Build the Ideal Bug Out Bag

The Ultimate Guide to Preparing a 72 Hour Survival Kit

for Surviving Comfortably

By Patty Hanne

Disclaimer

It's the goal of this author to provide the most accurate information possible.  The author believes, to the best of her knowledge, that the information provided in this book is accurate at the time of this writing.  The information contained herein is intended for informational purposes only and the author claims no liability for the use or misuse of anything contained in this book.  

The author of this book provides “tips” about the types of items that she feels should be packed in a bug out bag.  These tips are not all inclusive and you should pack your bug out bag or survival kit according to what you personally need to survive with as your needs may be different than hers.

Some items that the author suggests including in bug out bags may present a danger to young children.  Before placing any of the items outlined in this book in a child’s bug out bag, you should decide for yourself if you think it will be safe for your child to handle and use the item.  Only you know the level of maturity of your children and you alone bear the burden of making sure that dangerous items are not packed in your children’s bug out bags.

Any trademarks that may be mentioned in this book are mentioned for editorial purposes only.  They are the property of their respective owners and the author of this book is in no way affiliated with them.

Copyright © 2012 by PDH Rebooted LLC

All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

Introduction

What the Heck is Bugging Out Anyway?

When Should You Bug Out?

What Is A Bug Out Bag?

Selecting the Best Type of Bug Out Bag

Child Bug Out Bags vs. Adult Bug Out Bags

What to Include In Your Bug Out Bag

Water

Food

Clean Air

Medications

Infant Supplies

Important Family Documents

Protection from the Elements

Footwear

Personal Sanitation supplies

First Aid Kit

Multitool

Survival Knife

Fire Starting Kit

Emergency Radio

Emergency Flashlight

Signaling Whistle

Signal Flare

Emergency Rain Poncho

Household Chlorine Bleach

Cordage

Pet Supplies

Money

Paper & Pencil

Navigation Aids

Duct Tape

Comfort Items

Feel Free To Be Creative When Packing

How to Pack Your Bug Out Bag

Keeping Your Bug Out Bags Up To Date

Bug Out Caches Can Be Game Changers

Be Prepared to Bug Out Quickly

Arm Yourself with the Knowledge to Survive

Summary

Help Spread the Word about this Book

Introduction

Whether you want to believe it or not, the day may come when you’ll have to grab what you can carry and leave your home in a hurry.  If you’re prepared for this day to come, you’ll be much better off than if you simply start grabbing armfuls of items and stuffing them into a suitcase or backpack.

In this book you’ll learn all about bugging out including what it means to bug out, when the right time to bug out is, and how to prepare your family for this very important day.  You’ll also learn how to pack and prepare a bug out bag which will help this experience go as smoothly as possible.  The goal of this author is to provide you with the knowledge that you’ll need so that you can prepare a bug out bag that will allow you to thrive and not merely survive if you ever actually have to bug out.

If you’re wondering if this book is worth reading, ask yourself this: If you only had five minutes to grab everything that you would need to survive for a period of 72 hours and stuff it in a bag, what would you choose to take with you?  Most of you would probably be able to think of a few things that are very important to you such as medications and first aid supplies but not many of you would know what you would really need to survive with.  Even if you did know what to take, unless you take the steps to prepare your bug out bag that will be outlined in this book, you probably wouldn’t have the items that you’d need to survive with on hand and readily available. 

This book will teach you what you need to do today to prepare yourself to survive tomorrow and to do so without being too uncomfortable!

What the Heck is Bugging Out Anyway?

While it might sound like bugging out means going crazy, nothing could be further from the truth. The term “bugging out” is one that is used by people who spend their time preparing to survive any number of emergencies or natural disasters that our world will likely face in the months or years to come.  This group of people affectionately refers to themselves as “preppers”. 

When a prepper says that it’s time to bug out, they mean that it’s time to leave their home and travel to someplace safer.  There could be any number of reasons that would necessitate leaving one’s home in a hurry and bugging out.

For example, let’s imagine that a natural disaster were to take place such as an earthquake or a hurricane.  If the destruction were great enough, your home or apartment building may no longer be structurally safe to occupy.  These types of natural events may leave gas lines severed which may result in natural gas leaks which could create a very dangerous situation for you and your family.   Keep in mind that when a natural disaster of this magnitude hits, you may only have minutes to react!

What you do during those first few minutes will play an important role in how smoothly your evacuation goes as well as how comfortable you and your family will be while you are trying to survive a bug out scenario.

When Should You Bug Out?

Now, let’s imagine another scenario that might justify bugging out.  Imagine that something were to happen in the town that you live in that results in civil unrest, rioting, looting, and marauding.  This isn’t really too farfetched if you think about it.  As a matter of fact, this kind of scenario unfolds in cities all around the world quite often. 

For the purpose of this example, we’ll stick to the natural disaster scenario.  Imagine that a devastating earthquake were to hit the town that you live in.  Of course there would be a tremendous amount of physical damage to the city’s infrastructure and buildings but that’s not the most serious threat that you might find yourself faced with.  The earthquake itself is the immediate threat but once the ground stops shaking, the very people who occupy the city may become a threat to the safety of you and your family.

History has proven to us time and time again that serious natural disasters tend to bring out the worst in people.  The first natural reaction of people is to realize that they don’t have the necessary supplies to survive the disaster.  This usually results in a flood of people hitting the stores and gas stations in an effort to buy or steal the things they’ll need to weather the storm.  It’s this widespread panic to prepare after the event that brings out the worst in people.  When people start to realize that their children will be going hungry in a few hours, they panic!  People who would normally be decent law abiding citizens will pillage and plunder in an unmerciful fashion to get what they think they’ll need to survive with.  They’ll even resort to violence against you and your family in order to get what they need if they think that you have it.

When faced with looting and marauding invaders, the safest thing for you to do may be to grab your bug out bag and retreat to a safer location.  Only you can decide if the situation warrant’s bugging out since every situation will be unique.  That being said, hopefully you’ll be prepared to bug out after reading this book and doing the things that it suggests doing.

What Is A Bug Out Bag?

A bug out bag is simply a backpack or some other type of bag that is stocked with enough emergency supplies for one person to survive for a short period of time. Most experts suggest that you should have enough supplies in your bug out bag to survive for a minimum of 72 hours.  This is generally considered enough time for emergency services to set up temporary relief outposts that can provide food, shelter, and medical supplies to those who have been displaced by the disaster.

Instead of the term “bug out bag” you may be more familiar with the term “72 hour kit”.  The term bug out bag is one that is popular amongst preppers but you may not have heard the term before if you don’t frequent prepping circles or have other prepper friends.  Regardless of what you choose to call this bag, it’s simply some kind of a bag that contains food, medical, and other supplies that YOU will need to survive for the period of about 72 hours.

Selecting the Best Type of Bug Out Bag

Okay, now that you have a basic understanding of what bugging out is as well as what a bug out bag is, it’s time to talk about selecting the best type of bag to fill with your survival supplies.  This could be a suitcase, a backpack, a fanny pack, or maybe even a duffle bag.  Each of these bags will be capable of holding some of the types of supplies that you’ll want to have on hand when you bug out but one is much more versatile than the others.

The important thing to keep in mind is that if you find yourself needing to bug out, having any kind of bug out bag is better than not having one at all.  That being said, remember that if you ever have to actually bug out, you may have to carry your bag for quite some time.  With this idea in mind, it’s easy to see that a good quality backpack (that fits you well) is most likely the best type of bag to use. 

The primary reason for this is that backpacks are designed to be easily carried while evenly distributing the weight of their contents across your shoulders.  Other types of bags will do a fine job of holding your emergency supplies but if you’ve ever tried to carry a suitcase in one arm for any length of time, you know how tiring this can be.  These types of bags are difficult to carry for very long because you can only use one arm at a time.  All of their weight is left hanging from one arm and not only does this throw your balance off, your hand and fingers will tire quickly as well.

If you are to have to carry your 72 hour kit for any length of time, you’re going to want to carry one that is designed to be easily carried.  For most people, this will be a quality backpack.  Some would argue that a suitcase with large wheels could be rolled easier than a backpack could be carried.  The problem with this argument is that you can’t predict the type of ground that you’ll find yourself having to pull the suitcase over.  If the surface is mud or snow, the wheels of the suitcase will likely have a difficult time rolling and you’ll be left trying to carry the suitcase with one arm.

Most experts would probably agree that a backpack is the most versatile platform for building a bug out bag but care must be taken to select the right kind of backpack for the particular person who will be carrying it.  A man who is 6’ 4” tall and weighs 200 pounds will physically be able to carry a much larger backpack than a 10 year old girl can carry.  Not only that, an adult will likely be carrying more survival gear than a child will be carrying.  It’s important for each member of your family to have a bug out bag but it’s not realistic to expect a young child to carry the same types of things that a grown man will carry.

Remember, each member of your family should have a bug out bag packed and ready to grab at a moment’s notice.  Because each member of your family is going to be different, you should think about them in terms of their individuality when you are buying a backpack to use for bugging out.  Make sure that the backpack you choose fits the person who will be carrying it.  Bigger is not always better when it comes to choosing a backpack.  After all, what good will the finished bug out bag be if it’s too big and heavy for your child or wife to carry? 

When it comes to selecting a backpack, you want to keep quality in mind without going overboard.  Remember, you won’t be climbing Mt. Everest with this bag.  Instead you’ll be making your way to a safe place to wait out the chaos.  You want to buy a backpack that is of good enough quality to hold up but you don’t need to buy a state of the art $800 carbon fiber backpack either. 

Don’t lose sight of the fact that this isn’t going to be a backpack that you’re going to be carrying every day.  It’s going to be packed and waiting for the day when you may eventually need to grab it and run.  Aside from the occasional bug out drill that you might put your family through, this backpack won’t actually be carried very often at all.

That being said, when you do have to carry it, you’re going to want to make sure that it’s comfortable and adjusted properly.  As a general rule, the more gear you plan on carrying in your pack, the higher quality it should be.  If you are a big strong man and you plan on carrying extra supplies in your bag, it probably makes sense to purchase a backpack that is designed to carry more weight over longer distances.  These types of packs will most likely have a built in frame as well as a waist belt to help distribute the weight over your body more evenly.

When you are picking a backpack for children to carry, it’s probably best to stay away from the packs that only have one shoulder strap.  These bags are fashionable but they aren’t really designed to distribute weight evenly.  Additionally, a high end pack with and internal frame is probably going a bit overboard when choosing a pack for young children to carry.  A more appropriate pack might be what is commonly called a day pack. 

Keep in mind that as your children grow, so too must their bug out bags.  It wouldn’t make much sense to pack a bug out bag for your child when he or she is six years old and expect them to carry the same pack when they are sixteen.  As they grow and are able to carry a larger pack that will accommodate more supplies, be sure and upgrade their pack accordingly.

To sum things up when it comes to choosing bug out bags, this author suggests that you purchase quality backpacks and that each pack be appropriate for the person who will be carrying it.  Each member of your family will be different ages and sizes so it’s important to have them all try their packs on with the straps adjusted properly before you buy them.

Child Bug Out Bags vs. Adult Bug Out Bags

As responsible parent’s you bear the burden of doing all that you can to keep your children safe from harm.  When it comes to packing a bug out bag for children, you will need to use your best judgment as to whether or not you feel like your child is mature enough to safely handle and use any particular items that you include in their pack.

As the author, I’ve tried to include warnings about particular items that might pose a safety hazard to children in this book.  I’ve included these warnings in the spirit of trying to get you thinking about child safety when it comes to packing a bug out bag for your child.  Although I’ve done my best to include any warnings that I could possibly think of, you alone bear the burden and responsibility of making sure that you don’t pack items that may harm your children in their bug out bags.

Keep in mind that while bug out bags are designed to store the items one will need to survive with, your responsibility as a parent doesn’t go away during a survival situation.  Many of the items suggested in this book should only be used or handled by adults.  Before you pack any item in your child’s bug out pack ask yourself if you feel comfortable with them having access to the item.  If the answer is no, don’t put the particular item in their pack.

That being said, you may have to bear the burden of carrying extra items in your own pack to aid in the survival of both yourself and your children.   When choosing a backpack for a child to carry, keep in mind that they aren’t fully developed and consequently, they aren’t physically able to carry as much weight as an adult can carry.  With this in mind, you will likely have to carry certain items that your child will need to survive with in your own backpack. 

Another option is to divide the items that your young children aren’t physically able to carry between other more mature family members.  Remember, if you have to bug out as a family, you’ll be surviving as a family.  This may mean that the older and stronger members of your family will have to step up to the plate and share the responsibility of carrying some of the items that your youngest children aren’t physically able to carry.  Surviving while bugging out is a team effort and it will take all the members of your team (family) working in harmony to survive together until order can be restored and you can return to your regular routine.

An adult’s bug out backpack should be more robust and feature rich than a child’s pack.  It should be the type of pack that a backpacker might use on a multi-day backpacking trip.  These packs will have either an internal or external frame that will serve to help support the load you are carrying as well as provide places to secure extra items to the pack.  An adult’s pack will also be equipped with more pockets and tie downs for storing extra items.  Because you as an adult will be carrying many items that your children will need to survive with, it makes sense that you’ll need a more sophisticated backpack.  This of course means that it will cost you more than a child’s pack.  That being said, you can often find suitable packs at a significant discount at second hand stores, outlet stores, and even yard sales.

When it comes to choosing a pack for a child to carry, you’ll have to use your best judgment about what they are realistically capable of carrying on their back.  Young children may only be able to carry the type of backpack that they are typically accustomed to carrying their school supplies in.  The older your child is, the more physically able they will be to carry a larger pack.  For example, teenagers can probably carry larger packs than young children can carry.  You’ll have to use your best judgment and choose a pack that is age appropriate for each of the members of your family.

The main thing to remember is that a bug out bag isn’t any good to your children if it’s too big and heavy for them to actually carry.  Likewise, a bug out backpack that is too small or poorly constructed won’t be able to carry all of the items that you as an adult will need.

What to Include In Your Bug Out Bag

It’s important to understand that packing a bug out bag is a very personal thing.  Some items are going to be absolutely critical to your survival while others will simply serve to make life a bit more comfortable for you.  This book is going to provide some suggestions about what you might choose to include in your personal survival kit but they are merely suggestions.  You, and you alone will be responsible for making sure that you pack the right types of items that you need to survive.

Your first priority when it comes to packing a bug out bag is survival.  With survival in mind, think about the things that YOU can’t live without.  This doesn’t include your 17” laptop or tablet computer either.  We know that water and food are essential to everyone’s survival but your particular situation may be different than another person’s situation.  For example, you may require a certain type and amount of prescription medication to survive for three days that someone else doesn’t need.  You may also have certain food allergies that will need to be taken into consideration when preparing a bug out bag.

Let’s talk about the basic necessities that you’ll need to survive with first.  FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) lists water, food, and clean air at the top of their list of items to include in a 72 hour survival kit¹.  Everyone, regardless of their personal situation requires these three things to survive.  Consequently, it makes sense to talk about these items first.

Water

In a document written on the subject of emergency preparedness, FEMA says that a normally active person needs at minimum one half gallon of clean water per day just for drinking². They go on further to say that each person should have another half gallon per day to use for sanitation purposes.

Keep in mind that when preparing a bug out bag, someone is going to have to carry it.  A young child may not be able to carry this much water themselves which may mean that as the responsible parent, you may need to carry some of your children’s share of water.

This doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have water in their survival kit.  They absolutely should!  You would hope that they never become separated from you but if something were to cause you to become separated; they will need to have enough water in their bug out bag to survive on.

The author of this book prefers to pack commercially bottled water for a couple of reasons.  The first is that bottled water is treated to last without spoiling and the second is that once the bottles are used, the empty bottles become convenient containers that can be used for other survival purposes. 

Important Note about Water: There are stories that survival experts tell about people dying of dehydration when they actually have water with them.  What the experts believe is happening is that people are so concerned with conserving their water rations that they don’t drink enough and consequently they end up dying of dehydration.  Because of these stories, many survivalists use a saying that goes, “Water is better in you than on you”.  This basically means that you should drink your daily water ration instead of trying to conserve it.  Having water on you will do nothing at all to fend off dehydration while having it in you will.

Food

Depending upon your size, age, and activity level, your daily food requirements will vary.  With that being said, you’ll need to pack enough food to sustain the person who is carrying the bug out bag for three days.  As you can imagine, this creates the question: What kind of food should you pack?

Since you never know when you’ll have to grab your bug out bag and run, whatever you pack should be non-perishable and light weight.  Remember, YOU have to carry what you pack so if your backpack is stuffed with big cans of beef stew, you’re going to be pretty miserable if you have to carry your bug out bag very far.

Perhaps a better solution would be to pack a product like the ERBarTM (Emergency Ration Bar). The manufacturers of this product advertise that it is approved by the United States Coast Guard as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security³.  Each 27 oz. packet contains 9 individual 410 calorie food ration bars.  This equals a total of 3,690 calories that are all wrapped up in a convenient little package.

You don’t need to add water to it and you don’t need to cook it.  You just open a package and eat it.  This product is marketed as a three day food ration package.  Divided over three days, these emergency rations bars will provide 1,230 calories per day.  Because of their small size, you can easily pack two emergency ration packages which will provide extra calories to fend off hunger. Their small size also means that you should have enough room to pack some comfort foods such as candy.  Having access to these comfort foods will make surviving more tolerable; especially for children.

People seem to have a difficult time deciding what foods to pack in a bug out bag.  Products like this emergency ration bar may not be on par with a steak dinner but they’re cheap ($4.09 on Amazon.com), they don’t take up much space, they have a 5 year shelf life, and they’re energy dense.  They also come in a vacuum sealed bag to keep the product neatly packed away and fresh for when you need to eat it. They may not exactly be gourmet but they will provide you with enough calories to survive on.  We’ll talk about having access to comfort foods which will make surviving easier later on in this book.

Clean Air

Some preppers go all out and carry high end gas masks to ensure that they will have clean air to breath after a disaster hits.  Whether you choose to go to that extent will be up to you.  At the very least, you should probably pack some dust masks, cotton shirts, or bandanas that can be used to help filter the air that you’ll be breathing.  You may not need to use this item but you’ll be glad that you have it if the air quality is in fact poor if you ever have to bug out.

Medications

A three day supply of any medications that you need to take should be kept in your bug out bag as well.  If your medications require refrigeration, you may want to check with your doctor and tell him or her that you are preparing a bug out bag.  He or she may be able to give you some samples of medications that don’t require refrigeration to get you through the 72 hour time period. This is something that you’ll have to figure out with your doctor’s help.

Warning: Medication can be dangerous if not taken properly. You should use your own discretion as to whether or not to pack it in your children’s bug out bags.  Only you know whether your child is mature enough to have their medications packed in their own bag.  You may prefer to pack it in your bag and dispense it to them at the appropriate time under your direct supervision.

Infant Supplies

If you’ll be caring for an infant that requires infant formula, don’t forget to pack enough formula and diapering supplies to last for three days.  You’ll also need to plan accordingly and make sure that you pack enough extra water to mix the formula for each feeding. Be sure and check to see if the formula you are packing is actually supposed to be mixed with water as some infant formula is already premixed. 

The same holds true if you’ll be caring for a toddler that needs to eat canned baby food.  You’ll be able to survive just fine on emergency ration bars and candy but your young toddlers may not do so well on this kind of food.  Since a toddler can’t be expected to carry their own bug out bag, you’ll be responsible for carrying the supplies that they’ll need to survive with so be sure and plan accordingly.

Important Family Documents

You should probably also carry copies of any important family documents that you think might be of use to you.  These documents should be stored in a waterproof bag so they don’t get ruined if you find yourself having to survive in less than ideal weather conditions. Some examples of the types of documents that you might want to carry are:

1) Identification.

2) Important medical information such as medical history, medical conditions, allergies, or the medications that you might take.

3) Copies of insurance policies or medical insurance cards.

4) Important contact information including phone numbers and addresses of relatives, close friends, and family doctors.

5) Bank account information.

6) Accurate location of your strategically hidden bug out caches as well as directions to them.  This might include GPS coordinates or perhaps even maps with the location of the caches clearly marked on them.

Protection from the Elements

Depending upon where you live, you may find yourself having to deal with cold weather when you bug out.  Hypothermia is a very real risk in cold climates and it’s nothing to take lightly.  Simply put, if you’re not prepared for the cold, it can kill you.

With this in mind, you should pack at least one change of warm clothing including a coat or jacket, a long sleeve shirt, long pants, warm shoes or boots, gloves, socks, and a hat.  Additionally, each person should have a sleeping bag or warm blanket in their survival kit.

While we’re on the subject of blankets, now would be a good time to address survival blankets.  More specifically, the tightly folded mylar blankets that look like huge sheets of aluminum foil.  These emergency blankets, sometimes referred to as “space blankets”, should be packed in addition to and not in place of a sleeping bag or warm blanket.  They can be used for a multitude of things including reflecting one’s body heat back towards themselves when they are wrapped up in the emergency blanket.  They can also be used as a reflective surface that may be useful when signaling for help.  Again, you probably shouldn’t rely on these blankets as your only means of keeping warm but they are useful items to have on hand and they won’t take up much space in your bug out bag either.

Warning: This item can be dangerous for small children because it may pose a suffocation hazard.  Mylar space blankets are not permeable and if placed over the mouth and nose of a child, they may suffocate. You should use your own discretion as to whether or not you are comfortable packing this item in your children’s bug out bags.  Only you know whether your child is mature enough to safely use this item.  If you chose to let you children use this item, it should only be under your direct supervision.

Spending the night in a warm sleeping bag can make the difference between a restful night’s sleep and a miserable one.  A good sleeping bag can be purchased for between $50 and $100 and these bags usually come with compression sacks that make packing them down to a small and easy to handle size quite simple.  One note about buying sleeping bags is to make sure you buy one that is sized appropriately for the person who will be sleeping in it.  Contrary to what you might think, sleeping bags are not one-size-fits-all items.  If you’re 6’ 4” tall, you’ll be glad that you thought ahead and bought a sleeping bag that was long enough to fit your entire body in.  On the flip side of this scenario, a small child doesn’t need to have a full sized adult’s sleeping bag strapped to their bug out pack either.  This will just add to the bulk and weight that they end up having to carry.

Chemical hand warmer pouches are also very useful when trying to fend off the cold.  Once opened, these little packs produce heat for several hours.  They do eventually stop producing heat but having access to them could provide an extra measure of comfort that you’ll really appreciate having.  Not to mention, being able to hand one of these little wonders to your cold child will help put your mind at ease and help take the chill off of them.  Because they can help you keep warm, they may do wonders for your moral and sense of well-being while you are busy surviving.

Warning: This item can be dangerous if the contents of the hand warmer are ingested.  If you choose to let your child use one of these chemical hand warmers, it should only be under your direct supervision.

A small, lightweight tent is also a good thing to have strapped to your bug out pack. You can survive without a tent but sleeping in one will be more comfortable than sleeping under the stars. Since this book is about remaining comfortable when you have to bug out, the author highly recommends that you pack a tent with your bug out bag. Not only can a tent provide some shelter from the rain and snow, it will keep biting flies and mosquitos off of you as well.  It will even keep you a bit warmer at night!

Depending on how many people will be bugging out with you, you may have to pack a few tents.  It’s much easier to have a few people each carry a small dome tent than it is to pack one large cabin type tent that would accommodate your entire family.

If, however, you are bugging out by yourself, you might want to pack what is called a “bivy sack” in lieu of a tent.  A bivy sack is essentially a very small tent that is just big enough to fit your sleeping bag and a few supplies in.  It will protect your sleeping bag and supplies from the elements as well as keep the mosquitos off of you while being so small and lightweight that you’ll hardly realize that you’re packing it with you.

Another very useful item to have with you that can help protect you from the elements is a plastic tarp.  This item has a variety of uses in survival situations.  It can be used as a protective barrier to keep your sleeping bag off the damp ground as well as a cover to protect your supplies from rain and snow. In a pinch, it can even be used as a signaling device. 

Warning: This item can be dangerous as it is not permeable and may pose a suffocation hazard if young children get wrapped up in it.  If you choose to let your child carry a plastic tarp in their bug out bag, it should only be under your direct supervision.

Footwear

Since you might have to hike for some distance when you bug out, it’s important to have the proper type of footwear.  For this reason, you might want to consider keeping a good quality pair of hiking boots next to your bug out bag.  Then, if you ever have to bug out, you can ditch your flip flops and put on your hiking boots before you leave your house. 

Keeping your hiking boots with your family’s bug out bags has an added benefit.  If you have children, you know that they inevitably have a hard time finding both of their shoes when they are looking for them.  By storing their hiking boots with their bug out bag, you’re taking that risk out of the equation.  This can and will save you time when you are trying to bug out in a hurry.

Personal Sanitation Supplies

Items like moist towelettes, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, feminine hygiene products, personal hygiene products, and garbage bags with plastic ties can come in really handy for taking care of everyday hygiene and sanitation needs.  These items are easy to overlook when packing a bug out bag but when you find yourself needing them, you’ll be kicking yourself for not having packed them. Whatever you do, don’t make that mistake.

Keep in mind, however, that luxury items like makeup kits and hand mirrors will only add to the bulk and weight that a person has to carry.  Your teenage daughter may think that she can’t live without these items for three whole days but she’ll be better off if she doesn’t have to carry the added weight on her back.  Also, not carrying them means that there will be more room for actual survival items in the backpack.

Warning: Garbage bags should not be included in young children’s bug out bag because they pose a suffocation hazard.  Additionally, young children should not be allowed to play with them.

First Aid Kit

Oftentimes during emergency situations, people will become injured and require emergency medical care of some sort.  If you’re equipped with the proper supplies and knowledge to dress and treat wounds, your chances of surviving until you can get professional medical care will go way up.  Notice that the word “knowledge” was included in this last statement.  It’s important for each bug out bag to contain a first aid kit but if you don’t know how to use it, it will be of little use to you. 

You may want to pack a book on first aid to refer to but good old knowledge about performing first aid is something that doesn’t take up any space at all in your bug out bag and it’s something that everyone should have.  It’s highly advisable that you take the time as soon as possible to get some first aid training and be sure to include your entire family in this training.  After all, you never know when the knowledge that they have might end up saving your life.

Warning: Some items that are included in first aid kits could potentially be dangerous if handled by young children.  You should inspect the first aid kits that you pack in your children’s bug out bags to make sure that there aren’t any items in the kit that may harm them.

Multitool

A multitool can be invaluable to have on hand.  It can be used as a wrench to help you turn off utilities, as a knife to use for cutting, and much more.  It’s worth pointing out that there are a lot of cheap knockoffs on the market when it comes to multitools.  It has been the experience of the author that it’s worth spending the money on a high quality name brand multitool.  They’re built much better and the added quality that they have may be the difference between them saving your bacon and being a worthless pile of junk.  It’s also worth pointing out that when you are buying a multitool, you are in fact buying a “tool” that will be used.  With this in mind, the cute little keychain sized multitools should probably be avoided as they aren’t equipped to handle the same types of jobs as a good quality regular sized multitool is.

Warning: This item can be dangerous because multitools usually are equipped with a knife blade. You should use your own discretion as to whether or not to pack it in your children’s bug out bags.  Only you know whether your child is mature enough to safely use this tool.

Survival Knife

Depending on the climate and the time of year that you find yourself bugging out, you may have to build shelter or light a fire.  A good quality survival knife that is substantial enough to be used for the tasks of cutting limbs or chopping wood can be very useful in this type of a situation.  This author likes the Gerber Gator Machete Jr. for this purpose. It’s a large double edged knife that has a chopping edge as well as a good quality saw on the back edge.  It has a 10.75” blade and measures a total of 18.75” in length.  It’s a good hacking and sawing tool and it will only set you back about $25 - $30 and it comes with a sheath.

Warning: This tool is potentially dangerous and should not be packed in a child’s bug out bag.  Additionally, it should only be used by an adult.

Fire Starting Kit

A good quality fire starting kit is essential for any adult’s bug out bag.  Be sure and include items that will make it easy for you to start a fire.  Even if you know how to make a fire with a fire bow, you’ll be glad that you thought ahead and you packed items like a high quality magnesium stick, a new butane lighter, waterproof matches, and dry tinder.  Being able to start a fire and do it quickly can save your life during extreme cold survival situations.  It can provide heat, light, protection from biting insects, a way of signaling for help, and even protection for predatory animals.  Not to mention, fire is the great comforter when a person is in a survival situation.

Here’s a helpful tip!  If you pack a new butane lighter in a hard plastic container that is used for holding a travel toothbrush, the lever that releases the gas on the lighter won’t accidentally be depressed when you pack it in you bug out pack.  If you don’t pack it this way and the lever does accidentally become depressed while the lighter is being jostled around in your pack, all of the gas could escape and the lighter will be of little use to you when you actually need to use it.

Warning: Starting a fire can be dangerous as there is the potential of suffering burns or other injuries.  You should use your own discretion as to whether or not to pack fire starting tools in your children’s bug out bags.  Only you know whether your child is mature enough to safely use them.

Emergency Radio

An emergency radio with NOAA weather radio frequencies pre-programmed and a tone alert can be invaluable to you and your family during a bug out situation.  You can purchase emergency radios that will sound a tone to alert you to important messages from officials. This tone alert feature is extremely nice to have.  Ideally, the emergency radio that you keep in your bug out bag will be able to be powered by both batteries and via hand cranking.  Be sure to pack an extra set or two of batteries so that you can keep the radio on nearly all of the time.  This is where the hand crank feature comes in handy.  Every so often you can wind the crank on the radio to charge the internal battery up. You never know when that important emergency message will be broadcasted and you don’t want to miss hearing it so be sure and do all you can to keep the radio on and monitored at all times.

Here’s something that’s worth remembering. Having little chores to do like winding the radio or listening for emergency broadcasts can help keep children from worrying too much during a stressful situation that has forced you to bug out with your family. 

Emergency Flashlight

A flashlight can be an invaluable tool to have in your pack.  It can be used to help you do chores and find items during the long dark nights as well as for signaling should you need to attract the attention of rescuers.  When shopping for a flashlight to include in your bug out bag, choose one that has an LED bulb.  LED bulbs are very energy efficient and they’ll make your batteries last much longer than the old fashioned incandescent bulbs.  If your flashlight uses batteries, be sure and pack extra batteries in your bug out bag.

Many flashlights that are designed for emergency use have a hand crank charging feature.  This is a good feature to have since you never have to worry about the batteries going dead on you.  When the charge runs out, a few minutes of turning the crank and you’re back in business.  Another good feature to look for in an emergency flashlight is a signaling setting.  Some emergency flashlights can be switched to signal mode which causes them to flash on and off every few seconds.  Some even have a red flashing light to do an even better job of attracting the attention of rescuers.

Signaling Whistle

You may find yourself having to attract the attention of potential rescuers.  We’ve already talked about using a mylar emergency blanket, a plastic tarp, and a flashlight as signaling devices but it’s important to have a good signaling whistle in your bug out bag too.   Search and rescue personnel have reported that it’s much easier for them to hear a whistle than a person’s voice.  The sound of a whistle will carry much farther than a voice.  Not only that, after a person has been calling for help for quite some time, their voice becomes frail to the point that it is very difficult, if not impossible, for potential rescuers to hear.

Signal Flare

A signal flare or a flare gun can help you get the attention of would be rescuers as well.  When emergency personnel are searching for people who are in need of help, they may only have a brief window in time to pin point your location.  A perfect example of this might be if rescue personnel are flying over you in search planes.  Having a signal flare may make the difference between whether they see you or whether they pass right by you. 

Warning: This item can be dangerous and it should never be packed in a child’s bug out bag.  Additionally, it should only be used by an adult or under the direct supervision of an adult.

Emergency Rain Poncho

Since you can’t predict what the weather conditions will be if you ever have to bug out, it’s a good idea to pack an emergency rain poncho in your 72 hour kit.  This item is small, inexpensive, and easy to pack.  You may not need to use it but you’ll be glad that you have it if you do end up spending much time enduring the rain.

Warning: This item can be dangerous for small children because it may pose a suffocation hazard.  Plastic rain ponchos are not permeable and if placed over the mouth and nose of a child, they may suffocate. You should use your own discretion as to whether or not you are comfortable packing this item in your children’s bug out bags.  Only you know whether your child is mature enough to safely use this item.  If you chose to let your children use this item, it should only be under your direct supervision.

Household Chlorine Bleach

A small quantity of regular household chlorine bleach can be used to disinfect things when it is diluted at a ratio of nine parts water to one part bleach¹.  It can also be used to treat water in an emergency when it is used at a rate of 16 drops of bleach in one gallon of water¹.

Warning: Don’t use scented bleach, colorsafe bleach, or bleach with added cleaners.  This item should only be packed in the bug out bags of adults.  Additionally, it should only be used by an adult or under the direct supervision of an adult.

Cordage

Each adult’s bug out pack should have some rope bundled in it.  This can be used for everything from building a shelter to making a solar still for distilling water.  The uses of rope and cords are virtually endless during a survival situation.  Many survival experts prefer to pack 550 paracord.  This cordage is lightweight, strong, and you can pull the inner strands out to have access to lighter weight cordage if you want to.

Warning: This item can be dangerous for small children because it may pose a strangulation hazard.  Only you know whether your child is mature enough to safely use this item.  If you chose to let your children use this item, it should only be under your direct supervision.

Pet Supplies

Many families have pets which means that some thought and consideration should be given to their survival needs.  If you plan on bugging out, you should be prepared to grab the family dog or cat and take them with you.  This means that you’ll have to plan accordingly for their food and water needs as well.  One idea is to train your dog to carry a pet backpack.  You can find these backpacks at most quality pet stores and once your dog has been trained to carry one, they can help lighten your load by carrying their own food supply. 

You also want to make sure that you have some way of keeping your pet contained.  If you have a cat, this likely means that you’ll bug out with a cat carrier.  If you have a dog, this will likely mean that you’ll pack a leash so that you can keep your dog tied up.  Keeping your pets contained or tied up is not only for your convenience, it could save their life.  If emergency vehicles are blaring their horns and sirens, your pets may panic and run off causing them to get lost, or worse, killed by a passing vehicle. 

Money

You never know when having some money on hand may come in handy.  You may be able to pay someone for help or you may need to purchase something from a store or from someone.  Keep in mind that whatever denomination of currency that you have on hand is the amount you’re going to have to pay.  For example, if you only have a $100 bill and you need to buy something like matches from someone, there’s a good chance that they won’t have $95 dollars on them to make change for you.  This means that if you really want the matches, you’re going to have to pay $100.  With this in mind you should probably keep a supply of small bills on hand.  As an interesting note, FEMA suggest that you keep cash, traveler’s checks, and change in your bug out bag.

Paper & Pencil

You may receive information from relief personnel that you’ll want to write down.  Each bug out bag should be equipped with some paper and a pencil just for this purpose.  You might want to consider keeping it stored in the water tight bag that your important documents are stored in.

Navigation Aids

You may find yourself having to navigate your way to a particular location during a natural disaster that has caused you to have to bug out.  Having a good set of maps of your area, a compass, and possibly even a hand held GPS could come in really handy.

When it comes to the map and compass, they won’t be of much use to you unless you know how to use them.  Along with preparing by physically packing the items you might need while bugging out, you can prepare by learning how to use a map and compass ahead of time.  The time to develop your orienteering skills is not the first time you take your compass out of its package.

Likewise, if you’re going to keep a GPS in your bug out bag, you should take the time to pre-program key waypoints into it ahead of time.  Having waypoints like your bug out site, bug out caches, water sources, etc., pre-programmed into the GPS could really be advantageous when you are in a survival situation.  It should go without saying that a stressful real life survival situation is not the time to try and learn how to use your fancy new GPS.  Any time spent learning how to navigate with your GPS ahead of time will be time that is well spent.

Duct Tape

Many people will tell you that you can fix just about anything with duct tape.  This is a bit of an exaggeration but nonetheless duct tape has many uses in a survival situation.  It comes in huge rolls but many survivalists save space in their packs by buying smaller rolls.  They then peel the cardboard out of the inside of the roll and flatten the roll in a vice.  This can make packing a roll of duct tape in a bug out bag a little more convenient.

Comfort Items

This is especially important if you’re packing a bug out bag for your young children.  If you have to suddenly leave your home and try to survive in a camp or some other unfamiliar location, having some comfort items like a coloring book, a stuffed animal, a puzzle book, or some small toys can really help alleviate any stress that your child might be feeling.  For those of you who are more mature, a paperback novel might be a good thing to pack to help pass the time and lighten the mood of the situation.

Feel Free To Be Creative When Packing

If you’ve done a good job of picking your emergency supplies, there may be room for additional items in your bug out bag.  Remember that the items listed above are the basic survival items that the author of this book feels are important to pack.  With that being said, the author won’t be with you when you have to bug out so if you think that you should have some additional items in your bug out backpack, by all means, feel free to pack them.

One word of caution is to try and not over pack. Something that is common with survivalists is that they have to balance what they think they’ll need during a survival situation with what they would like to have.  If you’re not careful it’s easy to get carried away and pack much more than you’ll actually need.  There’s an old saying that says, “One can never be too prepared”.  Well, that may be true but if you go overboard while packing your bug out bag, you may find yourself having to ditch some of the items along the way so that your pack is light enough to actually carry.

A better solution would be to store luxury items and extra survival items in strategically hidden “bug out caches”.  We’ll talk more about this later.

How to Pack Your Bug Out Bag

Another reason that the author recommends using a backpack as the platform to carry your bug out supplies is the versatility they provide when it comes to packing and organizing things.  Most high quality packs will have the ability to lash several items to the outside of them.  Items like sleeping bags, tents, and tarps should be tightly rolled up and securely tied to the outer frame of the pack.  Note that some packs have internal frames but many of these types of packs still have places to lash these big and bulky items to. 

The more securely these items are tied to your pack, the easier it will be to carry.  One tip to remember when packing a bug out bag is that loosely packed items can shift around inside of your pack causing its center of gravity to constantly be changing.  This constant shifting of weight will make carrying your bug out pack very uncomfortable.

Instead of simply stuffing loose clothing into your pack, consider rolling each item tightly and securing it with strips of electrical tape.  This will help compact these items and make it easier to find homes for them in your backpack.

Remember, you’re going to pack your bug out bag and it may be several months before you look inside it again.  This means that there’s a very high likelihood that you’ll forget where you packed the individual items.  Instead of having to dig through all of the pockets in your pack to find a particular item, consider making a “pack map”.  This is simply a piece of paper that has an inventory of all of the items that your bug out bag contains along with which pocket they are each packed into.  Keep this little pack map in the most easily accessible pocket of your pack and it can save you a lot of time and frustration when you need to find an emergency item in a hurry.

As a general rule, you’re going to want to pack the things that you’ll need to access the most often in the easiest to access pockets. For example, you don’t want to have to dig through your entire pack just to get a drink of water.  On the other hand, supplies like your change of clothes can be packed near the bottom of your pack because you won’t need to access them as frequently.

After you pack your backpack, you should try to carry it for a while.  This will help you know if you’ve packed too many heavy items near the top which may throw your center of balance off and make carrying the backpack quite difficult.

Keeping Your Bug Out Bags Up To Date

If you’re being responsible about the way you’re packing the bug out bags for your family, you’ll be constantly updating them.  This is especially true if you have growing children in your family.  We’ve already addressed the issue of upgrading the size and type of pack that your growing children are equipped with but there’s another issue to consider.  During times of growth spurts, your children may outgrow their clothing two or three times a year. When you realize that your children require larger clothes, be sure and replace the old clothing that you have packed away in their bug out bags with new clothing that fits them properly.  This includes their hiking boots.

Some other things that may need to be updated are medical records and medications.  Your needs may also change.  For example, you might have had a new baby since the last time you updated your bug out bags.  Whatever the case may be, it’s important that you take a few hours at least a couple of times a year and make sure that if you had to bug out, that your bug out bags are up to date and ready to go.

Bug Out Caches Can Be Game Changers

This chapter is really important.  In it you’ll learn the secret to bugging out comfortably vs. barely surviving if you ever need to bug out. A bug out cache is simply a container that is hidden at your pre-planned bug out location or at strategic places along the route to your bug out location.  Not many people put enough emphasis on the importance of good bug out caches.  They really can be game changers when you are trying to survive!  Think of them like little mini-marts for the survivalist. 

A good bug out cache is one that is hidden well, protected from the elements, and well stocked with additional survival supplies.  Without a doubt, the heaviest item that you’ll be packing in your bug out bag is water.  One gallon of water weighs 8.35 pounds.  This means that if you’re packing three gallons which is what FEMA advises, you’ll have to tote around 25.05 pounds of water per person!  Some of your family members may not physically be strong enough to do that.  Extra water is perhaps one of the most important items to put in a bug out cache.  This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep water in your bug out packs.  It’s essential to your very survival that you do!  It just means that you’ll have the ability to access more clean water that you don’t have to pack around on your back if you’ve taken the time to prepare some well stocked bug out caches ahead of time.

Real food like canned beef stew or even MRE’s are also good items to keep stashed away in bug out caches.  Sure, you can survive on your emergency ration bars but you’ll really appreciate the chance to eat a nice hot meal while you’re trying to survive the chaos.  Comfort foods like junk food is also a good thing to keep in bug out caches.  These items can really alleviate a lot of the stress that the situation might be placing on your children.  If you can surprise them with a late night treat of something like warm s’mores, surviving while bugging out will be much more tolerable. 

Other things to keep in bug out caches are luxury items that will help pass the time.  Books, magazines, puzzles, games, and radios can effectively transform a stressful survival situation into a leisurely camping trip that your family might actually enjoy.

The bottom line is that you absolutely should have several well stocked bug out caches strategically positioned at your pre-planned bug out location(s).  You should also keep an accurate record of exactly where they are in your bug out bag with your important documents.  After all, they won’t be of much use to you if you don’t remember where you hid or buried them.

Something that you might not have thought of is making a game of digging up your bug out caches with your young children.  With a little creativity and imagination you can turn this chore into a pirate’s adventure of following a treasure map to find your hidden treasure.

Having access to these bug out caches truly means that you’ll be able to bug out in style.  You can do this because you’ll have access to comfort and luxury items to help alleviate the discomfort of being displaced from your home while you are waiting for order to be restored.  Their level of importance CANNOT be stressed enough.

Be Prepared to Bug Out Quickly

If a natural disaster or other major event that necessitates bugging out occurs, you may only have a few moments to gather your supplies and leave your home.  This means that in order to make the act of bugging out go as smoothly as possible, you’re going to want to make sure that a couple of things are in place. 

First, you need to have a dedicated location for storing all of your bug out bags.  If you let your children keep them in their rooms and you have to find their bags quickly, you may find that this is easier said than done.  In an emergency, minutes count so make sure that ALL of your bug out bags are easily accessible and ready to grab.

Second, you want to have a good bug out plan in place.  You need to know where you’ll go if you have to leave your home quickly.  The time of the emergency is NOT an appropriate time to make this decision.  That being said, you should have several bug out routes pre-planned.  If you plan on leaving the city and taking a particular highway and the disaster has turned that highway into a parking lot, you’ll want to have pre-planned an alternate evacuation route.  If you know where you’re going ahead of time and you have a few alternate routes for how to get there, things will go much smoother for you if you ever actually have to bug out.

Third, you want to make sure that you get in the habit of keeping your vehicle’s fuel tanks full.  When you leave on vacation, the last thing you probably do before you head out is hit the gas station to fill up your tanks.  You may not have this luxury during an emergency bug out situation.  Even if the gas stations are open, you can bet that you won’t be the only one with this idea and you may find that the gas station is a chaotic mess.  In the interest of emergency preparedness, a good habit to develop is to keep always keep your fuel tanks as full as possible. 

You might also want to consider storing a couple of five gallon gas cans at your house so that if you do have to bug out, you can quickly top off your car’s tank with the gas that you have on hand.  If you do decide to store gasoline, you should buy fresh gas and add a fuel stabilizing additive such as STA-BIL to it before you store it.  This will prolong the shelf life of the gasoline so that it’s as fresh as possible when you need it.  It should go without saying that you should never store gasoline indoors!

Lastly, you should practice bugging out with your family.  This means that you should do what preppers like to call “Bug out drills”.  Basically, these drills are just like fire drills.  They should come at unexpected times to truly test how quickly your family can pick up and leave.  You’ll want to see how quickly your bug out bags can be grabbed, how quickly you can get everyone loaded in the car, and how long it takes to get to your planned bug out location.

When you arrive at your bug out location, be sure that you spend some time hiking while carrying your bug out packs.  This will help prepare you and your family members for what it might be like when you actually have to bug out.  It will also help you figure out if the pack that you purchased is configured properly for you.  The only way to know what it will feel like to carry your bug out bag on your back is to actually do it while hiking. 

There’s no substitute for real world in the field experience.  You just can’t experience carrying a bug out bag over distance in your living room.  The time to figure out that you need to make weight distribution adjustments or other adjustments to your backpack is during these drills; not during an actual emergency.

If you have young children, you can make a game of these drills.  You don’t have to use the term “bugging out” with your young children either.  Instead you can use terms like, “let’s go camping” or “let’s go on a picnic”.  If they are used to you surprising them at a moment’s notice with a camping trip, a real life bug out situation won’t be as stressful to them.

When you arrive at your bug out location, it’s important to practice doing some of the things you would have to do in order to survive a real emergency scenario.  Perhaps the easiest way to accomplish this is to periodically take your family on camping trips.  If they are accustomed to camping, going through the motions of surviving a real bug out emergency will be much less traumatic.

The main thing to remember is that you don’t want panic to set in if you ever actually have to grab your survival kits and bug out.  The more familiar your family is with the act of physically grabbing their bug out bags and getting in the car quickly, the less stressful a real emergency will be for them and the more smoothly your evacuation will go.

Arm Yourself with the Knowledge to Survive

It’s a good idea to pack a good survival field guide in your bug out bags.  This can be used as a reference to help you survive when you are waiting for help from emergency services.  As useful as a good field guide can be, there’s no replacement for knowledge.  How can you learn how to bug out properly?  The best way is to learn to be a survivor.  You can attend survival clinics, read books, spend time camping to develop your survivalist skillset, and more.   Preparing to bug out isn’t like buying something like a fire extinguisher for your home.  When you buy a fire extinguisher, you most likely mount it to the wall and forget about it until you need it.  When you need to use it, there’s not much skill involved so using it doesn’t require much training.

Depending on where you plan on bugging out with your family, you may need quite a bit of skill to survive.  If you plan to bug out at your family cabin, you may think that you don’t need much skill or training to survive but what if the roads are closed and you can’t make it to your cabin?  You might find yourself having to seek shelter in a totally unfamiliar environment.  It’s these types of unfamiliar situations that you need training to survive in.

If you work in an office and you’ve never taken your family to a park, let alone camping, the experience of trying to survive when you are bugging out could be quite traumatic.  Anything you can do to fill your mind with knowledge AND experiences will raise the likelihood that you’ll be prepared to help your family survive a real emergency.

HEED THESE WORDS: Take the time to get survival training and gain knowledge NOW and you’ll be glad that you did later!

Summary

Hopefully the day will never come that you will have to bug out and leave the safety and comfort of your home but if it does, you’ll be glad that you read this book.  More importantly, you’ll be glad that you followed the advice in this book and took the time to prepare well stocked bug out bags ahead of time!  

It’s much better to be safe than sorry when it comes to matters of emergency preparedness.  If you never need to use your bug out bags, that’s great!  The odds are, however, that you will at some point in the future.  Please take the time now to prepare your bug out bags as well as your mind so that you’ll be ready if and when this day ever comes.

Help Spread the Word about This Book

If you enjoyed this book, you might also enjoy my other book called Doomsday Prepping Crash Course: The Ultimate Preppers Guide to Getting Prepared When You're on a Tight Budget.  It’s also available at Amazon.com!

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading this book and that you found it helpful in some way.  If you did, I would really appreciate it if you would take a minute to “like” it or rate and review it in the Amazon store.  Thanks so much!

If you have any questions about this book or emergency preparedness in general, you can send the author an email or visit her website.

Email: pattyhahne@preppersillustrated.com

Website: http://preppersillustrated.com

Footnotes

1 -

http://www.ready.gov/document/family-supply-list

2 -

http://www.ready.gov/water

3 -

http://www.amazon.com/3600-Calorie-ER-Bar-Emergency/dp/B0007VSID8