This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I'll earn a small fee at no extra cost to you.*
I’ve written several articles about prepping mistakes and how to avoid them, but when I came across this video by Survival Know How I realized I haven’t talked about bug out bag mistakes.
This is something most people don’t think about. How do you mess up a bug out bag? Just put the things you need into it and carry it, right? But there are at least 5 mistakes that I dare say a lot of preppers are making. Here they are:
1. Looking too militaristic, causing you to stand out. Don’t make yourself a target.
2. Not having a good plan for where to go. Don’t just wander the countryside.
3. Not having a sufficient first aid kit. If you don’t have your health…
4. Packing way too much stuff. Remember, you can’t carry everything.
5. Not testing your gear ahead of time (including the bag itself).
Watch the video below for more details, and be sure to subscribe.
Thanks for this. I’ve been binge reading your posts and several other sites while taking notes because I’m planning on making my own bag. Thanks for all the posts.
While I do have a number of packs, I cache supplies along my bug out routes. I also believe in wheelbarrows. They are a great multiplier for weight and volume. Many of my outlying supply sites have a sound wheelbarrow already loaded with a variety of goods and arms. Each also has at least one fix-a-flat can. Yes, having so many supply sites requires a lot of maintaining, I’ve been at this quite a while. I’ve built slowly and repack at least one site a week out of the forty plus sites. It gives me great comfort I’m ahead of the game.
First of all, If SHTF or whatever you believe in, those who wished they had prepared, aren’t going to care if you are carrying a militaristic backpack or a camping backpack full of stuff, they are only going to see that you are more prepared than they are and are going to want what you have. It ain’t going to matter if its camo, earth tone or purple, they are going to want the equipment and supplies. So if they will come after me anyway, I will carry the stuff I know that is going to last a lot longer than general commercially produced gear.
I use 35 liters pack made by bug out gear. i’ve read mixed reviews about that company but took a chance and bought pack.After 3 years of heavy use it still holds, still waterproof and stitches are nearly as good as they were on new pack. 1000D cordura sure is great material for backpack, but has its own downsize too;weight. empty pack weights a bit under 2.5 kilograms 🙁 … one big plus? it doesnt look tacticool nor military :D, but is big enough to suit my style of living.Good backpack is a must, next is physical preparedness and good health.Mental stability too plays big role in survival situations, and many has lost battles due to their weak willpower..
I bought an Israeli Army Pack and it’s the best bag I’ve ever used. When my son was deployed to Afghanistan the 2nd time, he and his buddies bought Israeli gear. It was superior to anything issued by the U.S. That’s a sad truth.
Oh great! The first mistake is the one I already made.
Looking taticool shouldn’t be that much of a mistake though. You want to let people know that they should not be messing with you. Also, the military bags are 10x better than the crap that you pick up at wally mart.
-Justin
http://apocalypticsurvivalguide.com
I agree with you Justin with one qualifier,
☆as long as you’re prepared to back that “look” up with action☆
I to like the durable nature of “tacticool” gear, and it definitely sends a visual message that this person is not going to be an easy target.
However there will always be someone willing to test your resolve, so if you’ve decided to send the “not to be effed with” message you better have the equipment, physical ability, and mentality to back it up.
That’s a great point.
Unless there is a large gang that’s supplied with firearms. I can deal with most people.
Unless you are a part of a large gang supplied with firearms, If you advertise your capabilities you can’t deal with one person with a scoped rifle. If the SHTF (and it’s a big if and it’s an even bigger if that it will happen when and how people think), and if you have to be mobile there will be many other people of varying capabilities and intents. If you’re evacuating, probably many others are too and many will also be armed. If so, you can’t fully assume each is a threat (and by fully assume I mean engage, I’m not suggesting trusting your neighbors). You will be passing by groups more capable, and there will be people of varying capabilities who’s intent is predatory. Some will be capable and they will select a conflict location that favors them. You don’t want them to select you. You want to project a level of effort that exceeds the reward. My bail out bag is a child carrier (for obvious reasons, and not the one in the picture as that’s just a day bag), Me and the Mrs. both have obvious capabilities without gaudiness. A mini-14 looks less valuable than a spec’ed out AR but if you are considering your opponent for nefarious ends you’ll still realize it’s a scoped .223 with hi capacity (and back in the real world it looks better in court). I don’t expect the SHTF so most of my resources go into making the current world work for me, but a little thought and effort can cover the likely (going to work on Monday) and the unlikely. It’s amazing to me when I talk to other gun people who don’t have an alarm on their home but have guns for home protection. The safest thing is an alarm convincing them to leave but many gun people get caught up in the bravado and feeling of invincibility. Both sides can loose in a gun battle.
Very late to the discussion, but everyone has to sleep sometime.You want to be as invisible as the grifters begging for handouts on the urban interstate ramps.It doesn’t matter how well equipped or vigilant you are – someone could pop you while you’re taking a leak if you advertise, and don’t have a team for mutual support.
I personally use a high-end laptop bag with removable padding. Now it’s a decent 50 liter pack in tan with a gazillion pockets, some Molle attachment points, and fittings for a Camel-back hydration system.
It’s a bit of a mixed bag so to speak, as it’s purpose it to get me out of the high-tech, semi-suburban area I work in, and eventually home with as little fanfare as possible. That’s 42 miles mixed interstate and cow country roads. I’m assuming if I ever have to user it it will take a minimum of four days on foot, dodging some high density residential areas, and working around some lakes.
I repacked it again for the umpteenth time again tonight after running all the spare clothing, med gear, fire making tools, food stuffs, ammo, etc, through a food-saver. It’s absolutely amazing how much space gets saved when you pull all the air out!
Total weight without water is 14.2 pounds, including a few MREs for “decent meals. They’re heavy so will be consumed first more than likely.
For what it’s worth the I rotate ammo dependent upon the seasons: in the summer my daily carry is a micro .380, switching to a compact 9mm when concealment is easier, ie; not 105F & 85% humidity.
Should I ever have advanced warning. and really, really need to move in an extreme, pure survival situation I’ll probably switch to my long barrel Ruger .22 target pistol. Lighter, excruciatingly accurate, a .22 hollow point to the head or heart is quite deadly, ammo is relatively light, and I also have a collapsible Henry ar-7 .22 carbine that would fit in my pack.
If ambition holds I may just take pics of the pile and share.
Hey Justin, no one is invincible especially when families are involved, the best survivors stay low profile. Navy SEALs and other spec ops communities blend in to stay alive. You should too. I have several mil spec bags all of them are very very grungy and are so on purpose. All of my Molle packs are strictly for tactical use and for show in my civilian life, My bug-out bags are Osprey and other well constructed but very civilian looking packs that have been well used but are still very sturdy. USN, EMF and Hospital Corps support, 8 years, not that that makes me an expert, but I’ve packed “a lot” of survival gear.
That’s very true. It is a lesson that I learned in high school and should have remembered when choosing a bug out bag. Always blend in.
North Americans might say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but the Chinese say that the nail that sticks out gets hammered.