Thursday, September 25, 2008

Three Essential Survival Tools

Here are three items that should be in everyone's bug out bag.

BOLT CUTTERS - Ahead of the mob, you left just in time. At the first sign of trouble you grabbed your bug out bag, some water and loaded the family into the 4x4 to head out. It's dark, the roads are icy and some bad over steering landed the jeep on its side in a ditch. The winds are fierce and temperatures are quickly dropping. You spot a nearby highway maintenance shed...they should have heat. Pulling the bolt cutters from your BOB you open a gap in the chain link fence and cut the padlock from the sliding doors. You get the family inside and safe. The next morning you right the jeep and continue to your retreat.

SLIM JIM - The fire is racing up the canyon, it's time to go. The pets, family and as many survival supplies that will fit are loaded into the truck. You jump in the cab and turn the engine over, nothing not even a click. Frantic you realize that the lights had been left on...the battery is dead. You see the neighbor's car abandoned in front of their house, they bugged out yesterday. It would have a charged battery. You grab your slim jim from the bug out bag. Being a good neighbor you gently pop the lock rather than busting the window. You open the hood then run the battery back to your truck. Later as you drive down the road you make a mental note to replace the battery...if the cars not melted into the ground.

LOCK PICK KIT - The neighbors left for the shelter several days back, no heat. You were smart enough to install a wood stove and put back plenty of food so the family should be OK. Unfortunately your kid is sick and needs something to bring down a fever. You stocked everything but forgot tylenol and ibuprofen. Grabbing your trusty lock pick kit you move door to door entering abandoned home from the back yard until you find a fully stocked med kit. You grab the meds, lock up the house and head home. Problem solved, kid feeling better.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

In this country the
maintenance 'sheds' are concrete buildings with combination locks on the man doors and overhead doors for the vehicles. Nor are they heated, though they may be warmer than the outside air just by getting out of the wind. No need for fences on those babies. In this scenario I'd be in the bush fast and have a fire built en-route. My BOB has a tent in it- so the shelter problem is taken care of, anyway.
My nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away- 400 yards or so, hidden in bushes so I'd not notice any car there- but my truck does have a portable 'jumper' battery behind the seat. No need to look for neighboring vehicles.
Kid has a fever and no tylenol? oops- who the hell put that jump kit together? Well, we have water- stick him in the tub. Let him be cool and wet while he heals. Got an aspen tree nearby? Cut off a six inch square of bark, including the sapwood, and make a tea- going to be bitter to drink, but 'aspirin' gets its name from 'aspen', one of nature's medicinal herbs. The inner bark can also be chewed, but, again, going to taste just like real 'aspirin'.
Whew- and here I was begining to sweat worrying about someone catching me B&E into gov't building, or face a horde of refugees vieing for the same shelter.
God bless- keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

A big rock would work pretty much the same in all these cases.

If I'm in some kind of survival situation I'm sure as hell not going to both picking locks when smashing windows is 10 times faster.

Anonymous said...

The anonymous posters are being a bit harsh. I agree with your choices for "three essential survival tools" for one major reason - stealth. Yes, you could shoot out the locks, bash out windows with rocks, sleep out in a tent or culvert somewhere, but with these three tools you have stealth. If the roads are blocked with evacuees, but the telephone line, railroad, or BLM/GOV right of way is gated, use the bolt cutters to get in, close the gate behind you, and no one knows, and there is no competition for that road. If you need to borrow a car, use a slim-jim, and it's a lot more un-noticable, quieter, and dryer to not have a window busted out. If you need to shelter out a night in an abandoned or foreclosed home, it's a lot better to pick the lock and quietly hide out, than to bust out the window - making noise, leaving evidence, and letting in the elements and other refugees.

BigBear said...

Thanks Zegon you completely got my point. Sometimes you don't want people to know you were there. Nothing brings cops faster than a busted window or kicked in front door. It's about quietly getting in and out unnoticed. I didn't really want to say they are for B&E if necessity dictates.

Anonymous said...

I'd add two more tools, a BIG screwdriver (too many uses to list) and a rubber-headed mallet, which aside from being multi-use in nature, makes a hellova self-defense weapon when used close in.

Unknown said...

I'm looking for good survival information, and this seems good, except you act like the end justifies the means. Why do you rant against the immoral elites destroying property, and you yourself are willing to destroy someone else's property (break into someone else's abandoned home) to get medicines. I don't get it.

BigBear said...

Jenny,

You are not "breaking" into the house that is why you have the kit. You of course are stealing the medicine. But I have not problems providing for my own. Franky if it comes down to stealing the medicines or letting the child die I will absolutely choose stealing...no question. You would too.