t know where I’m going to end up. And I can buy my way home with money, or somewhere else I can barter with tobacco…plus I love tobacco”.

Folks that have never been to 3^rd world countries just don’t understand the power of a 20, 50, let alone 100 USD bill. With absurd conversion rates in most of the third world, a 50 dollar bill is in parts of the world more money than the average person there will see in the same place in his entire life. You can buy shelter, food, you can buy transportation or even loyalty. 

Cash is king indeed.

FerFAL

 Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Caterpillar VIP Bag?

Message:
greetings, am curious on the vip bag from cat. link to view and
purchase. good video on supplies
-Anthony
.
Hello,
This is the bag you are talking about, the one pictured in my book, "Bugging Out and Relocating".
I cant seem to find it. I bought it many years ago and these things rarely stay in production for long. They get replaced by new, more appealing models.
The closest thing I found from CAT was this tablet bag. I’d probably buy something like this for my VIP bag. Something small, tough and inconspicuous. Being a “tablet” bag, keeping an actual tablet in it isnt a bad idea either so as to access important files, go on line, etc.

CAT The Project Tablet Bag $18.56

For those that aren’t familiar with the VIP Bag concept. You probably know what a Bug Out Bag is, a bag with items you take when escaping or evacuating, usually including food, water, spare clothes, etc. VIP bag stands for very important papers(or possessions) bag. Most immigrants from my grandparents generation had something like this, usually kept in a box, they would keep passports, birth certificates, some family heirlooms, etc. Its basically the same concept but in a more handy container ready to go.  If you need to move fast, if you are injured, if you have to help others escape, injured family, and taking your BOB isn’t possible, at least you would have the essentials in the VIP while still being mobile.
Items to keep in your VIP bag are important documents such as passports, birth certificates, copies of documents and other important files in a USB drive, car and home spare keys, cash and precious metals, maybe even a compact handgun like a Glock 19 and spare magazine. The paper documents and cash should be kept in a ziplock bag to protect them from water. Its not a bug out bag, its something far more compact mostly intended for those important documents.
I suggest keeping it in a fireproof safe. This would be the first thing to grab when bugging out, when you only have seconds to safe your life (flash flood, fire).
Check this previous post to learn more about BOB bags and VIP bags.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Real-World Bugging Out and Bug Out Locations

I’d like to address some misconceptions regarding a topic that, while very often talked about but rarely needed to be put to practice, it involves an extreme kind of worst case scenario where we basically lose our home, permanently or for a given period of time. This can be very challenging, and unfortunately it happens more often than we’d think so its important to get real bugging out right.

First, you need to understand what bugging out means, separate fantasy from reality. People that have bugged out for real they do it because there’s no other option left. The default reaction to disasters isn’t to run to the hills, or your house in the woods, or your house in Poland. The default reaction is to stay put. That’s what most official broadcasts recommend in times of crisis and it is in fact the most sound advice unless evacuation orders are specifically enforced. This means that you bug out when staying is no longer an option, not because you don’t like the current president or because Mc Donalds just ran out of chicken nuggets. Your house is burning down, got destroyed by a quake and you barely made it out alive, a wildfire will be destroying your house in a matter of minutes, or a flood. Forces have invaded or you just killed a bunch of would-be home invaders and now the family of those you killed is after you. All of these actually happen and they are the kind of situation that forces you out of your house.

Second, you just can’t already live in a bug out location. This is key, and a common fail of understanding the concept of what bug out location means. Ask all those survivalists living in their Bug Out Locations in Oregon what did they do when the wildfires destroyed their BOL. Did they have to bug out of their bug out locations then? Point is, if youre already living in it, it becomes you place of residence and you need to figure out another BOL.

Bugging out and having a bug out location is not about buying property (doesnt have to be) and its not about having fancy 4x4 vehicles. In fact for bugging out reliability and fuel efficiency are by far more important than off road capability, even if some off road capability can be an asset sometimes and even essential in certain extreme terrains. For 99.9999% of the population though, you just need a car that runs and hopefully balances well load capacity with how many miles it covers per gallon.
As for bug out locations. If you have several properties chances are you are renting them, therefore not immediately available. Its nice to have a holyday home or cabin in the woods to go during weekends to change the scenery, and it can be a valuable asset in specific scenarios, but this doesn’t mean buying a second house is the only way to go. In fact its not even the most practical one. Having friends or family that can take you in during a time of need, making plans with like-minded people and setting mutual support agreements isnt nearly as expensive.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Argentina: man lives in cave for 40 years

Pedro Luca holdig his shotgun in front of his cave.
 
79 year old Pedro Luca has been living in a cave in San Pedro de Colalao, a desolated part of the province of Tucuman located in the northwest of Argentina.
Now if you think living like this is fun, think again. Mr. Luca’s life is pretty solitary and to be honest quite miserable. He wakes up at 3AM to begin his day by starting a fire. He keeps elven roosters and two goats, hunts and traps or goes to the nearest settlement 3 hours away down the mountain to buy some supplies (candles, yeast, corn) and collect his pension of 160 USD. He collects water from a creek. Of course he has no running water or power. He has leathery, weathered skin and few teeth left. I know that part of the country well enough. It gets very cold at night. Winters over there must be terrible and the wind sandblasts your skin. And then there’s of course the pumas which wont think twice about having you for lunch if not kept at bay with fire or gunshots.

Quoting Mr. Luca: "I never asked myself why I chose to live here," he says. "There was another cave nearby but I liked this one better. Sometimes, I think that I would have liked to travel the world, see Europe. But there's a lot of sea in the middle of it all and you have to have the time to cross that sea."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/07/31/argentine-man-has-lived-in-cave-for-40-years.html
Lesson of the day folks: Remember this next time you think about grabbing your INCH bag (Im never coming home bag) and running to the hills to live off the land.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

CAT alcohol stoves: CAT16 vs CAT32 vs HOBO42 vs SUPER HOBO63

Canada Wildfire Bugging Out: 5 Lessons Learned

Please do yourself a favour and follow the link below to listen to a woman’s first-hand account of dealing with the wildfire in Canada:
 http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-pushed-back-even-as-temperatures-climb
 Also Watch this:

 Lessons Learned:
1)It can happen to anyone, at any time. NO EXCEPTIONS. PERIOD.
Next time I read about someone claiming he already lives at his Bug Out Location and doesn’t plan on ever bugging out I’ll buy a plane ticket, fly wherever he lives and tattoo on his forehead “YOU CANT LIVE AT YOUR BUG OUT LOCATION”. By definition, a Bug Out Location is a place where you go when your main place of residence is compromised and no longer viable. The moment you are living there, it no longer counts as an alternative place to go to because it has now become the place where you are living. This is just as ridiculous as people that believe they don’t need to worry because they already left the city which will succumb to zombies in the coming apocalypse. Fire doesn’t care that you live in the forest or in nice suburbs or the middle of the city. As long as it finds fuel it will burn it down, rural or not. Forest fires spread with terrible speed, same happens in dry grasslands and bushes. Floods don’t care either. No matter where you live and how good your home setup is, there’s always the chance of one disaster or another forcing you to bug out so you need to plan for it.
2)You may have days, hours, or seconds
Sometimes you have days or several hours to plan and carry out your evacuation. Sometimes it’s a matter of minutes, seconds and sometimes you don’t make it out at all. You need to have a plan for this spectrum of possibilities. What do you do if all you manage to do is escape the burning house with nothing but the clothes on your back, which may as well be your underwear in the middle of winter. What do you grab if you have a minute or two? What do you throw in the trunk of your car if you have a bit more time?
3)You may be able to go back home in a matter of hours, days or never.
You may be evacuating due to an approaching storm and after it clears you may be back home the following day… or the storm turns into a massive flood and completely destroys your entire neighbourhood killing anyone that stayed and leaving your with nothing at all to go back to. The same can be said of a fire, which leaves you with nothing but a patch of charred dirt and ashes.
4)Have your kit organized and ready to go.
Don’t have a 120L rucksack ready to invade Iraq as your only Bug Out Bag. Organize your gear in layers. Have a bigger BOB but also have a smaller one in case you cant carry your huge backpack plus five tons of food and ammo. Its important to keep a small bag, fanny pack or satchel (VIP Bag) with your important documents, cash, maybe a handgun. The idea is to keep it in your safe and if nothing else, you take this smaller bag. Recently a grandmother drowned in Texas along with her four grandkids during a flash flood. She couldn’t even make it out of the house garage. I doubt she would have been able to carry 100 lbs of gear. Maybe you have to help others evacuate, maybe there’s wounded or hysterical people, maybe you are hurt yourself. If you have just seconds to escape you may or may not be able to carry a small bag. What this gives you is options to work with, but you need to plan and organize this ahead of time.
5)Have your vehicle ready to go at all times.
Your car must work. It may be a matter of life or death. You better have enough gas to make it out of there as well. This too can be a matter of life or death even with a perfectly functional vehicle. The lesson here is, refill your tank when its 1/3 or ¼ capacity, but also keep fuel ready at hand. Not in your uncles farm or your cabin in the woods, but ready to go in your current place of residence. Keep your car’s kit in order. It may be all you have left if your home is destroyed. Extra clothes, some food, water, first aid kit, USB and copies of important papers. Don’t forget a phone charger and maybe keep a spare dedicated phone in your vehicle.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

10 Things to Love about Diesel BOV

So I had my diesel Honda CR-V for a couple months now. After a few days of getting used to it, I can say I now love the thing.
1)Stupid amounts of torque. 251 lb-ft, which is 90 lb-ft more than the gasoline version of the CR-V. On 1^st gear, without touching the gas pedal (sorry, diesel pedal) it crawls up a steep hill on its own. It also has much better towing capacity in case you want to bring more stuff along with you. For the kind of off road capability you may be looking for in a BOV, where you want to crawl slowly but steadily through off road terrain, and then get yourself on better roads as soon as you can, diesel works great.
2)Cheap to drive. Diesel is itself cheaper than gasoline and it's more efficient when it comes to MPG. I haven’t done the math but savings of about 30 to 40% are about right.
3)Much safer fuel, both during car accidents and storage. Its not flammable like gasoline. An ignited match thrown into a glass of diesel gets extinguished while gasoline blows up. For someone into survivalism it is much safer to store diesel than gasoline. Diesel fuel does not evaporate as easily as gasoline, so it is much safer in accidents too.
4)Diesel lasts much longer than gasoline when stored. You don’t need to rotate your fuel storage nearly as often.
5)Diesel engines are more rugged, reliable and have a longer lifespan.
6)More range. Given how efficient diesel is it can go more miles per gallon. During an emergency this is a key aspect sometimes overlooked in favour of offroad capability and engine size. When all you have to work with is whatever is left in your fuel tank, MPG matters a great deal.
7)No more sparkplugs. Sure, you have glowplugs instead, but those last much longer and are less likely to have issues.
8)Diesel smells better. I at least like it better although I guess its personal taste.
9)Fuel options during SHTF. Around here every gas station that has gas has diesel as well one right next to the other, but beyond that there’s a number of other options as well if you have to get creative, from mixing it with a bit of vegetable oil to white spirits, using kerosene or heating oil. You don’t want to do this often and you sure have to check before trying how much you can push the limits with each specific diesel engine, but it sure is more tolerant than gasoline ones. Navy, Army, Marines and NATO allies, they all use diesel (JP-8). You can use commercial aviation Jet A-1 fuel in your diesel. Tanks? Yes, diesel as well.
10)Turbodiesel. Ahh! It’s nice to hear the engine road when you step on the gas, but hearing the soft whistling sound made by the turbocharger when driving is freaking awesome.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

5 Most Common Fails in your BOB/Survival Kit

Survival and Climate Change: Five Strategic Weather Considerations

Before I even get started, let me say that no, this is not some tree-hugging climate change rant but an approach to the topic of weather and survival from an objective, practical point of view. I believe this is just one of those topics of great importance that is rarely addressed, or at least not often addressed from a practical, real-world perspective.
Trying to keep it simple, these are the top considerations I would keep in mind:
1)Accept the fact: Climate Changes, always has always will.
As explained earlier, my intention here is not to discuss the causes for climate change, how much of it depends on human activity (or not) or the different financial interests people on either side of the debate have. From a survival perspective the important part to understand is that climate change is real.
Climate change has happened before, it will happen again, and in fact it does happen naturally all the time. I happen to believe that we do affect the world around us to some extent. The Dust Bowl is actually a good example of how certain natural occurrences (drought), combined with certain… let’s call them unwisely chosen agricultural practices have combined with disastrous results. Either way, on a global level the climate is changing as it always has and that unavoidably impacts people’s lives. Some areas will experience far worse droughts, others become warmer and more tropical, maybe TOO warm for their own good. At the same time some other areas may become far colder than they already are.
Climate simply changes. We have ice ages every 100.000 years, interglacial warmer periods lasting about 10.000 years and then you have events such as The 8.2 kiloyear event or Younger Dryas stadial, think “Day After Tomorrow” movie where temperatures drop very, very fast in a matter of months rather than years. Scientists have different theories as of why these happen, but the important thing to remember is that they have happen before. In case you’re wondering, we’re now in whats called the Holocene geological epoch, an interglacial period that started 11,700 years ago.
While fascinating, other than the Younger Dryas stadial which Hollywood considered worthy of using in a disaster movie, it would seem that periods lasting thousands of years have little relevance in the disaster preparedness world. The thing is, even a couple degrees difference can have drastic consequences to crops, food production, water availability, sea levels and floods. Therefore it is important to approach weather not only as a static factor, but a dynamic one where towns may have to shut down because of lack of water or find themselves under it. Both of these have happen already, many times, in recent years.
2)The Rule of Three
You’re probably familiar with the Rule of Three, which says you can’t survive 3 minutes without air, 3 hours of extreme exposure, 3 days without water or 3 weeks without food. Indeed, its more of a mnemonic device but in very broad terms it does provide a general idea of which are your priorities for staying alive.
Interestingly enough, all of the 3s are mostly location dependant. Where you live will dictate the quality of air (air pollution) the risk of it being compromised (volcano, industrial disaster, wild fire), will dictate the kind of shelter you can or can’t live without based on extreme temperatures, how much water is available and how easy it is to produce and acquire food. Like in Real Estate, a great part of survival is location, location, location.
Of these, the second and third line are of particular important. While of course having fresh clean air is critical, it is temperature and water availability that are often the hardest to balance. Not only proximity to rivers and lakes, as well as availability of wells, but also how much it actually rains each year is of great importance. Without enough rain, streams, lakes and of course wells are nothing but holes in the ground.
If possible, we also want mild to warm temperatures for as much of the year as we can. Personal preferences of course vary, but one thing stays the same: Most humans have a comfort zone between 21 °C and 25 °C with a humidity of about 50%. The further away you move from that the sooner you’ll need to worry about heating or air conditioning.
3)Growing Seasons and food production
Where you live and the kind of weather you have in such a location will determine what you can or cannot produce in terms of food, what plants can grow and which animals can be kept without having to use expensive additional resources.
For many survivalists the ability to grow food is essential, either as part of their planned food supply or because they simply enjoy having fresh home grown food. But even if that’s not you the ability to produce food in your area is of great importance. On one hand, it means that you too can start your own orchard if it ever becomes necessary or if you simply want to give it a go. On the other it means that there’s a greater amount of locally produced food, bringing down the cost, increasing local availability, both of which are important aspects during economic downturns or disasters of great magnitude.
4)The Cost of Cold Weather
Publications dedicated to homesteading often address the topic of heating self-sufficiency. Keeping a supply of firewood, processing it, having stoves, servicing them, having large tanks for fuel, above or underground, and this is just a drop in the bucket. Again, when it comes to personal preferences practically everything goes, but when it comes to practical survival the answer is pretty simple: It’s better not to need any of it in the first place! How bad winters are can make a big difference. In some parts of the world being left without central heating because of a power outage, or being left without firewood during the worst of winter means you’re dead within hours. How long winter lasts and how cold it gets matters greatly. In some areas even if you don’t get covered in snow you still may need heating for most of the winter and autumn. On the other end of the spectrum you have places where summers are unbearable and you need AC. Here it really depends on the kind of building we’re talking about. Poorly designed houses or densely populated apartment buildings are sometimes impossible to live in without air conditioner.
From a survival perspective, you would ideally live in a place where you need neither one and don’t need heating or AC to live comfortably. If forced to choose, survivability is easier to achieve in warmer climates than in colder ones.
5)Temperature, humidity, sun exposure and the overall impact on your health and quality of life.
At the end of the day we end up living where we like doing so indifferently from what’s purely practical. We’re not robots and we just like what we like, sometimes without much of a logical explanation. One thing to keep in mind though, is that we may like certain things, but our bodies may not agree with our heart. By this I mean there’s a simple physiological reality which is that our bodies need a certain temperature, a certain humidity, a certain solar exposure.
There’s a reason why old folks retire to Florida rather than Maine, in spite of Maine being a fantastic State. Our bodies feel better with somewhat warmer temperatures, mid-range humidity and a certain amount of sun exposure.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Refugees are also People

Anonymous said…
Thank you for showing these people are human beings. Are some of them terrorist? Maybe, just like some people born here are terrorists. Are some of them criminals? Maybe, just like some born here are criminals.
Fernando, you are putting a human face on these refugees. Many preppers are right wing and will disagree with you. Thanks for your effort.

…
Thanks. Your messages gives me hope. Lately I’ve been bombarded by some pretty hateful comments about refugees and immigrants in general. It seems that many of those commenting don’t understand that I’m also an immigrant and I have exactly zero tolerance for those displaying any degree of racism and xenophobia. Plenty of other websites where that poorly veiled racism is accepted and even encouraged but this would not be one of them.
Not sure how many immigrants and refugees people that call for their extermination have actually met, but I’ve met several these last few days. It was just yesterday that I was waiting in line with my wife for her ID here at a local police station in Spain. Syrian people were waiting in line there as well among other immigrants from all over, everywhere from Germany to Africa and Ukraine. Everyone was waiting patiently, very polite. One Syrian man was right next to us, pretty cheerful guy. I was there holding an umbrella for my wife and I. We had been waiting in line for several hours and I had the idea of bringing the umbrella for shade given that well, costa Del Sol can be pretty sunny. Sure enough a few hours after waiting everyone was desperate for a bit of shade. So I bring out my umbrella and my wife and I take to the shade under it. I look back and to my surprise see that the Syrian guy was smiling right back at me: a bit of shade got to him as well, which he was obviously thankful for. I just wish some of the people out there full of hate could have seen that moment. I couldn’t help but to smile and the guy said out loud with his so/so Spanish “thank you, brother!”. I’m not kidding it sent shivers down my spine. This guy was truly thankful for nothing but a bit of shade that by chance fell on him.
Refugees are people, some better educated, some with more money than others. Are some of them bad? Probably a small minority are, just like with any other group of people but the majority are good people escaping an awful reality. As for the comment I’ve seen a few times about many of them being young, fighting are men that should stay and fight, well , its easy enough to say that while sitting in your la-Z-boy sipping a cold beer or can of coke. First, whenever you have widespread war and destruction, you will always have millions of refugees from that given country. Happened in Syria, happens in Ukraine and happens in any other war torn country. If these men could have their families in some safe location while they go off to train, get well armed and organized and later shipped overseas to fight they probably would. But its different when all of a sudden your house is blown up and you have to run for your lives along with whatever family you still have alive, all while having no way of effectively fighting back at that moment.
You have two kinds of people.
These:

And these:



No, I’m not some “bleeding heart liberal”. I’ve simply been on the other side of the fence enough time to know better than many folks out there on the interwebs that have answers for everything, talk pretty big, and probably would bring ISIS down all by themselves if they weren’t so busy posting online.
FerFAL

Advice on Cash and Precious Metals When Bugging Out

Hi Fernando
I was just wondering, a quick question out of curiosity.
When you moved into the EU, you left Argentina with most of your
belongings.
Did you bring precious metals, like bullions/ coins etc, or did you
sell them before you left?
Now, if you brought them, how did you do with the declaration of PM in
customs?
I live in EU as well, and I know that you are allowed to travel within
EU with PM, no problem (but some declaration in some countries and
quantities), but how does it work with lots of PM going in to the EU?
Do you know?
I have your first book (The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse), and I recommend it all the time. Maybe you
mention it in your second book "Bugging out/ relocating", but haven't
read it yet.
Take care, Pete

A checkpoint in Crimea.

Hi Pete,
I actually took very few belongings when I left Argentina. It was pretty liberating to be honest. Preppers love talking about all the stuff you need for your INCH bag (I’m never coming home bag) or kit. They are so attached to their “stuff”, the INCH bag discussion quickly turns into the INCH trailer as folks keep piling up the material belongings they can’t figure living without. Ironically enough, and as someone that actually did this “I’m never coming home” thing for real, I could have left with nothing at all in terms of gear and supplies. All I needed was the plane tickets, passports and savings to start over elsewhere.
Regarding your question, I didn’t have a problem because even though I was taking cash and some precious metals, I was all within the limit of what you can bring in without declaring.

How much cash and gold can you take to or from the United States or EU?
It works the following way. There’s no real limit as of how much cash or precious metals (PM) you can bring or take out of the US. What you have is a limit of how much you can travel with without declaring. In the case of US, that limit is USD 10.000 and that’s for cash, precious metal or any other “monetary instrument”. If you have more than USD 10.000 worth of cash in any denomination or equivalent monetary instruments you have to declare it and fill a form FinCEN 105 called "Report of International Transportation of Currency and Monetary Instruments" . This form is intended to stop terror funding, money laundering and drugs, and will of course raise a big red flag so you probably want to stay under 10.000 USD when traveling. Keep in mind, this limit is for the entire group that is traveling together. You can’t travel with other people, family members or associates, and distribute the money among everyone.
The European Union has a somewhat similar limit. In the case of the EU the limit is €10.000 or its equivalent in other denominations, or monetary instruments such as precious metals, diamonds, etc. The big difference is that in the case of EU, for persons travelling in a group the € 10.000 limit applies to each person individually.
At the end of the day, it’s a good idea to have different options and diversify.
You certainly need cash for getting around and precious metals are a great asset to have as well in case of a serious currency devaluation. If you have to travel, I would stay within the limit and use credit cards or debit cards instead. It’s a good idea to have a bank account in the country you’re planning to bug out to so as to be able to quickly transfer funds if things start looking bad. A foreign bank account can be your best financial asset when evacuating or bugging out abroad. If nothing else, open an account in Canada next time you’re visiting. It’s easy enough for Americans, you don’t need some fancy Jason Bourne secret swiss bank account.
When it comes to precious metals, one of the things I learned was that even a small amount of money in silver can get very bulky and very heavy.

2015 American Gold Eagle 0.5 ounces

Preppers like silver because its “cheap”, meaning you don’t need to break the piggy bank to put aside a couple silver eagles each month. Soon enough you can have a pile of silver, but this is not be as practical during an emergency as you may think. At a 70 silver ounces per 1 gold ounce ratio, gold coins are far more compact. Thinking of a scenario such as the one playing out in Ukraine, with checkpoints where you are likely to get stopped and “liberated” of any money that you may have, being able to hide your values is of great importance. 1/10th of an ounce gold coins are very compact, about the size of a dime, and a ½ ounce Gold eagle is about the size of a quarter. You could even hide them in your wallet along with your pocket change coins. A wallet with a couple 20 dollar bills and a few coins jiggling in the coin pocket of the wallet wouldn’t look all that suspicious. Stacks of neat plastic tubes full of silver Eagles are likely to be taken away at such checkpoints. People in Ukraine have hidden cash and other valuables in baby diapers. Small coins could even be swallowed. Gold rings and chains have been swallowed throughout history when escaping persecution. Again, don’t underestimate the importance of a bank account in a foreign country. It just takes a couple minutes to access your account on your cell phone and send money abroad, with a bit of luck you may be able to do so before all hell breaks loose and accounts are frozen. If you don’t have such an account, this won’t even be a possibility for you no matter how you saw it coming before the masses.
Diversify and be smart about your money for emergencies and worst case scenarios. In cases like these, planning and having a good strategy will go a long way and make all the difference in the world.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

What’s Wrong with the Ka-Bar Knife?

Ferfal,
I noticed in your recent bug-out bag posting that the Ka-bar knife was missing. Any particular reason for its absence?
-Marvin
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KA-BAR Full Size US Marine Corps Fighting Knife $71.97
Hello Marvin,
You are making reference to this video that I posted showing a few survival knife options.

At the risk of opening a massive can of worms and offending half my readership, here it goes. Keep in mind, its just my opinion, based on years of using and studying knives:
The Ka-bar is the most famous combat utility knife in the world. In many ways, the Ka-bar is to the knife world what the Colt 1911 is to the gun world, meaning a time-proven classic.
The Ka-bar has many attributes, its greatest achievement being an excellent blade design that has proven to be an all-around ideal combat utility blade shape. You can fight with the ka-bar, you can cut with it, pry open boxes, cut open MREs, smash with its pummel and pretty much use it for anything that a solider needs a knife for. The Ka-bars legendary reputation doesn’t hurt its appeal either. For many years, the Ka-bar has been and still is a beloved, trusty companion.

Having said all this, the Ka-bar is not a perfect knife. The blade shape is fantastic by all accounts, and proof of this is that its by far the one that has inspired most other utility fighting blades, if not being downright copied. The stacked leather handle is also of sound design although the oval shape makes it a bit difficult to keep it from rotating in the hand when used forcefully in certain angles. Some Ka-Bar owners address this by sanding the leather handle and refinishing it to fit their specific hands better. The stacked leather material isn’t as bad as some seem to believe it to be. You’d think leather would just rot in front of your eyes in a matter of minutes accord to some accounts. In reality there are Ka-bars that have been well used for decades and are still very much serviceable. With minimum care, the handle in your ka-bar should outlast all of us. Having said that, synthetic materials are without a doubt stronger and more durable.

The Ka-bars steel crossguard is functional and will keep your hand from slipping forward but it can be bent. People battoning with their Ka-Bars have noticed how the crossgaurd can bend when hit by accident.

http://www.kabar.com/how-knives-are-made
Maybe the most noticeable issue with the Ka-bar is its full length, narrow tang construction. The narrow tang is without a doubt is the Ka-bar’s weakest point. As great as the Ka-bar is, there’s simply no way in which the narrow tang construction can compare to a full tang knife. A full tang is a tang that shows all around the handle of the knife between two pieces of handle material. This will always be stronger, simply because it has considerably more steel and lacks stress points. As shown in the image above from KA-BARS website, the blade drops down to a narrow tang and does so at a 90 degree angle.

Image from 12Bravo at bladeforums.com

This creates two clear stress points and when chopping , prying or batonning with it there’s a chance of breaking it at this point. The stacked leather handle provides basically no support, so any force applied to the handle goes directly to that narrow tang. Because of this, sometimes the handle in the Ka-Bar bends, which for all practical purposes is better than having it fail catastrophically.
If you want a Ka-bar style knife you have some options that have a similar blade and a much stronger construction. The Ontario SP6 Spec Plus Fighting Knife still has a narrow tang, but it is thicker than the original ka-bar and the transition from blade to tang is radiused, avoiding the stress points of a 90 degree angle shoulders. This is still a narrow tang knife and not as robust as a full tang knife. The closest you can get to a full tang version of a Ka-bar combat utility knife is going for the Becker BK7. Unless you are honestly trying to destroy the knife, you can beat on the BK7, pry and chop with little risk of breaking it.

Ka-Bar Becker BK7 Combat Utility Fixed Blade Knife $77.99

The Ka-bar is still an overall great knife. Used responsibly and even giving it some honest hard work, for cutting and fighting as intended, the Ka-bar will last a lifetime. From a design point of view, there’s simply no way for a Ka-bar to take the extreme abuse a similar type of knife with a full tang can tolerate.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Put together a “real” Bug Out Bag

This is an excerpt from my book, "Bugging Out and Relocating". The "Bug Out Bag" Chapter will give you a good idea of how to put together a no-nonsene kit to get you from point A to B during a disaster or emergency, taking only the items you need.
FerFAL

The Bug Out Bag

Photo: F.Aguirre

Bug Out Bag and Documents Bag

The Bug Out Bag (BOB) is one of the hottest, most often discussed topics in the preparedness world. In spite of how popular the topic is, BOB contents often being listed resemble camping backpacks rather than true Bug Out Bags. Focusing too much on weapons is another common mistake. It is common to read about people putting together kits where half the weight is dedicated to firearms and ammunition, as if bugging out inevitably leads to heated gunfights or full blown urban warfare. The facts show a very different reality, and while a firearm for defense is a good idea for personal protection, during most evacuations it is better to travel light and go as unnoticed as possible. Comfortable clothing, good shoes, a large bottle of water, a fat wad of cash and a credit card are often more useful than a battle rifle and ten loaded magazines during disasters.
A Bug Out Bag is a kit purposefully designed to get you from point A to point B. Point A can be your home, your work place, or some other location you often find yourself at. If disaster strikes when you are at point A, point B could be either home, your Bug Out Location, a Rallying Point or some other destination where help is available, may that be safe shelter or a point for evacuating further away. Most people will find civilization within a few hours of walking at the most. Even for those living in the country, not many people are more than a day’s worth of walking to the closest town.
Assuming the worst, a situation in which no other transportation is available, your Bug Out Bag will be used for walking from point A to point B. Because of this the main priority to keep in mind is that the Bug Out Bag must be lightweight and not a 60 pound monster of a bag. If your destination can be reached within two or three days of walking, then it is crucial to keep the Bug Out Bag as light as possible. Assuming a walking speed of 3 or 4 mph and walking for 12 hours each day, it is not unreasonable to expect to cover between 100 or 140 miles in three days if walking on roads and trails. This will of course depend on each person’s fitness level, if they are injured and the amount of weight carried. After ten hours of walking every ounce feels like ten pounds and every bit of extra weight holds the person back. When reaching the destination fast is the main priority weight must be limited to the essential items and nothing else.

Tip: Even for trips that last several days, the priority will still be water. It is important to have a filter and careful planning so as to know where to find water along the road. In this case too, food rations weight must be kept to a minimum, choosing high nutritional value, compact and ready to eat meals.

After reducing weight as much as possible, the next priority in a Bug Out Bag is water. Here again, we often see water missing from most Bug Out Bags. Instead we find empty bottles, filters and water purifying tablets but no actual water. Often, the explanation for this is that water is just too heavy and that the owner of such Bug Out Bag plans to find water along the way. This can be a big mistake. A filter or water purification tablet is important to have, but you need actual water in your bag. How much water you need will depend on weather conditions and how far you need to walk. If your destination can be reached within a day of walking, at the very least you will need a liter of water for mild weather conditions and if you need to walk all day long you may go through as much as five liters of water in one day.

Photo: F.Aguirre

A stainless steel water bottle can be used to purify water by boiling it. The LifeStraw and Berkey Sport are compact solutions for filtering water. The Berkey Sport bottle (available at directive21) has an internal filter and water is filtered as you sip through the straw.
While you can keep walking for two or three days without food, the same isn’t true when it comes to water. Dehydration can leave you lying on the road unable to continue in a matter of hours in hot weather conditions. Quality water filters will allow you to safely hydrate using water you come across on the go. Safe water is the most important supply for a person walking long distances.
After water, the next priority is clothing. Good athletic shoes or hiking boots are mandatory for walking several hours a day and still keeping your feet in good shape ready to walk again the next day. For those that often find themselves wearing dress shoes which are unsuited for walking long distances, a spare pair of shoes must be included in the Bug Out Bag or Emergency Kit kept in their vehicle or work place. A spare set of underwear, pants and jacket are also a good idea. During an emergency your clothes may get torn, wet, dirty or bloody and being able to change into dry clean clothes is not only practical, but a great morale booster as well.
If your destination can be reached within three or four days, food should not be a priority and power bars along with some hard candy, nuts and foil packed food ready to eat such as tuna will do well enough. Military rations such as MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and other emergency rations can be used too. Because MREs can be bulky, it is recommended to strip them and just pack the main courses for the Bug Out Bag. A mess kit and stove will just add unnecessary weight to the bag and is not needed unless your circumstances demand that you spend weeks on the road at a time.
Emergency Blankets (sometimes called Space blankets) are light weight and while not ideal, they reflect heat and help keep you warm when resting. Some of them come in configurations similar to tube tents and bivvy bags. Even if not suited for long term use, these can provide shelter for a night or two on the road in mild climate conditions.
Include at least one flashlight that runs on a single (sometimes one is all you have), commonly available battery, either AA or AAA. Choose a LED (light-emitting diode) with several brightness modes, at least a high and low mode to save battery power and extended runtime when possible. A strobe or S.O.S. mode would be of use for signaling.
A headlamp allows you to use the light while leaving both hands free. Some models (Petzl, Energizer) have white and red LEDs. Red light is suited for night use at close range. It doesn’t ruin your natural night vision as much as white light nor is it as easy to detect from further away. This can be a valuable addition if remaining undetected is important due to safety reasons.
A knife is another important part of any emergency kit. The survival knife has always been considered the quintessential survival tool. In spite of how often the topic of survival knives is discussed, misguided concepts are common in survival and disaster preparedness publications. Carving spoons, setting up traps and building fire bows are nice skills to have, but survival situations don’t always revolve around bushcraft. As a matter of fact, they rarely do, and during an emergency you are far more likely to need a tool that can chop through a 2X4, smash its way through dry walls or rubble and dig holes. The knife should be capable of prying open doors and windows after an earthquake or open a jammed car door after an accident. You need a tool that can be used as a chisel or hammer if needed and not break in the process. The knife may be needed for self-defense purposes too. Smaller knives are good for detail cutting, but more than that may be demanded of it during real emergencies. Depending on geometry and weight distribution, a knife may be capable of doing such things with a six inch blade, although seven to ten inches is preferable. Shorter blades will simply lack the leverage needed to perform most of these tasks. The survival knife should have a full tang or a thick narrow tang that extends to the full length of the handle. The blade should be at least 0.2 inches (about 5mm) thick. Rugged, synthetic handle materials are preferable. Steel quality is important as well, along with the correct heat treatment. Having said that, even expensive knives that cost hundreds of dollars and use premium steel can be great for cutting, but poor survival knives that can fail catastrophically (break in half)if used for prying, hammering or any other task that goes beyond cutting. A correctly heat treated 1055 carbon steel or 440A stainless steel knife can be a great survival knife if the design and blade geometry are sound. Carbon steel is not the only option. Outstanding knives can be made of stainless steel. In many ways it is preferable given the higher corrosion resistance. Although some expensive knives made of premium steels provide better performance in some cases, the difference can be negligible for most practical purposes when compared to correctly heat treat blades made of steel such as AUS-8 or even 440A.

Photo: F.Aguirre
(Left to right) Cold Steel SRK (Carbon V version) Condor Kumunga (1075) ESEE Junglas (1095) Busse Bushwacker Mistress (INFI) Busse TGLB (INFI) Busse Basic 6 (INFI) and Busse Boss Jack (INFI)
A multi-tool can be very handy in urban and wilderness survival situations. Leatherman makes some of the best models available. The Leatherman Wave and Charge are both highly recommended. More affordable than the Wave or Charge, the Leatherman Sidekick is also a good option. A solid survival fixed blade knife combined with a quality multi-tool that has a locking blade will take care of most situations where an edged tool is needed.
While firearms are in no way the most important part of your Bug Out Bag, a handgun and some spare magazines can be a good addition. In most cases, it’s better to keep the weapon concealed. Any visible firearm is likely to attract the attention of not just the people around you but also first responders, police and military personnel. The firearm may be taken away from you or even worse, you might get shot because of it. A firearm that can be kept concealed will avoid such a problem. A reliable semiautomatic pistol is recommended. Both Glock 17 and Glock 19 would be good choices because they are reliable firearms, fire commonly available 9mm ammunition and spare parts and accessories are plentiful. A Glock or other auto pistol of similar quality and characteristics along with two spare magazines should provide enough protection for most bug out scenarios. When bugging out in a vehicle, more firearms can be carried and in this case it would be recommended to have a semiautomatic rifle or carbine. The shorter carbine configuration is more practical for moving around inside vehicles. While any quality centerfire carbine should do well enough, .30 caliber carbines such as the AK47 or FAL would provide better penetration and prove to be more effective against vehicles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:F.Aguirre

Pistol, passports, credit cards and enough cash will get you through anything

Here is a list of the contents of a basic Bug out Bag. This kit would work for most circumstances where the destination can be reached on foot within 24-48hs. Longer distances, personal circumstances and extreme weather conditions will modify the kind of BOB kit you will need.
Bug Out Bag Contents:

Photo: F.Aguirre

Main Compartment (left to right, top to bottom)
Wet Wipes: These can be used for cleaning up when there are no showers and water is being rationed. When dirty after a few days on the road, covered in dirt, mud or blood after a disaster or simply for cleaning your hands and face, wet wipes are a valuable addition both for hygiene and morale. Cleaning up your neck, armpits and groin with wet wipes does not replace a proper bath, but it’s better than nothing.

Tip: Baby Wipes will work in a pinch and are suited for delicate skin. Antibacterial Industrial Wipes are tougher and hold together better when used.

Dust Sheets: They have several uses. One of the most valuable ones is using it for shelter building or for improvising a tarp when it rains so as to have a dry spot to rest.
Emergency Blanket (two): Also known as space blankets, these sheets are made of heat-reflective material that reflects up to 90% of the heat back to the body. While not very strong and considered disposable, they are strong enough to be used more than once if handled with care. Besides their use as blankets to stay warm, they can be used in many applications where a tough, waterproof sheet of plastic is needed.

Tip: With some patience and a sharp knife, you can cut a continuous spiral, from the edge of the blanket towards the center and end up with several yards of cordage.

Large trash bag: Large trash bags have a number of uses. They can be used as improvised rain ponchos and to waterproof the Bug Out Bag when it rains or when crossing a river.
Shemagh: The shemagh or large scarf can be used as a hat, a scarf to keep the neck warm or to cover the face to protect it from the cold, sand, wind or dust. It can be used to grab hot pots from the fire, to make a tourniquet, make an arm sling or to pre-filter water among many other uses.
Small bottle of water: Water is one of the most important parts of your kit and every drop should be considered precious. A small bottle of water can be carried on the side of the backpack for quick access.
Berkey Sport: The Berkey Sport bottle carries water and also has a black ceramic filter on the inside, making it ideal for filtering water from streams and ponds. If the water is cloudy it’s a good idea to pre-filter it with a coffee filter, scarf or other piece of cloth so as to avoid clogging and to extend the life of the filtering element.
Big Water Bottle: A two liter bottle of water will be the main water container. Commercially available bottled water usually comes in bottles that are strong and lightweight.
Emergency Shelter: These are tube-type tents made of the same mylar material used in space blankets. These tents don’t provide a lot of protection but they do keep rain away if set up properly and they do reflect heat back to you. The shelter should be reinforced with other materials whenever possible and a mattress of grass and soft leaves placed beneath it will improve insulation and preserve body heat.

Tip: In urban settings, you can use cardboard, plastic bags and wrinkled-up paper so as to insulate yourself from the floor when resting.

Emergency Poncho: The emergency poncho keeps you dry when it rains. It can also be used as an extra layer of clothing to stay warm if others are not available.
Spare set of Clothes: Inside a ziplock bag to keep it dry we have socks, underwear, t-shirt and shorts. These don’t provide a lot of protection but they are something to change into if your clothes happen to be wet or damaged.

Photo: F.Aguirre

Second Compartment (left to right, top to bottom)
Toilet Paper: Kept inside a ziplock bag so as to keep it dry. Wet TP is not usable.
Roll of grocery bags: They can be used for transporting small items and keeping them dry, transporting water, collecting fruits or disposing of trash among many other uses.
Map and FM Radio: A map is needed to know where you are going and how to get there when GPS and smart phones are not working. The radio is essential for gathering information. It should be small and work on a single, commonly available battery such as AA or AAA.
Solar Powered power pack with LED light: The power bank can be used to charge your phone when there’s no electricity and the incorporated solar panel allows you to recharge the battery pack itself. The model in the picture is the Waka Waka Power which incorporates a bright LED lantern.
Smartphone (with USB charging cable): The cellphone is one of the most important components of the Bug Out Bag. In this day and age, calling for help whenever possible is the best, most reasonable course of action. A smartphone will allow you to make calls as well as make use of Wi-Fi hotspots. If possible, the phone should be impact and water-proof.
550 Paracord: A hank of 550 paracord has many uses. Make sure you get mil-spec 550 paracord, made of nylon and with seven strands on the inside. These strands considerably multiply the amount of thinner cordage you have at your disposal for tasks such as repairing gear or making fishing lines or nets.

Tip: 550 Paracord should not be used as rappelling rope. 550 pounds is considered to be the breaking point of the cord and the force applied to it can be ten times as much or more when rappelling. If you need stronger cord, look into Dyneema, Spectra and Technora, which are several times stronger than 550 paracord. Basic rappelling gear and proper training may be worth having as part of your emergency kit for those that live or work in high-rise buildings.

Notebook and pen: It can be used for leaving notes, writing down important information, phone numbers, names, and addresses. In this notebook you should write down your own important information and contact numbers as backup, just in case your cell phone isn’t working. Weatherproof notebooks and pens are ideal for this type of use.
Knife: A survival knife is an important part of your Bug Out Bag. The survival knife should be at least six inches long and of solid construction. The knife pictured is a Busse Boss Jack, made of INFI steel with G10 handles.
Small Flashlight: The small flashlight is used for general purpose tasks where more power isn’t needed. The Fenix E05 runs on a single AAA battery and provides 27 lumens for up to 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Large Flashlight: A more powerful flashlight is needed for search and rescue, signaling and even defensive tactical applications. The MTE flashlight in the picture has a maximum output of 1000 lumens. It operates on one 18650 Li-ion battery or two CR123A Lithium batteries.
Headlamp: If you can only have one flashlight, make it a headlamp. Headlamps are the most practical form of flashlights because they leave both hands free to do whatever needs to be done. Everything from preparing food during a blackout, setting up camp to spend the night or helping disaster victims after the sun goes down, the headlamp makes all that possible. The Streamlight Sidewinder Compact II has several output modes, white, blue, red and IR LEDs to choose from and it can run on multiple types of batteries using a single AA, AAA or CR123A lithium battery.
Soap: A small bar of soap for washing wounds or simply cleaning up whenever possible. You can soap up your head too if shampoo isn’t available. A small bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer is worth including in the Bug Out Bag as well for disinfection purposes when there’s not much water to spare.
Facial tissues: These are good for blowing your nose and cleaning up your hands and face in general.
Box of matches: Stormproof matches kept in a waterproof container are one of the fastest ways of starting a fire. Make sure you have extra strikers inside the waterproof case.
Butane Lighter: A lighter is another effective fire starting tool. Unlike matches, they are mechanically complex and therefore prone to failure. In spite of that, butane gas lighters are very reliable and hundreds of fires can be easily started with one so they do have a place in the Bug Out Bag. The lighter pictured is a refillable Clipper made of translucent plastic so as to see how much fuel it has left.
Candy: Candy provides quick energy for the body when on the go. In the case of dextrose, it absorbs directly into the bloodstream during digestion. The dextrose tablets in the picture are orange flavored and have added vitamin C.
Multitool: A quality multitool of generous dimensions can be very useful for numerous tasks. Make sure the pliers are strong and capable of bending and cutting thick wire without breaking. The multitool pictured is the Leatherman Sidekick.
Food: For most bug out scenarios that will only take a few days you don’t need large quantities of food. The food should be compact, have a long shelf life and require no cooking. Some energy and protein bars, chocolate, hydration drink powder and a pouch of tuna or two will do. MRE meals are a good option but they can be bulky. The flameless ration heaters allow you to enjoy a hot meal, a small luxury that can boost your morale during an emergency situation.
Spare batteries: A case with four AAA batteries. These can be used on the radio and two of the flashlights.
Flat roll of duct tape: Duct tape can be used for different kind of repairs. It can be used for shelter building when used along with the emergency blankets.
Survival Kit Tin: Survival kit tins or Altoids kits contain essential survival gear and supplies. The one in the picture includes: nylon thread, brass wire, 2 x fishing lines, 10 x fishing hooks and lures, 2 x lead sinkers, ferrocerium rod, compass, 2x water bags, metal saw, duct tape, potassium permanganate vial, multitool, mirror, LED light, 2 x plasters, 2x alcohol pads, dressing strip, paper and pen, 5x stormproof matches, 10 x strike-anywhere matches, Hammarö Lighting Paper, 2 x needles, sewing thread and 2 x safety pins.
Money: In the modern world, few things are as useful as a wad of cash. Remember to include a few coins for telephone booths, vending machines and transportation.

Photo: F.Aguirre

Exterior Compartment (left to right, top to bottom)
3M N95 Collapsible respirator: An often overlooked item. The respirator allows you to breathe when there are dust particles in the air. It can also be used during pandemic outbreaks. The collapsible models are more practical to carry around, they adapt well to most faces and the valve makes it more comfortable to use.
Latex Gloves: Gloves should be used whenever helping victims so as to avoid contagious diseases. Even small amounts of blood and other bodily fluids can be dangerous.
First Aid kit: The kit includes bandages, plasters, tape, gauze, aspirin, ibuprofen, diarrhea pills, caffeine pills, antiseptic cream, alcohol pads, amoxicillin antibiotic and super glue (used for closing small cuts).
Celox Gauze: The hemostatic gauze is used to stop hemorrhaging when the bleeding cannot be controlled through direct or indirect pressure.
Ice Pack: Instant ice packs are used to relieve pain and limit swelling.
Emergency Bandage: The Emergency Bandage (also known as Israeli bandage) is used to stop bleeding from hemorrhagic wounds caused by traumatic injuries. The bandage has a built-in pressure bar that helps control bleeding and makes bandaging easier.
These contents are kept in the small exterior compartment of the backpack for quick and easy access. The Celox gauze, latex gloves, Ice pack and Emergency bandage are kept in a plastic container so as to avoid damage and accidental activation of the Ice pack.
Documents Bag

Photo: F.Aguirre

The Documents Bag contains passports and other important papers. It also contains a spare set of keys (house and car) cash, precious metals and a USB Drive with important files.
The Documents Bag or Very Important Papers Bag (VIP Bag) is where you keep your most important documentation such as passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, lease, titles and deeds. These will be kept in a small satchel made of tough, waterproof material. Unlike your BOB, the Documents Bag must be a small satchel. This makes it easy to keep it in a fireproof safe, as well as easier to grab and go in a hurry. A Documents Bag should be light and small, so that if you are wounded or helping a family member in need, you can still carry it with you during the evacuation.
Some of the items to keep in this bag are:
Important Documentation: All important papers, contracts and documents. If original documents can’t be kept here, such as driver’s license or credit cards which are actually used, quality copies of them should be made.
USB Flash Drive: An encrypted Flash Drive that allows the creation of “vaults” in it with different passwords. One of them may contain important but non-essential information in case the person has to handle it over to rescue personnel or government officials for identification purposes.
The following information and copies of documents should be kept in this Flash Drive:
• Important work related documents
• Copy of Passport
• Copy Birth Certificate
• Copy of your Concealed Carry License
• Backup of your Bookmarks and favorites from your web browser
• Copy of Driver’s License
• Email and website name and passwords
• Bank account numbers
• Social Security Card
• Marriage Certificate
• Divorce Papers
• Death Certificates
• Deeds
• Will
• Immunization Records
• Business Licenses and Permits
• Firearms licenses, Class 3 tax stamps
• Firearms Serial numbers, photos, recipes and invoice or ticket of sale.
• Military records
• School Records
• Your Children’s Report Cards
• Diplomas
• Training records and Certifications
• Work Records
• Current Resume
• Copy of your Credit Cards
• Special licenses and permits
• Insurance Records
• Health Insurance Contract
• Auto Insurance Contract
• Homeowner's Insurance Policy
• Rental and Lease Agreements
• Auto Registrations
• Receipts for big ticket items
• Medical Records
• Medications you may need for chronic diseases
• Payments for Car and Mortgage
In a separate vault within the USB drive:
• Photos and video of your belongings, car and house for insurance claim purposes.
• A list of contacts, including names and phone numbers. (Your cellphone may be lost or destroyed )
• Photos and videos of your family, wedding, etc.
Cash: Along with the documents and USB drive, any emergency cash you have should also be kept in this bag along with some of your precious metals. Gold would have a big advantage over silver regarding bulk and weight.
Family Heirlooms: Although the Documents Bag is where important papers, files and money are kept, it also makes sense to keep in it some of the more important material belongings you’d wish to keep safe in case you are evacuating in a hurry. These should be compact and light so as to fit in the small satchel (heirloom jewelry, small trinkets and photos) and not defeat the purpose of the Documents Bag.
 Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.