How to Build a Bug Out Bag: The Thought Process
In times of crisis or emergency, having a well-prepared bug-out bag (BOB) can make all the difference. This guide will walk you through the process of creating a bug-out bag, and offering valuable suggestions for each section. I absolutely refuse to make this post a picture of all my cool gear that I've managed to cram into an 80L backpack that weighs 100 lbs, followed by an exhaustive list about every single piece of gear that you “absolutely NEED”.
The first thing to understand is what a bug out bag is in the first place. Think of it as your basic 72 hour kit that you keep in your home, except this is intended to go with you in the event that it’s necessary to leave your home, and should include a few items that you take for granted that are always in your house. It seems like a lot of the gear lists I've seen start with the premise of escaping to the woods somewhere and then building backwards to include a few practical items. These bags in my opinion are more geared to the INCH (I’m Never Coming Home) bag.
Instead, I would like to outline the thought process behind building your bag by asking yourself a few questions about where you would “Bug Out” in the first place. After all, if you found yourself in the aftermath of a house fire, tornado or hurricane, you would most likely end up turning to your support system before bugging out to the nearest national park. I structured this list based on the places that most people would WANT to find themselves displaced to and then work forward to the worse case scenarios. So Let’s get started:
What Do You Carry In Your EDC?
For the uninitiated, EDC stands for every day carry. Think about it as what you carry on your person at all times. This includes in your pockets, purse or on your belt. Your EDC forms the foundation of your BOB, and these items are crucial for your preparedness. Anything that you have on your person does not necessarily need to be duplicated in your “Go Bag” unless you feel that it would be prudent to have a backup or a more robust version.
Wallet and Identification: Always keep your identification, cash, and essential documents handy.
Phone: It is almost impossible to imagine life without a cell phone anymore. It can be one of the most important tools that you own assuming the grid remains operational after a disaster.
Pocket Knife or Multi Tool: Having a cutting tool at your disposal in an ordinary situation is handy, but when used as part of a bug out bag it is an indispensable tool. You can opt for a larger fixed blade knife if you prefer or even a multitool if you find yourself needing the extra gadgets.
First Aid Essentials: Most probably don’t carry a comprehensive first aid kit as part of their EDC. However, I personally keep a few bandaids and some small single serving antibiotic ointments (doubles as a great fire starter) in my wallet at all times. Also if you have any medication that you need several times per day, the chances are high that you have a few doses with you before you leave the house.
Fire-Starting Equipment: This really doesn’t need to be any more complicated than a Bic lighter. Some might choose to carry a ferro rod or matches, but honestly having the ability to get an immediate flame that lasts for as long or as short as you want is far handier for your EDC than anything else. This is an area you may want to expand upon in your BOB later on though.
Personal Safety: Depending on local laws and your training, consider carrying self-defense tools like pepper spray or a firearm. I realize that this may not be possible for everybody, or may make some uncomfortable. If so, then leave it out. No two people's EDC will be the same.
Clothing: You should always dress for the season, in the winter, a quality jacket is just as important as any other piece of gear on this list. And if you are not wearing wool socks, trust me and thank me later. They keep your feet dry and regulate your temperature in both hot and cold environments. Bonus points: they don’t smell at the end of a long day. Taking care of your feet in an emergency situation is important, and you never know if your feet could end up being your primary mode of transportation.
Chapstick: I don’t leave home without it. Not only does it relieve chapped lips, but it has a ton of other uses that can get you out of a tight situation.
What Would You Need at a Friend/Family Member's Home?
This will be the first stop for many people in many different situations. Assuming your home were destroyed by a wildfire, or other disaster, if your support system has room for you and your family, the chances are high that you will not be turned away. When evacuating to a friend or family member's house, you can assume that some basics will be available. After all, you are entering a fully functional household that already has everything necessary to support normal human life. It may mean sleeping on the couch or a fold away bed, but you will be comfortable. Your focus should be on providing additional gear for your individual needs as well as bringing along some basics so as not to be a burden to your hosts. Such as:
Food: If you have any dietary restrictions such as allergies or a gluten sensitivity, don’t assume that everybody will be able to accommodate you, also consider bringing at least some foods along that don’t need to be cooked such as snacks or protein bars, especially if you have small children.
Personal Hygiene Items: Don’t go crazy here, leave the hair dryer at home. Ladies may have some make up as part of their EDC already in their purse. What I'm talking about here is a toothbrush and a travel size tube of toothpaste.
Prescription Medications: If they are not already part of your EDC, then it is imperative that this is part of your BOB. You can not be sure how widespread a disaster might be, or if it will affect any critical infrastructure. And the odds are not in your favor that your new hosts will have exactly the medication you need.
Phone Charger: While most people have a spare cable or two around their home, you can’t always count on your new hosts having the same phone as you. And what is the point of that phone in your pocket if you can’t keep the battery charged.
Important Documents: Passports, ID’s and Birth Certificates. While these are not irreplaceable, they could take even longer to replace than normal in the aftermath of a large event when many people are taxing government systems. It’s also a good idea to write down policy numbers for any insurance you have.
What Would You Need at a Hotel?
It may not be feasible to stay with family and friends in every situation. If you’ve just moved from out of town and haven’t built a support system, or even if the situation is widespread enough that they are affected too, you might find yourself looking for a better option. You might have to drive a bit out of town depending on the scale of a disaster, but there are hotels and motels spread out all across the United States. It’s not such a bad situation to be in assuming you have the funds to ride out the scenario in a hotel. Assuming you’ve built your kit out to this point there isn’t much more you’d need to survive an extended stay at a hotel. But consider a large scale disaster could tax the availability of certain items that are typically available from a hotel under normal circumstances:
Comfort Essentials: Pack a compact sleeping bag or blanket, a travel pillow, and earplugs. Even though these will likely be provided for at least 1 bed, if you find yourself having to contain your entire family in 1 room, other families may as well. Don’t depend on extra blankets and pillows being available for that sleeper sofa.
Security Measures: Consider a doorstop alarm or portable door lock for added security.
Entertainment Choices: Especially if you have children in your household. Don’t go crazy here, you can play a ton of different games with a deck of cards. Also consider some downloaded and offline capable games or shows on a tablet.
Extra Clothing: We’re not packing for a vacation here, so don’t go crazy. You don’t need to bring 3 outfits worth of extra clothes. But at the bare minimum a change of socks, and probably a change of underwear.
What Would You Need in a Community Shelter?
Now it’s starting to get uncomfortable. You don’t really want to find yourself in this situation, but it could happen to anybody. Nobody knows how quickly an emergency could come about, and if it’s swift enough you might find that you have very little time to put distance between your family and ground zero. While community shelters are designed and intended to provide basic needs to keep the unprepared masses alive, things don’t always go as planned. Imagine what happened with the Superdome in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina.
Sleeping Pad: While you may be lucky enough to be provided a cot to sleep on, if the disaster is bad enough and the shelter is under prepared, You could be stuck sleeping on the ground or a stadium seat.
PPE: We’re all probably tired of hearing about PPE at this point. And the thought of wearing a mask again might trigger more than a few, but I would highly recommend keeping an N95 mask around. Especially if you’re stuck in a confined area with strangers.
Sanitation Solutions: Imagine the lines for the restrooms in a packed stadium for a ball game. Now imagine all those people are trying to do more than just answer the call of nature. The lines can get backed up quickly. Something as simple as hand sanitizer can help curb the spread of disease.
Ear Plugs: They’re tiny and practically weightless. Weather you use them or not is up to you, but I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
Food: Again, if you haven’t added it to your bug out bag by this point. Here it is again. Even if you’re being provided with food in a shelter, assuming you’ve built your kit to last 72 hours, there is not guarantee that the event will only last 72 hours. And in a community shelter, you’re at the whim of the government. You may not be able to just up and leave if you disagree with the living conditions. The shelter may not be prepared for how long the event lasts and may have to ration food supplies.
What Would You Need Without Utilities?
This is another uncomfortable situation that you need to plan for. And it’s also one that you should be planning to strike for any other question on this list. Your family member's home could find itself without power from the strong winds of a tornado. Aftershocks from an earthquake cracked a water line while you were in that hotel. Or even a gas leak caused your community shelter to go without heat in the dead of winter. How are you going to cook or heat your food? How will you keep warm? How will you ensure your water is safe to drink?
Alternative Lighting: Many people may choose to carry a flashlight as part of their EDC. While that’s fine, others may prefer the area illumination of a lantern. My preference is a headlamp. They have the benefits of both, it’s hands free and there’s light wherever you are looking. Not to mention they are lighter weight and less bulky than most lanterns.
Battery Pack: This is also part of some peoples EDC. What good are those electronics to anybody if you can’t keep them charged up when you need them.
Cooking Eq:uipment: A portable camp stove and cookware. The key here is to keep it light yet functional. The stove could be as simple as a stand to hold solid fuel tablets and the cooking gear should only be as big as the meal you’re planning to cook. Carrying around a lot of metal cooking gear racks up the weight fast.
Water Collection and Purification Tools: It’s just not feasible to try to bring 3 days of water for each person in your group. A High quality water filter will purify thousands of gallons of water from nearly any source you can find. And if you don’t mind the taste, water purification tablets are a fine choice as well.
Warmth Solutions: If you haven’t added it until this point, a warm sleeping bag or quilt is pivotal in this situation. Even if the weather is warm, if you get wet you can still go hypothermic in hours in 70 degree weather.
What Would You Need Without Shelter?
And here we are; this might be some people's plan from the beginning. Go off into the wilderness and let the world and everybody in it sort itself out while you go fishing and roast smores. Not me though. I want to be in a warm bed. But don’t get me wrong, I’m prepared to throw down with Bambi and Smokey the Bear if I needed to.
There are countless reasons you can find yourself here, and while some are more likely than others, all are worth considering. What if an EMP went off, or a solar flare erupted, and rendered your car inoperable? What if Russia…? What if North Korea…? What if China…? Heck what if you ran out of gas on your way out of town to your Mom’s house? Honestly it doesn’t matter how you get in this situation, the fact of the matter is that it’s possible and worth considering.
So here you are, with a bag full of everything you’d need in just about every other situation, what else do you really need if you find yourself in a situation where you are entirely without shelter? Honestly the list is pretty simple at this point:
Shelter: A lightweight, durable tent or tarp. Maybe some cordage to string it all up. It’s just about getting you out of the elements.
Fire-Making Tools: You should have some simple equipment as part of your kit already, but here is where you want to expand it. If you’re comfortable with different firemaking methods, then go wild. But honestly, you can’t go wrong with some windproof matches.
First Aid Kit: You’ll want a bit more than band aids if you’re in this situation. The chances of injury are higher here than any other environment on this list.
Navigation Aids: A compass and topographic maps of the area. And the knowledge of how to use them.
Can you Imagine how starting at the bottom of this list and working your way up would be a much more daunting task? It’s easy to see that things could get out of control quickly if you just ask yourself “What items do I need to keep my family and myself alive in the wilderness without any support?” And believe me, if you do find yourself in a situation where you have to hoof it on foot from point A to point B, you’ll be happy that you didn’t pack the kitchen sink. Your bug out bag should include only the items that you absolutely NEED and only the items that you actually know how to use.
Remember that your BOB should be tailored to your needs and reviewed regularly. As you progress through these sections, adapt your bag accordingly, ensuring that the most critical items are at the forefront of your preparedness strategy. Being prepared can make a significant difference in an emergency. I’m sure that somebody will note that some very important items were not considered. And I’m sure that they were not, because again, this is not a packing list. This is my attempt at “teaching a man to fish”. Feel free to leave a comment because my intention with this is not to show people how they have been doing it wrong, but instead, to show the inexperienced how easy it can be.
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