I've been reading things referencing BOB bags.

1. What does "bug Out" stand for?
2. I know what it is. It appears to be a bag ready to go if something happens.
3. I would like to see pictures or a detailed listing of what a bag like this should contain. Specifically for urban life.

3 power outages across U.S in major cities. I know I need to be prepared.

BOB has many meanings. Among them, "Bail/Bug Out Bag".

Now, as for what BOB's mission is, that varies widely, and we've had long debate/discussion on that. The mission I define is: get out of Dodge, and self sufficent (including water) for X number of hours. The number of hours is based on your estimate of how long you think it will take you to get to where you are going, becuase in my humble (?) opinion, the first thing you need to do when developing a bug out plan is know where you are bugging towards so you can dig in once you are there. (The first decision is when to bug out vs dig in in place, with the zeroth decision being to actually make up a plan.)

That could be 72 hours, that could be 120 hours, going up. My kind of BOB isn't terribly long term, becuase my self sufficency includes water, unless he's a big, heavy bruiser with half or more the mass being water. But he is designed with you heading for your destination on FOOT. Don't count on your car/motorcycle/horse, to many bad things can happen there. Every 4-5 miles you make in a car is an hour of free time credited to BOB, but if you decide to bug out at work, leave, dash home, grab BOB and find your chariot has been stolen/lit on fire/spat a cylinder head through the hood, you are still good to go. Just at a slower pace.

That's why my BOB always has a side kick, the walking stick.

As for what goes in, what do you think you'd need to last X-number of hours? Change of clothes, couple changes of socks, food, rain gear, shelter material, water, first aid kit, and the basics of a survival kit. That type of thing varies from person to person, depending on their location/climate, anticipated reasons for bugging out, thier preferences, skill level, and budget.

Now, I like to layer BOB. BOB carries a lot of stuff, including what I call a ditch kit which is either worn seperately or on BOB. That is becuase there might be a scenario where you have to dump BOB. The ditch kit is the ONE thing you take off your buddy if you have to leave him behind, and you have to be able to execute BOB and tear the ditch kit out/off his carcass in under 60 seconds (an arbitrary limit). With the ditch kit, you would have some water, some food, rudimentary shelter, a basic FAK, all the stuff that makes up a light weight survival kit. Plus your ID, data back ups (CD full of scanned paper work like insurance policies), perosnal meds and the universal lubricant (money).

Of course, you already have the basics in your PSK, which is in your pocket, and your belt order in case you have to dump the ditch kit. And in a very worse case, and you've literally lost your pants, you've at least got the contents of your brain.

BTW, if you have a number of similar packs, be able to ID BOB from his siblings at a glance. Don't trust storing them apart. That could be he has the green paracord wrapped around his frame, not the black, or he has red zipper pulls, or any of a number of ideas. But if you have BOB embroidered on him, don't be suprised if people think you are him.

Here is a list for bug out bag I put together. Feel free to start there.
And a more "official" guide on assembling a disaster supplies kit

basicaly a bug out bag is a evacuation bag. You can make it as complicated or as simple as you want. Just make something you feel comfortabel with a fits your needs.

Don't have a detail list of mine BOB or detailed pictures anymore, but i have some pictures somewhere.... These are not the latest version i got. Mine kit contains much much more than pictured below.




picture hosted my imageshack

"Bug Out" means "Grab your stuff and leave. Quickly."

Examples:

You hear the air raid siren - you bug out to the shelter.
You see a mushroom cloud on the horizon - you bug out to your hidey hole.

The bug out bag is a bag with the stuff you've gathered that you've decided you need as a minimum for survival in a scenario where that bag is ALL YOU HAVE besides what's on your back and in your pockets.

Read through the threads here and you'll find a wealth of information about what kinds of things could be in the BOB. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

A BOB's contents are dependent on the situations you are likely to encounter in an emergency. Climate, location and type of emergency are all relevant. I see a lot of folks say Bug-Out Bag and then go on to describe their 72 hour kit. If you really think it through the two kits aren't the same. My 72 hour kit is really more like a 96 hour kit for two people and it stays in the back of my truck, no way could I carry it. As part of the larger kit, I have a bag set up for survival camping and another smaller bag for walking. The walking bag is empty until I decide what I need from the 96-hour kit to get to where I need to go on foot -- this is plan "last". I would prefer to stay with the truck, but if need be I can park it and go for a walk.

In the plans I've seen, one thing that a lot of folks forget is that when a massive power failure (hurricane, earthquake) happens a lot of vendors can't take credit cards, so have some cash in your BOB -- how much is up to you, but have enough in small bills to pay for stuff like food & water while you're walking to wherever you need to be. BTW, where are you going?

Essential to any bug-out plan is a bug-out location/goal. How much you need to carry is dependent on how far you need to walk. The farther you need to walk, the more you need to carry and the more you carry, the shorter distance you can walk. You really need to think this through.

My plan is to Bug-In if at home. I have all the supplies of my home (food, water, shelter) and the 96-hour kit in my truck. It would take a wildfire jumping the fence to force me to bug-out from home and in that scenario, I'll have a few days to decide what will go with me and to prepare the truck for a long drive. I'm evacuating in my truck with lots of stuff, not bugging out on foot.

BTW, Wikipedia's Bug-out_bag page has some info and there are some useful links at the bottom.

Many also include things they'll need later; credit cards, insurance information, perscriptions, etc

All that goes in my ditch kit, not BOB, but that has to do with the theory of layering the kits.

Where did you find that neat little tin/pan for your kit?

The PSK tin if you will...

Rusty,

I've got several - they're not waterproof, but otherwise, they're great.

Here's a link.

http://www.moosineer.com/MooseMain.asp?Option=Detail&ID=Mess+Tins

Steve