How Often Should You Update Your Bug Out Kit?

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Many people, once they have a Bug Out Bag (BOB) made and a rough Bug Out Plan choose to stop there in their survival planning. This is a grave mistake that can have catastrophic consequences. Just imagine that you have your Bug Out Kit sitting at home for years before it is needed. Then when a disaster hits and you need to execute your Bug Out Plan, you run out the door to find out that your food rations have expired and flashlight batteries are dead! Managing your disaster planning and Bug Out Bag contents list should be an ongoing process with refinements and adjustments made as you develop along your path of survival preparedness.

How Often Should You Update Your Bug Out Kit?

I recommend reviewing your Bug Out Bag and plan quarterly (4x per year) at minimum for basic elements such as:

Expirations on food items

Some survival rations have useful lives up to 5 years but many are perishable well before then. Make sure you are checking the shelf life of any food items that you are planning on relying on quarterly and replace them before they go bad.

Expirations on medications

Medications have a wide range of lifetimes. If you have any medication in your BOB – antibiotics, insulin, EpiPens, heart medication, or any others make sure you know how long each will be good for and replace as needed.

Expiration for first aid items

many single use first aid items such as creams, antiseptic wipes, bandages, and eyewash/irrigation solutions have a limited shelf life. This is generally around the the sterility of the item and out of date first aid items should not be used to treat wounds. Conduct regular first aid kit inspections and replace out of date items as needed.

Bug Out Kit - Sterile Items — Many first aid items have expiration dates that need to be monitored

Battery charge for electronics

One of the biggest advantages of having solar or hand cranked electronic items such as a radio or flashlight is that you don’t have to worry about the batteries dying at a critical moment. However, if you do have any items in your Bug Out Kit that do require batteries, these should be checked quarterly at minimum to ensure that they have enough charge to power your equipment. An excellent preventative measure against batter drain is to store them in the electronic item (such as a flashlight) with the two positive (+) ends of two batteries facing each other. This prevents any current passing through the dormant circuit and greatly reduces energy seeping from the stored batteries. See the picture below for details.

Bug Out Kit - Batteries — Store your batteries + to + to prevent energy drain

Ammunition

If you have a firearm and ammunition in your Bug Out Kit, you should plan on test firing a sampling of rounds at minimum twice per year. If you have any misfires, plan on replacing rounds from that batch with newer ones.

When else would you update your Bug Out Kit?

In addition to the above mentioned checks, which should be scheduled to be performed periodically, you should review both your Bug Out Plan and survival gear as your personal situation changes:

When you move from one home to another

Moving to a new locality can effect large changes to your Bug Out Plan. If you moved from a rural area to an urban one, you would want to remove wilderness survival specific items and modify your Bug Out Bag into an urban survival kit or vice versa. If you changed climates you would need to update your spare clothes to suit. Moving from an area with many lakes and rivers to a desert region would merit greater sun protection and removal of fishing gear. These are just a few examples of the many ways that moving to a new locality can warrant a change in your Bug Out Kit. As always, tailor your survival gear to YOUR personal survival situation.

Changes in your bug out party

If your bug out group changes with the addition of a family member or departure of a party member, you will need to re-look at your survival gear and plan to accommodate these changes. If someone has been added that requires special resources such as medical gear or they bring a new skill set such as expertise in hunting or trapping, you would want to modify both your gear and plan to account for and take advantage of these needs or abilities. On the other hand, if your party is reduced through a member moving away you may need to remove items that were included specifically for them or add other gear that will compensate for the loss of their skill set.

Arrival of new threats

The modern world is highly dynamic and the status of external threats is changing constantly. If a new threat were to arrive or an old one suddenly increase in probability, you would want to update your Bug Out Kit and plan to account for such changes. This may be an increased chance of terrorism, severe weather patterns such as El Nino, a strong storm season being predicted, or other reasons such as a new, potentially hazardous industrial facility being constructed nearby.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that your Bug Out Kit and plan should be constantly evolving as new factors and information emerge. There are a great many things that can impact your survival situation and keeping your Bug Out Kit up to date will maximize your chances of survival when disaster strikes. A great practice is to set a reminder in a calendar either on your phone, computer, or in a planning diary to review your Bug Out Bag contents list quarterly at minimum. These reminders will keep you on track and spur you into action!

Lastly, there is no time like the present to take action. Why not review your Bug Out Kit and plan today using our free Bug Out Kit Update Checklist? If you want help in updating your Bug Out Plan, check out our post on how to make one.

Your Thoughts

If you thought this post was helpful, please Like, +1, or Share it using the social media buttons at the left of the page! How often do you update your Bug Out Kit or Bug Out Plan? Are there any other factors that you consider when making these updates? Please let us know in the Comments Section below, thanks!

Top 10 Multi Purpose Survival Tools for Your Bug Out Bag

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Here at The Bug Out Bag Guide we strive to build the best survival kit using a philosophy of practicality and efficiency. An excellent way of practicing this mindset is to utilize multi purpose survival gear to meet the needs of our Bug Out Plan. Multi purpose survival gear items improve our survival kit in multiple ways:

Save Space – Why bring 3 items when you can use 1 do do the same jobs? Consolidating items to save space will free up room in your Bug Out Bag to carry other useful survival tools or more food and water.
Save Weight – We have covered at length the perils of weighing yourself down with everything plus the kitchen sink, and have even built a tool for you to check your own Bug Out Bag’s weight. Reducing the number of items you carry will pay increasing dividends the longer you have to travel.
Increase Simplicity / Reduce Clutter – The more items you pack the harder it will be to find what you need. Stick to the essentials – Pack less and improvise more for an efficient survival kit.

Our Picks for Multi Purpose Survival Tools

We have researched long and hard and compiled a list of the best multi purpose survival tools below. For most categories, there are a great many options of items to consider while building your best survival kit. We have made a recommendation of the best we could find where applicable for those who do not have the time or inclination to search on their own based on utility, size, and weight. However as always, you need to choose the best items for YOUR survival scenario.

Survival Hatchet

These come in many flavors but most of them will do the jobs of a hatchet (obviously), pry tool, shovel, and wrench. We should look for any opportunity to remove high weight to volume ratio items such as steel tools to build the best survival kit, so being able to leave behind any of these is a good step. For more info check out our in depth reviews of the BEST survival tomahawks here.

Survival Whistle

These are generally quite cheap and are cover a lot of the basics. Most survival whistles combine a compass, dry container with the whistle and some even have a fire starting flint within.

Multitool

Anything with both the words “multi” and “tool” in it is worth having a look at. There are a great many options for multitools – focus on weight and practicality when looking. Are you going to really NEED the one with the allen key and corkscrew? Stick to the basics of a straight blade, saw, and can opener (like this one here) and add what few other options you see fit. Some bonus items that are rarely thought about are a magnifying glass and USB stick. These come on some multitools and can be used to start fires and store important family records, respectively. If you want to learn more about choosing the right multitool for survival, you can check out our article here.

Tarp

There is so much you can do with a tarp, it is a multitool all in itself. Besides the obvious of keeping gear dry and being used as a shelter, they can also be used for signaling and be easily turned into a stretcher to carry injured party members.

Plastic Bags

It is good to have a few of these as they have many, many uses and are very light and small. Plastic bags can be used to carry water, keep clothes and fire starting kits dry, store food, and organize small items.

Survival Knife

We covered Survival Knives generally in our Bug Out Bag Essentials post but they are so useful it is worth re-hashing here. Generally you are better off getting a solid, full tang knife from a trusted knifemaker such as Ontario, Camillus, Becker, or Gerber. Stay away from hollow handled survival knives if at all possible. The small amount of storage space will not make up for the overall inferior build quality. For more information on choosing a good knife for any outdoors situation, check out our comprehensive guide by CLICKING HERE.

Duct Tape

Good old duct tape, where would the world be without it? Duct Tape can be used as an emergency bandage, to secure a splint, to reinforce or repair waterproofing, as a rope replacement for shelter building, and taped over sore spots to prevent blisters.

Bandana

A bandana can be moistened and tied around the neck to help keep you cool, be used to filter water, will protect you from the sun, be used as a bandage, be utilized to tie on a splint, or be a replacement for rope in tasks such as shelter building.

Paracord

This is a small, strong cord that can be used in shelter building, ascending or descending inclines, as a clothes line, to fasten a splint, or to build a snare. Read out article about paracord uses and storage here.

Sanitary Pads/Tampons

These are often overlooked but are highly versatile. In addition to its intended use, a sanitary pad can be used as a bandage, it can be shredded and used as tinder, and it can be used to filter sediment from water.

BONUS: Your Brain

I know this is a list of the Top 10 Multi Purpose Survival Tools but this is really worth mentioning. Your own brain is the most valuable multi purpose survival tool that you have. Your mind contains the willpower to persevere in a dire survival scenario, and as importantly, the ability to improvise and modify your Bug Out Plan to overcome unforeseen problems. Rely on your own thinking before any of these other tools we mentioned, it will get you out of most sticky situation.

Top 10 Multi Purpose Survival Tools

We have build the table below to help you consider multi purpose survival tools when planning your bug out bag list. You will see in there Our Picks for the best items that meet our basic survival needs. If you click on the image for any of these, you will open up a window to Amazon.com where you can conduct further research on this item or others like it to see what best meets your needs.

	Multi Use Item	Our Pick	Items it can replace	Uses
1	Survival Hatchet	Ontario SP16 Spax Tool	Hatchet, Pry bar, Shovel	Cut, Pry, Break glass, Punch holes, Open/close fire hydrants and gas mains, Open manholes, Self defense
2	5 in 1 whistle	SE - Whistle - 5-in-1	Fierstarter, compass, waterproof container, matches, lighter, signal mirror	Signalling, navigation, firestarting, dry container
3	Multitool	Leatherman Sidekick Multi Tool	knife, saw, can opener	Cut Wood, Clean animals, Harvest plants, Slice rope, Shelter building, Self devense
4	Plastic Bags	Whatever is in your kitchen pantry	Dry Bag, Fire starting kit container	Backup water container, Dry bag, Store food, Organize small bits of gear
5	Survival Knife	Gerber LMF II Infantry Knife	Camp saw, hatchet, can be used for nearly any bushcraft task.	Food gathering, First aid, Shelter Building, Navigation, Fire starting, Self defense
6	Duct Tape	3M Utility Duct Tape	Rope, Bandages	Emergency bandage, Repair waterproofing, Shelter building, Prevent blisters
7	Bandana	Head for Survival Triangular Bandana	Triangle Bandage, Hat	Emergency Rope, Wet it and tie around your neck to keep cool, Sun Protection, Arm sling, Compression bandage, Filter sediment from water
8	Paracord	Army Universe Nylon Military Paracord	Rope, some first aid items	Shelter building, Climbing/descending, grapelling hook, Tie on a splint, Build a snare
9	Tarp	Heavy Duty Tarp	Emergency Shelter, Signal Mirror	Keep items dry, Keep you off the ground when sleeping, Made into a stretcher, Used as shelter, Used for signaling
10	Sanitary Pads/Tampons	Whatever is already in your hygiene kit	Bandages, Tinder	First Aid for bleeding, Start fires, Emergency water filter, Femenine hygiene

Conclusion

There are many multi purpose survival tools that can be utilized to save space and weight in your Bug Out Bag. Carefully consider the pluses and minuses of each when building your Bug Out Plan and Bug Out Bag Contents List in order to build the best survival kit for YOUR survival scenario.

Your Thoughts

If you thought this post was helpful, please Like, +1, or Share it using the social media buttons at the top of the page! What do you think of these multi purpose survival tools? Is there an additional use for any of them that you know of? Is there any other survival gear that you would recommend? Please let us know in the Comments Section below, thanks!

How to Make a Bug Out Plan

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It can be argued that having a bug out plan is as or even more essential than having a packed bug out bag as one can escape mortal danger with or without a survival kit as long as they have a plan.

We have looked in the past at how to pick a bug out bag as well as what to put in it and even how to customize it for wilderness or urban survival.

Now we will maximize our survival preparedness by examining how to execute a bug out or strategic evacuation.

Click on the link below to download a free template for making your own custom bug out plan. The information presented in this article will help you make informed decisions while formulating this plan. Once it is complete, be sure to share it with anyone whom you will be bugging out with and conduct practice runs to make it second nature.

Also, be sure to review and update your bug out plan periodically to make sure it is effective towards the ever-changing threats you may face.

Factors to Consider When Making Your Bug Out Plan

1. What disasters are likely to occur in YOUR area?

An important part of survival preparedness is knowing what has happened historically. Is your area known for having massive floods? Are you in an earthquake zone? Has your town or city been a target of terrorist attacks?

Consider these factors when making your plan, as they may immediately eliminate some options or make others more favorable.

2. What are your personal strengths and weaknesses?

Considering these can help tailor your Bug Out Plan to complement your strengths, mitigate your weaknesses, and give you a much higher probability of survival.

Are you very fit? Great, you will be able to carry more survival supplies and plan a longer route.
Do you know how to perform survival first aid? That could be vital if a member of your party gets injured.

Identifying weaknesses can be as easy as understanding what survival skills you need to train in.

Can you make a fire reliably? Are you able to navigate at night with your map and compass?
Do you have a working knowledge of plants and animals in your area?

Learning these things and other survival skills will make your Bug Out Plan far stronger.

Remember, the more skills you have, the less you need to carry.

3. Plan on more than one possible destination

The best practice for survival planning is to have at least 4 destinations as a part of your Bug Out Plan, one for each cardinal direction on the map (North, South, East, West).

This can be narrowed down due to both geography and the likeliness of particular events occurring. For example, if you lived on the Mississippi River’s western bank and were preparing for a flood, you would not need to consider bugging out to the East. Having multiple destinations in your plan and multiple routes to each adds a level of flexibility that must be planned out ahead of time. Going through this planning effort will make you prepared no matter what disaster fate throws at you.

Going through this planning effort will make you prepared no matter what disaster fate throws at you.

4. Have specific destinations in mind

Having a destination in your bug out plan gives you a goal to work towards as you travel. This will have an enormous positive psychological impact on your survival scenario. Surviving is extremely difficult in even favorable conditions and having a positive state of mind makes a huge difference towards success.

Certain types of destinations, such as a second home, relative’s house, or designated camp also allow for caching survival supplies both at the location and on the routes to them. Besides giving you an even greater psychological boost, this will massively increase your odds of survival as well as lessen the amount you have to carry.

If none of these options are available, look for large public facilities or designated shelters, no matter what it is, having a destination is a key element to your bug out plan.

5. Calculate how fast you will be able to travel

This is essential for planning your routes. If you can calculate your average travel speed you will know how many hours or days it will take you to reach your destination. This then informs you as to how much survival gear and supplies you need to either carry, forage, or cache along the way. Your average travel speed will be most heavily impacted by the following factors:

Weight of your Bug Out Bag

An average person should carry no more than 25 percent of their body weight in a backpack. More than this is possible but highly strenuous, plan your bug out bag accordingly. To aid you in determining what you will bring and how it will affect the overall weight of your bug out bag, we have created this free tool. It is even better if you can perform a test carry of your bag over a significant distance to ensure you can handle it. You need to be able to carry your pack for hours, if not days. Bringing too much weight will hobble your progress.

The terrain you will be crossing

The average walking speed with a pack is 2.5-4 miles per hour on flat ground. When planning your route, you need to account for what type of terrain you will be crossing. People often make the mistake of thinking that hiking downhill is faster than uphill. This is often not true, as hiking with a pack downhill will mean that you need to take extra care to have proper footing and to brace your steps. Will you be picking your way through rubble or having to cross a body of water? Plan a realistic pace as a part of your survival planning to have a better outcome.

Overall fitness

A very fit person will obviously be able to cover more ground than an unfit person. Assess yourself realistically for this trait; there are no egos in survival. If it has been a while since you went for a run, plan accordingly. The great part of making a Bug Out Plan is that it brings to light your weaknesses. This allows you to address them BEFORE they become a liability. If your plan would benefit from additional fitness, start slow going for walks or runs and then build up to conditioning your body to hike with the additional weight of a pack.

The makeup of your party

If you are creating Bug Out Plan for additional people you will have to consider this as a factor. If you are moving with elderly people or children, you should incorporate into your survival preparedness the additional resources and time needed to assist them. Do this by planning your routes’ progress based on how far you expect to travel at the pace of the least fit/mobile of your party.

Additional Factors to Include in Your Bug Out Plan

Plan on packing an extra waterproof or laminated map with your routes and destinations clearly marked. It is additionally helpful to mark landmarks along each route to aid navigation.
If you are bugging out with others, establish a rallying point for you all to meet at. Doing this beforehand avoids a messy situation where you are all wasting valuable time desperately attempting to contact each other when you should be on the move.
Also, bring along a list of emergency numbers for friends, family, and government agencies. This will help you stay in touch and keep updated on the disaster situation as it evolves.
This may seem obvious but actually USE your Bug Out Bag to make your journey easier. This may mean using your hatchet to fashion a shelter or pry tool to open a door to access a shortcut. There is no point in planning, packing, and carrying awesome survival supplies if you are not going to use them. Have you ever gone camping with a friend who brings a carload of gadgets that they never even take out? Battery-powered tent fan, anyone? Do Not Be That Guy.
Plan on looking for a place to spend the night 2-3 hours before sunset each night. You may not like the idea of trading that much travel time in, but this will give you enough time to find a safe, dry place to camp, prepare food and water, and establish your shelter.
Know that a 160-pound person will burn more than 400 calories in an hour while hiking and more than 500 if carrying a full backpack. This is a level of exertion comparable to that of aerobics or running. Incorporate into your survival planning rest breaks and methods of keeping yourself hydrated and fueled up.
Once you have made a bug out plan it is important to review it periodically to make sure it still fits your personal survival scenario. Learn how to do this and get our free Bug Out Kit Update Checklist here.
More information about general disaster preparedness planning can be found at Ready.gov (external link).

Conclusion

Creating a Bug Out Plan is an important step towards your overall survival planning. Utilizing these tips to build a simple, effective survival preparedness plan will ready you and your loved ones to survive when disaster strikes. Download our free Bug Out Plan Template and get started preparing your family to evacuate. Be sure to also use our Free Bug Out Bag Planning Tool to help you determine what to pack.

Remember, chance favors the well prepared.

Your Thoughts?

If you thought this post was helpful, please Like, +1, or share it using the social media buttons at the left of the page! Have a great Bug Out Plan that you would like to share? Are there any factors that you think are essential to consider when making one? Please let us know in the Comments section below. Thanks!

How to Pick the Best Bug Out Bag Backpack

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Which Bug Out Bag backpack is best?

Choosing the right bug out bag backpack is the important first piece of equipment you’ll need to purchase when building your kit.

Should you choose a backpack, duffel bag, or backpacking style bag?
What qualities should be considered when picking one?
Are any features that are particularly important?

We’ll tackle these questions and then share our recommended bug out bags.

How to Pick the Best Bug Out Bag Backpack

The types of bags typically employed as Bug Out Bags are:

Backpack – A Bug Out Bag backpack can be anything from a school book bag to a tactical assault type bag. This category has the widest options and is the most commonly used as it has a good balance of size and variety. This is optimal for 1-2 people or if you are bugging out with a party of adults who can each carry their own survival supplies.
Duffel Bag – These generally are a greater volume than a backpack but lack the ease of carrying. This is a good option if you are planning on bugging out in a vehicle and have a destination in mind such as a second home or designated camp. You would not want to have to carry this type of bag for an extended period over uneven ground.
Hiking Pack – This combines the best features of a backpack and duffel bag being that it will have a large volume and ergonomic carrying options. You will be able to carry much more survival gear in one of these than in a backpack which is great if you are evacuating with a family.

Critical Bug Out Bag Backpack Factors

1. Comfort and Fit

You may be humping your Bug Out Bag for days on end. You need something that you can wear comfortably, and that will not limit your movement by causing you discomfort. Pay attention to the following features when looking at a candidate bag:

Hip straps and hip padding – This is the single most important thing when looking at a bag for comfort and fit, which is something that is not understood by someone who has not humped a heavy bag over long distances. Hip support straps snug the pack tightly to your hips allowing the weight to be carried by the strong muscles in your thighs and hips rather than balancing the load on your shoulders. This improves balance by lowering the center of gravity and saves your back and shoulders from bearing the weight. It is exponentially easier to carry a heavy load in this manner.
Width of straps – Are the straps made of narrow webbing that is going to dig into your shoulders and hips or is it wide with ample padding to cushion the attachment to your body? I reiterate: you have the potential to carry everything you need to survive over long distances. If you are hobbled by discomfort you will not be able to travel as fast or far.
Sternum clip – This enables you to secure the shoulder straps to a comfortable position and uses the bony part of your chest as a counterbalance to the backward leaning force of the bag.
Allows for airflow on the back – Walking all day with a sweaty back can lead to discomfort and chafing. Most better bags come with channels or webbing in the part of the pack that faces your back. These allow for air flow to minimize this.
Are there any hard elements within the bag that may rub or poke into you – Some bags have rigid frames or hard plastic bits to help them retain their shape or to allow you to strap things to them. They do not need to be avoided as a whole, but they are something to consider when choosing one. I once ignored this when choosing a hiking pack that had a metal frame right at the height of the back of my head. This caused me to have to lean slightly forward or bang my head… for miles. Please do not make the same mistake.
Gender specific design – Many bags come in male and female options. These have the straps cut and shaped in particular ways that make them better fitting for their designated gender’s body types. There is some good information here about measuring yourself to help find the best fitting pack.

Best Bug Out Backpack Example — This bag has many options to ensure a good, comfortable fit.

2. Volume and Mass

How much space do you need in your Bug Out Bag backpack? This is determined by:

How many people are you carrying survival supplies for? Will you be bugging out by yourself or with a family in tow?
Do you plan on packing your Bug Out Bag with everything and the kitchen sink or just the bare essentials?
The more you pack, the larger volume bag you will need and the more mass you will have to carry on your back. It is one of the most important trade-offs you will have to consider.
Consider your phyical ability when determining how much weight you can actually carry.
I prefer sticking to the essentials rather than bringing everything under the sun and then scavenging and improvising on the way. Multi-function items are a godsend in getting the most from your gear in this regard.

best bug out bag backpack

3. Accessibility

So now know that you want the perfect fitting bag that carries the right amount of survival supplies, great job!

Let’s consider the options for how we will be compartmentalizing the gear and accessing it.

If you have a decent sized list of bug out gear, you will have a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and utility. Putting this all in one large compartment is a formula for inefficiency and frustration. Imagine you have slipped and cut yourself and now need to dig through all your clothes, tools, and rations to get to your medkit. Not good.

What we want for an efficient bag is one large compartment to store general items and several separate, smaller compartments for storing smaller subgroups of items. Most modern bags have multiple compartments and options to attach small satellite bags. This is ideal. Before packing, you will want to organize your gear with these compartments in mind. You will want to put larger items in the main compartment and smaller ones in the secondary pouches, organized by item type. This will make finding things in a hurry much easier and your Bug Out Bag more useful overall.

best bug out bag backpack — Here you can see how you can organize a multi-compartment bag to maximize functionality

4. Useful Features

So you have your Bug Out Bag backpack that meets your basic needs, what are the best additional features you should be looking for that will increase your chances of survival while bugging out?

Hydration Bladder Compatibility – Integration of a hydration system such as a Camelbak is a huge bonus to any bag. This makes it far easier to carry large amounts of water over long distances. As you will be exerting yourself, keeping properly hydrated is essential to keep you moving as fast and as far as possible. There is some good additional information on choosing a hydration pack.
Rain Hood – Many bags come with a rain cover integrated within. This is usually tucked away into a velcro compartment and then pulled out and over the bag when needed. This will keep your gear dry and preserve it optimally for when you need it.
MOLLE compatibility – MOLLE (pronounced “molly”) is an acronym for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is used to define the current generation of load-bearing equipment and packs utilized by a number of armed forces. This widespread use means that there are a HUGE number of compatible options for adding accessories to a MOLLE compatible bag. Items that use MOLLE include tool sheaths, pouches, hydration bladders, and medkits.

Best bug out bag backpack mollee — Many bags have MOLLE attachment points for easy customization

The Best Bug Out Bag Backpacks

Here are some backpacks that are excellent choices for your bug out bag.

Bag Name	Features	Hydration	Molle	Cost
5.11 Tactical Rush 72 Backpack	Sized for 3-day excursions. Designed by special operations combat veteran. Large, external shove-it pocket, Top exterior crescent-shaped organization pocket, two exterior, side, gusseted zippered pockets. Water-repellent coating.	Yes	Yes	$$$
VVV Gear Paratus 3-Day Operator's Pack	Modular design - 3 packs in 1 2 large compartments, multiple interior pockets/organizers, two attached MOLLE pouches Heavy duty zippers	Yes	Yes	$$
Reebow Tactical 3-Day Backpack	1 large compartment but with many other organization pockets. Great value for the price.	Yes	Yes	$

Our Pick

Looking at the features, price, customization options, and overall quality we have chosen to award the 5.11 Tactical Rush 72 as Best In Class for the following reasons:

Modular design allows us to plan and organize our Bug Out Bag for maximum efficiency
High quality, durable pack for a great price
Medium carrying capacity means that we will be able to carry our essentials without being weighed down
High quality, padded straps will let us move faster and for longer while bugging out
MOLLE integration and Hydration bladder compatibility exceeds our standards

For those that are building a more compact or lightweight bug out bag, consider the smaller 5.11 Tactical Rush 24 (or the even smaller 5.11 Tactical Rush 12).

Remember, it’s important to design your bug out bag according to your physical ability. Use our interactive bug out bag list builder to help you decide what to pack while automatically estimating the bag’s approximately weight.

Budget-friendly picks: If you prefer a budget-friendly option, take a look at the 3V Gear Paratus 3-Day Backpack or the Reebow Tactical 3-Day Backpack.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you have taken away from this discussion the elements that you need to look for in finding a suitable Bug Out Bag backpack. This is an important step in your disaster preparedness journey and getting it right make a huge improvement in your ability to bug out when the unforeseen strikes.

If you are ready to plan what items to pack in your Bug Out Bag, check out our Free Bug Out Bag Planning Tool.

Remember, chance favors the well prepared.

Your Thoughts

If you thought this post was helpful, please Like, +1, or Share it using the social media buttons at the top of the page! Are there any features or types of Bug Out Bags that you would suggest? Please let us know in the Comments section below, thanks!

How to Customize your Bug Out Bag Contents for an Urban Survival Kit

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To be truly well prepared for a disaster, you need to tailor your survival kit to your surroundings.

For example, someone from a highly urbanized area will have different needs from someone living in a more rural area.

Here we will look at some urban survival gear to add to your Bug Out Bag that will customize it into a self-sufficient urban survival kit.

Urban Survival Kit Planning Factors

Bug out situations that occur in urban centers have several unique factors to consider when building your Bug Out Bag packing list. These urban survival factors include:

Having to deal with building debris and glass in the wake of the disaster event.
Increased likelihood of opportunities to scavenge water and food from abandoned buildings.
The possibility of finding supply caches in abandoned buildings – looting is not endorsed by this site but if abandoned supplies mean the difference between life and death, go for it.
Increased likelihood of encountering humans – This can be both good and bad based on the disposition of the people faced and how you handle the situation. Other survivors can be bartered with and be valuable sources for information as well as dangerous criminals. Approach them with caution in mind.
Less need for emergency shelter as there should be many buildings around and debris available to cobble a shelter together if need be.

Urban Survival Gear Essentials

Crow Bar / Pry Bar – For scavenging and removing barriers and debris as well as hammering out glass. The Ka-Bar Becker is an excellent choice for this as it is compact and can smash, pry, as well as cut as the situation requires. The Stanley Fubar is also a very good choice for those with more space in their urban survival kit, and it comes in small and large varieties.
Urban Axe – A multipurpose urban axe, such as the Ontario SP-16 SPAX can be an incredibly versatile and powerful tool in your arsenal. The SPAX is a knife, a hatchet, or a pick axe, whatever the situation dictates. It even has the required slots to open and close water hydrants and gas mains. This is useful if you find yourself in a house with gas leaking or if you want to access a fire hydrant for some clean water. As a bonus, it can also serve as an a intimidating self-defense weapon.
Multitool – Investing in a multitool such as the Leatherman Wingman will give you the versatility to perform all sorts of unexpected jobs, solve minor problems, or get you out of a tight jam with minimal hassle.
Work Gloves – If you have to break glass or move debris, a pair of work gloves such as the Mechanix M-Pact Gloves, will save your hands and keep you working and moving much longer. These can be picked up at any hardware store.
Dust Mask – If there are collapsed buildings in your area this will protect your lungs from airborne debris particles. Have a look at 3M N95 Particulate Respirator Masks to a quality choice.
Permanent Marker – The nature of the urban environment will give you opportunities to leave markings or notes for yourselves or others in your party.
Can opener – In an urban survival situation there will be many more opportunities to scavenge food than in a rural locality. A can opener will enable you to easily access preserved food that you come across.
Sillcock Water Valve Key – Ever notice secured water valves on the side of commercial buildings such as malls or rest stops? All it takes is an inexpensive little tool, the Cobra 4-Way Sillcock Key, to access this water.
Metal Spork – Scavenged food will need a way to get to your mouth. There are many options for this. I like the varieties that come with an attachment option such as this one.

Weapons for an Urban Survival Kit

Encountering unfriendly people can be an unpleasant scenario and must be considered in an urban survival scenario.

Ideally, we can either talk our way out of a dangerous encounter or avoid them altogether. However, that’s not always possible.

If a situation does devolve into a fight where you need to defend yourself or your family, consider carrying weapons that can protect you, such as:

Repurposed Tools – If you choose to carry a weapon with you, you can either repurpose a piece of urban survival gear such as the above mentioned Ka-Bar Becker or Stanley Fubar.
Knife – A knife is also a potential self-defense weapon. The Kershaw Tanto has smooth one-handed opening making it ideal for quick self-defense.
Pepper Spray – A popular choice for an effective survival kit weapon that does a great job deterring attackers. The SABRE Advanced Police Strength Pepper Spray is the most recommended choice.
Firearm – A gun is also an option if it is legal in your area and you are familiar with using one. Here is a good rundown of some firearm options for an urban survival kit.

Urban Survival Kit List Items to Consider

Item	Picture
Ka-Bar Becker
Stanley FUBAR - Small
Stanley FUBAR - Large
Ontario SP16 Spax
Spork
Pepper Spray

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The Ultimate Urban Survival Kit (TUUSK)

I have been working on a project to build a comprehensive, practical, and top quality urban survival solution from the ground up.

I’ve been lucky enough to be teamed up with the founders of Ready To Go Survival (RTGS) on it. We have partnered up to combine my knowledge of survival and preparedness with their experience in building countless custom bug out bags over the years.

We are calling our project “The Ultimate Urban Survival Kit” (also known as TUUSK).

The TUUSK is an urban survival solution that will use the knowledge gained by myself and the team at RTGS from a lifetime of living in urban environments. Our goal is to take all the trial and error we have had over the years and develop a survival kit that will help others shortcut their own paths to preparedness.

We have spent hours selecting and testing the most practical, reliable gear, and are excited to share the TUUSK with the world.

We have documented every step of the process of developing the TUUSK to help others make better survival kits for themselves. Such as:

HD video and photos of us testing the gear in the heart of New York City
How we decided what to pack and what to leave out of the kit
How the TUUSK can help YOU overcome the most common urban survival threats

Learn More About TUUSK: The Ultimate Urban Survival Kit

This is an urban-focused bug out bag that leverages our combined city living and emergency preparedness experience to help the 80.7% of Americans that live in an urban environment prepare for disaster scenarios.

Learn More About TUUSK: The Ultimate Urban Survival Kit

Conclusion

The items discussed above can be added to your Bug Out Bag Packing List to transform it into an urban survival kit.

You will, however, have to consider both your approach to survival and your locality when picking and choosing:

Do you want to pre-pack lightweight, non-perishable food to fuel your bug out?
Are you in an environment where you will be able to scavenge as you go?
Are there any factors that make your urban environment unique?
How will you deal with other humans?

These are all important factors to consider when planning your urban survival tactics and Bug Out Bag.

Check our out Basic Survival Skills guide to see what tactics you can master to help increase your odds of survival.

DON’T MISS: Pack your Bug Out Bag or Survival Kit with our Free Bug Out Bag Planning Tool.

Remember, chance favors the well prepared.

Do you have an item that you would add to your urban survival kit? Do you have urban survival tactics or advice that you would like to share? Let us know in the comments section below.