In a previous post, we talked about why you might need a bug out bag. Today, we are going to talk about what is in my bag and why I decided to carry it.

Clothes and ways to keep warm

In the top left of this picture, I have a couple of bags of clothing. I have included a shirt and pair of pants, a set of thermal underwear, and some underthings. It’s not a lot of clothes, but will give me something to change into if the clothes I am wearing when disaster strikes are damaged or wet.

Just below the green bag are a warm hat and gloves. Remember that you can get hypothermia even if the temperature is around 50 degrees (10 degrees Celsius) and conditions are damp. Read more about that here. There is also a bag with a few bandanas in it. I talk about the utility of a bandana in this post.

Next on the table is rain gear. I have some really good rain gear that I use on hikes. What I pack in here is fairly basic, but will get the job done. They are a set of fairly inexpensive pants and jacket. I want to have something that I won’t worry about it getting snagged on rough materials. Below that I have some hand warmers and an emergency blanket.

Last across the top of the picture is a sleeping bag and an small inflatable mattress. In case of a larger disaster, I may need to spend a few night sleeping on a floor somewhere. I’m old enough now that I really appreciate a more comfortable sleep, so being somewhat padded and warm will make a lot of difference in how I do.

Personal Care

I have a small bag that contains some basic hygiene items, including a toothbrush, toothpaste and a partial bar of soap. It also has a small sewing kit, some glasses cleaner and a small screw driver with glasses repair screws in the handle. As I can’t see very well without my glasses, I want to be prepared. I also have a pair of older glasses in my bag. They may not be the most current prescription, but at least I will be able to see something.

I keep about a ten day supply of my prescription medication in the bug out bag as well. This means that I will have it for at least a little while before I need to worry about getting more. Also in that bag is a small piece of paper with phone numbers for my doctor, insurance agent, pharmacy, and our vet. It’s possible that I may not be able to use my saved numbers in my cell phone and I don’t have all of those numbers memorized.

We also have things like toilet paper, nitrile gloves and a few masks in our kit.

Food and water

One of the heavier items you may deal with in an emergency kit is food and water. We have a few small bottles of water in our bags. We also each carry a small water filter and a bag to store water in (blue bag in the middle of the right side). This is a plastic water bag in a nylon carrier. We also have some water purification tablets with us.

For food, we chose to go with a selection of food that doesn’t require much in the way of heating or water to prepare. Energy bars, jerky, a couple of candy bars, and so forth. We do have a small amount of instant coffee and electrolyte tablets to add to our water to give it a bit of flavor and give us a bit of caffeine. We have a few extra plastic bags and a spoon as well.

Power

Each of us have a power bank and cord, as well as a wall plug. We recently discussed taken the second cord out of the bug out bag as it is a duplication.

For the dog

We written about taking a dog camping in several posts. I have a small first aid kit for my dog that a I carry, much like the one I talked about in this post. Next to his first aid kit (in the lower right corner) is a packable bowl. It didn’t work too well for camping, but would work just fine in an emergency.

General emergency stuff

In the bottom center of the picture, you can see some basic items that I carry. I have many of the same items in my essentials bag when camping or hiking. A first aid kit is always a good idea. I have a headlamp and spare batteries. Matches and fire starters (the brown sticks) help make sure I can get a fire going if needed. A pocket knife and duct tape round out the items in my bug out bag.

Future posts will cover refreshing the bag and things we are thinking about doing differently.