A week and a half ago, I challenged you guys and gals (I know there's some lady-folk who read!) to take a look at your preps, pick one area and list out actions you needed to take to improve those. I took up the challenge myself and set my sights on the family bug out bags. My wife and I organized and packed our bags about 4 years ago now, and they'd been plundered for tools and equipment, the bags used on trips, etc. Stuff needed rotating, the bags needed to be repacked, and there was still some bits that we needed to acquire. We also need to build a bag for our son or add his contents to our packs, which is TBD.
So, I set about listing out what we needed to do. First, I listed out what I wanted us to have in our bags. Then, after that, I went through our gear, took inventory and came up with a shopping list for us to work from. We'll be picking most of the missing items here over the next few weeks, though a few may need to wait.
Click below to view the full lists.
BUG OUT BAGS - Planned Contents List, Oct. 2010
Note that this isn't the end-all-be-all of BOBs, and it's designed for our AO--warm and sunny year round and to be manageable weight-wise. It's also a fairly low-cost set up, with minimal expensive/non-replaceable stuff.
Not Included: Guns, ammo and web gear. I plan to keep most of it (spare mags, blow out kit, combat light, ear plugs, etc.) in a small rifle fighting bag, chest rig or vest stored nearby. Need to get this organized as well.
Water:
- 4 liters in bottles or canteens, minimum of one stainless bottle
- Aquamira Pro filters
- 1x Bottle of water purification tablets
Food:
- 3x MREs, field stripped
- 4x Cliff Bars
- Misc. snacks/supplement (approximately 1000 calories)
Shelter:
- Tarp or army poncho
- 100ft paracord
- Tent stakes (metal)
Warmth:
- Change of ginch & two sets of spare socks, change of pants and shirt if space/weight allows
- Compact sleeping bag, poncho liner or wool milsurp blanket
- AMK Heatsheet
- Sleeping pad (if space allows)
- Fire Kit: Bic Lighter, ferro rod, tinder, inner tube pieces
First Aid Kits/Hygiene:
- Copy of EDC kit
- Toilet paper - equivalent of 1 roll
- Travel Size Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap
- Extra personal hygiene items (only must-haves)
- A small mirror (can be used for signalling, looking around corners while under fire, etc.)
Tools:
- Fixed blade knife
- Multi-tool
- Stainless steel mug or small pot
- Headlamp plus 2 sets of batteries
- Compass
- Whistle
- USB drive with backed up personal information
- Maps
- $200 cash
- Spork
- Bandanas
- Sharpie and pad of rite-in-the-rain paper
- Duct tape
- Sewing kit
- Work gloves
- Flip flops
- Portable radio (one of us), two sets of spare batteries
- Binoculars (one of us)
SHOPPING LIST
- 8x 1 liter water bottles
- 1x bottle of water purification tabs
- 8x Cliff Bars
- 2000 calories worth of snacks/treats
- 100 feet paracord
- 2 sets of metal tent pegs
- 1x AMK Heatsheet space blankets
- contents for 2x EDC-style FAKs
- 2x travel-size Dr. Bronner's soap
- 1x Fixed blade
- 2x Multi-tools (dedicated to BOB use)
- 2x compasses
- 2x area maps
- 2x rite in rain notepads
- 1x work gloves
- 1x AM/FM radio, portable
- 2x sewing kits
