Bug Out Bag Essentials!

Your B.O.B. is the Backbone of Your Preparedness Plan !

A bug out bag (or B.O.B.) is central to any disaster preparedness or emergency plan. Your bug out bag is your lifeblood in the event of a crisis. Your B.O.B. is your “grab and go” resource when a disaster strikes.

So what is a “ bug out bag ” exactly? A bug out bag (also known as a “ bail out bag ” or “ B.O.B. ”, “ go bag ”, “ get out of dodge bag ” or “ G.O.O.D. bag ”, “ E&E (escape & evasion) bag ”, “ egress bag ” and others) is basically a 72 hour kit that you can grab on your way out the door in the event of a crisis or disaster situation.B.O.B.s are typically designed to get you and your family through the next 72 hours meeting basic needs (at a minimum) like staying warm/cool, staying hydrated, effect shelter, stay dry and clean, meeting nutrition needs, means to start fire, signal search and rescue, treat injuries and wounds, communicate with loved ones, illuminate your environment, secure your family’s safety, etc.

Items that are typically found in a quality B.O.B. include (but are not limited to) a quality knife, basic tools, potable water or a means to treat non-potable water, blanket, tarp, means to start a fire, a quality container for water, basic first aid items, change of clothes and shoes, a compass or GPS, signaling devices, communications devices, cordage, duct tape, firearms and ammo and more. We’ll go into more detail below in our Comprehensive Bug Out Bag List .

DIY or Commercial B.O.B.?

Historically pre-assembled bags like these tend to contain extremely poor quality items (nothing like finding out the tiny multitool in your mass-produced kit is a piece of garbage when you actually need it most), but this is not always the case anymore. Several companies are putting really nice gear in their pre-assembled 72 hour disaster preparedness kits these days! For example, OuttaGEAR is putting out some kits that have some terrific quality name brand gear in them! Items like Nalgene lexan water bottles, Wise Food freeze dried entrées, Clif bars, MSR water filters, GSI cookware, Petzel headlamps, Bear Grylls survival knife, Fiskars hatchets, Gerber shovels & multitools, Ultimate Survival Technologies fire starting gear (Blastmatch and Wetfire), Gorilla tape, UCO lamp, Motorola walkie talkies, Ben’s insect repellant and more! Other brand names used in these kits include Stanley, SOL, SOG, Leatherman, LifeStraw, Mountain House, Katadyn, Goal Zero, & Eton!

Most disaster preparedness enthusiasts will tell you that the best B.O.B. are the ones people make themselves, and historically they would be right. That being said, there are several companies out there who are assembling and selling some pretty nice B.O.B.s at pretty decent prices!

Yes, building your own kit from scratch still has many advantages over buying a pre-assembled kit (personalization, choosing individual items based on your preference, needs, familiarity, etc.), but you might be very surprised to see how many of these pre-assembled B.O.B.s are actually giving DIY kits a real run for their money! Quality assembled B.O.B.s like these can be a terrific place to start and you can easily modify and improve them as you see fit!

B.O.B. Items/Contents

Whether you ultimately decide to go with a pre-assembled kit or to put a B.O.B. together yourself, the contents of your bug out bag should look basically the same since the items in your bag are going to need to meet the same basic needs. If you are not familiar with the basic survival categories, check out our “Survival Dirty Dozen” page to learn more about bases that you need to cover in a disaster scenario.

Packs for B.O.B.s

There are a number of options to consider when deciding what kind of “container” or “shell” to use to house your bug out bag items.

Nylon Military Utility/Tactical Duffle

One bag type that has been traditionally popular for this purpose is a sort of tactical duffle/utility bag. These type of bags typically have handles on each side of the zipper and can be carried like a duffle bag, but they also have an optional shoulder strap for longer/heavier carries. These bags typically have a military/tactical look to them (usually military colors), have lots of pockets and “molle” strapping for organization and can they can take a beating. They are terrific for quickly grabbing and throwing in a vehicle to hit the road, but they are not ideal if you have to cover considerable ground on foot.

Backpacks

Backpacks are another terrific choice for bug out bags because they are more comfortable, easier to carry longer/further, free up BOTH of your hands and are less likely to get in your way as you manuever. There are two main types of backpacks to choose from: tactical backpacks more conventional backpacking style backpacks. Each has their own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Tactical packs tend to have more “molle” strapping on them making it much easier to add molle compatible pouches and sheaths to the outside of your bag for a more modular kit. Tactical bags do have that cool military look to them that absolutely looks the part, but despite their muted colors or camo patterns, they can actually draw more attention from others as these packs are known to often contain expensive gear (like firearms) in them. Tactical style packs can also tend to put people more on alert (especially in an already tense situation) because of their more imposing military-associated appearance.

In contrast, recreational backpacking packs look far less threatening and innocuous. Backpacking packs also tend to have many more nice strap adjustments, zippered access points and compartments for organization. Whether you prefer the more tactical style pack or the backpacking pack to house your bug out bag, both styles of packs have fully adjustable shoulder straps that make your gear a whole lot easier to carry further and longer.

Dry Bags

Dry bags are terrific at keeping your gear nice and dry, but traditionally that’s beenbasically all they are good for.Dry bags are often overlooked for bug out bags for one main reason: Dry bags haven't have had those nice adjustable shoulder straps that backpackers have enjoyed carrying their gear with comfortably for miles... but those days are officially over. Now there are dry bags that have built in fully adjustable shoulder straps giving you the best of both worlds! These dry bags may not have all of the fancy pockets and zippered access points that backpacking packs do… but traditional backpacks can’t keep your gear dry when submerged in a river or lake.

Get to Know your B.O.B.!

Having a bug out bag is good. Getting to know your bug out bag and how to use the tools and resources that are in it is even better. Practice with it. Test it. Take it out into the woods on a weekend and observe what works well for you and what doesn’t. Take your kit back home and improve it based on what you learned and observed. Don’t just ASSUME that it will meet all of your needs perfectly. What foods did you like or not like? Is your knife an ideal choice for you and the tasks you want to use it for? Is your kit missing anything? Is it too heavy? Get everything out and spread it out on the floor. Did you use everything in your kit? If not… are those items worth keeping in your kit?

72 hour kits can always be improved upon and are never perfect. We suggest you’re your kit is never “done”. You should always be learning and improving your kit. Remember, it’s the journey, not the destination. Never aspire to “finish” your 72 hour kit as if this is an achievable goal. Instead, aspire to never stop making your B.O.B. better!

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