Bug out bags: more like bug out BAGS

[Bushman]

The standard hiking/backpacking pack is designed to just barely store all the keep you alive items like a sleeping bag, pad, food, tent/tarp, etc. I have mine very minimalist, even with just 3.5 lbs for shelter (sil nylon tarp and 30 degree sleeping bag and I cannot fit ANY tactical gear in there. Realistically I have to carry yet ANOTHER bag with other tactical gear like chest rigs, "duty/battle" belt, boom stick, etc. Then I have a SEPARATE pack to serve as a tactical pack which would be filled with night vision, water, batteries, poncho, a meal, trauma kit, etc.

I think the VAST majority of preppers never really go out and train with their gear. Realistically if you do, you'd be taking several packs and realize the idea of bugging out on foot with all this gear is impossible. I'm always trying to find ways to pair things down and getting a smaller platform but the more I go out and weed things out the more I find things that are needed and added. Like knee and elbow pads. Several times my friend and I have taken some bad dings to our knees hitting the dirt quickly.

And I realize not everyone will have night vision goggles or thermal imaging systems (I go equipped) but these are huge force multipliers. Chest rigs and duty belts are a must to be able to carry a pack otherwise your pistol and magazine carrier will catch on the pack and be very uncomfortable.

So what solution has everyone come down to? Personally I'm debating taking the backpack gear and putting it in a bin in the car, as if I have to go on foot, I'm taking the tactical/assault pack and boom stick/chest rig/duty belt bag and going, leaving the backpacking gear behind, as I wouldn't be able to carry it all.

Bugging out is not like being a solider in Ramadi. You don't have a base to go back to for rest and food. You literally have to take all of it with you and carry it..so realistically you're carrying more gear than that situation.

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[Andy54Hawken]

It is important that one "weighs" their gear and bag.
Not just the actual weight in pounds and ounces....but...
"Weighs" as in just how useful the items are as well as in...are they needs or wants / "nice to have" items.

Now I am not saying that one must pair everything down to the bare minimum*.
Some items many not have a actual practical use...but have immense psychological or "morale" value...
Those items may make or break a person.
*the bare minimum...can be vastly different from one person to the next.

Also it may be wise to note that the contents of the bag may change from season to season or require batteries , expiration dates etc..
Good to remember to check the items periodically , before the change of season or the need to use 'em.
Andy

 

[cigars]

Realistically, in the metro area you're not bugging out, you're bugging home or to pick up your kids from school or childcare. For people in that situation, it depends how many miles you have to cover on foot if tunnels and bridges are shut down or you have to abandon your car for whatever reason. So hiking boots and socks are a must. Then water, energy bars, gun, but probably not much more unless you have a rickshaw to tote all along. Things to consider, how long would it take to walk from your job to where your kid is? Or whatever the issue on the roster is for you, do you have a mental picture of the route you will have to take back? Most any map service or phone can tell you how long it will take and the distance when on foot. What took you 30 minutes to drive may take you four hours to walk.

 

[mkwerx]

"bug out vehicle" is more realistic. Your vehicle kit would be comprised of many bags / totes. And you need an actual place to bug out too, otherwise you are a refugee. And bugging out should be temporary.

The INCH or I'm Not Coming Home bag concept requires skills most dont have, and you give up either security via firepower or you give up comfort and tools to craft your new life because you're going to be living like its 1850 and you make everythimg by hand, or you'll become a highway man looting and robbing to get by. Not good in either case.

I have a "get home bag" with stuff to survive a few hours to a day if i had to hoof it home. But that needs redone for my new environment, as I had originally packed it with the thought of maybe hoofing it from Portland back home to the suburbs. Now I have to account for hotter weather, bugs, and different terrain and the possibility of encountering dangerous wild animals (hogs, dogs, big cats, snakes)

Bugging in makes more sense. So does building a killdozer if you had the money, skills, and time...

 

[slimmer13]

I've watched an episode of Alone once so I'll be fine.

 

[Patriot1775]

I have two bags I roll with usually (Retired SOF so the multiple a/b bags, kit bags still persists LOL). One is an old Kelty 7500 in3 military pack with all the "nice to haves". Jetboil, fuel, bestglide survival kits, batteries, personal hygiene, cordage, machete, camp axe, H2O, rations, spare ammunition, water purifiers, sleeping bag, spare cloths, illumination, bungie cords, ground tarp and poncho etc. The other is a Mystery Ranch 3 day assault pack.
This gets paired with the plate carrier, battle belt, and helmet, if I have to E&E may way home or whatever the scenario is. That contains an E&E kit, spare ammo/mags, NODS, rations, illumination devices, smaller survival kit, power bars, H2O, bivy bag, lightweight tarp, and the most precious piece of kit ever devised.....the woobie!

 

[CamoDeafie]

There's a reason the USMC issues the enormous FILBE main pack, and the Mechanized Crewman Compartmented Equipment Bag is ridiculously large...... and even then, that's all based on a very long, very large logistics train of support personnel, transport, motor pool specialists, supply specialists.

Lockable large tote boxes work good for both BOV and BOL equipment storage.

Even the US Special Operations have the hummvees stuffed to the gills with equipment and ammo, and thats dependent on airdrops of supplies

 

[Unicykle]

Buging out is cool but not realistic, i backpack camp and you just cant cary on your back what it takes for long term survival. Even with ultra light gear ( (which isnt built to last) packs fill and get to heavy for rapid long distance travel. To me bugging out is shtf x2 and im just praying to last a couple more weeks.

 

[MTpockets]

Someone say airdrop?

Southern Helmand, on route to border of Pakistan.



Same as above

(Somewhere, I have some shots of an Osprey dropping palleted water with chutes)

 

[CamoDeafie]

Consider what people load up for a week or so of offroading/overlanding/expedition with 4x4 vehicles, and that doesn't include ammo, weapons, or personal armor

Honestly, "bugging out" with whats on your back is a very unrealistic idea without a well planned support network in place.

 

[The Heretic]

Bugging out is not like being a solider in Ramadi. You don't have a base to go back to for rest and food. You literally have to take all of it with you and carry it..so realistically you're carrying more gear than that situation.

I have no intention of bugging out on foot. My intention is to Get Home to my BOL. So I have a GHB (Get Home Bag).

Food
Shelter
Water
Security (firearm and knife)
FAK

For food, I have freeze dried food, enough for three days or more.

For shelter, I have an Ecotat - which keeps me dry while wearing it, serves as a bivy, and along with a sleeping pad is adequate for western Oregon most of the time.

For water I have a hydration bladder, several water bottles and a small inline Sawyer filter.

For security a handgun and ammo, a fixed blade knife.

FAK for injuries and also heart/pain meds.

As I said, not going to try bugging out on foot. I will be lucky if I can make it home to my property on the mountain, even if it is only ten miles (when I worked in PDX it was 30+ miles if I was lucky and didn't have to detour).

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I carry some supplies in my car. In any sort of actual scenario, bugging in would be my way. My car supplies are to get me home, but in general, I try to keep a weeks worth of supplies in there. Blankets, food, water, gun, knife, spare ammo and some meds. a few other things have been known to live in there from time to time. Alum, tourniquets, bandages are standard equipment. Sometimes an axe or a big knife rotates in. I really want to make the hatchet I want and let that live there.

 

[Joe13]

We have a folding 'wagon' that I would toss in the car because between my wife and daughters stuff plus weapons, ammo and water there's no practical way to haul everything and make any sort of decent time.

The folding wagon could be pulled by hand or hooked up to a deer drag harness or similar and just pulled. I'd rather drag 150 lbs of stuff and have my hands free to hold a long gun then have a pack and a bag in each hand with a long gun slung.


BUT

I have nowhere to go and all my stuff at home so unless my neighborhood blew up I'm staying put and protecting against looters as long as my preps hold out.

As I've said before.... I'll be King of the burbs

 

[CamoDeafie]

There's always these

 

[UnionMillsNW]

"Infantry wins battles. Logistics wins wars." - General Pershing.

You can't take it all with you. If you want all your gear and amenities the best bet would be to "bug in".

If you are on the move then the "Go Bag" and supporting equipment should be dictated by the situation. Am I facing civil unrest? Well that is a certain set of equipment. What about if it's just seasonal flooding or fire? That requires a different set of gear.

(Having a decent amount of military/security training I have to say the most dangerous time is when you are "on the move" so it should be limited, necessary, and well planned)

Have a core bug out bag with standard items that would be needed in any situation: Water, Food, Some sort of shelter/clothing, hygiene, ect.

Then have a plan to build on that bag depending on the situation.

Perhaps this means filling some plastic totes with support equipment, something that can easily be staged and hidden as you travel from one area to the next. Or perhaps this means just having a list of equipment to throw in a bag depending on the situation. (i.e. if X happens then I am grabbing Y)

And as mentioned be sure to test everything. I've noticed that people "prepping" often get caught in a gun battle mindset...but in reality it's the little things that will make or break you. Do you have a sliver without tweezers? Allergies? What about a flat tire and a broken bottle jack? How do you stay dry when moving outside during the winter in the PNW?

So have a plan...but then be realistic about how to supply that plan.

Having an adaptive mindset...and knowing how to build/make/create...will serve you better than having the best gear in the world.


**As an aside: You mentioned often finding things that are needed like knee and elbow pads. Having done countless hours of military patrols I can tell you that really only one knee pad is needed. I found this out the hard way when patrolling at night using NVGs and taking knee on a cactus. I bought a single knee pad soon after. However: that was primarily in the desert "running and gunning"... in the PNW I am less concerned about kneeing a cactus or needing to dive for cover so I carry neither knee or elbow pads.

 

[gmerkt]

all my stuff at home so unless my neighborhood blew up I'm staying put and protecting against looters as long as my preps hold out.

This is me. I have no desire to live as they did "in 1850" as stated above. When the electricity goes out, it will be primitive enough.

One survival situation that I think about once in a while is the one with the kidnapper in Shade Gap and Burnt Cabins, PA in 1966. That guy eluded the PA State Police and the FBI for a week while dragging a girl around. His technique was he had hidy-holes for supplies and shelter here and there around his AO.

I also think about how people used to consider survival scenarios after a nuclear war. I suppose this might make some sense if you lived in a rural area, away from urban blasts and not downwind of fallout patterns. That is, if your place wasn't next to an ICBM silo in Missouri or Kansas. But those people who build bomb shelters in suburban back yards. If they didn't go stir crazy while underground and hadn't ripped each others throats out, surely the desolate scene above ground would've discouraged. Not to mention the effects of radiation. The two nuclear bombs deployed in 1945 were 15 and 21 kilo tons. The thermonuclear bombs of today are in mega tons. ICBM's of today are MIRVed with several H-bombs aboard each missile. It's estimated that a launch that deployed 100 such devices against population centers would wipe out 20 percent of the US population from immediate effects of the blasts. Not counting after effects. Such as lethal fallout, fires, lack of medical attention, starvation, etc. I used to think the big eastern cities were at most risk. New York, Wash. DC, Boston, etc. Now we in the PNW may be at more risk what with North Korea is playing with missiles and nukes.

I'm 70 years old now, if things get intolerable, there's always the 9mm bullet in the ear solution. "It only hurts for a split second."

 

[FullMetalJerk]

 

[DB is Here]

Never understood the whole bug out thing, unless you live in a major city. It'd make more sense to move out to at least the burbs or further if you can pull it off before a major incident happens.

 

[Mecanik]

I gave up the BOB "bug out bag" idea and went to the BB "battle bag" I figure if I'm being forced from my home it's time to do battle. You might call it a DTF bag "defend the fort" bag. I still have my camping bag for just strolling around the woods.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Easy :
I roll a die 20...And reach into my magical bag of holding...
Andy