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Go bag

azgreg

azgreg

Chicks dig the long ball
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Anybody here keep a go bag? If so what do you keep in it?
 
I refuse to live in that elevated level of fear.
 
It can be useful for many circumstances. Not a bad idea. As a minimalist that owns little, it would only take me a minute to gather the appropriate gear and supplies for any particular 'gotta go' circumstance, so I don't keep one prepared.
 
azgreg said:
It's a bag you keep packed in case you have to go in a hurry.
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You mean a bugout bag then, if that is the case yes, I usually have a candle lantern, about 6 long lasting candles for it, flashlight and batteries, first aiid kit, water supply, a micro tent, emergency blanket, one extra set of clothes, some cash, 3 days worth of food as well as water proof matches and 550 cord.

I also have ammo and a revolver set aside too, but the way I see it the bugout bag or as you call it a go bag is meant to sustain you if crap goes bad, like let's say a hurricane shifts direction and you need to leave, or you live in a flood plain and you decide to move quich to higher ground during a storm. The pistol or revolver is there as defense against muggers as they occur during disaster, I however would not see a need to take my whole arsenal, as that would slow me downin short term survival. The food and water would be 72 hour, and the goal of the bag would be survival of a disaster where there is short notice.

I personally like to stock canned and dried food as well as water for up to 2 weeks minimum, but that stuff is under the premise I can stay where I am maybe a power out and a food shortage, the bag indicates I have to leave and in a hurry.
 
azgreg said:
Anybody here keep a go bag? If so what do you keep in it?
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Well, back five or so years ago, I kept a go-bag in case I had to return to the hospital while getting over pneumonia. Things like toothbrush and paste, minimal make-up, energy bars, hair brush, a good book, chargers for phone and IPad, pj’s, a robe, and a warm plush coverlet...

It’s not just for getting out of Dodge, moms to be have them ready. Can’t think of other reasons off hand, but there could be any number of reasons for having one at the ready.
 
Yep. Important papers, copies of family photos, photos of possessions, flashlights, chargers, and during hurricane season a carryon bag with clothing and toiletries.
 
Yep. It is just a habit I picked when I worked in embassies, where I actually had to use them a couple times.

Some of the things mine includes:

Non-perishable food
Water
Flashlight
Radio
Batteries
Some clothes
Tent
Sleeping bag
First aid kit
Hand crank charger
Walkie talkies
Duct tape
Matches and a magnesium fire starter
Tarp
Poncho
Toilet paper
Baby wipes
Water purification tablets
Small camping stove, fuel, cooking kit
Assorted OTC medicine
Maps
Compass
GPS
Cash
Gold
Knife
.357 Magnum and ammo
Copy of all important keys
Hard drive backups
Rope
A couple camping/survival paperback reference books.
And probably some other stuff I am forgetting.

I keep the stuff that expires on the top and every year, on the anniversary of my Libya evacuation, I check it.

Next to my go bag is a waterproof folder in which I keep all my important documents. So if I have to bug out I grab my go bag and that folder and go. My go bag is just my old Army duffle bag.
 
azgreg said:
I'm happy for you. Thanks for your contribution to the thread.
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You are very welcome...I approve of diversity, the more viewpoints the better.....as one hopes you do.

All of the better men do.

:2wave:
 
I've got a complete on with the normal items people have listed. I also keep an emergency stripped down version in the car.
 
My wife and I were talking just yesterday as we were coming back from a big glorious family event (Even the boy is back) that we should get a couple of cases of water because apparently some folks think that we are at higher than usual risk of earthquake, and while I live close to a Lacy pumping station that most of the year has an emergency generator attached to it I would like to hope that I will be one of the last to lose water (Yes I know about water pressure, but surely I will be able to line up there with my jugs) I should do SOMETHING to not be a burden to my community.

That's as far into being scared as I plan to go, and I point out that I have been here since 04 and have never had emergency water.

I did in Monterey though.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
My wife and I were talking just yesterday as we were coming back from a big glorious family event (Even the boy is back) that we should get a couple of cases of water because apparently some folks think that we are at higher than usual risk of earthquake, and while I live close to a Lacy pumping station that most of the year has an emergency generator attached to it I would like to hope that I will be one of the last to lose water (Yes I know about water pressure, but surely I will be able to line up there with my jugs) I should do SOMETHING to not be a burden to my community.

That's as far into being scared as I plan to go, and I point out that I have been here since 04 and have never had emergency water.

I did in Monterey though.
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Yeah I'm never going to get the idea that preparedness = fear.

Preparedness is what you do so you don't need to worry about it.

Granted, there are levels of preparedness that border on the paranoid... but having an emergency bag is far from any sort of paranoia or running-scared nonsense.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
My wife and I were talking just yesterday as we were coming back from a big glorious family event (Even the boy is back) that we should get a couple of cases of water because apparently some folks think that we are at higher than usual risk of earthquake, and while I live close to a Lacy pumping station that most of the year has an emergency generator attached to it I would like to hope that I will be one of the last to lose water (Yes I know about water pressure, but surely I will be able to line up there with my jugs) I should do SOMETHING to not be a burden to my community.

That's as far into being scared as I plan to go, and I point out that I have been here since 04 and have never had emergency water.

I did in Monterey though.
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YOUR ARGUMENT IS NOT MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THE ILL GET FOOD AT THE SUPERMARKET LAS SECOND ARGUMENT. In reality water and food can be disrupted quickly, and often when disaster in imminent, people hoard more than their fair share, which is why it is important to plan ahead, plan on the supermarkets being empty, play on water lines being destroyed, plan on anything.

The bugout bag or go bag is nothing more than a 72 hour bag, designed so you can leave with what you need to survive until you can go where help is or relatives or survive outside an epicenter until fema can help. Heck during hurricane harvey in texas, supermarkets were wiped out, even in central texas, where we had people from houston flooding our stores fistfighting eachother over the last box of mac and cheese, and killeen is a 3+ hour drive from houston.

Now my little town near killeen had no shortages, we knew we would get floods only, and everyone stripped the stores of their beer supply and left food supplies intact, cuz well beer that is why.
 
Goshin said:
Yeah I'm never going to get the idea that preparedness = fear.

Preparedness is what you do so you don't need to worry about it.

Granted, there are levels of preparedness that border on the paranoid... but having an emergency bag is far from any sort of paranoia or running-scared nonsense.
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I have never had one, never felt like I needed one, cant imagine realistically ever needing one, cant say that I have ever known anyone who had one because the topic never came up.....Ya, me doing that is me giving in to fear.

I looked a place just recently that was feeding readers "Evacuating cities pretty much never happens because it is a bad idea but plan your routes and have all of your supplies and make a plan its a GREAT idea to have a plan JUST IN CASE!!......and try to not worry"....I mean they cant even attempt to make the time I took to read them worth it.
 
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I have an everyday bag and a more serious bug-out (or bug-back) bag.


My everyday bag has a small medkit, two fire steels, a lighter, a compass and small binocs, a few small useful tools, a little food, a knife, box of ammo for my regular carry gun, bit of 440 cord, usually some wet-wipes or something, a few other things.

My serious bug-out bag is also my camping backpack and has about the same stuff in it I take camping... plus a few things.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
I have never had one, never felt like I needed one, cant imagine realistically ever needing one, cant say that I have ever known anyone who had one because the topic never came up.....Ya, me doing that is me giving in to fear.

I looked a place just recently that was feeding readers "Evacuating cities pretty much never happens because it is a bad idea but plan your routes and have all of your supplies and make a plan its a GREAT idea to have a plan JUST IN CASE!!......and try to not worry"....I mean they cant even attempt to make the time I took to read them worth it.
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If you die in the Great Undoing can I have your gear? :lamo


Oh wait you don't have any nm...


Well seriously... I'm not a big fan of the whole Bugging Out concept because unless you have somewhere to go you're just a refugee, and that's never fun. But then again I don't live in or near a big city, and that isn't an accident.

Mostly I concern myself with getting back home after some kind of event that might make it harder and more uncertain than normal, or being comfortable if for some reason I'm unable to get back home for a while.

This is not paranoia. A train derailment in my state resulted in evac of a large area due to hazardous materials not so long ago... and there was Katrina in Nawlins. We've had hurricanes blow through and mess things up for a while, getting around was difficult and getting what you needed wasn't certain.

Some moderate precautions are just sensible IMHO but you do what you like.
 
Goshin said:
If you die in the Great Undoing can I have your gear? :lamo


Oh wait you don't have any nm...


Well seriously... I'm not a big fan of the whole Bugging Out concept because unless you have somewhere to go you're just a refugee, and that's never fun. But then again I don't live in or near a big city, and that isn't an accident.

Mostly I concern myself with getting back home after some kind of event that might make it harder and more uncertain than normal, or being comfortable if for some reason I'm unable to get back home for a while.

This is not paranoia. A train derailment in my state resulted in evac of a large area due to hazardous materials not so long ago... and there was Katrina in Nawlins. We've had hurricanes blow through and mess things up for a while, getting around was difficult and getting what you needed wasn't certain.

Some moderate precautions are just sensible IMHO but you do what you like.
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What makes this even more amazing is that I grew up less than 25 miles from the Byron Nuclear Plant.

I never heard of the Go Bag idea then.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
What makes this even more amazing is that I grew up less than 25 miles from the Byron Nuclear Plant.

I never heard of the Go Bag idea then.
Click to expand...


I had a buddy who was part of the cleanup after the big train derailment left an area of many square miles contaminated with a chemical spill, here in my state. It was extremely dangerous because the chemical became gaseous on containment loss, and being heavier-than-air pushed the breathable air away from ground level. It was necessary to very quickly evac tens of thousands of residents from the area, and it was quite some time before they could return home.

Not an everyday thing sure; pretty rare actually, but there are other events that could occur that might either require you to leave home suddenly for a time or make it impossible or difficult to return home. In such an event having a bag with some useful stuff in it you can grab and go in 2 min flat seems like something you'd be glad to have. A couple changes of clothing, some useful items, some emergency items, a few comfort items... seems very sensible to me.

Just as having 2-3 days water and food on hand at home seems wise... we've had sudden winter storms here that have made travel extremely difficult and dangerous for up to two weeks, and the stores empty out quick... and I don't even live in the snow belt!

But like I say you do what you want.
 
beerftw said:
YOUR ARGUMENT IS NOT MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THE ILL GET FOOD AT THE SUPERMARKET LAS SECOND ARGUMENT. In reality water and food can be disrupted quickly, and often when disaster in imminent, people hoard more than their fair share, which is why it is important to plan ahead, plan on the supermarkets being empty, play on water lines being destroyed, plan on anything.

The bugout bag or go bag is nothing more than a 72 hour bag, designed so you can leave with what you need to survive until you can go where help is or relatives or survive outside an epicenter until fema can help. Heck during hurricane harvey in texas, supermarkets were wiped out, even in central texas, where we had people from houston flooding our stores fistfighting eachother over the last box of mac and cheese, and killeen is a 3+ hour drive from houston.

Now my little town near killeen had no shortages, we knew we would get floods only, and everyone stripped the stores of their beer supply and left food supplies intact, cuz well beer that is why.
Click to expand...

Why would I ever need to leave my house? I am far enough away from MT Rainer that I dont need to care, I am at 185 ft so I am not going to flood, there are not enough forests near me plus we tend to be pretty wet and I water my lawn ;)so I am not expecting fire, if it is an earthquake then going anywhere is almost impossible (though my wife reminds me that her Jeep has off-road tires so who says?:2razz:), if North Korea hits me with a Nuke then I am going to die before I can go anywhere......

I am not seeing a problem that needs this solution.
 
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Hawkeye10 said:
What makes this even more amazing is that I grew up less than 25 miles from the Byron Nuclear Plant.

I never heard of the Go Bag idea then.
Click to expand...

How many years ago was that Hawkeye?
 
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