Urban Survival Equipment - 5.11 Items and Equipment

5.11 Tactical is currently offering Free Shipping on all orders of only $75 or more. We are big fans of their Tactical Pants and the 5.11 Tactical Duty Uniform (TDU) pants. Although we have camouflage uniforms, clothing in solid colors is less likely to project that "para-military" look if you need to avoid it but still have a pastal or earth type colors that are easy to blend into your terrain, be it an urban, suburban or rural environment.

We evaluated the 5.11 Tactical Pants in a previous post, to review this evaluation click here.

We recently had a opportunity to evaluate the new 5.11 Rush 24 and Rush 72 Backpacks, intended for stays of 24 and 72 hours respectively. Both make nice Survival Bug Out Bags. We are showcasing the Rush 24 here. We prefer smaller bags for Bug Out bags and intend to utilize molle compatible add on pouches to store more Survival Items essential to a Bug Out on the outside. We think the Rush 72 is much more than a 72 hour pack, and really an excellent pack for extended operations of up to 6 or 7 days.

Rush 24 Bag

Description of the Rush 24:
20" H x 12" W x 7" D
Water-resistant 1050-denier nylon
Flexible main storage compartments
Internal dividers
Compression straps
Hydration pocket
Fleece lined eyewear pocket
Sternum straps
Molle-compatible webbing on front and sides
Elastic keeper for strap ends
Name tape and flag holder
YKK® zippers
Three colors; Black, Flat Dark Earth and Tac OD

To shop 5.11 Tactical or to look around their product line, click here:

Urban Survival SKills - More Readers Questions on Survival Bug Out Bags

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com continues to receive many comments on Survival Bug Out Bags. I’m going to address a couple of them here:

“Anonymous said.......Excuse my ignorance, but why not have a small caliber handgun with your Load bearing kit?

“John in Kansas asked,……What do you think about building Bug Out bags around the Maxpedition SITKA gearslinger or KODIAK gearslinger bags? I like the water bladder and concealed weapon feature.”


UrbanMan replies: Concerning the small handgun in my Load Bearing Kit…….. I actually have six rigs, only two of which I posted pictures of. A couple of the other rigs have molle plackets with Blackhawk Serpa holsters for my Glocks. I have pretty much settled on Glocks as my family and group Survival handgun. If I did it all over again, I probably would have went with the S&W M&P semi-automatics. These are highly touted by some friends of mine who use them regularly in bad places.

With different rigs and configuration I can select the rig I need for the purpose. Some rigs are light, no armor and other’s have soft armor and/or plates. For the rigs I use without a Glock holster, I can wear a handgun on my pants belt or a drop rig, and although I am not fond of drop rigs, I own several…mostly for carrying Glocks with the excellent Surefire X200 pistol light.

So to answer the question, I don’t carry a small handgun on my rigs. I do however always carry a Kel-Tec .32 auto. In my shirt or BDU/ACU type pocket all the time. I guess you could carry a small handgun on your rig, and I am interpreting your question to mean an additional handgun.

I am a big believer in having some gear on your body in your clothing, such as a folding knive, belt knife, handgun in belt or shoulder holster, firestarting equipment, etc. in case you are separated from your load bearing rig for any reason. I know, I know,…but as much discipline as you have not to be separated from your kit, it happens…and a good example would be a river crossing when you have to jettison your kit.

As far as the other question on Maxpedition SITKA and KODIAK bags. The best bag for a Survival Bug Out bags are like anal orifices,… ….everybody has one. All gear and equipment from Maxpedition is quality gear. Either bag would an excellent Bug Out Bag. I like Small Rucks with a hydration bladder and Molle compatible so extra smaller bags can be hooked to the outside.

As far as the hidden compartment for a handgun,…that’s a decent feature, but I would carry my handgun in an more accessible location. If I was actually using my Survivial Bug Out Bag for it’s intended purpose I would also be carrying a M-4 carbine in my hands. So I see no reason to hide a handgun unless you are using the Bag before the collapse.

Urban Survival Skills - Bug Out Bag Questions

We received a message on Face Book (see Urban Man on Face Book) from Paul, who is married and the father of two girls, 10 and 14 years old.

Paul have viewed the first four segments of After Armageddon and was introduced to the Survival Bug Out Bag concept that was commented on in After Armageddon Chapter 4. He lives in the city and is now starting to make plans in case of a collapse (economic or pandemic are his two main fears).

Paul also viewed the previous posts on UrbanSurvivalSkills.com relating to Survival Bug Out Bags and other posts on Survival Gear and Equipment. His primary questions were: 1 – should each person (including his girls) have separate items in their bag, in other words spreading out the items, such as one girl carrying water and fire starting items and the other girl carrying food and the first aid kit? What type of bags and the maximum weight would I suggest that the girls carry?

As far as splitting up Survival Gear and Equipment I think Paul needs to ensure each Survival Bug Out stands alone. Consider the people in your Survival Group being separated. Each Bug Out Bag needs to fully support each survivor. Food, water, Survival tools and clothing in each bag. Each person carrys their own important paper documentation and better yet multiple copies which can be crossed loaded.

As far as weight to be carried or limited to,......depending upon the type of bag they are using and the girls’ physical condition. I would think a very maximum of 40 lbs, maybe less for the younger girl. A lot of this will be water, which will be consumed and therefore lightening the load as you go. Same as food as it will also be consumed. Your foot movement will be slow, as it should be to ensure security. You would be taking multiple breaks or temporary halts during movement to rest, do navigation/map checks, adjust loads, looking and listening for others approaching and generally ensuring you are not being followed, especially by two legged predators.

Many great bags out there. UrbanSurvivalSkills.com is partial to bags made by CamelBak, Eagle and new bag we have been testing from Mystery Ranch. All good kit – sometimes it boils down to personal preference.

Paul mentioned he has an older Jeep Cherokee in good shape and he has two full up spare tires for it and two five gallon fuel cans that he would also take. That’s a good start. You would be leaving the urban area during a collapse, first in your vehicle, and possibly later on foot if and when that became necessary. The Survival Bug Out Bags need to be within arms reach and the contents never used while you still have a vehicle to transport you. Drink and eat out of stocks in the vehicle. The Bug Out Bags need to fully stocked if you have to immediately run from the vehicle and don’t have time to be screwing around cross loading other Survival Gear or Equipment.

I would consider a firearms for each girl based on their firearms training and capabilities. Worst case, .22LR rifles for each with a minimum of 100 rounds of spare ammunition.

Paul, the bottom line is that the Survival Bug Out Bag equipment list won’t change much per bag or per person carrying it. Consider everything in the Survival Bug Out Bag as individual kit. Thanks for your excellent question and hope this helps.