Urban Survival Gear and Equipment - Reader's Suggestions

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com received this PM on facebook: "Hey Urban Man, just wanted to drop you a note and tell you my latest acquisitions to augment my already well equipped Bug Out plan."

"I'm at the point right now that that I can slow down on my survival purchasing, so (as) I meander through the internet and Survival blogs, I pickup tips on new gear that people think they will find useful. I have over 12 months of stored long term food (long term) not counting a pantry which I could live probably two months on. I have all the guns and ammunition that I'll need. I have plenty of camping supplies such as sleeping bags, cooking equipment and things like that."

"I recently bought the following nice to have Survival items and thought you may want to comment on them:"

A Propane Tank Gauge. In case I come across abandoned propane tanks, so am offered some in barter, I can determine how much fuel is left in it. This gauge takes up a very small amount of room in a pack or my Bug Out Bag.

A Wireless Driveway Sensor. Uses a "C" battery for the sensor and 9 volt battery for the receiver and is good for 400 yards. Not only can I use this to cover an area to alert against intruders, it's portable so I can include this at my base I have.

A Truck Tent. My Bug Out Of Town Plan is shared by two of my friends. We all have pickup trucks available. I bought this truck tent, that fits into the bed of the truck, so we can set up sleeping accommodations at temporary sites and still be really mobile if we have to. I figure we'll never have more than a couple people sleeping due to having to post some guards, that's why I only bought one.

Merrel Moab Mids hiking boots. These are great boots! I traded my camouflaged uniform for some solid color pants upon your suggestions months ago. So these boots do not look like military or cop footwear and are really great hiking and climbing boots.

Portable Air Compressor. This uses a 12v battery like those cordless drills. I can recharge the battery through my vehicle or a wall socket. We'll also be taking pedal bicycles so we can use this to repair or air up bike tires.

Sheeps skin lined booties. It gets COLD where I am going. I wanted something that I can wear when sleeping but still able to get up and run or fight or whatever. Also I think they would come in handy for people sitting at a fixed site providing security for the rest of us.

When I first starting preparing. Some of my friends called me "Kanik the Wanderer" because I was buying all this camping and hiking stuff. Two of these friends are now in my survival planning group, but they still call me Kanik the Wanderer.

UrbanMan replies: Dear Kanik,....all great ideas. Never thought about a Propane Gauge, now I'm going to get one. I think any wireless, battery operated early warning devices are a good addition to your kit as well, especially if it is mobile enough to take with you during a hasty Bug Out. Thanks for the ideas.

Survival Gear & Equipment - Army Equipment Initiatives

Lets look towards the U.S. Army and their Rapid Fielding Initiative of equipment for lessons learned that can be considered for the kit of Survival Gear and Equipment for the Urban Survivalist.

Certain units of the U.S. Army have been the first to benefit from Asymmetric Warfare Group and Rapid Equipment Force's projection of the newest and best equipment.

No where is this more evident than the replacement of the Mountain Combat Boot in favor of the Merrill Chameleon light hiking boot which has been best described as a tennis shoe on steroids. The soldiers equipped with the Merrill Chameleon love them for their lightness and traction. At 2 lbs compared to 4 lbs for the issued Mountain Combat Boot, the reason is evident.





The Army Modular Sleeping System Patrol Bag (shown below) at 2.3 lbs was replaced by the Mountain Hardware Phantom 45 sleeping bag which weighs 1 lb.

The Modular Sleeping System Bivy, an outside gore-tex cover for the Modular Sleeping System Patrol Bag, weighing 2.2 lbs was replaced by the Memo GoGo LE Tent which weighs 1.9 lbs, not a lot of weight savings here, but every ounce helps and the Soldier's reported comfortable sleeping on exposed mountain tops.


UrbanSurvivalSkills.com will be reporting on more innovations in Army gear in the future as the Army lessons learned from hard living and harder fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan certainly provide good data on the quality and ruggedness of the equipment that Urban Survivalist's may be be considering for their Survival kit.