A Basic Pack to Build On... Take a Look and Comment

reply to post by Bleeeeep


a solar charger for a cellphone would be great to call for help if 1. you had signal 2. if you wanted to be found.

reply to post by semperfortis


That's why I suggested something air-tight and water proof to go with it. Once you make your fire, you can dry out more stuff to use for lighter next time.

Bleeeeep
reply to post by EyesOpenMouthShut

 

I cannot help but believe that there must be a best -- there has to be.

A bag's only gonna carry you so far. All you have to consider is the difference between summer and winter to know your contents must change.

-Cheers

reply to post by Bleeeeep


The best way to figure out what you want and need is to go out there and do it for real.
You'll figure out your set up pretty quickly...you might add some items and might discard other items based on what you are doing.

There is being idealistic and than there is reality.

reply to post by Snarl


thats why my pack weighs 45 lbs. i have warm/cold/wet weather gear inside

reply to post by semperfortis


He should take the bag to his local tailor and have some MOLLE attachments sewn on. It would greatly expand on what he can carry, hopefully without adding to much weight.

As for food, all I can say is Jerky. Quick to get at and lasts a long time. Much of what is in his pack can be carried in his pants pockets. Leaving room for more in the pack itself.

Note of clarification and context...

This bag is for separation from my primary survival pack... My truck. In my truck I have resources far beyond what could be could be contained within a BOB, or even several BOBs. Distilling that into a single pack is difficult to say the least, and I have certain parameters that I (please note the "I" here) have imposed. My BOB will be a maximum of 30 lbs, contain no firearms or ammunition, and is intended for permanent separation from my primary survival infrastructure... My vehicle. This BOB, when complete, is intended for long term nomadic survival with no specific destination and independent of season or geographic location. True SHTF survival. The vast majority of people are not confronted with such an arduous planning scenario.

My prevailing concern, is what to leave behind... A concern for anyone actually, but magnified by my situation of being well removed from "home" on an almost continuous basis. It's an exercise of prioritization, compromise and discipline. SIP at the onset of a SHTF scenario is unlikely... Everyone should be prepared to bug out, and be mentally and physically prepared for that possibility.

EyesOpenMouthShut
reply to post by Bleeeeep

 

a solar charger for a cellphone would be great to call for help if 1. you had signal 2. if you wanted to be found.

If I'm using this bag, there isn't any cell service anymore...

Mirthful Me

EyesOpenMouthShut
reply to post by Bleeeeep

 

a solar charger for a cellphone would be great to call for help if 1. you had signal 2. if you wanted to be found.

If I'm using this bag, there isn't any cell service anymore...

Which is why i don't carry any kind of electronic equipment other than my light sources

I just wanted to touch on this for those that don't know. Your feet are important. Take care of them. pack some spare socks and some foot powder if you can spare the room. just the moral boost alone of getting out of wet socks into dry ones makes a HUGE difference, you cant go wrong with wool

reply to post by Mirthful Me


The idea was to find or identify radio signals in order to keep away from them.

I think it would be good to avoid them because their tech and resources will be overpowering -- that sort of thing.

Think if they have a wifi enabled router with cameras and such setup around a perimeter.

This is the first of your videos that I have watched, and I’m so glad I did! It was well done and inspiring for me personally.

I appreciate how much you emphasize that a survival pack is highly personal. This is something that I really butt heads with my husband about. It is hard for him to remember that while he is a Marine used to carrying a 70lb pack, I am definitely NOT. I really like that your friend started by telling us that his goal weight is less than 30lbs. That is a weight that would certainly be much more manageable for me. I’m wondering if I could even get one down to 20-25lbs by using some of the types of ultra light gear that mountaineers and long time hikers use. I’m usually never that far from home, so I think a lighter bag is feasible.

For example, I really like the little trowel shovel thing in your friend’s pack, it seems much more reasonable for MY pack, whereas my husband insists on having an E-Tool in his own (and he’d have me carry one too, but for me it just doesn’t seem like something I would ever even use).

I like the fishing hook snare things your friend has. For me and my location right by the beach, I think maybe I’d substitute that with a net… I think maybe I’d have better luck here with that. But I’m not sure I’d even keep that in my bag, that would probably be more of a home item. I keep 3 days of food in my bag, and extra in my car. Like your friend, my car is sort of my starting point, where I could pack extra supplies in my bag if needed, but I try to keep the bag itself for a
grab and go type of situation.

Lifestraw or something equivalent is something that I really need to purchase, right now my water supply in my bag is limited to what I can carry and/or treat with purification tablets (which, in my location basically means just what I can carry).

I’d omit the compass, just because I don’t know how to use it. That’s on my to-do list, there are a few classes I plan to take this spring and summer that include land navigation!

Again, I really enjoyed this video; it gave me some ideas on areas that I need to work on.

reply to post by TDawgRex


The bag in the video HAS Molle attachments..

Sorry if it was not clear in the video

Bleeeeep

The idea was to find or identify radio signals in order to keep away from them.

I think it would be good to avoid them because their tech and resources will be overpowering -- that sort of thing.

Think if they have a wifi enabled router with cameras and such setup around a perimeter.

So you are advocating having a fully charged cell (smart)phone in order to identify local WiFi networks so they can be avoided?

Id add some TP since he had a 'latrine' shovel.

And a HT ham radio like the Yaesu VX-7r or equivalent.

That has National Weather Radio service.

reply to post by Mirthful Me


Something that doesn't transmit but receives only -- YES.

Especially if the signal you pick up is coming from some wooded, or would be deserted area -- then you know it is some # going on that you need to avoid.

Or maybe there is some drones sweeping the area and you need to lay low really quick to be undetected.

Just because you do not want to use tech, it doesn't mean no one else will.

That was my initial thought anyway. (I was just brain storming.)

Edit: I was thinking bug out scenarios - not the stuck out in the wild and need to get back home scenarios.

semperfortis
reply to post by TDawgRex

 

The bag in the video HAS Molle attachments..

Sorry if it was not clear in the video

Oops, It does have them doesn't it? Boy am I blind.

And after watching it a second time it I realized that I was missing a few small items, such as the scarf.

But as you say...it's a personal thing.

Is that lifestraw thing a water purification product?

I personally really like the Steripen. Now, it wouldn't be good for a long-term survival gig due to the fact it runs on batteries, but it does the job efficiently and fast. It's also lightweight.

I also keep some of those water purification tablets on hand as well -- but boiling your water is always a gold standard.

For me, any kind of survival kit has to be under 40 lbs, as I may be hoofing it many, many miles. Cut the handle down on your toothbrush, cut off extra webbing and cords from your pack....ect.

Typically when I go backpacking we don't weigh our packs in pounds, we go by ounces. Every ounce counts, and you'll be feeling every ounce in the mountains. Remember that any kind of weapon and its ammunition should also be accounted for in your total weight. I personally like my AR-7 Henry survival .22 LR for small game/birds. It also floats.

Water is usually the heaviest item in my packs. If I know I'll have access to a supply of treatable water, I'll cut down on the amount I'll carry with me.

I like the biolite stove because you don't need fuel canisters, and it can charge a USB enabled GPS unit.

reply to post by MystikMushroom


I have lifestraws as they are convenient

HOWEVER

Notice the BIG HOWEVER

The one, the only, the best and the one everyone should have is this

Sawyer

I have both the large one and small one. The Large filters up to a MILLION Gallons.. YES a MILLION.. ..At an average 182.5 Gallons per year/per person, that will take care of a small community and will fit in a cargo pants pocket.

The small one fits in a shirt pocket and filters up to 100K Gallons.. Do the math

Not over priced, portable and without a doubt the best on the market..

No decent survival kit should be without one..

reply to post by semperfortis


Those look really interesting. In all of backpacking trips and outings, I watched other people waste a ton of money on pump-action water filters like PUR, MSR and Sweetwater. The handles usually break or they clog up very quickly.

HOWEVER

My friend's dad was a Cpt. in the Coast Guard and for some reason had to go to Russia a few times. He bought a First Need purifier for his hotel water (It's not just Sochi LOL LOL).

One trip about 15 of us ended up relying on his sole purifier for an entire week due to mechanical failure of all the more expensive, fancy ones from REI/EMS.

What I like:

-durable
-filters even virus's
-FAST filtration
-can screw onto a nalgene

What I don't like:
-size
-weight
-cost of replacement filters almost as much as new unit

My old man has been mountain climbing around here for 40+ years and it took only ONE case of water born illness to forever convince him to purify his water. He never did up until a few years ago!