How Different is your urban Kits then your Rural(?) Kits? I hear the argument "if I'm not here I don't need this or that" often with urban kits but how can you predict you wouldn't be leaving the city or you wouldn't need a tent since the buildings are all blown out?

I forgot to mention i understand the addition to a Rural kit but not the subtraction from one to make it "urban"

I would assume that most people would evaluate what problems they are likely to face where they live and where they work, and design a kit for those problems.

It isn't likely that anyone is going to be fully prepared for everything, everywhere, all the time. That would cover too much ground and you would have a lot of stuff. It would seem pointless to stuff a car with gear, and then not have enough room to take people or pets if you have to leave in a hurry.

Sue

This is a statement i hear often and still cannot fully understand. I understand the fact you cannot predict what you will encounter but I cannot understand the thought that that is the way you should pack your kit. The best kit in my opinion is not the kit that is packed for what "may happen" its the kit that is packed for what you need no matter what happens then for what can possibly happen with size and weight in mind.

A simple tarp can be useful in an urban setting. Quick shade and portable shelter from rain can be handy. A tarp spread over a damaged roof can keep the inside of a house dry.

Following a hurricane standing water means you get clouds of mosquitoes. A tent or screened shelter can help a lot. That said bringing your own shelter is less of an issue in an urban setting.

It is pretty hard to think of a situation that would make the buildings completely unusable for shelter. Even flattened, look at pictures of houses felled by tornadoes, there are still wall sections and plenty of lumber to assemble a decent shelter out of.

Well I'm more or less talking about a worse case scenario for the buildings. If there's enough issues surrounding you easily like the ones you stated a tent by itself would be the quickest easiest most all around solution. The added Protection form the building if you pitch it inside would just be a bonus.

"I understand the fact you cannot predict what you will encounter but I cannot understand the thought that that is the way you should pack your kit. The best kit in my opinion is not the kit that is packed for what "may happen" its the kit that is packed for what you need no matter what happens then for what can possibly happen with size and weight in mind."

You are confusing me. You speak of size and weight, and then you talk about a tent.

Here's my situation: I drive daily from/through rural areas to highly urban areas for my job. What I can carry in my vehicle can't exceed what will fit in a standard student backback. I also have a case of bottled water and a car kit that contains a basic first aid kit, 4 emergency blankets, a towel, a tow strap, a pry bar, duct tape and some flares.

I can't carry a sleeping bag or tent. Everything in the backpack has to be very useful. My worst-case scenario is being caught in Seattle or Portland during a major earthquake, where I would almost certainly be afoot almost 100 miles from home, with a couple of good-sized rivers in the way.

This differs from what I can carry in my personal car, but odds-wise, I am more likely to be caught in a bad situation with my work vehicle.

What I would LIKE to carry differs from what I CAN carry, and urban or rural doesn't change that. I still need the basics: shelter, fire, water, signaling, food.

So, could you fine-tune your question a bit more?

Sue

I have decided to pack for my particular situation. Not all urban environments are the same, and not all rural environments are the same. My situation is different than that of a person living in New Orleans and different than that of a person living in Alaska. There are some things that will probably never be of use to me where I live and work. An inflatable raft, for example, is low on my value list, whereas as such a device would have high value for someone in New Orleans. As someone stated earlier, if you try to pack for every possible disaster, you will quickly discover that you have way too much stuff in your pack.

I'm taking on the philosophy that knowledge and training are more important than how good my kit is. This approach has allowed me to increase confidence and decrease poundage.

Ah So you're speaking of a Get home bag? Well those in my opinion of philosophy are always lighter and more bare basics then Bug out bags which I guess I shoulda stated instead of just "kit".

I Completely understand the immediate situation governing what your kit contains. I guess what I was asking more or less was simply the difference between a Urban BOB and a Rural BOB and why would people consider they wouldn't need things say like fishing supplies just cause they are in a city or not near water when you may have to leave that area entirely blah blah blah so on so forth.

Also there's plenty of lightweight single person tents out there that i would gladly carry with me if I was alone. I Consider a Bug out bag no matter the location the same as a Backpackers bag with some additions.

If you wouldn't mind Id love to know whats in your bag and how much it weights. I always enjoy looking at other peoples kits.

It's a good question. I've grappled with the same questions. When I entered the study of survival, I laid out a list of things for my bug out bag, and I have since refined the list a thousand times. I am still refining as my knowledge and training increases. Have you tried to do this? If you've looked at a lot of different products, then undoubtedly you've discovered that you must make compromises. If you haven't made major compromises, then sleep on it and come back here in 24 hours.

I think what some people are trying to say above is that in an urban environment, there will be particular material around such that you would not need certain things in your survival pack. As someone implied above (and I agree), shelter material is low priority for an urban bug out bag. What the heck is an urban bug out bag anyway, and does anybody here seriously walk around with one? What I mean is that for people traveling in an urban environment, there are major compromises one has to make. Walking around with a tent, even a small one, in an urban environment (walking around to business meetings, etc.) is super impractical for everybody that I know. I can imagine walking around with a small urban survival "kit" at the most.

No offense to anyone, but if you can't figure out how to make a shelter from material in an urban disaster zone, then you need to work more on your knowledge and training, and less on the stuff in your bag.

Ireckon - I have refined my gear so much i barely have any anymore. My access weight comprises mostly of single use items such as food water first aid such so on.

An Urban Bug Out Bag Is the same concept as a bug out bag just in a urban setting. Its not carried 24/7 what is carried 24/7 is a get home bag. The difference is, from what I understand and what I follow, Bug out bag is left home and used to "bug out" hence leave town and live off what your bag contains. A Get home bag is a lighter bag for people who are concerned with how long their commutes are who may have to travel by foot or car threw a disaster towards their home. There for the Get home bag is used during long travel towards home with short rest periods including sleeping. A bug out bag is to pick up life and move it in a hurry to a safe spot to live there for a long period of time with the possibility of never being able to return home.