As hurricane season is here and #Covid is spreading like wildfire, it's time to do a thread on bug out bags. AKA 72 hour bags, SHTF bags, etc, the bag is your survival.

It is always better to show up at a FEMA station with some supplies on hand.

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Purchasing your BoB - either you buy the bag first or you buy the supplies first. I bought the bag first and it has been a struggle to keep from overloading it. YMMV.

Some of this is straight survival gear, some of it is ultralight camping gear. Mix and match!

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Bag type? I like civilian camping gear better: it's lighter and designed for comfort. It is also easier to blend in (grey man) in case of civil unrest.

I have an Aura AG 50 (this will be too large for most of you - I use it for backpacking trips).

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The backpack is not something you should buy without trying it on. Go to REI, get it fitted, put weight in it and go tramping all over the store. You want to make sure (cause, damn these are expensive) that it fits you properly and DOES NOT rub you raw.

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Considering we are living in a #Covid world, make sure that you include a mask in your BoB. If you need something to be NBC (nuclear/biological/chemical), it must be a full face mask and NBC rated.

Note: the Israeli gas masks have horrid reviews, don't buy them.

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Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink? Get a LifeStraw. They filter out 99.9% of bacteria and parasites.

Part of their pledge is "one purchase, one child, one year of safe water" - you can help fund clean water in poor nations.

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Shelter. Considering this is a 72 hour bag, a bivy sack is fine, not to mention, it's the lightest option available for shelter. Works the same as mylar blankets, you can use them as either a sleeping bag or a tent.

If you live up north, throw one in your car.

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You may find yourself needing to start a fire - as far as this goes, remember the adage 2 is 1, 1 is none. Have at least two different methods of fire starting, be that lighters, matches, flint/steel, etc.

I carry lighters, flint/steel, and an electric lighter.

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Food. You don't want to carry a 5 course meal for each meal for three days. For a 72 hour bag, you want something you don't have to cook and packed with calories that you can choke down with some water.

They all taste like garbage but it's better than starving.

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First Aid - everyone should have one of these anyway but go ahead and make sure your kit is good and in your BoB.

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Make sure your kits has, at a minimum, a tourniquet (look for the Israeli/CAT ones), gauze pads, burn gel, eye wash, band aids, anti itch cream, Neosporin, alcohol pads, sterile gloves, super glue, ace wraps, EMT shears, etc, etc.

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Honestly, I could write a book. Buy a standard kit and add/replace what you need to (all EMT shears and tweezers in these kits are straight up garbage).

Make sure you have antibacterial SOAP!

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Medicine

Grab ALL prescription meds AND prescriptions.

OTC meds: anti inflamatories, allergy control (benadryl), aspirin, immodium, and a decongestant (this list is NOT exhaustive).

Whatever you have here, make sure you ROTATE your meds. First in, first out.

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Ladies. 72 hours away from home and you are going to want something to (to be blunt) let you pee standing up as well as something to handle menstruation. I suggest a menstrual cup for the latter but YMMV.

Pack extra bandanas: you can wipe, rinse and air dry.

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Personal interjection here - @KyleReese2019 and I headed into the mountains before the #Covid lockdown started...and I HAD to pee halfway through.

No way was I going to use a public bathroom.

Thankfully, we had our camping gear so I didn't have to!

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Clothing.

Clothing weighs a LOT more than you think it does, so you have to be careful. 3 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks - you wash one, wear one, and have one in reserve. If your undergarments are sweat wicking, they will dry in no time.

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Heavy duty work gloves. Rain gear. Hat/bandanna/shemagh.

A pair of hiking boots. Flip flops (to let your feet air out at the end of the day).

I keep a pair of yoga pants and a tee shirt in my bag, I hate sleeping in dirty clothing.

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Light.

Firelight sure is pretty but it's bad for your eyes. Get a flashlight, headlamp, or chem lights to go in your bag.

Have more than one light source and make sure you can power it.

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Knife.

Get a fixed blade over a folding knife, keep it under the legal limit for your area. Get one with a serrated edge on the opposite side of the sharp edge if you can - you can use the serrated edge to cut down branches and not mess up the sharp edge.

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Miscellaneous

Duct tape (seriously, it will become currency if SHTF)
Multitool - I like leathermans but YMMV
550 cord
Sewing kit
Deck of waterproof cards
Folding shovel
Whet stone
Signal mirror
Cash
USB to store paperwork
Shooting glasses/goggles
Carabineers

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Advanced survival gear - this is less of hurricane prep and more like prep for a SHTF situation where help is not coming from the government. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Feel free to skip the next section.

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A note on the LifeStraw - you will absolutely need some sort of water bottle. They make integrated water bottles with the straw in plastic. You may also consider canteens, a classic for a reason. If you need something to carry water, consider a collapsible bucket.

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For those of you who don't mind the weight or want real camping gear, check out trekking pole tents. You have to have trekking poles or handy trees but there are zero poles you have to haul around.

Also trekking poles are SUPER useful.

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Sleeping bags/air/foam mattress

Look in the ultralight camping equipment. Depending on the season, you need a sleeping bag and something between you and the ground.

Besides, when you get to the FEMA camp, they may not have blankets. Better to have your own gear.

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Oh, and another note, get a sleeping bag sheet. They are lightweight, silky smooth, and are easier to wash and can add 10 plus degrees.

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Hammock camping. You can just get a hammock or a hammock with mosquito netting -either way, you want to get a rainfly to go over your hammock.

In the winter, you will NEED an underquilt. Make sure you spend real money here.

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Instead of carting around maps, books, etc, I carry an old Kindle fire that I loaded with the contents of wikipedia, multiple survival books, plant books, and topological maps of CONUS which you can download for free in the link below.

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https://www.natgeomaps.com/trail-maps/pdf-quads

So that means I need a power source - I have a solar panel that will charge my Kindle and my phone at the same time and also has a built in battery so you can store a charge. I also take an old ipod loaded with my music and some earbuds.

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At some point, you may want to know what is going on, right? Well, there is an answer to that - a hand crank radio that picks up NOAA broadcasts.

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Food

If the SHTF and no help is coming, your best bet is farming. Pick seeds that grow the best in your area and put them in your bag. You can also order heirloom seeds in case the current crop gets infected with something and wipes out the food supply.

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SALT. LOTS AND LOTS OF SALT.

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Catching your own food...unless you are an experienced hunter, you may burn more calories than you gain back. A simple answer to this is a snare kit.

Vigilant Trails have really nice snare kits in convenient carry tins - you can stuff them in a pocket.

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Fishing kits - all you really need is a line and a hook, however, Vigilant Trails (note: I do not work for them, but I have used their products) has a nice series of compact fishing equipment.

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Going for small game? Get a slingshot. The ammo is free and slingshots are fairly easy to get accurate with.

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If you have a way to store food, you can go for bigger game: deer, pig, bison, etc. You have a lot of options on how to do this: bows and hunting rifles (do not hunt a pig with a bow unless you know how).

You can even go really old school and dig pit traps.

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Self defense guns:

This is an individual choice so I won't suggest anything.

If you want them, get them in calibers that are easy to find - 9 mil and 556, for example.

Practice, practice, practice. Be a responsible gun owner.

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On that note: get extra magazines and ROTATE your mags the same way you rotate your meds. You don't want to try to find springs in the middle of a SHTF scenario.

You also better have some break free and cleaning rods.

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Guns for hunting:

Look for breakdown .22 rifles.

Lightweight but, more importantly, it breaks down and fits in the stock so you can hide the fact that you have a long rifle...

This is a small game rifle - you do NOT want to try to kill a pig with it.

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Final notes:

If the SHTF, your best play is going to be "grey man" until you are at a safe location with TRUSTED people. Skip the "tacticool" gear and use the civilian instead, you look less threatening and people will be less likely to mug you for your gear.

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2 is 1, 1 is none.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Have a plan.
Have a backup plan.
Know your routes to your safe place.
If you can, cache objects along your routes.
Keep your plans SECRET.

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