I tend to have a KISS (Keep it Simple Survival) philosophy. I don’t attempt to prepare for every possible outcome or disaster. Unless preparedness is your hobby and you have significant discretionary income, trying to cover all bases is an inefficient investment of time, energy and money.

I look to the 90% and that is good enough for me. The simple truth is most of us on this newsgroup will die of heart-attacks, strokes, cancer, car crashes, or just plain old age. All these fancy kits will be of little use here. Avoiding death or severe injury from man made disasters or Mother Nature’s fury with the contents of our survival bags is a little like winning the lottery. You are still more likely to get run down by a car while you are on a crosswalk, than to repel down a burning building with contents from your bat-utility-belt. And just forget about taking flying lessons on the slim chance that you may someday be on a flight where terrorists have taken over the plane and killed the pilot. You somehow use the fishing kit, mirror, and duct tape in your EDC as weapons to subdue the terrorists, then safely land the plane and its passengers. OK that is a bit extreme, but I am trying to make a point.

That said, I live in earthquake/volcano country and prepare accordingly. I don’t really have a BOB per se. I have plenty of items around the house that can be grabbed on short notice and tossed into my LandCruiser wagon. My camping kits are all modular and stored together (All the kitchen items are in one Rubbermaid container, all the camping hardware in another, the tents and bags all together). If I need camping gear, I grab it and toss in what I need. I have a well stocked pantry. Grab another Rubbermaid tote and fill it with food, etc. All my important documents and back-up files from my PC are in one storage container in a safe. You get the picture. If all else fails, I run to my truck and use the basic kit I have stashed there as a start. Not perfect, but better than nothing.

In a rush you don’t want to forget anything important. The trick is to have a bug out checklist (BOC). If the dung hits the fan, grab the list, grab a duffle and start stuffing. While much slower than having a BOB, it is much more efficient than just running around in a daze grabbing anything in sight and leaving critical items behind. My plans are really geared to stay in place and ride out disasters. If this cannot be done, I can have a complete set of luxury bug-out gear put together inside 10 minutes.

There are many in this group that I consider KSS (Kitchen Sink Survivalist). I bid them no ill will. If they enjoy the preparedness hobby or need extensive preparations for peace of mind then they are doing the right thing as well. There is no “ones size fits all” solution here.

My advice: Be honest with yourself. What are the most likely to occur disasters in your area, that you can significantly improve your chances with some basic preparedness? How much time and money are you willing to spend getting ready? Follow through and make whatever preparations you feel are prudent. Then, enjoy life knowing you are 100x better prepared than your foolish neighbors.

Even the most basic BOB, your wits, skill, health, knife and flashlight, puts you miles ahead of the average joe on the street.

Best wishes to all,

TR

Well that smoke alarm won't wake you up to a flash flood.
My 7th grade year in school the small town where I want to school in was beside a river and the residnets were used to flooding there as they had had a few small floods in the past. But for some reason this one year debree got caught on a railroad bridge upstream from the town and created a small dam. No one in the town knew it and after a day or so the water had risen to a record level behind that dam and then it burst and caused a flash flood 10 times larger than anyone ever expected so sheltering in place ended up not being an option for many poeple.
I don't plan on bugging out unless I have to either, packing up the wife and cats and soon a newborn baby will be a lot of effort, however I realize there could come a time when it becomes necessary. I don't have a bob per say, what I have is prganized gear. I keep my stock of food, water, camping supplies in different sotrage containers/bags/boxes/whatever labeled and organized so I know where to find something when I want it. This is my survive in place supply that I could also grab and go if needed.

The question is what if the fire is by your door so you can't grab your Buff and go down the stairs. A bob could be helpful in an earthquake as people have been known to survive a few days under a pile of rubble until rescue workers dug them out, if your bob is always within reach it will be under that pile in the "cave" your in with you making you able to survive it easier.
I actually don't have a BOB myself in the normal sense of a bob. I have all my shelter in place gear organized and stored in different rooms and in different containers/bags/boxes that make it all portable. If I do need to bug out then I grab whatever is near me and go and my shelter in place gear becomes my bug out gear.

Personally, if my house is on fire the last thing I am looking for is a lousy BOB. Getting my family and me out is my only priority.

I have stashed in my closet a large fire extinguisher, filter mask, goggles, gloves, crowbar, boots, and an emergency window ladder. I get the people out and let the fire dept. and insurance company worry about the rest. I have lived in this neighborhood for 20 years and would be taken in by several neighbors without hesitation.

There are hundreds of potential, by very unlikely scenarios, where my system would fail. There is no system that can cover all outcomes. How about, "During a blizzard, a dirty bomb attack by terrorists triggers a 9.0 earthquake. At the same time your BOB is the victim of spontaneous combustion (some bizarre cocktail of fire starter, waterproof matches, butane and your stale cotton skivvies). The bag torches your house, which then collapses on your car.” Now what?

Look to the most likely scenarios and prepare accordingly. The rest of it is likely out of your hands anyway.

TR

Wise words, pizzaman.

That said, so ETSers, is an Altoids or a Sucrets tin more effective at protecting my garage door opener against the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Hey, stop spoiling our fun! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Actually, I think you're missing an important point. A major benefit of preparing for disasters is psychological. It helps calm down worries and makes living in a crazy, unpredictable world a little bit easier. That is priceless and it may just help postpone that heart attack you're forecasting.

A backpack with a blanket, a change of clothes, water, a few protein bars, a flashlight, lighter, and a good multitool wouldn't cost much to assemble, takes up little room, and when kept by the door could be grabbed on the way out, another could be assembled and kept in the car. If there is a flood, fire, earthquake, ect that is enough to hold you over atleast for a day until you can get yourself back together and can figure out your next course of action. For me that is reasonable, even if you never have to use it.

Bee, I'm wary about those catalytic heaters. They're only designed to heat a small area (like a tent). They only put out 3000 BTU's and last only 6/7 hours on one tank. That's really not that much. I can't say anymore as I don't own one. I can say I do own some 23,000 BTU heaters that will just make my (very modest) home livable. By livable, I mean just warm enough to keep the pipes from freezing. I'd think those little heaters would be like lighting a couple of candles.
I agree many of us get carried away trying to prepare for every possible scenario (myself most definitely included!!), but I don't see a problem with a small bag left in a closet by the door or in the trunk of a car with a change of clothes and a few other things that could come in handy (a small first aid kit, a bottle or two of water, some Powerbars, flashlight, dust masks, etc.). As for your "30 seconds" of throwing some stuff in a bag, I wouldn't count on it. If there is an emergency unfolding at that time, you'll find you won't be thinking too rationally. Also, what if you're not at home if and when this emergency hits? What if you come home to find nothing left? That little bag and its contents might come in handy. Like the Grand Poobah says: "Chance favors only the prepared and equipped" <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

To quote Ed McMahan "You are correct sir". My peace of mind is greatly improved by making my preparations. I think the problem lies in "NOT" being able to achieve peace of mind through preparations. Some will always find a potential weakness in their solutions and continue in a never-ending journey in the unachievable quest for absolute preparedness. They will never feel comfortable and will always be on edge. Just not a healthy approach. At some point enough is enough when it comes to practical preparedness.

I've tried to keep all my kits "no nonsense" and simple. I have enough preparations made that I feel "prepared" and I take comfort in that. I am now able to switch to the enjoyable hobby side of preparedness/survival. I have a nice little Maxpedition bag that I am stuffing with all sorts of cool survival goodies as a personal survival pouch. I could cut the list in this bag in half and still be well prepared. I could have purchased lower cost substitutes for most items included. But this is my Bag-o-fun. After all, boys must have their toys. This allows me to keep the rest of my kits more sensible, yet allows me to have fun with survival. This little bag limits how much playing I can do (I can only stuff so much into this rugged pouch, but I am pushing it to pregnant looking proportions).

My philosophy is Keep It Simple. Take comfort in the preparations you have made. And have the sense and wisdom to separate your serious preparations from the fun/hobby side of survival. You want to live longer??? Change your diet, meditate, and get some exercise.

Cheers,

TR (Deciding he better take his own advice on the last three items).

When I wake up, it takes me a while to get my bearings. This I know from personal experience. I keep 2 things by the bedroom door. One is my pants, complete with wallet, car keys, knife, money, etc., ready to go. The other is a small fireproof box with copies of important documents, etc. That way I only have to grab 2 things on my way out of the bedroom door on my way to get my kids out of the house. Obviously, I'm thinking fire, but this would work for earthquake, etc.