We’ve all been there. You’re out and about, enjoying a lovely day, maybe getting ready to light your campfire or a cigarette. You pull out your trusty Bic to suddenly find out that you are out of fuel. Oh, no. What a bummer.
You could do what everyone does and toss it, but what if there was a way to refuel it? Is it possible to refill a Bic lighter?
Yes, it is possible to refill a Bic lighter with butane. Doing so requires some disassembly of the lighter and might result in damage, but it is possible.
Interesting. So it can be done. It is good to know that you can refill a Bic if all you have is a lighter and a fuel canister, or you just want to be frugal and not have to keep buying new lighters…
But trying to refill your Bic lighter could result in damage to the lighter, and even a dangerous explosion if you screw it up.
Knowing what to do is essential if you want to avoid a serious mishap. We will tell you what you need to know in this article, and will even link to a few videos that can walk you through the process.
Warning: Bic Lighters are Designed as Non-Refillable
It should go without saying that Bic does not recommend that you attempt to refill their lighters. In fact, they explicitly state that their lighters are not designed to be refilled:
“Our products are designed for optimal performance and safety. BIC® Lighters are designed as disposable products.”
Clear enough, yeah? But just because something is designed one way does not mean that other things are not achievable.
Can you Really Refill a Bic Lighter?
Yes, no question. It is definitely possible to refill a Bic lighter using common tools, a little know-how and some butane.
Why Would You Refill a Bic?
So why would anyone want to risk damaging their lighter or themselves, or setting their house on fire by trying to refill it when Bic says explicitly not to? There are a few reasons.
Maybe you just really like your trusty old Bic that has accompanied you on many adventures and don’t want to part with it.
Maybe it has some really sick art on it. Perhaps you are dedicated to frugality and minimizing waste.
Or, more likely, you’re out in the middle of nowhere or in an emergency situation and desperately need your lighter refueled and working.
It doesn’t matter if they are cheap and plentiful if there are no stores around to buy them from.
Whatever the reason, it is just a good skill to know, just in case, and I applaud your resourcefulness.
Is it Worth it to Refill a Bic?
Million dollar question, or rather the dollar-fifty question, is whether it is worth it to try and refill a Bic lighter in the first place.
After all, they are pretty inexpensive to just buy new ones as needed, right? Assuming you aren’t in a survival scenario and all. Well, that really depends on your perspective.
From a strictly dollars and cents perspective, no, it is not worth it. You can buy a whole pack of Bic lighters for what it costs to get a can of butane.
Then there is the matter of how much your time is worth. Tinkering on the tiny, fragile parts of a disposable lighter is not the best use of your efforts.
However, if we look at it from a sustainability and waste perspective, then yes, it is worth trying to refill your Bic lighter.
Lighters are not biodegradable and end up in landfills where they will sit for decades until they rust away and break down.
And, ultimately, you can refuel a Bic or other comparable disposable lighter for just about 10 cents worth of butane, so it is quite cheap if you already have the fuel.
Can You Refill Other Brands’ Disposable Lighters?
Yes. You can refill most disposable lighters that use butane as fuel. The process is similar for all of them, with a few minor variations depending on the model.
If you want to get into the nitty-gritty details of how to do it, the next section will tell you how.
Warning: Disposable Lighters Must be Completely Empty of Fuel Before Attempting
Before attempting either of the methods described below, it is critical that your lighter be completely empty of fuel.
Failing to verify the lighter is empty can result in a violent spray of butane fuel from either end. This can create a dangerous condition for obvious reasons.
To check the fuel status of the lighter, do the following:
Look: If the lighter is transparent, simply look closely in good light for any trace of liquid inside.
Listen: Shake the lighter and listen for any sloshing of liquid fuel. Depress the button and listen for a quiet hiss of fuel escaping.
Test: Try to strike the lighter. If any flame starts, you still have fuel. If no flame ignites, shake it, strike it, and then repeat until you are positive there is no fuel whatsoever within.
Refueling Your Bic: Two Ways
You have two options for actually refilling your lighter. Which one you use will be dictated by the tools and supplies you have on hand, as well as your own comfort level with tiny parts and skill with tools.
Through the Bottom
The first method is to use a simple thumbtack to puncture a small hole in the bottom of the lighter.
This is the location where it was fueled at the factory, but it is an operation that cannot be repeated without creating a permanent leak that you will need to close.
Then you will use some rubber gaskets on your fuel container to create an airtight seal, closing the fuel port with another thumb tack when finished.
Through the Top
This method is slightly more involved, but it is the preferred method as it will not permanently damage your lighter.
You will need to remove the entire upper enclosure of the lighter, being careful not to damage any small parts.
From there, removing the flint (and sometimes the striker) gives you full access to the fuel tank beneath the adjuster.
You will need to hold the fork out of the way with a paperclip or thin wire, and then you can insert the small tube of your fuel container and add butane until it is full. Quickly remove the paperclip to close the valve and then reassemble the lighter.
These Methods are Not Guaranteed to Work
Something you should keep in mind is that your success rate will vary. Some lighters can be refilled dozens of times, while others may only take a single fueling before they start to leak or stop working.
It is also entirely possible that you will irreparably damage the cheap, tiny parts of your lighter, botching the job totally.
Bic and other lighters of its kind are just not meant to be refueled in the same way Zippos, Ronsons, and jet lighters are. Manage your expectations from the start!
The bug-out bag is a central fixture in prepping, central enough to the point where entire survival strategies revolve around what a BOB and its contents prepare you to do.
Everyone has their own ideas and their own wants for the BOB and this is a critically important and just as an important personal piece of kit.
Preppers spend an inordinate amount of time researching what makes for the “best” BOB, but the answer is usually not so cut and dry.
What goes in my BOB and what I’m depending on my BOB for may very well look entirely different from what you need or your friends need out of theirs.
I might even be relying on an entirely different pack! It could be smaller or larger, heavy-duty and durable, or ultralight and lean.
This is one category concerning BOB setup that most people gloss over; the choice of the BOB itself.
A bug-out bag should be chosen for legitimate reasons, and for most preppers it seems that the most important characteristic is capacity.
The more stuff they can carry, the better! And while it is true that capacity is important you might be sacrificing in other areas if you are obsessed with a single-minded pursuit of the biggest load possible.
As it turns out, chosen well, your BOB can do more for you than just haul your stuff from place to place.
In this article, I will make my recommendation for a BOB for likely have not considered before.
BOB Requirements for Any Environment
BOB requirements change in different environments, but they also stay the same. Oxymoronic? Not at all.
Any BOB you choose for any environment has a singular purpose and that purpose is to help you get away from trouble and sustain you until you get there.
That being said, what everybody needs from the BOB itself, the pack as a system, is likely to be a little different. It is this latter context that can make choosing the right BOB challenging.
The reason why is fairly simple to comprehend once you think about it a little bit. The terrain you are moving through while bugging out has a big impact on your mobility, and depending on where you are a huge, bulky pack might be a major detriment.
Consider the quintessential comparison of rural and urban terrain. Though the denizens of cities are likely to think otherwise, cities are not the center of the universe and they aren’t even “most” places. Said another way, they are not typical.
Dense urban areas and built-up metro zones make up only a tiny fraction of the land area in the United States, and even a tiny fraction of settled areas in total.
This makes legitimate urban environments a comparative rarity. Urban terrain itself reveals additional challenges compared to the woods, the desert, or just less dense suburban fill-in.
But woodland terrain is not necessarily any easier to move through: grasping branches, dips and rises covered with briars, and more all make movement difficult, and present many snag hazards for the unwary.
I am of the opinion that many preppers have the notion that woodland terrain is just “plains with trees” and this is most often not the case!
For those who have never attempted it, believe me when I say that carrying a BOB worth the name is never easy, and carrying across any terrain beside a soccer field or paved parking lot gets drastically more difficult.
In the following sections I’m going to make my recommendation for a “sleeper” bug-out bag you have probably never considered and then we’re going to unpack the specific considerations that informed that choice.
My Recommendation
Bottom line upfront: My choice for a versatile bug-out bag is a large sling pack, preferably one in a bright and unassuming color and completely unadorned by anything that might identify it as military or “tactical” in nature.
Why a sling pack? Why would I choose a pack that gives up a lot in terms of maximum comfortable load-bearing capacity and, seemingly, stability compared to a traditional two-strap backpack or a hiking pack complete with a waist belt?
Let us read on together and I will explain my reasoning based on the specific considerations of what a legit bug-out might look like.
Many Terrain Profiles are Dense
Expanding on my assertion above, many places you could go during a bug-out are not level, wide-open fields that are easy to move through.
Many will be just the opposite! Crowded man-made warrens of concrete or overgrown natural thoroughfares, either will present serious challenges to movement even unladen.
Urban terrain in particular not like any natural terrain on Earth. To say that it is dense is an understatement.
Aside from being clogged with people, which we will get to in a minute, urban terrain presents many challenges for movement, not the least of which is that your major thoroughfares are generally straight, level, and easy to navigate so long as traffic is still moving.
When traffic stops, they become tightly crammed and nearly impassable routes that you’ll have to pick your way through carefully… and slowly.
Trying to pick your way through a “pristine” natural environment is often just as difficult, even more so, as “pristine” usually equates to chaotic, as is so often the case with nature left to its own devices.
You might spend an inordinate amount of time trying to weasel through dense and sharp vegetation with an oversized pack before giving up and trying to go around.
You might have to go as slow as you must, but remember that time is life in situations like this, and slow is always… slow!
For this reason, a smaller and more maneuverable bug-out bag is a good idea as the chances that you will be able to take advantage of easy avenues of movement are most often going to be limited.
Now more than ever it will be important that your backpack not present a major snag hazard when moving up, over, under, and through the terrain features and obstacles typical of these cluttered environments. Slick and quick will do the trick!
Bulky Packs Draw Unwanted Attention
The most prominent feature of any civilized area actually has nothing to do with the buildings and the giant beehives of concrete that are all around you; it is the people- hundreds, thousands, or millions upon millions of people depending on where you live.
Teeming, thronging, and moving around in a perpetual bustle, and counted among them countless strangers.
It is something of a trope that for all the people in any given city hardly anyone knows that others are even around them, they form more of a background static to an individual’s existence than any kind of meaningful interaction.
The notion that you can truly disappear into this morass of humanity unseen and unnoticed when the SHTF is only partly true; true only if you meet the baseline of what people expect to see in that environment.
This is especially important if other people are on the lookout for anyone or anything that they might profit from, and profit from it by taking it from someone who has it.
Consider the type of luggage that people typically carry in any given environment. You don’t see giant hiking backpacks unless someone is out on or heading to the trail.
You will rarely see massive military rucksacks or packs covered with PALS webbing unless they are carried by uniformed military or police officers.
People in towns and cities carry compact backpacks that are suitable for commuting, courier work, or hauling school books.
They may instead carry some other kind of luggage like a briefcase, tool bag, or purse in a professional setting.
If you choose a giant BOB, especially one with an overtly military appearance, it is going to be an obvious tip-off that you have abnormal purposes.
You want to avoid this kind of attention because the desperate or the criminal might readily try and capitalize on what they suspect you are carrying in an SHTF situation.
It is for this reason that a smaller, non-threatening style like the sling pack or a hybrid messenger bag is ideal.
It will be just one more bag in a sea of many similar bags and less likely to single you out for an “interview” by someone who might want what you have.
A Sling Bag is Easy to Work Out Of
Probably the greatest advantage of the sling bag is that it is easy to work out of, without even setting the pack down or unlimbering it.
The unique, single strap construction of the sling bag makes it very easy to pull the pack from your back around to your front and from there access its contents while still wearing it.
Once you have found the item that you need, you just flip the pack back onto your back and carry on.
It is not quite as convenient as working off of a chest rig or off of the small pouches on a waist belt but it also means you don’t need to do any additional equipment while moving around in a dense environment.
This is one area where careful selection when choosing a sling pack will make all the difference.
Packs that are properly set up for this task will feature exterior admin pouches and main compartments that are as easy to access from the side as they are from the top or front- the orientation of the pack once you pull it around to the front of your body will see it carried sideways, and a smart sling pack will account for this.
This might sound a little strange and even awkward but for those of us who have never worked out of one, it is hard to overstate how useful and how convenient this feature is under certain conditions.
It even allows you to sit down or lay back normally without taking the pack off, a useful security feature when you need to get a little shut-eye or are otherwise distracted.
Overcoming the Shortcomings of the Sling Pack
For all of its advantages, sling packs do have inherent disadvantages, and these are things you need to work to overcome even in environments where they ordinarily excel.
Consider the following commonly voiced complaints about sling packs below and then read my rebuttal.
“Sling packs aren’t stable.”
This complaint does have teeth, though it is somewhat overstated in my experience.
Since a sling pack is typically attached to your body by a single, large, angled strap there is a tendency for the load to sway or skid back and forth along your body as you carry it, especially under movement.
Though this does result in nominally more expenditure of energy, and potentially more frustration on long hauls, this lack of stability is a feature in other circumstances for reasons I described above namely because you can reposition the pack easily while you are wearing it.
You aren’t strapped into the pack! Even while you are moving, if the pack starts to skid all you need to do is gently tug it back into place and then cinch up your strap a little tighter.
You can always use your hand to help anchor the pack if you don’t need it free for some other task.
Also consider that some sling packs feature a built-in (sometimes hidden) secondary strap, commonly called a ‘Y’ or ‘wishbone’ strap that can deploy from the opposite corner at the bottom of the pack, connecting to the main strap over your sternum.
This is a great feature, especially for preppers who are likely to be running heavier than the average user, and goes a long way to easing the load and keeping the pack stable.
“Sling Packs lack capacity compared to standard backpacks.”
You can file this complaint under, “of course they don’t”.
The reason a sling pack typically lacks capacity compared to its competitors is not that they cannot build the packs large enough or tough enough, but rather because the class of pack is not well suited to carrying extremely heavy or large loads typical of other packs.
This may be an issue for you, or it may not.
If you are a graduate of the Kitchen Sink School of BOB Packing, a sling pack will probably always disappoint you.
But if you are of the notion that you should pack your BOB with only the things you are likely to need for the specific environment you will see that a sling pack is more than adequate for survival in most environments.
Urban environments and woodland environments both inherently furnish many more of the things we need to survive as far as shelter is concerned, and that means we can carry fewer and lighter items to maximize what shelter is all around us.
If your bug-out plan involves moving into a transitional or completely barren terrain space, a sling pack might not be for you.
If your plan instead involves repositioning to somewhere else in a city or just moving through the “fringes” of settled areas a sling pack will probably treat you fine and carry plenty of gear.
“Sling packs are hard on your shoulder(s).”
Probably the most common gripe about the sling pack is that they are hard on your shoulders, or rather shoulder considering the strap only runs across one.
This is true, at least compared to a double strap pack, but is proportional to the amount of weight that the pack carries.
As always, hauling a backpack, sometimes known as rucking, is a skill that should be developed, and dawning a backpack when you have not hardened your body to the experience of moving it around cross country is going to become very painful and short-order no matter what you are carrying.
If you have hardened your body to the rigors of carrying a pack, including a sling pack, you will fare much better.
Regardless, there are some things you can do to help prevent one shoulder from getting broken down before it’s time.
Quite a few sling packs on the market are designed with an ambidextrous design that lets you route the main strap over the right shoulder or over the left shoulder.
It takes only seconds to reconfigure such packs for carrying on one side or the other, allowing you to rest the ailing shoulder.
Another option is to simply flip the pack around to your front and carry it up front for a time as this will greatly ease the weight borne by your shoulder.
Setting Up the Sling Pack for Success
Setting up the sling pack for success in an urban environment involves no special considerations beyond packing a bob normally.
You’ll want to situate the load so that the majority of the weight is as close to your body as possible and carried low, near your hips.
You’ll want to pack the contents in such a way that commonly used items or items you anticipate needing more frequently or nearest to the surface of the pack when you open it. Nothing new here.
Compared to many other bug-out bag choices I recommend you make one change when it comes to a sling pack and make it something brightly colored, or even a civilian-acceptable fashionable pattern.
The reason being is that proper camouflage is not commonly seen in many settled environments unless it too is part of a fashionable pattern, i.e. the “mimicry” of designer clothing or ubiquitous deer hunting camo common in rural towns and villages.
Bright and cheery colors or muted sophisticated patterns will actually do more to camouflage you among the mass of humanity found in a populated environment than any improvised or high-end military camo pattern.
Also, consider that should you find yourself in a position or situation where discretion becomes a mandate you can easily camo the pack with paint when you need to or just pop a camo cover over it.
Lastly, it would be in your best interest to equip your sling pack with a few small accessory pouches on the main strap and a modestly sized admin pouch on the main compartment if it does not have one already.
Just like any other survival situation, there will be gear and equipment you will need regularly, and you might not have room or inclination to place these items in your pockets.
Having these tools located where you can reach them instantly while the pack is carried is a boon.
You won’t need to make too many changes to sop in order to find success with the sling pack in urban environments.
Conclusion
Sling packs are an undervalued choice of BOB for most environments, and are often overlooked for their inherent lack of stability and supposed lack of adequate capacity.
But in reality, these perceived flaws are either not flaws at all or a feature in the pack’s favor.
Sling packs can afford preppers an ideal combination of mobility, capacity, and convenience uniquely suited for the challenges and trials inherent with moving around in dense and congested terrain, populated or not.
These unique and unusual packs are typically superior to large hiking packs and military-style rucksacks in built-up environments. Review this article and give them a try to see if it will work for you in the urban jungle.
If you are a prepper, there’s a high likelihood you’ll be relying on various tools and devices that require liquid fuel to function.
It could be a vehicle, a generator, a chainsaw, a lantern, anything- no fuel, no go, it is just that simple.
That means that accumulating, properly storing, and rotating your fuel supplies is just one more thing on your weekly and monthly readiness checklist.
Unfortunately, most of us won’t be able to get by with just one kind of fuel. It might be the simple mandate of owning multiple vehicles or tools that use different types of fuel, or it might be diversification as a hedge against loss of capability.
The reality is that logistically your job will probably be a little more complicated than you think when it comes to fuels.
But fear not. As always, we here at Modern Survival Online are standing by to provide you with the information you need to help steer your acquisitions and keep you from making mistakes that will result in wasted effort and time.
Below is a guide all about nine of the most common and important fuels for preppers.
No Such Thing as “Best” – It is all About Tradeoffs
Before we get on to the list proper, I would like to talk a little bit about the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of different liquid fuels.
Specifically, you need to understand that there is no such thing as best. All you get when choosing one fuel source over another is a different set of trade-offs.
True, much of the time what fuels you’ll be required to store to be ready for rough times ahead will be dictated for you based on what your vehicle, generator, and various other tools use, but for some of us we will have more choice in the matter.
We will be buying and choosing what fuel we are going to put in with and this is where the selection process can get tricky.
Do you want a fuel that is widely available, inexpensive, and energetic but one that has a short shelf life owing to volatility, or would you like a more expensive fuel with a long shelf life that is difficult to get and largely obsolete for most applications? Other comparisons abound.
Yes, some fuels will be auto-includes and others will be optional or even just in-case choices.
But keep in mind that the survival landscape could look very different going forward in the aftermath of a major event compared to life as we know it today. Ponder that as you read over the list below.
9 Types of Fuel for Survival
1. Gasoline
Gasoline. Or petrol, if you’re an Englishman. You know it and you love it. Gasoline is the most ubiquitous petroleum-derived liquid fuel that gives life to internal combustion engines large and small the world over.
Gasoline is plentiful, comparatively affordable, and provides plenty of power for nearly any application requiring an engine, but its volatility and capriciousness both as a liquid and vapor means that safe storage practices are a must, and it is long-term storage where modern gasoline presents the most problems.
Gasoline is not pure in its commercial form, being instead a combination of multiple hydrocarbons.
Stored correctly in an appropriate container, ethanol-free gasoline will last anywhere from 6 months to a year before its component compounds separate enough to render the gasoline “dodgy” or even completely useless.
However, the proliferation of high-percentage ethanol/gasoline blends means that the shelf life is even shorter, 3 months on the outside, maybe 6 months if you use a stabilizer additive.
Straight gasoline that has no ethanol can last anywhere from a year to 1 ½ years with a stabilizer additive.
Regardless of which one you are storing, attempting to run an engine with gasoline that has gone truly bad can lead to significant malfunctions or even destroy the engine.
This means that storing any quantity of gasoline for any length of time will mandate religious rotation, or reconditioning of old gas on your own if you don’t want your supply to go bad, and that is a hassle that many folks, including many preppers will simply not be up to.
If you are relying on critical tools or vehicles as part of your survival plan, you might want to consider an alternative fuel source if you need your fuel stores on standby for a long time.
2. Diesel
Modern diesel fuel as we know it is not a specific formulation of petroleum fuel, but instead it classifies any liquid fuel specifically for use in a diesel, or compression ignition, engine.
Compared to gasoline, diesel fuel is not as energetic and the engines themselves are more complicated but also more durable, and commercial diesel fuel is significantly more stable over time and gasoline, though it does struggle in specific conditions, such as very cold weather.
Like gasoline, modern diesel fuels are being increasingly tinkered with and sold with various additives that have slightly reduced their once famously long shelf life.
Even so, diesel is an excellent option for long-term storage compared to gasoline so if you have ever contemplated getting a diesel engine vehicle, your personal preparedness plan might be the last excuse you need.
When storing diesel fuel, one must be very cautious of low temperatures which can lead to jelling of the fuel, making it unusable until temperatures have raised enough to return the fuel to its liquid state.
Another quirk of diesel fuel is that mysterious algae can form and live in the diesel fuel mixture at the border of water separation within the solution.
These algae colonies are very much like algae that form in your pond or pool at home, and left untreated can hideously clog fuel lines and ruin your day.
Despite these setbacks, diesel is an excellent option for liquid fuel so long as your vehicle and generator infrastructure utilizes it.
3. Biodiesel
Biodiesel is one of the most promising liquid fuels in use today specifically for diesel engines, and one with many interesting advantages for preppers in particular.
Biodiesel is simply a form of diesel engine fuel that is created from plant and animal matter, specifically through a chemical reaction of lipids such as animal fat or plant oil, interacting with an alcohol of some kind.
What results is an ester, either methyl ethyl or propyl. Soybean oil, vegetable oil, and animal tallow are among the most common components used for the creation of biodiesel.
The ready availability of the ingredients and the comparative ease of the chemical processes and reactions required to create usable biodiesel means that this is a legitimate DIY fuel for diesel engines that preppers are at least theoretically capable of creating themselves.
It is worth noting, however, that only specialty engines can run on pure biodiesel but a usable biodiesel fuel mixture is easily made by combining a large quantity of biodiesel with a much smaller quantity of standard diesel fuel.
Surprisingly efficient, biodiesel is a good option for the 21st century but it does have one major shortcoming compared to standard diesels.
The organic compounds in biodiesel are vulnerable to degradation by various forms of microscopic life that will attack and consume it, meaning that without specialty storage procedures and additives you cannot expect biodiesel to keep as long as your standard diesel fuels.
Nonetheless, preppers getting truly ready for a long-haul survival situation would be wise to become well versed in the use and creation of biodiesel.
4. Kerosene
Kerosene is another petroleum-derived hydrocarbon-based fuel commonly used for household and outdoor purposes as a lamp or stove fuel but also commonly employed as aviation fuel in a highly refined form called RP-1.
Once upon a time, kerosene was an extremely common fuel and a facet of civilization thanks to its preponderant use as lamp fuel throughout cities.
Improvements in the efficiency and availability of other liquid fuels have largely seen this usage superseded throughout most of the world certain countries, such as India, still make widespread use of kerosene.
Kerosene is, as imagined, extremely flammable and when in common usage throughout cities as lamp and stove fuel is often responsible for approximately 40% of all accidental fires.
However, kerosene operating at high efficiency in a lamp will produce a considerably clear, bright light and portable heaters utilizing it for fuel can easily heat and dry space.
In such devices, kerosene remains an excellent fuel for preppers in a portable capacity.
Though kerosene is spendy today in much of the West this cost is offset but its easy storage requirements and long shelf life.
Stored in an appropriate container that minimizes airspace with an eye toward preventing the formation of condensation kerosene can last anywhere between two and five years.
5. White Gas
What yes, AKA Coleman fuel or “camp gas,” is a naphtha-based petroleum fuel composed of light hydrotreated distillates, and as the name suggests is overwhelmingly used in portable lanterns and camping stoves.
It is sold virtually everywhere in the United States and Europe and is an affordable, efficient, and popular choice for those specific applications mentioned.
Perhaps the only disadvantage with white gas compared to other fuel sources is that they are very limited in its usefulness.
In virtually every case, you will not have any large tools or vehicles relying on white gas as a fuel source, but if a big part of your prepping plan involves the aforementioned lanterns or stoves, you’ll definitely want a ready supply of camp fuel on hand to operate them.
Gas has similar flammability to gasoline, but happily compared to gasoline it has a very long shelf life, anywhere from five to seven years when stored unopened, and up to two years when stored after being open.
One quirk of white gas that you should keep an eye out for is its propensity to rust metal containers, specifically the metal containers it is sold in!
You should regularly inspect the containers holding your white gas for any signs of rusting and either dispose of it or use it quickly before significant rusting takes hold when it is detected.
6. Propane
Everybody knows and loves propane, even if you only use it as fuel for your backyard grill.
However, compared to all the other liquid fuels on this list propane has the most potential as the sleeper “superstar” fuel for personal readiness.
Believe it or not, liquid propane is the third most commonly used fuel for vehicles of all kinds the world over, coming in right behind gasoline and diesel.
It can operate everything from buses and full-sized cars to forklifts, power tools, and personal heaters. Truly, this is the one fuel that can seemingly do it all.
Propane is easy to transport, overwhelmingly safe when kept in an appropriate and inspected pressure vessel, and easy to use.
It is also reasonably affordable, costing about $2.50 per gallon at retail and just under $2.00 per gallon on average for home delivery.
Compared to other liquid fuels, propane presents fairly unique hazards.
Propane is a liquid when under considerable pressure but its low boiling point means that it will turn into a gas immediately upon release into the atmosphere, but being heavier than air, this explosive vapor will sink down close to the ground or floor, and it represents a simple asphyxiation hazard.
The greater danger is obviously that of explosion, typically occurring when a leaking propane cylinder is kept near a pilot light or other source of flame or spark.
Propane at most standout capability for preppers, however, aside from its extraordinary versatility is its equally extraordinary shelf life.
Propane, kept in an appropriately inspected and serviceable vessel has a shelf life well in excess of 30 years with absolutely no additives or other fiddling required to achieve.
For our purposes, a propane-fueled vehicle and generator setup, along with propane heating and climate control in our homes mean that an on-property tank containing hundreds of gallons of propane could be all we need to get through a long-term survival situation.
7. Wood
Probably the most basic and fundamental solid fuel is wood. The burning of wood for a camp or cooking fire has accompanied mankind through the ages and will accompany us into the foreseeable future.
Wood is unique among all the other fuels on this list and then it requires the absolute least amount of processing, special skills, or industry to produce.
Dry branches and twigs can simply be picked up off the ground and immediately lit for light and warmth.
Greenwood, too, will usually burn, though it does so inefficiently and will generate abundant smoke in the bargain.
Though wood is about as elemental as it gets, there is always more to know in order to maximize your return on investment.
Wood that is stockpiled for firewood should be processed into appropriate lengths and then split into smaller pieces to maximize efficiency and promote rapid drying.
Drying, or seasoning, most hardwoods is a process that will take a couple of months and this should be accounted for if one is rapidly trying to prepare for oncoming cold weather.
Additionally, wood including seasoned firewood is vulnerable to equally elemental threats, including wood-eating and wood-boring parasites and a variety of fungi or molds that will rapidly decay and degrade your wood into nothingness.
Keeping such pests and hazards off of an outdoor pile of firewood is a significant challenge.
8. Paper/Cardboard
Paper and cardboard form one of the most common kinds of packaging and subsequently detritus in our modern world.
Both are paper products and that means they are ultimately derived from wood, and therefore can be burned in much the same way that wood is.
Compared to proper wood, paper and cardboard products will burn quickly and brightly, necessitating regular refueling to keep a fire going.
No this is hardly ideal from a sustainment perspective, paper and cardboard are so plentiful, so ubiquitous and in our modern era, you should not want fuel to burn in an emergency.
Virtually every trash can you pass contains it and every product that you buy has some paper or cardboard component.
Even if you have a supply of better fuel for your purpose, paper and cardboard always have a place as tinder or even kindling for establishing your primary fire.
Keeping a small box of newspaper or shredded cardboard for just such an occasion is warranted, and you would be smart to learn how best to maximize the performance of various compositions in an emergency situation.
9. Sterno Tabs/Gel
Sterno is a brand of jellied or solidified alcohol-based fuels, most commonly encountered today in those tiny tins used to heat food on a buffet table.
Though they seem like a novelty, Sterno fuel burns extremely hot and extremely cleanly, with some varieties producing intense heat with no visible flame and hardly any smoke to speak of.
Though this presents safety considerations unique to this type of fuel, there is no arguing with the efficacy of Sterno thanks to its availability, stability, ease of use, and suitability for indoor applications.
Widely available and reasonably affordable, Sterno can serve as a great primary fuel for special applications or when traveling.
A couple of cans of Sterno will supply quite a lot of heat for a tiny increase in weight and bulk to your overall load.
Also, it is worth mentioning that typical Sterno cans are not insulated in any way. The steel cans themselves will become extremely hot in use and could be a secondary fire hazard if not set on an appropriate surface or if the ground is not cleared of debris.
Always make sure that you allow the can to cool down completely before stashing it again.
Conclusion
Dealing with a crisis or the aftermath of a major disaster means you’re going to need the right fuels to run your vehicles and tools.
All of the liquid fuels on this list are reasonably common and all have a purpose, so it is up to you to plan for long-term storage based on what you already have or set up your acquisitions accordingly to make the best possible use of any or all of them.
The bug-out bag is a vital piece of kit, and a core concept, of prepping. The BOB is going to be the first piece of gear that you reach for when things get really bad, and even if it isn’t time to hit the road quite yet when disaster strikes you’ll want to have it by the door so you are ready to go.
The bug-out bag is a sort of lifeboat for preppers, and there is nothing you would rather have with you when you are forced to flee a nasty situation.
The bug-out bag is seen as mandatory for anyone who lives in a rural or remote area, but is sometimes underemphasized for those of us living in the urban jungle.
As it turns out, the challenges and travails inherent with surviving or bugging out from an urban environment are no less demanding of being properly prepared than those endemic to less developed areas. They call it the urban jungle for a reason!
Like any other environment, there are unique and specific requirements to be met and obstacles to be overcome in an urban environment, and this will affect both your choice of BOB as well as your loadout.
Adapting to these requirements will give you a leg up over everyone else, whereas ignoring or failing to meet them is only going to hinder you.
In this article, we will be bringing you the best bug-out bags and bug-out bag concepts for urban preppers that are the culmination of exhaustive research and years of experience.
The Quirks of Surviving in Urban Areas
When it comes to survival necessities, you’ll find that the importance of any given resource does not change no matter what environment you are in, but the priority might.
This is as true for urban environments as it is for the Arctic Circle, the high desert, or any place else. Failing to take this into account could see you ill-prepared indeed at the moment of truth.
You could create an enormous list or hierarchy of human needs, but speaking strictly about survival you can boil them down to the “Big 5” of air, shelter, water, food, and security.
No matter where you go, no matter what the situation and what caused it you must have those five things or you are not going to be long for the world.
Note that these Big 5 survival necessities are in generally descending order of importance: a human can survive for only minutes without air, a few hours without adequate shelter in harsh conditions, a few days without water, and a few weeks without food.
Security, well, you have as much time as the situation allows; the bad guys and mean critters get a vote, too!
Now let us look at some examples of how the priority of these necessities shift based on the environment.
If you’re surviving near a massive and remote fresh water lake, water might be among the least of your worries.
Similarly, food is not going to be much of a problem if you are sitting on top of a store room or pantry packed to bursting.
Air is often the most plentiful survival resource in any given situation, but if you are surviving in space, by way of a fun “for instance”, it would be incredibly precious and pressing indeed!
Shelter would be priority number one if you were in an arctic environment but less of a concern in a pleasant, temperate one. And so on…
Despite surviving in an urban environment you’ll still need all of the above, but compared to more traditionalist survival scenarios that postulate survival in remote or pristine natural areas your priorities will change.
Air will be in no short supply in a city, but many disasters both man-made and natural could quickly result in air so contaminated that asphyxiation will be a grave and imminent concern.
Security will also take on new and prime importance when surviving in an urban environment.
Being surrounded by hundreds of thousands or millions upon millions of other people means you’ll have to be constantly on guard against human threats.
Our other survival necessities are far from guaranteed, also. It is easy to think that food will be among the last of your worries in a city, but consider that those hundreds of thousands or millions of other mouths will quickly be scarfing up any food there is to be found.
The only way cities get more food is through their reliance on ceaseless, around-the-clock deliveries from elsewhere in the country.
Water, too, is far from guaranteed despite the countless taps and faucets that surround you in the city.
Public water works are incredibly intricate systems that depend on legions of trained workers maintaining and operating the system.
When that system breaks down or gets damaged contamination may make that water unsafe to drink, if it appears at all when you turn the handle.
In short, any survival scenario worth the name is going to be just as difficult if not more difficult in an urban environment than elsewhere and that means both you and your bug-out bag must be up to the task, and your BOB along with its load should reflect the specialized nature of the environment you’ll be surviving in.
Bugging Out of Urban Areas
Since this article is about bug-out bags, and bug-out bags support bugging out, we should consider what our bug-out is going to look like when we are starting out in a built-up, urbanized area.
What disadvantages will that force on us? What advantages will we have, if any? What special characteristics could trip us up or cause unforeseen problems?
The two most obvious and iconic characteristics of an urban area are the sheer population density and the avenues of approach and departure. Let us consider the latter, our paths for movement in or out, first.
Movement Considerations
Cities are designed to handle massive amounts of traffic, but how well they handle that traffic is always a precarious balancing act that is usually just on the far side of the tipping point.
A slight rise in volume or any sort of accident or other mishaps that slows or stops traffic quickly causes a domino effect that can lead to total gridlock.
Natural or man-made choke points like bridges, tunnels, and major thoroughfares are particularly vulnerable to this effect.
And this of course refers just to vehicular traffic and the adjacent sidewalks for pedestrians.
Any area that is not comprised of roadways is likely going to be buildings, and buildings are basically giant concrete beehives with many, smaller paths and corridors leading into, under, and through them.
Accessing buildings and other man-made paths means you’ll need to enter through a door, window, or some other portal.
These smaller paths offer many more opportunities for free movement when things get clogged on the street but also many more opportunities for obstacles and barricades to be put in your path, be it a locked door, gate, security shutter, or just an improvised blockade.
The smart urban prepper will have a plan for dealing with all of these so that your progress is never totally halted.
Also, consider that being in either cramped confines or just jam-packed streets means an opportunity to be snagged or tangled will be high, and your bug-out bag should be kept correspondingly compact and lean to help offset this.
Population Considerations
And what about that population density, how does that affect our bug-out?
Simply stated all of the problems attendant with huge numbers of strangers taking action in an emergency will now be your problem.
These people will be moving to and fro, doing whatever they think they must improve their chances of survival assuming they are acting accordingly.
They will be gobbling up resources, jamming thoroughfares with bodies and vehicles or just acting in a panic, making them irrational and possibly dangerous.
Of course, mixed in with all the mundane survivors will be opportunistic predators that you’ll have to be on the lookout for.
Security becomes a very high priority in any urban environment, at least compared to less populous, rural environments.
Major urban centers are infamous for their high crime rates even in the best of times, and these crime rates are only going to explode in times of chaos and pandemonium, especially when law enforcement is busy with bigger problems.
Opportunistic thieves and those that are desperate to equip themselves might target you for what you carry, and you’ll need both a plan and tools to deal with them.
Air Quality is a Major SHTF Concern for Urban Areas
The last thing you should consider is that, more than almost any place else, you will need equipment that can ensure you have clean, or at least cleaner, air to breathe while bugging out.
There is hardly any natural or man-made disaster that does not create a substantial risk of fire, and fires in cities are particularly dangerous, not just because they can spread with frightening rapidity but also because they will churn out a frankly unbelievable amount of toxic smoke, quickly poisoning the air.
Also, any collapsing buildings or parts of buildings will clog the air with fine dust to the same effect.
You will need some sort of mask to filter this debris and smoke should you encounter it. We’ll talk a little more about that in the loadout section.
Picking the Best Urban Bug-Out Bag
Any BOB must meet a certain standard and fulfill certain requirements. As you might expect this definitely applies to the urban-centric bug-out bag.
Below are five important criteria you should consider prior to selecting your urban BOB, and when we get to our list of recommendations later you will find that each of them more than ably fulfills all of these requirements.
Capacity
Any BOB that is worth the name is going to be sizable enough to carry a good assortment of gear, but on that note, your average urban-oriented BOB will not be as large as one that is destined for a life of service in the remote backcountry.
Also consider that capacity and size go hand in hand, with a larger pack able to haul more stuff but also have a greater overall footprint and weighing more.
You definitely do not want to be carrying a massive backpack in an urban environment. As mentioned above there are just too many snag hazards both inside and outside buildings.
Urban BOBs must be just big enough to carry what you need and no bigger.
Fit
No matter the environment and no matter the situation a BOB must work with you, not against you, and that makes fit, good fit, critical for getting good results out of your BOB.
Your BOB, whatever its configuration, should ride comfortably and carry the weight how you want it while remaining easy to adjust and maneuver when you need to.
Pay particular attention to sometimes ignored creature comforts like strap and belt padding and texture, as these can quickly become make-or-break items when wearing the pack for a long period of time.
Remember that anything annoying about the way a pack carries in the beginning will turn intolerable after mile 20, so take fit seriously!
Durability
Always remind yourself that your bug-out bag is a piece of emergency gear, not gear to facilitate a hobby or something for fun, no matter how enthusiastic you are about the endeavor.
Your BOB must endure and perform under the same circumstances you’ll be enduring, and that means it has to be durable.
Rough handling, snatch attempts, snags, abrasion, heavy loads and more will put all the materials of your pack and its construction to the test.
You cannot risk losing your pack or, even worse, suffering a blowout that spills your gear all over the sidewalk where it will be quickly hoovered up by teaming masses of panicky people.
Whatever pack you choose make sure it can go the distance under hard use.
Organization
Organization is an important but highly nuanced factor for BOB selection. You want enough compartments inside the pack that will allow you to store and protect your gear in a useful and meaningful way, but not so many that it slows down your access or eats up those ever-valuable cubic inches of capacity.
Similarly, while you don’t want the exterior of the pack festooned with barnacle-like pouches or gear strapped to it openly like you’re some sort of nomad, quick access compartments that you can open up without breaking into the main compartment or even taking the pack off can keep your quick-use or emergency items close at hand ready to use when you need them.
Color/Pattern
Urban environments make choosing the correct color and or pattern of your BOB challenging.
On one hand, choosing a BOB that is in a bright, obvious, and non-threatening color or pattern will help you blend into a sea of similarly colored bags of all sorts in the hands of other people, especially during everyday life. This is a sort of “blend into the herd” mentality.
On the other hand, there will definitely be times you need to go low profile or avoid observation, and those aforementioned civilian colors and patterns will work against you.
What is a clever prepper to do then? This is a decision you’ll have to make for yourself, though I would be inclined to choose a color that could work in either direction, like a seal gray or loden green.
Alternately consider a camouflage cover for a brightly-hued pack so you can hide it in an instant.
Great Urban BOB Choices
Grey Ghost Gear Gypsy
Grey Ghost Gear has a well-earned reputation for making tough, intelligently-designed, and tactically-oriented backpacks.
The Gypsy lives up to that reputation and then some but based on appearance alone it is not a pack one would typically expect to find in a tactical or bug-out setting.
It looks like one of the traditional overlanding packs from years gone by, but make no mistake, despite its traditionalist looks and ageless canvas construction this is a bomb-proof pack that can put up with anything while looking as unassuming as possible.
The Gypsy is what you might call an old-school flat top pack, and this classic aesthetic is married to an equally classic material: waxed canvas.
The canvas is used wherever they can get away with it but Grey Ghost switches to the expected tough ballistic nylon where it is needed in order to add even more strength or versatility.
Regarding storage, you will want for nothing, with a large main compartment featuring a divider as well as a concealed bank of PALS webbing for pouch attachment.
The main compartment can be completely unzipped and laid down turning the pack into an easy-access front loader when required.
A secondary compartment has the expected velcro field which allows you to modularly organize the interior with mating pouches or a holster for concealed carry.
The exterior of the pack gives nothing away in appearance, with no webbing and no tactical-looking design choices, just a couple of zipper pouches and a few pockets for commonly used or small items, and the lower section of the outside has a load-bearing panel that can allow you to hang larger or awkward items.
When it comes to retro trendy appeal, the Gypsy pack earns top marks while sacrificing nothing in regards to strength or storage. A winner!
Eberlestock Secret Weapon
Eberlestock, as a luggage company, built its fame and fortune on their ingeniously designed tactical packs that feature a deployable scabbard for a rifle or similar long gun, allowing the user to easily stash and deploy their weapon without the aid of a sling.
They know a thing or two about building packs around carrying a weapon and that insight is obvious in their Secret Weapon pack, a clever and unassuming daypack that looks like it belongs on an office commute or at the yoga studio but is intended for concealing a short barrel rifle or shotgun.
Nothing about the exterior of the pack screams “gun” or “tactical”, as it is designed with a clean aesthetic that looks at once modern and timeless.
Exterior storage is minimized but internal storage is ample and intelligent, featuring two main compartments, with the “public” compartment giving nothing away upon opening while still providing plenty of room for customization, organization, and stowage.
The second “private” compartment securely holds your weapon or other gear safe from prying eyes.
Note that the Secret Weapon is the largest of the packs in this category and is still intended only for holding a mid-length short barrel rifle or a larger weapon with a folding stock.
This is one pack that looks great and appropriate to a civilian setting on the outside in pretty much any color thanks to its conspicuous lack of webbing, bungee cords, and other tactical accouterments.
It is entirely adequate as a BOB on its own if you don’t use it to carry a long gun, or as a BOB for a minimalist prepper if you are packing.
Moving a long gun around securely and without drawing attention in an urban environment is a difficult trick to manage for most of us, and this pack can definitely help you achieve that with a minimum of fuss.
Maxpedition Entity
Most of our readers are probably already well acquainted with Maxpedition, makers of thoroughly tough and reasonably priced packs for all purposes.
Though the company has long depended upon tactical styling and accouterment for their packs their latest lineups have been trending more towards a civil or “gray man” appearance more than overtly tactical, while still giving up nothing in the way of features and capability. The Entity series of packs exemplify this new direction.
These packs were designed from the ground up for hard use in urban environments, with a clean aesthetic that will draw no attention from any passersby.
Even the exterior storage is accessed via concealed or hidden zippers or flaps held shut by magnets. Clean, slick and unobtrusive is the watchword.
Inside, the Entity features more to celebrate with multiple access points, plenty of compartments, dedicated power bank routing, and Maxpedition’s ubiquitous concealed carry compartment that is ample enough to hold a full-size handgun and several spare magazines.
The CC compartment is also ideal for stashing thin items in an unobtrusive way. The Entity packs are available in three sizes, but we find the 35 liter version is entirely adequate for an urban bug-out bag.
Some users might miss the ability to configure the pack to their heart’s content thanks to the lack of PALS webbing and other connection points but this is a very small price to pay for such a clever and capable urban BOB.
Maxpedition Lithvore
Maxpedition’s second entry on this list is more of a fusion of their older, tactical or military aesthetic with their new, sleek low-profile civil aesthetic.
The Lithvore series of packs feature more options for expansion and customization thanks to a lattice-style attachment system, expandable compartments, and water bottle holders, and an administrative organization system for small tools and commonly used items.
The pack is typical Maxpedition quality with YKK zippers and oversized no-slip pulls. Reserved but ample amounts of webbing are excellent for external load carriage and the main compartment features plenty of cells for organization including a laptop compartment.
Mesh pockets inside and outside allow you to see what you have stashed where and the main zipper opening and primary exterior pouch or in a clamshell configuration.
Creature comfort has not been sacrificed with padded, textured shoulder straps and plenty of adjustment for precise control of the load.
The only thing that holds this pack back is a lack of loud and proud civilian colors, and the interior primary compartment does not feel particularly cavernous thanks to its emphasis on organization and compartmentalization.
5.11 Covert 18 2.0
5.11 needs no introduction for our readers, and one of their latest packs, the Covert 18 2.0 combines their prowess for tactical pack design with an extremely low-profile street-smart aesthetic and ample storage, making this possibly the ultimate urban BOB.
The Covert 18 is notable for its minimalist aesthetic, consisting of a spacious main compartment, a smartly organized exterior admin pocket built into an external cargo flap, and as always, a concealed carry compartment ideal for hiding a handgun and ammo.
Other features abound, including dual water bottle pockets, concealable logos, detachable ID panels, low-profile slip pockets, and a travel-friendly laptop compartment.
Internal storage pockets are mesh fronted making locating your stored gear a cinch.
Perhaps best of all are the colorways, on outdoorsy black on tan with high-viz orange zipper pulls and a black-on-black that features lunar gray zipper pulls and accent color.
Both colorways are not what I would call ostentatious, but they also don’t scream tactical in any sense of the word, instead appearing predominantly as a civilian, if rugged, backpacks.
The Covert 18 pack is priced right, especially spacious and wonderfully low-profile. This one might be my favorite of all the urban-centric BOBs on the market right now.
Vertx Transit Commuter XL
Vertx is a maker of soft goods with some very forward-thinking designs suitable for survival purposes or clandestine tactical action.
One of my favorite bags they have produced in the past was the Transit Commuter series, a hybrid sling and satchel pack that was remarkably adaptable to a variety of purposes but one with a grievous shortcoming in the BOB role: It was simply too small!
It seemed destined to remain an EDC or special purpose bag forever.
But no longer, thanks to the introduction of the Commuter XL. Just as capable, nearly as light, and sacrificing nothing in the way of capability and now capacity.
This bad boy is now big enough to carry a compact long gun and all of your other gear besides.
The main compartment is completely velcro lined from stem to stern and concealed by a privacy panel that keeps your serious hardware safe from snoops or inadvertent observation alike.
The panel is itself festooned with additional pouches and compartments for storage.
But you don’t have to configure everything yourself, because the external and secondary built-in pouches are low profile and unobtrusive so you will avoid the pouch cancer look that is so indicative of a prepper that is “packing heavy” or somebody with a tactical job.
This is a pack that can be carried under one arm, like a satchel, or across your back as a sling pack.
An integrated ‘Y’ strap provides more stability that you’ll need when moving quickly or carrying heavy.
These ingenious bags even feature a full-length insert designed to hold ballistic panels that can allow you to use the pack as an impromptu cover against gunfire.
Although oriented predominantly towards the carry and employment of firearms this is another extremely slick, aesthetic-forward pack that would make a fine choice for an urban BOB.
Urban Survival Gear Checklist
So we have picked out our bug-out bag based on factors and considerations that are endemic to the challenges we will encounter in an urban environment.
That’s great, but the pack isn’t going to be worth much unless it is full of the gear, tools, and provisions we will need for the task ahead!
The following section contains your urban survival packing checklist that will contain universally helpful items as well as detailed breakdowns with other considerations and the following subsections.
Don’t depend on having neither the time nor the clarity of mind to gather the things you need when disaster strikes.
Time is always a precious commodity in a survival situation, especially in urban environments.
Make your list, check it twice and keep that BOB packed and close!
Shelter – Lightweight, adaptable, multipurpose.
Emergency blankets or lightweight camping blankets
Tarp or flyweight bivy
Accessory cord or paracord for securing, if needed.
Air Quality/Breathing Aids
Half-face respirator
Dust masks, at the minimum
Gas mask might be warranted
Filters and cartridges must be appropriate and rotated
Water Supply
Water bottle
Portable filter
Steri-tabs or other chemical purification agents
Food
Shelf-stable
Requires minimal prep
Easy to eat
Clothing
Suitable outerwear for weather/season
Gloves, sturdy
Sunglasses
Headwear
Spare pair, socks + underwear
Footwear, sturdy (if not worn habitually)
Defense
Pepper spray
Knife
Firearm (see discussion below)
Tools
Flashlight and/or Headlamp
Roll of duct tape, small
Super glue
Pad and pens/pencils
Jumbo sharpie
Lighters, x2
Vise grips
Entry tools (see discussion below)
Medical
First-aid kit
Trauma kit
Power
Batteries for all devices/tools
Wall/Vehicle chargers + cords
Solar charger
Power bank, charged
Shelter
Urban terrain typically provides some advantages, especially when it comes to shelter, as there will be no shortage of buildings that can afford you some protection against bad weather and make it easier to warm up when it is cold or cool down when it is hot.
Accordingly, the urban bug-out bag does not unduly burden itself with tons of shelter gear.
A sturdy tarp or a flyweight bivy in conjunction with an equally lightweight camping blanket or even foil emergency blankets is probably going to be all you need. Make sure you include some accessory cord or paracord to secure the tarp if required.
If you are packing heavy, or at least heavy for an urban environment, you might include a lightweight sleeping pad or even an inflatable one to save even more space and ensure you’ll remain off the cold floor or ground.
Whatever you decide, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can omit shelter supplies entirely just because you’re in an urban environment.
Air Quality/Breathing Aids
More than most other environments and across the widest variety of events urban terrain will force you to prioritize air filtration equipment as part of your complement.
The reason why is that fires or just general destruction will quickly choke the air in and around cities with smoke and dust, making breathing difficult, aggravating existing conditions and possibly creating long-term health risks.
You can’t afford any of those things, and you definitely can’t afford to asphyxiate when you were trying to get clear of what darkened the skies in the first place.
Everyone has an opinion on what is best when it comes to breathing aids, and the default option, a simple disposable dust mask, is the lowest common denominator choice.
Though usable and nominally useful they don’t seal well and they wear out quickly. You should include a few of these things as a contingency option, but don’t depend on them.
Much better options are half-face or full-face respirators with appropriately rated cartridges of N95 or better. These offer substantial protection against all kinds of airborne particulate hazards.
Some preppers have a preference for legitimate gas masks, but these are likely overkill unless you are dealing with a bonafide chemical or biological agent release.
Nonetheless, whatever you choose ensure that you obtain and rotate the appropriate filters as they do not last forever, and bouncing around in your bug-out bag will degrade them over time.
Water Supply and Food
No big surprises here. You’ll want a reliable water bottle so you can start off with a quantity of safe drinking water and also have a vessel for holding what water you collect during your travels. A high-efficiency, portable water filter is a necessity as are chemical sterilization tabs.
Food should be of the minimalist ration type, calorie-dense, long-lasting, and easily eaten with minimal preparation.
You don’t want to be busting out a camp stove or figuring out a way to get water on a boil in an urban environment.
Though the likelihood of finding safe, ready-to-eat food in an urban environment is much higher than in a wilderness environment, the food supply will diminish geometrically as time goes on during the situation as survivors comb the city for what comestibles remain.
Clothing
Additional clothing included in your BOB should be based on contingency for weather or local climate as well as items to protect your body from harsh conditions and chores.
What you include in your BOB will probably depend on what clothing you wear as a matter of course.
If your daily attire is not suited to the rigors of survival, you’re probably warranted in including a full set of clothing that is.
At any rate, a seasonally appropriate outer garment should be included, along with headgear, sunglasses, and a sturdy pair of gloves.
More than any other environment urban terrain produces obstacles and hazards that can lacerate your flesh, so keep your hands protected.
Also, make sure you include a spare pair of socks and underwear since the ability to change into dry and/or clean sets is valuable.
Defense
As alluded to throughout this article, self-defense is going to be a prime consideration for survival in urban terrain.
You can depend on whatever city you are in being jam-packed with fellow survivors, as this isn’t going to be a “last man on earth” type of experience where you pick your way delicately through the graveyard monuments to mankind’s hubris, all alone.
No, you will likely have to fend off the deranged, the desperate, and the predatory at some point if you want to survive.
Pepper spray is mandatory, as it will solve many more of the problems that you’re likely to encounter compared to lethal weaponry.
But on that note, sometimes you won’t have any choice and that means you must have the tools, the training, and the will to use them in order to save your life from a deadly threat.
Knives make for a vicious close-quarters weapon in addition to an indispensable utility tool.
Firearms are, as always, the weapon of choice in our era but you must take care that you do not run afoul of traditionally strict laws governing such in urban areas, at least prior to the onset of the disaster.
If you do choose to equip yourself with a firearm, don’t go overboard on spare ammunition as ammo is extremely heavy and there are plenty of other concerns you’ll need to account for.
Tools
You’ll have plenty of call to employ tools during your urban bug-out. First and foremost among the tools, you’ll need are personal lighting solutions, specifically flashlights in conjunction with headlamps if you prefer them.
A good multi-tool will help you take care of the innumerable tasks and gear maintenance chores that will invariably pop up.
Duct tape is useful for repairs, improvisation, and 1,000 other things. Same with super glue, which is also handy in a first-aid context.
You should keep in your bug-out bag a weatherproof notepad along with some pens, pencils, and a jumbo permanent marker for taking notes or leaving them.
A lighter and small fire starting kit are worthwhile additions too, though you’ll have to use them judiciously in urban terrain.
Lastly, consider including common entry tools like lock picks and shims or even a compact crowbar or halligan tool for breaching common barriers preventing access to buildings if you have the skills to employ them.
Concerning the latter category, you must be very circumspect with such things, however, as many municipalities consider these items “burglary tools” and they are strict no-no’s for civilians.
Also, do not employ them in such a way that will draw negative attention to yourself as you don’t want people thinking you are a bad guy out prowling and growling under the circumstances.
Medical
Your medical loadout should include a standard first-aid kit for dealing with lesser injuries as well as trauma supplies for handling major ones.
You should not ignore or minimize the impact of even minor injuries because you will likely not have access to reliable medical care during the event. Minor injuries that get infected can turn into life-threatening ailments in fairly short order.
Also consider that trauma supplies don’t do a lick of good if you don’t have the skills to properly and safely employ them. Make sure you get the training to go along with the gear!
Power
Your selection of electronic tools and gadgets will not work for long if you can’t keep the electricity flowing.
This means your bug-out load should carry a stash of batteries for all the devices that need them, including potentially a spare and fully-charged cell phone battery, an array of wall and vehicle chargers with extra long cords, a solar charging kit, and a power bank that you can use for on-the-go recharging. This too should be kept fully charged.
With a little forethought, it is possible to get plenty of use out of your electronics even in the middle of an SHTF situation in an urban environment when the power is out.
Conclusion
There is hardly a prepper alive that does not have a bug-out bag, and with good reason. The BOB is the core prep around which many other preparations and plans revolve.
But compared to typical wilderness survival scenarios and advice urban-dwelling preppers have a different context under which they will operate, and must plan their pack and gear selections accordingly.
The challenges attendant with survival in urban areas during SHTF events mandate correct preparation if you want to survive.
Use the information provided in this guide to set yourself up with an ideal urban BOB and associated gear.
Sambo is a Russian martial art developed in the early 20th century, originally intended to improve the hand-to-hand fighting capabilities of Red Army servicemen.
It has since spawned myriad forms or schools, some with an emphasis on sport and others on very real self-defense or military action.
This is a martial art that has combined techniques and philosophies from other arts into an effective combination. Still, one question remains: what type of weapon is traditionally used in sambo?
No traditional weapon is associated with the art of sambo. Sambo is a martial art that emphasizes hand-to-hand without weapons. However, combat or military-style sambo does incorporate training with knives and firearms.
Sambo is actually an abbreviation for the Russian phrase meaning “self-defense without weapons,” so that should tell you what you need to know regarding weapons in most training curriculums.
However, practical offensive and defensive maneuvers with weapons are incorporated into training for real combat. You can learn more below.
What is Sambo All About?
The basis of sambo is grappling, which includes throws, takedowns, and joint locks. Sambo also makes use of striking techniques, such as punches, kicks, and knees.
The goal of sambo is to take down an opponent, armed or not, as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Sambo practitioners learn to fight in a variety of different situations, including against multiple opponents and while standing up or on the ground.
Sambo is a popular and internationally recognized combat sport, though relatively unknown in many Western countries.
It has been featured in the Olympic Games alongside other kinds of wrestling and grappling such as Judo and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Sambo is unique among these grappling arts in that it includes striking, making it a well-rounded and holistic martial art for real-world purposes.
What are the Different Types of Sambo?
There are two main recognized types or branches of Sambo: Sport sambo and combat sambo.
Sport sambo is the kind that you would see in tournaments or competitions, and it closely resembles Judo thanks to the use of a jacket-like uniform and point-based scoring system.
Takedowns, throws, and locks are all allowed in sport sambo, chokes, punches, and kicks are not.
Combat Sambo is the branch of Sambo that is focused on real-world self-defense applications and military combat, though it is also practiced in a “sport” form, with additional safety gear.
It may include training with knives and firearms, as well as all the techniques allowed in Sport Sambo.
Other variations exist, some subtle and some fairly extreme. Freestyle sambo allows pretty much any kind of non-sambo to be employed (when a non-practitioner wants to face off against a sambist, for instance) or beach sambo… which is practiced on the sand!
So Are Weapons Employed in Sambo Training or Not?
Yes, though there is no “traditional” weapon associated with sambo akin to the nunchaku or bo that is often associated with karate and other Asian martial arts.
But, sambo is a hand-to-hand combat martial art first and foremost, and combat sambo taught for practical applications will also include combat using and defending against knives, pistols, and rifles.
How are Weapons Incorporated into Sambo Training?
In general, combat sambo training will focus on disabling or disarming an opponent that is armed with a knife or gun as quickly as possible. Training also emphasizes using such weapons to turn the tide on an opponent.
So, while there is no traditional weapon associated with sambo as a whole, practitioners of combat sambo do train with knives and firearms as part of their established curriculum.
This makes sense when you consider the military applications of the art.
Are Weapons Used in Competition Sambo?
No. In sport or tournament sambo, there are no weapons used whatsoever and in old school sport sambo any kind of striking is usually not allowed either.
This keeps things safe for competition and also more closely resembles other traditional grappling arts like Judo.
Is Sambo a Valid Choice for Self-Defense Training?
Whether you are interested in self-defense or simply want to learn a new martial art, sambo is definitely worth checking out. It is an incredibly effective system that has been battle-tested throughout the years.
Absolutely, yes. Assuming you can find a qualified and legitimate combat sambo instructor it has all the foundational elements you need for hardcore self-defense, including striking, grappling, takedowns, takedown defense, and preparation for dealing with multiple opponents as well as training with and more importantly defending against knives and firearms.
In this regard, sambo has much in common with modern, street-smart MMA.
Additionally, good sambo schools will put students into much live and freeform sparring to pressure test techniques and skills under stress against legitimately resisting opponents.
All sorts of flowery techniques from other martial arts work when a sparring partner will feed you a nice, telegraphed strike or charge, but precious few do when you are actually slamming into another human at full force.
However, it’s worth noting that not all sambo is created equal. As with any martial art or self-defense system, there will always be those who teach it more for competition or entertainment purposes only, and not for its intended use as a serious combat art.
When choosing a sambo instructor it is important to do your research and vet them; make sure that they are teaching authentic, combat-effective sambo and not just sport sambo or some other watered-down variation. Ask for references, and check them!
So I've been in and out of the lucid dreaming community for a while. A few times I've come close but I've never commited. Recently I've begun to dream journal again and my dream recall has increased exponentially over the past few days. On the 1st day I could remember 2 short dreams. On the 2nd day, one incredibly long and detailed dream inwhich I questioned the logic of somethings inside the dream but failed to go lucid. On the 3rd night I remembered 3 dreams, 2 short and 1 long. On the 4th night no dreams were recalled but last night I recalled 4 dreams! 2 of which were long and detailed, and the other 2 medium - short. My question would be how do I increase the quality of my dream recall? And from there, how do I actually go lucid within the dreams? :D I've been doing reality checks but have been slacking recently as I was more focused on awareness throughout the day. Most of my dreams are 1st person. I have not yet noticed a constant within my dreams.
On a side note, I did attempt WILD along with WBTB but I could not fall asleep remaining still. I tried to envision my self rolling off the bed, or sort of creating the dream I wanted to fall into once I was asleep but after staying still for a while my body just began to hurt? And I had to constantly breathe harder as I was struggling to breathe a little. I didn't feel any resistance when I moved though.
via Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views - Attaining Lucidity https://ift.tt/SFO9YIK
