Bug-out bag?/Doomsday prepping?

[sylvanthus]

Any of you guys into prepping, have a bug-out bag, or just a simple disaster plan for if and when the SHTF? I've just started thinking about this, but since im on long island, id be fawked if anything major went down in NYC.

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[Birdstrike]

No plan. No bug-out bag. Nothing. If Armageddon comes...

Will just wing it.

 

[deleted480308]

You're probably looking to "bug in" during a sudden catastrophe. I.e. 911 ish shutdown or flooding.

I'd focus on water purification ability, some food storage, basic defense supplies and a reasonable home medical stock.

 

[Birdstrike]

But if I could get my hands on one of these....




http://www.reuters.com/video/2014/08/22/is-it-a-plane-no-its-a-hoverbike?&videoId=340739657

 

[deleted480308]

For my "get home" bag in the car...i run enough calories to last for a walk home if needed. i always have some good tennis shoes with me, and a jacket/hoodie appropriate for the season in case i'm outside for the night. A basic pocket sized first aid kit, a water bottle or two and a self defense layer or two. All sized to fit a basic school backpack

 

[RustedFox]

I did a whole presentation on this during residecy. Let me go dig it up. Warning: I have to 'resurrect' my old laptop, but it'd be worth it.

 

[deleted480308]

I did a whole presentation on this during residecy. Let me go dig it up. Warning: I have to 'resurrect' my old laptop, but it'd be worth it.

That would be awesome....thanks

 

[Birdstrike]

Something to kill zombies and a copy of this:

http://zombie.wikia.com/wiki/The_Zo..._the_Living_Dead?file=Zombiesurvivalguide.jpg

 

[WilcoWorld]

A couple of days of fresh water and about $1k in cash. Beyond that, I'll also just wing it.

 

[WilcoWorld]

Oh yeah, and Superglue.

 

[BADMD]

The first step is to identify your threats. These will be different for everyone. My two biggest fears I have are loss of water and a cold snap with loss of power combined with impassible roads (think ice storm in -20).

So, I have a 55 gallon drum of water in the basement with the ability to pump and micro filter it. A have a back up method of micro filtering up to 200 gallons and chemical treatment for a 100 gallons or so. I can also collect 35 gallons of rain water during the summer.

For the alternate threat, I have generator that I will soon be able to plug directly into the breaker box to power the furnaces. However enough fuel to provide power to the furnaces for more than 24 hours will be a challenge to store. I'm retro fitting my crappy fireplace so that it can actually provide heat to one room of the house. I have low temp sleeping bags that can stand up to -20 degrees. I have enough sterno to cook for more than a week.

Other things: Loss of power also means loss of phone. I have two UPS that are basically meant for recharging cell phones in an emergency. I also have a solar cell, with a built in battery, designed for charging cellphones. In case of flood, I have a dehumidifier, portable sump pump and several small floor drying fans. This is enough to take care of smaller water spills/leaks/floods or start out the drying process before the pros can get there. In one specific closet in the house, I have two battery operated lanterns and several flash lights, with spare batteries, plus other spares. Once a year, I replace all the batteries. If the power goes out, you start there.

We have canned and dried food, but I'm not stocking up. I'm sure we'd be fine for a week or two off what we normally cycle through.

The goal is to be able to shelter in place until support comes. Most likely, we'd just hop in the car and drive somewhere. If we can't, I think we should be able to survive, as long as the house is intact.

 

[Old_Mil]

Is this interesting to.us because we are the keepers of the zombies at work on a day to day basis?

 

[RustedFox]

I did a whole presentation on this during residecy. Let me go dig it up. Warning: I have to 'resurrect' my old laptop, but it'd be worth it.

Update: Laptop necromancy is going surprisingly well; I only had to hook it up to a separate monitor and 'use the force' to find some of the icons given the difference in screen resolution/size etc.

I'll post my old powerpoint on here in a few days, but I have to warn you; its focused solely on "evacuation for a hurricane", and is largely picture-driven.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Update: Laptop necromancy is going surprisingly well; I only had to hook it up to a separate monitor and 'use the force' to find some of the icons given the difference in screen resolution/size etc.

I'll post my old powerpoint on here in a few days, but I have to warn you; its focused solely on "evacuation for a hurricane", and is largely picture-driven.

Would appreciate. Thanks!

 

[EsTxDr]

Would appreciate. Thanks!

+ 1

 

[deleted206819]

I'm also preparing a bug-out / bug-in bags and cases in case of disaster including medical cases, surgical tools, disposable gloves, water purification, MREs, knifes, ax / hammer, tri-fold shovel, assault backpacks, hydration bladders.

I recently bought these:

 

[Doctor Bob]

What are those?

 

[DeadCactus]

So how many of you have a fire extinguisher in your home?

 

[TooMuchResearch]

So how many of you have a fire extinguisher in your home?

I do. I check it periodically to make sure it's rust free and maintaining pressure.

 

[sylvanthus]

So how many of you have a fire extinguisher in your home?

I just roamed around to find out if we have one in the apartment complex, looks like we do in the stairwell.

 

[deleted206819]

What are those?

These are military-spec and army issued Hardigg cases used for storage of materials of any kind as they are water-proof, pressure-controlled, have wheels and take one hell of a beating. The one on the right is an army medical chest with aluminum drawers which I am using to store medical supplies that can be used in emergencies.

 

[EMIM2011]

Where can you get those?

 

[deleted206819]

Where can you get those?

Ebay
Sportman's Guide
Just google "Hardigg cases" or "Hardigg medical cases" as most third parties buy them in bulk from military auctions.

 

[Perrin]

Damn those are pricey!

 

[Doctor Bob]

The conflict I have in my mind, with putting together an emergency medical kit, is that a lot of the supplies expire. Granted, what's the point of having an expiration date on gauze (fairly sure it would still cover a wound after the expiration date...). And in a disaster, an expired IV tubing is more useful than no IV tubing at all. That being said, I'm hesistant to put a bunch of money into supplies, then have to either replace them every few years, or deal with a bunch of equipment that no longer does what it's supposed to. Or worse, works, but the packaging has degraded in time and now I'm using contaminated equipment and all of the post-apocalypse people I do something to get septic from my interventions and there's no antibiotic supply to treat them.

 

[deleted206819]

Damn those are pricey!

It's actually cheap buying them used for $80-180 per case than new > $1000. They are definitely worth the money.

 

[deleted206819]

The conflict I have in my mind, with putting together an emergency medical kit, is that a lot of the supplies expire. Granted, what's the point of having an expiration date on gauze (fairly sure it would still cover a wound after the expiration date...). And in a disaster, an expired IV tubing is more useful than no IV tubing at all. That being said, I'm hesistant to put a bunch of money into supplies, then have to either replace them every few years, or deal with a bunch of equipment that no longer does what it's supposed to. Or worse, works, but the packaging has degraded in time and now I'm using contaminated equipment and all of the post-apocalypse people I do something to get septic from my interventions and there's no antibiotic supply to treat them.

It does get expensive but you're probably not replacing the scissors, scalpels, hemostats every few years. You are replacing the antibiotics, analgesics, epi-pen, etc. every few years but then again that's the price for having things ready to go whether you are at home waiting out an emergency, hiking with a wilderness medicine pack, etc.

I'm building my emergency kit right now and the initial outlay is going to be a little expensive but replenishing the kit every few years should not cost as much. I'll let you know how much the damage is once I have everything priced out and ordered.

 

[Perrin]

It's actually cheap buying them used for $80-180 per case than new > $1000. They are definitely worth the money.

I was referring to the med cases that had the sliding drawers in your post. The bare bones cases are not bad, but I'd like the utility of the drawers.

 

[deleted206819]

I was referring to the med cases that had the sliding drawers in your post. The bare bones cases are not bad, but I'd like the utility of the drawers.

That cost me $179.99 at the Sportsman's Guide. I just got it yesterday morning and it cleaned it up nicely. A little on the heavy side but the aluminum drawers are nice and I am able to section the drawers with the given aluminum dividers. It also has wheels which makes it easier to take from one area to another. All in all, it's a good investment.

 

[wholeheartedly]

The conflict I have in my mind, with putting together an emergency medical kit, is that a lot of the supplies expire. Granted, what's the point of having an expiration date on gauze (fairly sure it would still cover a wound after the expiration date...). And in a disaster, an expired IV tubing is more useful than no IV tubing at all. That being said, I'm hesistant to put a bunch of money into supplies, then have to either replace them every few years, or deal with a bunch of equipment that no longer does what it's supposed to. Or worse, works, but the packaging has degraded in time and now I'm using contaminated equipment and all of the post-apocalypse people I do something to get septic from my interventions and there's no antibiotic supply to treat them.

What about stocking up and then a certain amount of time before stuff outdated, donate it to a free clinic or someone that will definitely use it before time is up?

When I was working in a blood bank at my small hometown hospital we'd get the freshest units because we didn't transfuse as often, then about a week or so before they'd expire we'd rotate the supply and those units would get shipped to a major medical center where they could easily use them in a few days.

 

[Doctor Bob]

What about stocking up and then a certain amount of time before stuff outdated, donate it to a free clinic or someone that will definitely use it before time is up?

Well... that addresses the issue of supply utility.
But I'm still out the same amount of money when I have to replace the supplies regardless of whether I donate the old stuff or pitch it.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Well... that addresses the issue of supply utility.
But I'm still out the same amount of money when I have to replace the supplies regardless of whether I donate the old stuff or pitch it.

Definitely true, but as noted its likely to be less expensive stuff like gauze that expires. I just know I feel better when stuff I buy gets used rather than tossed.

All this talk about preparedness is interesting. I appear to be woefully ill prepared for anything except that I have a wood burning fireplace and a good stack of wood.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

As long as you keep your medical supplies out of the heat and sunlight I'd think that everything except the drugs would last indefinitely. I've used betadine that was ten years past its expiration date on some badly infected cuts and it still worked perfectly. I read somewhere that almost all expired drugs break down into inert substances, so even if you were left with nothing but expired drugs you could still treat patients without too much risk.

If anyone is looking for a good guide to surviving after a disaster or economic collapse, I recommend The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse, by Fernando Aguirre. It's very unevenly edited and the author obviously isn't a native English speaker, but it was written by someone who lived through the kind of scenario we're preparing for.

 

[GoBuckeyes913]

Buy the Crovel.

I got one to take on my yearly camping trips, but it would be amazing in a zombie apocalypse. Even has a "Z spike". Google it. Lol.

 

[Birdstrike]

"...Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback...plans to officially declare October 'Zombie Preparedness Month'"

http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/why-is-kansas-preparing-for-the-zombie-apocalypse-20140924