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Bugout Bag?  What’s That?

A “Bugout Bag” is some type of container that holds all the items you think you’d need if something happened and you needed to evacuate quickly (bug out.)  Most “experts” agree that it should contain enough supplies to sustain you for a minimum of 72 hours, but there must be a balance between being prepared and being mobile.  A bugout bag does you no good if it’s so heavy that you can’t move with it!

I wrote “experts” in quotes because so many people have opinions on the optimal loadout for a bugout bag – ranging from desk jockeys who never see wilderness except for on TV, to the hard corps survivalist psychos who are dead certain that the revolution is coming and we’d all better stockpile weapons and ammo for the war.   I fall somewhere in between these two extremes.  I will say that the following paragraphs describe the optimal loadout for me.  If you asked for my advice, I’d recommend a few things that I think everyone should have, but for the most part, you need to assess your situation, your needs, and your abilities when you pack your own bugout bag.  It should be tailored to you.  For instance, I don’t need any prescription medication, and I’m an ox.  That means my bag will be different than that of a 90-pound woman on prescription meds.  My vision sucks, so I’ll have glasses and contacts to pack where a guy with 20/20 vision (lucky bastard) won’t have to worry about that.

I want to note that bugout bags aren’t just for militia nut jobs .  I keep mine packed so I can travel on a moment’s notice.  It’s my compromise.  As I get older, I see myself slowing down and getting predictable.  I have a 40-hour-per-week job.  I’m buying a house.  I often spend my Friday or Saturday nights doing laundry and dishes.  Whether I like to admit it or not, I’m putting down roots.  But I can leave at a moment’s notice when the whim strikes me as long as that bag is packed.  I can hit the road and see my brothers or go wherever I want, and I know I have everything I need.  It has the added benefit of ensuring I have what I need to survive if an emergency would occur, and one just never knows what might happen in these troubled times.  It never hurts to be prepared.

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