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Putting Together a Bug Out Bag (72 Hour Kit, aka the BOB) Presented by Jack Spirko
Putting Together a Bug Out Bag (72 Hour Kit, aka
the BOB)
Presented by Jack Spirko
Modern Survivalism
It Is Not This
What It Is, What It Isn’t
It Is More Like This
The Bug Out Bag – What Is It
The Bug Out Bag is also known as
the 72 Hour Kit. It is designed to
support an individual for a minimum
period of 3 days as far as basic
comfort, sanitation and consumption
needs.
The Bug Out Bag – What It Is Not
The Bug Out Bag is NOT a
combat pack designed to
support you for an indefinite
period of time while you fight a
Red Dawn style war.
It also can NOT provide you
with everything you want or the
ability to live like you are still in
your air-conditioned living room,
drinking a cold beer and playing
Nintendo Wii.
Nor do I consider it a
“wilderness survival kit”.
The Bug Out Bag – Why You Need One
Put simply you need a bug out bag because some times things
simply do not go the way we have them planned.
Some Reasons You Might Have to Bug Out
If you have seen it once you will probably see it again.
• Forest Fires
• Earthquakes
• Hurricanes
• Riots
• Ice Storms
• Pandemic
• Tsunamis
• Flooding
• Nuclear Accidents
• Hazardous Material Release
• Volcanic Activity
• Terrorist Activity
• Landslides
• Long Term Black Outs
Please Understand – If you are given an evacuation order and
ignore it you are considered “own your own” by authorities.
The Bug Out Bag – What Makes a Good Bag
• Rugged
• Modular (nice to have)
• Hands Free Carry
• Able to Lash Items to It
• Does Not Exceed Carrying Capacity
The Core
• Built on Dave Canterbury's 5 C’s of Survivability
• Cutting Tool
• Cordage
• Combustion – (sure fire)
• Container – (must be steel)
• Cover
The Basics• Clothing (for 3 days, not like a vacation!)
• Food
• Water (ability to purify water, you can’t carry enough)
• Wet Weather Clothing (can save your life)
• Duct Tape (if you can’t fix it with duct tape you can’t fix it in the field)
• A Good Flash Light And Batteries
• Radio – (solar/crank is fine but it better take batteries too)
• Sanitation Kit and a FAK – First Aid Kit, Medicines, Etc.
• Wool Blanket
• Bags – 2-4 Contractor Bags and 4 Zip Lock Gallon Bags
• Self Defense - At least one “non lethal option”
• Maps
Specific Items and Recommendations
• Food – Pack anything you like that stores well and is
easy to prepare but Mountain House, etc. is hard to
beat.
• Water – Filters are great but boiling is the only guarantee
and you only have to boil water for ZERO seconds.
• Also carry as much water as you can, you can’t be
guaranteed to find a source to purify.
The Core – Cutting Tool (Tools)
Your Knife is Your Life! I carry
three cutting tools at all times
as part of my EDC. In My
BOB I include an additional
knife, a machete and a
hatchet. A cutting tool is the
most complicated tool to
improvise, it can build any
other thing you need, there is
no such thing as too much
cutting redundancy.
The Core – Combustion Device
Fire is your friend, it can cook
food, it can keep your warm, it
can signal for help, it can
increase moral, it can be used
to make tools. In ancient
history a fire maker was a
prominent member of any
society. Fire is “energy” and is
something you do not want to
be without, ever.
Next to a cutting tool cordage is
the most difficult item to improvise
especially in quantity. With a
cutting tool and cordage you can
make shelter, set traps, catch fish,
make nets, make just about
anything. You can carry 100 feet
of cordage with almost no weight.
Tarred line beats parachute cord 6
ways from Sunday.
The Core – Cordage
While urban, suburban and even
rural areas are almost always
littered with containers it is
something to important to go
without. Entire civilazations have
been built around containers, they
are that important. You must be
able to boil water and cook in at
least one container that you carry.
The Core – Container
With a good cover you can
improvise a tent, stay dry, create a
“warm hole” build a lean-to, use it
as a blanket, use it as a bag to
carry items and about a million
other uses. While a tent is ideal it
may not always be practical. You
can even heat MREs on a good
canvas cover like a GI Shelter
Half. I say go with heavy canvas
as an option.
The Core – Cover
Wet Weather Gear
When it comes to wet weather gear I really like “Frogg Toggs”. They
are light weight, keep you dry, come in any color pattern you can think
of and are affordable. They also won’t make you sweat your brains out.
Flashlight
I prefer a metal body tactical style
light in a compact form factor.
Such as the Coleman Max WRB
Light. I also like Maglite,
Victorinox and many others, buy
what you want just make sure it is
quality, long battery life and
compact
Radio
I own at Grundig FR200 and
LOVE it. It is no longer made
the Eton FR250 (SW) and
FR300 (NOAA) are the
replacements. They will also
charge your cell phone but I
have been less then impressed
by such devices. In this case
though it does “work”.
Radio
The Eton Raptor and Scorpion
are also both good radios but do
not allow the use of replaceable
batteries. I own both but see
them as a redundancy not a
primary radio. Remember there
is nothing wrong with a simple
portable radio.
Non Lethal Self Defense
When you only have a hammer
every problem looks like a nail
and bullets do not have a back
button. I recommend you get a
CCP if possible and carry a gun
but keep at least one non lethal
option on your person in and you
BOB. Pepper Spray is your best
option. Check local laws!
The Nice to Have’s
• Fishing Kit, Snare Wire, Etc.
• Small Tool Kit
• Leatherman or Similar
• Hatchet, Axe, Tomahawk or Machete
• Hammock
• Sleeping Pad
• Sleeping Bag
• Pens, Paper Pads, Etc.
• GPS
• Stove – (wood is great, fuel based stoves have limitations)
• Alcohol (Yes the kind you can drink)
The Most Important Elements
• A positive mindset of I WILL SURVIVE
• Knowledge of the situation
• Proper planning and forethought
• A set of skills that allow you to adapt and over come
• Flexibility
• Constant Situational Awareness
• A Belief that what YOU do matters
