In this video, I’ll detail the two-pack “gray man” system my wife and I will rely on should we have to abandon our home and run. In keeping with my commitment to you, I do a lot of homework and plan these projects carefully, so you have the best-possible starting point for your own projects. If I’ve done my job, the video will both validate and refute some of your beliefs, and perhaps present new ideas you’ve never considered.
Gray Man Bag Item List (partial)
First Aid Kit video:
The Best Get-Home Bag and It’s Under 10lb! (4.5kg):
“Cost is No Object” Tactical Bug Out Bag:
DIY Off-Grid Solar Generator:
Off-Grid Solar Generator Design Guide:
Glo-Toob Dive light
PoachPod Dog Bowl. (Egg Poacher)
Rating: 4.92
why not bury water out in random areas? and check on them once a month?
I like your scientific approach in reducing weight and the presentation is professional quality. I do have a couple of suggestions/questions/issues with your setup.
1. In the beginning, you say this bag is to sustain you for 72 hours but you also call it a bug out bag and say it has to be carried multi-mile distances through the desert terrain. Are you bugging out with the intention of never returning home? If so, do you have a specific bug out location you are trying to get to? Is this bug out bag designed to get you to that location? Or is this a 72 bag to sustain you during localized emergencies? There is a big difference between evacuating (leaving temporarily on short notice but with the plan to return) and bugging out (leaving with no plan to return). I'm not sure which contingency you are planning for here, but I would have two different plans.
2. The "Grey man" thing is fine while civilization is functioning normally. If you find yourself in a scenario where they is no rule of law, people are not going to care what color your bag is. If they see a middle-aged or senior aged couple (not trying to call you old, but you alluded to a more seasoned age bracket in the video) walking with packs and they want to know what you got in the pack, guess what? You better be mentally and physically ready and able to defend yourselves and your equipment with swift and blinding violence or else you just gathered all this stuff for whoever is the most bad-ass dude on your street. I've been in the Military since '98 and I've had multiple trips to all the latest and greatest war-zones across the world. I've seen what desperate people do to each other. When the SHTF, your mis-match back packs will be just as appealing to a street roaming thug as would a neon sign that says free steak, booze and women.
3. As you mentioned, the desert environment is a difficult one to traverse, especially when you can't move from one fixed body of water to another. Do you have a reliable 4 wheel drive vehicle? Something like that may allow you to get off road to your bug out location, carry more gear and water, and move faster than being on foot. You'll have to recon the area between your home and your destination. If you can't get all the way there by going off road, you may be able to go off road to avoid the major population centers along your route, then get back on the road. How far is your location by vehicle? Can you get their on a tank of gas? Extended power outage means gas pumps won't work since most aren't on a backup generator. If you can get where you're going on one tank of gas, a 4×4 vehicle may be a huge boost to your survivability and mobility. If you do go on foot, your primary plan should be to travel dusk to dawn and camp/conserve energy and water during the day if at all possible. Keep in mind your climate changes enough with the seasons that you may want to consider swapping out some of the clothing/ shelter gear as the seasons change so you can have the appropriate gear for colder desert nights during that time of year. You have to follow the rule of 3 when prioritizing your gear. The rule is that the following things are considered deadly: 3 minutes without air, 3 hours of exposure (to extreme heat or cold), 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food. Assess your threats and plan accordingly.
4. The dog does not need a dog toy. If you go on a multi-day trek anywhere on foot, that dog will be so stimulated by the new smells and sights that it will not be interested in that toy. I'd get rid of the dog toy. At a minimum, replace it with something to prevent/treat its feet pads should they become cut or blistered. It looks like a house dog and if you suddenly take it on a mult-day trek through the desert, you will be subjecting its bare feet to a lot of rough terrain that it's not accustom to. You could end up needing to carry the dog and it's gear if starts to slow you down and infection could follow soon after that.
That last post should have read you don't know much!
Have you ever heard "THE more you know THE less you carry"? I don't know much!!
Amazing detailed video. Great job. Get a solar charger
your ideas are great. but your stuff is to clean and bright for greyman
Very well presented and thought out. Lots of valuable info in a short video. If I might add:
Everyone should plan for the most likely scenario- in THEIR area. In my area it's usually evaluations due to hurricanes or flash floods- so you're about 50/50 whether you're "bugging out" or whether you're stuck in a shelter for a day or 2. Based on that premise and what I saw in the Katrina shelters-, 1st, I want my own food and water- even if it's just tuna pouches, MREs and Snickers bars. 2nd, YOU NEED MORE WIPEES! 3rd, I'd want sanitation and hygiene. You might be sharing a restroom- or a Port a John with 200 other people. Plenty of hand sanitizer (and maybe a small back up bottle too), a small first aid kit with alcohol wipes, bandaids and some generic Neosporin cream. A few extra pair of nitrile gloves can be handy for cleaning/sanitation, first aid or just general use. 4th, A multitool is super useful. 5th EVERYONE should have at least a couple of small LED flashlights and at least 1 change of batteries in addition to the fresh ones inside the flashlight. Routine tasks- like eating or going to the bathroom become very difficult without any light. After you have flashlights and batteries for everyone, start adding some of the $10 LED lanterns, and some good quality headlamps. 6th would be good quality ponchos – like Frog Togs- and maybe a hat. 7th would be a change of clothes and at least 1 change of socks, 2 pairs if I had the room.
I noticed you had small hand towels on your packs and these things an be super useful! I have some microfiber sports towels that i really like. They an lean your hands and fae, and they an make a decent improvised sun hat or with some water, a cooling cloth.
Thanks again for this valuable video.
Your work, detail and thoroughness has earned you a subscriber. Keep up the good work
Very well thought out system!
I have a equip. very similar to yours.
MUCH better!
I saw the part where you had a $100 in paper currency. Not a bad idea, if the it isn't a complete SHTF scenario, where the collapse of our monetary system hasn't happened. In addition to cash, I'd also add a couple grams of gold and silver bullion for bartering purposes, if such a collapse was to occur.
Field strip that MRE sir!
Good vid
Great video. Well made. Gave thumbs up from the get go for the Covrt18 bags. I use one as my EDC/GHB/LBOK. I use my front utility pocket to house all my tools and knives because of the molle webbing and velcro I have my multi-tool, Knife, Flashlight, chemlights and few hanks of cordage. Easy to get to and my wife can access them while the pack is on my back. I keep my food inside the main compartment except that due to Size constraints, I opted for 2 packs of SOS Emergency Rations in Cinnamon and Coconut. 3600 cal each, and each bar inside of the pack is sealed separately and about 400 cal per bar. That ked pouch you have, looks 5.11, 1 SOS pack will fit in it. So the 6×6 pouches, you can easily attach 2 of those pouches to your belt or store inside the bag.
Oh yeah. Toss the life straw. Get yourself a 2 pack of sawyer minis at Academy for like 25 bucks a pair. Well worth having. They attach to regular water bottles. Great for urban use. Come with the straw, syringe for backwashing and a foldout bag for carrying water.
A + and love the dog outfits, great work
About to make a new SHTF bag…
Should I go with hard target or grey-man?
the flash drive is a good idea, the radio's and phones if your bugging out are going to be a down fall(even when phones are off the gps(pinpoint location) in them is tracable), their signals can be triangulated giving anyone looking for you a radius to look in. most likely if they are looking for you, they are not your freind.
If I were in the desert I’d definitely have an umbrella. Gotta stay out of the sun.
Cool vid but hang on…..abandon your home and run???!!! Run where? If you gotta run from home, at that point depending on the national threat, you probably will have no where to go. I'd be getting a get home bag ready and keep it in the car. Stock up at home and defend that b@$%h!
I'd swap out one(or both) of the ka-bar's out with an M9 bayonet that way you can cut through chainlink fencing (or the unlikely barbed wire).
Where do you live? Tucson?
If one has the Lifestraw why do we still need water tablets?
Voice, putting me to sleep. Kissinger monotone.
You can put a simple rain cover over any bag to completely conceal its look. I feel like the philosophy behind this is a bit confused. I mean you have enough food and water to walk out into the desert for a few days…then what? Die of thirst? This seems like more of a get home bag for a vehicle.
thanks
Go out and use your kit for a week and youll slowly drop weight on your pack ..the more you know the less you carry
I love the dogs bag, where did you get it?. I need one too.
Because it looks like you live or will bug out into a desert environment, look up and map out waterways around your city, possible wells , and also when you are in the city look up on the roofs for water towers, not sure if you will have any ( because of the enviroment) but its worth a look. Great video.
That was probably the best bug out bag video I've seen. Would it be wrong to use a dolly or some type of cart to carry more weight if you have to?
These are 4 very well thought out bags. You have thought of necessary items i overlooked. I'd never would have thought of a Sillcock Key. Based on weight to usefulness, this tool would be invaluable while in an urban environment, or in less populated yet still commercial areas. I downloaded your inventory pdf and will use it to reconsider some of my choices. Thank you
Really great, well structured, and logically thought out solution to the B.O.B. quandary. Thanks for creating and for sharing!
A bible wouldn't hurt. But it would help alot.
Hello! Thank u for this video. Yes, A+ for planning! Got some very good ideas for my BOB, which I am planning at the moment. Why did you chose the Lifestraw and not a Sawyer or somthing else, so that you can fill a bottle with clean filtered water? Hope my english was not that bad! Greetings from Germany!!!
I think you might want to carry a fold out card on desert edibles..and also have you considered a leg pack?..great video
regardless of what some may think, makeup, emery boards, scrunchies, etc are completely non-essential resources in a real SHTF situation and I highly advise against ever packing things like that. I may get flack for saying it but realistically you should stick to packing only the most essential feminine hygiene products at the bare minimum to maintain optimal health and cleanliness, including multiple tampons as they can also be used to stop bloody noses in a pinch, additionally the material in them can also be used as fire-starter material, very useful indeed.
This is an awesome video and makes the bug out bag construction process feel much less overwhelming. Thanks!
I’m going to pack an m16 and 1000 rounds of 5.56, let’s see who survives longer. That’s morbid, but realistic. Think about how desperate ppl will be
How’s going to care about license for a radio if by chance you have to go
A couple notes about weight: while they maybe on the REI website you are referencing old weight metrics. The body weight metric was useful in the 90s when almost all backpackers were slim, young-ish, and in shape. The problem is the body weight metric doesn’t scale well outside of those circumstances. Similarly the modern definition of ultralight is under 10lbs. I assume you also intend to carry a gun and ammo likely adding 10lbs per person.
I can tell you from experience backpacking that a 30lb loadout feels like makes you feel like Sisyphus after 10 miles of switchbacks. The packs do not have waistbands further compounding the longer discomfort. I know the need for water in the desert complicates the weight issue but I would seek to drop a few pounds off each pack.
The low hanging fruit is definitely cutting the optics. IN my opinion the usefulness of silcock keys has been greatly exaggerated especially if you are already carrying a leatherman. For starters finding assessable taps in not a guarantee. If you are in an area that has clean running water then finding water is a non issue.
Another thing that could use improvement is your shelter. It’s kind of an afterthought. Maybe you can get away with that in a desert setting but what you have now seems wildly inadequate.
I appreciate that your set up is considerably more throughout than most YouTube bags. It still appears that you do not have much, if any, experience backpacking and a lot of the people giving advise are in the same boat. I would like to see your extended testing I believe you will learn a lot about weight and miles.