BUG OUT BAG

Bag

To house all of the items needed to survive what- ever may come, you’ll need a good, sturdy bag. Without a good bag, you run the risk of losing or damaging the items you pack. For this reason, it’s worth investing in a good bag. Everything I have fits within a 55 liter bag, but this will change from person to person.

Food

Pack enough food to survive at least 72 hours. Canned food, noodles or emergency rations all work. To ensure longevity, I am sure to its expiration date before packing it away and forgetting about.

To cook the food, I include a small camp stove, fuel and small pot. The pot is used as a container when packing my gear to consolidate space.

Tools/Gear

The most important tool to include in a survival bag is good a knife. I also include an additional knife, small leatherman and a hatchet. I pack these so that they are easily accessible.

Paracord has many uses, from shelter building to snare setting, so I am sure to pack a few hundred feet of it.

Within a waterproof bag (from a company called Locsak), I keep plastic bags, tin foil, heavy-duty garbage bags, toilet paper and duct tape. Each

of these items is both versatile and critical for comfort and survival.

In another Locsak I keep a field guide. It includes instructions for building a shelter, descriptions of edibles plants, and much more. I also include a moleskin notebook and pencil in this bag.

Seeing is critical. For this, I keep a flashlight and headlamp for the night and a pair of binoculars for the day. Extra batteries for the flashlights ensure they will maintain usefulness.

Fire provides warmth in the cold, light in the dark and energy for cooking. I keep lint (for tinder), matches and a lighter in a plastic bag to ensure they stay dry. I also have a firesteel attached to my knife to give me access to fire whenever

I need it.

Inside a first aid kit, I keep bandages, medication, scissors, and other miscellaneous items that may prove useful in a survival situation.

Shelter

Instead of packing a tent, which is both heavy and large, I pack a medium sized tarp and emergency bivvy. This combination will keep me sheltered from the elements and provide warmth while taking only a fraction of the space that even a small tent would.

A good pair of boots is an important piece of survival gear. I keep my Meindl Ultra-Lights waterproofed and polished up for any apocalyptic events that may occur.

To keep warm and dry, I pack an insulated down jacket and a waterproof jacket.

A good base layer will keep you warm during cold nights and a wool blanket will do so even when its wet.

Water

Without water a person will die in 3 days. To carry this precious resource, I pack a Nalgene bottle and a collapsable Platypus bottle that car- ries 2 liters of liquid.

Water that has been collected from a river or lake needs to be purified before drinking. For this,
I pack Potable Aqua, which is added to water already stored in a container and a filtration straw that will allow you to drink straight from a poten- tially contaminated source.

Howard Bannon / HEX Writer