I can hear everyone in the prepper community collectively slapping magazines in their ARs, chambering a round, turning on their headlamps, piling into their Bug-Out Vehicles and coming to hang me with paracord from the Oak tree in my front yard.
But hear me out.
The concept of Bug-Out Bags (BOBs) is a topic that has been beaten to death. Salty’s vision for 3BY is to cover the topics that others don’t, or cover the topics in new ways.
Here is a new way to think about Bug-Out Bags.
I have a BOB that has all the usual stuff in it that everyone else advocates. That was one of my first preps. I thought I was doing the right thing because that is what E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E said to do.
I’ve got the BOB, but it will probably never get used except when I test my gear or go camping. I have found much of the BOB gear that is advocated to be useless for anything other than camping or a PROFOUND disaster – something worse than anything I have seen in the US during my lifetime. Anything short of that, I probably won’t need it, but I am glad to have it and look forward to teaching my daughter how to use the equipment.
BUT!
I do have a version of a BOB that I call a Get Home Bag (GHB). It is invaluable. It has EVERYTHING I REALLY need (except my family). I carry it into my office every day. I bring it inside my home every night. I take it with me when I visit friends in case we spend the night. I take it with me when I go on a trip.
Over the past many months, I have consciously forced myself to rely on my GHB having everything I need at all times. The chargers for my various electronic devices are in it. My medicine is in it. My computer is in it. My writing implements are in it. My car keys are in it. My sunglasses are in it. Essentially, everything I rely on is in my GHB.
Think about the traditional BOB that is advocated everywhere and the contents of said BOB. Have that picture in your mind and ask yourself if the traditional BOB would help you in any of the following real world scenarios that happen fairly regularly:
- Getting stuck at your office due to severe weather – it’s happened to me.
- Getting called away from your office unexpectedly to make an emergency visit to a relative in the hospital in another city – it’s happened to me.
- Being hospitalized before you can make it home – it’s happened to me.
- Landing in another city and finding out your connecting flight was cancelled – it’s happened to me.
- Landing in a foreign country and learning that ALL the luggage of your ENTIRE group was diverted and you won’t see your luggage for another week (and you are in the Amazon jungle) – it’s happened to me.
- Getting off a cruise ship where the weather was sunny and 70 degrees, then driving your car into an ice storm in the middle of nowhere, and having to make a new plan – it happened to me in the last 30 days.
- Having your vehicle break down and require repairs when you are many miles away from home and any city – it’s happened to me and the only time a traditional BOB could have been handy.
- Being notified on all media outlets that a massive hurricane is coming and to evacuate the area immediately – this happens to a lot of people I know with some degree of regularity.
- Being at a business conference in another state on September 11, 2001 and finding out you can’t fly back home – it happened to some people I know.
- You get a call from your friend that one of his group can’t make the trip and offers you the spot to go to the Super Bowl if you can get to his private jet that leaves in 45 minutes. Okay, this hasn’t happened to me, but I can dream!
Would the traditional BOB help you out in any of these very real world and sometimes quite common scenarios? Ummm, maybe marginally. But the traditional BOB 1) wouldn’t fit on an airplane as a carry-on, and 2) half the contents would be confiscated by the TSA because they are not FAA compliant.
Do you see why I am not a fan of the traditional Bug-Out Bag, and instead created my own variation that has already served me very well? Let me give you a vision for what I consider to be a great GHB.
In June of last year, after work I went to visit my Dad who lives on the other side of town. While at his place I started sweating profusely, felt incredibly puny and weak, vomited and measured my heart rate at 140 bpm. I have a two year old daughter at the time and don’t want to take any chances. I asked my Dad to take me to the hospital.
I grabbed my GHB and was ready for anything faster than my Dad could get out of his chair. He kept asking if I needed this, that or the other and he couldn’t understand how it was that I didn’t need anything. I’m not going to tell him about my GHB, what it is, what the heck the prepping thing is and everything else that goes along with it.
I was hospitalized for four days. I had EVERYTHING I needed. Nobody except those with whom I physically work would have even noticed I was not present. I even had diapers and wipes for when my daughter was brought to visit me. THAT is the power of a GHB. THAT is the reason we prep. If your BOB doesn’t do this for you or provide the same level of functionality, I would like to suggest you rethink your strategy.
Why are there so many freaking different types of everything from guns to pens. Don’t they all pretty much do exactly the same thing? It is because different people have different needs, wants and desires.
Your BOB or GHB is YOUR bag. You know what you need. In this area, you are your own expert. You can customize it any way you want. It can be big. It can be small. It can be something you carry or a camouflage backpack. But, it needs to be functional for YOUR circumstance. It needs to SERVE you, and not the other way around. Furthermore, it will change over time as your needs change.
Go make a Get Home Bag. I promise it will be the best investment you ever make. It will make your life easier and simpler.
Good article. I don’t maintain a BOB but I do keep a 3 day cold weather Get Home Bag with me when I can. The challenge arises when I can’t: i.e. when I’m travelling without my own car and can’t take my GHB, or when I’m flying. Then my GHB becomes what I can fit into my pockets. And THAT is very hard to do. In winter I can wear a bulky coat with a lot of pockets, and manage to hide some food, water filter, rudimentary shelter, self defense and fire gear. In lightweight summer business attire, or when dealing with the TSA, it is almost impossible to carry Get Home gear.
Thank you, Sidekahr. I look forward to reading some more of your stuff. One thing I learned from Paranoid Prepper is that sometimes what you have on your person makes the difference. I carry a micro Maglite attached to a Gerber Dime multi tool and an auto emergency pocket knife for that reason. I had several items confiscated when I got on a cruise ship recently. If I had to travel frequently, I think I would FedEx my prohibited items to my destination.
Your comment on cruise ship security brought back a funny memory. My wife and I were stopped and questioned by Royal Carribean officials when returning from shore with some fudge. That’s right, chocolate fudge. I guess it must look like plastic explosive or something. It seemed strange when they were allowing machetes and bottles of liquor to go onboard. LOL.
Nothing wrong with the article at all. Different bags for different purposes unless someone is just making up a acronym for what’s already out there to act like they’ve discovered something new. We each keep a GHB in our cars but at home we have dedicated BugOut bags that are designed to get us to our BOL with a possibility we may not be coming home. Since my work takes me anywhere between 2 to 100 miles away at any day I do keep an additional “add on kit” in my work vehicle to supplement my daily GHB which is around 25lbs without water.
Good point, JH. I didn’t mean to imply that I invented something new. What I want people to do is critically think about what they REALLY need on a daily basis and make sure they have it rather than relying on someone else’s list that may not really serve them.
Also, we are trying to make good information readily available to non-preppers so that they have the resources and encouragement to begin their preparations. I hope it helps somebody. My bag makes my life much easier and I don’t have to worry about remembering it.
Oh no, please don’t take that I’m saying you invented something new. I agree with what you’re saying. I’ve just seen some try to use PESK – personal emergency survival kit, EFEK – emergency family evacuation kit, INCH – I’m never coming home and some other silly things. Yet they contain items what a GHB or a BOB would. I like the whole KISS method – keep it simple for everyone to be on the same page.
A+++, started utilizing this concept when I became frustrated at forgetting things or taking an unreasonable amount of time before leaving my home. I certainly have various other forms of equipment organization. Many of those only get opened for inspection/rotation. My grab bag literally never is left home if I leave my property. I do have a smaller version that I take if I am going someplace close with someone else and they are providing transportation. I fortunately reside in a carry state so wearing an overgarment or carrying a small pouch isn’t unusual. Cannot express how much it has helped on a daily basis making me much more prepared for ordinary life as well as insuring I will always have the most important items or the means of procuring them. Using it daily has shown me what I really need, which no generic list regardless of it’s thoughtfulness can. Thanks for reinforcing the concept and spreading the word