Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the “Bug out” line of thinking. I’ve got a perfectly good house located in a rural area, and there are thousands of acres of farmland and woodland nearby. I have most of what I’d need to survive for quite a while nearby. Plus, all of my stuff is inside my house.
However, I realize that not everyone is in that situation. Some folks live in hot spots such as cities, and certain events might make bugging out desirable. A Bug Out Bag (BOB) can be a wise preparation for leaving an area quickly.
Why Bug Out?
What sort of events might pressure someone to leave his home? Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, fire, nuclear disasters, social unrest, chemical spills, and more. Not long ago, there was a major train derailment near a town that made most of the people in the nearby area evacuate because harmful chemicals made the area hazardous to stay in. I can’t help but notice the train tracks that are about 400 yards from my house, and I pray there will be no similar derailments in the future. Such events might force us out of our home.
What Is A BOB Designed For?
A Bug Out Bag is intended for a short-term period to supply us with most of our basic needs in the event we need to leave our home in a hurry. If we have to leave due to an emergency, we’ll likely be heading to a place where we can receive support, such as a friend’s house, shelter, hotel, etc.- if the situation is ideal. However, if it’s more widespread, we might be on our own for a bit.
Generally speaking, the more survival skills that we possess, the less gear we will need to survive. We can make many of the items we need from what we find in our environment, so we don’t have to carry as much stuff along with us.
However, a Bug Out Bag isn’t designed to replace every item in our home. There’s only so much that we can realistically carry, after all, before we’re so weighed down that we can’t move. Plus, there’s only a certain amount of room in our bag.
List of Helpful Items To Consider:
The following are some useful items that might be considered for a Bug Out Bag. These are not all-inclusive, and bags will vary from person to person based on preferences and needs. I personally consider my bag to be a work in progress, a sort of project that’s never really finished. As circumstances permit, I might add an item or three every now and then. Gradually building a bag is far better than not having one at all.
- Toothbrush/toothpaste
- Change of clothing
- Medication
- Flashlight/Light Source (cyalume sticks, candles) with spare batteries
- Shelter – lightweight type
- Water bottles to hold purified water
- Water filter to make purified water
- Compass
- Ferro Rod, matches, lighters
- Medical kit
- Cooking vessels and utensils
- Rain jacket, other layers
- Ground pad, blanket
- A folding, lightweight saw
- Multi-tool
Get Home Bag
I keep my bag in my car, especially if I’m going on a longer trip. Rather than call it a Bug Out Bag, I call it my Get Home Bag. If I’m caught far away from home and there’s a major disaster, it will give me the basics that I’ll need to survive until I get home. Of course, I could also use it as a Bug Out Bag if I ever need to. This actually speaks about the versatility that these bags have during emergencies; we don’t have to relegate them to one specific task since they can serve multiple roles.
A Few Specific Items
I’ll mention a couple of specific items here that I’d like to discuss a little more.
Knife(s)
I have a knife dedicated to the Get Home Bag, it’s an Ontario TAK (Training/Adventure Knife). It’s full tang and made from 1095 carbon steel, which holds an edge well and is very strong and flexible. The blade is 4.6 inches long, and while it’s not heavy, the knife has enough heft to do some light chopping. The handle, which provides a very full grip, is made from green canvas micarta, which is one of my favorite handle materials. The black nylon sheath is simple and serves the purpose well. I’ve wrapped several feet of 550 cord around the sheath as a convenient way to store the cord. These knives can be found for around $85, so they won’t break the bank.
It’s not a bad idea to have a few blades along for the ride. A smaller folding knife would make a great companion to the fixed blade. Another item that’s worth its weight in gold is a multi-tool and the myriad of tools that a good one offers. In a pinch, there’s not much that you can’t accomplish with one of these gems.
Finally, I’ve included a tomahawk from CRKT, which is great for chopping wood and other cutting tasks. It would also be useful for self-defense.
Shelter
There are tons of small, lightweight tents on the market these days that offer excellent shelter. My Get Home Bag contains a WWII German shelter half and a nylon poncho, both of which will help me to fashion a shelter should I need it. The German shelter half is made from canvas.
I also have several yards of 550 cord that will help in shelter-making.
Fire Starting
For fire starting, I have a few containers of waterproof matches and a Ferro rod. A pill bottle contains cotton balls, and dryer lint is in a sealed plastic bag, both of which are flammable. Some petroleum jelly (Vaseline) in a plastic tub is also excellent for fire starting, even in wet conditions, as it’s highly flammable. In nature, pine resin and fatwood are superb flammable natural materials.
Firearms
If I’m heading out into the unknown, I want to be armed. Of course, I’m armed just about every waking moment of the day, so this is a normal thing. The question is, which types of firearms would make the most sense?
For a bug out into the wilderness, I’d consider at least one .22LR firearm to be mandatory. Why such an anemic caliber? There are a few reasons. First, I can carry several hundred rounds easily. It’s cheap. It’s quieter than larger rounds. I can take a wide array of game with it. It can serve for self-defense if necessary. Two .22s that come to mind are Ruger’s MK IV 22/45 pistol, which is reliable and extremely accurate. It can be thrown into the pack or carried on the belt.
The next is Henry’s AR-7 Survival Rifle, which is fed from an 8-round magazine. This little semi-automatic rifle breaks down in seconds to fit into its own stock so it can easily be stowed into a pack or vehicle. It’s about as low-key as one can get. Assembling the rifle takes about 30 seconds. Oh, and three magazines and the rifle’s components can be stored inside the stock. This rifle was tailor-made for this job and would be a perfect addition to your pack.
Being able to have a rifle with me but stowed inside the pack so it’s not obvious is a huge asset. There are times when it might be an advantage to be armed but not appear to be armed.
Also, I’d consider possibly including a pistol or revolver for more serious defensive use. If we’re going to be in predator territory, a large-caliber revolver such as a .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum would be attractive for repelling bears, mountain lions, and other nasties.
Food/Water
We can live about 30 days without food, give or take. However, we can only live about three days without water. Having the ability to purify water is vital. A filter is very useful. Also having a vessel to boil water in will be very useful. A water bottle to carry the water in will also be vital.
Putting some lightweight food into your bag will be a real asset. Dehydrated food works well because it’s the lightest in weight. However, it does take water to make the food, so be aware of that. And dehydrated food is also not cheap.
The Pack
The pack that I used is nothing elaborate; it’s a basic day pack from Maxpedition. It has a few internal compartments and several outside pockets that come in handy. The pack need not be elaborate; it just needs to be spacious enough for your gear and comfortable enough for long hikes.
The more pockets and compartments available in the pack, the better. You can break your gear down into certain components that way, such as “Food”, “Fire Starting,” etc.
In Conclusion
A Bug Out Bag can be started at any time. If you don’t have all the components at once, don’t be discouraged; something is better than nothing. Let’s say you just have a few items, such as fire starters and fuel, available — throw those into a pack and begin building from there. Many of the items mentioned here are not expensive, and they can be slowly purchased over time. Eventually, you’ll get to where you’d like to be in the state of readiness for your BOB, but don’t think it has to happen overnight.
We can start off with a very cheap pack; it doesn’t need to be expensive and elaborate. Many of the items mentioned here can be found at yard sales for well under $10 (often for a dollar or two).
Don’t be afraid to steal ideas from others, either. Every now and then, I’ll see items that another person has included in their bag and think, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Imitation, as they say, is the best form of flattery. Get started today!
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