James,
I read with great interest the piece by Jeff M. on building kits. I was kind of taken aback by his statement “I just won’t be one of those guys who carries a purse”. I guess in these days I need to understand what a purse is because I am a professional person who goes to meeting all over the state in a suit and tie and I always have what my family calls my purse with me. I carry an old trusted backpack that contains my laptop, but also carries all of my immediate survival needs (knife, first aid, water, food, compact 2 meter ham radio etc.) These days no one bats and eye when you carry a backpack, it is really quite the norm. I also carry in my car a Maxpedition Fatboy concealed carry bag, which I bring with me depending on the situation. I just think it is funny that someone would sacrifice security and protection because of the perception that they were carrying a purse, I guess I am secure enough in my masculinity that if the only option was to carry a purse, I would carry an actual purse to keep my essential gear with me.
Keep up the good work, what I have learned on this site is invaluable to me. – Mike in Oregon
Greetings,
I would like to first commend Jeff M. for his great post on the various survival kits. I would like to add that there is another important survival kit that should be considered: The I’m Never Coming Home (INCH) pack is a kit that you would use in event of TEOTWAWKI if you were forced to abandon your home. Usually consisting of an internal framed pack with everything you would need to survival for the long term. This includes shelter (usually a backpacking tent), sleeping bag, sleeping pad, stove, stove fuel, mess kit, food, water, and many other items essential for survival in the post-apocalyptic world. This kit can be added on to the contents of your Bug Out Bag for more versatility if you already have some of the required items.
Strength and Honor, – Ryan S.
Mr. Rawles –
Reading this gave me some good ideas, but also made me stop and take inventory of what I currently do. Here are the contents of my kits as of this moment. Maybe someone will in turn get some ideas from what I do.
The most important safety item is between your ears. Being alert, not going places you should not, situational awareness, planning for emergencies ahead of time, getting all the training you can, all depend on your using your brain, eyes, and ears.
Every Day Carry (EDC) – Every time I leave our house all of this is either in a pocket, on my belt, or in my pouch (worn over my kidney, not in the rear). Items are arraigned so loss of any one item such as my wallet, will not leave me without cash, ID, or credit card. personal identification – Driver’s License, concealed carry permit, Sheriff department volunteer ID (it is amazing how few notice it is a volunteer ID
not a regular department ID), Passport card (this is a valid USA passport usable for ID, but in a card format) assorted ID – medical, dental, AAA, Insurance agent, auto insurance, CPR, card credit cards – American Express, Discover, VISA, MasterCard – 99% of the time I only use the two cards that give me cash back, but I have the other two on me in case my primary cards are not accepted – if you can’t pay the card off in full each month, don’t use the card! Sash (nothing larger than $20 bills – try to get a taxi driver or other small business to accept anything larger!), change (minimum $15 for vending machines & tolls), checkbook cell phone – the most important safety tool I carry – Do you know how to send and receive text messages? They will get through when voice messages will not.
Keys – house, cars, office, spare car key
Medications – prescriptions, Anti-Diarrheal
Knife – Swiss Army knife – in checked luggage when flying
Multi-tool – Buck Tool – in checked luggage when flying
Personal protection – handgun & spare magazine – when flying this gets left behind
Keychain based tools – S&W screwdriver
Pocket PC eWallet (great program, keeps all my important data 256 bit encrypted, and synced between the Pocket PC, laptops, desktops)
Panasonic DMC-ZS3K pocket digital camera, in a leather case from Wal-Mart – wonderful very small camera with 12x optical zoom – fits in my pocket with my wallet.
Quark AA2 LED flashlight – learned about this here on SurvivalBlog – a great flashlight – can serve as a backup headlight for your car, not great but good enough to get you home.
Ear plugs
Pen & pencil
Napkins
Rolling computer bag – I need a laptop for work and for personal communication (e-mail, Skype, Vonage softphone) so this goes most places with me. All of this fits in the Wenger rolling computer bag.
PackSafe security kit – wonderful system that allows you to lock a bag to an unmovable object in a hotel room for security
Laptop with accessories (AC supply, mouse, headset, USB flash drives, USB hard drive, 30′ Ethernet cable, memory card reader, cell phone tether cable, pocket PC VGA & USB cable, camera cable, camera charger)
Totes folding umbrella
Yaesu VX-7R 4 band ham radio (muti-band receive including AM, FM, and Weather bands), antenna, DC cable
Reading glasses, & repair kit
Pads & notebook, envelopes, address labels, stamps, business cards
First aid – bandages, Neosporin, vitamins, medicines, back scratcher, dental floss, Ziploc bags (Ziploc bags are your friends!)
Boy Scout signal mirror
Assorted wire ties
Pens, pencils, extra leads, eraser, highlighters
Laser pointer, AA cells
Comb, inflatable travel pillow, eye shades
Spare car key, ear plugs, AC outlet tester
United Airlines comfort kit – socks, toothbrush & paste, body lotion, Kleenex, eye shade – they give this to you on long flights in business class
Note from doctor about my walking stick – helps me get through security check points with my stick, handicap parking registration, ID holders (for Sheriff department ID to get through road blocks)
Car – the second most important safety item – particularly for someone like me who can’t run well – it is your tool to let you G.O.O.D. and back home.
Make sure you have good tires, brakes, wipers, and have kept the gas tank at least half full.
spare tire & factory jack/tool kit – what the car came with.
2 quarts oil stored under hood – found a good spot to store this, and wish there was space for the ATF and washer fluid as well – this location keeps it where you need it and out of valuable storage space in the trunk.
Coat, Gore-Tex lined leather gloves, hat – always in the back seat of my car windshield sun shade
Ice scrapers, snow brushes – my normal commute is 30 minutes, but in a snow/ice storm I have had to stop to clean the windshield every 5 minutes.
napkins & Kleenex
2 – 1/2 liter water bottles
Disposable camera
Magnetic mount ham radio antenna
Jumper Cables – heavy duty
Shooting bag in trunk – bright colored, zippered (got this tip from Lt. Col. Dave Grossman – if you ever need to use your handgun, you may need more supplies than you will carry – so keep them in a brightly colored closed bag in your trunk – you can send someone with a spare car key to fetch this if things go bad)
100 rounds high grade carry ammo
100 rounds practice ammo
Spare magazines
Shooting glasses
Gentex 1030A active hearing protectors (Wolf Ears) – learned about these from Massad Ayoob – lets you hear (in full natural stereo) better than the unaided ear, while protecting your hearing from firearms noise – never mutes even for a second – in great demand for SWAT teams and the military.
Cloth bag in trunk
2 pairs leather/cloth heavy duty work gloves
Rain hat
Cell phone headset
Cell phone DC power cord
Laptop DC power cord
Ham radio DC power cord & belt clip
Felt tip marker
Milk crate in trunk – I am amazed that all this fits in the crate, but it does and keeps it organized and out of the way of other things I may put in my trunk.
Gallon windshield washer fluid
Quart of ATF
Spray can of WD-40
Large roll duct tape
Roll of packing tape
1/2 liter water bottle
Rag
County Emergency Preparation Guide Book – very well done, and has all the important contact info.
Craftsman 1/4″ drive socket sets, metric & English
Small case with folding umbrella, flashlight & batteries, tire pressure gauge,
Pen, pad, and tools I added
Larger case with DC air compressor, duct tape, folding shovel, Accident
Report kit (disposable camera, tape rule, chalk, pen, accident report form), first aid kit, multitool, triangular reflector, emergency poncho, emergency blanket, work gloves, bungee cord, assorted wire ties, Battery terminal washers, Craftsman 3/8″ drive socket wrench sets, metric & English, & screwdrivers Phillips & regular.
After taking inventory, I see places that need improvement, but my kits are always changing.
I hope some others get some useful ideas from my lists. – RAR
Jim,
Whenever I check in to read and catch up with SurvivalBlog, I try to think of something new I might contribute . I routinely fail, since your site is so encyclopedic on the topic of survival and family preparations.
However, I think the following might be helpful to many of my fellow readers.
As a first responder medic for a rural Volunteer Fire Department I have a belt that I can grab on my way out of the house when we get a call. It’s the same belt some police officers use as an “inner belt”. About 1.5 to 1.75 inches wide that fastens with Velcro . it has just the right stiffness to allow me to comfortably carry a nice load. I just wrap it around me – outside my pants belt loops – and have hands free carry of a multitude of trauma material, gloves, CPR shield, and other medical and “on scene” material such as flashlight, multi-tool, etc. Total weight is about 4 pounds. This is stuff I may need immediately at hand so I don’t have to go through our large bag kits.
It has occurred to me that for some who work in offices, plants, stores etc, this system can convert nicely for a “get back home or to safety” survival kit. While you can choose to keep a small pack at work or in your car, having all the essential survival tools and material on a pouch belt that you can quickly wrap around you will ensure that you don’t drop it or lose it along the way as you could a bag or small pack. This method also allows the weight to be carried on your hips, not in your hands or on your shoulder.
All the various size pouches can be found on Amazon.com or CheaperThanDirt.com or similar sites. just do a search for pouches and build your own belt kit. Everything goes in a nylon pouches with Velcro closures. In constructing mine I use nylon pouches of different sizes that ride on the belt. My belt kit has headlamp, extra AAA batteries, very small water bottle with purification tablets, 2 energy food bars, 2-strap respirator, small trauma kit, head lamp, medical gloves, leather work gloves, a few band aids & several blood stopper trauma dressings, one white wash cloth, antiseptic wipes, Neosporin, small pill bottle with aspirin, Advil, Imodium AD, antacid tabs, 50 feet of parachute cord, disposable “medical” flashlight, disposable lighter, fire starter material, and some other odds & ends. I even have an emergency Bivvy Sack from Adventure Medica. They really work well and I have used them to keep people warm when we have outdoor medical emergencies in the winter.
I highly recommend using many small pouches rather than a few larger ones so you don’t have to rummage through larger fanny pack size pouches to find what you need. Using many smaller pouches will also keep the profile of your belt pack thin and allow you to more evenly distribute the weight.
Again, the benefit is that you are hands free when carrying your kit and all weight is distributed on the hips. Very hard to lose anything . When was the last time you lost a belt? Okay, you may look like Batman, but worn under a jacket or with your shirttails out, your belt kit will be invisible, organized, at your fingertips and light weight. – Marc N. in Alabama