Lots of examples from the summer of love proving even bump helmets have a place.

Sorry, I am in a desert, so water is essential, and there are very few natural sources readily accessible and also potable.  If stores are closed you can't buy it, so if you don't have it with you, you need to use a sillcock key or other exterior tap or you're screwed.  But your circumstances are different, so just have an empty hydration bladder and save weight.  My bad.  I wasn't considering your geography.

16 and a half pounds isn't too bad.  I'd be happy with a 25-30lb total weight, for all I carry.  If you train with a 30lb pack (filled with sand bags or a few plates) or a weighted vest, from daily walks to hiking to jogging to calisthenics, that 16.5lb pack will feel like a feather in comparison.  

On a side note, here is a handy fire starter/heat and cooking fuel source.  This is a tightly wrapped newspaper, dipped/soaked in molten paraffin.  This one is actually over 25 years old, left over from a sub-zero backpacking and camping trip in Canada.  We were ice fishing and practicing map reading skills and route selections.  This little guy will burn for 5-7 minutes all by itself, almost enough to boil a quart of water, and will help start a fire from wet wood.  Nice to have a couple for emergencies in your pack.  Since it is sealed in wax, doesn't matter if it gets wet- bonus.
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ETA- you can light it with a match, lighter or magnifying glass.  It catches right away.

Thank you.

Just got a few more white lights and slings for all rifles

To go with the thermals

One thing nice about new England is that you don't really need sunscreen unless you're on the water or sitting in a field.

A boonie and a long sleeve Cammie shirt converse everything else.

Daytime use so not as dramatic I suspect. As always it is better with the actual eye.

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ETA: notice you can pick out the naked neck chickens.

No worries. I lived in Tx and had water as the primary prep. It’s crazy how much you go through and how little you get. I had 4x 55 gallons collections and 50 gallons in water cooler bottles, plus cases of bottles. It’s scary.
I remember dry lakes (no natural lakes in TX) and I remember the droughts.

Moved to Ga. we get a shit ton of rain. Like every 2 weeks a real storm, and the longest drought was 32 days. Much more reassuring.

But I still have 3x barrels, cases of potable, a 500 gallon cistern and the normal stock.


But yeah where we hike, water is dirty but there

Digital night vision is not night vision.

God I hate hop.

What do you guys like for a rain jacket/Weather layer and Tarp/Shelter?

I just picked up a Poncho for this purpose as well, though I do sometimes keep a silnylon tarp in the GHB

If anyone needs a USGI poncho:

https://www.orcind.com/product/foliage-green-poncho-with-green-snaps/

They are apparently over runs for an Afghan contract. I bought two of them.

+ A billion.

I was in a CAP ground SAR unit in the 80s. IIRC, we never pitched camp until it was dark and raining.

Since none of us carried stoves we relied on a fire to heat our meals. I took to carrying a 15 minute road flare in my butt pack to make sure we could get the fire going no matter how wet the wood was. Esbit (hexamine) tablets make great fire starters as well since they burn hot for several minutes. Trioxane bars work as well and are easier to ignite but if the foil wrappers gets even a little pin prick, the fuel bar will sublimate and become useless. Hexamine has a better shelf life.

Something I adopted in the past few years for my Bic lighters is the Exotac Firesleeve. It's a rubber case that encapsulates a regular Bic lighter so that it's waterproof and floats. I add a piece of shock cord to link the main body to the cap so it doesn't get lost. Also, don't forget to remove the child proofing piece of metal that largely covers the wheel on a Bic. It can be pried off with needle nose pliers and makes the wheel much easier to operate with numb hands.

that's clearly working. Look, there are flames on his arms!

Can't you just hold your arm next to the wood?

The link states they're factory seconds. Do you see any indications of being a 'second.'

Not on the two I bought a couple months ago.

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Minimum would be gortex shell (pants and jacket) over whatever I am wearing, sleeping on or against a ridge rest.

Add a tarp for additional weather protection.

Step up is a bivy sack.  A waterproof shell over a sleeping bag.  Here is the cheapest example I could quickly find...https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NIQT9FK/?coliid=I326VXEG8LXOI0&colid=3689UAG60G7DG&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Or here is one from REI
https://www.rei.com/product/147955/rei-co-op-shell-bivy

I am not the poster referenced but I keep a tarp in the GHB but if the wife and I are traveling a decent ways from home we pack additional items including rain suits and boots in another bag. Winter has us keeping a winter bag in the car as well.

I need to learn how to get better photos from my thermal

my chickens hiding behind Camo netting Attached File

Gortex pants and jacket from REI ages ago are an add on, or a wear it item.  I have an old bivy sack but seams need resealed and I'd like something with a little insulation.  I've got so much gear I could pack way more than I could wear and carry to be honest, yet I am looking for more, LOL.  Been looking through it, and at ways to meet various ANTICIPATED needs.  

I've slept outdoors in everything from -25 to 120 F, snowstorms to tropical depressions to hot as fuck in the shade.  Mummy bags to whatever I was wearing that day to boxers.

I'm trying to decide on a livable sleeping arrangement/gear for my go/get home bag.  Anyone have experience with this company and or this bag?
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Snugpak Jungle Sleeping Bag
They retail about $70, have a microbial treatment as well as something for water resistance, and has an apparently tightly woven nylon shell with some insulation, and bonus mosquito netting.  Keep out Scorpions and spiders and whatnot.

This packs so small I could probably make it work for, let's say comfy sleeping in this area of the country year round, with a ridge rest and super lightweight nylon fly/tarp.

Anyone have one?

I like to keep a couple of folded up contractor bags. Can be a make shift shelter, ground mat, or poncho, sturdy enough for few days use, and fold up to no size at all.

@viralinsurgency

They are good bags, but too small for me.  I'm 6'2" and wear an XL top.  I can get it zipped, but it's too cramped.  

Snugpak ponchos are too short in the sleeves for me also.  Their jungle blankets are great.  They just need tie-out cordage.

I have a Kelty military jungle bag that works great.  I bought it secondhand from somebody in the EE for about $100.  I see a new one is a lot more expensive than the Snugpak bag.

A USGI sleep system jungle bag with a good compression sack works fine too.

Thanks, good to know.  All my sleeping bags are rated for cold or sub-zero camping, so I'm looking for the opposite end of the spectrum, but still some insulation as temps fall in the evening.



Thanks, will have to consider.  I'm 6' and anywhere from 175-200 depending on what kind of training I'm doing, and also wear XL tops but 34 waist, so from what you're saying this may be tight.

I agree. It’s what I pack in the summer months in my GHB.

I stuff the jungle bag and blanket in here along with a pad:

When it gets colder i just stuff the elite in a bivy and use all of it.

Just watch the temp ratings. They are ummm...Lil on the low end.
Aka let's rate a 2lb bag for -20 lol.

I've got one of there bags it's great above 40f.
Got thier patrol poncho as well.
Well made stuff

How big and tall are you guys?  Will 6' 200lbs fit?  Or be tight?

Is 6'2" the limit where it's uncomfortable and barely fits?  

Regarding the snugpak jungle bag

Got a LBT 30L pack in yesterday from their sale they just had going on. I have a 21L Mystery Ranch pack, and then my large 60L backpacking pack, but nothing in between.

Don't like the LBT at all, it's probably going back. The straps feel horrible and it feels like the way it carries the weight is trying to fall off your back/pull you backwards.

Mine is the elite iirc.
It has a baffle that expands the bag two  inches wider.when unzipped.
I'm not a small dude..and I have plenty of room.
It's a small bag compressed as well.
Smaller than 2 liter bootle.thick and half as long

Back in the 50s, the US govt. spent a ton of money on developing a pen that could write in a weightless environment. The Russians just used a pencil.

So can you. Write in the rain pads are for taking notes, making sketches, writing down critical information that otherwise might be forgotten. It is also a security liability should it fall into the wrong hands. You can spend 40 dollars on a good rite in the rain starter kit, or you could just go HERE and order some supplies.  

Take notes. They could save someone's life.

Been following the thread, and there's lots of great knowledge. But, I think there's something missing from the equation.

You have your water filters, and they're good. They have a shelf life, but, what doesn't? If they get clogged, or something happens, then what? There's a reason why the military uses those little pills, and filters their water the way they do. Figure one extreme or the other. There's either going to be bottled water, or a well, or even some other natural source available, or there's not. No in between. Canteens work. Your bare minimum water requirements are about a liter a day.

You're packing for days. You have to pack for months of sustainable action.  All those fancy gel packs were in the place you had picked out to store everything, and, after opfor got done taking whatever they wanted, they smoked it with a tank. There goes your food store, your ammo, your spares, and anything else you might have wanted to keep around for the duration. They took gramma out , tied her hands behind her back, and blew her brains out. Then they ate your dog. They shoot people down in the streets every night, for nothing, for fun. You're running for your life.

You need water. You need some meds. You need some spare clothing, but, figure that you will be replacing it before too long, because, it'll get trashed. No fancy gel packs, no toilet paper, no tortillas and peanut butter, and all that fancy comms gear does you no good when you cannot charge it somewhere.

Thermal scopes are great. They need batteries. Lots of them. Binoculars do not. If you're not patrolling, do you really need thermals? IDK, maybe. Me, I'd dig a hole, throw up an emergency blanket, throw some foliage over that, and call it a day. I'd do listening watch at the top of every hour. 3 minutes. Local AM station. I'd be hiding. I'd be ready. People talking about sleep systems. I'd be really surprised to hear people are sleeping much, if any, at all.

In other words, people are talking short term sustainment, like they're just out for a hike. Think long term, without resupply, and work from there. How long will that fancy camping gear get you with daily hard usage? Especially when you're being hunted like a dog? Be nice to think resupply, casevac, and all that other happy stuff, but guess what? It ain't for you. Serious one time shot to grab what you need to head into the abyss, before the gates of hell open up on you and you're swallowed whole.  

This video is focused on short term operations and missions, not long term survival.

That's my problem, I'm 6'3", and there aren't a lot of 'tall' options for me in this area (without paying through the nose). Woobie just opened orders for their next batch at https://www.woobieofficial.com/ - an XL would likely fit me but they tend to be a little short.

Saw these pics and immediately thought of this thread... considering all the goodies that we could pack to be more prepared and last longer in the field...

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The premise of the video was packing for a short incursion into occupied city areas, followed by returning to a base somewhere in the mountains.

This thread has explored that type of pack and contents, as well as "get home" or "bug out" bags, extreme light-weight long distance hiking packs and loads, and packing a bag for "I'm leaving my base of operations and never coming back"... where one tries to take everything needed for long-term survival.

I think the discussion has been productive and made people evaluate needs vs wants and see various perspectives for each scenario.

Can you tell me more about this program? You seem pretty familiar with it.

I think you missed the video.

As far as your line of thoughts goes, there was a survivalist group back in the 60s. The more serious they got, the more they realized the same things you are discussing.

They morphed in to the AMM. American Mountain Men. They knew the only real path to sustainable living was 19th century tech.

Ime and imho, taking some of that skill and knowledge, combining it with what works with modern tech, one gets the best of both, if you're talking about  no shit eotwawki.

The filter I use is back flushable. Good for thousands of gallons. Don't be stupid and stick it in the mud and it'll go a long time. A bottle of tablets, not so much. Sublimated iodine in the correct set up will last a long time but tastes like shit and is not great for you in the long haul.

There are a bunch of things we use that would give the advantage in the short term over old school stuff that would last years. But lasting years is moot if you're killed by someone not saddled with a ten pound wool bed roll and candle lantern.

My biggest fear, especially up where I live, is a water filter freezing and getting destroyed.  I know to keep it against my body when not in use, but it only takes once.  That being said, I keep a filter and no tablets.  Maybe I'll change that to add tablets also.

I'm in a place it rarely drops below freezing.  But I still have filter and tablets.  And a sillcock key.  And know how to make a filter.  For fire, I have a plasma lighter, a magnifying glass, and strike-anywhere matches.

Redundancy is a given for the necessities.  That whole "two is one, and one is none" thing.

LARPING

some filters can take freezing due to their construction (e.g. MSR Guardian) - i don't know of any that are cheap

i think most affordable filters are fine against a freeze if they haven't been used, but i might be wrong. wouldn't hurt to have a spare.

Best Quote of the Week!