Any fellow survivalists utilize their truck?

It's not silly. I have a billion Esbit fuel cubes and probably 9 different stoves that can use them. I know Esbit and solid fuel like them will be stable in AZ even in the 200+ degree heat in our vehicles, but I don't need to even carry that fuel anymore. I carry a Solo stove and just need sticks to burn. I can find biofuel anywhere... even in town in people's yards. In the desert. In the woods. And everywhere in between.

I used to rely only on my Jetboil, too. Not only is carrying that fuel in the AZ summers dangerous, but what do you do in the field when one of those fuel tank valves sticks or fails? The Jetboil just became much more difficult to use.

 

That reminds me.. I do have a rolled up rain jacket in the back door pocket on one side, and on the other side I have an ultralight day pack in case I break down and have to carry stuff down the road. That little backpack is usually in my main backpacking bag as my summit bag. Something super light I can use on a quick side hike when I can just drop my full backpack in the bushes somewhere.

 

In the spirit of sharing GHB's here's the full list of what's in my GHB. It varies some from season to season, and I'll occasionally dump it all out and reassess for things I should add or remove. Of course, I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

Toilet paper (vacuum sealed)
100 feet of paracord
Duct tape (flat-wrapped)
1 Pint of bourbon
Pad of paper & pencil (leave notes or record information)
2 Bandanas (also vacuum-sealed)
2 pairs of socks (Heavy wool in the winter and light wool in the summer) and 1 pair of underwear (also vacuum sealed)
Leather work gloves (swapped out for insulated leather work gloves in the winter)
Small whetstone
4 spare AAA batteries (for my LED Maglight Solitaire)
Dust mask
Bar of hotel soap & small bottle of hand sanitizer
Travel toothbrush w/small tube of toothpaste
Small sewing kit
2 heavy duty 30 gallon garbage bags
P38 can opener
Binoculars (small field glass model)
Whistle (plastic!)
Trowel
Insect repellent (summer only)
Compass
Candle lantern & 1 spare candle
Mora Classic #2
Leatherman
40rds ammo for my carry gun & 2 spare mags (9mm in the winter, .380 in the summer)
Small first aid kit
3 Fire mice
Bic lighter
Firesteel
Eye glasses (I normally wear contacts but like having the glasses as a backup)
Poncho (summer only)
Handwarmers (winter only)
2 Space blankets
Gas shutoff multitool (added in last year since Nat Gas has become so common in my area)
Water treatment pellets
2 cans tuna
Small tarp (5x8?)
Pack of Clif Bars
2 bottles of water & 1 steel canteen
Lifestraw (summer only)
Camillus Carnivore (new addition this week!)

Also recently added to the truck is a Winchester ’94 with a paracord sling and a box of shells, but that obviously doesn’t fit in the bag. There’s also a wool blanket under the rear seats. I’ve also got some other random gear in the truck but not in the bag, like sunglasses, swiss army knife, fuel for my zippo, boonie hat, contact lens container & a bottle of saline, folding shovel, etc. During the cold weather seasons I also keep a pair of heavy insulated boots, 2 extra pairs of heavy wool socks, ski pants, wool sweater, a heavy jacket, wool hat, and waterproof winter gloves in the truck, as well as a pair of snowshoes.

 

Would love to see the 94 and sling if you're comfortable.

 

Don't have any pics of both together, but here's the '94:




It's a post-64, so not overly valuable (still perfectly functional, just not a collector), which means I don't mind it riding around in the truck.
And here's the guide I used to make the sling:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-Rifle-Sling/
It used around 80 feet of cord, ish. The only downside is that it's not adjustable, so make sure you get the length right (took me two tries to get it to 'close enough' spec)

If I remember, I'll try and get some pictures of the total package this weekend.

 

Would love to see. I just like that kind of gun porn.

 

I'll try and remember to snag a pic or two this weekend. I'm out of town on Saturday because the GF and I are going to the Boston Auto Show, but I should have some time on Sunday.

 

,

Hell with surviving. I'm thriving!

 

Harry!

 

Eating bean soup with bear ham right now...

 

Ok I'll share. This is my list of gear that is always in the bag. The only variables are more clothing layers for the season (usually just synthetic long sleeve dry-fit shirt, synthetic pull-over, synthetic long johns because they take up very little space) and the patrol sleeping bag for cooler weather.

5.11 Rush 72 pack
Ka-Bar Kukri (smaller one with fighting handle)
Helle Fassekallen bushcraft knife
Army surplus Goretex bivy from the sleep system
5x7 tarp (mylar reflective on the back)
Anker 14 watt solar panel (4 panel fold-up)
Black Diamond Revolt USB rechargeable headlamp
Suunto compass
Grand Trunk Skeeter Beeter hammock
Hennessy large hammock tarp
Grand Trunk tree straps for the hammock
4 titanium v-stakes (for hammock tarp)
Sawyer Mini water filter system
6 liter canvas-lined Dromedary bag for water portage
32oz Nalgene bottle
2 shemaghs
Small first aid/trauma kit with snakebit kit and extra moleskin
1 pair of wool hiking socks
Patrol poncho
2 firesteels
Small plastic magnifying lens
Small mirror
Solo stove
Toaks 1100 titanium pot with lid
Pill bottle of cotton for tinder
Datrex bar - 3600 calorie
Boonie hat
Plastic backpacking trowel
2 rolls of backpacking toilet paper (no hollow core)
100' of 550# paracord
100' of 125# paracord

The kukri is molle-attached to the side of my pack so I can draw it while wearing the pack by just reaching behind my right shoulder. The Dromedary 6L bag just ties with paracord to the outside of my pack when filled. Everything else fits inside the pack with room to spare. In colder seasons, I'll add the patrol bag to the sleep system inside of the Goretex bivy and roll it up tight in a molle pouch that attaches to the bottom of my pack. This gives me good load control, warmer sleeping options, and frees up space in the pack for a heavier jacket (or I just tuck the jacket in the space between the pack and the outer compartment where a helmet can fit). With the patrol bag and with a heavier jacket, my total pack weight without water is 18 pounds. Leaves me room to add stuff I pick up along the way, and leaves weight for carrying more water.

The Goretex bivy is one of my favorite pieces of gear. Waterproof, windproof, and works as a great super light summer backpacking bag. It rolls up and packs so small. Perfect wind protection when hammock camping, or you can lay on the ground in it in the pouring rain and pull the hood over your head and stay dry.

If I go out of town, such as on a camping trip or whatnot, I print topo maps of the area from my DeLorme GPS software and laminate them with 11" foodsaver bags.

I also don't go anywhere in my truck without my 40oz Hydroflask with ice water. So, I've got at least that onhand in case I have to get out and walk. That gives me some water to start out with.

 

Helle!

I'd love a bivy to stash, but I haven't seen any reasonably priced that are big enough.

 

Just get one at Army surplus. I'm 6'1 and 240# and it fits me just fine. I can even fit in the patrol bag and/or the cold weather bag inside the bivy and stay nice and dry/warm. The bivy by itself folds in half lengthwise and rolls up to the size of a 32oz bottle, so it's easy to stow. I paid just under $40 for mine used, but it was in like-new condition. Lots of foot room in the bivy, too, and the hood is nice and big so you can pull it up over you and have room for your shoulders.

 

Lol, I was like "Why so much water in a GHB?" and then I noticed location-AZ.

Is your cotton vaseline'd?

 

I have a 3L bladder in the 5.11 bag but it stays empty, too. I like the 6L Dromedary because when I set up camp away from a water source, it's enough for me to drink/cook/clean with for 24 hours when I'm stationary. I just hang it on a tree at camp. Or, it's enough to carry to get me through a hot zone for a few hours.

I don't vaseline my cotton because I've never needed to. You can pack a ton of cotton in a pill bottle, and it only takes a little to get a flame going with spark. I find the vaseline to get too messy for me, and I end up with goop on my fingers which then transfers to my pants. A small bit of cotton on some found tinder is all I've ever needed. Or I just scrape some lint from my socks and that's enough, too.

 

If it was that easy I'd have grabbed one, but I'm 6'7" and 280 lbs. The MSS bivy, IIRC, is too small from user reviews. I'd pick up the complete MSS in a heartbeat if it fit, have seen references to a "Long" model, but I've never seen one outside of a couple expired eBay ads.

 

I skip Vaseline also, I opt for a slightly larger bottle of hand sanitizer and if I need the extra flammability, a few drops of flaming hand sanitizer helps enough to get going.

 

You'd be snug in mine at your size. I'm a bit snug in mine when I have the sleep system in it, so I see where you're coming from. How about having one made?

 

Need is minimal, want is the driving factor. Custom would be cost ineffective, and difficult to justify.

 

Just curious. I don't care for the vaseline'd cotton either, for the same reason. I was going to ask how you got around it if yours was vaseline'd, haha!
I use the fire mice because you can light one and it'll burn on its own for around 10 minutes, which is long enough to dry out any tinder you might find (since here in Maine any wood you find has at least a 50% chance of being wet/frozen 10 months out of the year)


Edit- What model Suunto Compass do you have? I just have a 'Ye Olde Military-style' lensatic compass that I use, but the Suunto's are tempting. I just can't bring myself to pay that kind of money for one since mine seems to work perfectly well.