Back when I was posting on a regular basis we were in the process of going through the contents of the Bug In Bag. Someone had asked about a small bag and I said I'd get back to them on it, which I will sometime in the very near future.
What I want to cover here though is what do you keep on your person at all times? Bug in Bags are great but there's going to be times when it's just not practical to tote one with you and it will be in the trunk (boot) of the car and you'll be faced with some minor emergency.
Here's what I consider the bare minimum and, as usual, if you have any ideas please feel free to submit them.
1. Cell phone (pretty obvious but they are worth their weight in gold when there's a flap on. Don't forget though that in a big emergency (9/11 and London's equivalent) the system will typically be overloaded and they won't always work.
2. Credit card and cash. Credit cards are always good to have around in an emergency but don't forget some cash as well. In the big power outage (black out) people weren't able to use ATMs due to no electricity.
3. Small key chain flashlight. You've seen them...the tiny LED light that is part of the key chain. These things are a godsend for dropped keys in the dark, finding your seat in a movie theatre etc.
4. Knife. Doesn't much matter to me if you have a tactical folder, a multi-purpose tool like a Leatherman or a Swiss Army Knife but have something. I saw a clip recently where two people trapped in a burning car nearly perished because nobody had a knife to cut them free of their seat belts. Now in some jurisdictions the carriage of a knife can be illegal so make sure you check out the local laws regarding blades. Personally I wouldn't live somewhere that wouldn't let me carry one but hey...that's just me.
That for me is it...the bare bones minimum I carry on a daily basis. Would it be nice to have more? Of course but it's not always practical and it's not always necessary.
As previously mentioned, if you have anything you carry on a daily basis that you can't live without, or find you use all the time, post a comment and I'll make sure it gets aired.
Showing posts with label Bug in Bag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bug in Bag. Show all posts
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Humble Bandanna
Alright we covered the basics in our Bug In Bag so now lets go into detail on a few other items over the next few entries.
This time I want to mention the humble bandana and some of its possible uses. To begin with it can be used as intended i.e. just to keep sweat and hair etc out of your face and eyes. Remember the images of the people in New York city fleeing the smoke and dust of 9-11? How about the people trapped in the tube in London during 7/7? A simple means of keeping hair and sweat away can be a godsend while you're working on freeing yourself or somebody else from rubble and wreckage.
Another application is for first aid. It can make a fine tourniquet. If memory serves I read about one victim of the London bombing having his leg trapped and him bleeding to death before paramedics could get to them. A bandana used a tourniquet could have meant the difference between life and death. Many first aiders will have been taught never to use one but like most "never" advice there are always going to be exceptions. The simple rule is release it every twenty minutes and allow some oxygenated blood back into the limb in question which will prevent the flesh from dying.
If not a tourniqet how about a sling to imobilize someone with a broken arm or collarbone? Those with Wilderness First Responder training will have learned how to use a traction splint to reset a broken bone. The bandana can be used for that and it can even be used in a regular splint as one of the ties.
In smoke and dust again, soaked in water it can be used as a sponge or an aid to breathing. Soaked in vinegar it can help alleviate the effects of tear gas or other noxious fumes.
There are other uses...one I'm aware of is as a weapons systems, but, rather than me going through them all why don't I open it up to readers of this blog. If you have an application for the bandana that I haven't covered bow about sending it to me and I'll publish them for others to use.
This time I want to mention the humble bandana and some of its possible uses. To begin with it can be used as intended i.e. just to keep sweat and hair etc out of your face and eyes. Remember the images of the people in New York city fleeing the smoke and dust of 9-11? How about the people trapped in the tube in London during 7/7? A simple means of keeping hair and sweat away can be a godsend while you're working on freeing yourself or somebody else from rubble and wreckage.
Another application is for first aid. It can make a fine tourniquet. If memory serves I read about one victim of the London bombing having his leg trapped and him bleeding to death before paramedics could get to them. A bandana used a tourniquet could have meant the difference between life and death. Many first aiders will have been taught never to use one but like most "never" advice there are always going to be exceptions. The simple rule is release it every twenty minutes and allow some oxygenated blood back into the limb in question which will prevent the flesh from dying.
If not a tourniqet how about a sling to imobilize someone with a broken arm or collarbone? Those with Wilderness First Responder training will have learned how to use a traction splint to reset a broken bone. The bandana can be used for that and it can even be used in a regular splint as one of the ties.
In smoke and dust again, soaked in water it can be used as a sponge or an aid to breathing. Soaked in vinegar it can help alleviate the effects of tear gas or other noxious fumes.
There are other uses...one I'm aware of is as a weapons systems, but, rather than me going through them all why don't I open it up to readers of this blog. If you have an application for the bandana that I haven't covered bow about sending it to me and I'll publish them for others to use.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Back to the Bug In Bag
Alright, as promised, back to the contents of the bug in bag.
Obviously what you carry in your bag is going to depend a lot on which part of the country - or planet - you live in. Someone in Canada is going to carry different material than someone in Arizona due to the different weather conditions each may have to confront during extreme climate variations.
What I'm going to cover over the next few posts are generic items to any bag no matter where you live and items that serve pretty much only one purpose. That way we can knock the obvious out of the way and then deal with some of the other stuff that is multi-functional.
What are the critical items for a humans' survival? Food and shelter right. That's what we start with in our B.I.B.
For food I'm going to carry some protein bars, dark chocolate and/or beef jerky. They all take up very little room and yet provide tons of energy when you might have to hoof it for a few hours. Along with that I'm going to have a couple of bottles of water. No need to get fancy with camping gear bottles...a couple of water bottles from the super market work just fine. (I'll touch on these later during the first aid section too but water can be used for washing debris off (remember the images of 9/11 and the soot that covered everyone?) and irrigation of wounds.
Next comes shelter. The first thing I put in any B.I.B. is a pair of training shoes. Think about it. The whole concept of the B.I.B. is to get you home when you're stranded. That's probably going to mean walking, and lots of it. Look at the people in New York during 9/11 and the black out a few years later. There were stories of people having to walk upwards of twenty miles to get home. Think about where you work, and think about where you live. Now imagine having to walk it in high heels (for the women) or some thin soled leather corporate shoes. Not much fun eh? Much easier in a good pair of trainers.
Next should be some protection from the elements such as wind and waterproof jacket. My North Face folds up into its own pocket and takes up about as much room as a large grapefruit. A lot of times black outs (power outages) and accidents are going to be caused by bad weather so it only makes sense to have something to protect you from same.
A level up from that is a survival blanket available in any camping or sporting goods store. These fold up into tiny packets but work brilliantly to keep in the bodies heat (up to 80%) and stave off hypothermia should it become necessary to hunker down for any length of time or help someone suffering from shock.
Other items that come under the "shelter" banner include the following:
Gloves: I keep a pair of work gloves handy either for protection from the cold or rough surfaces.
Hat: Either a woolen beanie or a broader one for marching in bright sunlight (mine changes depending on whether it's winter or summer)
Chapstick: Lips will crack fast if you're out in the elements...why be miserable
Sunscreen: Skin will burn equally quickly...have some handy. Bad sunburn can be extremely dangerous
Dust mask: These are available in boxes at your local home goods store. Again, think of trying to walk out of a smoke filled building or those images of what people were attempting to deal with on 9/11 and the bombings in London.
Alright, that does it for food and shelter for a basic pack. Remember, if you live somewhere with temperature extremes you'll need to consider some additional items obviously.
Over the next couple of postings we'll cover the other essentials for a good pack.
Obviously what you carry in your bag is going to depend a lot on which part of the country - or planet - you live in. Someone in Canada is going to carry different material than someone in Arizona due to the different weather conditions each may have to confront during extreme climate variations.
What I'm going to cover over the next few posts are generic items to any bag no matter where you live and items that serve pretty much only one purpose. That way we can knock the obvious out of the way and then deal with some of the other stuff that is multi-functional.
What are the critical items for a humans' survival? Food and shelter right. That's what we start with in our B.I.B.
For food I'm going to carry some protein bars, dark chocolate and/or beef jerky. They all take up very little room and yet provide tons of energy when you might have to hoof it for a few hours. Along with that I'm going to have a couple of bottles of water. No need to get fancy with camping gear bottles...a couple of water bottles from the super market work just fine. (I'll touch on these later during the first aid section too but water can be used for washing debris off (remember the images of 9/11 and the soot that covered everyone?) and irrigation of wounds.
Next comes shelter. The first thing I put in any B.I.B. is a pair of training shoes. Think about it. The whole concept of the B.I.B. is to get you home when you're stranded. That's probably going to mean walking, and lots of it. Look at the people in New York during 9/11 and the black out a few years later. There were stories of people having to walk upwards of twenty miles to get home. Think about where you work, and think about where you live. Now imagine having to walk it in high heels (for the women) or some thin soled leather corporate shoes. Not much fun eh? Much easier in a good pair of trainers.
Next should be some protection from the elements such as wind and waterproof jacket. My North Face folds up into its own pocket and takes up about as much room as a large grapefruit. A lot of times black outs (power outages) and accidents are going to be caused by bad weather so it only makes sense to have something to protect you from same.
A level up from that is a survival blanket available in any camping or sporting goods store. These fold up into tiny packets but work brilliantly to keep in the bodies heat (up to 80%) and stave off hypothermia should it become necessary to hunker down for any length of time or help someone suffering from shock.
Other items that come under the "shelter" banner include the following:
Gloves: I keep a pair of work gloves handy either for protection from the cold or rough surfaces.
Hat: Either a woolen beanie or a broader one for marching in bright sunlight (mine changes depending on whether it's winter or summer)
Chapstick: Lips will crack fast if you're out in the elements...why be miserable
Sunscreen: Skin will burn equally quickly...have some handy. Bad sunburn can be extremely dangerous
Dust mask: These are available in boxes at your local home goods store. Again, think of trying to walk out of a smoke filled building or those images of what people were attempting to deal with on 9/11 and the bombings in London.
Alright, that does it for food and shelter for a basic pack. Remember, if you live somewhere with temperature extremes you'll need to consider some additional items obviously.
Over the next couple of postings we'll cover the other essentials for a good pack.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Bug in Bags
Bug in Bags, or BIBs (and I may have mentioned these in the past) are a vital piece of kit to carry.
Over the next few postings I'm going to go over some of the stuff I carry in mine and how to set your own up.
In case you don't know what one is though, let me elaborate. Any ex SF guy worth his salt will have a backpack lying around his house. If you ask him what it is he'll reply "it's my bug out bag." A bug out bag is a bag that, should it ever be necessary to hit the ground running, you can grab and go. In it will be the essentials to survive out in the wilderness, typcially for about 3 days. They'll have tents, freeze dried foods, a weapon of some description and everthing else necessary for going bush.
A bug in bag is a similar concept except its designed to get you home...infiltration as opposed to exfiltration if you like.
Cast your mind back to the power outage that affected the entire NE a few years ago. People in places like NY were forced to walk miles in the dark in high heeled shoes and suits etc. Same thing happened during 9/11 if you remember.
What if your car breaks down and you have to hoof it somewhere? What if transport is disrupted for whatever reason?
The bug in bag is similar in design to the bug out except it typically doesn't have 3 days worth of food or tents and camping gear. Its job is to keep you alive and well for 24 hours max and get you home no matter what mother nature or the bad guys throw at you.
The bag itself can be any design at all. Mine is a regular old backpack that a school kid would wear because it looks like a regular old backpack that a kid would wear. In other words I purposely avoid the Maxpedition uber commando models because it can indicate to someone savvy enough exactly what it is. Others are specifically designed for that very purpose and are made by companys that supply gear to the military. You decide which ones for you but it should be comfortable enough that you can sling it on and carry it for a few miles. Something you're going to try and hold in one hand is going to get mighty uncomfortable after a while.
Over the next few weeks I'll go over some of the essentials to keep in it and you'll be able to add or delete items depending on where you live (think weather).
If you want you can make this a project...go to the store tomorrow and grab yourself a day pack. Your local camping store is the place to go by the way as there's tend to hold up better and are often waterproof which isn't a bad thing. As I go over the various things to carry and how to use them, you can follow along.
Over the next few postings I'm going to go over some of the stuff I carry in mine and how to set your own up.
In case you don't know what one is though, let me elaborate. Any ex SF guy worth his salt will have a backpack lying around his house. If you ask him what it is he'll reply "it's my bug out bag." A bug out bag is a bag that, should it ever be necessary to hit the ground running, you can grab and go. In it will be the essentials to survive out in the wilderness, typcially for about 3 days. They'll have tents, freeze dried foods, a weapon of some description and everthing else necessary for going bush.
A bug in bag is a similar concept except its designed to get you home...infiltration as opposed to exfiltration if you like.
Cast your mind back to the power outage that affected the entire NE a few years ago. People in places like NY were forced to walk miles in the dark in high heeled shoes and suits etc. Same thing happened during 9/11 if you remember.
What if your car breaks down and you have to hoof it somewhere? What if transport is disrupted for whatever reason?
The bug in bag is similar in design to the bug out except it typically doesn't have 3 days worth of food or tents and camping gear. Its job is to keep you alive and well for 24 hours max and get you home no matter what mother nature or the bad guys throw at you.
The bag itself can be any design at all. Mine is a regular old backpack that a school kid would wear because it looks like a regular old backpack that a kid would wear. In other words I purposely avoid the Maxpedition uber commando models because it can indicate to someone savvy enough exactly what it is. Others are specifically designed for that very purpose and are made by companys that supply gear to the military. You decide which ones for you but it should be comfortable enough that you can sling it on and carry it for a few miles. Something you're going to try and hold in one hand is going to get mighty uncomfortable after a while.
Over the next few weeks I'll go over some of the essentials to keep in it and you'll be able to add or delete items depending on where you live (think weather).
If you want you can make this a project...go to the store tomorrow and grab yourself a day pack. Your local camping store is the place to go by the way as there's tend to hold up better and are often waterproof which isn't a bad thing. As I go over the various things to carry and how to use them, you can follow along.
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