Preppers: Seven Items For a Hand Out Bag
Kevin Felts 07.11.17
Before we begin, let’s define “hand out bag”. This is a backpack that has basic survival items in it. The bag is handed out to friends or family members who do not have a bag.
For example, there were several times when my nephew and I went hiking, and he needed a pack with back gear. A couple of these hikes were around 8-10 miles in length.
Rather than rounding up gear right before the hike, keep a couple of packs ready to go. The packs should contain a basic list of survival gear items.
Let’s take a look at some of the basics. The pack is a given, so we are going to exclude it from discussion. The topic of the article implies there is already some kind of pack ready for gear to be added.
Canteens or Water Bottles
Military surplus canteens and covers are cheap, so there is no reason not to stock up.
Looking at Ebay as I write this article:
Four pack of canteens – Allegheny Outlet, buy it now price of $9.99 + shipping.
MOLLE canteen pouch – Allegheny Outlet, buy it now price of $8.90 + shipping.
MOLLE canteen pouch – Armysurpluslexky, buy it now price of $7.00 + shipping.
That is $16.50 + shipping to outfit a pack with two MOLLE canteen pouches and two canteens.
Water Filter
At no time in human history have we had such easy acess to safe drinking water, that is unless you live in Flint, Michigan.
Looking at Amazon and their prices as I write this:
Sawyer Mini Water Filter, estimated 100,000 gallons – $19.93 and has Prime shipping.
Sawyer Pointone Squeeze, estimated 1 million gallons – $36.11 and has Prime shipping.
Lifestraw, estimated 1,000 liters – 19.95 with prime shipping.
Poncho
It all depends on how much money you want to spend on a poncho. If you wanted to go cheap, get some disposable ponchos that come in a sealed pouch.
In all honestly, it would be wise to pick a poncho that can be used more than a couple of times and can be made into a shelter. Even if the poncho does not have grommets, it can still be made in a shelter with small rocks or acorns and string.
My personal go to poncho is rip-stop and military surplus.
Looking at Amazon, there is a Coghlans Emergency Poncho, clear, for $3.66.
Bug Repellent
Got to have something to keep the biting bugs away.
Deet – at least 20%.
Permethrin – at least 0.5%.
Personally, I like the plastic pump spray bottles. If the pump stops working, just take it off and dump the fluid into your hand.
There have been times when an aerosol spray can stopped working. There was Off in the can, I just could not gt it out. After a couple of times of getting ate up, but having off in a can that did not work, I switched over to plastic bottles with a pump sprayer.
Amazon has Repel 100 insect repellent, 98.11% deet, $7.97 with Prime shipping.
Knife
Everyone needs some kind of cutting tool. Whether it is for building a shelter, skinning an animal…. everyone should have their own knife.
The good news, knives are cheap. However, sometimes you get what you pay for. This does not even have to be a fixed blade knife.
Amazon has the Victorinox Camper II for $19.99 and it is eligible for Prime shipping. If you want a fixed blade knife, there is the Schrade SCHF30 or the Morakniv Companion series.
Fire Starter
Lighter, matches, ferro rod… etc.
Schrade makes the SCHFS1 large ferro rod that sales on amazon for $5.97 and has Prime shipping.
Lighters are sold on amazon individually, 5, 10, 50, 100 or 200 pack. There is a 100 pack of generic lighters on Amazon for $14.98. That is 0.1498 cents each. How much cheaper do you want?
Cook Pot
Everyone should have some kind of pot to boil water for noodles or for freeze dried meals.
Looking at Ebay as I write this.
Allegheny Outlet has an aluminum canteen cup for $7.30 and free shipping.
Amazon has a Wealers Seven Piece Cook Set that has four pots, spoon, knife and fork for $22.99.
Final Thoughts
Lets add all this up.
Two canteens and pouch = $19.00 + shipping.
Sawyer mini = $19.93.
Poncho = $4.00
Repel pump bottle = $8.00
Victorinox Camper II = $19.99
Generic no brand name lighter – 15 cents.
Canteen cup – $7.30.
That comes out to a whopping $78.37 + shipping on some parts, for a hand out bag.
We could probably cut a few corners, such as using a single 32 ounce water bottle instead of canteens and canteen pouches and going with a lifestraw over a Sawyer mini.
This is not a complete list. We have not talked about first aid kits, flashlights or a compass.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on the topic?
