I am in the process of re-doing my bug-out-bag and wanted to get some advice on whether I am missing anything.
In the first Outdoor Products gym bag:
1. Brunton compass on one zipperpull.
2. Inova LED light on another zipperpull.
3. Left side compartment:
Buck 110 knife in sheath
AA Maglite, 8 batteries, two spare bulbs
2 Coleman emergency candles, 50 strike on box matches
Sharpie markers in blue, black, and red
Barska 8X21 binoculars in case
deck of playing cards, five dice, yatchzee pad
bandanas, red, yellow, and desert camo
Leatherman pst in sheath
small sewing kit in box
roll of electrical tape, duct tape
btl of aspirin, vitamins, buffered salt supplements
toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss
small first aid kit with CPR mask added, BSA first aid booklet
two garbage bags in AOL mylar bag resealed with an iron
Rolaids, Tylenol, Aleve, Imodium, Pepto, Ibuprofen
4. main compartment:
5 piece mess kit
two 1 ltr Nalgene bottles
folding Sterno stove thingy
Grundig radio
2 D-cell flashlights, 8 batteries, 2 spare bulbs
Soda can sized lantern with 4 AA batteries
6 asst bungee cords, 50ft of poly rope, 50ft of nylon rope
Buck 119 fixed blade knife in sheath
Lansky knife sharpening set in box
2 big prescription bottles with 6 tealights in each
200 waterproof matches in package
pack of trick birthday candles
Extractor snakebite kit
two smaller sized bath towels, washcloths
50 potable aqua tablets
roll of garbage bags (courtesy of pizza hut)
4 Coleman emergency candles
medical bag with Ace bandages, ice-packs, medical tape in it, pack of 50 safety pins, 5X9's, 4X4's, 2X2's, gloves
four pack of Bic lighters
BSA firestarter
two space blankets
25 ft roll of aluminum foil
5x 1 gal ziplocks
slingshot and ammo
two signal mirrors
Motorola radios for when we split into two groups, like going to the bathroom, etc
Roll of TP
5. right side compartment:
sticker books, activity books for the kids
crayons, markers, pencils and sharpener
bouncy balls
2x 5-in-1 orange whistle thingy's for the kids to carry
cyalume sticks for the kids to carry if we are in a crowd so I can find them quicker
2 AA flashlights for the kids to use (should I get them maglites?) with Fox 40's attached
Toothpaste and toothbrushes for the kids


I have another bag with the same stuff in the left compartment from above, the main compartment has extra clothes, and the right side compartment has snacks in it like roll-ups, jerky, peanuts

Is there anything I am forgetting? I have a machete and some weapons but I did not include them in case we are evacuated to a shelter and have to get on a bus.
Me and Candy both carry a PSK in an Altoids tin, a Leatherman, a Kershaw folder, Inova light, Fox 40, and a Micra on us at all times. I would like to get some stuff for the kids, but they are only 8 (boy) and 6 (girl) and I think they are a little young for tools and knives. They do know how to use almost all my stuff though. I also have a Camelbak that I wear almost as much as my underwear, I want to get one for my wife also. My son Jimi is begging me for one and my little girl Gemma can't stop drinking out of it. She even uses it during dinner. I have a footlocker in the bedroom that I call the Whitman box after Charles Whitman from Texas. He stored enough stuff in a footlocker to last for a week when he went on a rampage and ever since I saw what he had I have want ed to be prepared in case something bad happens.

I don't worry about that stuff. I'd be taking my pets along with me. That means no official shelters for my group: Me, my wife, my fat cat, and senile toy poodle.

I'm not leaving my pets behind, so we'd be hunkering down in my car until we made it to either my sister's place or my mom's home.

--Craig

Your list is IMPRESSIVE! I don't see any glaring ommissions right off, but I have to ask--How much does this thing weigh? Just something to consider.

I definitely don't have all the answers, but I decided to split my BOB into His and Hers backpacks. They each weigh roughly 12-15lbs, though they're not nearly as extensive as yours. There is a fair amount of duplication, in case we were to be separated, but the contents of each have been tailored somewhat to fit our experience and physiques. So, for instance, my bag has a mag/flint firestarter, Bic and Lifeboat matches. Hers has a windproof/waterpoof lighter, Bic and Lifeboat matches.

One suggestion I could make would be to try to get everything but your little LED on AA batteries. Saves weight and allows you greater versatility.

Nice work!

IMO, the kids should have their own bags, which should contain things they know how to use: flashlight, lightstick, water bottle, whistle, granola bars, extra socks, hat, jacket, toy or game, poncho, waterproof package containing medical info (if appl.) & family/friend addresses & phone numbers.

Like it or not, kids do get separated from their parents. It would be heartbreaking for your family to survive the flood (etc) and then have one of the kids wander off and die of hypothermia.

And make sure they know the why & how to use everything they carry.

Sue

I was thinking that way as well, but what do you trust them to bring? If you give them essentials and they lose them, should you have backups? I originally had a childs bug out bag with certain things in it like toys, games, stuffed animal, pictures of me and their other family members (for moral support) but I worried about them leaving it somewhere and then freaking out when they want it.

This looks like fun!

My $0.02 worth.

A list of contacts: names, addresses, phone numbers.
Copies of important documents in waterproof containers.
Ready cash
A red LED light incase you have to travel through a hostile area at night.

Everyone in our family has a CamelBack. Each CamelBack has a PSK. You know the list: fire, First-aid, Food, Navigation, shelter, signal, water, and knife/tools.

Your family BOB seems to be heavy on candles and light on water. In a natural disaster or terrorist attack I don’t think you can assume the water will be good. You have 2 Nalgene bottles and 4 zip-lock bags. You might be better off using Katadyne Microupur MP1 Tablets. I have tried them and the water tastes normal. Children hate weird tastes. I have 4 boys, I know. MP1 also kills viruses. You might want one of the folding 1 gallon water bags.

If you have plenty of water make sure everyone has lots of snacks.

I am not happy with your light selection. We use LED headlamps. They are a great hands-free light for when you are working at night around camp. A SureFire G2 can’t be beat for when you need to see what is out there.

Make sure your kids have a whistle all the time.

Keep a Glock 23 or 27 on you at all times.

Since you are making up Bug-Out kits, they should JUST be bug-out kits, not toys to drag along to a grocery store with Mom. And I wouldn't "trust" them to make the choices of what goes in them, except maybe for a toy.

You make up the BOBs for all. You make sure they know what everything is for. You explain that this is just for emergencies. You keep all the BOBs together (fastened together, if necessary). If you have to bug out, you and wife take your kits, give kids their kids (backpack styles) and instruct them to keep them with them until you get to where you're going.

Six & eight aren't toddlers. This seems like a good time to start them thinking about being responsible for themselves. A friend of mine would play a game called "What would you do if...?" She trotted out every idea of every situation that her kids could possibly get into that she could think of. They did it while eating lunch, while driving in the car, going to the park, walking the dog.

"What would you do if Spot ran across the street right now?"
"What would you do if a man says he wants to show you some cute puppies?"
"What would you do if your friend Lisa sprained her ankle in the park?"
"What would you do if all the lights went out when just the babysitter was with you at home?"
"What would you do if you smelled smoke in the house and I was outside talking to Mrs. Jones?"

She would ask the question, and the kids would come up with some answers (some incredibly outlandish!). She would guide their thinking with further questions about that particular situation.

She said she knew that it wasn't realistic for her to think that she would always be nearby. Her idea was to get them to think about how to deal with the real (& often unexpected) things that happen in life. She hoped that the discussions would at least plant something in their minds that they could fall back on in a scary situation.

By the time that I met them, the kids were actually thinking for themselves, and would often come up with several alternates for what they could do. And sometimes they would turn the tables and ask HER what SHE would do.

OTOH, if you're talking EveryDay Carry.... <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Sue

I would not encumber young kids with anything more than maybe some water and food, and keep them close enough that the chance of separation is as low as possible. Unless you take your kids out and hike them around hard so that they are used to it, all they will end up doing is whining about the load until you get tired of it and decide to hod their stuff for them anyways. Also, by keeping the supplies/equipment with you, you reduce the chance of them wanting to waste/lose items.

As for pets, the only time I would bring a pet with me is for wholly practical purposes. If the thing can't help me acquire food or provide some extra measure of security or hod stuff for me, then the only other reason to tote an animal is as a potential foodsource.

Untrained animals and untrained children can be a huge debtriment/liability in a bug out situation. Then there's always the "Can't get to them in time" scenario, which has cost me enough sleep in my life already.

I have discovered that it is much easier for me to have my family safely tucked away in some secure suburban setting while I am off facing a harsh environment than to have them with me and in harm's way. Life perspective is very much different through the spectacles I am wearing now.

We live in a dense city and I expect there to be a shelter of some sort set up. There will be water there even if it is only a little. I didn't mention any firearms, but Candy and I have our own Colt 1991A1's with many mags and almost too much ammo. I have taken the children out for walks and bike rides many times, during which I have asked them to take me on a journey involving something that has too do with emergency planning. One time when we got home from a bike ride I asked my son Jimi what he would do if he tried to get into the house and it was all locked up. I listened to his answer, (go to the neighbors house) and then I instructed him on what I would like him to do. First he is to go to the old lady's house next door as she has all the contact information for Candy and I and if we had to go somewhere without the kids for whatever the reason (hospital) and couldn't find them we would tell her what we are doing and where we would be going and the kids would wait there. If she was not home or didn't answer, Jimi would get Gemma and go to his friends house three doors down and wait there. If no one is there, then he is to go down the road about 1000ft to a Pizza Hut where all of the people there know us(I worked there for many years) and wait. I trust everyone there and my kids could go home with almost anyone of them with no problem.I have the Nalgene bottles, many trash bags and the Camelbaks for water. How much water can you reasonably carry if you are on the move anyway? We have 50 water tablets in each bottle, and that can make a hell of a lot of water until water is restored, I can also boil water to purify it. I am looking for some inline water filters for the Camelbaks to filter water also. I could gather water when it rains. If it got really bad, I would just whack some and take their water. When the excrement hits the air conditioning, I want the kids to go through it with as little trauma as possible. I want them to know that something happened but I want them to have fun and I want it to seem like a neighborhood camping trip, per se. My 17 year old was in NYC on 9/11/01and had I been there we would have gotten out of town and once we reached safety I would have sat with her and talked about what was going on and her thoughts about it. I am a good listener (Candy will argue about that sometimes) and I do try to be there for all of our 6 kids. Only two are left in the house now, the rest live all over the country. Each child has a whistle, lightstick, and a compass. Keep the ideas coming though, I love to gain knowledge.

Sounds like you have put some quality thought into your efforts and plans. One random though that went through my head was have any of your walks or hikes been at night? Learning to move safely using ambient light takes practice. I hiked several miles to watch the fireworks on the 4th and could not help but notice how poorly most people move in the night. For those who might think I had forgotten my EDC and did not have a light you will be relieved to know I had at least 4 with me but only used one once to light the way for some lady that was about to fall in the river. I prefer to enjoy the night unless its cave dark out and have found it a valuable skill more than once.

Hiking at night without a flashlight is fun and somewhat liberating as well. Do it long enough and you start to feel like youre cheating when you go out on a clear night with a full moon. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />