Bug Out Bag Advice

[ktulu92fs]

I've been doing my research on BOB's both on this forum and abroad. Have a pretty good idea of what supplies I want to get together. My family consists of me, my wife, my 3yr old, and my 8mo old. Here's my question: Should I put together 1 BIG bag, or do I get 4 individual bags together to make sure we're all 4 covered?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[.45acpguy]

I did individual bags for each member of our family. That way, there is no wondering if they have what they will need if they have to rely on that BOB.

I got everyone together and used my bag as an example of what I had placed into each bag. There was also space for each person to put some of their clothes in and some favorite foods that store well.

[mulle46]

With the age of the kids, I would do 1big bag for you to carry and a small one for the wife as she will probably be carrying the children. As the kids get old enough, you can adjust the bags

[KoriBustard]

I'm not quite sure how to ask this question but here goes. I've been doing some bug out research and thinking about what my plan may be. It's simple enough (so to speak) for my wife and myself. I live in a fairly rural area, but I also think about my two daughters who live about 2 hours away from me in a very densely populated urban area. I've done my planning for here, but anyone else have loved ones that are a bit distant? What is your plan for protecting them and getting them to a safe place? I'm not apocalyptic necessarily but would like to have some plan in place should the worse happen. Any ideas or websites that address this?

[mulle46]

Kori, there are prepper/survivalist forums that would probably have that info. On main page here, there is a link to one

[KoriBustard]

Thanks mulle46, will check them out.

[mulle46]

You're welcome

[QKShooter]

My Wife cannot carry much due to a preexisting neck injury thanks to an intoxicated idiot that ran her off the road.
He actually killed himself in his vehicle shortly thereafter speeding down Ohio River Blvd when he lost control of his vehicle flipped it and sailed over an embankment.
May he rot in Hell.

Anyway - You need to be slightly redundant with the stuff in your individual Bug Out Bags on the chance that you become separated or one of more bags get lost, stolen, etc.

My Wife carries her own clothing. We have finally worked out the lightest possible sleeping system for her.
She also carries a knife, distress whistle (which would help me locate her), Aquamira water filter, fire starter, space blanket, a couple of food bars, lightweight flashlight, etc...etc...
I try to keep all of her stuff as light weight as possible and I hump all of the heavier stuff for me and her.

For a possible Winter Bug Out I bought her a Goose Down filled coverall due to the extremely light weight to warmth ratio. That way she can put that on and will not need to carry a lot of heavy clothing.

Remember that everybody that has an individual Bug Out Bag needs the basics for individual survival.

Some means for Water, Fire, Shelter, Food, Warmth, + a knife.

Obviously your kids are so young that you and your Wife will have to haul everything for yourselves and your kids.

You might want to go with two backpacks for you and your Wife and then a separate bag that you can "hand carry" with all of the stuff for your kids like diapers, baby food, whatever....so that you both will not need to tear through your backpacks constantly digging that stuff out.

Things may get tricky for you both since you may also need to carry both of your kids in the event that your vehicle breaks down or you get stuck in a ditch.

You need to try and think about as many possible scenarios as possible and try to prepare. You can never think of everything but, it shouldn't be for a lack of trying.

There is NO DOUBT that having to children that young complicates things dramatically.

[QKShooter]

Another really important thing that you need to remember when bugging out is that Weight Is Weight and Everything Weighs Something.

SO....since your two very young children are going to require you to carry lots of extra stuff....you really need to save weight on your BOBs themselves. Some of the bags themselves are fairly heavy. So if you can shave 2 or more pounds off of two "Bug Out Bags" then that is two or more pounds of items that you can include for the added comfort of your kids.

Remember that even if you are bugging out in a vehicle - for one (as of yet unknown) reason or another - you may end up having to hike it.

Consider these lightweight B.O.B.s - they are fairly priced for their high quality but, are often sold out.

Backpacks - Packing

[nedrgr21]

Adults focus on stuff that is needed - don't forget stuff like toys/activities for the little ones. It adds weight, but will probably be worth it.

[GetSmith]

I have a 4 y/o daughter and 2 y/o son. In town my wife always drives with a pack to carry my son on her back if she had to make it home.

To bug out with kids is difficult and things have to be done differently. When we go on road trips I always take a stroller for two front/rear. If I'm 100 miles from home and have to walk back with the kids that stroller would make a world of difference. On the top sun cover I would have my mossberg persuader and ruger 10/22. I could load a few hundred "00" buck and a few thousand 22lr with another couple hundred .40 cal for my M&P. The wife and I could then carry food/water/tent/clothes.

Kids are a strong motivation to continue on but do make it more difficult.

[jwhite75]

Have a big bag for you and a smaller one for your wife with room in both to add supplies for your kids. They wont be able to reliably carry any weight.

Get a storage container that can be readily loaded in to your bug out vehicle and secured sitting in your garage or where ever your going to be able to grab it on the run.

Dont carry water in your BOB either Its wet and heavy.It will eventually make your pack so too. Concnetrate on purifcation for the packs and small amount (a case or two) of bottled water in your container that goes in your vehicle.

[varob]

A lot of people make the mistake of over packing. Keep it simple Food, Water, Fire, a good knife, and Shelter. Figure out how to keep that as light as possible and you'll make it.

If someone suggested this to me when my kid was 3mo I would have thought they were crazy, but think about taking a test run. Go camping and give it a test run.

[RightsEroding]

I've been doing my research on BOB's both on this forum and abroad. Have a pretty good idea of what supplies I want to get together. My family consists of me, my wife, my 3yr old, and my 8mo old. Here's my question: Should I put together 1 BIG bag, or do I get 4 individual bags together to make sure we're all 4 covered?

This is a very, very difficult question considering your scenario.

There are so many books on this subject; yet in the final analysis it is YOU that needs to make a decision based on multiple possible scenarios.

For every reason to do what seems logical, there are an equal number of reasons not to do it.

When I began to construct plans to bug out (survival) a few years ago, it became very clear to me how difficult this chore was as my list grew and grew to the point where much of it was not only impractical, but just plain stupid.

My suggestions for you is to have more than one plan and keep it flexible.

As the days, months and years move by, threat assessment priorities change. Obviously water, food and shelter remain a top priority.

Although we may indeed have to actually "Bug Out", thinking in terms of a (BAG) or portable carry may not be the right thinking.

(i.e) In my own personal situation, my intent will be to defend the castle for X period of time as continual re-evaluation will dictate future plans.

I would advise in your situation to evaluate the threat prior to a bug out; especially with a infant to consider.
When NASA went to the moon, their planning was incredible! Redundancy....Go/No go decision points etc. Thinking like that will give us all the best chance of survival.

Someone mentioned a camp out to simulate less than ideal conditions. Great idea although I would take that a step further.
While camping is a good idea for shake down, it does not represent how things could become if a emergency persists for more than a month.

(Simulation) If NASA considered it a high priority, so should all of us who desire to survive in the "event of". Anything less and we are just deceiving ourselves.

[pgrass101]

I agree take your bug-out bag camping and use what's in it. You can take a tent but also put up whatever shelter system you have in your BOB to practice and see if it would actually shelter your family. Use the contents of your bag as much as possible (for starting fires, cooking etc....) but have regular camping stuff to make the camping trip more comfortable.