In Gear

I read Kim DuToit's site pretty much daily. Even when I don't agree with him (Which is rare) it's still a good read. Over the years he has posted about "grab and go" gear. The things ready to roll for when the fecal matter comes into contact with the rotary cooling device.
I grew up in the "Red Dawn" era, a time when attacks on American soil were probably less likely, but more dwelt upon. As a pre/young teen my buddies and I would talk about hiding in the woods, picking off Russians with our hunting rifles. Where I grew up was rural, but close enough to Norfolk (north) and Ft. Bragg and Camp Lejune (south) to be strategic.
We all had guns, and at one point most of us had compound bows. We would gather at somebody's house or farm and shoot, shoot, shoot. We were all pretty damn good, we had to be or the ridicule was ruthless. I could at one time in my life hit a quarter at 40 paces with an arrow, not every time but often enough. I love the outdoors, and love to camp. I almost never get to, but I have all the equipment just in case.
For close to five years of my life I didn't own a car, just a motorcycle. I kept a backpack packed all the time. Change of clothes, a hammock that would ball up to the size of a fist, ground tarp, spare cash, trash bags and duct tape. I could get home from work, pick up my helmet and my bag and be a hundred miles away in less than two hours.

I also lived in the Carribean for almost a year. We had to leave the island in a big hurry (long story for another time) and that's when I learned about "bug-out bags". A folder with important papers such as passports birth certificates, and ownership titles. I learned too late that time.
Mr. DuToit cites natural disasters as his biggest reason for this practice. I have lived through hurricanes, a flood, numerous ice storms and an ex-wife, so I'll buy that. Kim also has a wife and children to think about, so my goals and his will be slightly different. My family are all 1500 miles away, so I'll probably want to move and move fast.

After having to abandon my DC apartment to my ex, I have grown to like the idea of being able to hit the road on short notice again even if my 70 hour work week won't permit it.
Most of my "GNG" (grab and go) gear stays in the Jeep all the time. Hidden in pockets, strapped to roll bars, under seats and in various hidey holes are a big portion of my GNG stuff. (click the pics for a better look)

Doesn't look like much does it? A rod and reel, a pocket tackle box with bobs, sinkers, hooks and lures, a compass, 2 cans of sterno and a sterno stove, a collapsable mess kit (not pictured), a mini mag light, a Gerber pocket knife, a Gerber camp saw, a Gerber camp axe, a rechargable/cordless spotlight, cell phone charger and a first aid kit. Also not pictured are things like rope, tow straps, tiedowns, and tools that always stay in the Jeep anyway.

The first aid kit is my own collection of stuff. It's in a steel box that I found in an abandoned building years ago instead of one of those cheap plastic things they make nowadays.

Open it up and it is full to the brim. One item that used to be in it was a half pint bottle of Wild Turkey 101, but they changed the size of the bottle since I drank the last one and it won't fit in it's proper order.

Contents include: a pocket pack of kleenex, a rain poncho, a survival blanket, band aids, krazy glue (bonds skin instantly) Cloraseptic mouth/toothache reliever, antibacterial spray, razor blades, gauze pads, gauze wrap, Ace bandage, iodine, assorted asprin and ibuprophin, lipbalm, blistex, strike anywhere matches (waterproofed), medical tape, 30spf sunblock, Hooters handy wipes, lightsticks, a good grip x-acto knife and 3 non lubricated condoms (good for waterproofing injured extremities)

All that is already loaded up. Aside from that I have a duffel with extra clothes, a small sleeping bag and nylon blanket, a two man dome tent, a twin air mattress, a big Mag light, binoculars, freeze dried and canned food and the like, not counting firearms and ammo that can be loaded up in two trips to the driveway.

I'm not a survival nut, I'm just not as somnambulatory as most of the general populace. I saw the poor bastards rolling into Austin after Katrina. Most of them had nothing. Some of them still do. Not me, baby... Not me.