"Movement is life"

How to put together an escape pack and survive with it.

In the movie "world war Z" the character of Brad Pitt said something while trying to convince a family to join him, he said that "movement was life", he added that in all the nasty situations he had been in as a U.N investigator, the people that kept moving lived and the ones that stayed put died. 

This summarizes my take on survival after any type of disaster. There is a lot of different ways to go about being prepared for an emergency or disaster, and I believe that the best one is to be able to go mobile in a moments notice, getting away from danger and moving to safer areas can be the difference between life and death. 

When you are putting together an evac bag or bug out bag (the last one sounds ridiculous) you need to consider a few things. 1. it must be light, I know that it seems obvious but you will be shocked how much you can over pack, essentials only! 2. you need to have the basics of survival in the following order, water, fire, shelter, food, signaling, defence. I added the last one. 3. be comfortable with your gear, use it for hiking, backpacking or even just a day out on the park, you don't want to be reading instructions when your life depends on it.

And now, a breakdown of my gear: 

1. Survival kit, I take this kit with me every time I go for a hike or I do any other outdoor activity, in it are a few basics such as first aid, magnesium bar, waterproof matches, kindling, fishing line, compass/signaling mirror combo, glow stick, emergency blanket, paracord, bug spray and medical scissors. 

2. Platypus Gravityworks Filter, this thing is wonderful its a Lightweight, gravity-based microfilter system for backcountry and emergency use, it  uses a 0.2-micron filter which is effective against protozoa, bacteria, and particulate (they give you the runs),CleanStream microfilter offers a fast 1.75-liter per minute flow rate (the ferrari of filters), it has a Field cleanable design; 1501 liter cartridge life and it only Weighs 10.75 ounces; you can live a long time without food but not so long without H20, if you drop some washingtons on anything in your pack it should be this.

3. Eno double nest hammock system plus backpacking tarp, This is a quick way to secure shelter. My wife and I will be taking shelter on this thus the double nest, but if you happen to be by your lonesome a smaller hammock will do you just fine. the reason I like this is because it keeps us of the ground which sucks up most of your heat while sleeping, the tarp can easily be set to keep rain off of us and because of its simple setup. Even if its dark wet and the ground is marsh this will guarantee you a good nights sleep.

4. Eton scorpion emergency radio, I did a whole review on this amazing product earlier on the blog so if you want details go check it out, before we move on, allow me to say that information is gold when it comes to survival, get informed on other survivors, dangers or further evacuations, or even safe zones. You can not afford to be in the dark.

5. SOG Sogfari machete, this is one of the smallest, most affordable and toughest of my machetes, it is an incredible tool for making fire, shelter and even food procurement. at the same time it can be pretty effective if you need to defend yourself with it.

6. Camelbak army issue, I don't have details on the model of this camelbak because i acquired it second hand, all I know is that its tough as nails, the hose is insulated to keep it from freezing or getting too hot, and that there is no use to me being able to filter 2 liters of water per minute if I don't have an effective way of carrying it with me.

7. Heater meals, all though food is not absolutely necessary it is nice to know that I have ready to eat calories and comfort in an uncomfortable situation, even better, these civilian versions of  MREs are actually not that bad tasting.

8. Made binoculars, scope out a potential scavenging spot before running up and realizing that some gang of violent survivors already call it home, also spot structures and help that other wise you could not see.

9. paracord, the uses are infinite, shelter, food procurement, defense, etc. you will find yourself in need of a good piece of rope, and you will be glad you have some.

10. twisty ties, they are virtually weightless and their ability to hold gear together is outstanding.

11. Fleece bed roll, the hammock is keeping me above ground so a comfy fleece sleeping sack will do just fine at keeping me warm.

12. Headlamp, hopefully you are grabbing your bag, hoping in your car and gassing it to aunt's judies until the craziness passes over. If that is not the case, you could find yourself hoofing it on foot attempting to escape the madness, all tho I don't recommend trying to hike at night, if you have too, atleast you can see where you are going.

13. Dry sack, it contains Moleskin (save your feet), spare batteries, bike strobe for signaling at night, back up lighter, facewatch thermometer, hand sanitizer and a new testament that includes psalms and proverbs. If you are not reading your Bible now, an emergency situation might be a good time to start, just saying.

14. Knife sharpener, a dull blade will only cut you, thats a fact.

15. Mints, if you don't know why I keep this in my pack you are probably single.

16. The pack, any old bag will do I guess but why make your life miserable, get a bag that is functional, with a lot of pockets and preferably lumbar straps. Make sure that is not too big, this will probably cause you to over pack, also I would not go for the super tactical bags that are out there, they make you stand out, you want to look like a survivor that is barely scratching out a living, not a fully equipped piggy bank that thieves would be attracted too.

I hope this gives you guys a place to start getting prepared, let me know in the comments what your approach to survival is and what you have done to get prepared, until next time gentlemen.