"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty".
~Proverbs 27:12 NIV
Since I first got into ham radio, Skywarn, and ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) one topic has always come up on one end of the spectrum or the other and that is the Go-Bag and emergency preparedness. Whether you are a railfan heading out on a local trip or a 5 hour cross state drive, a ham radio operator that is a storm spotter or that does disaster response or just a average everyday person who works, you need a Go-Bag.. Why do you need one? The answers simple, to sustain yourself for the day, until help arrives or you can make it back home to safety. In the next article I will cover my EDC (Everyday Carry Bag) But in this article I want to cover a simple solution I found that can be put together for less than $200 bucks, can go anywhere you go whether it be work, a day railfanning, field day, or a trip out to the park.
Many years ago I just went out railfanning and didn't give much thought to what to eat drink or even if something happened how would I get home. To put it lightly I was young and dumb, sometimes I would pay attention to the weather and with the abundance of restaurants and vending machine around I was pretty set for a day of watching trains. Fast forward 20 something years and the food scene and area has changed drastically along with my daily needs and budget. For the most part I don't like lugging around my Go-Bag everywhere I go and some places are not bag friendly. I needed something that I could break away from my bag and if needed keep a low profile with should the need for me to get home arise and I have to face possible dangerous encounters on my way home. This setup below also allows me a quick throw in the car and go solution to my everyday carry bag for places close to home.
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| The Go-Bottle |
Let me introduce you to the Battle Bottle from Iron Infidel it is a 2 liter stainless steel bottle that comes with a neat camo carrier or if your savvy like me you buy the 2 cover version to switch up. Pictured above is it in the black camo pattern. As a ham radio operator most events I have done are marathons and if you have done any then you know that they only last a few hours, way too little to use your 72 hour bag. The bottle above filled with the water and gear weighs about 10 pounds, fits in between the seats of your car and provides you with a few hours of operating without breaking out your 72 hour go bag. Let's unload our bottle and see what has worked well for me.
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| The Contents |
From top left here are the contents:
1. Compass map reader*
2. Water key (to refill the bottle)
3. Sharpie Marker
4. Snack
5. Snap lights (Green)*
6. Flashlight (Mini Goose Neck)
7. Ferro Rod
8. Knife
9. Magnifying glass
10. Bottle with cover
* ( comes in a multi pack that will be broke into Additional Go- Kits)
For the most part I have everything I need should any emergency arise or if I decide I don't want to drive I have a quick solution that I can just through into a car and go without tasking the driver with a bulky bag or taking up precious room in their car. Almost all of this stuff can be found on amazon but I have included a link to the battle bottle. How you put it together is for you to decide, I just wanted to show you what has worked well for me. If you have any questions just write in the comments below and I will cover them in another blog post.
Link to the bottle: (and no I am not affiliated with them just a really happy customer)
This is for the 2 cover 1 bottle set. https://ironinfidel.com/collections/battle-bottles/products/battle-bottle-ocp-and-ocp-black
