I can hear the teeth gnashing from here. How dare I make such a claim! I know going in that this is likely to be an unpopular installment in this series of essays. But, before you start raking me over the coals in the comments, at least read the whole post first.
Bugout bags are overrated?
Note that I didn’t say bugout bags were unnecessary. They do have a purpose. I just feel that they are often seen as a panacea for all manner of crises when the reality is a bit different. They are also often thrown together without much thought beyond completing some checklist that was found online.
Before we go any further, let’s define the terms so we’re all on the same page. A bug out bag, in traditional prepper/survivalist parlance, is a portable assemblage of gear and supplies to be used to keep you safe and alive when you are away from home for an extended period of time. Most often, it is intended for use when rapid evacuation is necessary. Typically, the focus of the bugout bag loadout is to survive in the wild.
Why are you bugging out? It’s important to consider
On the list of likely reasons you’d need to evacuate your home for an undetermined length of time, the percentage of situations where your lot will be improved by fleeing to the forest is exceedingly low. Additionally, the number of scenarios where the odds are great that you’ll have to indefinitely wander the countryside on foot like some sort of semi-tacticool Kwai Chang Caine is also pretty damn remote.
Think about it like this. In most, not all but certainly the majority, disaster and crisis situations, you’re far better off hunkering down at home. That’s where the bulk of your supplies are located and you presumably know the area.
In the likely sorts of situations that would require you to leave home, you’re probably going to have advance warning or some limited time to prepare. For example, encroaching wildfire or hurricane. Unless you’ve been completely ignoring all local and regional news, you know what’s happening and you’ll have time to react as you see fit.
That leaves situations that would call for you to beat feet at a moment’s notice. These would be things like, say, a chemical spill in the immediate area. Sheriff’s deputy knocks on the door and tells you that you need to bail with a quickness. Okay, you gotta get out of Dodge, possibly for longer than a few hours. But, you’re not running off to the woods, are you?
Odds are you’ll head to a friend or family member’s home, possibly a motel depending on the overall situation. Traffic might be a little tight, depending on how large of an area they are evacuating, but there’s liable to be plenty of support from authorities to keep things moving.
Here’s the thing
In virtually any realistic bug out scenario, your best assets will be a decent vehicle, a working cell phone, and a wallet with cash and a credit card. And, of course, a place to go.
Now, with all of that said, I do feel that assembling a bug out bag is certainly a worthwhile endeavor, as is taking it out into the field and practicing with the different components. I’m not suggesting you entirely forget about the prepper rite of passage of putting together your very own bugout bag. The skills learned through using your gear are priceless, even if you never truly need them in an emergency.
However, it might be prudent to put more effort into being prepared to hunker down and shelter in place at home, if you’re forced by finances or circumstance to have to choose between the two approaches to preparedness.
Also, as I mentioned in a FB post recently, if your plan in a crisis is to head for the hills and live off the land, and you’re asking FB for advice on what to put into your pack, you might not be as prepared to survive in the wild as you think you are. Those who have put in the endless hours practicing those skills not only know what items to carry, they already have them ready to go.
I’m not saying there’s never a need to bugout or evacuate your area. I’ve pointed out just a few possible scenarios where hitting the road is your best option. But, one of the points I’m trying to drive home here is that planning to run to the hills indefinitely isn’t a feasible or practical option for the majority of people reading this. Even if you have the skills and experience to pull it off, you might have family members who aren’t and who you won’t want to just leave behind to fend for themselves.
Takeaway Two
The second takeaway this week is this—your bugout bag should reflect your plan, your experience level, and your area. There are any number of lists of suggested BOB components available online. I’ve written a few of them myself. But they should be seen as just that, suggested.
What works for you might not be all that awesome for someone else, and vice versa.
If you’re going to plan for bugging out, which includes assembling a bugout bag, then do it with both eyes wide open. Ditch the fantasy. Always work to improve your knowledge and skill sets, but at the same time be realistic about your limitations.
Just some food for thought.
About author Jim Cobb
Jim Cobb is a well known freelance author on survival and other topics.
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Good advice, I truly need more practice in certain areas but I only recently acquired enough cash to be effective.
Practice makes perfect, so let’s get to it.
I couldn’t agree more with this post. I of course started out having a bugout bag. Then I would grab stuff out of it to use out in the field. Sometimes I even remembered to put the stuff back. Then I had two bugout bags, one that would stay loaded and the other for taking to the field. This requires doubles of many things which is not a bad idea, but does cost money. Then I had three bugout bags because the first one was for the wrong season. At this point I had no idea what was in any of the bugout bags.
So now i have a few empty packs of different sizes stored next to my bugout supplies storage area. When I want to go out training or camping I grab what is appropriate and head out. When I get back I unpack everything into its proper spot for the next time. It is easier to organize supplies and materials outside of a pack than inside, at least for me. I can very quickly fill a pack with the right stuff and be out fast if I needed to.
If the Sheriff drags me out for the said chemical spill, my get home bag in the car should do for a short period. My get home bag is not by any stretch a bugout bag. It has a few simple things like flashlight, water, basic clothes, compass, wool hat. Just a few things to supplement my EDC.