Category: G. O. O. D.

A Thru-Hiker’s Thoughts on the Bug Out Bag, by Pete R. Pan

This year I thru-hiked the entire 2,184 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I started in Georgia on the 4th of April and finished in Maine after walking through 14 states, on September 17th. The 5 ½ months I spent on the trail taught me a lot about living out of a backpack and efficiently covering miles on foot. In this article I’ll explain how others can use this experience to create or refine their own G.O.O.D. bag. There are a few packs that fall under the umbrella term “Bug Out Bag” or “Get Out Of Dodge” bag. First off, there …


On the Road to Thunderdome, by H.F.

Our culture relies heavily on vehicles and this will likely result in a rude awakening in a TEOTWAWKI situation.  Depending on the circumstances, vehicles, fuel, and/or parts may become insanely scarce and expensive.  This reality has led many preppers to explore various options ranging from alternative energy vehicles to reverting to traditional forms of transportation/heavy machinery (horses for example).   Additionally, those preparing for the worst must consider abnormal conditions that vehicles need to withstand when TSHTF.  This article will discuss TEOTWAWKI vehicles, preparing, and special tactics/considerations in regard to operating them. There are several schools of thought on what is …


Letter Re: The Crown Victoria — an Unlikely Bugout Vehicle

Dear Editor: Here are some videos to ponder, for those guys who are building the “Ultimate Bug Out Vehicle.” Maybe this information should be filed under the general heading of “It isn’t the gun, it is the shooter”, or more precisely, “It isn’t the car, it is the driver.” Watch these videos. (I think the driver is just taking his dog out for a walk.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=KFwPXEeJ3aI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFwPXEeJ3aI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYIJpzo2RVY&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHvXi_HejnI&feature=related – K.B.S. in Way North Illinois


Can You Take to the Sky?, by Greg G.

Airplanes Aircraft are expensive, fragile, very dependent on the weather and, unfortunately, on other people such as Air Traffic Control and airport operators. Airports can be blocked, aircraft can be seized and it only takes a pea shooter to put them out of commission.  Given all that, they are still by far the best devices to quickly put hundreds of miles between you and a problem. If you wanted an airplane as a survival tool, you would be looking at something simple that relies on the least possible support and can operate outside of airports: a bush plane. A bush plane is …


Two Letters Re: Dan Fong Vindicated: The Toyota 4×4 That Wouldn’t Die

JWR: I have to concur with Mike Q. I have a Toyota pickup (22RE) with 310,000 miles that doesn’t burn any oil and runs perfectly. You cannot kill these trucks. For a bug out vehicle (BOV) you can’t beat these trucks. – Larry   Captain Rawles. I have owned two Toyota trucks since 1995. I thought I would share some knowledge I have gained on Toyota truck platform with your readers if any are interested in owning a Toyota truck. First, the most reliable and maintenance free Toyota truck model is the 1989-1995 22 RE 4-cylinder engine with five speed (manual) …


Letter Re: Dan Fong Vindicated: The Toyota 4×4 That Wouldn’t Die

JWR, I know that you advocate American made cars and trucks for BOV purposes based on availability of parts, but I would like to share with you a three-part video series demonstrating the abuse that a Toyota 4×4 pickup truck can take and still be driven. All with only a mechanic using no specialty tools and no replacement parts. This truck was driven down stairs, lost in the Bristol Channel at high tide, driven through a shed, had a camping trailer dropped on it, hit with a wrecking ball, set on fire, and put on the top of a high …


Two Letters Re: Simplify Now, Before TEOTWAWKI

JWR: I try to find a good compromise between comfort and simplicity, and have come to the conclusion that preparedness is like dressing for cold weather; it is most efficient to do so in layers.  Working from a level of maximizing comfort at one end of the scale to maximizing simplicity at the other end, I can gauge my response to conditions as they are encountered.  Beginning with a robust supply and security source at my primary residence, I have layers of response that I can work down through as the conditions dictate.  If I have to bug out, I …


The Bug Out Trailer, by  Allen A.

If things go bad do you bug in or do you bug out.  This decision will probably be made at the time depending on the expectations of what the emergency will be and just how bad you expect conditions to become.  Are you expecting a hurricane or other disaster sizable enough to worry about?  Will you be gone for a week then return and open the house back up?  Are you expecting a Katrina size event or might it unexpectedly turn into a long term emergency where the only things you have will be those things you take with you. …


Letter Re: Effective Small Team Tactics for the Coming Collapse

Mr Rawles, I have a few comments after reading the guest article by Max Velocity on small team tactics. I realize the author’s perspective is colored by his time in Afghanistan and Iraq, but there are some issues I have with his article. The first is the Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP) is not the same IED he described in the Off-route section. The EFP is formed by the Miznay-Chardin effect, not the Munroe effect. The EFP (Miznay-Chardin) is a solid slug or can be fragmented by various means, but is not a molten jet of metal (Munroe). The Munroe effect, …


Letter Re: Avoid Becoming a Refugee

Dear Editor: The “off-road” gear carriers described in Avoid Becoming a Refugee are neat, but check out this fascinating article about the Chinese wheelbarrow. Its wheel is dead center (instead of at the end like European barrows) enabling it to carry three to six times more weight. Frequently passengers with luggage would be transported by just one person. These were the primary freight movers of their day (much like tractor trailers are used today) but had the advantage of being able to negotiate extremely narrow “roads.” I really enjoyed reading this history and have tucked this knowledge in the back …


Learn a Little by Taking a Walk, by Bill H.

I am a pretty avid reader of the survivalblog.com site. I also follow many of the other sites on prepping and survival that are out there. After a few months, it becomes pretty obvious which sites lean towards sensationalism, conspiracy theories, couch prepping, and even sales and marketing. The problem lies in the fact that with the mainstream media is piling onto the prepping bandwagon and this increases the amount of information available. Some of the information available today is of little use and some of it is outright dangerous. With that in mind, I will make the suggestion that …


Letter Re: Avoid Becoming a Refugee

Hi Jim; To tie in with your recent comments, the excellent Western Rifle Shooters blog linked to an article on refugees. Though the article was brief, it had some good information. While the goal is to never become a refugee in the first place, in some cases it cannot be avoided and it pays to know what to do in such a case. I was particularly inspired by the links to some “off-road” gear carriers. The first is a home-built model and is quite simple while the other is a German-engineered commercial model. I have given a good bit of …


Letter Re: Lessons From The Colorado Wildfires

Dear Editor: Wanted to share my evacuation experiences and lessons learned while they’re still fresh in my mind.  Although it wasn’t a 5 minute evacuation, it was pretty stress-free.  Fortunately, I started serious preparations early this year, or it would have been a whole lot more work.   My house is (was?) within about five miles of the starting point of the fire.  Not far at all, but fires don’t burn that well downhill, so it was ok.  But the wind picked up big last night and sent the fire into the houses within about three miles of me.    I got my pile of “definitely …


Letter Re: Don’t Stockpile, Get Global — Conversations with a Rhodesian Expat and Being Financially Global

Dear Jim, My mantra has always been “In a world of uncertainty….Diversify!”  Sure, it does make sense to stockpile (only to a rational degree) at one’s primary location and at one’s primary retreat.  However, this stockpiling should not be done beyond the optimal level such that it would disallow planning for other contingencies.  You are correct that “other” countries may be worse off than the US in the event of, for example, a financial collapse….but that does not preclude these other countries being a better option in the event of other sorts of problems.  Other more localized issues might include …


Preparing for a Bug-Out by Motor Vehicle, by N.P.B.

“One must Hope for the Best, but Prepare for the Worst.” – Book of English Proverbs We’ve all rehearsed it many times. A newsflash report comes on, reporting widespread chaos what appears to be the total, spectacular collapse of society. Food stores are empty. Gas station pumps are dry. All remnants of any social order have toppled, and panic has ensued. The next-second response to survivalists is second nature. Grab the kids, the AR-15, the Bug-Out-Bags, and head for the hills! To most survivalists, the most effective bug-out is clean and simple, requiring no transportation and just the pack on …