After a natural disaster, you often hear people talking about having a bug out bag and what they would do in each situation. The thing is, unless you are an experienced prepper, you probably don’t have a bug out bag prepared.
So what is a bug out bag? A bug out bag is a portable emergency kit that is designed to last you for three days. These are also referred to as 72-hour emergency kits. They need to be portable and have all the things you need to survive during a disaster.
Having a bug out bag in our home or vehicle could mean the difference between life and death during an emergency. But not all bug out bags is the same. Depending on where you live in the world, and what kind of natural disasters could happen, your bug out bag will change.
What should your bug out bag contain?
What you actually pack in your survival kit will have to do with your own needs as well as where you live. For example, if you live in an area where hurricanes are common, you’ll need supplies related to surviving a hurricane. If you live nowhere near the ocean, there’s no reason for you to purchase a hurricane based bug out bag.
If you’re in an area that is more likely to be dry, you’ll want to have a different set of items. In general, though, there are some basics that every bug out bag should have.
- First aid kit
- 3-day supply of food that doesn’t require cooking
- A change of clothes
- A way to safely consume water
- A way to start a fire
- A basic shelter
- Flashlight
You will need to know how to use each of the items in your bug out bag before a situation arises that you need to use it. That way you will know exactly how each of the things inside your BoB works. You don’t want to be put into a situation and not be prepared for it. You will be mentally tested during these situations and want to make sure that you can use these basics without it requiring a lot of brainpower. Your brain will be needed for much more important things at this point.
You also need to consider your personal and family needs when building up a bug out bag. If you have kids, you will need to make sure that you have everything they need. You also will want to make sure you have any medications that you or your kids might need to be packed up and ready to go.
When would you use a bug out bag?
There are many situations that might warrant the use of an emergency kit. For example, you might have a gas leak in your home or a fire requiring you to leave it. You could also need to evacuate due to flooding or another natural disaster.
And, unfortunately, it’s important to plan for instances such as terrorist attacks, nuclear disasters, or chemical spills that may require you to leave your home and find alternate shelter. Your kit won’t be designed to take care of long-term changes, but it will give you time to seek something more permanent if needed.
A bug out bag needs to be easy to grab and go. Most people purchase a backpack for their bug out bag because it’s easy to carry and allows you to have your hands free. Even small children can carry their own bug out bag that has essentials.
When you have a 72-hour emergency kit, you’ll be able to have peace of mind knowing you’re better prepared for a disaster. Having a bug out bag for each member of your family will protect you during an emergency that requires evacuation.
Let’s take a look at what is inside of a bug-out bag…
Unboxing a Bug-Out Bag
Urban Survival Bug Out Bags
Someone who lives in an urban area will need a significantly different bug out bag than someone who lives out in the country. Before you put together your urban survival bug out bag you need to consider a few different factors.
- How will you handle debris and glass if that is a part of the disaster?
- Where will you find water in the city? What about food?
- There will be a high likelihood of other humans who are doing unfavorable things during this time. How will you interact with them?
- Where will you stay during the night? Is there an emergency shelter that you can get to?
- How far away is your bug out location if you have one?
If you compare bug out bags between an urban survivalist and rural survivalists, do you know the differences? If so, do you know why there are different items inside the BoB?
Should your bug out bag contain a weapon?
This is a 100% personal decision and is up to you. We are not telling you that every bug out bag should have a weapon because we do not know if you have taken the time to learn how to properly handle a weapon. If you have been around guns for a few years, and have your gun license then yes we feel you should have some kind of gun ready for these situations.
There are scenarios that you may encounter where you run into unfriendly people or others who are threatening your family’s life. This is why having a weapon of some sort on you is a wise decision in our opinion.
What kind of weapon should your bug-out bag have? There are a few different recommendations and we can’t possibly go into product reviews about each of these. We do have a Recommended Gear page that lists our favorite products for various categories to give you more information. That link will open in a new tab if you want to read through those after you read this article.
- Repurposed Tools – a repurposed tool is something you’ll carry that can have multiple uses. We’re not talking about those cheap little multipurpose tools either. We’re talking about something like a tactical tool that chops, cuts, hacks, prys, hammers and other everyday tasks. There’s a really useful tool by Ka-Bar called the Becker Tac Tool that’s sold on Amazon that explains this a little better.
- Knives – Knives can be tough because you will have a varying uses for your knives. While a knife can be used as a self-defense weapon, it can also be used for a lot of other everyday tasks that you might encounter in a bug-out situation. We always have a knife on us because we never like to be without one. They really come in handy throughout the day. The knife in your bug out bag will be more for cutting down branches, starting a fire, etc. I highly recommend looking over the knives sold by Bliss Knife Works.
- Pepper Spray – A pepper spray is a great addition to your BoB because it doesn’t take up much space, but its great for deterring attackers. These are often underestimated in how effective they can be and are a great choice for people who aren’t comfortable and trained with firearms.
- Firearm – Guns… my personal favorite. Although this isn’t for everyone. As long as you have your license for your firearm and you actively head to the range to practice your skill, I consider this one of the most important things to have. We can’t possibly tell you every type of firearm and a review of it in just one post. Who knows, maybe in the future we’ll have detailed reviews of each of our favorite guns… a man can dream!