Talk:Bug-out bag

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[edit] Removing Stub

I think that this is an important page. I do not think it is a stub, there is an undeniably large amount of quality information, and it is comprehensive in scope. I do, however, think that the tone and shifting POV is rather troubling, and indicates a definite lack of compositional quality. I suggest removing the stub-box and replacing it with a plea for standards. Magicwombat 09:22, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Defensive Tools

The comment that one is more likley to be killed with one's own gun needs to either be linked to the study which derived it or it should be removed. Paj 11:22, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

I think the section about defensive tools should be either modified or removed. This article is about building a bug-out bag, or a 72-hours kit. The author talks more about protecting his property than to prepare for an evacuation. Plus, the writing style is too "personal" i.e: "and I repeat, it will save your life". It is also too technical for the needs of this article (we don't need to compare the different kinds of firearms and their advantages). The bag should include a knife for sure, but the "1 rifle per adult" advice sounds a little bit out of place. Finally, this section shouldn't be the lenthiest one of the article! FireWire 12:14, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Some pretty good information in this page, but when the author starts trotting out the moronic propaganda of the anti-gun left, the whole thing is ruined. That bit about getting killed with one's own firearm is simply not true, and is completely out of place in a forum devoted to factual information.

[edit] ARFCOM link and subsequent revisions

I rewrote the intro and defensive weapons sections tonight after seeing the article linked from ar15.com. I tried to cut the fat out of the intro and just give the basic information which could be expanded on later in detail. In the defensive tools section I cut all the specific gun opinions to solve the above complaints about back and forth edits. I was pretty aggressive about removing text, so I guess we'll see what everybody thinks of it. --Askaggs 07:57, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] merging with survival kit

i think is a good idea, and someone must make a good/complete list of items.


Though the topics are related, they are nonetheless separate and should not be merged. Evacuations from danger zones have a different impetus than survival schemes. Bug-outs are a matter of removing from harm's way with the idea that auxiliary aid or resources will be available. Survival is about maintaining an existence despite hardship, often without the idea of auxiliary assistance or resources. Emergency preparedness needs to be looked at as a two-part program: 1) bug-out AND; 2) bunker down/survival. As for a good/complete list of items, the American Red Cross has a checkllist of basics on their web-site which serves as a good starting point. From there you can refine your lists to meet you and your family's needs to make your kits complete.

Oppose two separate things. --Knife Knut 21:03, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

Oppose. I also think they are two separate things Magicwombat 14:37, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Oppose. A survival kit is a wilderness-oriented item; a BOB is an urban-oriented item. Lots of overlap, but there are too many critical differences to make a successful merge.

I'm going to go ahead and remove the merge tags since the discussion both here and on Talk:Survival kit is in favor of keeping them two separate articles. KleenupKrew 03:06, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Should Servival Kit be in the "See also" section?12.145.73.51 14:12, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Addded Items to the list

Blanket, poncho liner and sleeping bag were added to the list. --21kev 18:43, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Complete revamp

While the information in this article is extremely helpful, informative, and valuable; it repeats itself many times ("BOB is not a survival kit"), and at several points is written in the first person. It sounds as if the individual who (apparently) wrote most of this article thought that Wikipedia was his/her blog or something.... For future reference please write in the third person while contributing to Wikipedia Thank you. Mk623SC20K 21:49, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tone leans too far towards instruction

This article is really just a lot of advice on how to put together a BOB. I really don't think this is the purpose of an encyclopaedia article, which should be informational rather than instructional. The article should list the type of items found in a BOB, the rationale for some and then provide links to other websites which can help the reader put together a kit. Mettw 06:38, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

It's actually better than it used to be. When I came across the article, it was much longer and basically written as exact instructions on what to do when fleeing an emergency. I agree, it still doesn't fit the tone expected of Wikipedia articles. I plan on doing a better rewrite, but the holidays have kept me busy so far. -- Kesh 16:04, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] How-To sections to be removed

Wikipedia policy [1] says that an article should not be a how-to, which this one clearly is. So I'm going to remove all of the how-to aspects of this article. If you want to maintain a Bug-Out Bag how-to then wikipedia recommends [2] that you move this info to either of the following:

--Mettw 19:57, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, the article needs a total rewrite. I'm having trouble finding good documentation on a bug-out bag vs. a survival kit, though, so it's taking me longer than I expected to actually work this one out. We might have to reduce this one to a stub (basic definition) and then work our way back up from scratch. -- Kesh 20:29, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
I'm not sure that this should be such a long article anyway. There isn't really much to a BOB once you take out all of the how-to stuff. A history would be appropriate, if such a thing exists for BOBs. As to the difference between a BOB and a survival kit, I'm inclined to just say that the difference is one of purpose and let readers see the difference in the items listed in each article - I can't think how else to explain it to people.--Mettw 00:02, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge, take two

Since 90% of the contents of this article exists in survival kit, then either the remaining 10% needs to go there, or the BOB contents needs to be removed from the survival kit article. I propose a merge based on two points:

  • A BOB may be the portable part of a survival kit, since there is significant overlap. Living in tornado alley, you may have a few minutes of warning to evacuate to a shelter, in which case you grab the BOB and run; or you may get NO warning and need to deal with the aftermath in place--a breakdown of infrastructure, such as loss of power, water, etc.
  • With BOB and survival kit in separate articles, there is no good place to put a comparison/contrast between the two; it would lead to duplicate and potentially contradictory information in the different articles. scot 15:09, 9 February 2007 (UTC)


I found this article by checking referring URLs to my site, a forum dedicated to survival and preparedness. One of my friends and a member on my forums linked my sample Bug-Out Bag article to the External Links area (right under my nose no less). I think this article is a worthwhile entry to Wikipedia, but there seems to be a problem with folks not deeply and directly connected to the survival community trying to define and categorize some of these things. Survival Kits and Bug-Out Bags are essentially the same thing; a pack or other system of carrying a load of supplies and equipment to escape and evade danger. Functionally, there is little to no difference at all between the two. The difference in specific types of gear or accessories is determined by the user's environment and their plan to evacuate, not by what moniker they like to use for their 'bag'. Some folks will bug-out into the wilderness because that's all they can do in the face of impending danger or because it's what they know; others will bug-out to a secondary fixed location such as a relative or friend's house or a home in another part of the state/country. BoB's can range from a 2100ci backpack filled with water, first aid supplies, clothing and food to a 5000+ cubic iinch pack filled with additional items such as shelter, fire-making materials, knives and tools and general supplies to live off of the land until the short-term emergency has subsided. Those of us in the current survival community generally make little distinction between a "survival Kit" and a "Bug-out Bag", and even offshoots of those such as "Get-Home Bags" and EDC (Every Day Carry) are all part of the total system (as in First Line, Second Line and Third Line gear). Emergency kits, 72-hour kits/bags, Bug-Out Bag, Survival Kits, Get-Home Bags and other such similar terms are used interchangeably, they're essentially the same things; equipment and supplies that can be taken mobile to escape, avoid or survive an emergency or disaster situation. Merging these topics makes sense as it will help to remove a distinction that few people that actually utilize these things ever truly make. --NineseveN 03:20, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

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