Captain Dave's Survival Center

Captain Dave's Survival Guide

Step 5: What to Bring With You

Remember, the most important thing to save is your life and the lives of your loved ones. You may loose valuables and items of great sentimental value in a disaster, but if you can escape with your life it is a fair trade. Think of all the 9/11 families who would trade their homes for the lives of their missing family member.

Captain Dave keeps a bug-out bag in the closet. You can keep one in your garage or on a coat hook, anywhere that is convenient. A bug-out bag is the first -- and possibly only -- thing you grab when you're bailing out. When the fire alarm is going off, for example, grab the kids, the bug-out bags and get out.

Bags, you say? Yes, bags. Each member of the family should have his or her own bug out bag. The best bug-out bag is a well-made, medium to large back pack. Unless there is a strong possibility that you will be hiking cross country, Dave does not recommend large backpacking packs with internal or external frames. A sturdy day pack with padded shoulder straps and a waist belt should be enough. This way, you can look casual without raising suspicions.

Bug-Out-Bag Contents

What should you include in your bug-out bag? Ask 100 people and you'll get 100 answers, but here's what Captain Dave suggests:

Must Haves

Nice to Have

At least $500 in cash, including plenty of smaller bills for incidentals and change for tolls and vending machines. Keep in mind that when the power is out, many stores can't use their cash registers and insist on either exact change or to the closest dollar.
Spare or duplicate credit cards with plenty of credit available.
A few spare checks and anything that could be used for ID if you do not have your wallet with you, such as your passport.
A spare set of keys, including car, house, safe-house/survival retreat, storage facility, safe deposit box, etc.
A change of clothes, preferably durable heavy-weight clothes that can stand up to abuse. A poncho for rain protection.
A pair of old, comfortable, already-broken-in shoes that still have some good miles left in them.
At least a quart of water per person.
Water purification tablets
A few MREs or other easily transportable food items, including some quick snack foods.
Prescription or over-the-counter drugs you rely on.
A spare pare of eyeglasses (perhaps your old prescription) and/or contacts and solutions.
A basic first aid kit, including bandages, an ace-type bandage, aspirin or other analgesic, first-aid cream, alcohol pads, etc.
A phone book listing all important numbers, including friends, family, neighbors, work, school, doctor, insurance, etc.
A portable AM/FM radio
A good work knife and/or Swiss army-type knife.
A compass and plenty of maps
Matches and a lighter
For those so inclined, a basic pistol, such as a revolver chambered for .357 or a pistol in 9mm, and at least 50 rounds of ammunition.
A CD back up of your important computer files, including scans of important documents, family pictures, etc.
Cell phone charger

Traveler checks. Gold or silver coins. (Dimes, quarters and half-dollars minted before 1965 contain 90 percent silver.) A gold American Eagle, Maple Leaf or other one-ounce coin may be too big for day-to-day transactions, but smaller gold coins are available.
A bank card for local and national ATMs. (This assumes the electricity is not out.)
A duplicate driver license.
You can stash a spare set in your vehicle for emergencies.
Multiple changes of clothes.
A season-appropriate jacket and other outer gear, such as gloves and hat.
Clothes suitable for layering (Thermals, sweatshirt, etc.).
A couple pairs of extra socks and at least one change of underwear.
Juice boxes or pouches.
Two- to three-liter hydration bladders of water with hands-free bite valves
Powdered drink mixes
Sports bottles with built-in water filters
Backpacking type water filters
Energy bars, candy bars, hard candy
Backpacking style foods, such as gorp, powdered soup mixes, dehydrated food, etc.
Tin cups for cooking in
Unfilled prescriptions you can take to a pharmacy anywhere to be filled.
A duplicate of your standard ophthalmic eye-wear and/or a few pairs of daily or extended-wear contacts.
A more advanced first aid kit, including sutures, antibiotics, splints, pain killers, etc.
A cellular phone.
A police scanner or pocket TV
A Leatherman or similar survival tool.
A large survival or combat knife
A wire saw
A portable GPS
A GPS unit with maps built into your vehicle.
A magnesium fire starter, flint and dry tinder.
Loaded speed loaders or magazines and a comfortable belt and holster.
A rifle and/or shotgun in your vehicle
A flash drive with updates to files mad since your last back up
A laptop computer set up for wireless communications
Solar powered cell phone charger

Remember, your bug-out bag is intended to be the bare minimum required for survival and communications. It is just enough to help you survive for a few days. If the house is on fire, you grab your kids and the BOBs on the way out. If the orange cloud of poisonous gas is being blow your direction, you snatch your BOBs, gas masks and run for the car. But if you have hours or days of notice, you need to bring more.

In addition to your bug-out bag, you should pack your car with a gallon or two of water per person and plenty of food that can be transported without refrigeration and eaten without extensive preparation. Also pack plenty of weather-appropriate clothing, including multiple pairs of comfortable shoes and lots of socks. Use normal luggage and keep these items in your car. If the evacuation goes smoothly, you can unload at the other end. If you run into extreme problems and have to hoof it, then you can abandon your luggage, keeping only your bug out bag.

If you are in a situation where you may need to evacuate for the long term, load every vehicle you have a driver for to maximum capacity and make good use of any trailers or campers. You can fit far more into an RV or camper than you can into your car alone, and you will then have the advantage of always having a place to sleep. Keeping a camper even a small pop-up stocked with food, clothing, bedding and personal hygiene materials will give you a head start when you have been ordered to evacuate in four hours.

If you have identified a safe house or have a retreat, but have not pre-positioned all your supplies, you can keep them loaded onto a trailer. When the time comes, you can hook up and drive out in minutes, but if you need to stay, you just unload the trailer when you need something. This is an excellent approach for storing cases of MREs or buckets of wheat, corn or rice, all of which are heavy and would be time consuming to load. You can also prepare bundles of items such as camping supplies and store them on shelves in the garage. In the event of an emergency evacuation (or a sudden camping trip!), just thrown things into the car or trailer and you are ready in a moment's notice.

Beyond the Bug-Out-Bag

If you are evacuating for an indefinite period and believe that your house and its contents may be destroyed, you should take items in the following categories:

Financial instruments and small valuables, including cash, stock certificates, bonds, jewelry and any gold or silver coins. These are items that are frequently not covered by insurance.
Important paperwork, such as recent bank statements, retirement and investment account, insurance records, marriage and birth certificates, mortgages, vehicle titles, etc. These will make it easier to file claims for lost property, prove your identity, and access your assets.
Items of sentimental and personal value such as photo albums, baby books, family Bible, and things left to you by deceased relatives, etc. In other words, irreplaceable or one-of-a-kind items that you would regret losing for the rest of your life. These items should provide continuity to your past so that you are not starting out entirely from scratch.
Laptop computers, computer hard drives and back up with digital photos and records, palm pilots, iPods, cell phones, etc., so that you can remain in contact with people and pick up with your life where you left off.
Items to increase your comfort while displaced, such as a child's favorite stuffed animal or blanket, your comfortable shoes, your favorite pillow you can't sleep well without, a favorite game or book, etc. Also in this category are clothing items and toiletries, so pack a small suitcase and do not forget rain gear and temperature-appropriate outerwear.
Blankets or sleeping bags and pillows and a tent. You may need to sleep in or near your car, or you may have to make do for a while with temporary shelter. If you don't have a tent, pack a tarp.
Food and water. You may be in your vehicle for hours or days. Worse yet, you may actually be living in or out of your vehicles for days or weeks while you find a temporary or semi-permanent home. If the disaster is localized you don't need to bring as much as you do if it is likely to have long term effects on most of the country. It would be nice to be able to feed your family for at least a week. Food that requires little or no preparation is best.
Weapons and ammunition. Once you load your car with all your valuables, you could be a tempting target for criminals preying on refugees. See the section on weapons during an evacuation. Whether or not all the tales of rape and murder during Katrina were true, it is best to be able to defend yourselves.