Bug-out-bag, Ditch kit, Zombie Apocalypse
 

As a life long sailor I have always had a ditch kit of sorts with me. In my house, cars, boats, and modified version in a back pack on my person. All have three days of provisions, multiple ways to make a fire, sterilize water, shelter, first aid, etc. In addition my ditch kits change from season to season.

I don't believe in the Zombie Apocalypse but I do very much believe that we could have a break down of society even if in pockets. In addition a person may need to be able to fend for themselves for a period of time for a variety of reasons.

In the wake of Sandy I have begun to wonder who else has a ditch kit, B-O-B, whatever you want to call it and what's in it? Have you ever had a need to use it? If so in what situation and how well did it work? What would you add to or subtract from it?

I am interested in knowing how people in different areas of the country have prepared. Obviously a person in New York City will have a very different take on preparation than a person in the Midwest or the mountains of Alaska.

What do you consider absolutely essential?

I just have extra ammo and a list of addresses of people with BOB's... :)

2 500 cans of LC XM855, 3 days worth of canned beans, and a bunch of "don't tread on me" and "come and take it" bumper stickers.

Yes, I have a kit. Not out of fear of society breaking down. But just "in case"..especially something like a natural disaster or even when we're on a long trip in the winter...because you never know. I also use it for camping, hunting, you name it. My bag contains enough basics to last my wife and I 5-7 days or more. And it all fits into a Kelty Redwing 50 backpack. I know I'm going to forget some things, but I'll do my best to remember everything that's in there. I'll break it down.

SHELTER:

1x Tarp
1x 4 man Bothy Bag (I used to only keep a tarp in the bag, as it makes a great emergency shelter. But since there is winter where I live, I've found an amazing piece of kit that EVERY emergency bag should have. It's used by alpine adventurers. It's called a Bothy Bag. Even in freezing weather, you're toasty warm. And it's lighter than a tarp and packs smaller. The 2 man Bothy packs down to pop can size!)
4x emergency blankets (can be used for blankets or shelter)

FIRE:

1x Blast Match (kicks ass!)
1x Light my Fire "Fire Knife" (Mora knife with swedish fire steel in handle)
1x matches in 2oz. Nalgene waterproof container
1x Magnifying Glass/Fresnel lense
1x bag with dryer lint, vaseline cotton balls and SolHuma Waterproof fire starter

WATER:

1x Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter (AMAZING product! Good for 1 million gallons!)
2x Platypus .5L softwater bottles (collapsible)
1X Nalgene 2L big mouth cantene (collapsible)

COOKING:

SoloStove cooking stove. (Another amazing product.)
GSI Soloist cooking set
2x Stainless Steel chopsticks (can be used to move hot coals, as a skewer, sharpened for a spear point, etc..)

FOODSTUFFS:

3x Mainstay 3,600 calorie food bars (these are non-thirst inducing)
10x Knorr Noodles/Rices (just add hot water..and only $1 ea)
2x Snickers (or other bar)
1x bottle hot sauce (might be eating some poor tasting wild game in an emergency..this will mask taste!)


MISC:

1x signal mirror
1x whistle
multiple zip ties
1x 50 feet paracord (375lb, 1/8")
1x deck of cards
1x SAS Survival Book, pocket size
1x wire for snare
1x tin with fishing line, sinker, hooks
1x rat trap
1x large first aid kit (wife is nurse, she put this kit together)
1x USB drive
1x small binoculars
2x wool cap, gloves

If I bring a firearm, it's something small with ammo that packs light. .22 Magnum or .410 shotgun (Mossberg 510 Super Mini Bantam)

I'm sure I'm missing something, but will update as I remember.

I do not have a ditch kit.

I believe that if society broke down to the extent that I had to go live in the wild or something similar, I would notice it happening, in time to put together a ditch kit, which might take half a day.

I do have gobs of tools, firearms, food, camping gear, medical supplies, gas, and so on. It's just not packaged to pick up and run immediately.

In California, I did keep crates of prepacked emergency stuff, ready at a moment's notice. Because earthquakes did come without warning.

I kind of wonder what would have to happen to have a breakdown of order where I live. I'm pretty sure the civilian population is far better armed than all the police and most of the Nat. Guard combined. I don't plan to have to leave the house, but we are pretty well stocked with everything we'd need for a while. I could easily rig up something for distilling water and I have a full 10k gal. pool in the back yard, plenty of oranges and lemons on the trees, lots of batteries, high end flashlights, a gun for every occasion and more ammo than I could fit in a car. Could use some more first aid stuff though.

For sure it depends where you live and whether you leave the house or not. Most of us hope we could "ride it out" in a rough situation. But as the east coast demonstrates (or Japan, California, etc), you just never know.

Don't live near water, a fault line, nuclear power plants or travel in the winter? I'd say you might not really need to have a bug out bag, since you'd likely be fine at home.

One of the things is I've made my pack multi use. Good for hunting, camping, adventure trips, etc..

LOL, I live within a couple miles of the ocean, a fault line, and a nuclear power plant. :D It was fine when the tsunami got here from Fukashima, though. Just a really high tide. I haven't felt any of the recent earthquakes, but none have been on the Los Osos fault that I know of.

I travel in winter but our winters just mean bad drivers in the rain. :)

I don't have a ditch-kit.

I guess the contents of an "Oh Chit" bag is regional. I have a case of MRE's that I keep more for camping more than anything else and am well sorted for home protection. We can food and have a decent garden and things along the line of a stereotypical country life. Such an event that will require the use of a ditch-kit would more than likely start in a metropolitan area and us country bumpkins will have some warning. Self sufficiency is more of a way of life way out here, so the impact of such an event would have less of an impact.

Hydrorocket, you seem to have a fantastic kit. Was that compiled piece by piece, or did you buy some parts of it in kit form?

I have pondered this myself, as it seems like a prudent thing for anyone living in a city or metro area to have. My plan in the event of a major catastrophe would be to load up our truck and head to my in-law's place in central KS, a 1.5 hour drive. They live on the outskirts of a small town and have 40 acres, a garden, hundreds of lbs of frozen meat, multiple generators, etc. Best of all they are a long ways away from major cities where you would expect most issues to occur. But getting there is of concern, as well as the possibility of travel being too unsafe. If in the situation of needing to hole up at home for a period of time our preparation would be sorely lacking.

living where i live..i imagine i just have to stay put.

traffic would be gridlocked...i will board up my front windows, and lay down a suppressing fire. :)

interestingly enough, my neighbors had a meeting. we live in a culdesac. the old ladies will block off our street with their mega RV's..

i am armed to the gills, and i have food and fuel for months. i asked my brother for one of their throw away bullet proof vest and helmets. hahha

I think the closest nuke plant is about 100 miles west of me, no fault lines, no forest or brush to burn, no hurricanes or natural bodies of water nearby. I really like living where those things are of no concern. I'm a good 10 miles north of even the slightest sketchy neighborhood, so I doubt any trouble there could make it up here. I have a gas station within walking distance, though, in a time of trouble, it'd be overwhelmed in no time. And for about the last year, there's even a gun store within a 15 min. walk. If I had to bug out with minimal personal effects, my wife and I could take the bike and bypass all traffic.

Shotgun, 9mm handgun, ammo, water, flashlight, pantry stocked with canned goods that we rotate, and some dry goods like pasta and rice.

I live out on a peninsula, my house is a second story over the garage... some call it Scotties tree house... my friend joke that in the apocolips they are packing up their guns and food and heading for my place because the high ground is easily defensible.

I don't have a ditch kit but do have several cases of shotgun shells and fish hooks which will be the currency of choice afterr the apocalypse.

i need an assault type rifle..if i had my way..Socom 16..M1A whatever they call it.

but please reference the "did marriage change me thread?" on why i am woefully underpower in the longer range department :(

I agree. I have everything is his kit but I'd have to gather it up...but we are, unless water surge is an issue, more in the "bug in" camp.

We can, we grow, we hunt, we fish, we know all out neighbors and have ample gas and many generators.

Interesting discussion, this. I may have to get more bugoutish.

No B.O.B for us - we will stay home. The only natural threat would be an earthquake large enough make our home uninhabitable. That would have to be a sustained 9.5+ which would make regional travel impossible, communications and utilities out for months. We can easily make do outside and we have enough to get by for a month or so.

Being forced on the road with B.O.B and family in tow near any metro area would likely mean game over - IMO. At first glance Ricks MC plan sounds reasonable but people in crisis (unable to retreat) are not going to just watch you ride by...

I don't have a get away bag, but have plenty of the necessary items here. I wouldn't plan on leaving since we aren't near water or nucleary plants. We do have small shakers once in a while, but not near any major faults that might generate large ones. I have a generator and a 10K water tank I can get a gravity flow from. Not armed like some of you, but I think I have plenty of fire power. I do need more ammo though. My neighbors are all armed too and we live on a rural road that wouldn't become a major route in a large emergency, so I'm hopefull we're pretty well positioned.

No nukes, not ocean, no fault lines, no hurricanes to worry about. The biggest baddest tornado ever in recorded history hit parts of this city, but we did not even lose power. Tornadoes only hit a tiny area relative to the size of the city.

Zombies are as likely as extraterrestrials, not gonna happen.

A big blizzard or ice storm can make things difficult for a day or so but it will not be but a blip compared to what just happened in New York. I don't make trips in the winter except to commute the 8 miles to work.

I do have enough food and water around the house to make it several days.

I just can't imagine a disaster that would be so devastating that I need a survival bag.

Honestly my location is probably the biggest reason why I don't take this more seriously. Wichita could have pockets of trouble, but is still very much a down-home midwestern community. I can't fathom any disaster that would create a situation where our local society completely broke down into anarchy. There's enough citizens with guns that most looters probably wouldn't fare very well.