Bug-out bag

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article.
Please improve it or discuss changes on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.

The Bug Out Bag is a portable kit containing all of the things a person needs when evacuating (or "bugging out") from one location to another in the event of a disaster.

The Bug Out Bag, also referred to by the acronym BOB, is prepared in advance to avoid having to gather things needed in the emergency. It is planned with the purpose of allowing its user to grab it and leave quickly.

A Bug-out Bag differs from a survival kit because it is not primarily focused on survival in a particular disaster, but in providing the things needed to evacuate from one location to another. It is meant to be quickly accessible and portable.

The name "Bug-out Bag" derives from from the term "bugging out" which means to evacuate in the event of disaster.

Contents

[edit] Rationale

A Bug Out Bag's primary purpose is to allow a person to evacuate quickly. Every thing one needs has already been collected into a human portable package.

This is a specialized form of a Survival kit. Survival kits must be created for specific survival situation. Normally, people think of this in terms of environment. For example, if a person lives in Alaska,their survival kit should not contain jungle gear. But people should also think of the purpose of the kit. In the case of the BOB, the purpose of the kit is to allow you to evacuate from one location to another.

The bag must be portable, whereas a survival kit does not need to be. A BOB is not meant for long term survival but only with providing what is needed to get to a predetermined location.

The correct use of a BOB, or any type of survival kit depends on the type of emergency planning or evacuation planning you have made.

A BOB also assumes you have both a plan of evacuation and a location you are bugging out to. This cannot cover every possible situation, so its contents are strongly influenced by how you will evacuate and where you are evacuating to.

[edit] Bug Out Planning

Putting together a bug out bag requires an action plan. The most important aspect of a bug out bag is not the contents, but the planning that went into it.

Before purchasing anything, it is necessary to sit down and do some bug out planning. If not, the contents may not help save your life, but instead slow you down and complicate matters.

These are some steps to put together a bug out bag:

1) Plan the emergencies your BOB will address. Be prepared to have more than one BOB in different locations.

2) Assemble gear that will assist you in your evacuation plans.

3) Prepare a training plan for every item in your BOB. Choose only items that you can utilize effectively. For example, a medical kit is less useful if you don't know how to use what is in it. Flint and steel can be used to start a fire but, without training in how to start fires, it is merely dead weight. Waterproof matches would be a better choice, in that case.

[edit] Contents

A bug out bag is intended to get you from point A to point B, not for long-term survival. The best scenario is for your plans to include evacuating to a safe location some distance away. At that location, you keep all the survival gear you need for long term.

[edit] Maps and Travel Information

Since the purpose of a BOB is to help you evacuate to a safe location, it needs to contain a map or maps of the terrain you will be traveling through. These maps could also have alternate preplanned routes to your target location.

Other travel information may include contact information of support persons or organizations along the way.

[edit] Food options

Lightweight food is preferable for a BOB. MRE's may be too heavy for the amount of energy given. Energy bars may be good for a quick boost, but do not fulfill a 72-hour evacuation plan. As always, balance what is needed need for your particular evacuation plan, keeping weight versus utility in mind.

Water is always a necessity and should be taken into account. It would be ideal to have enough water in the bag to last a full 72-hour period, but this may not be practical. Some water should always be available in the BOB, with plans for using found water sources. Any found water should be purified first, to prevent illness from setting in. Boiling is preferable, but water purification tablets can be used if necessary. As always, learning the signs of safe or dangerous water sources is recommended.

[edit] First aid and extended care

These are really two separate categories, but they use the same tools, which is why they are listed together.

First aid is the initial treatment of wounds which will then be handled by professionals. CPR is first aid, but intubation and hospital care is not. When a disaster strikes you may be required to give both first aid and extended care. Dressing a wound, setting a broken bone or closing a gash with a surgical suture are all, despite common perceptions, first aid.

First aid kits should have enough to do basic suturing. A military field surgery kit has all you need to do wound care. Likewise, simple items like bandages, aspirin, antibiotics (internal and topical) are all vital.

If you can, get some training. The Red Cross, St. John Ambulance and other organizations offer courses for first aid, and you may consider organizing your neighborhood and hiring a professional to give some training. If you can't do this, you should at least have a book showing how to do first aid.

Extended care is the step after first aid. If you're in a disaster, help might be days or even weeks away. Knowing how to take care of someone who is injured will likely save their life. This is often difficult because you never know what will happen or how bad the injury will be. Again, training and having a resource on hand is vital.

[edit] Medicines for those dependent

If you or a family member has asthma, diabetes or any other chronic illness which requires medication you should store a good supply of it. If you can, hermetically seal it in plastic with no air and put it in your freezer (Consult with your pharmacist before doing this for a particular medication). Medicines, like all chemicals, oxidize over time. Vacuum-packing them and sealing them in the freezer slows this down just like when you freeze food. Its always a good idea to include desiccant within the vacuum bagging to minimize/eliminate humidity.

[edit] High energy snacks

The videos of Hurricane Katrina victims walking miles in waist-deep water or paddling canoes is evidence of the need for high energy food. You may have to move -- quickly -- to get to safety and your trip may be hours or even days. Having high-sugar, high-carb snacks available which you can get to easily will help.

One is most likely to need to do this immediately following the disaster. Moving quickly means having the energy to do so. Make sure these are on the top of your 72hr kit and that you have enough to last 2-3 days (3-4 items per person per day, equivalent to one granola bar and one chocolate bar each). Don't worry about the health aspect of it -- if you are fleeing a disaster, the last thing you need to worry about is your waistline.

Diabetics especially should prepare for this and double the number of available snacks appropriately. Having a mix of different sizes and types is best (i.e. small sweets in the mix).

[edit] Defensive tools

In some scenarios in which Bug out Bags would be useful, such as riots or terrorism, there is a possibility of a breakdown in civil order. As such there is a potential for violence and some feel that weapons are a necessary part of any BoB. Any decision to include a weapon must be weighed by the amount of training previously received, the potential for accidents, the legality of varying weapons and possible escalation of any stressful situation to include (deadly) violence.

Firearms are the modern weapon of choice in such states and countries where they are available and legal, although there is great debate over how many and what type should be included in any Bug out Bags. Pepper spray may be effective defensively against animals, humans included. Disaster shelters rarely allow any form of a weapon.

Knives are almost always included in Bug out Bags. In addition to usage as a weapon, knives are multi-purpose tools that can also be used as a cutting instrument, a hunting spear, a glass breaker, and a steel, which in combination with flint can be used for fire starting, among other uses.

[edit] Shelter

Shelter can be as simple as a tarpaulin and complex as a quality backpacking tent. In either case, ensure that some form of protection from the elements is included in your BoB plans.

[edit] Emergency Literature

Since it is not possible to memorise everything one needs to know in a disaster, every 72hr kit should contain some literature which explains what to do in various situations. This literature should be obtained from professionals who deal with the sort of emergency one is seeking information on. Some examples available online include:

[edit] General

[edit] Fire

[edit] Pandemic

[edit] Storms

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Government links

Government agency tell us in the event of a disaster, it may take up to seventy two hours for emergency services to reach civilians and provide assistance. These organizations give suggestions for what would be needed in that first 72 hours. These may provide useful suggestions for what should be in a Bug Out Bag.

[edit] Non-government links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../b/u/g/Bug-out_bag.html"