[ShelbyGrape]

I'm assembling my bug out bag (I'm a little inexperienced, so my apologies), and I need some outside input on what I do or don't need, and what I still need to add. So here's what I've currently got.

Also, if it helps, I'm in the Semi Arid and mountainous environment of Northern Arizona.

And I intend for this to last me more than 72 hours, I'm hoping for it to be more of a long term bag. Before I get a bunch of people saying "bug in", I live next to a interstate highway, so my house isn't exactly safe, but there's a suitable bug out location close enough to walk to.

All this is in or strapped to a medium MOLLE assault pack (soon to add a sleeping bag carrier)

6 500ml water bottles
9 Freeze dried mountain house entrees (Each says 2 servings)
1 complete MRE (I have a small pack that I can jerry-rig to the outside, that holds 2 mres)
3 multitools (Love these things, one on my alice gear, one in pack, and one in my pocket)
1 swiss army knife
1 compass with pouch
2 1QT G.I canteens with carriers
50 ft paracord (soon to be 150)
120 rounds of 7.62x39, 80 of it in 20 round mags, the rest in boxes
50 rounds 9mm +P, plus 10 in a mag. Mostly HP
4 emergency blankets
About 20 bandaids
1 small tube of neosporin
2 ace bandages
Small Shears
1 bottle of ibuprofen
1 roll of Grey duct tape
1 small roll of camo duct tape
1 E-tool with a.l.i.c.e carrier
1 S&W 1st response knife
500 ml stainless steel bottle with small fire starting kit inside (25 weather proof matches with 2 strikers, a magnesium fire starter and striker, 8 quick tinder pads, and a bic lighter. Also, a small bottle of water purification tablets)
1 Life straw
1 SOG tomahawk with carrier (I know, here comes the "mall ninja" comments. But I really like it, and it's what I have since my little gerber hatchet broke)
1 Chainmate saw http://www.amazon.com/Chainmate-CM-24SSP-24-Inch-Survival-Pocket/dp/B0026OOS60
1 Large knife (I need a better one)
1 G.I. canteen cup
1 Mini camp pot (Right around 750 ml, I think)
1 8x10 Tarp
1 boonie hat
2 sets of DCU fatigues
1 pair of hot weather tan combat boots
3 pairs of socks

1 SKS with tapco conversion with 4 20 round mags (and an awful 30 rounder that I probably wouldn't carry)
and
1 9mm pistol with 1 10 round mag

All this together weighs right around 60 pounds, if I remember right.

I still need to add more, I know. I'm going to get around 5 bandanas, a shemagh, an esbit stove with extra fuel tablets, a sleeping bag and carrier, a small dedicated first aid kit, sawyer snake bite kit, and some stuff for my a.l.i.c.e rig.

So, in your opinion, what else is needed?

 

[TSilant]

Im at work with nothing to do. Lets go into huge amounts of detail!

I'm assembling my bug out bag (I'm a little inexperienced, so my apologies), and I need some outside input on what I do or don't need, and what I still need to add. So here's what I've currently got.

Also, if it helps, I'm in the Semi Arid and mountainous environment of Northern Arizona.

Cool!

And I intend for this to last me more than 72 hours, I'm hoping for it to be more of a long term bag. Before I get a bunch of people saying "bug in", I live next to a interstate highway, so my house isn't exactly safe, but there's a suitable bug out location close enough to walk to.

Thats understandable. Im skeptical of relying on a 72 hour period anyway. Id rather be able to, even if i dont need to, last longer.

All this is in or strapped to a medium MOLLE assault pack (soon to add a sleeping bag carrier)

How much leftover space do you have, if any?

6 500ml water bottles
Thats fine, but if you just wanna store water, get some ziplock/freezer bags, or a big collapsible bladder. Takes up alot less space, and the ziplock bags are multi use.
9 Freeze dried mountain house entrees (Each says 2 servings)
Check the calories in them. Alot of MH meals only have a few hundred. Thats not a bad thing, just bare in mind their value.
1 complete MRE (I have a small pack that I can jerry-rig to the outside, that holds 2 mres)
How big are they? In terms of space, you might be better off with a few cans worth of food thatll add up to significantly more than what youve got packed now, which is good if youre looking to last more than three days.
3 multitools (Love these things, one on my alice gear, one in pack, and one in my pocket)
Just so long as you have at least one really good one, thats swell!
1 swiss army knife
Cool.
1 compass with pouch
Cool.
2 1QT G.I canteens with carriers
Since you have the means to carry water and another water bottle, you dont need two canteens. You dont even need one canteen if youve got a water bottle (and likewise, you dont need a water bottle if youve got a canteen). Save some space and just pick one.
50 ft paracord (soon to be 150)
Cool. Ill just idly suggest making it 200FT, but thats just my opinion.
120 rounds of 7.62x39, 80 of it in 20 round mags, the rest in boxes
50 rounds 9mm +P, plus 10 in a mag. Mostly HP
I dunno much about ammo. Sounds swell.
4 emergency blankets
Cool.
About 20 bandaids
Bandaids are okay for little cuts and things, but some butterfly bandages or wrap bandages will cover a much larger variety of injuries at a relatively low cost.
1 small tube of neosporin
Cool.
2 ace bandages
Cool.
Small Shears
Cool. You might want to look into tweezers and scissors, as well.
1 bottle of ibuprofen
Cool.
1 roll of Grey duct tape
I assume thats a full size roll?
1 small roll of camo duct tape
Youre probably never gonna need camo tape. Just get a little role of decent black gaffer tape.
1 E-tool with a.l.i.c.e carrier
Cool. If it isnt already collapsible, you might want to look into that.
1 S&W 1st response knife
Cool.
500 ml stainless steel bottle
See my comments on the canteen.
with small fire starting kit inside (25 weather proof matches with 2 strikers, a magnesium fire starter and striker, 8 quick tinder pads, and a bic lighter. Also, a small bottle of water purification tablets)
Since you have fire and tablets as ways to purify water, and a life straw, you again really dont need so many canteens and bottles. Also, do you have a bandana or something to filter the water with?
1 Life straw
Cool. Just bare in mind these have a limited number of uses.
1 SOG tomahawk with carrier (I know, here comes the "mall ninja" comments. But I really like it, and it's what I have since my little gerber hatchet broke)
No worries. As long as its something you can actually see yourself needing, its fine.
1 Chainmate saw http://www.amazon.com/Chainmate-CM-24SSP-24-Inch-Survival-Pocket/dp/B0026OOS60
Do you really need a tomahawk AND a saw? I guess its okay to have redundancy, but your knife (knives, actually) can be your redundancy.
1 Large knife (I need a better one)
What kinda knife?
1 G.I. canteen cup
Aluminum, i assume? Either way, ill recommend keeping one canteen and the cup, then lose the SS bottle and the other canteen.
1 Mini camp pot (Right around 750 ml, I think)
Cool. SS i assume?
1 8x10 Tarp
Normal blue tarp or heavy duty or nylon...? Either way, cool.
1 boonie hat
Cool.
2 sets of DCU fatigues
Cool.
1 pair of hot weather tan combat boots
Cool.
3 pairs of socks
Cool.

1 SKS with tapco conversion with 4 20 round mags (and an awful 30 rounder that I probably wouldn't carry)
and
1 9mm pistol with 1 10 round mag

All this together weighs right around 60 pounds, if I remember right.
Thats a fair bit, but i guess weapons will do that to you, and clothes.

I still need to add more, I know.

Its not that. Its that youre really strong in areas where you dont need to be really strong. Happened to me as well

I'm going to get around 5 bandanas,

Or, one bandana and multiple thin rags. Saves space.

a shemagh,

Cool.

an esbit stove with extra fuel tablets,

This is just my opinion: Please look into a denatured alcohol burner or something instead. Youll get alot more bang for alot less buck, they weigh less, theyre more versatile, AND you can stick solid fuel into an alcohol burner and do that anyway. You can even make an alcohol burner at home with stuff you probably have laying around. Esbit stove and fuel works, but you end up going through alot of fuel to do very simple things and its, again, expensive. Esbit makes a brass alcohol burner thats pretty cheap (and which ive used and know works fine).

a sleeping bag and carrier, a small dedicated first aid kit, sawyer snake bite kit, and some stuff for my a.l.i.c.e rig.

Alternatively, an SOL bivvy bag (the climate youre in should be okay for that). And lets not forget some kind of sleeping pad, or at least knowledge of how to insulate against the ground some other way.

So, in your opinion, what else is needed?

Comments in blue! Hope you find something out of it useful!

EDIT: You might also be happier with some carabiners. Makes it easier to rig up tarps, attach things to your belt, survival fishing rod, etc.

 

[Glock19 RTF]

I'd double the socks. Never can have enough. I know it probably doesn't rain much, but gore tex rain gear(coat and pants) will be invaluable in a cold wind of the rain.

 

[Astronomy]

72 hours (3 days) in AZ mountains:

6 500ml water bottles
9 Freeze dried mountain house entrees (Each says 2 servings)
1 complete MRE
1 multitool
1 compass with pouch
2 x 1QT G.I canteens with carriers
50 ft paracord (soon to be 150)
120 rounds of 7.62x39, 80 of it in 20 round mags, the rest in boxes
50 rounds 9mm +P, plus 10 in a mag. Mostly HP
About 10 bandaids
1 small tube of neosporin
2 ace bandages
Small Shears
1 bottle of ibuprofen
1 knife
500 ml stainless steel bottle with small fire starting kit inside
1 small bottle of water purification tablets
1 Life straw
1 G.I. canteen cup
1 8x10 Tarp
1 boonie hat
1 set DCU fatigues
1 pair of hot weather tan combat boots
3 pairs of socks
1 SKS with tapco conversion with 4 20 round mags
1 9mm pistol with 1 10 round mag
1 bandana
1 Esbit stove and tablets
1 sleeping bag and carrier
1 ground pad
1 bivy sack
1 LED headlamp
1 Israeli pressure dressing
1 map
1 sunglasses (packed in a case inside your kit)
1 sunscreen

Consider the MH 2 serving meals to be one serving. They'd only feed two if the two were children.

Do you have clothing for cold weather? Wet weather? Do you have snowfall in your area?

 

[-GLENN]

@shelbygrape looks like a solid list. How does your bag support it all? If your bag is hydration compatible I would recommend a 2-3L bladder. Super light and hold tons of water. Seems like you have a ton of water redundancies, would be cautious due to weight.
Over all, Quality.

 

[ShelbyGrape]

I know that I have water redundancies, but water sources are few and far in between here, so I carry extra to get me from spot to spot. Plus is 90+ degree weather, I burn through more water.
I might empty one of those canteens and still carry it on the outside of my pack.

I also forgot to say that I have an led head lamp and a pair of mechanix gloves.

And it does get all the way down to the teens in the winter here (sometimes, though rare, it'll get colder than that), but most winter temps here are 30-50 in the day.

I have a sleeping bag, but I'm not sure how good it is, I need to test it. I also have a sleeping pad, but it's bright blue, which doesn't exactly blend in.

I have a M65 field jacket (I actually have a few) in dcu, and 2 liners for it. It's water resistant, but not completely. Not much in the way of cold weather pants though, I just wear the DCU pants and thermal underwear. I might go for some BDUs though, they have more thickness.

No wet weather gear, only time it rains is summer, and sometimes drizzles in Winter. But when it rains, it rains like hell. That's a concern for me, since my shelter building skills aren't monsoon proof. I don't know about a poncho, though. Not sure how big or bulky they are, and I think I could use my tarp as an impromptu poncho.

We have snowfall sometimes, only lasts for 3 days at max. Although some mountains keep it for most of the season.