I was watching this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnoA1tgFGSI

It occured to me that , indeed, we sometimes go thru personal hrdships that need different tools , not a knife and Bic lighter, but other stuff , more urban, more personal, and of different nature.

I remember several situations, when multiple crises happen and you have to be in two places , doing five different things all in the same time !! BTDT.

Among the stuff he mentioned, I second the contact list (Printed on paper), emergency cash (in small bills), among others.

What do you suggest for URBAN bag that you can label as (Personal crisis bag) ??

The most common personal crisis in an urban environmnet is house or apartment fire. His contents are pretty good, I might add a cell phone charger because while people often grab their cell phone while exiting they never carry a spare cell phone charger. It can be good to have a spare sitting in your car glove compartment even if you don't charge from the car.

The person in the video however has a bigger priority when getting out, sitting there squirming on his lap - his daughter. All the crap in the bag is nice to have but secondary. Grab your daughter and get OUT. Don't waste time grabbing or hefting your crisis bag. If you all get OUT everything is gravy and survivable, if you don't then its a real personal crisis.

I keep a bag near my nearest bedroom exit with cold and wet clothing in it for me and my wife and son, including old shoes - that's a good idea. Most of the rest of the crisis gear is already redundant somewhere else besides my house. I may throw it out the door if I have time, but first priority is getting everyone OUT and calling 911.

Many good points in the video. Much of that stuff (clothes, shoes plus much more, such as toiletries) is in my SUV full-time.

My purse is kept in the front hall closet inside a black zip duffle that contains, among other things (flashlight/headlamp, etc.), a Garmin navigator. Between my phone and the navigator I have all phone numbers and most addresses in this region that could be useful to me in a crisis. I prefer those storage devices to lugging the paper address book the video shows.

Cash. Absolutely. I have some hidden inside an interior panel of my SUV and elsewhere at home.

My laptop is always handy and the briefcase to carry it is also in the front hall closet.

Odds are that in the event of a "crisis" I am going to be at home or, at the least, in some proximity to my vehicle. With that in mind, I've increasingly looked to the car as a storage place for essential items for survival and comfort if some situation should arise. The "crisis" could entail being stranded with the car, needing to flee home quickly or being away from home when something renders home uninhabitable or unreachable (I live in Washington, D.C.).

Mindful of the risk of the car being broken into, the stuff I keep in there are not my favorites. Instead, it is where I stash an older jacket, older hiking boots, less expensive knives, etc. Perfectly good stuff, but not the items I'd miss as much if stolen.

Some good ideas. I think "personal crisis" is too vague. He seems to be talking basically about a fire, or basically just "get out of the house/apartment NOW."

In that vein, one idea I have is to adapt something I do when I travel. A "backup" credit card. Not carried with everything else in my wallet. Different place at all times. Primary card lost/stolen? If they got my wallet, at least I have a back-up.

Also, before my last trip to Eastern Europe to visit the relatives, I had to renew my (USA) passport. There is now an option to also get a "Passport card". I used this and now have an alternate ID to my driver's licence. Not good for all countries in international travel, but a good back up photo ID if my drivers licence disappears with my primary credit card.

Neither of these is a full substitute for cash.

Finally, I did, many years ago, have some neighbors lose their house to a fire. The neighborhood pitched in with whatever they needed to get by the first few days. Good neighbors are one of the best safety nets.

The concept is noble, but I don't agree with the guy's thought process in the video. The first things pulls out are shoes, shoes for his kids, pants, socks, etc. That was odd. I have those items laid out next to my bed at night. I'm not running out the house naked and then putting on my clothes and shoes later.

Anyway, I'd prefer to keep my clothes and shoes separate from the less bulky essential items, like cash, flashlight, cellphone, knife, etc.

Without the bulky items, I'm left with a much smaller, much more manageable man bag, satchel, purse, or whatever the heck you want to call it. For whatever reason, many guys are adamantly opposed to using these terms. Anyway, I carry a man bag everyday, and it's next to my bed at night. There's nothing new here.

I can give you an example of a personal crisis that I went thru. It didn't have anything to do with fire or earthquake.

Although I dont remember all the details now, but I remember enough bits & pieces that can make your head spin , and would really appreciate a bag containing several essentials. And yes, I did wish I had a bottle of vitamin supplement during those stressful times.

My mother was hospitalized and had to take a day or two off my work to visit her. Nope, something happened at work and the other guy had to go somewhere and I had to stay put.

Alright, I can depend on my trusty car to take me there and back ( 2 hours one way). What happened is a flat tire (before travelling ) and tire guys do NOT have replacement because they were w/tubes. I had to go look for someone who would replace the wheels to new ones ($$$) to accomodate tubeless.

After spending the $$$, another problem evolved and I decided to leave the family car and use the smaller faster sedan. It was almost always taken away by my son. Alright, I start driving and guess what ??? He took it earlier to some cleaning/polishing shop that took the seats apart and washed it all over. Water got thru many places. The clock was running like a stopwatch , and while driving the seatbelt came off !!! I hd to stop to fix it, and didn't have the right size wrench.

It was problem after problem after problem.
I was starting to pull my hair.

I would really really like to have a bag that contains tools and gadgets that takes care of sharp turns of life, and that can multiply your efficiency to deal with Murphy's wickedness.

I have emergency cash in more than one location. Extra cash in my small Murphy's bag, medium Murphy's bag, each car glove compartment, and in my companion bag that goes with me to the grave.

Contact lists are everywhere too. One copy in each car, in each bag, and in the office ..etc.

I have a phone charger in each vehicle and each location I have a drawer of locker. In addition, I take a spare cell phone when there is any hint of abnormality.

My "companion" bag has 3 pouches (1)FAK (2) meds (3) utilites and tools. Also there are many other EDC items like sanitizer spare batteries , flashlights .. etc.

Still, life will always manage to catch us unprepared.

years ago in my youth, in far away exotic lands, I frequented establishments that provided adult beverages, and the hostesses there carried their entire wealth on gold "di di mao" or "baht necklaces"....If I can get my shoes and pants on I'm pretty much covered...my wallet and credit cards, a little cash, and some EDC stuff is always in my pants pockets... I don't remove anything at night except to charge the cell phone...if I can get my pants on, glasses, and pair of shoes, maybe grab a pistol, and make it to the car, I'm pretty good to go, as my BOB is in the car, and more of a 72hr bag and has pretty much what was covered...zip drive in the car with personal information.... car is in a non attached garage

This was a big goal of the build for my BOB.

hehehehe

You know, when crises like that happen, a person feels what it is like to be a "chaos magent". LOL

Those days, you feel that all mishaps dumped out of Murphy's bag , are somehow attracted towards YOU .