Quite honestly, as long as I have a SAK/ MT, tape, Bic lighter and some 550 cord I'm set for anything. I get a charge out of some of the crazy ideas some of these experts put out too.
Hmmm. Both the fire and the gas leak scenario suggest some form of respiration assistance. To start with, some normal face masks might already help a little, however for any seriously toxic atmospheres you'd obviously need to go much further.
These guys who come up with a contents list are conducting an exercise in critical thinking to help themselves determine what equipment is best suited to their own needs and by filming their process they're helping anyone in similar circumstances to find a starting point to their own needs. There are certain items that we all may have in common for urban survival as opposed to rural survival and some items would be completely different if you expect to be deep in the woods when you started. For urban survival the first thing I want is a copy of Tom Brown's Field Guide to City and Suburban Survival. Some items that most people don't think about include a smoke hood that will give you 15 minutes or more to evacuate a smokey environment. A 4 way sillcock key to turn on water at hose outlets that don't have a handle. An expandable water carrier that doesn't take up too much space when collapsed. Some chemical light sticks. Back up battery for phones, etc.. Other items are already on everyone's lists such as gloves and tape, para cord and a tarp, and of course a first aid kit. I had a talk with one guy a couple of years ago and his issue was working in San Francisco and living across the bay in Oakland. The bridges may be out or unsafe after an earthquake so the solution I came up with for him was to keep a folding or inflatable kayak in his office. Not something typically considered for a get home or bug out bag but he might need it. Also since gas lines may be compromised I suggested he have a shut off wrench in his kit. You just have to think about what you're likely to encounter (realistically) in your environment.
Back to the real topic, I now live in a high rise apartment in a densely populated urban environment, and am planning protocol/gears for the following 'survival' scenario:FireGas LeakNature disaster: Typhoon (Earth Quake/Flood/Storm/Volcano/Heat wave don't apply where I live)Would you recommend something you use/unique for these scenarios?
The second issue for me is the apparent confusion caused by watch too much TV/zombie films/whatever. I baffles me that getting home in an urban environment could possibly be that challenging. In our day to day lives we are unlikely to come across a situation much more challenging that that which could be helped by a basic first aid kit, small multitool and some spare change.My other thought is that there is a fair proportion of survival kit on the market that is either pointless or very poor quality. Surely a decent training course and a bit of common sense might be of more use?
Anyway, the contents is basically toiletries, a water bag, some food (sustagen powder, and some tinned soup, the means to make a coffee or tea), first aid kit, PLB*, torch, pocket knife, deck of cards, gloves, jacket, change of socks and jocks, book.
I have an evacuation bag for the wild fires here in California. My bag is geared toward going to a fixed location and being comfortable as best I can. I like to think of it much like Sea Monsters bag. Its like you were packing for a few days camping. I also include some camping gear in case the shelter is full or if I decide I want to "smooth it" at a nearby car park. Likely I'd go to a friends who was not in the evacuation zone so my pack would have things to shower, change, and help me smooth it best I can. Yes of course all important documents are accounted for. As to your high rise emergency potential? I'd probably keep things manageable. If you are to evacuate you'd be using the stairs. Lots of others will be also using them so keeping light an manageable would be ideal. Where would you go once on the street? How many days? In terms of surviving while emergency services are dispatched . My challenge will be congested roadways. We've mapped out several routes and a meet up spot. We had a massive brown out several years ago ( all lights in the city went out ) which also disrupted my cell service. Communication was non existent for me. I think one thing could help would be fire ABC extinguisher. Smoke masks of some type would be on my list. Any added respiration with mask seems like a great option to have. A good head lamp vs hand held. I'd want my hands free. I like the idea of chem sticks too. Wouldn't hurt to attach to yourself if you had to evacuate. Knowing your routes of escape and doing a "dry run" with whatever gear you might want to take. Can you descend the stairs?
It is difficult for me to respond in a decent way with Google translator but I try.Since we are talking about urban survival, I would focus on mobility.In case of difficult situation the urban environment is more dangerous than the one in the countryside and being able to move light and fast is fundamental.In the case of SHTF in the city there will be many people, almost all of them will be disorganized (without equipment) and could therefore become predators by necessity.It doesn't make much sense to have a heavy bag (even with wheels) to carry your complete equipment because it would slow you down if you run away.Better a backpack that contains the essentials.I in my backpacks (I have more than one who are a clone of the others) pay attention to 3 fundamental things: water, fire and shelter.Then 1 mini Sawyer filter (and Oasis Water tabs tablets) - firestarter (use quality firesteel and test before stocking) and lighter (with cotton wool and other flammable materials)One or more isothermal blankets (better if gold / silver) + small bivvy bags (even a small ultralight poncho)Depending on the season, even gloves and a hat (or summer bandana) if the weight does not become excessive, add a small TARP with paracord - better minicord or microcord they are lighter (view Atwood rope catalog)Then a small solar panel and a 18650 flashlight - recommended Headlamp (it leaves your hands free) if you use a Headlamp like Armytek Wizard Magnest USB or ELF C2 you can also save the few grams of a small charger similar to Xtar MC1 Do not forget a few vitamin tablets or some (water soluble) magnesium and potassium sachets in your backpack.They take up little space and little weight but in an emergency where you may have little food and certainly a lot of mental and physical stress they could be very useful.They look like few things but the backpack has already become heavy .. there are other little things that I don't mention but that weigh down what I've already mentioned.I often read various survival sites and I am surprised how often water (filtration) is underestimated.It is essential in a short or long term emergency, over time I have invested heavily in this, I have various Sawyer Mini filters and 2 Katadyn carbon filters.In case of emergency, having light and clean water to drink is a fundamental thing, stories of disasters of recent disasters demonstrate this (hurricanes, earthquakes)Drinking, defending against heat or cold and also being able to see where you put your feet is a fundamental thing in an emergency, everything should start from this and rotate around it.These are just some thoughts, I hope understandable as a translation
A lot of it is just an excuse for folks to buy bushcrafting stuff they don't need. OK, so you've identified the hazards. Now, what would you do? Where would you go? How far is it? Do you know the way? Will streetlights be on? Will phone networks be operational? How long will it take you to get there, and if that place is compromised too, where would you go next? Does that change any earlier answers? What first aid skills do you have? Will medications be needed? How many people other than yourself does your plan need to cater for? If you're out of the picture due to being elsewhere, sick, or injured, does one of the others have what it takes to take your role? If you need something that you didn't plan for, how will you buy/acquire it? I think the key to putting together a plan, and necessary kit, isn't about having all the answers. It's about asking the right questions. Once you ask the right questions, the answers take care of themselves
Your reasoning is good.But I still write (for all those who read) I often read on the survival sites of the importance of the knife, of personal defense (it is ok !) but then discover that many preppers do not have a water filter,I think that water is a fundamental pillar to survive.Without drinking water you die, drinking contaminated water means getting sick immediately and in a SHTF situation getting sick often means dying.Buy a knife less and buy an extra water filter.I have a mini Sawyer in every backpack (even in those I don't use) it is small and cheap and filters 100 thousand gallons.Chlorine tablets are inexpensive but should be used only when necessary and prolonged use is not advisable, but it is good to have it.It would be nice to do a survey among the readers of this forum..Do you have a water filter like the Sawyer Mini or Life Straw in your Backpack?Do you have only one of them or more than one?Do you perfectly know its use, its limits and its maintenance?
@comisPerhaps I only understood now what you were asking in the original post, do you mean a survival from a dangerous situation like a burning building, or an emergency that lasts a few hours?The problem is that none of us knows when this emergency will occur, no one knows what kind it will be, its severity or its duration.Here we return to the famous discourse that survival is mentality and not equipment but to survive is also to plan (first) and imagine every kind of scenario, even the most unlikely ones.Sorry if I misunderstood the question and have gone out by the argument.
No worries, and I do agree survival is not only about gears, but planning/training/mentality, that's why we are having conversations here.
I am viewing your 2014 Youtube video (No budget 72 hours Outdoor Survival Kit) very interesting and thanks to the translation of the subtitles I also understand what you say - I like that Alox Lumberjack that you see at minute 14 :-)On my wish list is Victorinox Walker red, I'm waiting for the price to go down
Get Home Bag: The basic assumption here is that one is somewhere away from home (work, shopping, out to dinner, etc.) when a problem occurs, and that one's (at least immediate goal) is to return to the (relative) safety of one's home. Examples of possible scenarios could include vehicle breakdown (or temporary interruption of public transportation), riots, terrorist attack, etc.
Okay to me there is a difference to BOB, Get Home and 24 hour bags. I am in an urban environment too but live about 5-7 miles for town, actually downtown but only a short distance from stores etc. Now if I had a BOB (bug out bag) that means that I may not be able to get or go home at all so that would require shelter, fire making items, some clothes, food, water etc that I would need because I cannot get home which the cause maybe be gas leak/explosion in my home area, fire, etc. A Get home bag is one that I may have with me if something happens say a riot/looting caused by a demonstration gone bad or major power outage or flooding, etc. so this bag may have items like lockpicks, etc cause I need to work my way thru the urban jungle so to speak to get home and I don't want to be seen that much because of rioting/vandalism or whatever so I may need to hide at times in a building or office so I would need lock picks to pick lock to get in cause you don't want to break any windows or someone might assume someone is inside but if it appears all locked up, then the groups or gangs of folks looking for trouble may pass you by!A 24 hour bag to me is just a bag with a few things in it like maybe some food, water, maybe a change of clothes or just a jacket, pants and some kind of shelter making stuff like tarp, blanket, etc so I can be stuck somewhere whether inside or out for like over night.So if I am downtown which is 5-7 miles away from my house vs my work with is like 200 yards from my house, I would obviously have different stuff in a bag in my car or on my person! That said, those are my ideas of what types of bags are used and why so I would make them types of bags to fit my idea of them, item wise, shelter wise, food/water wise, etc. Wrong or right!And yeah there are a ton of video's online and I am sure alot of them are from couch potatoes and folks that just want to try to sell you something!
I do have a backpack for use in emergencies. My emergency backpack is designed so that I can (if I can) escape out of town for a grand total of 3 days, and be able to survive in relative comfort. My biggest worry is the local steel plant. It is said that if blast furnace # 7 was to ever let go, it would take out a good 1/3 or more of the city with it. Unfortunately, I live inside that danger zone. I basically took a backpack and filled it with camping stores, and roughly the traditional 3 days of water and foods, including a small camping tent. I then threw in other things I thought might come in handy for other scenarios.I am not worried about the end of the world, or zombies. I used to have it in my Jeep, but the room it took was a bit too much, and now I store it upstairs. The plan is that if I hear warning sirens, I take a quick look down the street. If I see fire, black smoke, etc, I am to go upstairs, grab the backpack and toss it into the back of the jeep. I then call my neighbour and drive both of us out of town going in the direction of Gros Cap (where I take many a motorcycle relaxing rides). Sit in the vehicle and wait. If the place blows up or gets further than that, We can either stay in the Jeep, or camp for a few days if needed.The last time we had to do this was back in 2013 during the summer. Unfortunately, many idiots came into the neighbourhood and cost us valuable time in evacuating. I hadn't planned in having moths driving to the flame as we tried to gain valuable distance. The only way I could see around this is to evacuate faster than having the general public stream into the neighbourhood to watch the fireworks. The one positive from that prior experience was the need to have a quick backpack ready to go in case of emergency.
I guess you've got to do your analysis and do what works for you....
I do keep things ready to go in my garage and my pack in my hall closet. We can be loaded and driving away in 30mins. Wild fire season is now year round here in California. I now live in very close proximity to Tsunami danger zone. Thankfully my area has been part of the TsunamiReady program through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA.) since 05. Reverse 911 calls and other means of early warnings are in place. The "safe" zone is an 30-60 min walk with gear. We have bikes that can reduce time should we need to use them. Being fit is important should one need to walk especially with gear. I am confident we can sustain ourselves for a week with food, shelter, etc. We can go a little longer rationing foods or we decide to take non perishables from our pantry. Our evacuation prep is designed to be a few days camping as I said. We have items needed to be on our own. We live in an environment that does not get terribly cold or hot but we have made preparations. Having camped quite a lot I feel very good about how we've prepared. Having gone thru a few scenarios also has me revisiting my kit yearly if not more so with each natural disaster that hits California, floods, earthquakes, fires, unrest. Say what you will but unrest is just beneath the surface for some cities. I don't like to discuss personal security but suffice to say we are as prepared as can be. If we are to bug in as they say, our home is as hardened as reasonably possible without being paranoid.
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