Greetings to all,

Tonight, I had to run an 80 mile (160 mile round trip) errand for my Brother-in-Law. Being the "Preparationist" that I am, I allowed myself 10 minutes to get my BoB and weapons before I headed out.

My "at home" BoB consists of:

An Alice pack with: 4 days of rations, entrenching tool, short machete, hatchet, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, 60ft of 3/8" rope, and assorted normal survival toys;

A Combat Harness with: 2-1qt canteens, 2 canteen cups, butt pack (w/2 mess kits & assorted goodies), flashlight, compass pouch (w/compass, magnesium firestarter), an M-16 Bayonet, a USA poncho, and 2 empty M-16 ammo pouches.

The above listed items are not the only things I carry in my BoB, by any means!

I also grabbed a "Took", leather gloves, an extra pack of smokes, carbine (w/6 rounds), and a pistol (w/8 rounds), and sunglasses.

I had my normal EDC on my body, as per my usual custom.
(Buck 110, Butterfly knife, Mini-Mag light, Leatherman, 20ft of nylon cord, Bic lighter, soapstone, pocket watch, Bandanna, cigarettes, & eyeglasses)

The problem that I noticed, is the lack of ammo that I could get to because of some unusual extenuating circumstances. After speaking to SBRaider, I will, in the future, pack the spare ready ammo in a bag that will sit next to the ready weapons.

I had shelter (poncho, sleeping pad, survival blanket, and sleeping bag). I also carried a spare set of clothes (3 prs of socks, 3 prs of underwear, BDU blouse, trousers, T-shirt, Took, leather gloves, Baja jacket, and Boonie hat)

I didn't have water but I had the means to strain and purify water, the means to carry up to 2 qts of water.

I did have 4 days of rations (MRE's).

I had the means to make fire (matches, magnesium firestarter, eyeglasses, & Bic lighter).

Overall, I had time to have gotten more gear but I have also found this gear to have been sufficient. All of this weighs in around the 40-50 lbs area.

I have a question:
What is the soapstone for? My only experience with it is in wood burning soapstone stoves.

It's pretty interesting to do things like that. I kind of had a mini-Bug In a few months ago when the tornado sirens went off (near Detroit, of all places). Took me longer than I thought to get changed into weather-appropriate clothes and into the basement, where I store my BOB, camping gear, and rifles.

That being said, I have a few boxes of clothes stored there that I never unpacked (meaning, of course, that I don't need them). It would be a bit wierd though to come out wearing a suit!

Good idea to make a practice bug OUT run. More of us should do that, myself included. And I shouldn't wear shorts when there's tornado warnings all over the county.

This is a welders soapstone that will write on almost anything.

Good for leaving messages on walls, boulders, etc in the event that people come looking for you.

Soapstone. Never thought of that. Brilliant. I carry a grease pencil.

Its a small thing but for a bit lighter weight and some space if you can afford it, I wear Ex Officio boxer briefs. I have gone a month with only two pair. Wear one, soak, ring and dry other each day. Plus the boxer brief will retain shape and not chaff the legs and groin.

I know that a personal deal, but it works for me.

All we buggies need is an IPOD with Creedence Clearwater Revival singing 'Better run through the jungle' to help set the pace in between Ninja rolls past overpasses.

just to clarify, when you say "run an errand" you dont mean that literally right? 160miles!!

Good practice.

Nothing like a live run to point out the holes in one's plans.

In absence of an actual Bug-Out run sometimes a "table top" exercise can help.

When I'm sitting in my car waiting on the offspring to finish her dancing lessons, I'll go through my stuff in the car with the idea of "ok, I'm living out of my car for x-number of days, what do I have to work with?" This includes my EDC and BOB in the trunk.

(That reminds me I need to put some mosquito netting in the trunk so I can sleep with the windows opened a little.... )

The only problem is I can imagine a lot of possibilities that I don't have covered (zombies, good looking hitchhiking coeds, etc).

Awesome. You added to my kit.

What's a "Took"?