Bugout Bag = Get Home Bag

As a self-proclaimed minimalist when it comes to all things prepared I wanted to give my 2 cents on the Bugout Bag and the Get Home Bag.

These two items seems to have quite the debate on what the contents should be and the more pushy types on the forums tend to be of the mind that if you don’t use the same designer bag as them that you are woefully under-prepared.

Let’s squash that here, who gives a shit what brand bag you have, the things that matter in regards to the bag are:

•  Durability
• Volume of storage
•  Comfort
• Ease of concealment

I could add a few more but after the big 4 it really is just a matter of opinion, these four characteristics should be the end all and be all when shopping for the actual bag. I prefer a simple Alice Pack with no frame or a plain high school book bag if keeping a low profile.

Guru left his Warrior Mindset at Taco Bell

I feel the Bugout Bag and Get Home Bag are one in the same; the only difference is a get home bag is typically on you or in your vehicle and the bugout is in your home. They serve the same exact purpose; each bag is to only carry the minimal amount of supplies to get you from an unsafe location to a safer location.

This is the point where the forum guru tells me “What if the sky was pink and I was an elephant, you would need a full pack with months worth of food!” If you would like to carry a pack that weighs 30lbs or more be my guest. 

Keep in mind that you have this bag because it will have the supplies you need to get home or lead you to your bugout location. Chances are, if you need to use a bugout bag or get home bag that you will be running and running far. Keep It Simple Stupid or KISS is where your head should be when assembling this bag, think of the basics; Beans, Bullets, and Band-Aids.

Basic minimum essentials:

•  Warrior Mindset
• 4 MRE’s (Field Stripped) or Protein bars x5
• Water source or Purification system
• First aid kit
• Knife or Multi-tool
• Fire source (Waterproof matches, Zippo, Flint Steel)
• Minimum 50’ 550 cord
• Emergency Blanket
• Gore-Tex or Poncho
• Flashlight (waterproof)

Firearm related items:

• 2 Spare Magazines
• 50 rounds ammunition
• Weapon light (optional)

Optional items:

• GPS with pre-programmed way points
• Solar battery pack
• Flares or Chem lights

This list could go on forever but the point is that you could fit the basic items in a very small bag that you could easily run or hike a good distance with. You are not going to be living out of this bag for more than a few days max so don’t get caught up on having irrelevant stuff.

Awaiting the Silver Bullet

You can have a separate bag for bugging out and your get home bag but I don’t see the point. If you keep a get home/bugout bag in your transportation at all times I think you are one step ahead in case of an event happening.

This list above is just the essentials of what you need to have in your Get Home/Bugout Bag, if you choose to have more, please do and let us know what it is that goes into your emergency bags!

Stay Fit and keep that Warrior Mindset!