Bug out Bag vs. Survival Kit

T

TFin04

Joined
Aug 21, 2005
Messages
1,494
As always just my opinions...

I think it is good to define the difference between a bug out bag and a survival kit. Too often things get mixed up and people ether dont cover all their bases, or cover one too much.

A bug out bag is a purpose driven kit. It is generally used when timelines, routes, terrain, weather, and distance are known. It will be a kit that contains food and water rather than the ability to obtain food and water. It will contain pre mapped routes, and should have roads, terrain, landmarks, etc mapped out. A compass and/or GPS is nice, but should not be a necessity. Shelter should be housed inside, not the tools to build shelter. This is a kit to get you from point A to B and really, for most of us here, could be very basic. The skills I see in this forum would allow most to get by on very little.

A 'survival kit' is for long term sustenance. It houses the tools to obtain food and water, and how to build shelter. A fishing kit, for example, serves no purpose in my bug out bag. Fire making, as well, is not part of a bug out or get home plan. I want to remain under the radar and with the proper amount of clothing, I have no reason for a fire.

Now certain items will cross over, but it has helped me a lot to make this distinction between the two, and plan accordingly.

My bag is to get me out of a city and back to my home. It's about 10 miles. Without stopping, it should take me anywhere from 5-12 hours to make that hike. I've accounted for 24 hours worth of gear, and as you all know, we could all survive without ANY food and water for that time. I still carry some, but not a whole lot. I don't carry a fishing kit or hunting tools. I don't carry a cooking kit. I carry water, dry nutritional foods, and a trioxane bar to heat up some instant coffee or ramen noodles if I really need a warm meal.

Again just my take on it, but I think people put together kits that are way too large for what they really need.
 
What you call a Bug Out Bag is what I call a Get Home Bag. I think of a BOB as what you grab, for example, when a reverse 911 call comes in at 2:30 am saying that a tanker train car full of nerve gas has just derailed and everyone has to leave in the next 10 minutes. You grab that bag and run for your life to points unknown. A BOB might have photocopies of important documents, some spare clothes, toys for small children, cash, an emergency plan, phone numbers, extra prescription medicines, blankets, water, passports, plane tickets, etc.. With my BOB, I'm planning for a minor but intense evacuation situation where one is facing personal extinction if you stay, so you take a lot of stuff, because you might not be allowed to come back for a long long time.

My BOB is three large plastic bins of survival gear, tools, fuel, etc.. I'd throw that and a few cases of water into a my truck and beat feet. You bet it's big, and I'm thinking I might want one more bin just to be complete. I'm not a lone wolf. I'm part of a family, and some members of that family aren't exactly keen on the rugged, authentic, pioneering experience. In certain quarters "bushcraft" is a four letter word. So the more stuff I can manage to bring, the more "normality" and sanity I will be hoping to preserve.

I think of a PSK as a small bag/box/pouch containing a knife, fire kit, minimal shelter aids, water purification, etc.. You carry it, IMO, when you're doing something fun in the hinter lands just in case your plans go awry. I envision the Cody Lundin 72 hour kit type of gear, when some mentions the survival kit. YMMV. :)
 
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You're right, my kit is a get home bag.

However, I'm reluctant to "bug out" to points unknown as you put it. Failing to plan is not planning at all.

You should have a bug out location drawn up, be it extra property you have, a relatives house, etc. Whether it's 1 mile or 1000, routes are distances are known and should be mapped. That kit will be built around whatever location you're going to.

My post was inspired based on all the water filters, shelter materials, large knives, fishing kits, etc that people are putting in their 'bug out kits.' Big or small, your kit should contain what you need for when you need it.
 
No extra property. Relatives are 1000+ miles away, which is fine because most of them are useless in a crisis. It's just me and mine, and different situations require different responses. My plan is simple. Protect them as much as possible, and tramatize them as little as possible. You can't plan that on a map. I like your thinking, but it isn't realistic for my situation. I have people who'd rather die than go outside without make-up. It makes herding cats look easy, but I love 'em, and I'd take a bullet for 'em, so I guess that means I have to be a little bit "flexible."
 
TFin04 said:
You're right, my kit is a get home bag.

However, I'm reluctant to "bug out" to points unknown as you put it. Failing to plan is not planning at all.

You should have a bug out location drawn up, be it extra property you have, a relatives house, etc. Whether it's 1 mile or 1000, routes are distances are known and should be mapped. That kit will be built around whatever location you're going to.

My post was inspired based on all the water filters, shelter materials, large knives, fishing kits, etc that people are putting in their 'bug out kits.' Big or small, your kit should contain what you need for when you need it.
Click to expand...

Your definition of BOB is not universal. I've seen alot of folks whose idea of a bug out plan is to "disappear into these woods, somewhere around here, for as long as necessary". In fact, in many places that seems to be the "standard" definition of bugging out, and the stuff you need to make it possible (all that kitchen sink type 'survival' gear you don't like) is the BOB.
 
For me, a survival kit is something I EDC regardless of where I am, and something I augment when I know I'm going to be outdoors. The purpose of the kit is to provide the basics necessary for a hypothetical short-term survival scenario (along the lines of Lundin's 98.6 Degrees), as well as first aid materials. Some of the materials in the kit could be useful in a long-term scenario, of course, but that's not the intention. For a scenario like that, I would want to purpose-build a larger kit or possibles bag.

All the best,

- Mike
 
To me, a BOB (or get home bag) can contain many more essentials and larger items. It is usually meant to travel in my vehicle.

To me, a survival kit is meant to do just that; allow you to survive an unexpected incident until help arrives. A survival kit in my definition contains a very few essentials, and can be carried easily on the body.

Andy
 
My wife and I just decided last night it was time to look into building one of those - you've got 10 minutes to get out of your house - kits. I like the idea of the plastic totes. My psk is designed for the lost in the woods scenario and all fits inside a naglene water bottle. Why couldn't one of those psk fit into the bail out boxes?
 
Think about it this way, a small survival kit might be IN a bug out bag, I like to call it an EDC bag, but in and of itself you should get home before you need it. My edc has focused on water, some food, a good multi-tool and knife, duct tape, and a first aid kit. Everything else is a luxury and starts to weight alot, especially if you have to walk. Also, the smaller it is, the less likely it is that someone will try to steal it from you. My run in the middle of the night bag, is my pre-packed daypack. It carries the gear I am most likely to take on an overnight hike - and that is where my fixed blade usually is, otherwise I carry a folder. I've always felt that it "IS" possible to over-prepare, by this I mean those folks who pack an unreasonably heavy bag, or pack a bag that they cannot reasonably carry in an emergency. Gear does not make preparedness or survival, planning, knowledge and then gear.
 
This is one of the subjects that is so widely discussed and debated, mostly because it i means something different to everyone. I have a bunch of different "kits". My PSK is based on carry on my person at all times. It is a EDC kit with basic fire/FAK/knife/light/water (or means to get/store/purify) and something for shelter. This kit changes all the time, based on what I put in my pockets, but all the items are pretty interchange able. I have a small kit with a couple of energy bars, food stuffs, FAK, light, pry bar, knife, multi tool in a generic Versipack style bag at work, next to my desk. I have a GHB/Car kit in my truck with enough that I can rely on it for several nights if need be. More then once we have had winter storms that cause me to have no power at work, yet the police instructed us not to leave (which is state policy).
My BOB kit is very different then a lot, mostly because it is setup with 4 packs, one for each person in my house, and just one fairly light weight tote, located at the window we would use to get out of if the stairs to get out were blocked or on fire or something. The reason it is so light is because Our 4X4 is always packed and ready to go. Never have to worry that i might not have this or that. The call comes that there is a flood or train wreck (both are the most likely scenarios) by my home we can be out in under 5 minutes. It sounds a bit extreme, but in 2005 we had a flash flood rip thru my area and it really scared me, one because I was totally unprepared to leave fast, and two because I slept thru it.... it didnt hit us directly, but it was very close. I lost some good friends that day that practiced "survival in place" and they werent ready to or refused to leave when the call came.

I have a couple of friends of mine on wildsurvive that are urber prepared with their kits, and those kits are on them or with arm reach 24/7. For me, it is just easier to build a bunch of smaller kits and leave them ready to go.
 
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