Freedom Award Finalist: "Building Better Bug-Out-Bags"

by Bison Forge, as originally posted to Survivalmonkey

The Bug-Out Bag is probably the first thing that you think of when you hear the word ‘preparedness’. Sometimes masquerading under different names such as a BOB, GOOD, NICE, INCH, or whatever else you want to call it, we are talking about the same thing here. A Bug Out Bag is usually designed to get you out of an emergency situation and allow you to survive self-contained for up to 3 days. A lot of people plan their Bug Out Bag to sustain them for much longer than that, but there is always a limit to what you can carry on your back and a 3 day target is a good place to start.

Some questions that are asked frequently run along the lines of: “How do I build an emergency kit, or BOB?” or “How do I know what to pack?” This article is going to help answer those questions.

The process of building a Bug Out Bag can be divided into five easy steps.

1) Determine what you want your BOB to do for you.
2) Research.
3) Select your gear.
4) Testing and Evaluation.
5) Adjust the setup

Step1: Determine what you want your BOB to do for You.
You need to figure out the POU, or Philosophy Of Use. My BOB is designed to support me for 3+ days in an emergency situation, in which I might face hiking over long distances, the need to purify water, procure food, and defend myself against predators both two legged and four legged.

Step 2: Research.
From this perspective you will first have to do some research in order to find items that can allow you to perform these tasks. Picking the tools that can provide you with food, water, shelter, and fire is a long process. You need to consider factors like price, weight, quality and function, and determine what tools serve multiple purposes in order to reduce the amount of tools you carry. I suggest that you try to check out equipment like clothing, tents, knives and other gear in a physical store before you purchase them, or check out what equipment friends, family or professionals that work in your area use.

Step 3: Select your gear
After you decide what items you want to get, you still have the process of finding the items and buying them. You might already have some of the equipment needed or you might have to buy the equipment. Make sure that you check with your family, friends, eBay, and your local flee market before you buy a piece of equipment. You can often save a lot of money by doing some research.

Looking at Maslow's listing of the priorities for life can help you determine what gear is really necessary. You can also use the Rule of Three’s, which is often taught in wilderness survival courses. This rule states that in extreme circumstances the human body can survive:

3 minutes without air/medical treatment
3 hours without protection (clothing/shelter/fire)
3 days without water (clean/pure)
3 weeks without food

Let's look at how we can address each of those needs.

MEDICAL
Despite the fact that this is one of my favorite topics, I cannot afford the space to linger on it. Simply put, only carry what you know how to use. This is a very important topic, so be sure to get good training and a medical guide appropriate to your situation. I recommend that you get advice from people who know what they are doing, and if at all possible, move to their house post-collapse :-)

Clothing/Shelter
The concept of layering is very important here, but I don’t have the space to expound upon it (darned word count). A quick internet search will help you figure it out. As a rule I try not to use any natural fibers other than wool in my clothing choices, just to save on space and weight. I am always found wearing a hat of some kind, and in severe cold I will sleep with a watch or knit type cap on. My best advice on clothing, as in everything else is to be the “grey man”, and try to blend in with your surroundings.

FIRE/ LIGHTING
Fire is very important to survival. With it, I can dry my clothes, keep myself at the critical temperature of 98.6F, boil water, cook my food, keep predatory animals at bay, and raise my morale. You get the point, it does a lot. I keep multiple disposable, adjustable flame lighters stashed throughout my gear.

Going hand in hand with fire is a source of artificial light. This part is both the easiest, and the most fun. Be sure to read lots of reviews on the light that you plan to buy. Go for high output LEDs, but keep in mind that flashlights are like computers, a better one is born every minute.

Water
Your goal for water is to have 1 gallon per person per day. Water is heavy, so having a way to treat it instead of carrying all that you may need is important.
My water treatment plan is redundant like most of my other important items. This is an area in my kit that needs improvement, I will be upgrading to a MSR Hyperflow Microfilter soon. As a back up, I always carry Auqamira tabs. Coffee filters, or a bandana can go a long way to extending the life of your filter, and are multi use items.

Food/ Cooking Regarding food, simple, light weight, and filling are the only requirements that I have. The three big types of food that you are likely to find in mine, or any other persons BOB are MRE’s, Backpackers Meals, or Mainstay Rations.

Because my main ration is self contained in either MRE or Mainstay form, I do not have to do a lot of cooking. But when it comes time to do some cooking of supplementary food sources, the lightest weight solution that I have found is a roll of aluminum foil. Just wrap your food and pop it straight on the coals.

What are some other things that contribute to your survival besides those already mentioned? Let's take a look:

Tools
The challenge here is to balance how much you need verses how much you want to bring with you. A good target is to try to keep your number of tools at five or below. As we know, the three basic functions of a cutting implement are to chop, saw, and stab/slice, and we need to include all of these in our planning. These tools would fill the places of 1) a folding pocket knife, 2) a multi-tool, 3) a fixed blade knife, and 4) a muscle powered method to process wood. My suggestions:

Another consideration is weapons. Obviously a firearm of some sort is best for this, though not in all situations. I will not go into specifics about what type of gun you should bring because that is hotly debated and really a personal choice. Take what is comfortable for you.

Pack
While far from a survival priority, something that needs to be addressed is your pack. While it may not be a necessity, it sure is a nicety. Your options here are pretty much endless. There are an amazing number of resources out there that can help you determine what bag to get for your needs. I recommend your bag meet these criteria: comfortable and light weight, durable and big enough to carry all of your gear, and finally it has to blend with whatever environment you plan on being in. Please remember that while there are a huge variety of fantastic bags out there, you do not need to get too wrapped up over what bag you use as long as it works for you.

Step 4: Test the Bug Out Bag
After you have put everything together, you still have to test the kit so that you actually know if it performs as intended. Taking the bag for a longer hike in your local terrain can give you the chance to practice skills and see what items are really necessary.

Step 5: Adjust the Setup
After you have tested your Bug Out Bag, make adjustments to the setup as needed. After you have adjusted, take it out for another test run, and repeat the revision process as necessary untill you are happy with your final setup. Remember, the items contained within may be the only items that you have to survive with in the future.

This article is written to give you some ideas of what factors to consider when building a Bug Out Bag. The important thing is that your BOB reflects what you need and is designed for your particular situation. One size does not fit all; this is something that applies to all kinds of crisis preparedness and survival situations. Others can often provide good suggestions and feedback, but in the end you have to make the decisions for yourself.

Help us determine the best survival-related article of 2011 as written for Safecastle's 2011 Freedom Awards contest. See all the finalists in the article and video categories: www.safecastle.blogspot.com