There's a lot of nonsensical junk out there. I guess people are buying it (why???)

Here's a great example:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1699133996/benchmade-1200-tactical-pen-aluminum

Who in the world would want such a silly thing? A "tactical pen"? That costs over $125? "Calling all morons, calling all morons - blue light special - tactical pens on sale in the idiots department."

If someone was attacking me, and they were close enough where I could jab them in the ribs, I'd be using that tactical pen for eyeballs, ear canals, creating a shish-ka-Bob with a part of their anatomy, or something else with more proven "stunability". Once they get that close, you have made some pretty severe tactical self defense errors already. Poking them in the ribs at that point would be yet another tactical error IMHO.

Anyway, I'm getting WAY off topic here... Sorry about that.

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One month ago, I could say the same. But the last two weeks things have changed. In my corner of the world, earthquakes are only heard about in TV. However, last two weeks people experienced tremors TWO times, one week apart.

It was not very serious by many standards , but since it was new to folks here , some freaked out big time. Several companies and establishments evacuated their buildings and sent their employees home, on both occasions.

It was even more disturbing when - in the same few days - we saw the bombings in Iraq, Boston ..etc. There is now more e-talk about end of times.


The juice is :

LIFE CAN BE VERY VERY UNPREDICTABLE.

I know my BOB is too heavy to hoof long distances, but I'm okay with that. If I need to go a long way on foot I'll leave stuff behind that isn't applicable to the current situation. Otherwise I'll be glad to pay the tiny fuel economy penalty in my car.

Five sharps I don't have but I do have four: LM Surge, fixed blade, folder, and folding saw. This makes sense to me -- but again, I don't plan to carry it all very far. The Surge gets the most use by far.

I broke in a pair of boots and committed them to the car kit, along with a change of clothes and spare outerwear.

Of course, we're reminded today of a different need for a BOB, and one that our family has a totally different kind of kit for - house fire or local evacuation.

This isn't my ride in the Jeep, I might have to hoof it GHB/BOB, but rather a kit for the entire family in case of a house fire or local evacuation. This one's designed for a quick middle of the night dash out of the house and into a hotel or staying with friends and family for a few days. It's packed and ready to go in the front closet of the house. Off the top of my head, it's got:

-a couple changes of clothes (x4 for DH, DS, DSD and me)
-footwear (x4)
-toiletries
-copies of important documents
-cash (bills and coins)
-emergency credit card
-teddy bear, blankie, special pillow
-diapers, wipes, formula, bottles and bottled water, receiving blankets, onsies, sleepers, soother, butt cream, change pad, purelle, headlamp...
-flashlights and a small LED lantern
-fleece blankets (x4)
-water bottles (x4)
-FAK with OTC and prescription meds
-disposable ponchos (x4)
-hats and mitts (x4)
-cel phone charger for hubby's phone
-family picture

IMO, in my AO, something like the explosion in Texas yesterday, along with a house fire, are the main reasons I envision our family bugging out. We're in the heart of a manufacturing area, and major national transportation routes cuts through the area. We've also got two nuclear reactors in our region, just to up the ante a little bit.

BTW, when we plan a family road trip, these are the things I make sure we have packed. It's very dependant on distance for me, the further we go from the house, the more it becomes a priority. I don't necessarily pack a separate bag for it, since most of it we take with us anyway, whether we're going to Grandma's for the weekend or on a week long camping trip up North.

We've been stuck out of town before because of snow storms and a vehicle breakdown. We've spent impromptu time in hotels, relatives homes and in our vehicles on the side of the road. I've never felt like any of those were survival situations, and that's at least in small part due to good preps. Along with my GHB/BOB that lives in the Jeep, we're prepared to face most situations as a family without having to pack the kitchen sink every time just in case.

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As a former resident of AZ and a great admirer of the state, I have to disagree in part with your statement. AZ doesn't directly experience hurricanes, but the state does get torrential rains, the remnants of chubascoes coming up the Gulf of California, which leads to floods. living in Tucson, I have seen the city cut apart by torrential floods - traffic on bridges was stopped due to excessive water flow. Some years ago, the runway at Sky Harbor was inundated y the flooding Salt River. In my SAR career, the incident with the greatest loss of life, seven fatalities, was due to a flash flood near Tucson.


I would agree with you about tornados. Some have been reported, but they are an insignificant problem. Thank goodness!

And of course, there are always fires. I run from those. Any fertilizer plants in AZ?

A layered approach, thats how I've setup.

Each family member has a basic backpack, 4 camelbaks to be specific. A grab one thing and go situation such as a house fire those are to be grabbed, They contain some clothing, and mine sopare vehicle keys so we can get in our vehicles and back away from the burning house and get dressed.

Then each person has a pre-packed hotel/motel kit. This has any normal toiletries and OTC medicines we may need. I rotate stock through them, for example when its time for a new toothbrush it goes in the kit and the oe from the kit goes into the bathroom to replace the old one. Those hang on a closet wall right above the suitcases so a situation where you have >5 minutes to go we can just drop those into the suitcases with some additional clothes out of the closet and go.

Then you have the next layer which I have a surplus ALICE pack with various campng gear, our sleeping bags, etc. If you have more time to pack after the suitcases then those go.

I made up a checklist with items in that order after the time my wife had to pack while I was coming home from work.
We simply work down the list based on the amount of time we have to evac.

When making out of town trips then the same list is used. and pick and choose from the list as needed.

Now before someone starts with the "I bug in not out" the same layers are used there. Power goes out I know my flashlight is inthe front pocket of the backpack not buried in the junk drawer or garage smoeplace. Tornada, grab the backpacks to shelter in the basement. Having your gear organized makes it easier to bug in or out.

Heh, I live in Ohio and I've gotten hurricane damage. One of bigger hurricanes hit land and turned into a big storm with straight line winds and tore shingles off my roof a couple days later when it made it all the way up here.

Dont you get a little overwhelmed by all this?

There has been a lot of tragedy this week and our hearts break for the victims and their loved ones. But be also mindful that 99.99% of America's 300,000,000 citizens were unscathed in these events which garnered so much news coverage.

This may not be terribly comforting, but most of us are in far more danger from the fools texting while driving than some malevolent terrorist or other disasters manmade or natural.

I've lived and worked in Washington, D.C. for 25 years. There are plenty of awful scenarios to fret about and prepare for. It would be tragic to worry so much about things you cannot control that it distracts you from enjoying life in this moment, this coming weekend and the months and years ahead.

The odds are overwhelmingly in favor of us outliving the expiration date on our potassium iodide pills.


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