Bug Out Bags, A Study of

Sometimes referred to as:

GOOD [Get Out Of Dodge] Bag

PERKs [Personal Emergency Relocation Kit]

For a long time the subject of BOB's (or Bug out Bags) has been a growing interest for me - the contents of which I will lay out in this post.

A lot of thought has to be put into a Bug Out Bag as it is really easy to forget something important.  I've watched a number of different videos, written lists and reviews and this is what I've come up with for a good BOB setup, which is a combination and reduction of things I've come across.

72-Hour, 3-Season Pack Configuration

(This list will most likely get updated)

• Backpack, comfortable and durable (i.e. Maxpedition Vulture II Backpack)
• Water Bladder or Hydration System
• Machete, with sheathe (i.e. Gerber Gator Machete Junior)
• Para-cord
• Fishing Cord
• Sunscreen\Sunglasses
• Sturdy Gloves
• Weather Appropriate Clothing (i.e. Rain Jacket)
• Dry Pair of Clothes (a dry pair of socks is the minimum requirement)
• Multi-Tool
• First Aid Kit (i.e. Tactical Trauma Kit, Platoon First Aid Kit)
• Fire Starter Tool (i.e. Magnesium or Ferrocerium rod)
• Flashlight (i.e. windup power is recommended)
• Cup or Can
• Small pot or pan 
• Local and Regional Maps
• Compass  is highly recommended
• Pistol (for self defense)
• .22lr Rifle (for hunting small game, something that can be broken down is preferrable)
• Or a higher caliber rifle for big game depending on your location and local wildlife
• Non-perishable or freeze dried food (i.e. MRE's, canned food, etc.)

More Practice (please)

[A quick note]

Not everyone has the convenience of having the money to go to a firing range every other day or better yet, have their own place to practice their shooting skills legally.  In my opinion the best thing to do with practicing your firing drills is to purchase some snap caps.  Instead of dry-firing your gun over and over again, which isn't the best thing for the firing pin I would recommend using a spring-loaded primer snap cap round.  Triple K makes some decent snap caps as well as A-Zoom.  It's a safe way to continually dry-fire your weapon in your home in front of a mirror while practicing.

They're a bit pricey, but it's worth it considering the amount of practice you can get out of these handy little tools.

Gas Masks

They ARE important

There really isn't much in the way of opposing arguments on that point anymore with the current geopolitical climate being what it is as well as things like the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in Japan still looming fresh in our minds and being an ever-present issue for countless Japanese citizens.

Only problem I see currently for people wanting a good quality gas mask is not wanting to spend so much money for one - plan on spending anywhere around $170-$400 for one that you can really trust.

In terms of real-use, life-saving gas masks I'd stick primarily with NATO gas masks and avoid most Warsaw Pact\Ex-Soviet bloc masks.  

I personally own two Soviet PBF EO-19's (one black, one white) and one Czech M10 gas mask that I usually only use during light work that will involve particles I'd rather not inhale, but other than that they're more or less not going to save me in a really bad situation that involves any kind of NBC event.

Some recommendations I would make:

Country of Origin	Gas Mask Models
Belgium	4GP
Britain	S10, SF10, FM12
Canada	C3 (40mm model), C4
Israel	M15
Russia\USSR	GP-7VM
United States of America	M17A2, M40, MCU-2/P, FM12

Another specific thing to look for (and to narrow your search for a good all-around mask) are masks that accept 40mm filters, which are still currently the most commonly accepted filters for modern NATO masks.  There are some 60mm can filters available as well for gas masks that accept them, but that are not as easy to find or purchase.

Most good modern masks are from the late 90's to present, anything earlier probably won't do you much good nowadays and quite frankly weren't very effective when they were first released either.

Tactical Note!

If you plan on using your gas mask while shooting a rifle, make sure to think ahead and get a gas mask that accepts filters on the cheek or use internal filters instead of having a filter right in front of you - it's hard to look down the sights of a gun if there's a big can coming  out of where your mouth would be.

Like everything else do your research on gas masks before purchasing, read reviews because there's tons out there - you just have to look!

Cabelas & Kittery Trading Post

[A quick note]

Wife took me for a surprise drive up to the Cabela's outlet store in Maine recently and it was most certainly a worth while drive.  It's a bit of a haul for us, but I know I'll be back there soon enough.  She definitely knows how to please her husband, that's for sure.

Although I wasn't aiming to really buy much, it was good to actually see what they have in their larger-than-life outlet store rather than browsing one bright-white webpage after another on my laptop.

On our way back we also stopped at the Kittery Trading Post, which had a great selection of firearms and just about everything else as well. If you're in the New England region I would highly recommend at least checking out these two places if you haven't already. And for Cabela's I know there's at least a couple of outlets nationwide that you can look for on their website if you live elsewhere.

Just a section of the Kittery Trading Post

Population Zero

A friend brought this to my attention.
Also, this is one of the most interesting interactive tools I've seen so far about a post apocalyptic world, which is surprisingly from National Geographic.
There's a new series running about it and it looks pretty interesting. In my opinion they pretty much hit it right on the nose.

Check it out at: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/aftermath-population-zero-interactive/