I tend to have a KISS (Keep it Simple Survival) philosophy. I don’t attempt to prepare for every possible outcome or disaster. Unless preparedness is your hobby and you have significant discretionary income, trying to cover all bases is an inefficient investment of time, energy and money.

I look to the 90% and that is good enough for me. The simple truth is most of us on this newsgroup will die of heart-attacks, strokes, cancer, car crashes, or just plain old age. All these fancy kits will be of little use here. Avoiding death or severe injury from man made disasters or Mother Nature’s fury with the contents of our survival bags is a little like winning the lottery. You are still more likely to get run down by a car while you are on a crosswalk, than to repel down a burning building with contents from your bat-utility-belt. And just forget about taking flying lessons on the slim chance that you may someday be on a flight where terrorists have taken over the plane and killed the pilot. You somehow use the fishing kit, mirror, and duct tape in your EDC as weapons to subdue the terrorists, then safely land the plane and its passengers. OK that is a bit extreme, but I am trying to make a point.

That said, I live in earthquake/volcano country and prepare accordingly. I don’t really have a BOB per se. I have plenty of items around the house that can be grabbed on short notice and tossed into my LandCruiser wagon. My camping kits are all modular and stored together (All the kitchen items are in one Rubbermaid container, all the camping hardware in another, the tents and bags all together). If I need camping gear, I grab it and toss in what I need. I have a well stocked pantry. Grab another Rubbermaid tote and fill it with food, etc. All my important documents and back-up files from my PC are in one storage container in a safe. You get the picture. If all else fails, I run to my truck and use the basic kit I have stashed there as a start. Not perfect, but better than nothing.

In a rush you don’t want to forget anything important. The trick is to have a bug out checklist (BOC). If the dung hits the fan, grab the list, grab a duffle and start stuffing. While much slower than having a BOB, it is much more efficient than just running around in a daze grabbing anything in sight and leaving critical items behind. My plans are really geared to stay in place and ride out disasters. If this cannot be done, I can have a complete set of luxury bug-out gear put together inside 10 minutes.

There are many in this group that I consider KSS (Kitchen Sink Survivalist). I bid them no ill will. If they enjoy the preparedness hobby or need extensive preparations for peace of mind then they are doing the right thing as well. There is no “ones size fits all” solution here.

My advice: Be honest with yourself. What are the most likely to occur disasters in your area, that you can significantly improve your chances with some basic preparedness? How much time and money are you willing to spend getting ready? Follow through and make whatever preparations you feel are prudent. Then, enjoy life knowing you are 100x better prepared than your foolish neighbors.

Even the most basic BOB, your wits, skill, health, knife and flashlight, puts you miles ahead of the average joe on the street.

Best wishes to all,

TR