My Bug Out Bag Blowout

My Bug Out Bag Blowout.

There seems to be a general conundrum about whether to ‘Bug Out’ or ‘Bug In’ when SHTF.  Both options require significant planning and multiple alternatives, to cover all the 'what if's'.  However, all said and done – what happens when you have to leave, regardless of where you are at any given time? For me, that suggests that while bugging out should be left as a last resort for those who are well located and prepared to shelter in place, the inevitability of needing to leave means a well prepared Bug Out Bag, or BOB, is a sensible idea, regardless of the original plans.

I love making lists, and I love buying stuff, so getting a BOB together was something I absolutely jumped at.  Now, to be totally honest, I can’t say I’m the most judicious person when it comes to buying the latest gadgets and knick knacks.  If my budget allows it, I’ll buy something without too much further consideration beyond a) can I afford it, and b) does it suit the purpose I’m buying it for? This method is how I ended up with a massive Lowepro Fastpack 350 camera backpack that is far too large for me (at 167cm tall) to comfortably wear and access, but dammit, it was only $10 AUD more than the next size down!  Anyway, after reading all the sites, blogs and ‘must have in your bug out bag’ lists, I had a fantastically comprehensive list of everything I could ever possibly need to restart civilisation.  I’d picked out a full sized military style pack that might have been big enough to stuff me into, let alone all my gear, paramilitary style tactical boots, cargo pants and so on.  The list was huge, and this gear was going to cost me thousands. It got me thinking, was there a better way to do this? A cheaper way? How many of those sites were littered with advertisements and links to sales sites to buy all of those ‘must have’ items, and were they really all that ‘must have’?  So, rather belatedly, I thought maybe I should actually ask someone who has had to hump the requirements of life around on their back through some of the nastiest terrain in our inhospitable country before I go and spend all that money on things I may not actually need.

Thankfully for me, prior to his current job, my husband has served in the Australian Army, with on-the-ground war zone experience. Rather than show him all my lists and be laughed at (because inevitably knowing me and my ideas of ‘practicality’, that is what would have happened), I sat down with pen and paper and picked The Man’s brain.  What were first priorities when setting up camp? What were the things you absolutely couldn’t live without when out ‘bush’? What were the things that you took with you that you rarely used, and so on.  The first thing that was pointed out to me, was that my idea of 1-2 litres of water per person, per day in summer in Australia was woefully inadequate.  Secondly, when looking at the ‘pack everything but the kitchen sink list’, The Man made the point of asking: what are the basic necessities when you’re just trying  to survive? How much is all this going to weigh? Can you lift that much? Can you run with that amount of weight in a pack? Have you ever worn a pack? Where are you planning on lugging these things off to? Are all those things going to end up being assets, or slow you down and leave you vulnerable? Needless to say, most of the answers to those questions made me completely rethink how I approached my Bug Out Bag idea, and we ended up compiling briefing of what the bag was intended for, a list of bare necessities, and the military style alternatives that some of us completely inexperienced civilians have no idea about.

Here I’ve included my pared down list of the bare necessities according to the categories my husband suggested.  By comparison, his suggestions (read practical, sensible inclusions/exchanges) are listed alongside.  It certainly gave me some insight into just how inexperienced I’d be in situations like this, and why it is always a good plan to having someone with military experience in your apocalypse survival family. (Oh, and in case you were wondering, the reason I’ve included a bow and arrow in my defence/weaponry is because I’m a long bow archer.)

	My Ideas	His Suggestions
Water	9 x 600ml bottles of water, Life Straw	Camelbak hydration system, army style water canteens, reusable, collapsible water bladders
Food	Homemade/Commercial MRE’s	Emergency Food Bars/Protein Bars
Shelter	Small tent, sleeping bag, rain jacket	Bivvy Bag, Poncho, rope
Heat	Firelighters, lighters, tinder, waterproof matches	Steel and Flint, waterproof matches
Light	Torch, batteries, candles	Wind-up torch, LED headlamp
Defence	Machete, bow, arrows	Hunting knife, pocket knife/tool machete
First Aid	Bandages, non-stick gauze pads, pain killers, tough/fabric bandaids, antiseptics, field dressings, scalpel, suture kit, gloves, tweezers, forceps.	‘sounds about right’
Miscellanea	Hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, boots, pants, long sleeve shirt, gloves, compass, whistle, mirror, pen, paper	Wire, wire saw, rope, fishing kit

So, that should give you an idea of the road I’m wandering along to the construction of my BOB.  Next post, I’m hoping to do a little more analysis about the contents before I start road testing and comparing some of the features I haven’t quite made my mind up about yet.

Until next time :)
KC.

Back from the ...

Well the past three months have been somewhat... challenging.  All things progressing as they should however, I've been jotting down ideas, reading, researching, sewing, crafting, creating and generally trying not to spend money on unnecessary things - easier said that done! But, here we go again on the merry-go round of inspired thoughts :) Look forward to seeing you back soon.

Pondering the beginning of the end...

Over millennia there have been a multitude of different prophecies about the end of the world; the Rapture, Ragnarök, the Mayan apocalypse, the Large Hadron Collider, all stating that in one way or the other, our world as we knew it would come to an end.  But so far... nothing.  There’s been no catastrophic comet collisions, the crust of the earth hasn’t erupted like a pustulent follicle, we haven’t been devoured by mini black holes, nor been invaded by an alien species who have assimilated the bodies of our politicians (although that may be one way of forcefully injecting intelligence into our esteemed representatives?)  Whichever event may have been predicted, it hasn’t happened.  So, how have I been sucked into the whole ‘Lets prepare for the end of the world’ concept?

My background in nursing and a brain that errs on the side of the scientific, logical, analytical conclusion usually preclude me from giving much consideration to these ‘end of the world’ prophecies.  I mean, seriously, how much credit can you give to a statement that the world is going on end on this specific day, at this specific time, from a random person who in all likeliness, isn’t quite right in the head?  Well, a lot, apparently.  And this is something I find fascinating: despite the continual disappointment of the world not ending at the prescribed time, there is a large section of the human population who will devote varying amounts of time, energy and often a large amounts of money to preparing for the end of the world.  Ranging from simply putting a bag over ones head at the appointed time, to having a 3 foot thick concrete walled bunker stocked with 2 years of supplies in the middle of nowhere, why do people fortify themselves this way? Have they thought through the various scenarios? Have they considered the cross-purpose potential of their preparations if something different occurs? Is it something that they will actually use when the time comes, or is it really just a salve to soothe their fear of the unknown in the here and now?

So after watching three seasons straight of The Walking Dead, and indulging in too many disaster films, I found my disgustingly overactive imagination wondering ‘well, what would I actually do?’ Not surprising for someone of my generation, my initial answer to this question was - Google it.

And what a can of worms that was.  Being primarily American sites I was directed to, most of the advice was – ‘guns, lots of guns, and ammunition, and explosives, oh, and maybe a bottle of water’.  Might I add here – not helpful.  In Australia we have tight firearm restrictions and the concept of having 15 loaded semi-automatic rifles in your house for protection is just not going to happen. On the other hand, there was a deluge of information about ‘Bugging Out’ – the concept of taking a bag of supplies (a Bug Out Bag or BOB) to last you 72 hours and enable you to get the hell out of the populated areas to a place you may or may not have prepared in advance.  A fantastic way to spend hundreds of dollars on stuff you’ll probably never use – think miniature survival kits in sardine cans, itty bitty first aid kits, energy nuggets (read chewie lollies), tiny pouches of long life water etc, all stuffed into an expensive military grade backpack.  Problem – I live in Australia, where everything tries to kill you.  I mean it: everything.  The sun, the weather, the country side, the wild life, the plants – if you tried trekking about out here without some decent prior knowledge, you’re not going to make it three days even if your tiny water pouches lasted that long.  Needless to say, I had to find some more useful information.

Right.  Priorities.  How to establish the what’s, why’s, how’s, when’s, where’s, what the ...?  The things your teachers tell you in high school are right - learning to research does come in handy occasionally – especially when it’s for things that aren’t compulsory or work/study related.  Sometimes, it can even be fun (don’t laugh – you’d be surprised!). Anyway, we'll get into that next time.

Until next time :)
KC

By way of introduction.

Hi there!

Admittedly, this is my first attempt at blog writing, so apologies first and foremost. Now, to introduce myself? I'm a 30 year old Registered Nurse from Queensland, Australia.  I'm married to a fellow shift worker, and I have two dogs, a Bull Mastiff x Rottweiler called Bear, a Beagle called Alice, and three cats, Trixie, Theo and Ella.  We don't have children (unfortunately) but subsequently that leaves many other options open for the use of my time. I'm very much a *deep in conversation* '...oh look, squirrel!' sort of person, with a rather eclectic collection of hobbies and interests. I am something of a rambler and my ideas tend to jump around a lot.

Guided by an over active imagination and too much spare time in the wee hours of the morning, my intention for this blog is to chronicle my journey to self sufficiency, or what self sufficiency is possible on a dry 700m2 block of dirt in Australian suburbia. Inspired by watching one too many disaster movies, and three seasons of The Walking Dead in quick succession, I'm hoping to prepare what my imagination considers to be the necessities needed to survive a Zombie apocalypse.  The reality however, will more likely be random collection of thoughts, ideas and half finished projects started whilst procrastinating about said self sufficiency projects.

On the other hand, if half arsed attempts at doomsday prepping aren't really your thing, and you have anything resembling a passing interest in Cosplay, Pop Culture, Conventions, Steampunk, Medieval Reenactment, Sewing, Costuming, Craft, Rockabilly and Vintage Clothing, Dogs, Cats, Photography, Travel, Literature, Movies, Firefly, Archery, Veggie Gardening, Societal Collapse, Bugging Out or Zombies, then I'm pretty sure you'll find something here for your amusement :-)