A Bug Out Bag List For Everyone
Being properly prepared for any unforeseen crisis means being ready immediately. No matter where you are. And that calls for a proper bug-out bag list to ensure you and your family are not short-handed when it comes to proper needed supplies.
For instance, suppose you’re stranded in your car somewhere, you’ll be glad you have that situation covered. You’ll also face a difficult decision: Do you stay put in your car or try to get home?
What would be your choice? If you have a bug-out bag built, you should be feeling somewhat more secure. Don’t let that bag sit in the closet; take it with you wherever you go. That same bag can be used as a get-home bag if a crisis happens while you’re away.
Technically a ‘get-home bag’ is a little different than a well-stocked bug-out bag. While you may need to survive a while on what you carry in your bug-out bag, you probably won’t need your get-home bag to last you more than a couple of days.
Bug Out Bag Essentials For Your Car
Technically a get-home bag is a little different than a bug-out bag. While you may need to survive a while on what you carry in your bug-out bag, you probably won’t need your get-home bag to last you more than a couple of days.
Looking at it that way, the bug-out bag I showed you how to build for less than $100 would make an excellent get-home bag. But if you needed to bug out for an extended period, you might want to add more equipment to it.
An Absolute Bug Out Bag List:
- Water
- Matches and Candles
- Blanket
- Escape tool
- Pepper Spray
As a ‘get-home bag’, make sure that you keep it with you; that means throwing it in the trunk of your car when you go to work, to the store, or on a road trip. The supplies and equipment in it may be just what you need to get you through a tense situation.
A Bug Out Vehicle Setup
The advantage of staying with your car is that the car can provide excellent short-term shelter. Of course, that means you’re staying in one place, perhaps even expecting to be rescued.
So, is your bug-out bag enough to survive if you’re stuck somewhere in your car? I’ll have to answer that question with a yes… and a no. You can survive, but maybe not as well as you want to.
Your bug-out bag may not be enough for any and all environmental situations you encounter.
If it’s hot and you’re in an arid area or country, you had better have a couple of gallons of water in your car to enhance your bug-out bag. Otherwise, you could die of dehydration in three days. You can figure on using one gallon of water per person daily just for drinking.
On the other hand, if you’re out in the winter, you will need something to keep you warm. While the car can provide shelter, it’s not very efficient in providing heat, especially after you run out of gas. So, you need something that you can burn as fuel.
The easiest way to do this is to use candles. The average candle will burn at about 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 Celsius). Add stearine to increase that to about 160 F (71 C). Taper candles have a lot of stearine in them, which is used as a hardener.
The problem with taper candles is that they don’t burn efficiently but waste a lot of wax. However, you can make your own candles with stearine in them putting them in a can or jar. That will keep the wax from getting wasted while providing the most heat.
Using the rescue blankets from your bug-out bag to make yourself a little “room” inside your car and burning some of your souped-up candles inside it will keep you relatively warm. Just make sure to crack a window open a tiny bit for air.
It wouldn’t hurt to have a blanket or two in your trunk either. The rescue blankets don’t insulate; they reflect heat. Wrapping a blanket around yourself helps keep your body heat where you need it – inside your body.
Escape A Car In An Emergency
In another situation, you might (literally) run a car into a river or lake. Now, I know you don’t plan to drive off into a river this week, but accidents happen. If that should happen to you, you’ll need to get out of your car.
Getting out of a car in the water isn’t easy; the water pressure keeps you from opening the doors and windows. You have to wait until the water fills the car, and then you can open the door.
The other option is to break a side window and go out that way. You can buy a small escape tool specifically designed for this scenario. You can also use a spring-loaded center punch (the special tool).
These tools also come with a blade to cut you loose from your seat belt if you get stuck or hung up on something.
To use the tool, push the point up against the inside of the window.
As you apply pressure, a spring inside compresses until it reaches its trigger pressure. Then a trip hammer strikes the punch, causing it to shatter the window.
You have to be careful as there is a possibility of being hit by the shattering glass or cutting yourself on a shard that remains. Even so, that’s better than drowning in your car.
With your bug-out bag and those few additions, you’re ready for just about anything you can encounter in your car.
Yikes, you’re really getting more prepared. You’ve been working on your stockpile; you’re working on producing your own food, and now, you’re prepared for when you go out. Congratulations on your progress!
I think we need to go back and revisit your home prepping a bit. You need to do a few other things there to be truly prepared. Soon we’ll review more essentials you need in your home prep kit.
Updating Your Bug Out Bag
As this post suggests, the most vital aspect of being a practicing prepper is always being prepared.
Unfortunately, many people who are fully prepared to deal with a disaster at home or simply in their car don’t give much thought to how they will deal with a disaster while they are home or away.
While it may not be possible to carry a full stockpile of survival supplies with you everywhere, many easy-to-carry items could prove incredibly useful in a disaster situation.
We’ll take a look at 10 everyday-carry items that you should have on you at all times.
Lighter
The ability to start a fire or just a candle or two is something that can be incredibly valuable in any disaster scenario.
While carrying a lighter is much more essential in a wilderness environment than in an urban environment, a lighter is still worth carrying with you everywhere. It’s a small item that won’t take up much space, and it’s something that can be lifesaving in certain situations.
Multi-tool
You can’t carry an entire toolbox with you everywhere you go, but you can carry a multi-tool.
High-quality multi-tools often contain dozens of different tools in one compact package, including knives, pliers, scissors, saws, sockets, various screwdriver heads, and more. In the event that you ever have to make emergency repairs while away from home, a good multi-tool can prove invaluable.
Pocket Tool
A pocket tool is another great option if you don’t want to carry a multi-tool.
Unlike multi-tools which can be a little bulky, pocket tools are about as slim as a credit card, making them easy to carry in your pocket or in your wallet. Pocket tools also contain a number of different tools, including bottle openers, saws, sockets, and more.
Flashlight
In the event of a major disaster, electricity is often one of the first things to go. While this presents a number of major problems, one of the most immediate issues that a loss of electricity presents is a lack of light. Finding your way out in the darkness and chaos can be incredibly difficult if you happen to be inside an unfamiliar building when the lights go out.
Of course, this is just one of many scenarios where having a flashlight on you is useful. If you are caught away from your home during or after a disaster, a flashlight is certainly something you will want to have available.
Para-cord
On the list of most versatile survival supplies, para-cord ranks near the top and, unfortunately, is mostly forgotten. Thanks to its extreme strength and durability, para-cord can be used for various emergency applications, from crafting a makeshift splint to creating a shelter.
While para-cord may not seem like something that is convenient to carry around on a regular basis, there are a number of products on the market designed to convert para-cord into an item of need.
A paracord survival bracelet, for example, will contain up to nine feet of para-cord and a built-in wire saw. Simply slip this bracelet on your wrist, and you can take an emergency supply of paracord with you everywhere you go.
Pepper Spray
If you aren’t able or willing to carry a firearm for self-defense, pepper spray is the next best thing. Pepper spray is available in canisters small enough to carry on your key chain, and you don’t need any kind of special permit to carry pepper spray.
Most importantly, a blast of pepper spray to the eyes and face will almost always stop even the most determined attacker.
Pepper spray is also easy to use and aim, making it an ideal means of defense for someone who does not have any firearm or self-defense training.
Having the means to defend yourself is a key component of disaster survival, and carrying pepper spray ensures that you’re never caught defenseless.
Pocketknife
A pocketknife is a quintessential item to have on a bug-out bag list. Its reputation as one of the most useful things you can carry is well-earned.
The number of situations where a pocketknife can prove useful in a disaster scenario is too many to list, and simply having a small knife on you at all times can make you better prepared for a wide range of obstacles.
In addition to being a useful tool, a pocketknife can also serve as a means of self-defense in an emergency.
Watch
Time, as we know it, may be a human construct, but it’s something that will continue to be vitally important even if society collapses.
Today, most people rely on their phones to tell them the time, and wearing a watch has simply become a fashion statement.
If you want to be able to tell the time in the event of a disaster, though, you’ll need something that doesn’t rely on cellphone towers and electricity.
Survival Pen
Pens are popular prepper items due to the fact that they are something most people use on a daily basis. However, a pen is probably not the first item you’ll reach for in a disaster scenario.
Survival pens are different, though. These pens serve as a sort of multi-tool that includes things such as a flashlight, compass, window breaker, self-defense tip, and more. If you carry a survival pen, you’ll have a fully functional pen for day-to-day use and all the other tools that a survival pen includes for emergency use.
Compass
At a time when everyone has a powerful GPS in their pockets at all times, using a compass for navigation has largely become a forgotten skill.
If you are trying to find your way around after you find yourself lost, though, relying on your smartphone’s GPS likely won’t be an option. In emergencies such as this, having a compass on you can prove invaluable.
More To The Bug Out Bag List
Let us understand something about bug-out bags: No one gets it exactly right the first time. You are gravely mistaken if you think you can assemble a bug-out bag once and then forget about it forever.
Let’s give another look at that bug-out bag list.
There are bound to be a few crucial items missing. That’s why it’s important to regularly look over, refresh, and update your bug-out bag.
If you haven’t updated your bug-out bag in a while, or haven’t even built one yet, check out this list of 15 items you might have forgotten. These items are commonly overlooked.
Anti Diarrhea Medicine
Sewing Kit
Water Filter
Road Map
Bug Spray
Emergency Radio
Change Of Clothes
Oral Hygiene
Cash
Copies of Personal Info
Enough Food
Fishing Equipment
Toilet Paper
