Bug-Out Bags (Survival Backpacks)

[raulduke]

I just thought of another gadget I didn't notice on anyone's list.

I suppose some may think this is silly but it's in my bag.

Magnesium solar charger



They'll charge literally anything that can be charged via usb and hold the charge for a year. 8 hours of direct sunlight is enough to charge my phone or ipod completely or about two hours of battery on the laptop.
They're kind of expensive ($150. there are cheaper ones, but this one works very well from my experience w/ it), but I think it's worth the extra weight (then again I'm a pretty big guy and I can handle a fairly heavy bag). The device itself is only 6 ounces but w/ my laptop, ipod, cell phone, vid cam, the total extra (electronics) weight is aboout 3 to 4 lbs. That's not bad imo for some potential news of what might be happening that you needed to bug out from. If the networks are still up I can even tether my laptop to my cell to upload a vid or check the news or something.
If it all goes down, then meh, I chuck the phone and I've still got all the good tunes and stuff on my ipod and laptop. If you're buggin' (stressed) out it may be good to chill and listen to some music to get your bearings so to speak. Plus the long nites can get pretty boring if you're flying solo for awhile. So I've even got a few books in the bag too, some survival texts and a few novels. Sh*t I'd like to bring my banjo too, but that would have to be a driving bug out situation and that's a different story all together of course.