2009
Bug-out Bag Basics
One of the most talked about pieces of must have gear in the “survivalist” communities are bags. Go bags, bug-out bags, get out of dodge bags, so forth and so on. And like other sites we’re going to be talking about them quite a bit because they really are a staple of any preparedness regime. I’ve started a thread in the forums to keep this discussion going and talk about what you have in your bag/s and what you as an individual are preparing for. When you get right down to it planning and making your bags should be directly related to specific threats that are possibilities in your particular city. Some places like mine have the threat of earthquakes while others have hurricanes and tornadoes etc. Tailor your particular bag to your particular needs.
So I want to say from the get go I’m not a hardcore gear head. I don’t have any military MRE’s or hyper expensive gear that I carry with me for a variety of reasons. One being that cars get broken into all the time and carrying a grand worth of crap in your bag is just asking for heartbreak. 95% of my gear can be picked up at the local Target in about 45 minutes of general shopping. This is a work in progress and designed for the sole purpose of having a few days worth of general gear to make my life easier if for any reason I can’t go home. Since I live in Los Angeles the most prevalent threat is earthquake. If I’m on the other side of town and a big one hits there’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to get back home for a while so this bag is geared towards being in my trunk at all times so I’m cool if I’m stuck out for a while.
The Contents
Eye care
- Spare contact lenses, solution and spare cases
- Eye drops
Hygeine
- Travel baby wipes
- Shampoo
- Hand sanitizer
- Deodorant
- Toilet paper
- Kleenex
- Chapstick
- Dental floss
- 2 toothbrushes & toothpaste
- Sunblock & insect repellant
- Q-tips
- Laundry detergent
Misc Hardware
- Mini prybar
- Leather work gloves
- box cutter
- small hand axe
- folding pocket knife
- curved blade defensive knife
- multi-tool
- pocket lock picking kit
- folding screwdriver
- approx. 100ft Paracord
Light & Fire
- 2 chemical light sticks
- LED Headlamp
- Small tent light
- Misc. lighters
- waterproof camping matches
- Swedish steel fire starter
Entertainment
- 2 paperback books
- blank writing journal & pens
Misc
- Portable sewing kit
- Water purification tablets
- 6 Clif Bars
- Beef Jerky
- Plastic sporks
- Misc AA & AAA batteries
- Pocket GPS receiver
- Small bag of caltrops
First Aid
- Medium sized First Aid kit (in ziploc)
- Chemical hand warmers
- Emergency blanket
- Cold chemical compress
- Neo-sporin travel sized
- Extra pain killers
- Small first aid kit
Clothes
- 1 pair shorts
- 1 pair jeans
- 2 short sleeve tshirts
- 1 long sleeve tshirt
- 4 pairs of socks
- 3 pair cotton underwear
- 1 pair quick dry travel underwear
All of that gear fits very nicely in a European style rucksack. They’re cheap and durable and carry really well even when loaded to the gills. Most of the other stuff I picked up locally in half a day’s worth of shopping. It doesn’t take up too much room in my trunk and only weighs about 20 pounds. You may have noticed that I don’t have any water in it. That’s because I always keep a case of bottled water in my trunk. Always. It’s too cheap and easy not to always have a bunch of water at hand so I don’t put any in the bag but there’s room if I have to go mobile and leave my car to walk to safety or spend a few days in a shelter.
Comments (19 Responses)
I’d add a highly-foldable waterproof, opaque tarp that’s big enough to use as shelter by draping over a line tied between two points. I have always kept one in my “survival” kit.
I’ve got one but have been on the fence about adding it to the bag. It doesn’t seem too useful in an urban environment. Even in a breakdown out in the wilderness it seems like it’s a gimmick rather than a useful implement. No insulation or air barrier and you can do a good lean to pretty fast but as waterproofing it would help. Tarps in general are useful so maybe I just talked myself into putting it in
Lock picking kit?
Talk about the tarp has reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s book “The Road,” which I read recently. The tarp was essential in that book, fwiw.
Yeah, lock picking is one of those handy skills that doesn’t take that long to learn (but a lifetime to master) and comes in SUPER handy.
I can’t imagine what you’d use caltrops for. Scattering around a campsite for pre-alerts?
We took the onPoint tactical course in Escape and Evasion so I’ve got another bag of more nefarious tools but in case I get in a pinch where I need to beat feet those give me some more time to get some distance on a pursuer.
Nice site kids,
I’ve been concerned about “the big one” for years now. We’ve got two HUGE earthquake survival kits in 5 gallon drums that convert to toilets but no “bug out” portable solution. I think it’s time for me to check my kits and create a portable one.
Can we get some posts to handy portable tools that we might need in case of the big one?
Later,
Hey bromike666, do you have the Red Cross kits? I have one of those and I suggest opening it up and taking it apart if it’s something you just bought online or at a store and making damn sure it’s got everything you need. When I took mine apart I was appalled at the cheesy crap that those things come with. I think Sean is working on a post about tools ATM but I personally keep a few things at my bedside.
Pair of shoes, flashlight, emergency whistle, large bottle of water, work gloves and a bad ass crowbar. If there’s a big one in the middle of the night and something collapses I just have to remember to roll off to the correct side of the bed and my stuff is there.
Check out The Annihilator post I wrote the other day on my own blog for starters but I’ve definitely got a post in the works for here with tools and ideas.
Personally I was telling Jason that I need to open my own bag(s) up and really look at what I have and what I need because I have a feeling that I’ve got doubles and triples of some things and missing others entirely. I was thinking about organizing a group buy for some items that are good to have and a few of us could split up a bulk purchase.
That’s a great idea, Sean, especially given shipping costs associated with some of the small items, it really raises prices. Also, things like bandaids are naturally packaged as bulk items. Maybe a group plan & buy, and a build day (as if we needed an excuse to get together for a drink).
Between the recent earthquakes and this site (and me talking about it for years), my wife decided to put together her own BOB for her car. Since we were already buying stuff for her, I figured I would go through my bag and fill some of those gaps we all have.
Everything I was missing was cheap stuff, but we still spent $100 between the two bags. I was missing a lot of they hygiene type items. I had a first aid kit already, but I didn’t have hand sanitizer or soap. I picked up some Colgate Wisps so I can brush my teeth, some Purell, some baby wipes, Neosporin, and surprisingly, I didn’t have any duct tape, so I bought another role. (I think the role that use to be in my BOB has ended up in my tool box.)
I also grabbed a spare pair of boots and pants and threw them in my bag. Now, I think the only things I’m seriously missing are a water filter, tarp (which I just don’t have room for in my bag) and a gun and ammo.
suggest a caveat to the ‘curved defensive knife’, which would be –
if you don’t know: how to use it (fight with it), what the legal issues/ramifications are, and how to retain it (keep it from being turned against you), don’t pack it.
same goes for guns and ammo.
overall, a great site, long overdue and motivating me to get my gear and act a bit more together. thanks for putting it out there.
sumadis, excellent point, and can be modified to cover everything in our bags – if you pack it, make sure you know how to use it properly, effectively and efficiently. An emergency situation is not time to read a manual or attempt trial and error.
Good point there sumadis. If you don’t know how to use it learn or leave it at home. When it comes to weapons of any kind, a weapon you don’t know how to use belongs to your enemy. That kind of goes with all this stuff we’re talking about here. And as far as legalities go. I live in California and all the knives I’m showing are legal carries in my bag. On my person I couldn’t carry that curved claw knife but I can carry a few others that are quite nasty. Always know your local laws when carrying any kind of weapon. I was amazed to find out what’s legal where I live know and what’s not. But that’s up to you as an individual to figure out and decide for yourself what you want to carry or pack for self-defense.
Whether it is a 72 hour kit, a Bug out Bag or in food storage, these items are a necessity.
Lets just say out of ten items, numbers 1, 2 & 3 is a good water filter. You cannot store enough & surely cannot carry enough water. Many emergencies leave you surrounded with water but cannot drink any of it because of contamination. You will die from lack of water long before lack of food. Put your money into a good filter.
There are a few good brands out there, just do your homework. I like the filter straws that filter as you suck. Do not use them for your main filter ut they are a great back-up filter & weigh nearly nothing & take up no space. They are made by Aquamira, I would not buy them off the Aquamira site however, I found them cheaper just by googling, Aquamira straw filter.
Ipecac is a great idea to have around. What would you do if you or someone you know eats or drinks something potentially poisoness? It is just a good idea.
Hydrogen pyroxide cleans wounds really well. Infected wounds can lead to illness, loss of limbs or loss of life. You will not always be where medical attention is available or where the environment is even clean. Simple cuts can turn into major life threatening events if not taken care of. It can also kill some bugs as a last resort in water.
The main reason to store food or have food in a 72 hour kit or bug out bag is for nutrients & sustain life. When emergency strikes you need to drink water & have nutrients. Your body uses 4-10 times the water, vitamins & minerals under stress. Your immune system drops when you do not have the nutrients. Fatigue will also come quicker. A great product I stumbled upon is called Life caps. They have all the vitamins & minerals, iodine & even a touch of natural sugar to keep your blood sugar normal to keep you healthy. They are assimulated in your body within 20-25 minutes.
I have used these capsules on a 21 day desert survival in Northern Utah. I would open the capsule & dump it in my mouth. They taste good. They are of the highest quality all natural vitamins & minerals. They are light & you can carry 4 months worth in a relatively small space. I purchased 25 bottles & then found a coupon code to save 33%. You can find out more at lifecaps.net. The coupon code is “healthcap”.
Anti-diarrheal pills are important just in case. If you are unlucky enough to get diarrhea, you need to stop it ASAP, because it can dehydrate you in a hurry along with wasting nutrition.
I go on one or two survival trips a year. I hope these items help you complete your 72 hour kit or bug out bag.
Any one of these items are potentially life saving.
Great tips! Thanks! I’ve been thinking of picking up one of those filters but just kept putting it off. Got that now and some of the LifeCaps.
Feminine products?
Caltrops? Seriously? LOL. Mall Ninja.
I think your bag is seriously flawed. You have doubles and triples of some items (multi-tool, knife, box cutter, sewing scissors, and First-Aid scissors — and two toothbrushes)?
How about adding a cup or something to boil water in and a commando-saw?
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