Bugin-out is basically leaving your area if it gets dangerous or for any reason… My Bug-out Bag is intended for leaving the densely populated urban city… I try and pack enough food to last a few days sparingly and enough water to last about 3 days [72hrs]. I don’t need a lot because I have all the tools and equipment to find wild food, hunt for small game, find water and purify or sterilize it…

For me it goes back to the old Chinese Proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” If you have all the tools and knowledge… you can find and create anything you will need along your journey… If you only pack food and water… you’re days might be numbered by how many days of food you have… I don’t put everything in there but here are some ideas to help you with yours… If you have a cool tool or idea please share in the comments if you want.

• Rice [2-4 cups will last a while and make 4-8 cups cooked… storing in a dry plastic water bottles is perfect]
• Dried potato packets [light weight and you just need some water to rehydrate it]
• Jerky [can add it to rice, potatoes, or noodles]
• Salami [can add it to rice, potatoes, or noodles]
• Pack of bouillon cubes [great for making broth to drink or for soups made with wild edibles and small game]
• Energy bars [power bars, lara bars, get the denser ones]
• Cans of food [canned chicken tastes the best, tuna fish, spam, stews have a lot of calories and protein]
• Tea bags [black, green, chamomile, chai]
• Instant coffee packets [starbucks via instant coffee is great]
• Vitamin C packets [emergen-c, airborne, vitamins]
• Small ziplock bag of salt and other spices… Garlic salt or pepper is great
• Yeast packets [for making beer, wine, vinegar, ethanol, bread]
• Seeds [beans, corn, pumpkin, squash, cucumber, lettuce, carrot, beet, peas, tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic ]

• 2-3 Nalgene bottles full of water [my favorite water storage… very durable… The new Nalgene foldable canteens are a great space saver also]
• MSR MiniWorks EX [to purify water straight into your nalgene bottles]
• Water purification tablets [you can dose water with household bleach – 4 drops bleach/1 quart (32oz) or 16 drops bleach/1 gallon of water]
• Fold-able/Collapsible water jug (2-5 gal) [great to have folded up in a pack if water is far away you can carry a lot back to camp]

• Small tent [1-2 person very small, light weight, just to keep you protected from the weather and creepy crawlies]
• Small Sleeping Bag or Blanket
• Roll of Plastic Tarp [painters drop cloth]
• Nobendium tent stakes [light weight for anything from tie downs to making spears]

• Hatchet or Axe [gransfors bruks]
• Wyoming saw [light weight aluminum and it comes with wood blade and bone blade]
• Fixed blade hunting knifes [Buck hoodlum, Buck 119, and the Buck 192 are my favorites for a good all around knife]
• Leatherman or multi tool [I prefer the leatherman wave… most ergonomic and comfortable]
• 200 ft Parachute 550 cord [Holds 550lbs. & has 5-7 inner strands around the nylon shell for fishing/sewing]
• Carabiners [Great for the outside of our pack to carry water bottles and other easy access items]
• Duct tape… Not a full roll… It’s heavy [I like the gorilla tape… great for everything…]
• Headlamp [great for seeing and working in the dark hands-free]
• Needles and upholstery thread [For sewing holes, buttons, making clothing and can be used for sutures]
• Nylon Wire Ties [for anything]
• Work Gloves [save your skin and wear work gloves when needed… you’ll thank yourself later… Even a small blister or splinter could easily get infected and cause other problems for you… Maybe loss of a limb or even death if not cared for right away and kept clean.]

• Compass w/ mirror [normal compass with a mirrored lid is helpful for signaling]
• Local maps [from any gas station to show your state or area would be helpful to have in case you need to travel… Might not have google maps available.]
• Small Write-In-The-Rain or moleskin note pad w/ pen [I like the really small note pads for taking notes, area maps, inventory, etc]
• Small long range walkie-talkies
• Am/Fm radio with crank & solar usb charger [used to charge cell phones, ipods, batteries]

• Flint / magnesium [when all else fails]
• Small bic lighters [from the gas station not from the grocery store line… large packs are defective and don’t last]
• Candles [medium sized stick candles are best and burn long and take up less room]
• White floating fuel tablets [these are great for starting fire and can be floated in cup of water for light]

• Small book on edible berries, nuts, plants, mushrooms, etc [you can make your own or buy one… I found some laminated pamphlets online that are very small and helpful]
• Coffee pot [for boiling and sterilizing any water you may find that might be contaminated]
• Metal mess kit
• Dish soap [bars from the hotels are great size or put some dish soap in a sealed bottle… small amount goes a long way]
• Tin foil [cooking, signaling, fishing, just take a few yards off the roll and fold it up nice so it fits in the mess kit]
• Steel cup with handle [great for boiling water fast or making tea]
• Mesh bags [for washing clothes/pots or hanging food from bears etc.]

• Pair rubber gloves [for protection or for water storage]
• Small scissors
• Quick clot [for large wounds… better to have the powder but the clot pads work ok too]
• Neosporin [for cuts to stop infection]
• Bottle aspirin/tylenol [for pain and to stop inflammation]
• Medication you may need [pain pills, antibiotics, inhalers, antihistamine, etc]
• Tweezers [for removing splinters, or removing anything hard to get with just fingers]
• Snake bite kit[the yellow rubber ones seem to be the most compact and the most durable]
• Cloth finger/knuckle bandages [you’ll always nick a finger or knuckle and this way it stays clean and protected]
• Butterfly bandages [good fast solution for cuts that need to be stitched up later on]
• Gauze [for wounds and other medical uses]
• Safety pins [for securing bandages and anything else you can think of]
• Roll tape [for bandages and other uses]
• Sutures [emergency only for large cuts and wounds if you dont have access to medical facilities]
• Krazy glue [to seal small cuts from dirt and bacteria as well as fixing small items]
• Small gold bond powder [for athletes foot or chafing]

• Cargo pants or Carhartt Double Fronts [good pockets and good movement]
• Leather belt [you may lose weight fast so punch extra holes]
• Cotton under shirt [to wick off sweat and for extra layers… can be used for bandages and towels]
• Cotton t-shirt [to add layers]
• Hooded sweatshirt [for warmth and to keep the elements out]
• Hooded shell jacket [great for rain or snow protection… very light weight can be worn at all times]
• Cotton socks under wool socks [cotton under wool keeps the sweat off your feet and keeps them dry]
• Boots [for hiking and better support… i recommend Sorels in cold weather]
• Flip flops or sandals [to wear while the boots are drying out and to dry out your feet from being in boots all day]
• Pairs of military wool glove liners [warm and light weight… even when damp wool insulates very well]
• Pocket rain poncho [can be used to keep you dry, use as a tarp or even to make a solar still]
• Beanie/hat [to keep warm or to keep the sun off]
• Shemagh/scarf [great for cold weather and even better for hot weather to wrap your head to wick the moisture and keep it from escaping]

• Pistol
• Rifle/Shotgun/Assault Rifle
• Fishing line and hooks [spool of line, hooks, fly’s, and some sinkers]
• Rat Traps [to keep them away from you at night and a nice meal in the morning maybe?]

 

• Sunglasses [good for all around protection and sun/snow blindness]
• Deck of playing cards [to pass the time… always good to have a game or two]
• Nail clippers [keep nails manicured… hangnails and ingrown toenails are painful… good to clip away dead skin too]
• Ear plugs [for loud noises… in extreme cases to protect ears from near by blasts, gun shots, or sirens]
• Sunscreen [50spf small tube for your face]
• USB car charger [you may not have power but could be able to find a car to charge personal items or batteries]
• Bug spray [high deet to keep bugs away]
• Mosquito head net [small net takes up no room in a pack and keeps bugs off your face or you can use it on food]
• Disposable camera: regular/underwater [might want to take photos of the journey and anything you encounter]
• Packets of laundry detergent [small powder packet will be great for a couple hand washes]