The Gun Counter

Just checking out the ARRL Southwestern Division Convention (ham radio) coming up in a couple of weeks and found these folks listed as confirmed exhibitors. Bug Out Bagz. I don't know anything about them and thus will not endorse either way. Just a link for those folks who might be interested.

Kind of spendy compared the ones at Emergency Essentials. Honestly, I think it's better to roll your own. Tends to be cheaper, and you know exactly what's in your kit. Most folks seem to get these, immediately toss them in the closet, and consider themselves prepared. Hopefully they don't get to find out just how "basic" some of these kits really are.

+1 on roll your own. Especially for Amateur Radio types as they will need to customize any way for the batteries and accessories for their particular radios.

It also helps if you have a military background (with mil-surp gear that can be modded) and friends in the EMT and LE communities that can help supplement your stuff.

My approach is to start with my entire vehicle as a "bug out bag" and modular packs/boxes in side depending on the situation/mission. I always have at least one pack (per person) with bare essentials (camelbak, weather gear, basic food and first aid) that we can throw on if we have to move to foot transportation.

If I have time I can load the bikes up on a bike rack and give us an intermediate mode of transportation between motorized and foot. With additional gear attached to the bikes.

If you want more info on building your own bug-out bag, Zombie Squad has a chunk of their forum dedicated to it here. My "Oh, *&%!" grab & go bag is here.

some good thoughts on SHTF prep
http://gsiep.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html

suggested items for a ready pack
http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/camping
http://www.traderscreek.com/expanded_hi ... k_list.asp
http://www.nasar.org/nasar/downloads/NA ... 1_2004.pdf

of course your needs vary depending on length of stay, terrain, season, etc

I've been planning on sorting through all that stuff to see how much info is duplicate or contradictory but haven't gotten around to it yet.