Perfecting the INCH kit

I'm thinking as a basic strategy ... getting onto a suitable blue-water capable vessel and getting off the continent is likely to yield the best ultimate outcome.

The prospect of living as a fugitive in one country of origin for decades or on an intergenerational basis doesn't look appealing as detailed in this case:
Lost in the Taiga: One Russian Family's Fifty-Year Struggle for Survival and Religious Freedom in the Siberian Wilderness (1994)

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-russian-family-was-cut-off-from-all-human-contact-unaware-of-world-war-ii-7354256/


Whereas the alternative of getting to safer shores in a new land seems to have better long term outcomes:
www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/swedish-refugees-boat-arrival

www.afr.com/companies/small-business-the-swedish-way-19930115-kaqrc

I have put a lot of work into INCH bag scenario.

General Items
Early Aus explores came unstuck with food, but now there are more roos, rabbits and birds due to all farm dams and more access to water.  Take air rifle for birds, I think one could live off small birds, fishing nets, rods, veg seeds, multi vitamins. Mosquito nets, barometer, I have an extensive list, but there is plenty on YT and WWW.

Location
I have done some research on locations to bug out...  My top pics are an old abandoned mining village and some islands of TAS coast, local primary school with good fencing and sports ground easily to defend .. I have been planning a road trip to some abandoned mining villages if anyone is up for a road trip. 

Examples of persons bugging our for 3-5 years.
Some research that I have done, in most cases people survived by having a veg garden even taking chickens with them.  Some light reading below.  Tom Neale give details on what he took with.

archive.org/details/shelteringdesert007109mbp/mode/1up?view=theater
www.thisisaprivatesale.com/an_island_to_oneself.pdf

When to bug out.

Good vid of when to bug out, I have posted this before..  She uses the GREAT acronym for decision making.

G = Gut Feeling ,                    bad feeling!!
R = Resource dwindling,         lack of food and water  
E = Environment is unsafe,     Pandemic, fire, flood, storm, radiation etc..
A = Attack likely                    Military invasion, gangs riots looting 
T = Threat escalating             Any threat that is escalating and likely to impact the location where you are,  

Didn't see any emergency comms gear, even a small AM/FM/SW radio with spare battery's will give some intel, even local radio would be of help.

My current favorite, that I carry in my BHB, is the Jaycar AR1721, cost is $40, and it can be recharged with a solar USB kit. Pretty sensitive too, can pick up most international broadcast stations at night, along with a lot of interstate AM radio as well. The FM section is a bit deaf, but still, FM is really only meant for local reception anyway. A small wire attached to the aerial will bring in any station you may need to listen to. The MP3 player is a bit fiddly, but does work. Volume is more than adequate, and the headphone socket s wired for stereo FM, if available. Its also small and lightweight. Probably not particularly water proof, but a zip lock plastic bag will fix that.

www.jaycar.com.au/am-fm-sw-rechargeable-radio-with-mp3/p/AR1721






I said I will fix it, then there is no need to remind me every 6 months.

A true "inch kit" needs a ute or at least a quad or atv with a trailer to carry it not a 90ltr pack and that's coming from someone who truly spent 75% of their time carrying heavy packs as an integral part of their employment / life journey.

Agreed. Always spins me out that people create INCH rigs and put them in a backpack. Even a large hiking pack. I hate to be that guy (*cough chick cough*) but if you're trying to carry everything you'll need to survive indefinitely because you're 'never coming home', you're probably really just carrying a really heavy BoB with less capacity than you'll truly need.

There's no room for decent garden tools in an INCH bag. There's no space to carry reference books for medical situations. There's no way to ensure that you have enough food for a month or more of inability to hunt or farm if necessary due to illness or injury. Hunting rig is heavy too. Ammo and rifles aren't bad if that's all you're carrying but if you're also carrying a huge pack full of everything you might need to get through a few months or longer purely on your back alone, you're probably going to have a bad time.

In my mind a BoB is everything you need to survive with absolutely no conveniences included. It's supposed to help you get to where you need to be. INCH is that and then a lot of stuff that you need to thrive. You can live without a full sized shovel, but try gardening in your regular home garden with an entrenching tool. It gets old really quickly. So garden tools go in the INCH bracket for me. And to INCH properly, you'd need a trailer/tray to carry that kind of stuff.

Obviously it really doesn't matter how we label these things. It's just a collection of stuff that makes life easier. Or survivable. But I definitely agree that if I'm never coming home I'm going to want far more carrying capacity than a pack provides. I've seen a few channels where people have made INCH trailers that stay packed up and ready to go in their garage at a moment's notice. I have a trailer for my bike that is a back up plan for relocating in the instance of fuel shortage or when it's safer to travel quietly but to be honest even that doesn't provide adequate 'INCH' space IMO. Even that's been put in the 'nice to have but definitely not top of the list' category. I can carry an extra probably 80kg max if packed effectively.
I might be able to strap some tools to the side but it'd be awkward and unwieldy and likely they'd be ditched fairly quickly in aid of faster movement or if one of the kids couldn't ride for some reason. So really it doesn't provide much INCH utility.

I'm not sure about this concept of big, motorised INCH kits.  At a strategic level ... I think the results are better to get out on a boat and start again in a less threateneing environment.

I guess it has merit for those planning on remaining inside the national borders for decades.  
I used to hold that view for a long time and had a few really good INCH survival locations identified in the central deserts ... ranging from 50 to several hundered KM away from the nearest towns and road network access. They had reliable water, favorable topography for concealment and security measures.  I planned to take my 4wd and trailer in and then heavily conceal it and cover the last 20km of tracks made by the vehicle and fake a turn-around so it looks like the car went back out again.  I had designs for 'concealed agriculture' to grow crops of vegetables and grains that would blend in with the natural vegetation when observed from the air and experimented withthese designs in a patch of native scrub near where I currently live.

I worked out a kit along the following lines:
30 rabbit traps,
.22 rifle with 1000 rnds of subsonic, .308 with 200 rounds, .44mag with 300 rounds (I figure by the time that ammo is anywhere near being used up it will have deteriorated and be unreliable anyway - so no point taking any more), longbow with 50 aluminium shaft arrows, 2 X complete butchery knife sets and sharpening stone. 2 sets of quality binoculars.  Magnifying glass. 
home made water still fueled by a campfire that can purify 60 litres of water a day.  10m coil of copper pipe. 10 X 2L glass 'flagons'
500kg of whole wheat in 2 sealed steel drums, 50kg of sugar, 200kg of salt bagged and stored in a steel drum. 10 litres of sunflower oil (any more is a waste as it goes rancid after a few years even with the best of storage.) 1kg of whole peppercorns.  1kg of Star anise. 250g pack of whole cloves (all spices sealed in seperate metal tins.
5kg of coffee beans sealed in glass jars.  36 big fowlers vacola jars, spare rubber seals.
a big sheet of brown truck-tarp able to provide a 6X4 metre roof, several coils of light hemp type rope, 12 steel spikes, 12 litres of linseed oil.
various saws, axes, spades, mattocks, rakes, crow bar, brace and bit with 30 bits ranging from 8mm to 25mm, complete set of carpentry tools and metal working tools.
a 200L drum full of work clothes and underware.  Sewing kit with 1000's metres of thread, several rolls of dental floss and several packets of mixed sized needles.
Washable bum wiping cloths.
2 X 50m Rolls of 10mm sized bird wire, plain wire of different gauges, 20X6ft star pickets
large steel box full of vegetable seeds and 3 X 1L containers of different mode of action commercial insecticides
Repairable backpack chemical sprayer.
Sheets of leather and good quality rubber, 1000m of nylon string, 1000m of cotton string, 1000m of fishing line, lidded bucket of assorted nails, screws, bolts, assorted pieces of metal rod, flats, angle iron etc
A small anvil made from a 40cm length of heavy rail.
10 X ferro rods
20 X wool blankets.
2 X big, heavy mortar and pestles, 1 oil press that works using a car jack.
Full set of enameled cast iron cookware, 4 quality stainless steel saucepans/pots
3 X Quality made day packs
Outback rated first aid kit and various medicines.

I'll have to try and find my original inventory list as I think theres a bit missing in the above list.

When a Soviet style occupation force arrives in numbers to genocide the area ... you aint getting your BOL back.  They come in numbers and with armour, air support and artillery.
You are INCHing it ... far, far ... away.

I think it is a good strategy, come shtf most will be out of fuel, without skills and equipment to survive in very remote locations.  If one leaves early you will have the place to yourself.

Many reduce the size of INCH bag by having cashes at bugout locations.  

“When a Soviet style occupation force arrives in numbers to genocide the area ... you aint getting your BOL back. They come in numbers and with armour, air support and artillery.
You are INCHing it ... far, far ... away.”

Invaded ? By whom ?

There is a reason most live on the seaboards, its so dry, and to survive inland would require constant movement, like the indigenous peoples did for generations.

I realize there are many countries that look upon Australia as blessed, both with resources and climate/land, but we are reasonably strongly protected with various treaties, such as ANZUS and our relationship with the USA, even though the US is weakening.

Russia ? Russia is probably about to implode back into separate states, as it was before the 1919 revolution.

China ? Yes, they may just waltz in and take over, but the above treaties would mean it could be an expensive exercise, both militarily and in terms of World social standing. And getting far enough away from the technology that can find you, like drones, would be difficulty, notwithstanding our vast inland distances.

India ? There would be worse things than Government under the Indian system.

North Korea ? One flash and they would be ash.

No, an invasion is probably not very likely.

Other major threats.

Internal overthrow ? I think that may be an outside possibility, but would be very quick and result in a swift response by the Crown, as we are still a Monarchical Republic and the Govt of the time can call on the monarchy for help in perilous times.

Economic collapse ? This is more likely every day as Governments go further into debt.

Nuclear war ? Getting more likely every day with this Ukrainian tubesteak up.

There are so many things that could happen, and some are multiple threats, that we can just prep as best we can, be ready to modify the plan on the fly, and have basic bug out gear ready. There just isn't enough wild foods in the bush to sustain more than a small subsistence population, like our indigenous ancestors were, for very long. What resources there were would soon be exhausted, and then you are back to a subsistence level of survival, trying to grow food in a semi arid area with little water. This is the equivalent of a semi permanent BOL anyway, so make a good job of it and do it properly. Anyway, an invading force would want to have the country subdued and functioning as soon as possible, and after the initial onslaught, and would probably leave most alone to continue life as best they could, even at a subsistence level of growing their own food. Look at the countries that Germany subdued in WW2, most were left to function, albeit for the Nazis, but most people could survive.






Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.