Hey everyone, this is the first post in what I hope will be an ongoing series of articles on bug out/survival bags. It’s a big subject that covers a lot of ground from what equipment to carry, to what skills you need to be successful at it. But rather than trying to drink from the firehose, lets break it down into smaller sips. So, how about starting from the beginning. The most basic question being, what is a bug out bag? In its most basic form a bug out bag is something that will get you from where ever you happen to be to where ever you’ve decided you need to be to be safe. Plain and simple, that’s all it is.
But let’s break that down bit by bit.
Something that will get you from where ever you happen to be to where ever you’ve decided you need to be to be safe.
Something…
What is that something? Is it a 1000 dollar REI hiking full frame backpack? Is it a storage tub in the trunk of your car? Is it a 10 dollar surplus Alice pack from your local Army/Navy store? Is it whatever you shoved in your pants pockets that morning?
Where ever you happen to be…
Where are you when you decide that it’s no longer safe to be there? Do you go to the same place every day for work? Do you do a lot of travel? Are you collecting the rest of your family before you bug out? Do you commute between place over time?
Where ever you’ve decided…
Have you planned for a safe place. Let me say that again, have you planned for somewhere. If there is more than one of you, have you all agreed on that place? Do all of you know how to get there?
You need to be to be safe.
Do you have a cabin “off grid”? Your grandma’s place in Detroit? A friend’s ranch in Arizona? Your summer home on Cass Lake? A buried cache of supplies and equipment under a rock? How far away is it? Can you just drive there? Will you need pack mules? Can you only get there by helicopter? Is it there year round or only during the summer?
And that’s not all the questions you should be asking when you think about bug out bags. But that fact that you are thinking about it is the first and possible the biggest step towards preparedness. It really does prove the old adage, an ounce of prevention… or in this case preparation.
In future blogs I’ll go in to my ideas on what a bug out bag should be, what should be in it, what shouldn’t, and why I’d pack the things I do. Please, come back for that. I’ll make it worth your time.
Go out and survive among the leaves.