Category: G. O. O. D.

Letter Re: Getting Home, by D.K. Vet

HJL, I enjoyed the article by D.K. Vet on the topic of getting home while traveling away from home. I often travel for work as well, and I plan for getting home in much the same way as the author. One specific issue that has always concerned me, and I hoped would have been addressed by the author, is the challenge of getting back into one’s hotel room to access my “get home bag” in the event that a power outage happens to occur while I’m out of my room. As most of your readers likely know, nearly all modern …


Letter Re: Bug Out Bag [Baloney] by RS

I too am in agreement on the weight of packs. Most people I know base their “ability” on how much they can carry over a short, flat distance and they have little practice at judging that distance. If I can brag a little, I was graced with shooting a nice bull elk this last fall. I went in on foot about three miles that was steep, rough, and covered with brush and dead fall. Coming out it started to snow. I had a small pack that day, my rifle, the head, antlers, and cape. It took me three hours to …


Two Letters Re: Bug Out Bag (Baloney), by R.S.

Hugh, I am in full agreement with R.S. As a backpacker, the thought of a 60lb bug out bag for even a three-day hike is pretty laughable. Also, no matter what your ability to carry a load, you’ll be limited by the suspension system of the bag. Some of the better packs out there have beefed-up suspension pads that better distribute the weight to your hips and off your shoulders. With relatively lightweight compressible gear, I can get down to about 3500ci for a pack size and 35 lbs for a 3-day pack, not including food, water, or ammunition. I …


The World of the Bug Out Bag, by D.M. – Part 1

To all who are reading this article, all is not well in the world of the bug out bag! It is my hope that this article will: Address the common bug out bag problems. Bring new insight on items that a bug out bag should include but most likely do not. Save you money. There is nothing like putting on a backpack filled with everything that you need to survive and thrive.  After more than 15 years of avid backpacking and other outdoor pursuits, I have learned profound lessons. One of the most profound lessons I’ve learned through hard experience …


When It Is Time To Leave Your Home, What To Bring, and Where To Meet, by R.W.

In a recent meeting of our Christian-based preparedness group, the following bylaws were distributed for consideration to the adult members of the group. I hope there are some take home items here that will help other individuals or groups when they are in the midst of considering this most difficult decision: If things get bad, there may be a day when you have to leave your home and evacuate to a safer location. These circumstances might include: Regional, large-scale, natural disasters, such as an earthquake, tornado, flood, or fire, Civil unrest caused by grid down or large-scale economic collapse, Nuclear …


Letter Re: Emergency Car Kit

The article by Z.M. was a good start for a car kit. I would recommend a few additional items. A set of road flares. These are multipurpose. Clearly they can be used for signaling. (I personally prefer them as a driver because they are more visible in my opinion than reflective triangles.) Additionally, they can be used to help start a fire in an emergency as well. Regarding food, two types of food may be helpful as very few foods are shelf stable in the high temperatures that the inside of a car can reach. I highly recommend Datrex Emergency …


Letter Re: Car Emergency Kit, by Z.M.

Hugh, First, I’d like to compliment Z.M. on a well written post regarding a Car Emergency Kit. For most car related situations, this kit would be very useful if not down right critical for self preservation! These things need to be in each vehicle in every season of the year. However, I need to point out that this is not a winter survival kit for a car. A winter survival kit needs everything mentioned plus a lot more! I live in a region of the country where blizzards and heavy snow can strand hundreds of vehicles on Interstate highways overnight …


Car Emergency Kit, by Z.M.

The holidays are just over, and that means that many of you probably spent at least a few hours out on the road. Going to visit family is always a blast, but the journey doesn’t always tend to be this way. Life happens. Cars break down, traffic jams block roads, and blizzards can leave you stranded. Are you prepared for a similar situation? Just being stuck by the roadside by yourself can be bad enough, but can you imagine going through this with your spouse and/or kids? If this situation happened, would you have prepared enough to make sure that …


A New Kind of Bucket List, by C.W.- Part 2

Now that I have explained the advantages and disadvantages of using a bucket system for storing preparations, allow me to share a few other ideas that may also be of interest, should you decide to attack your household with buckets. I believe that families who have homes that are kept clean and organized will be much better prepared for whatever comes at them. We all know friends or relatives who have lots of stuff (a.k.a. chaos), yet they have little idea of how to find an item when they want it or need it. So, off they go to the …


Letter Re: Light Tactical Trailer– The M1102

Hugh, D.A. is correct in that the HMMWV trailers are awesome. However, to clarify, DOD is selling off all the M1101 trailers, which were purchased beginning in the mid 90s for use with the M998 series HMMWV. When the addition of armor and additional load capacity required modification to create the Heavy HMMWV, DOD also created the M1102 trailer. The only difference between the M1101 and the M1102 is the data plate (which allows and additional 800lb of payload). No, I can’t explain why DOD couldn’t buy new data plates rather than new trailers. For info on the trailers see …


Light Tactical Trailer– The M1102, by D.A., DVM

Bugging out? Got a pickup or big SUV but not enough room to carry everything you want to take with you? Consider the military’s solution to the limited cargo space in their HMMWV (Humvee), the M1102 Light Tactical Trailer. Our government (i.e. using our tax money) purchased a LOT of these all-aluminum trailers for our military, and they are built to last and take a beating. A local man had two of these for sale, tied down on a bigger trailer and parked on a busy corner with a sign on them. I called him, and he was asking $2,500.00 …


Letter Re: Advice on Caching Containers

Hi Jim, Military shipping containers make great storage, but your readers should be aware that the large plastic cases are not necessarily waterproof if they have a pressure relief valve. Most of them have this due to the need for pressure equalization, e.g. atmospheric changes during aircraft transport. If you are going to bury such a case or use it in a wet environment, the small round valve can allow water to enter the case. Some of them are good at keeping water out for a short time, but if something is going to be stored for possibly years, anything …


Survival To Go, by JMD – Part 2

In my checked bag, when flying, I put a small zippered case that contains: A Gerber Folding Sheath Knife, which is a good trade-off between size/weight and capability. I’ve found that most people (LEOs in particular) tend to be a lot less suspicious of folding knives than fixed-blade ones. A Boker Plus Credit Card Knife. I put this in my pocket if I’m going out for an evening and I can’t bring my EDC kit, because it’s completely unobtrusive in a front pocket. It’s not necessarily the most robust knife in the world, but it’s the same size as a …


Survival To Go, by JMD – Part 1

Many of us have invested in learning the skills, stockpiling the tools and supplies, and hiding the caches necessary to survive in the event of a major disaster that impacts our local area, but the reality is that these types of events happen around the world on a daily basis. While skills are useful anywhere and anytime, the best stores and caches are useless if you’re hundreds or even thousands of miles away when a disaster strikes in your current location! While developing my survival strategy, I realized that I had a major gap– I travel a lot on business, …


Bugging Out With Children, by T.L.

The day that we found out I was pregnant was a happy and joy-filled day. Never once did it cross our minds that a few years down the road, we would fear for the lives of our children and their futures. The world in which we live in is a scary place. The economy is always in peril, the government continues to become more unstable, and it seems we are always one step away from some catastrophic worldly event or the threat of scientific experiments gone wrong, causing a man-made apocalypse. Whatever the case may be, we live in constant …