Gear you should have in your Bug Out Bag

Bug Out Bag

For someone new to being a prepper building your first Bug Out Bag can seem like a big task. Everybody you read about has been tweaking theirs for months or even years and has a pile of gear built up. It’s hard to know where to start, but if you cover all of the basics in a survival situation you will still be much better off that 99% of the people.

A Bug Out Bag, (also called a BOB, Get Out of Dodge Bag, GOOD Bag) is usually designed to get you out of an emergency situation and allow you to survive self-contained.. A lot of people plan their Bug Out Bag to sustain them for much longer than that, but there is always a limit to what you can carry on your back.

There are the 7 basic types of gear you will need for your Bug Out Bag:

1. Water

It should go without saying that water is a survival basic for any situation. In a survival situation water quickly becomes the most precious commodity.
1 Liter per day per person is really the bare minimum. So your 3 day Bug Out Bag should have at least 3 liters of water.

To expand your capability or survive longer than a couple of days you will need a water purification system. This can be as simple as boiling water and iodine tablets, or a serious water filter.

• You can use a collapsible bag for extra storage.
• Coffee filters can extend the life of your water filtration system.
• Water purification tablets are a necessity because of their size

2. Food

Backpack Meals

For a 3 Day Bug Out Bag Backpack Meals and Energy Bars can be sufficient. Back pack meals are freeze dried meals that you just add boiling water to. They are light weight and last a long time.
Obviously you will need a longer term food solution in any type of wide area catastrophe, but for your basic Bug Out Bag backpack meals can be good idea.

3. Clothing

Your Bug Out Bag clothes should be similar to what you would pack for a weekend backpacking trip.

• A pair of sturdy boots or shoes
• A pair of long pants (preferably not blue jeans)
• 2 Pairs of socks (preferably not cotton)
• 2 Shirts (Maybe 1 long sleeve and 1 short sleeve for layering)
• A Jacket that is both warm and protection from rain
• Warm long underwear of some kind
• A hat
• A Bandana

This list could go on for a while and many people would never dream of leaving their Bug Out Bag without twice that much, but in a pinch that set up could get you by for 3 days.
Be sure to plan for the weather in your area.and change they type with the seasons.

4. Shelter

Be sure to have a ground tarp...

If you are going to survive for 3 days you are going to need protection from the elements and a warm dry place to sleep. You need at least:

1. Some type of tent or tarp and a way to set it up
2. A ground tarp for underneath your shelter to stay dry  or a sleeping pad
3. Some type of Bedroll, preferably a good sleeping bag

5. First Aid Kit

Trying to cover everything you need in your Bug Out Bag first aid kit is another article entirely to itself... probably several more. I recommend that you build your own First Aid Kit instead of buying one of those prepackaged first aid kits.  Building your own first aid kit gives you an intimate knowledge of what it contains and how to use it. How many people buy one of those pre-made set ups and just assume they are prepared because there’s so much crap in it there must be what I need? Bad Idea.  Make sure you have a lot of 4X4 pads, 2X2 pads and kerlex rolls.  We will talk about this in detail at a later time.

6. Basic Gear

Basic Gear is a category for the things you absolutely cannot live without but don’t really fit well into another category. Many survivalists will not like this list because it is not exhaustive by any means, but again I will say: It will be enough to get you by until you can replace it.

Rain Gear – at least 2 ways to stay dry in the rain. Poncho and Coat are good coupled with your Tent/Shelter

Fire – A bare minimum of 3 different ways to make a fire.  With that you can get a flame but you will have to actually build the fire source up too with tinder of some sort. You’re also going to need something to cut your firewood a pruning saw works well, and is small and can be folded.


Cooking – Bare minimum here is a large stainless steel cup like a sierra cup to boil water in for both drinking and freeze dried meals. A small backpacking stove and fuel are better.

Light – At least 2 dependable battery or chemical lights and a backup set of batteries for the flashlight.

Survival Knife – The most used and most versatile tool in your Bug Out Bag is your.  Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman are great tools for short-term use.

7. Weapons

The fact of the matter is you are might be dealing with a “Without Rule of Law” situation, or close to it, and people are likely to do crazy things. Being prepared to defend yourself is part of the survivalist mindset.
Obviously a firearm of some sort is best for this. (Though not in all situations) I will not go into specifics about what type of gun you should bring because that is hotly debated and really a personal choice. Take what is comfortable to you. Be sure you are licensed to carry and trained in how to use if you carry.

Outside of guns your survival knife could be used as weapon if you had to. Also something as simple as a big walking stick or club can be a strong deterrent for bad guys. It’s all about giving yourself options.

Once you get these basics covered you can begin to test and refine your Bug Out Bag with other useful gear and prepare it for longer term survival situations.