Emergency "GO-Bag" Contents, Your Input Please!!

[captdoogie]

Thanks, but, respectfully, that doesn't answer my question.
What type of event do you imagine or consider, could make you activate your evacuation plan? In another way, in what situation would I be in need of the material in your pack?

I'll admit I do not understand what I've been reading. But I am willing to consider opinions.
Thanks,
do

[TObject]

Event:

Police officers come in and say, "Mandatory evacuation, if you don't leave right now, we are going to drag you out."

Situation:

You are sitting at an airfield converted to the evacuation assembly zone: you are cold and hungry and don't know what the hell is going on, fortunately you have a blanket in your EGO Bag, some energy bars to snack on, and a radio you can get the latest news from.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by captdoogie
Well this may start a whole new discussion, but I'd like to ask what is the purpose of a "To Go" bag/kit? What situation do you envision would make you need a "To Go" bag?
Please, I'm not trying to create a problem. I've openly voiced my concern on this subject. I'd like to just as openly be educated as to the concern/risk. I am truly trying to understand people's concerns.
Regards,
Doug

Tsunami, earthquake, jury trials gone awry causing riots, nuclear holocaust, are all very real and probable reasons for this part of the world to have one.

I'm about 99 percent sure that the folks in NO wished they would have had one.

As a matter of fact, TO went wheeling with us and was unable to return home when the fires came through. No warning, no nothing, just had to bunk with us for a while until he could get back home. So add fire to the list.

[Daless2]

Hi Do,

You raise a good question that I am afraid I am not capable of answering with any accuracy.

My thought to re-do my EGO bag was to be better prepared for the unlikely, put possible event of a future emergency need.

Where I live, and where other's live, we might be preparing for different types of emergencies. Here in Kentucky I don?t have too much concern for Hurricanes, or earthquakes. While I suppose they are possible, they are extremely unlikely.

More likely, but then again a small chance would be tornados or flooding, or God forbid a terrorist attack.

By floating my desire to re-do my existing EGO bag I was trying to do two things:

pick the brains of my many friends for ideas and suggestions so I could build the best EGO bag I could,

and also to perhaps cause others to rethink their own emergency plans and EGO bags so they too could be better prepared for the unlikely event of some disaster, natural or man made.

I have never been a boy scout, but I have spent the better part of my adult life in the military. But even that doesn?t fully prepare or qualify me as all knowing when it comes to being prepared.

I believe strongly in the collective thoughts of all to come up with the best solutions to just about any problem.

It?s thought provoking actually.

Every time I think I have it right, someone makes me thing of another approach or another reason t do this.

Now I?m thinking I need a portable force field generator so I can address the possibility of a meteor attack! (Just playing!! I know it won?t fit in the backpack!)

I guess I look at the EGO Bag much like I look at training.

The more you train, the more things become a part of you, and then in an emergency you can fall back on that training rather then "invent" what it is you need to do.

The EGO back is the one thing that no matter what, if I have to leave, I will take with me.

Once it is prepared, I will feel confident that with it, I can have a better chance of surviving or simply being more comfortable then I would otherwise be able to be.

For an old guy like me, I find that comforting. I don?t have to think, just grab the bag and go!


Do you have an EGO bag prepared for you and your family? Let us know your thoughts on what you have in it. Others might find something we haven?t thought of yet.

I hope you have a great holiday and an even better new year.


Frank

[Daless2]

Addressing Prescription Medications ? Expiration

I have come up with a way to address the issue of prescription medication expiring while sitting in my EGO Bag.

I went out and bought Two 7-day little pillboxes.

These are the type that have 7 little compartments, one for each day of the week, Sunday through Saturday.

I filled both pillboxes with my medications and have put one inside the EGO bag.

The other is sitting on my bathroom vanity as it contains the stupid little pills I have to take each day this week.

At the end of the week I plan to re-fill the pillbox in the bathroom with 7 more days worth of pills, then swap it out with the 7-day pillbox in the EGO bag.

So next week I will be using pills that are 1 week old, and my EGO bag will have fresh pills in it.

While this involves a little work on my part, it isn?t back breaking and helps to ensure I will always have fresh medications in my EGO Bag.

Hope this helps

Frank

[TObject]

Frank,

I don't take any prescription medications yet, but this is exactly what I plan to do with batteries in my EGO Bag. When I need batteries for household use, I grab the box from the EGO Bag and place a fresh box instead.

It looks like this method that can pretty much be applied to any expiring item in the bag.

[JeepGeek]

How about using the Calendar feature of your email program to schedule reoccurring reminders to replace items in the EGO Bag before they expire.

[Daless2]

Hey Sergey,

You?re a great straight man! Proving once again that ideas shared almost always get flushed out into something better then first thought!

I too will keep the battery box on the top of the EGO bag and rotate out with fresh batteries, as I need them elsewhere.

Glad to hear you have taken my advice to stay young. Keep doing that and you won?t ever need the medicines! LOL


Rob, that?s a great idea too. Set up a reminder system via pre-scheduled email. Or perhaps make it a part of a routine twice a year; swap the batteries out or anything else that may expire twice a year when we do the time changes (daylight savings time). Like most of us do with the smoke detector batteries. Make just another task on the to-do list.

The batteries I just put in my EGO bag have a date of 2011 on them. That?s pretty far out, but it can?t hurt to rotate them out to ensure they are fresh like the meds are.


I also thought of another document to carry, a copy of my medical insurance card (front and back). While I would most likely have this card in my wallet, who knows what might happen and when I might need it.

This week I will make a list of all documents we have put up here and see where that takes us.


Hey Ron, I ordered some of those cookie bars you posted. I figure the five-year shelf life will be great! The meats I have in the EGO bag are all cured and dried, but their shelf life is only three years. If I can find a better alternative I?ll go with it, or perhaps a combo of them both.

I am also looking at chicken in a pop open can. From what I have found so far the shelf life is also 3 years, but chicken in a can (already cooked) is fairly inexpensive.

Thanks for all the great ideas and the thought that have gone into this.

I like projects like this; there are very few wrong answers!

Have a great evening folks.

Frank

[TObject]

I came across these batteries that I now consider for the EGO Bag.

http://www.energizer.com/products/lithium/default.aspx

In comparison to regular batteries (Carbon Zinc, Alkaline), lithium cells last and stay fresh longer (shelf life 15 years) and perform better in high-drain equipment, but they are more expensive.

[speaceman]

Originally posted by captdoogie
Thanks, but, respectfully, that doesn't answer my question.
What type of event do you imagine or consider, could make you activate your evacuation plan? In another way, in what situation would I be in need of the material in your pack?

I'll admit I do not understand what I've been reading. But I am willing to consider opinions.
Thanks,
do

You saw War of the worlds right?

What did poor Tom cruise have in his GO-bag?

Nothing. He had to evacuate with a couple of cans of chile, a banana and some PB & J. That's not alien fighting food, now is it?

I bet when he was escaping in the one working minivan in all of the state of NY, he was wishing that he read this thread and was better prepared for the alien onslaught.

And just think, if he did have his G0-bag, he could have used his emergency blankets to help Tim Robbins wrap his head. So instead of having to kill poor old Tim, Mr. Cruise could have helped him calm down a bit by blocking the alien mind control rays that were tormenting Mr. Robbins so badly.

The one thing Mr Cruise lucked out on, even though he was unprepared, is the meds. He doesn't believe in them, so there was nothing he could really be missing while running from the aliens.

See, it's all about preparation.

[captdoogie]

WOW!! I never figured owning my poor little TJ 4 cyl would put me in a position to survive an alien onslaught! Damn, I am so glad I bought it. Now if I could just find where I left that death ray cannon!