Unusual Items You May Need to Bug Out

Based on your avatar, the best action is to road block the bridges and lead your own community, Mr. Governor.

It should be easy to defend

Originally posted by Cyprex
Based on your avatar, the best action is to road block the bridges and lead your own community, Mr. Governor.

It should be easy to defend

REAL EASY why he has a pirate patch and is missing an eye

In SHTF loosing an eye like that would probably kill you without any medical help, a bandage I think was movie BS.. a BANDAGE saved the governor from dying!! what?

reply to post by Invariance

You'd better have a billows pump handy, I'd hate to see you trying to blow up a watercraft by mouth. But is it really feasible? I'm not sure about the time it would take to inflate it. Maybe one of those "butt floaty" things people get to go fishing in... but anything inflatable is prone to puncture. I think if I had to, I'd take my chances with a floating log

I mentioned a pump that plugs into the lighter socket. Takes about 3 minutes to fully inflate an air mattress, so I imagine about the same or less for a raft.

Prone to puncture? I'm talking about a 3 mile distance. No worries there. Have you ever used one of these rafts? I have, and they've lasted well. I'm talking about one of those inflatable boats with oarlocks. It'd probably take me an hour to get across in it.

I would of course, much rather drive, even if out of my way, but thinking of this just as a "what if" kind of thing. For $50, it isn't that much of an investment (and I can think of other times I'd use it for fun).

reply to post by Invariance


Smart plan.

Hopefully you never have to use it.. But in a worst case attack, especially biological..

You wont have to worry about open communications, cell, land line, and all internet communications will be blacked out. You may still be able to use a satellite phone for a period of time, if you have one, but if you are trying to reach someone in a communications blackout area it likely will not work. Once the emergency broadcast networks take over, that will be the only source for news and information... Television and radio only.

Good luck.

reply to post by Gazrok


I highly recommend a high volume raft pump vs. one of those 12 volt compressors. You can get these in hand pump or electric. But the key is the high volume of air they produce. A standard compressor would take hours to effectively fill a raft that has multiple chambers.

www.riverconnection.com...

I've often thought a mountain bike could be lifesaver if the roads become impassible. Not as good as a horse but you can still navigate almost any human trail and many game trails as well. Keep a spare tire patch and an airpump along with basic tools and you can get more miles than on foot.

My wife and I also keep walkie talkies in case the phones go down.
Wish I had the $ to keep nightvision in every vehicle as well.

My unusual items would be cash in small denominations. Maybe 500 bucks worth. A false wallet too, stuffed full of expired cards and just enough money for food and gas for show. Wouldn't be walking around a SHTF with a backpack that says look at me I have stuff. I would also use a hand carried bag & carry that bag within a Walmart bag. Another thing I would keep in the car are some old stained clothing. In a SHTF scenario would want to interact with a vagrant? And a cardboard sign to complete the look.

That's all I'd need to make it home safely if I wasn't able to drive and it was a SHTF scenario.

reply to post by jibeho


Actually, there is an inverter in the truck, so I could just use the same type one I use for the air mattresses when we have company crash. Like I said, it would be minutes to inflate using that. Most rafts have only 3...the bottom, the front, and the rear chambers.

reply to post by ChuckNasty


Nice! Took me a while to get the BOB down this size though...not really willing to go lighter. I love your idea though.

Nice idea from an earlier poster about the mailbox method. We do have a "carpool" plan in place for everyone getting there...some are closer than others.

You should write a book on this Gazrok......."The book of Gazrok"....... It could be tacked on as a final chapter of the bible after tshtf.

reply to post by Gazrok


I don't know if you've made your raft purchase yet but have you considered an inflatable kyak as an alternative? They come in a range of cheap from Walmart for $50 (not recommended) to durable expert models for thousands of dollars. Something for a couple hundred dollars might get you something reliable and stable.

I'm thinking that it would be lighter to carry to the shore from a long distance, faster, more maneuverable around and over debris, smaller to store or stash, less time to pump up. I would consider the real possibility that if others want what you have it might be nice to have something quick and maneuverable like a kyak.

Another thing you might consider is a means to inflate it at a discreate location right near the shore. This way others determined to get across won't be eyeing up your boat while you transport it to the shore. It also increases your mobility since you could store it in a backpack. There are handheld, battery powered inflaters that are made for blowing up camping mattresses that I have found work really fast.

Oh yeah.. I forgot to mention my unusual item. Not often listed on a BOB list is a small lock pick set. A number of years ago I bought a small set from South Ord. www.southord.com... then discovered the Hobby of lock sport. Locks have always fascinated me so this just seemed like a natural item to add to the bag. "not for criminal purposes" Keep that in mind. I've already helped out one neighbor who inadvertently locked herself out when she went to get her mail. Just learning the basics could help you gain access to critical and potential life saving supplies down the road if or when conventional supply chains go bust.

reply to post by rickymouse


I'm sure there are those MUCH more qualified than I on this (as far as a book)... My ideas are just as I run into different challenges, and how I, as a regular kind of guy try and deal with them, in prepping. I have really learned a lot over the past year, from other ATS members, survival sites, shows, and friends with real training...and I feel I'm just starting to kind of get to where it's all sinking in. I also realize that I have a LOT more to learn, and I constantly find places where I screwed up and need to rethink things.

Just the other day, my wife actually came up with a different place to put the garden, that actually would work MUCH better than my idea. (We've had power go out twice in the past 3 months, due to an animal getting at the transformer, which means the electric company had to come out with a crane truck, and access it....my planned garden site would have been right in the path of where the truck would have to go, to get to it, so that's no good).

reply to post by jibeho


Nice. It isn't in my BOB, but is in the truck. I have a car slim-jim kit, for lack of a better term. I found it at a strange oriental store (was like $10), and I've used it several times when a friend (or my wife, usually) locked themselves out of their car. It has window wedges, wire hooks, slim jims, etc. Pretty handy. (and probably illegal to own, but eh....)..

reply to post by dainoyfb


I always have a small scanner (about the size of a bar of soap) with me. It is tuned to all of the local emergency services frequencies (police, fire, ambulance, city works, airport, etc) and also picks up world band radio.

I figure if anything massive happens, getting an idea of what is happening from the horses mouth when the authorities aren't sharing is an excellent strategizing aid. A good example is when we had a train derailment here. As soon as the sirens started going crazy I was able to tune in and make decisions about evacuating based on emergency services chatter about the effected areas. and what was leaking on the train. It was late at night so I had a one hour jump on the public knowing what was happening and knew what was accurate/inaccurate in the public announcements.

I always keep a set of earbuds with it too. They suck less power than using the built in speaker and are far more discreet.

Green Slime, Duct tape, cans of "Fix a Flat" are a must
Blow up Kayak

reply to post by Gazrok


But......."The book of Gazrok".......sounds so good. People may buy it just because of the name. Who cares if your wife writes it

reply to post by Gazrok


I live where there's snow, just had a thought that a boat may not be such a bad idea... it could be used as a sled in winter

You've given me some brain fodder, thanks

reply to post by Invariance


Flip it over, and pile snow on top, and now you've got a hidden bed...(as long as you leave a way to breathe)

I'm in the foothills of Colorado, a raft wouldn't do me any good unless I wanted to circle around and around in the local lake. LOL I'd say bikes, they'd get us down some roads that cars wouldn't be able to make it through.

reply to post by Gazrok


Sounds like a good idea, but make sure your away from the bridge and people, in a SHTF they might wanna try and take your raft from you ... keep a patch kit with you too, and I would not get a boat with a single chamber for inflating, so that way if you get a hole in it, it will be able to stay afloat, and still get you from A to B...
the zodiac(F470) I used in the military had 5 air chambers on the gunnel tubes, 2 speed skags and a center tube for your flooring to be stabilized...now I am not saying to get one of those...but please...look into getting multiple chambers on the one you buy.
Just my .02 cents

reply to post by Gazrok


What a fantastic idea! I'm a prepper and I am always trying to think outside the box, and I also live around a lot of water, and to get anywhere you have to cross one of them, or drive WAY out of the way to avoid it. You could even take this to a more extreme level and plan on staying out on your raft for a period of time to wait out the chaos from the crazed sheep that will be killing each other.