PREP Op-Ed: A Survival Expert Lays Out What You Need In Your Bug-Out Bag

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
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http://taskandpurpose.com/a-survival-expert-lays-out-what-you-need-in-your-bug-out-bag/

A Survival Expert Lays Out What You Need In Your Bug-Out Bag

By James Clark on February 11, 2016
Comments 2

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Task & Purpose spoke with a survival expert about what makes a good bug-out bag.

As you roll out of bed and hear the telltale sounds of the pending apocalypse, you grab your bug-out bag and spring into action. Unzipping your bag, you realize with a start that you don’t know how to use any of the shit in there. Or maybe you’re bleeding out from a severe injury and all you’ve got to stop the blood loss are a bunch of Hello Kitty bandaids.

Don’t be that guy. That guy doesn’t survive the apocalypse or much else.

For advice on how to pack a good bug-out bag, Task & Purpose turned to Mike Glover, Army Special Forces veteran and the owner and founder of FieldCraft LLC, which teaches civilians how to survive natural disasters and extreme situations.

Related: A survival expert prepares your family for any disaster »

Given his profession, training, and experience, we turned to him for advice on what you need in your bug-out bag.

So for starters, let’s be clear on what a bug-out bag is.

Not to be confused with a survival kit, which contains equipment and supplies for an extended period of time, a bug-out bag — sometimes called a go bag or a blow-out bag — is meant to help you survive the first 72 hours after a natural disaster or crisis situation begins.

“A blow-out bag or a bug-out bag is maintained on your person or close by at all times and has just the essentials to get us out of the catastrophe or disaster at hand and to survive for a period of time,” said Glover.

Typically, you can expect a bug-out bag to last you two or three days, explained Glover, but that ultimately depends on where you are and what equipment you pack.

For example, if you’re in the desert and your bug-out bag has seven liters of water, and the average man drinks five to seven liters a day, you’re not going to last very long, said Glover, who added that after 72 hours without water “you’re going to be in a world of hurt.”

Understanding your environment and how it impacts your survival is one thing.

Knowing what to put in your bug-out bag is another thing entirely.

Glover explained that you need to keep three things in mind when packing your bug-out bag: hydration, warmth, and medical supplies.

“You’ll need the ability to purify water, a space blanket of some sort to maintain body heat, the ability to build a fire and some kind of medical kit,” said Glover, who explained that one of the injuries you should be most concerned with is massive hemorrhaging, or bleeding. That means band-aids won’t cut it.

With that in mind, here’s a good place to start.
•Iodine tablets: Enough to purify 21 liters of water, which will cover you for up to three days
•SOL blanket: Survive outdoors longer blankets can be used as a shelter and to maintain body heat. Exposure to the elements is the second thing that’ll kill you, right after dehydration.
•Fire starter: Don’t be caught out out in the cold. It also doubles as a signal.
•Tourniquet: If you’re in the middle of a massive natural disaster or crisis, it will pay to be prepared for the worst and that includes massive hemorrhaging. It might be a good idea to pack a tourniquet you’re already familiar with. Also, think about getting one you can apply one-handed.
•Chemlights or a headlamp: Some kind of illumination will be necessary, and it can help you signal a rescue.

So, now that you know what to pack, you need to make sure you know how to use the gear you expect to save your life, and that comes down to preparedness.

Ultimately, survival is less about equipment and more about having the right mindset.

When it comes to surviving a catastrophe, having the right gear is less important than having the right mentality.

For example, if you’re building a fire on the side of a road with a stick and some rocks instead of walking to the nearest gas station and getting a lighter, then you’re doing it wrong.

“Mindset is the most important element to survival,” explained Glover. “The equipment augments the mindset. Your ability to adapt, your ability to push through situations. … the number one tool in your kitbag is your mindset.”


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Comments:

Tony Barndog Barnhart · Professional Concertgoer at University of the Widespread Panic

Also: have a planned location. I have 3. Close, mid and long distance.

Like · Reply · 4 · 20 hrs
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Bill Kelly · California Polytechnic State University

Mr. Clark made two good points worth expanding on. Your kit does you no good if you do not know how to use it. At least four times a year, particularly if you live in a 4-season area, take your kit to a local campground or backyard and use it. Start a fire, collect and purify water, get familiar with everything in your first aid kit, build a shelter.
Second, your kit needs to be flexible with your environment, but at a minimum, it should get you from your work location to your home. Winter? Pack a spare coat, gloves, hat. Summer? Perhaps more water, floppy hat, sunscreen, insect repellant. Good boots are essential.
Being mentally prepared for the worst is as important as your kit. Whether the apocalypse or stuck miles from home in a snowdrift, take a moment to just sit and think about the steps necessary to get somewhere safe.

Like · Reply · 46 mins · Edited
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Too much stuff.

No mention or food or a weapon?

I think these five sentences are the key points to where the op-ed is coming from, particularly the last one...YMMV

Understanding your environment and how it impacts your survival is one thing.

Knowing what to put in your bug-out bag is another thing entirely.

Glover explained that you need to keep three things in mind when packing your bug-out bag: hydration, warmth, and medical supplies.

“You’ll need the ability to purify water, a space blanket of some sort to maintain body heat, the ability to build a fire and some kind of medical kit,” said Glover, who explained that one of the injuries you should be most concerned with is massive hemorrhaging, or bleeding. That means band-aids won’t cut it.

With that in mind, here’s a good place to start.
 

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
This is a GREAT START !!!

Yep, ya want to add jerky, GORP, and a couple PROTEIN MEAL BARS (NOT misc granola bars. (Go for something like "Fit & Active Meal Bars" with 10 gm protein and 23 carbs, or something better).

The OP also happens to be legal in 50 states.

You got an EDC weapon, you don't need to add one for this BOB.

If yer nitpickin, there isn't a blade of anyu kind there either...because you got one of them in your pocket, right??
 

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
Thats it huh? That was a waste of space.

There is a need for spelling out the basics for people that are just waking up to the world around them.

All of this is in a 4"x6" pouch, not a bad thing to have on your belt, even if you have a serious BOB.

If you were to throw out the contents of a comprehensive bag, they would vapor-lock and go back to playing video games.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Originally posted by Night Driver:
Yep, ya want to add jerky, GORP, and a couple PROTEIN MEAL BARS (NOT misc granola bars. (Go for something like "Fit & Active Meal Bars" with 10 gm protein and 23 carbs, or something better).

The OP also happens to be legal in 50 states.


There is a need for spelling out the basics for people that are just waking up to the world around them.

All of this is in a 4"x6" pouch, not a bad thing to have on your belt, even if you have a serious BOB.

If you were to throw out the contents of a comprehensive bag, they would vapor-lock and go back to playing video games.

Yeah, the baseline contents of the article you can leave anywhere and not worry too much about, including at work, in your car (though in that circumstance you may want to think in regards to the maximum number of people you may have in it and plan accordingly) or if not in a "bag" spread out in your daily wear jackets' and coats' pockets.
 

FarmerJohn

Has No Life - Lives on TB
In an extreme situation, I'm bugging in.

There is nowhere that I could conceivably get to that's more secure or better stocked with supplies, including the means to produce that best of barterable commodities: food.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
In an extreme situation, I'm bugging in.

There is nowhere that I could conceivably get to that's more secure or better stocked with supplies, including the means to produce that best of barterable commodities: food.

I hear you. A "kit" as described is really meant to "get you there" if you're away from home. If most people think about it, between what's in the pantry and frig, there's 3 days worth of "stuff" there to tide you over if only hunkering down. The needs for doing real labor is a whole different discussion.
 

Publius

TB Fanatic
I would want a good deal more than that. I read about people that travel 50 miles or more one way to work every day and wanting a bug out bag that can hold what they think they need to make it back home on foot.
50 miles will take two and a half to three days to walk, weather terrain and age factors it could take a day or two longer.
 
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