The Bug-Out Bag: 72 Hours on Your Back, Packed by the Problem It Solves

GRAYL Transport EXP, 30 liters

A waterproof roll-top pack with an air release valve so it compresses, a weatherproof front panel for the small things, and an inside that takes a hydration bladder, a laptop and the GeoPress. Thirty liters is enough for everything on this page without the rifle. When the medical kit, the radio and the phone are inside, rain is not a problem. The pack for most people.

Eberlestock Switchblade

A low-profile pack with magnetic side openings that put a concealed pistol in your hand without taking the pack off, loop-lined walls inside for a holster and pouches, dual magazine pouches, a 17 inch laptop sleeve and a MOLLE-10 system that cuts the weight of standard webbing by about 60 percent. 1,785 cubic inches, a ventilated back panel, hydration compatible. It looks like a work bag, which is the point.

Eberlestock Fade Adapt

A daypack with a hidden, expandable scabbard. Collapsed, it takes a 10.5 inch AR with a folding stock adapter, about 21 inches tall with an A2 muzzle; expanded, a rifle up to 27 inches. The scabbard is its own compartment with a quick disconnect retention strap, a structured bottom and side compression, so nothing rattles and the draw is fast. 21.75 by 12.25 by 7.5 inches, 4 pounds 2 ounces, 1,717 cubic inches collapsed and 2,545 expanded. My 9mm carbine rides in it with room for everything else here.

Eberlestock Recon bino harness and handwarmer

A chest rig with a magnetic forward-pull lid that puts binoculars in your hands in one motion and keeps them protected the rest of the time, a 3D mesh harness that breathes, MOLLE wings for a rangefinder or a radio pouch, and tethers so the glass never hits the ground. The handwarmer clips to the bottom of it: a muff with a pocket for chemical warmers and its own waist belt, so hands stay working in the cold. What rides on the chest does not need the pack off to reach.

JaseAid Trauma Kit

A professional Stop the Bleed kit: an ETQ wide tourniquet, an Israeli compression bandage, hemostatic gauze, a Slishman wrap, z-fold gauze, a Hyfin compact chest seal, a 28F nasal airway with lubricant, a thermal blanket, trauma shears, a 5 by 9 abdominal pad, an aluminum eye shield, a burn dressing, a light and a marker, with instructions in the lid. It also carries a Trauma Pill Pack, prescription medication for infection, inflammation, pain and nausea, dispensed through Jase Medical. This is the kit for a deep laceration, a gunshot wound or a chainsaw, the injuries where the first ten minutes decide the outcome.

JaseAid Mini Kit

The everyday companion to the trauma kit: bandages, wound closure strips, antiseptics, topicals, sprain and fracture supplies and basic over-the-counter medication, each in its own labeled section. There is some overlap with the trauma kit on gauze and wipes; the difference is purpose. This one gets opened on a normal trip. The trauma kit gets opened once.

Leukotape P

A rigid, aggressive strapping tape that stays on wet skin for days. Over a hot spot it stops a blister forming; around an ankle it splints a sprain well enough to walk out; over a dressing it holds through a day of work. Far stronger than athletic tape, and one roll covers a year of trips.

Electrolytes, salt, activated charcoal

Three emptied supplement bottles. One of Cardnl zero sugar electrolyte powder and one of Redmond Real Salt, because sweat takes salt as well as water and cramps and a headache are the warning. One of activated charcoal, which binds many swallowed drugs and toxins in the gut if taken within about an hour: call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) first, never give it to someone drowsy, and know it does nothing for acids, alkalis, alcohol, petroleum or metals. For spoiled food, rehydration comes first.

Avon MITR-M1 half mask

A professional half-mask respirator with a soft silicone seal and a side-mounted MITR-PF filter, 99.97 percent particulate efficiency, that keeps your cheek weld clear on a rifle and your vision clear everywhere else. Wildfire smoke, ash, dust from a collapsed building, and on the ordinary day, sanding, brush burning and cleaning the coop. It is a particulate filter only: it does not stop gases, vapors or carbon monoxide. Store filters sealed and cool, rotate them yearly, and once a filter is opened it is in use until it is replaced. My MITR-M1 guide has the field examples.

GeoPress Ti purifier and dining set

A 24 ounce titanium purifier bottle. One press, about 8 seconds, removes viruses, bacteria and protozoa and reduces particulates, chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals from nearly any fresh water. Pull the inner press and cartridge out and the outer cup goes on the stove or beside the coals to boil, which is a second way to make water safe and a cook pot in the same bottle. The bundle adds a titanium bowl, plate and spork that nest with it. Clean water covers what each method handles.

GRAYL titanium stove and 100 g isobutane

A 28 gram titanium canister stove with up to 9,200 BTU and a valve that simmers, folding pot supports that hold the GeoPress cup, and a stuff sack the size of a lighter. It screws onto a 100 gram isobutane and propane canister that works in the cold, boils about a dozen liters per can, and nests inside the cup with the stove. Hot water is coffee, oatmeal, a freeze dried pouch and a sterile rinse; this is the smallest reliable way to make it.

Lighter, ferro rod, stormproof matches, fire plugs

Each one covers the failure of the others. A butane lighter is fast and can freeze or run dry. A ferro rod works wet and lasts thousands of strikes. Stormproof matches are simple when nothing else is. Black Beard fire plugs are the tinder: waterproof, windproof, odorless, each burning up to eight minutes, long enough to dry damp kindling, with a 30 year shelf life in a resealable bag. Matches live in a waterproof tube, the spare lighter in a sealed pouch, and everyone in the house has practiced with all three; fire making techniques is the how.

Tallow and beeswax tin

Two parts beeswax to one part beef tallow, melted low and poured into a small tin. It waterproofs leather, wood and canvas, preserves a tool handle, works as a hand salve and lip balm, and shaved into curls it is a fire starter. The recipe is on this site. Keep the tin in a zip bag.

Toor Mullet S fixed blade

A midsize fixed blade that puts mass into a short footprint: 8.5 inches overall, a 4 inch blade of CPM M4 tool steel at 59 to 61 HRC, 3/16 inch thick with a short swerve grind that reinforces the tip, 7.5 ounces, G10 or ebony scales, a FlexTech Kydex sheath, and a tungsten carbide ball in the pommel that breaks a window. It batons, it carves, it processes game, and it has no hinge to fail. A fixed blade is the one tool in the bag that must not break.

Gerber Dual-Force multitool

Layered blunt-nose pliers with twice the grip of a standard design, two-position slip-joint jaws with big teeth, a 3.25 inch plain blade, a center-axis driver with onboard bits, a saw, wire cutters and a stripper, at 12 ounces on the belt. It fixes the things the knife cannot: a stuck fitting, a fence wire, a screw, a fuel line.

Olight Warrior Ultra 2500

2,500 lumens and 26,000 candela, which reaches about 320 meters, from a light that fits a pocket: a side switch with five modes for the ordinary job and a tail switch for the instant one, a proximity sensor that drops the output before it burns something in a pack, and magnetic charging. The headlamp in the small stuff section is the one for camp chores; this is the one for finding the trail, the tail light or the noise.

ASP Defender LE pepper spray

A professional OC gel, 1.4 percent major capsaicinoids and HPLC tested so every can is the same strength. Gel stays where you aim it and does not blow back in a room or a wind; UV dye marks whoever it hits; the flip-top safety works in gloves and the bag-on-valve sprays at any angle. About fourteen half-second bursts per can, roughly 15 feet of reach. It is the answer to a loose dog, a drunk and most confrontations, and it is legal in far more places than anything else that solves those problems.

8x42 binoculars

Eight power is the most magnification most people can hold steady, and 42 mm objectives gather enough light for dawn and dusk. Fully multi-coated, waterproof, nitrogen purged so they do not fog. They tell you whether the road ahead is open, whether that is a trailhead sign or a fence post, and what is moving on the hillside, all without walking there.

TideWe rangefinder

A 6x laser rangefinder to 700 yards, accurate within a yard, with horizontal and vertical distance for steep ground, a scan mode and a reading in under half a second. 0.35 pounds with a rechargeable battery good for about 20,000 readings. A hunting tool that also answers how far the river is and how far that is.

Kestrel 3500FW fire weather meter

Wind speed, temperature, humidity, pressure and altitude, plus dew point, wet bulb, heat index and wind chill, in an IP67 pocket instrument that meets MIL-STD-810F drop tests. The FW version ships with a waterproof card for working out fine dead fuel moisture and probability of ignition from those readings, which is what wildland crews use to decide whether the grass will carry fire today. Falling pressure means weather is coming; rising wind and dropping humidity mean a fire will run.

Rocky Talkie 5 watt GMRS with whip antenna

Waterproof, shatterproof, 4 to 6 days on a charge in the cold, and the long whip antenna adds real range in open and hilly country. It talks directly to every other GMRS and FRS radio the family owns, and through a repeater across a county. GMRS needs an FCC license: no test, ten years, covers the whole family. How to communicate without cell or internet is the plan that goes with the radio.

Solis Go hotspot and power bank

A hotspot that connects to the strongest available carrier in more than 130 countries with no SIM and no contract, with 1 GB of free data a month for life and day, gigabyte or month plans on top, and an 8,000 mAh battery with built-in USB-A, USB-C and Lightning cables. When your carrier's tower is dead and the one across the valley is not, this is how the phone gets a signal.

Anker 622 magnetic battery

A 5,000 mAh MagSafe power bank half an inch thick with a fold-out stand, a USB-C port for wired charging, and a magnet strong enough to stay on the phone in a pocket. One full phone charge, or the radio and the headlamp several times. The solar panel and the big power bank stay with the outage kit; this is the one that is always along.

JACKET Pro Faraday phone bag

Triple-layer nickel and copper Faraday fabric inside Cordura with a magnetic top closure, about 4.5 by 8 inches, sized for a phone. Inside it, the phone gets no cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS or RFID: no tracking, no remote access, no accidental connection, and the battery stops draining hunting for a tower. It also holds the spare phone and the drives against the rare event that takes out electronics; the Faraday bag guide covers what the bag does and does not do.

Horizon Hound down blanket

A 77 by 50 inch down quilt filled with RDS-certified duck down in a 20D water-resistant ripstop shell, rated comfortable around 32°F, that clips into a poncho and stuffs into its own sack the size of a loaf of bread. With the tarp over it and wool on, it is a night out; in the truck, it is a good night's sleep. A Mylar blanket goes over it, shiny side in, when it is colder than that.

8 by 10 foot tarp

Heavy duty, reinforced grommets, waterproof coating. An A-frame or a lean-to for two with the paracord, a groundsheet, a gear cover in the truck bed, a rain catch, and with two poles an improvised stretcher. Eight by ten is the size that shelters two people and still folds into the bottom of the bag. The taut-line and the trucker's hitch on the knots page are what make it a shelter in five minutes.

Wool hat and socks

Wool holds heat wet, wicks, and does not stink on day three. A beanie that covers the ears stops the heat loss from the head that makes a cold night miserable; medium or heavyweight merino socks keep feet warm, dry and unblistered, and a spare pair in a zip bag is the single best morale item in the bag. Why wool covers the rest of the case.

Leather work gloves

Thick cowhide with a reinforced palm, a Thinsulate lining that warms without bulk, water resistant leather, a gunn cut that lets the fingers work and a knit wrist that keeps the snow out. Firewood, hot pots, wire, rope, a broken window: every job in an evacuation is a hand job, and cold cut hands stop working.

TITAN Survival paracord 550

Rated at 620 pounds, above mil-spec, with three survival strands woven in: 25 pound monofilament fishing line, 30 gauge utility wire, and a paraffin-infused jute strand that lights wet. Tarp lines, a bear hang, a splint tie, a snare, a boot lace, a fire. A hundred feet weighs a few ounces. Synthetic rope is the bigger stuff for the truck.

MODL Infinity ToolKit

Eighteen silicone loops with studs and links, in two lengths and in black, orange and glow green, that connect into straps, lashings, hangers and handles of any length. It replaces the bungees and Velcro that used to rattle around the bag: a saw lashed to the outside, a lantern hung, a bin lid held, a load tied to the rack.

ShamWow cloth

A 20 by 23 inch cloth that holds ten times its weight in water, wrings out, does not mildew in a bag and washes forever. A bath towel, a dish towel, a way to dry a soaked jacket, and laid on wet grass at dawn it collects drinking water.

Toothbrush, toothpaste tablets, flossers

A toothbrush, a small jar of toothpaste tablets (chew, brush, rinse, no tube to burst) and a handful of disposable flossers in a waterproof pouch. Three days without them is uncomfortable; three weeks without them is an infection with no dentist. Body wipes for the rest.

The small stuff

• Ranger bands, cut from inner tube: bundling, strapping a light to a pole, and a fire starter that burns wet.
• Duct tape, 20 feet folded flat: gear, tarp, boot and blister repair.
• Headlamp: hands free for camp, the tent and the first aid kit, with spare batteries.
• Needles and thread: a torn strap or pant leg, and a sterile needle for a splinter.
• Fishing kit: line, hooks and sinkers in a tin; the paracord carries more line.
• Compass: with the county map, the navigation that never needs a battery.
• Carabiners, two or three rated ones: hanging, clipping, rigging.
• Tweezers: splinters, ticks, glass.
• Folding knife: the pocket blade for food and cord, so the fixed blade stays sharp.
• USB cords, car adapter, wall charger: every device in the bag charges from the truck and from any outlet.
• Garbage bags, contractor grade: rain cover, ground sheet, water carrier, waste.
• Folding hand saw: firewood and shelter poles faster and safer than the hatchet.
• Waterproof notebook and pencil: routes, contacts, what you have used.
• Body wipes: a shower with no water.
• Nalgene wide-mouth bottle: a second liter, a hot water bottle in the blanket, and it does not leak.
• Signal mirror and whistle: seen and heard farther than you can shout.

Three days of food that needs no cooking

Sardines in oil for protein and fat. Meat sticks, nitrate-free. Honey packets, which never spoil and dress a wound. Nut butter packets for dense calories in the cold. Dried fruit and nuts. Protein bars. Instant oatmeal for the mornings there is hot water. Electrolyte powder for the heat and for illness. Rotate it every spring, and keep a couple of freeze dried pouches at the bottom for the day it stretches past three; the stove and the purifier are what make that possible. The freeze dried foods page covers the pouches.

$300 in small bills

$20 in ones, $80 in fives and $200 in twenties, sealed in a bag in the bottom of the pack. When the power is out, the ATMs and the card readers are out with it, and the one gas station on a generator sells for cash and cannot make change for a hundred. Fuel, a room, a meal, a ride. It also buys things quietly, without a phone or a card leaving a record of where you were.

9mm PCC and a micro-compact 9mm

A pistol caliber carbine and a concealed pistol in the same cartridge simplifies everything: one ammunition to stock, one to train with, one to resupply. My carbine is the Daniel Defense PCC with a Holosun HS510C red dot and, where legal, a StingerWorx EVO Ti suppressor; it gives a longer sight radius, less recoil and easier hits than a handgun in a package that rides in the Fade Adapt scabbard. My pistol is the Springfield Hellcat 3, a micro-compact with high capacity and an optics-ready slide that carries comfortably every day. The magazines do not interchange: the DD PCC takes CZ Scorpion pattern magazines and the Hellcat its own. Training, secure storage and the law where you are come before any of it; home security and defense and the sling guide cover the rest.