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33 Useful Items That Should Be In Your Bug Out Bag

By Alan Urban 17 Comments ✓ This post may contain affiliate links*

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Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

33 Useful Items That Should Be In Your Bug Out Bag

Everybody has their own idea about the most important things to include in a bug out bag. Different strokes, different folks. But whatever items you choose, make sure a lot of them are multipurpose items.

Your bug out bag might not seem very heavy, but after carrying it all day, it will begin to seem like the heaviest thing you’ve ever held. Multipurpose items can help you reduce the number of items you need to pack, thus making your bag lighter.

The list below includes some of the most useful survival items you can get your hands on. You don’t necessarily have to put all of these items into your bug out bag—as I said, you don’t want it to be too heavy. But I encourage you to seriously consider each item. Take your location and personal needs into account and decide whether they’re worth including.

For most of the items, I added a link to an article or video (most of them on this site) where you can learn more about the many uses for them. Okay, let’s get on with it…

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1. Aluminum Foil

Don’t pack an entire roll (which would be heavy). Instead, fold up a few sheets and slip it into one of your bag’s pockets. You can use it to catch fish, start a fire, boil water, cook food, signal for help, and much more.

2. Bandanas

Bandanas are lightweight and can be tied to your pack if you are worried about them taking up space. And there are nearly 100 survival uses for them.

3. Bobby Pins

Bobby pins aren’t just for old ladies. A small package can be stashed in your bag without taking up much space. Use the pins to keep your hair out of your face or as tiny pry sticks that could be used to scrape bark for tinder.

4. Bottled Water

Keeping a bottle of water in your bug out bag is crucial, but once it is empty, that bottle will serve a multitude of purposes. Don’t toss it out!

5. Carabiners

I use these to hook items to my bug out bag, but they’re also great for building shelter, hanging a clothesline, tenderizing meat, keeping ropes/cords together, and so forth.

6. Chap Stick

Chapstick is a luxury that can mean the difference between dry, cracked, painful lips or healthy lips. But it can also be used for miscellaneous things like starting fires and making candles.

7. Clothes Pins

Obviously, these are great for drying clothes, but you can also use them to organize small items, label cords, fix glasses, make tinder, clip bags closed, and more.

8. Coffee Filters

These are surprisingly useful. You can use them to pre-filter water, start a fire, make a bandage, and organize small items like seeds, berries, nails, screws, tinder, and more.

9. Condoms

Condoms aren’t just for their intended purpose. There are many surprising uses for them that make them worth packing in your bag.

10. Cotton Swabs

Some cotton swabs, better known as Q-tips, can be used to clean a small cut, cut off to use as tinder, or used to clean a gun barrel.

11. Duct Tape

Duct tape has long been a favorite of preppers. Buy a roll and keep it in your pack. You can stuff gear into the center of the hole if you are worried about losing any space. There are literally hundreds of uses for duct tape.

12. Empty Pill Bottles

Empty pill bottles are an excellent vessel to store Vaseline soaked cotton balls, dried moss, or even matches. Once you’ve used up what’s inside, you can save the bottle and use it for a variety of other purposes.

13. Floss

While oral health is important, there are many uses for floss besides keeping your teeth and gums in good shape. Building shelter, mending clothes, setting traps, and even stitching wounds.

14. Folding Shovel

A folding shovel isn’t exactly small, but it does fold down to about 6 inches. A shovel with a serrated edge is perfect for cutting large branches. Use it to dig a hole for a fire pit or a hole for taking care of bathroom business.

15. Glow Sticks

Glow sticks are cheap, but they are very useful. If you have kids in your bug out party, have each kid wear a glow stick so you can keep track of them. The larger sticks can be used to light up a camp or illuminate the inside of your shelter.

16. Hatchet

A hatchet is even more versatile than a knife. It can be used for splitting or chopping wood, chopping ice, digging, cutting, or self-defense. Some hatchets even come with a hammer installed on the opposite side of the blade, which can become invaluable for shelter building (especially if you bring nails too).

17. Knife

A knife is a standard piece of equipment in any survival situation. Make sure you have one tucked away that is full-tang and durable enough to serve multiple purposes. The knife should have a handle that gives you a good grip and not one that will easily slide out of your hand. Little multipurpose knives are not going to cut it.

18. Mylar Blankets

Mylar survival blankets are about the size of a wallet, but once you open them up, you are looking at a lot of possibilities. Always carry at least two. They are flimsy, and reusing them is not always easy.

19. Pantyhose

Old pantyhose or even a new cheap pair is a great way to keep small gear organized. The pantyhose can be used as cordage or part of a filtering system after you’ve collected water.

20. Paper Clips

Paper clips are tiny and weigh almost nothing, but they’re very useful in a survival situation. Keep some stashed away in one of the pockets of your bug out bag.

21. Paracord

Paracord is another staple of any bug out bag. You can wear a paracord bracelet, belt, lanyard, or carry a length in your pack. Paracord has numerous uses that could save your life.

22. Plastic Bags

Tuck some of these into your bug out bag to use for keeping gear dry, wrapping over your shoes to keep your feet dry, collecting water via transpiration, and so forth.

23. Ponchos

Keep at least one poncho in your bug out bag. Ponchos obviously keep you dry, but they can be used for a variety of other purposes as well.

24. Safety Pins

Safety pins are great for hanging items from your pack, off your jacket, or keeping a tent door closed. Keep several of varying sizes in your pack.

25. Shoelaces

Shoelaces are easy to get your hands on. Put a pair in your pack to replace broken strings on your boots, to use as a belt, or to use as a sling.

26. Soda Cans

Because soda cans are made from aluminum, you can use them to make a mini stove, fishing hooks and lures, an emergency whistle, a signaling mirror, a mini shovel, a candle holder, and more.

27. Socks

You should have extra socks in your bug out bag anyway, but you should know that socks can also be used to pre-filter water, make a dust mask, organize small items, tie things together, or even make a weapon by filling one with rocks.

28. Super Glue

A couple of tubes of super glue is going to be very helpful. You can use it to close a cut on your skin or repair a flapping shoe sole.

29. Tampons

Tampons are probably already a part of any woman’s bag, but they can be used for a number of other things as well. A bloody nose can easily be stopped with a tampon or you can shred the cotton material and use them as tinder.

30. Tarp

Tarps are a little bulky, but you can roll one up and attach it to the bottom or top of your pack. They are great for throwing up a shelter, making a stretcher, carrying supplies, etc.

31. Trash Bags

Large kitchen trash bags can be transformed into a comfy mattress or used to clean up your campsite. Cleanliness will be doubly important during a major disaster.

32. Zip Ties

Zip ties can be picked up at the dollar store, but they are truly invaluable. Using zip ties to repair your gear or hold bandages in place are just some of the uses.

33. Ziploc Bags

Ziploc sandwich bags are perfect for keeping your gear dry and organized, gathering wild edibles, collecting water, and more.

Final Thoughts

Think carefully about what you put in your bug out bag and don’t waste any space whatsoever. Choose items that can be used in many different ways. You’ll be glad you did.

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Up Next:

  • 20 Survival Uses For Paper Clips
  • 25 Survival Uses for Clothes Pins
  • Top 100 Survival Items You FORGOT to Put in Your Bug Out Bag
  • 8 Survival Hacks Using Safety Pins
  • 25 Survival Uses for Coconut Oil

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Comments

  1. Susan H. says

    January 24, 2020 at 10:14 am

    On the subject of panty hose, buy all you can! You can wear them in the summer to keep chiggers, ticks etc., off your legs while hiking. The knee high ones can be cut to put your fingers thru to protect your arms from mosquitoes while hiking or sleeping. You can wear them during the winter for an extra layer if warmth.

    Reply
    • Paul Cochrell says

      June 7, 2020 at 1:10 pm

      And don’t forget as a sock liner to help from getting blisters on a long hike. Thanks for the tips, I never thought of those uses.

      Reply
      • Darlene says

        September 1, 2020 at 5:18 pm

        when you start to feel a ‘hot spot’ just before a blister forms, put a piece of duct tape on it. I heard this and have tried it – works wonders!

        Reply
  2. gcaverly says

    January 21, 2020 at 9:21 am

    For duct tape buy duct tape max for its strength. Also keep adding to the above list and don’t wait for the end of days or when things get bad. For goodness sake’s start using it now and integrate it into your daily life. It will cut down on your costs, boost your income by default and make you more independent and not just a consumer to have someone else’s hands in your pockets. Remember duct tape is the universal power tool so put it’s power to use in every way every day. Macgyver will love your for it. Thank you and urbansurvivalsite.com keep up the good work.

    Reply
  3. dz says

    January 20, 2020 at 1:25 am

    I see a lot of articles and blogs about bug-out-bags and what to carry, but I never see any mention of pack frames or pack “boards”. If you have to carry a heavy backpack for several hours, especially over rugged ground, then a pack frame will significantly improve your load carrying ability and reduce the fatigue and soreness.

    Reply
  4. January 19, 2020 at 10:21 am

    I keep an E-Tool in both of our vehicles, but only a small trowel in my BOB. I do keep a lot of small items in pill bottles, and wrap both Duct and Electrical tape around the pill bottles to conserve space. I also keep a couple of packets of hot cocoa mix or apple cider mix in each bag, along with some packets of Instant Oatmeal and Cup O Soup. Survival Bars will keep you alive, but a hot beverage and a bowl of oatmeal or soup does wonders for your morale.

    For the Grandkids (kids), a small light toy and a deck of cards can help with passing the time.

    Flashlights and Candles, as you can never have too many. Aside from some very expensive tactical lights and small lanterns, I buy the $1.00 LED lights from Walmart. They come with batteries for that same $1.00, and have a seal to help them from storage discharge.

    A Headlamp is a big necessity in a BOB. Very useful and keeps your hands free. There’s Walmart $1.00 versions, but I keep a Streamlight in both of our bags.

    In practice, I’ve set up three different bags for EDC and BOB’s. Level I is kept in both vehicles, and contains the items that might be needed in a 24-48 hour period to get home from anywhere in the county.

    Level II extends the range/time of the bags out to 72 -120 hours. It incorporates Level I into it.
    Level III extends out to a 200 mile from home distance (about the maximum distance we’re ever from home, and incorporates both Levels I & II into its supplies.

    Doing it in levels seemed to me the best way of not duplicating items that weren’t essential to each level. One Sewing kit, one poncho rather than three and so on.

    Reply
  5. January 19, 2020 at 9:48 am

    I agree, the “Commando Saws” are practically worthless for cutting wood . A well made Folding Pruning Saw is far superior. Those like the Swedish Bahco with composite handles are light, and their Sandvik Steel is superior. They can be used to help butcher game too. I keep one of the wire saws in my bag, but in our yearly practice runs, use my folding saw almost exclusively. The wire saw is still sealed in its plastic bag

    Reply
  6. Matrix says

    March 4, 2019 at 11:55 pm

    Saying stuff can be used for other purposes isn’t terribly useful unless you specify what those uses are.

    Reply
    • March 5, 2019 at 7:01 am

      For each list item, there is a link where you can go find out all the specific uses.

      Reply
  7. Tamur says

    March 3, 2019 at 10:35 am

    Maybe I missed something, but why there is no fire making tools, lighter, matches, ferro rod?… I believe, these are quite necessary.

    Reply
    • March 4, 2019 at 6:42 am

      I agree, but this isn’t a comprehensive list of bug out bag items. It’s a list of multipurpose items worth considering.

      Reply
  8. Sandi says

    September 10, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    Marshmallows or doritos. Not only do they make a great snack by the fire but they make great tinder as well.

    Reply
  9. Riahsdad says

    August 12, 2017 at 6:59 pm

    Wrap duct tape around old gift/credit/membership cards. Saves space and you can get quite a bit in the same space as a Mylar blanket.

    Reply
  10. Hugh Montgomery says

    May 25, 2017 at 6:14 pm

    Keep the folding shovel (E tool). It will dig faster, cut branches and split wood. If you are in a group
    the digging chores can be shared as well as the cover chores after each use, (Latrine)
    If you are a reasonable person it can be used as a pry bar.
    AND…if it really hits the fan, an E tool is a great close in weapon.

    Reply
  11. Neil says

    May 25, 2017 at 4:06 pm

    Item 27 (Folding Shovel) was something I carried in my Bug out Bag for a while …. but on numerous practice trips I found this was the one item I never really utilised and because it is one of the heavier items I ditched it in favour of a cheap (but tough) plastic hand trowel from Tesco … it is amazingly lightweight and can dig great little holes (toilets etc) quickly.

    Reply
    • dz says

      January 14, 2020 at 1:04 pm

      Item 27: I have folding shovels (sturdy but heavy) in every vehicle, but for a bugout bag that I will have to carry while traveling on foot for any extended distance I prefer a smaller and lighter gardening type trowel/shovel and a small folding pruning saw which is very lightweight, compact, and is much more durable and useful than the “wire saws” that break fairly easily, especially on hardwood (I’ve broken two, and will NOT buy a third). Check the garden and camping sections when shopping – think usefulness, weight, and space it takes up before you buy.

      Reply
      • January 19, 2020 at 9:10 am

        I agree, the “Commando Saws” are practically worthless for cutting wood . A well made Folding Pruning Saw is far superior. Those like the Swedish Bahco with composite handles are light, and their Sandvik Steel is superior. They can be used to help butcher game too. I keep one of the wire saws in my bag, but in our yearly practice runs, use my folding saw almost exclusively. The wire saw is still sealed in its plastic bag

        Reply

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