Survival Pack

[Gyakuto]

My other half is the most rational, calm and sensible person you could ever meet. A consultant physician, a national Karate champion and a Buddhist. So when she came home the other day saying she had ordered items for a ‘survival pack’ having heard what P*tin is up to in Eastern Europe, I was bemused I assured her that I’d want to die after a day without a hot shower and my various moisturiser creams and that she should just leave me behind should the ‘red button’ be pressed. To my chagrin, she too readily agreed to that course of action.

The items arrived yesterday: a space blanket poncho, water sterilising tablets, a tiny Swiss army knife and a plastic whistle No silver escargot fork, no manicure set, nothing practical at all. But it became good fun to plan what I would put in a small back pack for say four days survival ‘on the road’. I’m not talking wilderness survival, but travelling, by car, to an emergency centre, perhaps through a remote part of a temperate countryside so including a few reasonable unplanned eventualities. Any suggestions? I already have a large hunting knife

 

[drop bear]

An overnight in a hotel pack is the easiest to get your head around and the most likely to get used.

The way I make it work is I think through the scenario and reverse engineer the pack.

So I grab my bag and step out the door. It's dark. It's raining.

Torch.
Hat
Poncho
Money.
Car key's
Phone
Phone charger,powerbank. And cords.

I drive to a hotel. And they are packed in 10 to a room.

Sleeping mat
Blanket
Pillow
Eye mask
Toiletries
Good underwear.

McDonald's is closed.

Camp food, coffee
Some way to cook it.
Some way to eat it.

Internet goes down and I want to know what is going on.

Am/fm radio
Earphones.

The next day I find out I have to walk to a bus stop to evacuate.

Sunscreen
Fist aid kit
Water.
Sunglasses
Hiking pole.

The bus is actually the next day.
Rope
Poncho
Mat
Blanket
Water
Food.


That kind of thing.

And I try as much as I can to make one thing work for as many scenarios as I can.

 

[Gyakuto]

An overnight in a hotel pack is the easiest to get your head around and the most likely to get used.

The way I make it work is I think through the scenario and reverse engineer the pack.

So I grab my bag and step out the door. It's dark. It's raining.

Torch.
Hat
Poncho
Money.
Car key's
Phone
Phone charger,powerbank. And cords.

I drive to a hotel. And they are packed in 10 to a room.

Sleeping mat
Blanket
Pillow
Eye mask
Toiletries
Good underwear.

McDonald's is closed.

Camp food, coffee
Some way to cook it.
Some way to eat it.

Internet goes down and I want to know what is going on.

Am/fm radio
Earphones.

The next day I find out I have to walk to a bus stop to evacuate.

Sunscreen
Fist aid kit
Water.
Sunglasses
Hiking pole.

The bus is actually the next day.
Rope
Poncho
Mat
Blanket
Water
Food.


That kind of thing.

And I try as much as I can to make one thing work for as many scenarios as I can.

Crikey! That is truly comprehensive. Thanks drop bear

 

[drop bear]

Crikey! That is truly comprehensive. Thanks drop bear

You can get in to the weeds with these discussions.

 

[Gyakuto]

You can get in to the weeds with these discussions.

I can imagine. There is now a ‘Prepper’s Shop’ down in Cornwall but I didn’t really know where to start with it’s goods.

 

[Flying Crane]

Toilet paper in plastic zip-lock bags. It’s no good if it gets wet.
And hand sanitizer.

 

[Gyakuto]

I should say, about 3 weeks ago, the U.K. government told everyone to buy a few tins of food etc to store for emergency. I barely paid any attention to it until my friend said to me, “Why are they suddenly suggesting that course of action? What do they know?” She is a bit of a conspiracy person.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Going to list the ones that I think get missed a lot. This is also assuming emergency and not necessarily longterm.
- Rope. You can get a paracord bracelet very cheap, it'll have enough rope for most situations that you might need it, and fits around your wrist.
- Compass. If your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere or something similar, and you know the general direction of the closest town, it'll help you head that way. If not, it'll at least help you from wandering in circles.
- Some sort of sterilizer. Last thing you want is to survive everything else and die of an infection you could have prevented.
- Rubber band. Useful in a number of situations, and easy to carry.
- Garbage bags. Bring a whole roll if you can. keeping your stuff clean is important. Biggest example that I've learned this from is if there's rain, and most of your stuff is safe but your shoes/clothes get muddy - do you want to drag them into whatever abode you've got, and now you're sleeping in mud? Leave them outside and let them get worse/possibly stolen? Or store them in a garbage bag and keep the mud contained.
- A sealable container. This could be a ziploc bag or large pill holder, or something else. Just needs to be sealed and waterproof. You can hold any important papers in it (ie: your ID/passport), hold matches in there, or anything else you don't want to risk losing/getting wet.

All very cheap things that (with the potential exception of garbage bags) take up close to no space, are very important, but don't seem to make it on the checklists.

 

[Flying Crane]

Over the counter pain killers, antibiotic ointment, band aids and larger bandages. Pet food if you have pets.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Much of the stuff we pack when we go into the back country would also double in a SHTF situation. Personally, I have a pretty extensive medical kit. Because being able to keep other people alive is a valuable skill.

 

[Hot Lunch]

The items arrived yesterday: a space blanket poncho, water sterilising tablets, a tiny Swiss army knife and a plastic whistle No silver escargot fork, no manicure set, nothing practical at all. But it became good fun to plan what I would put in a small back pack for say four days survival ‘on the road’. I’m not talking wilderness survival, but travelling, by car, to an emergency centre, perhaps through a remote part of a temperate countryside so including a few reasonable unplanned eventualities. Any suggestions? I already have a large hunting knife

A "tiny Swiss Army Knife" is fine, but a multi-tool is not something to cheap out on. IMO, whatever the top-of-line Leatherman or Victorinox SwissTool that is available at the moment should be the default go-to, unless you have specific needs that Leatherman has special multi-tools for.

As for whistles, always shop around before buying one. Because some are way louder than others.

 

[Gyakuto]

A "tiny Swiss Army Knife" is fine, but a multi-tool is not something to cheap out on. IMO, whatever the top-of-line Leatherman or Victorinox SwissTool that is available at the moment should be the default go-to, unless you have specific needs that Leatherman has special multi-tools for.

I am assuming I’d only be contemplating a trip rather like a long drive to another town (without motorway service stations). Anything more than that, requiring significant tools. If it was a ‘Walking Dead’ kind of catastrophe and I’d choose the death option.

As for whistles, always shop around before buying one. Because some are way louder than others.

I have a football ‘pea’ whistle. They’re so loud I have to put my fingers in my ears when I blow it! I 8sed it to shut the students up in the dissection hall when I wanted to announce something!

 

[Gyakuto]

Much of the stuff we pack when we go into the back country would also double in a SHTF situation. Personally, I have a pretty extensive medical kit. Because being able to keep other people alive is a valuable skill.

If I need to remove a leg or an appendix, I’d choose the death option.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Things to consider. Life can kill you. 3 hours of exposure, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food. So, shelter, water, food, fire. Sturdy warm clothes and shoes, a lifestraw or water filter, backpacking food, 2 ways to make fire. That’s bare basics. Several small denominations of cash is top of list if you live near urban areas. I have a far more extensive kit in my truck, but I go into the mountains alone a lot with no cell service.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

If I need to remove a leg or an appendix, I’d choose the death option.

Dying from a ruptured appendix sounds like a terrible idea.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

I will take my chances with a @Dirty Dog open appendectomy.

 

[Gyakuto]

Dying from a ruptured appendix sounds like a terrible idea.

I meant death for me rather than attempt an appendectomy without anaesthetic and profound muscular relaxants!

 

[Bill Mattocks]

My other half is the most rational, calm and sensible person you could ever meet. A consultant physician, a national Karate champion and a Buddhist. So when she came home the other day saying she had ordered items for a ‘survival pack’ having heard what P*tin is up to in Eastern Europe, I was bemused I assured her that I’d want to die after a day without a hot shower and my various moisturiser creams and that she should just leave me behind should the ‘red button’ be pressed. To my chagrin, she too readily agreed to that course of action.

The items arrived yesterday: a space blanket poncho, water sterilising tablets, a tiny Swiss army knife and a plastic whistle No silver escargot fork, no manicure set, nothing practical at all. But it became good fun to plan what I would put in a small back pack for say four days survival ‘on the road’. I’m not talking wilderness survival, but travelling, by car, to an emergency centre, perhaps through a remote part of a temperate countryside so including a few reasonable unplanned eventualities. Any suggestions? I already have a large hunting knife

I am going to take this opportunity to engage in one of my favorite rants. Please know I mean nothing personal by it. I just like doing stuff like this.

Ahem.

Your situation may be different, given your proximity to belligerents of various types and your history. I won't presume to understand your situation.

In the USA, we have 'preppers' who believe that soon we will experience SHTF, and who gather together online to endlessly discuss various prepper things, including things labeled 'tactical' and 'Bug Out Bags' and 'EDC' firearms and knives, and geek out endlessly over brand names and celebrity endorsements. And of course, every six months, the fashionable prepper must throw it all away and start over, as the various items they've purchased have fallen out of fashion and will just never do.

So.

I consider 'prepping' in a generic sense to be self-defense adjacent. That is, if I drew a Venn diagram labeled 'Self Defense', martial arts and physical conditioning would be overlapping bubbles, as would emergency preparedness, which is the rational and sane side of 'prepping'.

Getting to your question, a survival pack would include things tangible and intangible such as skills. Skills in doing such things as training on how to exit your home in an emergency (like a fire or other natural disaster), how to regroup and account for the family (rally point), use a fire extinguisher and first aid kit (not a good time to learn how to deal with a sucking chest wound when you open the packet), and etc. How to recognize cloud formations that are likely to produce dangerous weather conditions.

Having plans matters as well. Like where to go once you've left your home. How to get there. How to pay for things when your credit cards no longer work. Where is your medication and how much of it have you stockpiled? Where are the pets to go and how will they be looked after? Children? Family? Neighbors?

I say this because natural emergencies are MUCH MORE LIKELY to occur than some national leader popping his cork, despite what the news talkers would tell us. Look to the insurance companies. They have to pay out, so they know what the risks are. In the USA, the most likely dangerous situations to occur are Floods, Storms, Fires (forest and kitchen), Tornadoes, Earthquakes, and then such things as drought and sea level rise. No men with guns or bombs making things messy in the USA. Not that they aren't a threat, they're just not a big threat.

The rational thinking person would take stock of their own circumstances. Where they live, what natural disasters are most likely? Prepare for those. Having a source of clean water is good. Having the ability to make electricity is good. Having necessary medications and medical devices (glasses, hearing aid batteries, etc) is good. Knowing where to get fuel is good. Having cash is good. Having working, tested, fire / smoke / carbon monoxide detectors is good. Knowing how to get out of your house in an emergency such as a fire is good. Knowing how to account for the family once having exited the domicile is good (people die every year rushing back into burning buildings to find family or pets who have already left). Having a first aid kit and knowing how to use it is good.

That is really what I call self-defense. That's what I call preparedness. It's reality-based. But it's boring. It's not sexy. It doesn't require gathering together to display one's latest penile-enhancing purchases (look at my new EDC, ooh ahh). The latter is what I refer to as 'tacticool macho BS' and yeah, I laugh and say it to their faces when I have the opportunity.

I am more concerned with the possibility of a grease fire in the kitchen or a flood in the basement (already had one of those) than I am with people dropping bombs or storming the homefront or whatnot. Yeah, those things could happen. But it's highly unlikely in the list of threats to myself and my family.

I give this rant every few years. No one listens, because it's not cool. I get it. But I feel compelled to pass it along anyway, because I care. Also I like to laugh at the preppers for their monster silliness.

EDIT: An addendum...I love to hear about my neighbors who have stashes of food, water, and firearms. They don't know how to use those firearms, so I'll be over directly to collect them in the case that I am wrong and the Russians *are* coming (old movie).

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

My biggest concern is that I injure myself and can’t get help. My second concern is being able and ready to assist others in that situation. I don’t really believe in the whole SHTF/apocalypse scenario prepping. Real life/nature is actually ready to kill you with no help needed from zombies or nukes. Break your ankle 7 miles up a trail and zombies will sound good. Spend a rainy night lost in the woods with no light or shelter, you will find out how fragile we really are. Most people have never gone 3 days without food, it can change your ideas about what is palatable.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

I meant death for me rather than attempt an appendectomy without anaesthetic and profound muscular relaxants!

I’m sure he would be very gentle.