Hello everyone,

Living in the New York Metro area ( i know not the safest of places but work is here) I would like to buy a bug out bag. I would prefer to buy one that is premade and ready to go, arrives in one package and then I can sleep easier at night. I would put it in my house or trunk of car.

I can not make my own because of time restrictions but know that I should have one.

So I was wondering if the knowledgeable members that seem to be in this section of the site have links to ones that they would recommend. I do not mind having to by two separate or even three bags to get all the items I need but I just cant go and buy each item individually.

As for price ideally looking for ones that are best value, not ones that are overpriced or have really high end stuff that isn't necessary.

If any members want to make one and sell it to me I would ok with that to.

Again I live in the metro New York area if that matters.

[edit on 5-1-2009 by Desolate Cancer]

Actually if you do a google for survival Kits, and disaster survival supplies there is absolutely huindreds of them for sale in the US of Haliburton, some junk, some cheap, some half decent.

respects NR

I realize that I can do a google search. But the point you made that there are hundreds of choices is exactly why I was hoping for some specific bag recommendations. I really am not knowledgeable in this area but do know one thing that I would be stupid to not have a BOB.

SO if there are any members who recommend or swear by a specific bag I would much appreciate it, as I am sure would many others looking for the same thing.

ok looking more at the premade kits they really look like garbage quality. I geuss this is going to be harder than i thought.

You have time to post on ATS but not time to print off a list and go to the store? WTH?

I've joked alot on here about these premade "survival" kits, but to be honest, if you need to trust your life on something, it sure as hell be gear you trust or you are just wasting your time.

This one has a "multi tool" and this one has a real good water filter, or this one has aqua blox. Come on. If you are smart enough to log on to ATS and smarter yet to know you need a BOB, you certainly should know that having cheap or unproven gear is worthless.

Check the rest of the survival forum, look for threads titled whats in your bob, or something like that. Find a good list that fits your needs, print and spend 2 hours to fill your bag. Also look for threads about how horrible life can be post sit-x in a major city. May want to look for new work.

Good luck and spend the time to buy quality items to fill your BOB instead of a premade POS. It could save your life.

Best advise i cna give is make your own BOB. Your obviously smart enought to know you need one. next step is make one, ATS has many threads with lists of BOB materials, just go through and find what works for you and buy them. If you insist on buying pre-made i would go with military survival kits, you cn find them thoguh surplus dealer sites. but really its best to take the DIY aproach.

To start of with you can always do what I did. I took a jansport backpack and threw in what I had around the house. A kitchen knife, a few granola bars, bandaids ect. just so I would have something. then I built on that. When I would go to the store I would always try to grab something I thought could be handy.
Something is better than nothing at all. I still have allot of make shift things due to lack of funds, but somethings are better than nothing, and I will keep on improving my BOB until time runs out.

Living in an urban area, you face one inexorable dilemma.
People.
You have to drive at least 1 hour, before you even begin to escape the urban environment.
This means there are a mass of resources at your immediate disposal.
Even if that means you have to break into things to get at them.
Lets face it, should there be a situation where you find yourself having to leave the area, rest assured, so will a few million of your fellow humans.

Basic survival tools are necessary however, and it's good to have them, to limit your exposure to others.
Rest assured, in a disaster scenario, this is a smart move, unless obviously there are people in need of life saving help.

#1,
a plan.
While the best laid plans of men can be ruined by variables, test yourself in as many scenarios a you can think of. This will help you elaborate and improvise in a situation you have not accounted for.
I don't believe that your time restrictions would prevent you from at least thinking about scenarios and writing them down.
You know your patterns and environment better than anyone else, and like it or not, you are the one that has to come up with your own solutions. There is NO prepackaged kit for that.
#2
Practical training.
Drill yourself.
Take a different route home from work, or to somewhere.
You may find that in a scenario, this path is not accounted for by other individuals. Although being in the NY area severely limits you in terms of ground based transportation. All the major highways leading into the city are by design, inherently flawed, to create bottlenecks in transportation ability.
The purpose of this is to control the flow on human movement, for reason,s I care not to discuss right now, as they are immaterial to this post.
See how long it takes you to grab your family, and gear and get to your vehicle/s.
Discipline yourself to be at the ready.
Keep the tank full, replenish supplies, etc...
Again, no one can do this but you.
#3
Basic needs
Aside from tools, you need what is important to you and you loved ones.
ID/certificates, copies of bills/taxes, medications, spare glasses/contacts

#4
Basic tools.
Now for the fun stuff.
I agree that some of the kits out there are so so at best, nothing beats the real thing.

Knife
Multi-tool
Rope
Plastic bags
Ziplock bags
Metal container
A real, Multi Screw driver
Hand crank Flashlights
Hand crank Radio
Powerbars
Toilet paper
Clothes
Blanket

That is basic, and if you have little else to do, do at least that.

Now about your environment.
As I mentioned before, you have to go far to even begin to escape people.
This makes for great survival along the way.
Should some major, threat actually occur, Everyone will be "Getting out of Dodge"
Along the way abandoned stores/homes/vending machines/vehicles/gas stations/schools/hospitals/buildings/etc... all have exploitable resources.

More or less, common sense should always be in your GO BAG.

[edit on 8/27/2009 by reticledc]

[edit on 8/27/2009 by reticledc]