[watchman220]

As someone who is quite new to this area, but likes camping, I have given alot of thought to this question lately. What to take with you in a pack for 3 days.
It has become more of a question of different strategies.

What will you take if you need to survive 1 day. 3 days. 7 days. 1 month. 1 year? In the wild. I am woefully unprepared for most of these.

I just interviewed a friend of mine...from an undisclosed military source about survival packs and survival ideas. This article was written from his perspective.

To see the pictures go to this link. Pictures of Military Carrier Vests, Assault Packs, Ruck Bags, Army Duffles.

I can hardly believe I am publishing this article in the United States of America, but I am convinced that the information should be made available sooner rather than later, just in case you lose the ability to access internet or electric power.
The following is a summary of the content of a conversation I had with an undisclosed military source who also takes our current government situation seriously. He advises in the spirit of a patriot how to prepare your self for the need to travel and survive.
From a single soldier's point of view the following packs should be prepared for each of their specific purposes. Each one of these packs could be represented differently in the case of a civilian family with kids, distributing various materials between multiple packs.
Things like MRE's (Meals Ready To Eat) should be distributed among each pack carrier. Other materials that are absolutely essential should also be included in every pack.
Every member must carry their weight.
We discussed different kinds of packs:
Each pack is more robust than the next.
You must decide what items are absolute essentials for each pack.
These packs should be prepared beforehand and available to grab at a moment's notice.

1. The basics. Absolute Essentials for survival. What do you need to carry on your vest?
Weight - Minimum. You want to run to be able to run fast with this vest on.
All things that are essential get tied to you...your vest.
Literally tie it to yourself so that if they fall out of the strapped package, they will stay with you.
Any hunting vest would do the job. The strap system consists of heavy duty straps sewn horizontally on the vest, with spaces left between the fabric strip and the vest. The containers that you strap to the vest have snap straps that go through spaces and snap on to themselves.



2. Your Assault Pack - 3 to 7 days worth of survival gear.
Weight - No more than 20 pounds.
Consider how much weight you can run with on your back if you have to run 2 miles.
It is a practice of the militarily disciplined to:
- Pack your Assault Pack in an orderly fashion.
- Pack it in the same manner and order every time.
- Memorize the contents and the exact location of all the items in your Assault Pack.
- This is for times of darkness or when quick reaction is required, so you always know where your items are when you need them.

Suggested list of Essentials for Assault Pack: (Some of these items should be carried on vest.)
MRE's (Meals Ready To Eat) 1 or 2.
One day water - min - 1 quart.
Blanket
Plastic or tarp - to cover from the elements.
Guns. (This could be put on your vest - depending on whether you expect to need it or not)
Ammo. (This could be put on your vest - depending on whether you expect to need it or not)
Fire starter - after a fire, gather cool ashes and put in leather pouch. Put live ember surrounded by ash. You can carry Up to 24 hours. This should be carried outside your bag. (Just in case)
Or pack cotton w/vaseline in ziplock bags - use lighter or matches to light them.
Extra socks.
Leather Gloves - (basic cover from the environment. Fire retardant)
Ziplock bags - 1 Gallon - carry meat and essentials. Protects from rust and moisture.
Head cover - Heat escapes from head.
1 to 2 days of clothing - 3 layers of clothes including windbreaker. ( You must stay warm when it is cold! )
Boots - (not running shoes or tennis shoes.) Hiking boots. Leather. (1 Pair on and 1 pair in the Assault Pack.)
Personal first aid kit. (vest)
(absorbs blood to help clotting, tourniquete for gushing or pouring of blood. Limbs can last hours without blood. Breathing flexible tube.)
Needles and nylon thread (fishing line) Silk floss. "Not wax" and material that does not rot. (for sutures)
Fishing line and hooks. (vest)
Rope - parachute rope - silk. (for wrapping - trapping) (vest)
Machete
Cleaning and filet knives.
Pocket knife (vest)
Knife sharpener.
Lightsticks - poplights. 8 hours. (vest)
LED flashlight Red or dull colors harder to see from distance. (vest)
Military tape - million uses. Repair.
Pen and paper - to keep your mind sane or leave a marker.
Painkillers (Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, or whatever works for you.)

3. Your "A" Bag or "Ruck Sack" - Alternate Bag to Assault Pack.
Weight - between 45 and 65 Pounds. Has more essentials for a longer duration.

Other Things You Might Consider for this bag:
Caribiners
Hearing protection. (Ear Plugs)
Bungees
Digging tools
Extra Water
Small Weapons
Bigger Weapons
McGyver Kit. (Electric Wire, pocket knife, small rope, tape, anything that you can think of.)
Vaseline (it Burns)
General Food, life support and water.

4. Your "B" Bag - is extreme long term, moved to a place (base camp) and left there out of the reach of animals.
Weight - approximately 100 pounds

Everything in the bag is encased in water proof bags or containers in case of inclement weather.
Lots of clothes, things you would use for long term survival.
Clothes are most essential.
More wants than needs.
Bigger essentials, couple days of clothes, bigger weapons, MRE's, painkillers, first aid kits.
Consider the definition of essentials.
The nature of "essentials" depends on:
Your environment
The length of your exposure in the environment
What you intend to accomplish while in that environment.
The military definition of essentials is "things to keep you alive, things to protect you."
So needless to say you must do some thinking and planning about what scenarios you expect to be in.
This strategic thinking will necessitate a state of "preparedness thinking" that is flexible to change at any moment.
Sometimes things must be left behind when escape and survival is the primary objective.
A general policy when putting together your Assault Packs; if it makes you feel good, get rid of it.
If it is a feel good item, it is not needed.
Not in your pack...absolute essentials go on your vest.

GROUP BASECAMP
FIRST - Don't stay in the same place for long.
Consider where and how often you should move to escape detection.
If you are using a vehicle then consider how to camouflage the vehicle and it's tracks.
If you are staying in a Base Camp with several people there will be a need for cooking.
If you have time to pack equipment are not in a hurry...keep it simple.
It is suggested that you keep your supplies in an easily packable sealable tub.
Suggested Items
Non-Perishable Food
Compact Propane camp cook stove
Propane canisters (no smoke)
Basic small pans to cook in
Salt and seasonings, Chicken or Beef Bouillon
Matches or lighters
Tarps
Water to cook.

[watchman220]

Ideas for survival.

WATER
Get water from condensation.
Dig a hole.
Dump any type of undrinkable fluid or obect with moisture in it.
Put a cup in the center of the hole.
Put plastic on the top of the hole. As sealed as possible.
Put a rock on the plastic in the center.
Condensation will build up on the underside if the hole is sealed.
It will drip into cup placed in the center.
Sweat is water - it's good for you. It has minerals in it.
Ziplock bags - essential!
For water...use ziplock bag, put paper towel in it.
Seal it and keep in warm area, it will condense water in the bag.
Anything organic has water in it.

FOOD
Eat Meals Ready to Eat. (MRE's)
Eat ants and grasshoppers before you eat leather.
Stay away from brightly colored insects, or animals as they may be poisonous
Leather pouches or ziplock bags - for meat or other food storage.
Until you are adjusted to game meat...boil everything you eat, it kills parasites.
Learn how to gut an animal after you kill it.

SHELTER
Two sticks with plastic if you are moving around.
Tarps...put mud over blue tarp - cover with grass and sticks for camouflage.
Make it small and low profile just enough to sleep in.
Dig a small hole to lay in and put the cover over you.
Keep it out of paths where people walk.
Somewhere not logical to think of a sleeping place.
Do not go where people might expect to go or sleep themselves.
Do not be stupid. For example (sleeping in a wash which could flood rapidly)

CLOTHING COVER - SURVIVAL
Make stuff out of leather/fur from animal kills.
2 thin layers of clothes and a windbreaker is all you need.
Boots (Extra Pair)
Socks (Extra Pair)
Head Cover (to keep in heat)
Gloves (Thin enough to work in)

IF YOU ARE BEING TRACKED
Do not leave anything behind you.
Don't even leave your poop or pee. NOTHING!
Another good use for bags.
Dump it in a stream to dilute it once you have left your area.

TRAVELING
Get a map of the area if possible, Forest Roads, Trails. With Terrain Features. National Forest Map. Elevations.
Find a group...small group with which to travel. At least 2 people.
Make a plan of travel.
What points will you travel to?
Can you go on foot?
Can you travel at night?
How many points can you get water?
How long will it take to travel between each point?
What do you need to get there?
Daylight is essential!

COMMUNICATION
Highly recommended to obtain some radios. (Encrypted communications are best.)
And pre-plan communication times if issues occur.
If intending to implement a plan on unencrypted communications, do not discuss details over the radios.

CONTINGENCY PLANNING
Backwards planning...what is the worst case possible.
Plan essentials to get to goal of survival.
Have a contingency plan for everything you can think of!

MILITARY
If you see military or government signs. STAY AWAY!
Triangular signs are hazardous.
Smartest Defense is a retreat and knowing how to do it.
Don't try to fight trained military.

BASIC HEALTH DANGERS
Find out when your body needs water or sustenance.
Worst signs of dehydration - you gotta poop but you can not.
Pee smells pungent.
Headache.

ENVIRONMENT
Realize humidity and environment, elevation, vegetation.
The effects that these factors of environment have on you.
High elevation will make you short of breath faster.

DISTRACTIONS
Use fire as a distraction to get away when needed.
Loud explosion or other loud noise to distract the enemy as you go the opposite way.
You could think of what you can make on your own, I will not go into that here.
Pressed gun powder makes a bang, but requires a level of compression not attainable without machines.
Otherwise when lit it fizzles in a line.

TIMED DISTRACTION
Light a cigarette and put it in book of matches as a timed fuse.
Put fuse of a blackcat in hole in cigarette and light it then run.
Flares - can be used for flammable material.

HOW CAN YOU PREPARE?
Take a camping or hiking trip.
With at least two people along a possible route you might take if you are leaving.
Consider whether daytime or night time travel is required.
Plan for both day and night travel if you must leave immediately.
What must you take if you leave immediately?
What must you take if you have time to pack?
Take pen and paper to record what you really need or did not need.
Stay overnight.
Travel to each of the locations where you may need to go.
Travel between each location to determine how long it will take and if it can be done in day or night.
Remember what you did and did not use.
Predetermine with your group members where you will meet.\
This is of course not an exhaustive list. The most important part of this planning is considerable thought and practice.
The definition of essentials may change depending on your scenario.
You might want to consider cigarettes, alcohol, or other highly valuable items or substances - for trade.
Always keep alert and sober.

[Celticwarrior]

Those are all good strategies, but really designed for soldiers in a forward area or behind enemy lines who may have to do for themselves outside of the normal resupply chain. For the most part, the stuff you see listed in that article is for what is known as either a BOB (BugOut Bag) or a GHB (Get Home Bag) and is mostly for evactuations or for getting to and from distant waypoints (work/school and home or home to bug-out location) safely with a good amount of gear to keep you going independant of whatever else might be around you. This is probably not what the average person would be taking for survival purposes on a standard camping trip or hike. (It MIGHT be stored in your vehicle though.)

Honestly, for a general hiker, in a basic area that would be easily walked out of within a couple of days, which is most of the terrain in the lower 48 states, (assuming you are just lost and ambulatory, not trapped, injured or in some other way incapacitated), your concerns should be that you have enough extra of the things you are already carrying (food, water, shelter, firestarters, medical supplies, warm clothing, etc.) to get you through an extra 25-50% of the time you PLAN on being on the hike and away from resupply or help. Have extra pack space for that, and make sure that a portion of the critical supplies (food, water, firemakers, and basic shelter like a poncho or space blanket/bivy) are on your PERSON (vest, fanny pack, pockets, etc) not in your backpack which might need to be ditched in an emergency (flight from a bear or cougar, dunk in a fast moving river, trouble on a cliff face). Some of what you mentioned for soldiers is applicable, of course:

Keep it light. Don't weigh yourself down on extras you don't need, and keep looking for multiple purpose items and tools to offset the weight of items you can't live without.

Make sure you are prepared with multiple items of critical importance. Several methods to make fire, more than one way to purify water, food procurement items like snares and fishing gear to suppliment your packed food, etc.

Look at getting the load balanced out among pockets, vest or jacket, pack, and waist packs, rather than dragging it all around in one big knapsack. Safer and more convenient first off, keeps you balanced and less apt to get fatigued, and it is better in an emergency to have at least some items on you.

Make sure you have several items for rescuers to find you. GPS and compass so you can self-rescue if lost, mirror or shiny surface for signalling, loud, pea-less whistle, pen flares if you will be on or near water, and other items you may find useful for signalling.

For the most part, your brain is your survival kit. Lists of gear are great, but if you don't have it, or it's lost or broken, then what? If you can improvise, adapt and find ways to work out of the box, you will be far better off than if you were toting around a whole HumVee worth of gear. Learn to make a primitive fire or practice flintknapping some chert or even bottle glass to replace your knife. Find ways to make a shelter in your area out of natural materials. Get familiar with the edible and poisonous wild foods you have around you. ALL of those things can substitute for gear carried in if necessary, and will allow you to both lighten your load, and never worry about losing or leaving something behind. Gear is great, but survival is about your spirit. If you WANT to live, you will find a way. If you want to give up and die, your wish will be granted in short order. Nature has little sympathy for the weak or the weak-willed. Your BEST defense against any survival situation is to have faith in yourself and your abilities. Gear is secondary.

For the record, from someone who has eaten them, MRE's suck as trail food or emergency rations. Find a decent outdoor store, get some dehydrated food in retort pouches and a way to soak and rehydrate them. Add in some jerky, trail mix, granola bars, cereal or anything else that can be eaten cold and without cooking (for times when cooking can't be done on those dehydrated/freeze dried meals and you need to eat something!), and you are far better off. MRE's have serious problems with temperature extremes, especially high heat. It will pretty much destroy whatever nutrient value the things had. They are also REALLY bulky and have a LOT of excess weight, both in moisture and in packaging. You can pack a LOT more of the other foods I mentioned, getting the same boost from them, and not have to make room for those giant pouches. If you decide to use any MRE's, strip it down to just the side dish and the entree. Those have the most food value, and it will cut your bulk by about 2/3.

[LaRemnant]

Hey thanks for the input. It must have taken you a while to do all that, so again, we appreciate it! :) There was some good advice in that, and I noticed the picture of the Blackhawk SOF ruck immediately, because even though I don't need it, I am seriously considering buying it! :D I found it for dirt cheap somehow brand new too!!!

[JMJKD]

Good post and CW add's great wisdom as well.
I think a lot of the Military guys at some point do exactly as CW said. IMHO research primitive man, native culture to learn how to be self reliant and how to improvise. This will take years, practice and a lot of failure, but worth it in the end.

Everyone wants to know the best WAY, really IMHO "it’s the best WAY for you" and only you will know the best way by practice and trial and error. I think you should take most of the suggested gear and try not to use it but if you need it you got it. never underestamate Mother Nature she will eat you up….my 2 cents.

[Slade N. Illinois]

Originally Posted by JMJKD

"it’s the best WAY for you" and only you will know the best way by practice and trial and error.

I agree. Never stop learning new ways to survive. I am always changing my gear around as I find lighter or better working gear. Try everything twice. And remember, two is one and one is none. Use what works best for you.

[tjwilhelm]

Great thread, guys...(withdrawing into pensive, comtemplative mode...good stuff to ponder, here...)

[kevin]

great informative post watchman, and good followup CW. great begineer read.

[Ron Fontaine]

Essentially, what you need to carry for a 1 or 2 day outing is going to be the same as that you will need for a longer amount of time, except for the amount of food.

I find that I need about a gallon of water per day - too much to carry - and so anything more than a day hike I plan on purifying water at intervals.

It is difficult to make large generalizations when it comes to clothing as depends upon season and environment. For example, two layers of clothing and a windbreaker may not cut it in mid winter in higher latitudes.

[snowshoe67]

Ron so ,so true One to Two days Gear to carry,water purifying,fire, are big!
watchman great Post