Worst Case Scenario Disaster Pack (1 Viewer)

[FJTex]

in light of the Tornadoes that hit the midwest, Katrina, the Tsunami in Indonesia and other natural disasters that seem to be ocurring more and more frequently (if you turn this in to a "Global Warming thread i'll kill you) i'm putting together a Backpack for that "just incase" situation. many of us already carry supplies for the trail that are pretty well rounded up to and including camp showers etc. unfortunately not all of us have the gigantic room or desire to equip for full out nuclear war. Below i've listed what i keep in my Backpack for the just in case emergency. i tried to be as well rounded as possible covering as many bases as possible while not going overboard and keeping in mind this is done with almost no budget. i'll be posting pics soon. if you have any ideas for additional stuff that you know you'd need in theat worst case of scenarios please add it to the list.

i carry a standard backpack by Eddie Bauer, nothing super uber crazy but well made with lots of storage considering its size.

it contains:

1 pair "Propper" work pants (made by Military BDU supplier) made of ripstop Nylon. (they're relativly cheap if you dont own any ~$20 at an army surplus store. The fabric is hard to destroy. The ankle has pull ties so that if so desired you can keep mud sand etc out of your boots easier, or you can pull them up to the knee and use em as shorts if its hot. Button fly instead of zipper for stronger construction. cargo pockets, double heavy stitching. they're a pretty well thought out piece of clothing)

1 tank top t-shirt 100% cotton

1 regular white undershirt 100% cotton

1 pull over fleece sweatshirt

1 rain pancho (when combined with fleece makes a decent cold weather jacket in an emergency)

1 pair light cotton socks

1 pair insulated socks

2 pair underwear (hey, its worth having backup with some things)

1 full size bath towel

1 hand towel

1 pair of sneakers (fit in a backpack a LOT easier than boots)

2 disposable razors

1 bottle of Purell hand sanitizer

1 travel can of shaving cream

1 travel shampoo bottle

1 spool dental floss

1 toothbrush

1 travel tube of toothpaste

1 travel container of Q-tips (30 count)

1 mini deoderant stick

1 can opener

3 Sterno canned cooking fuel cans (hey, you wanna rub stick be my guest)

1 box of strike anywhere matches (250 ct.)

1 plain jane zippo lighter (try lighting anything with matches when its windy, and again, somthings are worth redundancy)

8 AA batteries

1 mini MAGLITE (i also carry a larger one in the truck, but in this application the need for space efficenty is obvious)

$250-500 local currency (USD for most of us) in small bills (1's-5's are far better to barter with)

1 Smith & Wesson 911 Emergency Rescue Knife (i prefer S&W or Benchmade Knives, the S&W in particular have an extremely thick shank and can actually be used for prying without voiding the warranty. this knife in particular has a fully serrated blade and will cut through anything pretty quickly, i know from exp. it will cut a seatbelt in one pass. it also includes a striker for breaking glass)

1 Liter of water (i dont reccomend storing bottled water in the bottle as the plastic begins to break down within a month (bad for long term storage) again, army surplus soulution is a good one, get a canteen, the military thinks about this stuff a lot.)

2 MRE's (Meal Ready to Eat) (army surplus supply) (they arent good food, but they're well rounded and make sure you get the vital nutrients you need in an emergency situation)

2 cans of Tuna in water (again not great tasting to most people, but protien is fuel)

1 mini USB flash drive with important document info and personal info (name, residence, age, health care, bank account info, any important information that might get destroyed if you loose everything. i know some of you would question the safety of having one of these with all that info, but if you leave it unmarked and keep it in a safe spot and encrypt the files on it (its not that hard) then nobody is likely to find it much less know what it is or how to use it.)

1 mini first aid kit (if you want to pack you own let me know i can help with that ;p )

1 roll of toilet paper (unless you prefer you bare hands. )

Ziplock OneZip bags- i took everything in the aforementioned list and packed them airtight in these bags, the obvious reason is water proofing, additionally they compress the contens and make for more efficent storage. also if you ever need a bag for anything, hey, you've got several.
i like the OneZip type as they are a definite seal and tend to be more durable IMO.

i'm sure theres stuff that can be added here so lets hear it!

 

[Ian Rogers]

I would at least add MSR minworks water pump, it cleans down to 3 microns. You never know about the water after a disaster. I would replace the stove with a ultra lite propane backpacking one. I would add a 20* down sleeping bag and at least a tarp(if you want to be mobile) or a tent if you don't mind the weight. I would replace cans of tuna for the tuna in a bag( its lighter and easer to open) I would ditch the MRE they suck, Change that out for at least 3 Power/ cliff bars and a bag of granola. One film canister full of Advil, one with a multi vitamin, one with vitamin C. I might replace the min MAG light for an LED head lamp, they are super easy to use and last forever also they are lite. You need to think about weight, if its heavy you will have a harder time moving it around.

 

[FJTex]

i'm not talking about astove, just the sterno burners. i've heard the suggestion about the LED head light, and it is a good one, i might switch out, but tbh the mini MAG is so tired and durable and its also functional for other stuff too so i may keep it. the power bars are also a good idea, but if i get stuck someplace for 2-3 days i need a meal, i'm not a big guy or anything, but i gots to eat, i'll prolly add the power bars too. as far as most of the other things you mentioned, while i'd love to have a water pump like the one you described i'm working with a small pack how big is that filter? its not anything that would accomadate a sleeping bag, additionally that sort of thing you can keep in the truck. i'm trying to kit this out for the natural disaster as well as the "i fell in an icy river" or "i'm stuck in the middle of nowhere (or Nevada)" type situations, where you need somthing immediate to fix the problem and a way to get fixed if need be. in natural disaster situations if you dont have shelter you can usually fashion sonthing out of debris in a short period of time. i do keep a sleeping bag tho, its just in the truck already. also Vitamins and advil are good ideas, jsut keep in mind that they do expire and while not dangerous, when expired they're not really effective. also i'm not really thinking in terms of hiking around. this is somthing taht i think every person should have setup and prepared in an easily accessible place. while a tent would be great i just dont have the room to put it in a bag, but i'll have one in the truck soon. also on the water, i'm getting 2 Jerrycans for water (5.3gal each) to keep in the truck, so hopefully if and when i get into a disaster situation water wont be quite so much on an immediate concern.

 

[stevezero]

Make paper copies of your drivers license, health insurance card(both sides), perscription card(both sides), and an emergency contact list (in order of importance). Laminate those, and throw them in your documentation baggies.

for the first aid kit, try to add a few 40 inch triangular bandages. They can be made into slings, splints, and all kind of stuff. Maxi pads ( for the females, as well as they make great pressure pads for controlling massive bleeding).

Duct tape(millions of uses), and extra TP....you can NEVER have too much TP....

Water purification tablets or a hiking purifier.

single edge razor blades(plastic package of 100).

 

[SINCITY100]

I would add a minimum of four 55 gallon heavy-duty garbage bags ( for a host of uses, including water collection and/or protection from rain) and a small container ( 4-5 oz ) of fresh liquid bleach for additional emergency water purification.

I would also pack a book covering basic survival and a one on edible/medicinal vegetation in your area.

I have been compiling a MAJOR disaster/emergency kit for some time now and I`m almost done. My kit is heavily equipped with items for water procurement/purification, high calorie/fat/protein ( per oz ) no-cook food products , and for building a quick but sturdy temporary shelter.

 

[offroad_nomad]

You'll need enough food, water and shelter to last you, any family members and pets for at least 72 hours, probably longer.

Your bag should have seasonal clothes in it. If you live in parts of the country that experience cold temperatures, ditch the cotton. Go with synthetic or wool for colder temps. Cotton kills in cold weather.

Topo maps and compass.

Personal kits vary from person to person, male and female.

Wilderness survival is one of the skills I help teach within my SAR team. It's always fun during field exercises, when time permits, to try the latest "Survivorman" technique.

 

[rusty_tlc]

A quote from the Sierra Ski patrol;
"The best dressed corpses in the Sierra are wearing cotton."
Cotton is not survival clothing.

Razor and shaving cream? Your kidding right? Replace that with booze, I can almost garentee a stiff belt will imporve your spirits more than a shave. If not booze is good for barter, starting fires, cleaning wounds.

X2 on the trash bags, I cannot name the number of uses they have.

The emergency thermal blankets are worth the extra space/weight, throw out the deoderant and add a couple of those. I carry a space blanket, it serves double duty as a blanket and a tarp.

A couple of candles would be a good addition, they can help with starting a fire as well as providing light.

Replace the full size towel and hand towel with one medium size towel. Redundency isn't always a good thing.

Add 100' - 200' of parachute cord, it has a gazillion uses.

I too would replace the sterno with a light weight backpacking stove. Sterno dosen't provide many BTU's for it's weight/bulk.

If you use MRE's get the mil spec type not the commercial type. I can live a whole day on one Mil MRE, they are loaded with calories and I have a big enough fat reserve to carry me for a while.

 

[Ian Rogers]

the mini-works MSR water pump is about the size of my hand and is vary easy to clean.

 

[BC_FJC]

Here is a link to the Canadian goverments push on being prepared http://www.getprepared.ca/. Vary basic but a good starting place.

 

[MarkReye1]

I live in Hurricane Alley ( SE Florida). No one mentioned firearms or ammo. When hurricane season comes, I stock up on lots of shotgun ammo, slugs, buckshot, Goose loads, birdshot.

I have lots of 22 rimfire ammo. Water, fuel and first aid kit work as well. Tarps, Parachute Cord and Duct Tape are useful for leanto shelters.

Water cans, and fuel cans for the truck are a must. Freeze dried foods are good as well. Peanut Butter is high in protein. Must have potable water.

Mark

 

[FJTex]

guys keep in mind this is just a small backpack here, cant fit a .22 on my backpack, no room for thermal blankets. trashbags are good idea, but i also have sevearl 1 gallon and 2 gallon bags taht i've packed stuff in. 100-200' of parachute cord jsut wont fit, but the truck has other solutions for that sort of thing. ofcourse eacher persons pack will vary, this was just a starter guide. thanks for the link BJC.

keep suggestions for survival gear that goes on your truck in a separate thread, this is just for waht you can carry on your back. as far as firearms i will have a 12-gauge pumpaction mossberg available in the truck, everyone respects the sound of a pump clearing the chamber

 

[SINCITY100]

Since this thread is titled worst case scenario disaster pack , Then I might suggest that you get a bigger friggin backpack

IMO the things that you are carrying are not for a worst case anything...They are just "basic" items for a very short-duration stay in the outdoors.

Unless you feel that your pack is complete, I think if you want more help here, maybe you could at least list the size/capacity of your current backpack so we can at figure out what else you can cram in there.

If you are gonna split from your truck for any real time period, I personally would be looking for a pretty damn big pack to carry as much gear as possible (or as needed). I would simply keep a smaller daypack/duffle bag packed into the "big" backpack for use on shorter trips away from base camp.


Dont get me wrong... I think you have a very good starter list for things to have with you in a time of need, and hopefully it gets others here thinking about a "what if " situation a bit more, but you did say worst case scenario... right ?

 

[Pete483]

My little survival kit is the following:

Altoids tin, top polished to be a signal mirror
Fishing line and hooks
Wire for making snares
Waterproof matches wrapped in tin foil
Razor blade
Wire-saw thing, the kind with the key-chain rings on the ends
Little compass
iodine tablets


This stays on the person, outside of the kit, I carry a Surefire 6P, a Gerber tool, and a CRKT knife.

In a bag:
Water, camelbak 100oz bladder
Space Blanket
550 cord, ~50 ft
Food (choose your type), if you're taking MREs, strip them down. Open the bag, take everything out of the boxes, ditch the stuff you don't need, and shove 3 MREs into the bag from one MRE.
Power gels, or other type of electrolyte replacer
several pairs of socks
Camping stove
Water filter
candles
big, clear trash bags (can be used to gather water through several techniques. If you find yourself in cold water, you can get inside them to help prevent hypothermia).
magnesium fire starter
lighters
real signal mirror
whistle
big, bright piece of cloth to mark your location
chemlights
two 9-volt batteries (keep them wrapped up separate, they will light your bag on fire otherwise). If you snap them together, they will get real hot real fast and anyone with FLIR (ie police or USCG helicopter will see it)
First aid kit
Soap and a small towel (a small pack of baby wipes is nice too)

Put other stuff in as the conditions require.

In a small, emergency bag, I would ditch some of the comfort items you have. None of them are bad things to have, just things I would add to a larger bag if I had room, not to a small day pack.

100% cotton clothes are a terrible idea. When you sweat, they will get wet and stay wet. If it rains, you will get wet and stay wet. If you wash them, ditto.

The BDU pants aren't bad, but stay away from the winter weight and old style 100% cotton ones. The newer hot weather ones that are 50/50 will stay dryer. Use the pockets on them to carry the things you absolutely need. Only put stuff in the pack that you could survive without.

Bring as many pairs of non-cotton socks as you can fit. No need for a second pair of footwear. If you shoes are wet, put on dry socks. Wet shoes won't dry in your bag anyways. EDIT - Almost forgot, Go out and actually practice using this stuff. Don't let the first time you try out a signal mirror be when you actually need it. Make sure you keep everything in it in good shape. 1st Aid stuff expires so change it out as you need to.

 

[Mark W]

I have to agree... that is not a survival pack. Talking about "worst case"? Loose the shaving kit and most of the extra clothes. You can live in dirty clothes. Forget the personal hygine stuff. You can live dirty too.

That's most of what you have listed there. Deoderant???? You can definitely survive while stinky!

Two cans of tuna and two MREs? You want more food than that. Try stripping several MREs down to what you really need... basically loose the accessory packs and repack it all tighter. You can cut the space used in about half. Forget can food. Get some life boat rats to use after your MREs run out. Dry dog food stores well and while not particularly fun to eat... You said "worst case". You can munch on it all day long as you hike or hide. And no one is gonna steal it from you unless things are REALLY out of control.

A couple of milspec canteens will hold water practically forever and won't split if they freeze. Iodine tablets or a small bit of bleach (keep it in film canisters) will purify water, quickly, effectively and inexpensively.

I basically consider minimags to be totally obsolete now. You can get more light, less weight, longer battery life and equal sturdiness at comparable or lower prices with LED lighting.

Travel packs of tissue take less space than rolls of TP.

Comprehensive first aid kit should be a major part of the kit. Don't short change that one.

Leatherman or similar tool is a requirement IMHO.

Sunblock and bug dope belong in most kits.

Signaling device(s)... mirros, strobes, flares, or...

"Space blanket". Plastic "tube tent". Even a real bivy tent and a thin but insulated "blanket. Snares and rudimentary fishing gear (line and hooks basically)

Lightweight rain pants and rain jacket do a better job of keeping you dry and also can be used as very effective insulation layers in colder situations. Of course a pancho can be rigged as a (small) tarp too.
Self defense can be a major factor depending just what sort of "worst case" you are talking about.

What you listed up there is not really a survivl kit. More of a walkabout kit with a couple of specific additions (your flash drive for example and the cash).

Without getting into a laundry list, I carry far more than that in a combination of a fanny pack and a daypack/hydration bladder which nests nicely on top of the fanny and a fishing vest full of pockets that goes on underneath it. This is kept in the rig for spur of the moment hikes which take me away from the rig. Toss in some cash and "paperwork, replace the 44 mag revolver with the 40SW compact semiauto and I'm ready for natural disaster, civil unrest, whatever kind of silliness in town or on the road.


Mark...

 

[RHINO]

yeah like mark says if its worst case scenereo a backpack is much more than you need and prolly wont be carried everywhere you go. my basic survival kit is a pouch the size of an eyeglass holder.

ditch the zippo for a disposable. lighter fluid does evaporate, and a zippo will go dry.

here is my basic pouch carried wherever i go:

2 heavy duty freezer bags
water purification (tincture of iodine 2%)
space blanket
one roll dental floss
4ft colored surveyors tape
pea less plastic whistle
paraffin coated striike anywhere wooden matches
disposable butane lighter
magnesium block firestarter
8 cotton balls saturated in petroleum jelly in film case
credit card size magnify lens
flashlaight on lanyard with extra batteries(date marked)
extra carbon steel knife with sheeth(not cheesy survival knive)

in a larger shaving kit bag i carry:

3ft clear plastic 1/4" drinking tube(for collecting water in small spaces)
collapsable platipus water container
2 55 gal barrel liners
heavy duty space blanket
woll or syn stocking cap
cotton bandana
100ft of 550 cord
sightable signal mirror
homemade first aid kit
power pack (caffiene and effedrine)
compass
2 candy or nutrtion bars.

the small pouch is the basic to stay alive, its always with me, it can be packed into the larger pouch which is in the cruiser all the time.
this kit is just for survival mode. most survival situations last 3-4 days. for the end of the world scenario i have a whole nother set-up that can be thrown in the cruiser in short order.

 

[mj1015]

Wow Wow Great advice.


I only have a few of points to hammer on.

Cotton kills.

Lose the mini mag, my small LED burns for many many hours on one AA.

http://www.pocketlights.com/infinity_ultra.asp

A modern light weight sleeping bag will compress to about the size of a softball. My main sleeping bag is a nice down model but my back up/stow away is a:

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/CAMP168-47330-1968.html

I got mine cheap on ebay and have no bad feelings about compressing the hell out of it and storing it. A bag is wonderful thing to have when hypothermia comes calling.

Lose the sterno and get a camp stove if you feel you must. Multi-Fuel a giant plus.

http://zenstoves.net/Petrol.htm

When I backpack I mostly use a "coke can" stove that burns Alcohol but that is just for heating water for dehydrated food and making coffee.

Included my first aid kit I have some wonderful codine based meds to get thru that real bad day when you just have to get something important done.

Water purification system. I have a Katadyn Pocket filter. It is a little heavy but has a field cleanable ceramic filter (After having a water filter fail two times at very inconvienent times I figured this was the way to go). I hear good things about the MSR waterworks mentioned above. I also carry water purification tablets.

Tarp. I have a:

http://www.integraldesigns.com/prod...=7378347&CFTOKEN=43005992&mainproducttypeid=1

It compresses to small and there are many makers of real light weight tarps. Being dry is very very good.

Fire, Fire, Fire. Make sure you can make it, fast. Machines break and fluid drys up. I keep a:

http://www.amazon.com/Light-My-Fire-Swedish-FireSteel/dp/B000C04626

along with a bottle jammed full of cotton balls saturated with Vasoline.

I keep a day pack rigged and close at hand to go for general goofing around and as a gotta have it bug-out bag. I have pretty much carried some version of this thru some real crappy places.

Probably a good place to start your reading is:

http://www.amazon.com/98-6-Degrees-Keeping-Your-Alive/dp/1586852345

The writer is a bit of a hippy, but real solid info on getting thru that first and very important 72 hours.

 

[mj1015]

And by the way parachute cord (550) cord will fit in just about anywhere and is great stuff.

If you can carry shaving cream you can carry a space blanket, or better yet dump the shaving cream (along with the towels, deoderant, Q tips and razors) and add a space blanket.

Dump the tuna cans, it is quite a while before your body starts eating it's own protein. Better fuel and lighter to boot are instant rice, noodle, or grain dinners, couscous etc that you find in the grocery store. What you do is heat up your water and put the food in the water or vice versa depending on the packaging and let it sit for a while then chow. The directions will say to boil for X number of minutes, but just let it sit in the hot water (or in a jam, not hot water) for a while. This stuff is light, cheap and stores a long time. You can go for a really long time on very little food, but a nice helping of pasta or rice will make you feel a lot better about your adventure than a can of tuna. A couple of the above meals will take you a long way in a pinch.

 

[FJTex]

well alot of this has been very insightful... and eventually i will be getting a larger pack to carry more of this stuff, as it stands i've invested literally $5 or so in this thing, its mostly stuff i already had, you see MY worst case scenario atm is not having the budget to kit out really well for the worst case scenario! but all in due time. as far as pack size i'm not sure of its volume, but its very similar to this one

http://www.eddiebauer.com/eb/product.asp?product_id=31130&nv=5|21474|24451&lview=&cm_cg=C24451&tid=&c=&sc=&lp=v1i008

 

[mj1015]

well alot of this has been very insightful... and eventually i will be getting a larger pack to carry more of this stuff, as it stands i've invested literally $5 or so in this thing, its mostly stuff i already had, you see MY worst case scenario atm is not having the budget to kit out really well for the worst case scenario! but all in due time. as far as pack size i'm not sure of its volume, but its very similar to this one

http://www.eddiebauer.com/eb/product.asp?product_id=31130&nv=5|21474|24451&lview=&cm_cg=C24451&tid=&c=&sc=&lp=v1i008

That should be big enough for a bug-out bag. I go for 2 or 3 days with just a large daypack on a regular basis, even here in wonderland just for fun (and I carry a sleeping pad for my old tired bones)

Once you get it set up how you think you want it, try taking it camping and only use that stuff. You probably don't need as much stuff as you think and a little practice will go a long way in honing your skills with your stuff, chucking the stuff you don't need and seeing what stuff can't cut the mustard.

Ebay, sierratradingpost.com, www.rei.com/outlet/, your local surplus store, etc etc ect are your friends.

Make your own stuff, my Alcohol stove is made from a couple of Fosters cans, burns rubbing alcohol OK, denatured better and boils water very well for cooking.

http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm

Lots of websites devoted to making your own gear.

http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html

I have slept many a cold night under a shelter made out of a military ponch and parachute (550) cord with a ponch liner for a sleeping bag.

http://www.vtarmynavy.com/poncho-liner-surplus.htm

Can't afford a water filter? Boiling works fine if you have the time and fuel, if you don't have the time or fuel there are tons of different water purification products. Just remember most have a limited shelf life once the container is opened. Right now I use a type with individual sealed tablets, then again I tend to use them on a fairly regular basis.

http://www.potableaqua.com/


Use your imagination and chuck that shaving cream.


Don't forget that a certain level of physical fitness and mental toughness will come into play.

 

[mj1015]

Lots of pretty good info:

http://www.equipped.com/disastertoc.htm

http://www.equipped.com/toc.htm