I think to some extent, the grabbing of the BOB to flee is a decision to protect that which is most valueable, your life.

When you flee, the best thing to have to protect what may be destroyed, stolen or otherwise lost is insurance.

After I consider what I can insure, one fo the things I next want are things I simply cannot replace, those with sentimental value. For me, some of those thigns are photographs of the ones I care about, and I think that it is very possible to use modern technology and have digital copies created, so you can distribute some to friends and family outside of your area and also pop some onto a memory card.


If you want to hide items for a possible return, then I think the best hiding places are those you create. A good shovel may help if you have a yard. Some 5-gallon plastic containers buried in your yard could hold almost as some BOBs. Bury a few, and you have a lot more saved. Bury bigger containers, like a 55 gal. drum, and you have lots of stuff stored.

Some things can be hidden too in plain sight because people may not know of their uses. Amaranth is a seed that is like, if not, a grain. It's a big ornamental flower, that you can shake seeds from and eat the seeds. Since many will not know you can eat amaranth and some who do won't know what it looks like, you might be able to hide some food in plain sight.

I think that when you think of returning to something after a disastrous event, you are in all likelihood going to be trying to put pieces of a life back together, if it got so bad that people were looking to steal your survival supplies. After Katrina, some of the first things people took were in large part luxuries. But, if you imagine walking back in after a Hurricane, the tools and things to rebuild a life might be those which are most important. So, you may want things like a whole bunch of nails, so you can repair your home. If you think about possible situations that may affect you, then I think your decisions about gear and supplies you hide to leave behind or use if you bug in may change.