My Bug Out Bag Blowout

My Bug Out Bag Blowout.

There seems to be a general conundrum about whether to ‘Bug Out’ or ‘Bug In’ when SHTF.  Both options require significant planning and multiple alternatives, to cover all the 'what if's'.  However, all said and done – what happens when you have to leave, regardless of where you are at any given time? For me, that suggests that while bugging out should be left as a last resort for those who are well located and prepared to shelter in place, the inevitability of needing to leave means a well prepared Bug Out Bag, or BOB, is a sensible idea, regardless of the original plans.

I love making lists, and I love buying stuff, so getting a BOB together was something I absolutely jumped at.  Now, to be totally honest, I can’t say I’m the most judicious person when it comes to buying the latest gadgets and knick knacks.  If my budget allows it, I’ll buy something without too much further consideration beyond a) can I afford it, and b) does it suit the purpose I’m buying it for? This method is how I ended up with a massive Lowepro Fastpack 350 camera backpack that is far too large for me (at 167cm tall) to comfortably wear and access, but dammit, it was only $10 AUD more than the next size down!  Anyway, after reading all the sites, blogs and ‘must have in your bug out bag’ lists, I had a fantastically comprehensive list of everything I could ever possibly need to restart civilisation.  I’d picked out a full sized military style pack that might have been big enough to stuff me into, let alone all my gear, paramilitary style tactical boots, cargo pants and so on.  The list was huge, and this gear was going to cost me thousands. It got me thinking, was there a better way to do this? A cheaper way? How many of those sites were littered with advertisements and links to sales sites to buy all of those ‘must have’ items, and were they really all that ‘must have’?  So, rather belatedly, I thought maybe I should actually ask someone who has had to hump the requirements of life around on their back through some of the nastiest terrain in our inhospitable country before I go and spend all that money on things I may not actually need.

Thankfully for me, prior to his current job, my husband has served in the Australian Army, with on-the-ground war zone experience. Rather than show him all my lists and be laughed at (because inevitably knowing me and my ideas of ‘practicality’, that is what would have happened), I sat down with pen and paper and picked The Man’s brain.  What were first priorities when setting up camp? What were the things you absolutely couldn’t live without when out ‘bush’? What were the things that you took with you that you rarely used, and so on.  The first thing that was pointed out to me, was that my idea of 1-2 litres of water per person, per day in summer in Australia was woefully inadequate.  Secondly, when looking at the ‘pack everything but the kitchen sink list’, The Man made the point of asking: what are the basic necessities when you’re just trying  to survive? How much is all this going to weigh? Can you lift that much? Can you run with that amount of weight in a pack? Have you ever worn a pack? Where are you planning on lugging these things off to? Are all those things going to end up being assets, or slow you down and leave you vulnerable? Needless to say, most of the answers to those questions made me completely rethink how I approached my Bug Out Bag idea, and we ended up compiling briefing of what the bag was intended for, a list of bare necessities, and the military style alternatives that some of us completely inexperienced civilians have no idea about.

Here I’ve included my pared down list of the bare necessities according to the categories my husband suggested.  By comparison, his suggestions (read practical, sensible inclusions/exchanges) are listed alongside.  It certainly gave me some insight into just how inexperienced I’d be in situations like this, and why it is always a good plan to having someone with military experience in your apocalypse survival family. (Oh, and in case you were wondering, the reason I’ve included a bow and arrow in my defence/weaponry is because I’m a long bow archer.)

	My Ideas	His Suggestions
Water	9 x 600ml bottles of water, Life Straw	Camelbak hydration system, army style water canteens, reusable, collapsible water bladders
Food	Homemade/Commercial MRE’s	Emergency Food Bars/Protein Bars
Shelter	Small tent, sleeping bag, rain jacket	Bivvy Bag, Poncho, rope
Heat	Firelighters, lighters, tinder, waterproof matches	Steel and Flint, waterproof matches
Light	Torch, batteries, candles	Wind-up torch, LED headlamp
Defence	Machete, bow, arrows	Hunting knife, pocket knife/tool machete
First Aid	Bandages, non-stick gauze pads, pain killers, tough/fabric bandaids, antiseptics, field dressings, scalpel, suture kit, gloves, tweezers, forceps.	‘sounds about right’
Miscellanea	Hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, boots, pants, long sleeve shirt, gloves, compass, whistle, mirror, pen, paper	Wire, wire saw, rope, fishing kit

So, that should give you an idea of the road I’m wandering along to the construction of my BOB.  Next post, I’m hoping to do a little more analysis about the contents before I start road testing and comparing some of the features I haven’t quite made my mind up about yet.

Until next time :)
KC.