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5lb Bug Out for under $45

Friday, March 8, 2013 5:58

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Margaret Ling with BOB

After watching Doomsday Preppers episode, “Escape from New York,” I was amazed—and not in a good way—that NYC prepper Margaret Ling thought it necessary to carry a Bug Out Bag that weighted 30% of her body weight around with her 24/7. A Bug Out Bag or Go Bag is a necessity many of us do have on hand and if you’re lucky enough to have a car, many folks may stash one in their vehicle for easy access. I can understand Ling’s desire to be always prepared, but carrying such a weight and such a high profile bag is simply ridiculous.

I have neither the desire to put such a target on my head, nor do I have a car to stash a BOB in. But, I never leave home without my survival kit—it fits easily into my whatever bag I happen to use, whether it be a backpack or my pocketbook and it weighs less than 5 pounds. I’m sure those nay-sayers out there are saying, how could you have everything you need in such a small space. Admittedly I don’t have everything covered, but neither does Margaret Ling in her massive bag. Nor do you need to have “everything” to be properly prepped for what life may throw at you.

My BOB…my everyday BOB

I have everything I need to survive—either a disaster or a day at work—minus food and water. However, I do have a means to purify water and the wherewithal to obtain food. All the bases of water purification, first aid, shelter, navigation, and hunting/fishing are included. And, all the supplies cost less than $45. The multi-tool and my pocketknife, along with other items that I routinely carry in my day-to-day bag aren’t included in the $45 pricetag. My trusty pocketknife cost maybe $12 and the multi-tool is a fairly decent one, and that was $15. My other day-to-day things, lip balm, hand salve, essential oil antibacterial blend and hand sanitizer are all homemade, DIY and have a low cost per item.

An overview of what my BOB contains.

Many of the items in the kit are from things I already have around the house, and with the exception of the fishing kit and pencil case, I didn’t have to purchase anything individually. The most expensive items within the kit were the titanium spork ($9), multi-use pocket knife ($3), water purifications straw ($9), jeweler’s loop ($5), and a canvas pencil case that houses it all ($6). My estimated cost for everything else in the kit is a percentage of the cost for the item for my home. I’m also sure you can cut the overall cost of the kit in other ways, but that’s part of the beauty of the kit—adapt it to your own needs.

The total weight, 4.8 pounds of gear is a total for all the survival gear I carry daily. That number includes my multi-tool, assorted knives, a repurposed make-up bag with my first aid kit and assorted oddments, my hand salve and lip balm, my keys and my survival kit. Weighed on its own, my survival kit weighs 1 pound 13 ounces to be precise. The remaining weight is from my knives, keys, and oddment bag which contains the first aid kit, which itself weighs 3.5 ounces. All told: my gear weighs barely 5 pounds.

The following list is not gospel. It’s a guide. It’s tailored for me with my own personal needs. Use this as a guide and adapt to suit your own needs. Also, since I know I purchased some items some time ago, I know putting a kit like this together might cost a tad more—but I’m convinced your overall cost shouldn’t be much more than $45-50.

Make use of small zip locks,
small containers (pill containers are awesome),
Altoids or mint tins,
& with some practice you can get your gear
in a small space in no time.

One more note, before giving you the list: don’t shop at prepper-geared sites. Often, places that cater to preppers, jack up prices. The only sites that hubby and I frequent that you could consider prepper sites, but are more geared for outdoorsmen, are Sportsman Guide and Cheaper than Dirt. But, they also jack up their prices on certain prepper gear. So, where to get preps? Anywhere from the local supermarket and 99-cent store. Check thrift shops and ransack your house to see what you have that can be used. Repurpose whatever you can. The rings I have ear-marked for my portable camp saw, are actually heavy-duty, stainless steel keyrings. I found a stainless steel adjustable ring holding together a mess of elastic hair bands and I thought in a survival situation I can certainly use that for something. I reused metal spools from a busted, hand-held sewing machine for the thread in my DIY sewing kit and used an extra to keep 4 feet of brass wire secure.

See what you can commandeer or pick up for no cost. I’m not advocating theft, but using your smarts to get freebies. After purchasing a flashlight from COAST, I noted a small insert in the package that noted a free flashlight for filling out a survey. I filled out the survey and got the best damned flashlight I’ve ever owned. My husband works at a hospital and often, when emptying his pockets before doing the wash, I come across unused, medical gloves and unopened/unused medical masks. Needless to say, I made good use of those items.

Finally, don’t throw out your Altoids tins. You can use them for a variety of things—from fire starter kits to first aid kits to fishing kits to sewing kits. You can also use ‘em to keep other smalls in order.

2lb Survival Kit

The kit is housed in a cloth, MEASURE pencil case—use something sturdy, preferably not plastic or vinyl. I like canvas because you can wipe it down with a waterproofing agent (beeswax) or find one, like mine, that’s water resistant.
Attached to the zipper is my handy-dandy titanium multi-tool spork

Inside the kit, starting from top right to left, counterclockwise:

2 medical grade face masks
3 lengths of twine: 21 feet, 14 feet, and 7 feet respectively
compass
razor knife
eyeglass repair kit
black permanent marker
garbage bag (the white rectangle beneath marker, razor knife, and eyeglass repair kit)
4 feet of plastic wrap folded neatly but securely, inside a small zip lock
work gloves
meds—aspirin, non-drowsy allergy medication, oregano oil, astragalus and turmeric; the herbs are for antibacterial, antiviral, and antibiotic properties; the astragalus and turmeric capsules, when opened, can help staunch bleeding
sewing kit
firestarter kit
2 emergency blankets
1 emergency poncho
soap sheets

(in center, starting from left, counterclockwise)

electrical tape
jeweler’s magnifying loop
beeswax based homemade lip balm (small rectangular tin)
2 AAA batteries (for my mini 100 lumen LED flashlight)
water purification straw
multi-function pocket knife
pocket saw + 2 metal rings
adjustable metal ring

The kit is housed in a cloth pencil case purchased at the Strand Bookstore. I’m sure you can find a cheaper one or use a large make-up case. Be sure to use a cloth bag since a plastic or vinyl one might burst. Items that might be damaged if they were to get wet, I seal in small sandwich sized or jewelry sized zip locks. To further ward off the weather, even though the kit is water resistant it’s not waterproof, I carry extra plastic bags with me and pop the whole survival kit in plastic if rain, sleet, or snow threatens. I also have a few rubber-bands holding things securely, and those always come in handy.

It will take a little ingenuity and a little practice, but you can get all the above items to fit with little to no trouble.

Fishing Kit

After reading an article about preps for less than $5, I picked up a fishing kit at a local Walmart for $4 and realized, after getting it home, I could get double or triple duty out of the gear included in the kit. I ransacked my office and found a small plastic, divided container that housed paper clips and push pins. The container had been a freebie at a local Toy Fair. I dumped the office supplies and commandeered the case. The compartments safely stow:

4 large fishing hooks,
3 medium hooks,
3 small hooks,
an assortment of sinkers.

I repurposed an old spool and wound it with 21 feet of 20 pound fishing line, securing the line with a piece of tape. The line doesn’t fit inside the plastic case, so the whole thing goes compactly in a plastic sandwich bag.

Sewing Kit

Again, ransacking the house, I found everything I needed to make up my own sewing kit. After seeing a portable sewing kit for sale online for $5, I thought I could make my own DIY kit from my extensive supply of sewing notions. The kit found a home in an old jewelry box. The kit itself includes:

spool of blue thread
2 spools of black thread
2 spools of white thread
assorted safety pins
assorted straight pins (at least 8)
3 sewing needles of varying sizes
a heavy-duty, glover’s needle

Years ago, Sportsmans Guide had a special deal on household craft needles. I found 4 sets of 4 needles for $5. The majority of needles are too large for my sewing kit, with the exception of the glover’s needle. The set included heavy duty needles for canvas, leather, the glover’s needle, and a curved mattress needle. In my experience, the glover’s needle works wonders for everything from heavy canvas to denim to burlap to leather. I’m also certain that if necessary, it can be sterilized and used as a lance or to sew flesh.

Fire Kit

Into a repurposed Altoids tin I glued (and further secured with tape) a match striker beneath the lid. The kit itself contains:

wooden matches
a tea light
6 feet of cotton twine
6 cotton balls, each dunked in melted beeswax
a magnesium stick and scraper

In addition to my survival kit, I always carry my freebie COAST flashlight, along with a few other items and my oddment bag. I don’t leave home without:

My trusted pocketknife
a multi-tool
keyring with an extra flint and a whistle
my homemade, beeswax based hand salve
my homemade, beeswax based lip balm
homemade oil-based bug repellent
homemade alcohol based hand sanitizer—can be used as a bug repellent
my oddment bag

Oddment Bag

dental floss
stick of 30 SPF sunscreen
allergy relieving eye drops
lubricating eye drops
¼ ounce eye-dropper bottle of essential oils for first aid use (a homemade mixture of essential oils of lavender, patchouli, oregano, rosemary, sage and tea tree)
a 1/24 ounce bottle of clove essential oil— for toothache
bottle of aspirin, anti-diarrhea medication, and non-drowsy allergy medicine
an extra sewing kit
3 elastic hair bands
an extra zip lock and a few sandwich bags
Q-tips
5 assorted tea bags
10 packs of sugar
First aid kit

First Aid Kit

3 extra large, latex-free band-aids
4 large fabric band-aids
14 regular band-aids
10 small band-aids
4 fabric, knuckle band-aids
4 extra small band-aids
3 blister band-aids
2 waterproof band-aids
2 advance care band-aids (particularly useful for drawing off minor infections)
20 butterfly closures (can also be used in place of surgical tape to secure band-aids)
4 tums
2 vinyl gloves

For minor cuts, scrapes, and minor wound care, I often use the hand salve or oil-based bug repellant, after cleaning the area with my hand sanitizer. Both the repellent and sanitizer are in repurposed spray pen-sized bottles. For more bothersome injuries, including bruises and sprains, a few drops of the essential oil blend can be used.

I often go to my survival kit or my oddment bag for everything from tightening a screw on my eyeglasses to sewing a loose button. My first aid kit and antibacterial homemade remedies have brought relief on hikes, as well as an intense day of paper cuts thanks to grading and Xeroxing.

And, best of all, my gear fits into my bag without weighing too much. All told, my supplies way about 5lbs. I do have to do a little thinking about what kind of bag I bring out with me– to work, to do errands, to have fun. My goal is to always have my little BOB with me, but of course on some occasions (especially when going out for fun) BOB won’t fit into my special occasion purses. So, I pull out my barest essentials and take those. I don’t ever leave home without some gear.

Of course, to make good use of the gear, you need to have a little ingenuity and some basic survival skills. You’ll need to know how to use a compass, a multi-tool, and a handsaw. You need to know a basic shelter can be constructed from some tree limbs, assorted leaves, sticks, and your handy dandy emergency blankets. You’ll need to know what to do with the fishing kit, know how to make a snare out of the twine, and how to start a fire using the fire kit. I hate having to note that, but if you’re the type that doesn’t realize each item in your BOB or your survival kit has to have double or triple duty, then you might as well carry a massive bag like that chick from Doomsday Preppers. I hope I never need to use my gear in a disaster, but I take great comfort knowing that I have the gear in the event of a disaster—and even greater comfort that I know how to use every item in my arsenal.

2013-03-07 15:48:50

Source: http://www.green-and-growing.com/2013/03/5lb-bug-out-for-under-45.html

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