urban get home bag?

[huskymill]

so i was thinking about it and at this point it seems that the bag ive been putting together resembles a ghb rather than a bob. that really is fine for now because dont ever go more than 20 minutes away from my house. later i might put together a real 3 day pack. but the only concern i have with my bag is that its a woodland camo army surplus ruck sack. most likely in shtf situation ill probably be in an urban area and the woodland camo sticks out like a sore thumb. so im thinking about trying to get a different bag that would blend in better in an urban area, but i dont want to spend a ton of money. what would you suggest that would serve my purpose without costing too much? right now my bag consists of (in no particular order):

8ft by 8ft plastic water resistant tarp
pair of binoculars
1 minimaglite with led upgrade
one nalgene 1 liter waterbottle
steel canteen cup
100ft of 550 paracord
25 ft utility rope with climbing caribiner
gerber lmf 2 knife
strike force fire starter
zippo
alcohol swabs
1 primative first aid kit
3 tuna packages
2 cans of spam
snare wire
1 small guide of north american animal tracks
1 utility blade
1 pair of socks
1 sling shot and steel ball bearings
1 knife sharpener
1 multitool
1 folding camp shovel
hatchet and knife in a combo sheath
1 rain poncho
3 large trashcan liners
gerber folding camp saw
and last but not least a roll of duct tape

is there anything that i missed, or anything that i can get rid of on that list?
thanks in advance everybody.

oh and i should mention that i was originally putting this together for wilderness survival so im not sure if the same things can be used for urban as well. ive been slowly adding to this bag for the last 3 years.

[NCO]

How about simply sewing some more urban colored pieces of fabric on your existing bag?

And since you are in USA, how about adding a small handgun and some ammo?

[huskymill]

http://www.imsplus.com/image.php?obj...4&window=popup

this is a pic of the bag i have right now

[NCO]

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same bag with mock-up "sew on" camo.
(used photoshop with poor skill..)

[oldsoldier]

Whats wrong with the woodland camo? I see lots of people everyday carrying small camo backpacks, shoulder bags and all kinds of stuff like that. IMHO in the event of a shtf situation most people are not going to care if your bag is camo or gucci.

[NCO]

Whats wrong with the woodland camo? I see lots of people everyday carrying small camo backpacks, shoulder bags and all kinds of stuff like that. IMHO in the event of a shtf situation most people are not going to care if your bag is camo or gucci.

Good point.

I understood his post so that by blending in he meant that it should have some actual camo properties in urban environment..

[Beans]

Old soldier. What an idea, I think I will mull this over some. Designer BOB bags for those discriminating individuals.

I would also include:

Perrier bottled water
Platium pre paid Credit card
silk cordage
satellite cell phone with unlisted private number with prelisted Clinics telephone numbers
Bob Mackie's designer outdoor wear.
titanium survivall knife-- monogramed

[NCO]

Old soldier. What an idea, I think I will mull this over some. Designer BOB bags for those discriminating individuals.

I would also include:

Perrier bottled water
Platium pre paid Credit card
silk cordage
satellite cell phone with unlisted private number with prelisted Clinics telephone numbers
Bob Mackie's designer outdoor wear.
titanium survivall knife-- monogramed

You forgot the Gucci trekking shoes!

[Alaskan Survivalist]

One idea I had was to tie die T-shirts in camo colors and pattern them with pot leaves. It could work in urban or rural areas of California.

[huskymill]

lol my point was just that i dont want to draw unnecessary attention to myself. i would think that would be accomplished with a backpack that any college student would have for books. it just has to be big enough. i take it from the responses that i may be overthinking things a bit, but this thread is also sort of a question to see if you think my bag is missing anything that would be usefull. at the moment i dont own a firearm but eventually i might add one to the bag.

[Rick]

My GHB is an over sized laptop briefcase with shoulder strap.

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I want to look just like any other schmuck hoofing it home and I figured there would be a lot of briefcases being carried. My wife's is a single should pack.

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That's okay for me now. I can still get by as an old worker. As I get a little older I'll have to change that to something more age appropriate.

[Aurelius95]

While I don't have a GHB per se, I do carry a laptop backpack to and from work. I keep necessary supplies in my truck. If I had to walk home, I'd take out the computer/work stuff, and then pack the other gear in my Targus backpack. It's black - perfect for an urban environment.

[SARKY]

First off look around, a lot of people are carrying or wearing surplus gear/clothing. I really is no big woop! Use the best bag that fits your price range and the job at hand.

[beetlejuicex3]

...so im thinking about trying to get a different bag that would blend in better in an urban area, but i dont want to spend a ton of money...

pair of binoculars

one nalgene 1 liter waterbottle

100ft of 550 paracord
25 ft utility rope with climbing caribiner

3 tuna packages
2 cans of spam
snare wire
1 small guide of north american animal tracks



is there anything that i missed, or anything that i can get rid of on that list?
thanks in advance everybody.

I like the binoculars.

You know more about what is around your house than I do, are you sure the snare wire and animal tracks guide will be useful there? Same with climbing rope and caribiner.

The tuna and spam look ok but I wonder what the shelf life will be sitting in an unrefrigerated bag? Also that appears to be about 1-2 days of calories at the most. Most 'experts' recommend 3 days of calories. Have you thought about ration bars?

Do you have a water purification method? You need a larger water container or extra water container - the fold up plastic platypus containers are nice.

Do you have too many blades in your pack? Weight is important.

Add stungun and pepperspray.

As for backpack: This thing holds alot.

[huskymill]

I like the binoculars.

You know more about what is around your house than I do, are you sure the snare wire and animal tracks guide will be useful there? Same with climbing rope and caribiner.

The tuna and spam look ok but I wonder what the shelf life will be sitting in an unrefrigerated bag? Also that appears to be about 1-2 days of calories at the most. Most 'experts' recommend 3 days of calories. Have you thought about ration bars?

Do you have a water purification method? You need a larger water container or extra water container - the fold up plastic platypus containers are nice.

Do you have too many blades in your pack? Weight is important.

Add stungun and pepperspray.

As for backpack: This thing holds alot.

well to answer your question about the snare wire and animal tracks guide, i was originally putting this together as a camping bag, and than it kinda got more and more towards survival than just vacation. and also at the moment im going to school at michigan tech university, we are about a 10 minute drive from some dense wilderness. in terms of getting back to my house from campus, i probably dont need some of that stuff, but i still feel its good to have. i have had some concerns about the amount of water i can carry. i agree i dont have enough yet. this whole thing really isnt a huge concern while im here at school but when im at home durring the summer, in detroit, thats when i really start to think about it.

[Rick]

Detroit has some wilderness areas in town that are pretty remote these days.

[AirborneEagles]

If I lived in the city (as I did many times before in the past) wouldn't worry about my fashion statement, I would just think about what the bag can carry that can get me through the darkest hours till I reach some safe area to build a camp at to survive.

If you drive, then its in your trunk ready to go. If you are thinking of huffing it back to your house, then 20 miles through the city in any disaster is going to be pretty tough and it may be more than just the miles to think about since looters and any thug with a gun will be robbing anyone to get something they think they want or need. The worst off your pack looks, the better. Even a change of clothing so you aren't wearing a suit since that is the first thing they will look for is anyone rich or looks like they have money or other valuables on them.

I can't remember what the gangs are like in MI, but if there are still some rough ones there, then its time to think urban tactics along with survival outside the city limits. You kind of have to blend in. In a way look rough, carry a gun with extra ammo and be ready for assaults by anyone who loses their mind or just wants what you have on your back or in your pockets.

It takes 3 days before things get really out of hand. Even the first 24 hours will be just as rough if the situation is really bad.

Not to add any extra worry, but just things to keep in the back of your mind.

Granted, MI has the most Militia and Survival groups next to Texas in the Nation. But, it never hurts to expect anything out of the blue from anyone who has lost everything and has nothing to lose and may try anything on anybody walking down the road or sidewalk.

[Rick]

Granted, a small minority of individuals will probably be taking advantage of the situation but we certainly didn't see wholesale warfare in either New Orleans or New York and both serve as pretty good examples of what will happen when S actually HTF. Everyone points out that roving gangs will be your biggest problem and that hasn't been true. They are like any other predatory animal. That means territory. While their territory might well expand, animals, mankind included, are creatures of habit. Personal safety being number one.

There are areas of the city you won't go today. Don't go there if SHTF. Give yourself a buffer zone around the area and the chances are pretty good you won't run into them. In fact, what we often did see was law abiding folks running down the bad guys and opening a can of whoop butt on them. A little vigilante justice goes a long way.

Don't rely on the scare tactics of the internet pundits. Think through the situation. Your basic needs will always be the same no matter where you are or what environment you find yourself in. Water, Fire, Shelter, Personal Protection, Food in varying orders dependent upon the scenario.

[AirborneEagles]

Rick, I hope that comment wasn't for me about scare tactics. haha. It was only pointing out the possibility, which any military minded (active or otherwise) is always going to be prepared for anything out of the ordinary. I am not saying it would happen, but it could. The Militia and survival groups will help as many as they can, but they cannot be everywhere at the same time when something does happen. It could be a punk kid, a drugged up unstable person or you just looking at someone in the wrong way (had that happen before) where they get aggressive and want to start a fight. In Katrina, yes there were homicides, yes gangs took advantage of females and yes they did rob some people, but a majority just went and looted everything they could. However, after a few days, food and water were scarce, some grouped together for security, others did not and were the hidden victims since nobody was around to see what happened, only to find later some had bullet holes in them. There is a lot behind Katrina that was not on the news, you have to dig around for it and see the videos and witness reports on the web.

There is nothing I write that has anything to do with scare tactics, fear mongering or anything of that nature, but an awareness of the possible situations we all may encounter and must expect even if it does not happen.
It is always a "just in case" perspective, by which if we are prepared mentally we can handle the situation a lot better when it does happen.

Even with the basic survival skills many are learning, for what reason they do not know, but if something does happen they are mentally prepared for it with the tools to get them through it.

All we can do is prepare the best we can so we can go on living our lives and do our traveling and shopping, go golfing and even go dancing on friday night, which means we don't sit at home behind locked doors waiting for the day something will happen, but preparing mentally and gathering the tools needed in order to survive any situation that arises and enjoying life in the meantime. I wouldn't want anyone to be stressed out and not enjoy the life they have now, in fact it should be fun getting prepared and finding different interests within that survival realm to keep the leaning fun in the whole process. In the mean time, make it fun while getting prepared. Enjoy life.

I hope that clears up any misunderstanding about me.

[Rick]

Actually, the comment was NOT directed at you. It was simply a reference to those individuals that post all manner of hub bub on the internet with nothing tangible to back it up. And a good many times they are selling the very thing that will "save" you should their predictions come true.

I don't think I'd trust the militias any more than I would the gang members. My idea of them may not be correct and we always get in trouble when we generalize any group but, by and large, I don't think I would trust them.