Zombie Squad

I've been meaning to post this for the best part of a year, but things kept getting in the way Anyway, seeing as I'm now a paid-up member there's no more putting it off!

A bit of background. As previously mentioned, I work as a chemical engineer on an industrial site ~8 miles from home. This bag travels to and from work with me, and I tend to take it with me when I'm out of the office (on the plant or attending meetings). I'd normally expect to be able to drive home (or be driven in my carpool), and if needs be I'm prepared to cycle (see this thread), but even if I'm on foot it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. As I'm in the south of England, temperatures are rarely outside the range 30-90F (0-30C) and water sources are plentiful, both natural and municipal. I'll normally have a fleece jacket with me if it's cold, and a raincoat if it's wet.

There's some other work-related kit in the office that I could conceivably call upon - including a rain suit, fleece jacket, 4D Maglite, safety boots & helmet, 3' crowbar, Tychem coveralls and full-face respirator. It all belongs to my employer, alas, so unless TS really has HTF getting it past security could prove a problem.

In my pockets:

Wallet
Mini krab with:
- mini LED flashlight and green mini SAK
- car keys, supermarket loyalty card & red mini SAK
Cellphone
Not pictured: house keys, hanky, chapstick.

My EDC bag:

A Karrimor 20 plus. Not the most technical of backpacks, but it's fairly well made and a sensible size. It has three compartments, two side mesh pockets and the main compartment has a zipped gusset that expands the pack from 20 to 30 litres (hence the "plus" in the name). Normally this is kept zipped up unless I have something particularly bulky to carry.

In the main compartment:

Clockwise from top left:
Kevlar work gloves (these were missing when I tried out my GHBike last week but now they're back)
Thinsulate beanie
Bike pump (I can't leave it on my bike, some scrote would pinch it ...)
1-litre ice cream tub (see below)
Book (varies, this is my current one)
Not pictured: 500ml aluminium water bottle, lunch box (with or without lunch, depending on time of day)

In the ice cream tub:

Clockwise from top left:
Paper tissues (from a UK 24h ration pack)
Waterproof matches (ditto)
Stockingette cloth (for general-purpose wiping of hands etc.)
Silcock key with screwdriver attachment
Wind-up flashlight & FM radio, with headphones (mostly carried for the radio)
Long cable ties
Short cable ties
10m of nylon cord (not para cord, this is 3mm braid)
Butane lighter
2x 6 water purification tabets (again, from a ration pack)
Peli Mitylite AAA with beam bender (I sometimes need an EX-rated flashlight at short notice)
Spare AAAs

In the second compartment of the pack:

Safety specs (tinted) & case
FAK in ziploc bag
Not pictured: hand cream

FAK:

Clockwise from top left:
2 pairs of nitrile gloves in a ziploc bag
4 non-alcohol wipes
2 packs of wound closures
Large first aid dressing
Medium first aid dressing (looks bigger than the large, go figure)
Little ziploc bag with safety pins
Field dressing
2 x 8 500mg paracetamol / acetaminophen
Band aids
2 x eye dressings
Pouch with first aid aide memoire
Triangular bandage
Mylar emergency blanket

In smallest "organiser" compartment:

2 ballpoint pens
Mini Sharpie
Notepad
3 x moist wipes courtesy of the Colonel
LMF spork
2 x muesli (granola) bars
Not pictured: toothbrush & paste

And that's about it. All up it comes to roughly 4kg / 9lbs which doesn't seem much of an impediment in daily life.

Comments are welcome!

Looks good!

When I took my hazmat course, they gave us all an "Emergency Response Guidebook." (http://www.labelmaster.com/ERG/?gclid=C ... xgodawt1dA) Lists various chemicals by name, reference number, etc. and is cross referenced regarding what to do and what not to do in the event of an incident. I'm sure this book or one like it is used in the UK; if I worked at a chem plant, I'd probably keep one handy-- it's small enough to keep in a pocket. I still have my eight year-old copy-- it's fun to use when on the road to see what exactly is in those unlabeled tank trailers and railcars . . . and play the "what if" game to imagine what I'd do in case one ruptures or turns over.

ETA: after perusing my posted link further, I think I ought to get the updated version. Lots of new apparently-useless-to-me-in-my-new-career information. 8)

Chef wrote:When I took my hazmat course, they gave us all an "Emergency Response Guidebook." (http://www.labelmaster.com/ERG/?gclid=C ... xgodawt1dA)

That's a handy-looking book. I'll have to see if I can persuade my employer to stump up for a couple of copies!

Chef wrote:it's fun to use when on the road to see what exactly is in those unlabeled tank trailers and railcars . . . and play the "what if" game to imagine what I'd do in case one ruptures or turns over.

That could lead to some very interesting and paranoia-inducing road trips. I think I want one

I really like the expandable pack.

Great Idea!

Cheers!

Nice gear Sheddi, good write up.
Thanks. 8)

-

Squirrley wrote:

Chef wrote:it's fun to use when on the road to see what exactly is in those unlabeled tank trailers and railcars . . . and play the "what if" game to imagine what I'd do in case one ruptures or turns over.

That could lead to some very interesting and paranoia-inducing road trips. I think I want one

For any UK ZSer reading this, the book is currently £5.24 on amazon.co.uk with free s&h:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emergency-Respo ... 159804415X" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Look good sheddi bar that loyalty card to tescos! Clicky :p

Two things I would add and have just added to my EDC, Ducktape and Superglue...My shoe decided to gain a massive hole and I had to buy both on campus to do a diy repair. Even that didn't really stop it but it made it more bearable. 10/12 hours of wet damp feet later I was home. I'm so adding a pair of socks!

the_alias wrote:Two things I would add and have just added to my EDC, Ducktape and Superglue...

You've got a good point there. I'll rustle up some superglue and do the duct tape wrap thing at the weekend.

One thing I should mention is that all this gear takes up no more than half of the 20 litres of volume in my bag. There's still plenty of room to use the bag for "normal" purposes.

Pretty good looking EDC Sheddi

one thing I would add is more food, you said you only live 8 miles from home but i would suggest adding more food in case you have to take a long detour or if you were for some reason stranded at the workplace for an extended period of time.

i carry a couple 1200 calorie mayday ration bars http://www.survivalunlimited.com/mainstay.htm, they are pretty tasty as long as you have something to wash them down with as they are basically compacted crumbs. also i find after only eatinga small amount like the recommended 400 calori portion i feel pretty satisfied but still able to do moderately strenuous work

also some form of self-defense, I know the UK is pretty restricted as far as weapons go but some thing like a kubotan is,as far as I know, legal. Of course check with your local laws

I got this for free from cold steel for entering their "joke of the week" contest http://www.coldsteel.com/jokes.html

Chef wrote:Looks good!

When I took my hazmat course, they gave us all an "Emergency Response Guidebook." (http://www.labelmaster.com/ERG/?gclid=C ... xgodawt1dA) Lists various chemicals by name, reference number, etc. and is cross referenced regarding what to do and what not to do in the event of an incident. I'm sure this book or one like it is used in the UK; if I worked at a chem plant, I'd probably keep one handy-- it's small enough to keep in a pocket. I still have my eight year-old copy-- it's fun to use when on the road to see what exactly is in those unlabeled tank trailers and railcars . . . and play the "what if" game to imagine what I'd do in case one ruptures or turns over.

ETA: after perusing my posted link further, I think I ought to get the updated version. Lots of new apparently-useless-to-me-in-my-new-career information. 8)

They are also available at most truck stops as it is a DOT regulation if the driver is carrying HM he is supposed to have one in the truck. That being said, I need to pick up a new copy myself.