Would would be a good test for a 72 hour/ BOB bag? Obviously using it to sustain yourself for 3 days would be on the list. What about other stuff like the amount of hiking each day.

Zombie Squad has Mock Bug Out Contests in Summer and in Winter. It's usually accomplished by a couple of hours hiking in, setting up camp. And staying 1-3 days. The MBO's are documented with pics and put on their forum for all to see, read, and suffer from intense envy.

Think through your most likely scenario for using it, in your environment and situation, and test it that way. What events would cause you to use it? Where would you go? How would you get there? Can you live out of it with no other support for 72 hours?

If the scenarios you envision require foot movement over a long distance, hike that distance. Do you carry enough water for 72 hours or do you need to purify it? If so, practice that as well.

We rarely discuss actually using emergency gear, but that is an important aspect of preparedness. An emergency is no time to be taking a gadget out of its wrapper and reading the manual. Get familiar with your stuff and with what it can and and can't do. Packs should be adjusted and known to be comfortable,shoes should be broken in, etc. This aligns with the notion that EXPERIENCE is really critical in dealing with problems.

Go out and use your gear, preferably in as realistic a situation as possible....

There are emergencies and then there are EMERGENCIES. We have a couple stoves and oil lamps that are only used during emergencies, short term power outages and the like. Inconvenient, but good short term practice for a real EMERGENCY.

As for testing a 72 hour or BOB, use that kit as intended. Are we talking a 72 hour kit and a BOB as two separate kits or are they one and the same? Assuming they are different kits, use one for 72 hours in a controlled test and with the BOB, go to your Bug-Out destination. If you do not have a Bug-Out destination, why are you bugging out?

My Bug-Out bag is a truck and it contains my 96 hour kit. If I can't drive, I'm likely not bugging out.

Russ,

Correct me if I am wrong, but do earthquakes not happen in socal? I can see several situations where you might have to leave your house and not be able to drive.

Respectfully,

Jerry

For a BOB for rural use, go car camping and day hiking with your setup. If there's a problem, you have the full compliment of gear in the car.

For urban use/shelter in place, turn off the utilities (except power to the refrigerator), and see how well you do. Take long walks with your gear (if viable) to simulate a non-motorized evacuation.

FWIW, I found a YouTube video where the presenter defined an emergency as:
1) Immediate or imminent threat of harm.
2) Limited resources
3) No exit/escape
4) Unplanned

You can rehearse the first three with safety measures close at hand. And, hopefully, by the time number 4 rolls around, you'll know what you're doing.

EDIT: Jerry, even after a big knockdown like Northridge, there are still roads open. You may need an alternate route (preplanned). And, if you have the option, staying put for a couple of hours till traffic clears the chokepoints, makes driving easier.

Jerry -- EQ's happen all the time, but unless you live in a high-rise, bugging out is a remote need. Even if the "big one" hits, why bug-out after the damage is done? Second, if I needed to bug out but couldn't take the truck, where am I going to go on foot that's outside the EQ zone? I've got LA to the north which is usually hit harder and the great desert southwest to the east. Mexico? Nowhere to go. So my plan is to bug-in and set-up camp out back.

Maybe later I'll get a small sail-boat that's capable of blue-water, but that's a dream for now.

BTW, the other issue here is wildfires. For those the drill is pack the truck at first sign the local area may be threatened. Then wait for it to commit to a direction. The wait can be a few days to a week. If needed, I drive out of the threatened area and get a hotel room or just hang out until there's an all clear. Haven't had to leave yet, but the truck always gets packed.

Exactly. It appears we have adopted the same general strategy: EQs-bug in. Wildfires-bug out.

My house is directly in a mapped fault zone and if it should move, the dwelling may well be damaged or destroyed. If that happens, I would set up camp in the yard and get busy with getting back to normal. I have distributed tools, camp gear, etc. in such a manner that critical items should be available somewhere.

For a fire, we have a checklist of critical items - financial records, family photos, computers and the like to be loaded in the vehicles. In response to active fires on the nearby hillside, we have loaded up twice (in twenty years of occupancy), so we have the drill down fairly well. The brush is flourishing, so I expect another fairly soon.

The routine for fires around here is that the Red Cross sets up shelters which are sparsely utilized. Friends, relatives, and lodging establishments soak up the refugees, except for the large animal shelters which do get used.

IMHO, 72 hours is a pretty low, and highly optimistic standard. But if you have the basics for a 72 hour kit, you just need additional food and water to do well for much longer.

I want to thank everyone for their responses. It has given me a lot to think about.