by Daisy Luther, The Organic Prepper:

Based on the things I’ve learned from folks who have actually lived through survival situations and bugged out, I think that we need to revisit what bugging out really means and why you might use a bug out bag. If we understand the concept better, it’s easier to pack a bug out bag that will work for each of us personally.

3 kinds of bug-outs

There are at least three different kinds of bugging out:

• You’re never coming home again: This bug-out means you’re leaving and you don’t expect to be returning. It could be due to a rapidly approaching natural disaster that is likely to demolish everything in its path, like a wildfire, or it could be due to terrorism or genocide. It could happen at the last moment or you might have time to pack – it really depends on the situation. If it’s a last-minute thing, you might only have the things you can grab in your bug out bag.  Sometimes you don’t even have time to grab that – it could be a situation in which a few seconds are the difference between life and death. When I visited a museum about the genocide in Bosnia, one woman told of leaving the house with her child wrapped in nothing but a hastily grabbed towel because the little girl had been in the bathtub when the family was hauled away.


• Bug Out with Warning: This bug-out happens during natural disasters and often (but not always) you’ll have a few days of warning. Some examples might be a nearby wildfire or an approaching hurricane. You can load up your vehicle with sentimental items and bring more than you’d ordinarily bring. The focus for this type of bug-out is often on the things you can never replace.


• Last Minute Bug Out: This bug-out occurs when you are fleeing danger that was unexpected (or at least unexpected at that moment. )This is generally considered the purpose of the bug out bags and get-home bags that most folks make. Often you’ll be making at least some of your journey on foot and you will want to avoid other people during the scenario that causes you to be out there. If you are feeling desperate enough to leave with only your bug out bag, they’ll be desperate too. And if they’re unprepared, your bag might look like a goldmine to them.

The focus of a bug-out bag isn’t to allow you to live in the wilderness forever. It’s a bag that will help you survive for a few days while you travel from where you are (danger) to where you want to be (safety).

Common mistakes people make with their bug-out bags

The most common mistake that I see with bug out bags is that people load them too heavy with stuff they won’t actually need. As I mentioned above, bugging out should not be running off to live in a hut that you’ll build in the forest. It should be a means of meeting your most basic needs while getting to a safer location. That being the case, you’re not going to have to pack everything you need for weeks in the wilderness.

If you overpack, you’re probably going to end up chucking your things on the side of the road once you realize that 50 pounds or 90 pounds or whatever your miscellaneous stuff weighs is far too heavy for you to carry for a long distance. As well, a bag that’s almost as big as you are will draw a lot of attention at a time when your goal is to be discreet.

You’re not going on a fun camping trip. This is one of the most common misconceptions I see in articles about bug-out bags.

After doing some mock bug-out training with at a survival course with Selco and Toby, we all realized we had prepped too much for “comfort” and not enough for survival. If you are in a bug-out situation during which you’re on foot, it’s likely you’ll strive to avoid interacting with other people. So forget the big tent, the air mattresses, and the tools to make a hearty dinner.

The reality of bugging out is this:

You’ll be on the move and sleep will be grabbing a quick nap. You will want a simple shelter and the ability to stay warm and dry. You’re probably going to be eating on the go, not sitting down around a roaring campfire for a full meal with your family. You’re not going on a fun-filled camping trip. You’re likely to be fleeing for your life.

You want things that are quiet, discreet, and simple.

People get too fancy with their gear. When I took Selco’s urban survival course in Croatia, my classmates and I discovered that a lot of the gear we brought with us was, quite simply, garbage. It isn’t that the designs were inherently terrible. It was more a case of, “This isn’t going to work how I need it to when I’m stealthily creeping around hoping to avoid the notice of people with bad intentions.” Here’s an article about the gear that worked and the gear that didn’t.

Most of us ended up off-loading a significant amount of gear during the course because it was unnecessary.

Most bags are far too heavy. The heavier your bag, the slower you’ll go and the more difficult it will be. It’s essential that you keep your bag as light as possible. Noting the mistakes listed here can help you to lighten your load. Items that multitask can help, and learning to use things you find in your environment can reduce what you carry in your pack even more. For example, if you have the means and sources to purify water, you don’t need to carry as much water. If you can cobble together a “stove” from rubble or stones, you don’t need a camp stove.

Folks use bright and colorful clothing and gear. If you hope to remain unnoticed, that cute, cheerful backpack is not going to help in your endeavor. Black, gray, navy, brown, and dark green can all be colors that make you harder to see. Also, consider things like reflective stripes and metallic fasteners – they can catch the eye even if the rest of your clothing and shoes blend in.

Think about the terrain you’ll be crossing when making a decision about what clothing and gear options will be best. You’ll choose differently for an urban environment than you would for a forested or desert environment.

People don’t consider how noisy their clothing is. Is your clothing noisy? If you want to creep around and not be noticed, then think about how noisy your clothing is. Things like rain pants and certain water-resistant jacket materials can make a lot of racket in an otherwise quiet environment. Test out your clothing ahead of time so that you know whether or not it will draw unwanted attention.

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