My 'Bug Out Kit' Build

[StagLefty]

Emergency water... I read a couple threads about water storage, but a LDS buddy of mine said that stored water can get rancid after several years. The subject of the conversation was home storage in the 55-gallon drum version, but I guess for a small kit, it would be easy to rotate several gallons every once in a while, and not all that expensive. I do a lot of pressure canning at home, and too bad mason jars are glass, because I thought that it would be awesome to can up some water for really really long-term storage. Just a thought.

Don't rule out a small filtering system like a Katydin Hiker,that what I have in my small BOB. Keeps the weight down also.

[Paradude54]

Good start. Just think of the things that your house provides. You have a means to cook and boil water at home, so fire should be a top priority. Water of course is a priority as is shelter which can be something as simple as a military poncho or tarp and some bungee cords or 550 cord. I'd put in a few different ways to make fire such as a lighter of course and then some tinder. Look into other ways to make fire and research what was done 100+ years ago; things like flint and steel along with char cloth to catch the spark.

I'm not telling you to get rid of the rifle that you have, but have you considered something like a Thompson Center G-2? It's pricier, but you can get barrels in everything from .22LR to .30-30 and with a screwdriver to remove the forend you can swap them out in seconds.

Speaking of screwdrivers, a good multi-tool is worth its weight in gold. A good quality knife as well for game or a ton of other uses is a must have as well.

Just my thoughts on the subject. One last thing. You might try packing the stuff in the big tote in smaller packages and labeling them so that if need be you can open it up and grab some stuff if you have to leave the big kit behind for any reason.

[Irving]

All the water that has ever existed on the planet, has always been here, and is the same water every time, so it really can't get that bad.

[KevDen2005]

I rotate gallon jugs of water, stored in my garage. I rotate about every 18 months.

[rbeau30]

All the water that has ever existed on the planet, has always been here, and is the same water every time, so it really can't get that bad.

That is what I figured when I was having the conversation with my friend. I mean even if stored water started tasting funny, it is still water, unless something bad got into the storage container, you should be good. I figured at the very most you may at some point have to run it through a filter if it got scummy. But stored water should be a heckuva lot better than something out of a local stream.

[Irving]

That's exactly what I was going to say. If you are going to end up filtering outside water at some point, might was well store as much of your own as you can. That way it will just extend the time you have before you have to start drinking gutter water. Also, if you built a still, then you'd be equipped to deal with really dirty water.

[rbeau30]

Wow there is a lot of stuff being said that I really have not thought about yet. Especially the smaller bags in the big kit labeled just in case you had to bug out of your bug out location.

[bobbyfairbanks]

The best way to really sort out your BOB set up is to go ok today we are gonna go camping but will only bring our BOB's. Really stick to this and just grab your box of kit/ bags that are at the door ready to go. Shake out over night and you will see you dont need half of what you brought and you need a couple dozen things that you forgot. When you are packing always try to pack things that are multi use to save space. Good luck with the shake out. It ends up being a lot of fun. I always keep a bottle of something in my go bags so that shake outs end up having a happy ending next to a camp fire. Even when you forget the tent and it is raining.

[rbeau30]

The best way to really sort out your BOB set up is to go ok today we are gonna go camping but will only bring our BOB's. Really stick to this and just grab your box of kit/ bags that are at the door ready to go. Shake out over night and you will see you dont need half of what you brought and you need a couple dozen things that you forgot. When you are packing always try to pack things that are multi use to save space. Good luck with the shake out. It ends up being a lot of fun. I always keep a bottle of something in my go bags so that shake outs end up having a happy ending next to a camp fire. Even when you forget the tent and it is raining.

:-) Great idea. :-) Homebrew. Check!

[StagLefty]

All the water that has ever existed on the planet, has always been here, and is the same water every time, so it really can't get that bad.

So you think it's okay to drink water from any natural source without some type of filtration ? I'm not talking about stored water.