How to Choose a Sleeping Bag

One of the important items in your evacuation kit should be a quality sleeping bag. I know, I know, why invest in an expensive bag when "real men" can just roll up in an old army blanket and tough it out? I've heard that argument, and I've slept plenty of times in my favorite olive drag wool blanket. 

First of all, not everybody in a survival situation is a "real man." Some are children, some are nursing mothers, others are sick and frail. So all you "real men" out there reading this, just go ahead and wrap up in some juniper bark if you want to. This information is for the rest of the world who might be interested in finding out how to go shopping for a suitable sleeping bag. 

A sleeping bag should be rated for the season and conditions in which it will be used. It makes a difference if you live in Alaska or South Texas. Buy accordingly. 

• A summer season bag is rated for 35 degrees F and higher. 
• A 3-season bag will range from 10 to 35 degrees. 
• A cold weather bag is rated for -10 to +10 degrees. 
• A winter bag will be rated for -10 degrees F and lower. 

When it comes to temperature rating, keep your personal “thermostat” in mind. Gender affects what temperature bag you’re comfortable sleeping in. Women sleep “colder”, usually requiring a warmer temp rating than a man in the same environment. If possible, search for a bag that is temp rated based on the European Standard, EN13537. This test validates a bag’s construction, specifying what temperature it will keep an average man (Limit Rating) or average woman (Comfort Rating) comfortable.

There are 2 main fill types available in sleeping bags — down and synthetic insulation. 

• Down is lightweight, packs smaller, offers excellent warmth and is still very breathable. Down bags are more expensive up front, but are durable and offer great long term value. They work well in dryer climates and for excursions where weight or pack size are important. 
• Synthetic insulation is available in a variety of qualities, weights and pack size. Generally, synthetic fill is heavier than down, but less expensive initially. It also works well in wet, cold conditions, retaining body heat even when damp (whereas down loses insulating properties once wet). Synthetic bags are usually easier to clean than down bags. 

There are 2 basic shapes — rectangular and mummy. 

• The efficient shape of the mummy cut requires less of your body’s energy to heat excess space. Mummy bags usually include fitted shoulders and a hood, which help to retain heat at critical locations. 
• Rectangular bags offer a roomy fit, ideal for sleepers who move around a lot during the night. They also offer excellent versatility, allowing couples to create double-wide options, or opening completely for blanket style use. Because of the extra space and wide opening at the top, rectangular bags are less thermally efficient in very cold environments. 
• Within these 2 shapes, there are variations. Some rectangular bags include a hood, which is usually a looser fit than a mummy hood. There is also a variation of the mummy fit, a semi-rectangular shape, that offers some of the thermal efficiency and weight savings of a mummy bag, with a little more room. 
• Ensure that you’re getting a bag that fits your height. A good rule is to look for a bag that is 6” longer than your body height. 
• Also note that many bags are offered in men’s and women’s versions. Generally, women’s bags offer shorter lengths and more proportionate shoulder and hip girths.  

The material your bag is made of can make a big difference. Nylon or polyester ripstop patterns are generally more durable, and good for shell materials. If possible, look for a shell material that has a DWR (durable water repellent) treatment. This does not mean the bag is waterproof, but should help small amounts of water (condensation, for example) bead up and roll off the bag, versus soak through the shell into the insulation. 

• Some heavier rectangular bags offer a durable cotton blend on the bag’s shell. While these materials generally don’t repel water as well, they do offer a cozy, roomy bag option. 
• Liner materials should promote breathability, allowing your body moisture to disperse rather than become trapped inside the bag. Some of the most common liner materials are: 

1. Poly-taffeta – smooth finish and lighter weight. Usually cold to the touch upon first entering a bag, but warm up quickly. 
2. Pongees and brushed poly-taffeta – while a synthetic blend, they offer a soft feel and warmer entry into the bag than a plain taffeta. 
3. Cotton blends (poly-cotton, flannel, etc) – softest liner options, warm to the touch and breathable. Generally the heaviest liner options. 

Comfort & convenience features include: 

• Sleeping pad attachments — A sleeping pad will help insulate the bottom side of your bag, and add cushion. Look for a bag that is compatible with your pad, or has sleeping pad attachment loops. 
• Zippers and anti-snag treatments – Some bags use a locking zipper slider, which helps hold the zipper in place even if you move around a lot during the night. Many bags also offer dual-sliders, which means there is a zipper pull at both ends. This allows you to open the zipper at the bottom of the bag, for additional venting near your feet. Look for anti-snag treatment on both sides of the main zip. There are many anti-snag techniques in the market, so if possible, test a bag before you purchase it, to ensure you’re comfortable with the ease and speed of the zipper design. 
• Draft tubes – if you’ll be using your bag in colder temps, look for a bag with a draft tube the full length of the main zipper, and possibly around the neck. Draft tubes are filled with insulation and help to seal locations hat suffer higher heat loss. 
• Ergonomic footbox – available more often on mummy shapes, an ergonomic design at the bottom of the bag allow a person’s feet to lay in their natural position. 
• Stash pockets – purely a convenience feature, these pockets help keep valuables easily accessible. 

Storage – most bags should come with a stuff sack or roll straps. If pack size is a concern, look for compression straps to help cinch the bag as small as possible during packing. Some bags also come with a storage sack, which is usually larger and more breathable (mesh or cotton). It’s a good rule to store your sleeping bag less compressed. Long term storage in a looser sack will add to the bag’s longevity. If your bag doesn’t include a stuff or storage sack, you can easily find options in many camping accessory assortments.

Tough Enough

Sometimes, a life or death situation calls for extreme measures. That's when you find out if you're tough enough to do whatever it takes to survive. In the case of 61-year-old retired logger, Jon Hutt, it called for self-amputation.

Hutt drove his semi tractor-trailer alone into the Colorado forest to retrieve a load of felled trees to be used for winter firewood. That's when it happened — an accidental slip of the 6-ton trailer pinned his right foot by the toes.

He cried out for help, but there was no one to hear him deep in the forest. His cell phone was in the cab of the truck, so he couldn't call for help. But even if he could have reached the phone, there was no cell coverage in the area. He was truly stuck, with no one to help him, and no way to summon assistance. He had told his wife that he would be gone for several hours, but didn't know when she might start searching for him.

After struggling in vain for 30 minutes to free his foot, Hutt came to the conclusion that the only way for him to get loose was to cut off all five toes. With a 3-inch pocket knife, he cut away his boot until he could see his toes. Then went to work sawing them off, one toe at a time.

"It hurt so bad," he said. "I would cut for a while and then I had to rest."

Once he was free, Hutt wrapped the foot in a shirt to stop the bleeding, then hobbled to the truck and drove himself toward his home. When he got to an area where there was cell coverage, he called for help and an ambulance met him on his way home.

The lessons for us:

• Don't go alone to engage in an activity that might result in an injury. Of course we never expect that to happen, but it does. It's wise to have a helper on hand. 
• Use a personal locator beacon (PLB) or a SPOT Satellite Messenger. One press of the button will bring rescue. 

Sixty Five Million

What happens when 65 million people are all bracing for the arrival of a potential disaster? All we have to do is look at the East Coast right now, because the report is that 65,000,000 residents along that coast are trying to prepare for Hurricane Irene to hit.

One report is that the stores are empty. If you don't already have it, you can't go out and buy it. Oh, you might be able to find a fancy pair of high heels, but those are useless. In fact, that's exactly the reason you can find them — 'because nobody really needs them right now.

But if you want to buy something useful like bottled water, food or a power generator, you're a day late and a dollar short. When the crisis is looming, there might be folks willing to part with the extra generators they went out and bought in anticipation of a rush on the market. The price will double or triple, or more. Some people call that price gouging, but you would be happy to pay the price when you really need those items.

New York Mayor Bloomberg ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city, ordering residents to get out of town by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that public transportation in the city will shut down at noon tomorrow. The talk is about prior storms, like the one in September 1821 that brought a storm surge 13-feet high that flooded all of Manhattan south of Canal Street. That area now includes Wall Street. It's anybody's guess what's going to happen this time around.

A FEMA spokesman told the Associated Press, "We're going to have damages, we just don't know how bad. this is one of the largest populations that will be impacted by one storm at one time."

Bigger than Katrina? Yup, in terms of population being affected. And if it weren't for the population, the storm would come and go and be of very little importance. It's the populace that turns a storm (or an earthquake, etc.) into a disaster. It's the fact that the people are unprepared to take care of handling their own needs. That's what creates a disaster.

The more prepared you are, the less you have to depend on outside agencies to take care of you. To the degree that you fail to prepare, you become part of the problem.

The East Coast, right now, is learning that the time for preparation is not when you're staring down the barrel.

Tarp For The Tent

Let's keep going on the earlier post about having a good tent. No matter how tough the tent floor is, a rugged plastic ground cloth (tarp) will help extend its life and keep the floor from damage and soiling.

Carry a second tarp and some rope so you can rig up a roof for the camp kitchen or dining area.

• String the rope tightly between two trees, about as high as you can reach. 
• Drape the tarp over the rope forming the a ridgeline.
• Use rope to secure the corners to other trees, keeping the “eves” lower than the ridge for drainage.

If there are no grommets along the edges of the tarp, tuck a small pebble into the material and fold it over. Then loop a simple overhand knot over the tucked pebble and cinch the line tight. That creates a grip point so you can "guy" the lines out to keep the tarp taut. 

If you have no tent at all, a tarp (or even a piece of lightweight plastic sheeting) can be rigged up to provide good shelter. 

A Good Tent

If you are forced to evacuate for any reason, you'll need someplace to go. Depending on the situation, one option might be to seek isolation from the masses of other evacuees. In that case, it's a good idea to have a tent in your evacuation kit to serve as primary shelter.

Granted, in a survival situation you need to know how to improvise shelter from whatever is at hand, but having a tent puts you miles ahead of the game.

Tent size will depend on the number of people in your group and their ability to carry gear. For example, if your family includes teens or able-bodied adults, have them carry additional tents so everyone doesn't have to crowd together.

When it comes to design, dome-style tents are simple and work well, but they don’t offer as much headroom as a cabin-type tent, and the sloping walls reduce usable interior space. I have both types and like both of them, but the cabin tent is easier to live in.

A tent that is designed to be free-standing without the need for guy-lines is easier to pick up and move if the need arises (like suddenly water starts to puddle in your campsite). If the tent requires the support of guy-lines, everything will collapse when you try to move the tent.

For every style, pegs are used to hold the floor fully stretched out. But free-standing tents can actually be erected and used without the pegs. Guy-lines are needed for the rain fly, but if you need to move the tent it is only the fly that will collapse, and that can be quickly re-set.

The tent must be durable and easy to erect. You don't want a tent that can't stand up to the rigors, or one that's a mystery every time you pull all the pieces out of the storage bag. Here are some other specific characteristics to look for in a quality tent: 

• DAC aluminum poles linked with lightweight shock cord make assembly easy. Aluminum poles are generally a little larger in diameter but are stronger and more durable than fiberglass poles. 
• Double-needle seam stitching throughout will help keep the seams from coming apart even after years of use. 
• All tent floor and rain fly seams should be sealed so water won’t leak through where the stitching thread penetrates the fabric. I re-seal my seams every year. You can buy seam seal at any sporting goods store. 
• The tent floor must be tough, waterproof and “tub” shaped with floor material that extends part way up into the sidewalls. A good waterproof coating will measure something on the order of 1500mm thickness. High-denier rating for the fabric means better resistance to wear and tear. 
• The best wall materials are waterproof and breathable (Gore-Tex, ToddText, Klimate and MemBrain are some brands), so condensation created by living in the tent can migrate through the fabric to the outside. But for general camping use, there are perfectly good (and much less expensive) tents made of polyurethane-coated polyester taffeta that are not breathable. For non-breathable tents, ventilation is very important (see next item). 
• Zip openings with bug screen material on all sides (and maybe even in the ceiling – which would necessitate a rain fly for foul weather use) provide ventilation to control both interior temperature and condensation. Screened windows and doors also gives you the ability to see outside while keeping critters out. Solid zip panels for doors and windows take care of privacy issues. For best access, the entryway screen should zip open across the bottom, top and one side, so you don’t step on or snag the screen when entering or exiting. YKK zippers resist snagging adjacent material and are more durable than other zippers. 
• A rain fly made of 1500mm-coated polyester that extends over the windows and entry doors will prevent rain from sneaking inside through those openings. The fly allows you to have an open screen in the ceiling without risk of rain getting into the tent. 
• A vestibule is a small external sheltered area where you can store your boots or other gear overnight out of the rain. Sometimes this is built into the tent itself, or sometimes it is a design feature of the rain fly. 
• Inside the tent, look for handy mesh pocket organizers attached to the sidewalls where you can stow a pair of glasses or other small stuff up off the floor while you sleep.

Evacuation

As I write this, hundreds of thousands of folks are evacuating their homes on the East Coast in anticipation of Hurricane Irene making landfall, or at least a close fly-by in the next few days.

They're smart — they're getting out early. But with that many people trying to get out of town at the same time, there is likely to be some gridlock even though they are leaving ahead of the storm. It's hard enough when you're trying to move a couple hundred thousand vehicles during normal rush hour, and it gets worse if you're trying to move those vehicles when there's a touch of panic in the air. The closer to the hour of crisis the residents come, the higher the stress is going to be. That's why it's always a good idea to see the handwriting on the wall and make your move early.

One thing that makes evacuation a lot easier is being prepared to simply grab an evac kit, throw it in the car, and in 30 seconds you're gone. If you have to slow down to gather up survival supplies, look for a way to carry them, and figure out how much of this and that you're going to need, the whole process gets mired down and costs precious time.

Even if you're evacuating to a relative's or friend's house several hours distant (a much nicer idea than evacuating to a FEMA refugee camp), you still need to be prepared with all your own personal supplies. You don't want to have to borrow someone else's toothbrush or underwear, if you know what I mean.

Everyone, whether they live in a hurricane (or any other kind of disaster-prone) zone or not, should have their own personal evacuation kit already prepared and ready to grab and go. The kit should have everything to meet your basic needs for at least 72 hours (longer is better).

The concept is that after that much time, life will probably return to normal and you'll be able to go back home. However, that may not be the case. Sometimes there's nothing to go back to where wildfires sweep through communities, or earthquakes knock everything down, or tornados obliterate whole neighborhoods, or floods wash everything away. That's when the evac kit might need to keep you going for months.

Think about that, and plan your kit accordingly.

Prolonged Water Shortage

Any number of emergency situations can result in a prolonged water shortage. If there is a power outage caused by a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, etc. the municipal water system will not be able to pump water. If that disaster also causes the breakup of the water treatment system, there could well be major contamination to contend with.

In a report about Critical National Infrastructures by the government's EMP Commission, the issue of how an EMP might adversely affect community water systems was raised. Keep in mind that his report is about the destruction of electronic equipment to operate pumps, not a simple short-term power outage.

"Demoralization and deterioration of social order can be expected to deepen if a water shortage is protracted. Anarchy will certainly loom if government cannot supply the population with enough water to preserve health and life. The many homeowners with private wells also would face similar problems. There would be fewer workarounds to get their pumps operating again, if the pump controller is 

damaged or inoperable. Even if power is restored, it is unlikely the average homeowner would be technically competent to bypass a failed pump controller and figure out how to power the pump with bypass power lines. The first priority would be meeting personal water needs. Federal, state, and local 

governments do not have the collective capability, if the water infrastructure fails over a large area, to supply enough water to the civilian population to preserve life."

But even in the event of a more "normal" power outage than one caused by an EMP, the report had this to say:

"Storm-induced blackouts of the electric grid have demonstrated that, in the absence of electric power, the water infrastructure will fail. Storm-induced blackouts have also demonstrated that, even in the face of merely local and small-scale failure of the water infrastructure, the combined efforts of government agencies at all levels are hard pressed to help."

Advice:

• Don't expect the government to supply you with water (or anything else)
• Become as self-sufficient as possible, especially with regard to your water supply, storing as much as possible on your property
• Locate sources of freshwater that you can access when the municipal system fails
• Be prepared to purify all water that you'll consume, cook with, or wash dishes with
• Learn to conserve in the use of water, so you will already know how to live through a severe water shortage