Bug-Out-Bag – TheCampfireCanAlwaysBeBigger.com

Scissors

By admin on Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Look for a quality pair of heavy-duty but comfortable kitchen scissors (6″ to 8″ long) that give you about a 3″ to 3.5″ cutting edge. The larger handle openings of kitchen scissors makes it easy to grip, although all-metal textile scissors like from Wiss and Wüsthof (or any of the other German brands–from Solingen), are outstanding. For a half-decent pair of kitchen shears that will last for 5-10 years, it will cost you between $20-30. Anything above that is going to be higher quality, require less sharpening and will last a lifetime.

Scissors are a specialized cutting tool, and consequently are faster and easier to use than a knife, in many of the practical situations where something needs to be cut accurately and quickly, such as clothing, or plastic bags, duct tape, string/rope, bandages, etc. In a survival situation, this convenience repays itself in spades for the negligible weight of a pair that you carry.

The primary differences between scissors and shears are:

Scissors: have equally sized finger holds and are symmetrical, so they can be used by either left-handed or right-handed users; scissors are defined as being shorter (7 inches or less in total length) than shears
Shears: are longer (8+” in total length), and typically have different sized finger holes; in the textile industry they are purposely shaped for either left or right hand use; but very large shears (like for gardening) have ambidextrous finger openings, or straight handles

Scissors should have a strong precision metal screw or pin holding them together. This metal pivot point allows for heavy-duty cutting power without splitting apart at the tip of the scissors. The metal pivot point will let you cut thicker material the first time. Some scissors allow you to easily disassemble, without any tools, for cleaning. All-metal scissors are easier to clean/sterilize (drop into boiling water) because they don’t have nooks and crannies, like plastic handled ones, but will be colder to use in outdoor cool weather conditions like winter. Most of the higher-end scissors will also have a micro serrated edge which keeps them sharper for a longer time. This serrated edge makes a huge difference when trying to cut straight on the first attempt without binding.

I like, or have used the following scissors in the past, and highly recommend or suggest some of the following brands:

Wüsthof (Model 5553, or Model 5556)
Wiss (any — 28N is good value)
Cutco (Model 77 is my absolute favourite that I purchased years ago, and use regularly in the kitchen, but apparently cost over $180 now!)
OXO Good Grips
KitchenAid
Scotch, Fiskar, or LivinGo (shears and electrician scissors), and Lamson

Scissors are a very important part of first aid treatment. You should ALWAYS add a pair to your kit.

You can purchase specialized blunt-tip trauma shears (that are normally part of a first aid kit), or as I prefer, substitute in a higher quality pair of regular scissors in the kit — since you will most likely be very careful cutting off clothing (rare occurrence), whereas the finer cutting tip of a regular pair of scissors is much more useful for detailed cutting work on bandages and other medical related cuts in the field. The Olfa SCS series are an excellent, yellow-handled high-visibility sharp pair of blunt tip scissors that can be added to your medical kit.

Bug-Out-Bag

Water Purification

By admin on Saturday, April 10, 2021

Compact Water Purification Straw (at least 0.1 micron filter)

In addition to my other post on boiling water, ideally in a metal container, it is important to be able to quickly and easily access clean potable water without contaminants.

There are a number of brands (LifeStraw, Sawyer, Katadyn, MSR, Survivor Filter, GRAYL) which filter down to 0.1 microns. The Survivor Filter in particular, can filter down to 0.05 microns. 0.05 microns is small enough to eliminate a number of viruses, and not just bacteria or protozoa and other nasty floaties. As a rule of thumb: typically viruses are not found in the woods, like in a camping scenario, but bacteria and protozoa/cysts are. Viruses in water are found in more populated urban areas, where there is greater possibly of pollution from human settlement – this would include farmland areas and cities.

Filtering is done either through gravity, or through manually applying pressure, but essentially both push the dirty water through a filter to cleanse it of impurities.

You can always boil water to guarantee that it is germ-free and safe to drink, but water purification straws are meant for FAST water consumption, which is when you are either constantly on the move, or need to be able to do things quickly and efficiently, like in a bug-out situation.

With straw-style filters, add a flexible 3 to 4 foot clear hose purchased from a hardware store, if it doesn’t come with one. This will allow you to drink water without having to bend over close the ground. Otherwise, pack 2 plastic bags: one for the dirty water and the other to capture the clean filtered water and improvise a gravity fed system. This way you can scoop or fill up one bag with the dirty water, then filter the water into the second bag. That will save your back and gives you the option to move to a more convenient location to purify the water.

For a backup, a zip-lock bag with water purification tables is an excellent and very light-weight addition to a bug out bag kit.

Remember, a typical 200lb male needs about 1 gallon or 3.75 liters of potable water to drink each day, to stay properly hydrated from moderate activity (like walking). Drinking water allows a person to think clearly and be less agitated.

The simple formula for your minimum daily water requirement is calculated as follows:

Water (in liters) to drink a day = Your Weight (in kg) Divided by 3 (then Divided by 10)

(and round up to the nearest full or 1/2 liter)

Water (in liters) to drink a day = Your Weight (in pounds) Multiplied by 1.5 (then Divided by 100)

(and round up to the nearest full or 1/2 liter)

Example 1: a 120lb or 54.5kg female would require 1.8 liters (rounded up to 2 liters) of water per day

Example 2: a 210lb or 95kg male would require about 3.2 liters (rounded up to 3.5 liters) of water per day

APRIL 2021: My current water filtration system that I’m using is the GRAYL Geopress 24oz version.

Canadian Prepper recently put out an exhaustive video on how to best collect water from various sources.

Bug-Out-Bag

Caffeine & Stimulants

By admin on Saturday, April 10, 2021

In an emergency situation when you are under stress, you will fatigue faster (especially mentally).

But in survival situations, you also need to remain alert, STOP (Stop, Think, Observe, Plan) and make good decisions. A stimulant will help get you through such a short-term situation.

Also, many people have a daily addiction to coffee, which in a survival situation won’t be available. This will lead to withdrawal headaches or even migraines which you definitely don’t want to deal with in a bug-out situation.

One type of stimulant I recommend carrying is a blister pack of caffeine pills (waterproof), instead of a bottle of caffeine tablets. Each pill contains about 200mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of 2 cups of coffee.

Bug-Out-Bag

Pliers

By admin on Friday, April 9, 2021

Needle-Nose Pliers

A good pair of thin 6″ to 8″ pliers are a very useful item in a bug out bag. Whether they are part of a multi-tool, or high-end knipex cobra pliers, you should have something in your bug-out-bag that gives you better leverage than just your fingers, and improves your dexterity for fine or tight fitting work (think nuts and bolts).

Most needle-nose pliers have wire cutters built into them, which is a bonus of you need to cut through a chain link fence.

I recommend needle-nose as you won’t be frequently using them to unscrew nuts/bolts like a pair of lineman or regular pliers, but rather you want to reach areas where your fingers cannot fit, or apply a flattening leverage.

A multi-tool has pliers built-in too, although a dedicated tool will always out-perform a multi-tool, especially in terms of comfort, due to the insulated handles and larger form-factor, which allow you to apply more gripping pressure.

Also, you can handle live electrical wires with the insulated handles if you need to deal with electrical panels or live fencing situations.

I prefer to carry a 6″ bent-nose version of needle-nose pliers as I find they have more usefulness than the straight style of needle-nose pliers.

I’ve also started carrying a pair of knipex wire cutters.

Bug-Out-Bag

Wool Beanie

By admin on Friday, April 9, 2021

Wool Beanie

In a survival situation you want to be as efficient as possible with regards to maintaining and regulating your body temperature, lost in cooler or windy environments.

A wool hat, beanie, or touque (in Canada) is your best solution to stay warm in this situation. It also covers up and manages your (long) hair, if you’re having a bad hair day.

Additionally, wool does not absorb odors, so you can wear the hat for extended periods of time.

Alternatively, you can use a neck-tube, or a merino wool Buff, or as a last ditch alternative — a cotton bandana.

This type of head cover should be considered a part of your cover or shelter system.

Bug-Out-Bag

Wool Blanket

By admin on Friday, April 9, 2021

Wool Blanket (min. 80% wool; min. 4lbs weight)

This is the number one best possible article you can bring for shelter/warmth. It is better to pack a wool blanket than separate additional articles of clothing or even a sleeping bag.

Wool is naturally water repellent due to the lanolin in the wool fiber, and even when wet, wool will continue to maintain its insulating properties. Wool is fire retardant, and is much safer around fires than synthetic blankets or other shelter materials. In particular, small flying embers and sparks will not create tiny burn holes in wool, unlike what happens frequently with synthetic pants and jackets when sitting around a campfire. Wool is much more abrasion and tear resistant than synthetic materials.

Most bug-out-bags include some sort of tarp and/or or mylar reflective space blanket recommendation, but a wool blanket has more versatility than either of these two items, which certainly compliment it. The only disadvantage of wool in this scenario is the weight and bulk it adds to the kit.

Size: Look for a blanket that is at least 60″ x 80″ or larger and is made up of at least 80% wool, with nylon or other synthetic fibers making up the remaining 20% or less. Any military surplus blanket typically meets this criteria. You want the 60″ width in order to double-up or even triple the thickness (most camping sleeping pads are 20″ in width) of the blanket to use as an underpad to improve the insulation (R-value) between you and the ground. A 4lb to 4.5lb weight will indicate a quality wool blanket with good density of weave and thick loft.

If you do not want to carry a wool blanket, because you find it too scratchy, then the SnugPak Jungle Blanket and the is one of many excellent synthetic fabric substitutes which I’ve personally used during cold weather camping, and works quite well, while packing down very small.

Blanket Safety Pin – use a 4″ to 6″ (100mm to 150mm) safety pin with a (wool) blanket to fashion a makeshift jacket/shelter/clothing.

I’ve researched and written a Wool vs Synthetic – A Clothing Primer (PDF) article, taking an in-depth dive into wool’s fantastic properties.

Bug-Out-Bag

Solar Panel

By admin on Friday, April 9, 2021

Compact 20W Folding Solar Panel (min. 20W)

Given a choice, you ALWAYS want to charge your device off a Portable USB Power Bank. Use solar panels to trickle charge your device only as a last resort.

Power Banks provide the fastest and most consistent charge to your device, because of their built-in charge monitoring circuitry. Re-charge the Power Bank with a solar panel only if you don’t have ready access to a wall outlet or vehicle cigarette lighter port. If the Power Bank is completely discharged, then you could use the solar panel directly to trickle charge your device, but it is best to have the solar panel trickle charge the Power Bank first, instead of the device directly. The primary reasoning is that most (99%) portable folding solar panels do not have a voltage regulatory built-in, which means that the charge varies, relative to the sunlight. This variance, over time, puts a stress on the battery chemistry.

The combination of a solar panel directly attached to a power bank is a great idea in theory, but if either the power bank or solar panel fail, then you basically need to discard the entire unit. So, it is better to keep the two components separate and modular. Also, a power bank is much more compact to move and carry around, without the attached solar panels (the exception to the rule is the Powerfilm LightSaver Max Portable Solar Charger, which costs around $380USD and is difficult to find).

Based on my testing of a variety of crystalline style portable folding solar panels from Amazon, the Anker has a very good quality 21W portable solar charger which has a better-than-average voltage regulator built-in. It’s this small circuit that separates many of the made-in-China fold-able solar panels found on Amazon, from the USA designed versions. More on this below.

PowerFilm‘s thin film F15-1800 30w is the solar panel I’ve settled on for my solar charging needs. PowerFilm panels use amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-film solar modules (like on a solar powered calculator), versus crystalline solar cells. The efficiency of amorphous solar panels is not as high as those made from crystalline solar cells, so the amorphous panels are larger, but cost quite a bit more. The advantages of amorphous panels in a bug out situation though, far out weight the higher efficiency of the smaller crystalline panels. The advantages include:

they charge better in overcast conditions — which is a more realistic scenario than expecting full sunlight each and every day
they are bullet proof (literally!); Powerfilm panels stand up to abuse and will continue to produce a charge, unlike crystalline panels, which when damaged, pretty much make the entire folding solar panel set, toast
they are flexible; they can be rolled up or folded up into a much thinner profile
because amorphous panels are thin, they are much lighter to carry
Powerfilm’s version of the solar cells are designed to output 12V; this allows for charging vehicle batteries; in addition to using cigarette lighter accessories such as a 5V 2.A USB charger to charge your mobile phone

In terms of reasonable performance, you want at least a 20W panel to charge a mobile phone in a reasonable amount of time (4-6 hours). 30W or 60W folding solar panels are preferable, but much more expensive and larger when folded.

To calculate the actual amperage (which is what determines how quickly something can be recharged), divide the rated watts of the panel by the voltage. For example, a 20W panel will theoretically produced 4A at peak performance given that USB devices operate at 5V (20W / 5V = 4A). Based on this theoretical value, I usually take 60% of it to get an ACTUAL operating value you would get in the field (4A x 60% = 2.4A real-world expected charging capabilities). Then, if the panel offers up 2 or more USB connections, I divide the real-world result by that many ports (solar panel with 2 USB plug-in ports = 2.4A / 2 = 1.2A typical output).

The listed wattage rating for a folding solar panel, is the optimal output during ideal sunny conditions between 11am-4pm, with the panel perfectly angled towards the sun. Unfortunately, you will rarely get this kind of output on a consistent basis. In theory, when trickle charging a device directly off a solar panel, and some clouds roll in and block the sun, the solar panel’s voltage regulator is supposed to compensate and properly lower (step-down) the output amperage while continuing to trickle charge the device. In reality, when clouds appear, the less expensive folding solar panels from China, simply shut down the solar panel output, producing NO charge. This means you have to be very conscience of any clouds, and need to continually monitor if the solar panel is still working or not, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a solar panel automatically and continuously charge a device back to full capacity. If this happens to you (clouds appear), then you will need to manually unplug the device from the solar panel, wait a few seconds, then re-plug it back in, in order to restart/reset the trickle charge coming out of the solar panel. You’ll assume that because the sun is back out, that the solar panel is automatically going to start charging your device again, but this will most likely not be the case.

After much testing of several Amazon folding solar panels, it appears Anker’s solar panel circuitry is one of the few that adjusts for cloudy conditions and continues to produce output through a wide range of sunlight conditions, whereas the lesser brand solar panels do not. One last important note: If you are going to trickle charge a device or re-charge a Power Bank with the solar panel, leave the solar panel exposed to the sun for at least 1-2 minutes first, BEFORE you plug anything in. This allows the capacitors in the voltage regulator circuitry to “charge up” or create/fill-up a buffer so that the trickle charge is more consistent. Otherwise, plugging in the device or Power Bank immediately after setting up the solar panel, will not give you the best trickle charge, because the device will be immediately draining these capacitors and not letting them establish their full capacitance.

With all that technical detail behind us, the bottom line is that typically, a 20W solar panel will produce about 1.2A to 1.8A consistently at around 5V while the sun is out with no clouds. Compare that to the quick charge wall warts that operate at 2.4A or even 3.0A now-a-days.

A very useful tool to pair with a solar panel is a USB Multimeter, which measures the voltage and amperage being sent to your device. I definitely pack one of these at all times with my solar panel kit to help troubleshoot, test, and estimate how long it will take me to charge my mobile phone and other USB chargeable devices.

Bug-Out-Bag

Power Bank

By admin on Friday, April 9, 2021

Portable USB Power Bank (min. 10000 mAh)

With today’s technological and communication needs, you might as well carry a Portable USB Power Bank. I recommend one that has between 10000mAh to 26400mAh capacity.

I personally carry the Anker PowerCore II, 10000 mAh battery as it is small, light and can be fully recharged using a portable folding solar panel, and offers up the Qualcomm 2.0 fast-charge technology which seems to charge my iphone a bit faster than non-fast-charge power banks.

Power Banks can obviously be used 24h a day, specifically in the evening, when you want to re-charge your devices. Needless to say, you should also carry the following its with the Power Bank:

the appropriate short-length (less than 2 foot; 6″ to 1 foot) charger cable for your mobile phone
the charging cable (typically a micro USB) to recharge the actual power bank
a quick charge (min. 2.4A) compact wall charger, and
a quick charge (min. 2.4A) car charger

Anker, RAVPower, and PrimeCables are all good reliable brands for all of these items. The Qualcomm 3.0 charging spec is today’s leading industry high-speed charging standard designed to push up to 3.0A of power into your device (fully charges most phones under 1 hour), although 2.4A chargers are the most cost-effective at this time.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ON RATED CAPACITIES (10000mAh, 26400mAh, etc):

The dirty little secret that most consumers do not know is that the industry standard output for portable power banks is measured at 3.7V, while smartphones (samsung, iphone, etc) draw power at 5V.

So, in order to charge the phone, a power bank must convert 3.7V to 5V, otherwise known as the “boost conversion rate” factor which is calculated simply as: 3.7V / 5V = 0.74

This means that the 10000mAh power bank is actually a 7400mAh power bank when outputting at 5V.

The second important secret is that this conversion does not come for free. There is an inherent power loss on the PCBA (printed circuit board assembly), or the “electronics” in the power bank — meaning the circuitry is only between 85% to 92% efficient in doing this power conversion. This actually makes the 10000mAh –> 7400mAh power bank capacity further reduced to around 6500mAh (7400mAh x 88%). The power conversion percentage varies among manufacturers (a marketing feature of the product), while the boost conversion rate factor is a mathematical constant.

So while there’s no false advertising happening, the lack of consumer knowledge makes some customers think they are being shortchanged because they feel that the power bank they just purchased is not performing or lasting as long as expected. With that said, any “slim” or cylinder-style (single “premium” battery) power bank with a nominal rating of 3300mAh or less should never be purchased, no matter how attractive the price point, since it will offer at best, only a meager single smartphone charge or less (3300mAh x 0.74 x 0.88 = 2100mAh)

To calculate how many times your phone can be re-charged, lookup you phone’s battery capacity in mAh and divide that into the adjusted power bank number. In our 10000mAh –> 6500mAh example, an iPhone 8 Plus 2675mAh battery can be recharged 2.4 times (and not 3.7 times) with a typical 10000mAh advertised power bank.

Caveat emptor — do your homework, and use those Grade 4 math skills to get the appropriate power bank you need.

Bug-Out-Bag

Nails

By admin on Friday, April 9, 2021

The common nail has a round smooth shank.

A spiral nail has a continuously twisted shank, so that the nail rotates when it is nailed into a board which makes it grip significantly better than a common nail. In effect, a spiral nail acts like a screw.

The nail is ubiquitous with allowing us to build exacting shelters and has effectively civilized us into the modern era, which — like potable running water — we take for granted these days.

A better shelter is more efficient, appropriately sized, and faster to build. Remember, that prepping and bugging-out is all about efficiency.

What you are doing is stock piling “energy” for later use.

In the case of nails, you are minimizing your future efforts — that is, minimizing your energy usage and time expenditure when it comes to making the second most important survival component (shelter), after water (think of the order or sequence of the survival rules-of-3).

You want to pack a small bunch of 3.5″ (16d) or 4″ (20d) galvanized spiral nails.

These are readily available at any hardware store and are now the de facto-standard in the construction industry, used primarily for framing houses.

Although a nail is made out of hardened steel, it can be bent into an eye hook shape, especially if you carry some pliers.

For a trivial additional cost, hot-dipped galvanized nails will prevent the nail from rusting.

The preferred 4″ nail length can effectively and strongly put together dimensional lumber — like 2×4’s.

Also, 4″ is sufficiently long enough to nail into a board or tree, leaving about 2″ sticking out as a makeshift hook, and still have enough strength to hold up something substantial or act as an anchor to tie things to.

Also, if you need to pull the nail out to re-use it, at least you’ll have something you can grip on to.

A handful of nails in your bug-out bag will go a long way.

Canadian Prepper has an excellent video discussing additional uses for nails.