By: Derek Edwards
Witnessing the wide array of events over the past year has highlighted one undeniable fact: the world feels a little crazier now than it has in a long time. Between the pandemic, the uptick in natural disasters, and civil unrest across the population, we feel there should be an increased emphasis on personal responsibility towards disaster preparedness. Simply put, we don’t know what the future holds.
This past year it has been a viral pandemic that has taken the life of nearly 600,000 people, but next year it could be a super earthquake, or the rise of a dormant volcano, or even something that’s not on your radar. So, what does a disaster preparedness plan look like for you and your family? Ultimately it depends on your living situation and the world around you. Your bug out plan wouldn’t be the same in Florida, where the risk of flooding and hurricanes is highest, compared to Montana, where the biggest threat is an eruption from the Yellowstone Caldera.
But when mortal danger is present, regardless of size or makeup, every family’s disaster preparedness plan should have a bug out bag. What goes into your bug out bag is unique to your situation and family, but there are some essentials that every bag should have packed away, as well as some best practices to abide by when putting your bag together. However, if your bag is already packed, you might be asking yourself while you’re doing conditioning or disaster simulations, “why does this feel so heavy?” The answer is because it is too heavy. To help, we’ve compiled some tips below for ways to cut weight in your bug out bag without having to cut out the essentials.
How Much Should Your Bag Weigh?
Before you can start putting together your bug out bag, there are some qualifying questions you should ask yourself so that you can set realistic expectations towards your ability to survive in the face of disaster. For example, how is your fitness level?
If optimizing your fitness and cardio isn’t something you strive for, you probably shouldn’t pack as heavy of a bag, for the simple fact that you’ll struggle to haul a large load on an indefinite hike that spans several days or weeks. If there’s too much weight in your bag, you’ll fatigue quickly and put yourself at increased risk to fall victim to circumstances. However, if you pack too little, you’ll run out of resources quickly and be forced to turn to a lifestyle of scavenging sooner than what might be necessary. If you are confident in your ability to haul and your cardiovascular fitness, a bug out bag could weigh anywhere between 20 and 30 percent of your body weight.
Now if you are a parent, it might sound impossible to pack a sufficient bag that doesn’t exceed 30 percent of your body weight for the whole family, however, if disaster strikes then every member of your group should have their own bug out bag. This is to maximize your resources, while also minimizing the pay haul that falls onto any single person.
When considering the weight of your bag, and what to pack, it’s important to consider the Pareto Principle (also called the law of distribution or the 80/20 rule). The Pareto Principle suggests that 80 percent of the results are yielded from 20 percent of possible scenarios. The best way to apply this towards putting together your bag is that 80 percent of your pack weight should come from the most important 20 percent of your checklist, such as food, water, clothing, and shelter.
So if the average adult male weights nearly 200 pounds, his bug out bag should weigh between 40 and 60 pounds, with 32-48 pounds dedicated towards your most important (or 20 percent) of supplies. The average adult female weights approximately 170 pounds, meaning her bag would weigh between 32-50 pounds. Reasonably, a family of four with two teenage children could haul more than 140 pounds of supplies in an emergency situation, which could be enough supplies to last several weeks without having to resort to scavenging.
So now that you have a firm understanding of how much you can bring with you in an emergency, the next step is establishing what is essential and what is a luxury.
What are the Essentials?
Water is obviously the most essential thing you can account for in a disaster situation. A person can only go two to three days without water before extreme dehydration begins to set in, any longer than that and the results are likely to be fatal.
However, the solution to the need for water in disaster is not to have liters and liters stored away in your pack, because ultimately, water is extremely heavy. One gallon of water weighs more than eight pounds, and that is nearly one-third of your suggested pack weight. Instead, each person should opt to carry a liter or two of water (one liter weights exactly one kilogram or roughly two pounds), and also a water purifier.
If you pack a purifier, everyone in your group should learn the proper steps to find and purify water, either by collecting rain water or plant transpiration, boiling river water, or making a solar still. You should have knowledge of a variety of methods because in a disaster scenario you do not know what natural resources will be available to you.
Once you’ve accounted for water in your pack, the next logical step is to account for food. Conventional wisdom originally led disaster prep enthusiasts to packing dehydrated meals or instant prep meals. However, studies have been conducted that show you’re more likely to yield a higher caloric value per gram out of energy bars or GORP (good ole raisins and peanuts) trail mix. A pound of trail mix yields nearly 3,000 calories (more than a full day’s worth of rations) compared to less than 1,000 calories per pound from dehydrated meals.
It’s safe to pack up to 10 days’ worth of food rations in your pack (you can do less if you need room), and by saving on weight by opting for GORP instead of dehydrated meals, you can also pack any combination of cooking supplies such as an ultralight stove so that you can prep scavenging meals down the road. The stove also ensures that you’ll have a source for fire/heat.
So between food, water, and some accompanying supplies, your bag should only be up to 13-15 pounds, well within the optimal weight considering the importance of what we’ve packed. The next considerations that should be atop your priority list are clothing and shelter. The obvious solution for shelter is to store away a sleeping bag, but unfortunately they are bulky and difficult to stash in your pack. So, disaster preparedness experts suggest that you opt for a hammock and tarp instead of the sleeping bag for a couple of reasons. While most sleeping bags weigh two pounds, a tarp weighs less than half of a single pound.
Your tarp will also provide you the ability to weather-proof your pack in rainy conditions. In an undeveloped area, a tarp will also provide some coverage from the elements while you’re resting from your travels. Additionally, the best reason to opt for a tarp instead of a sleeping bag is because the opportunities to find shelter along the way of your trek are quite high, so save that space for other necessities, like your clothes rolls.
But how many changes of clothes are necessary when you are planning for a scenario that could last indefinitely? Well, you won’t be able to pack an entire suitcase if that’s what you were wondering. Instead, you should put together three additional changes of clothes, but they should all provide added protection from the elements (think long sleeves and pants).
These might be a little bulkier, but it’s much easier to trim down pants into shorts or long sleeves into short sleeves than the other way around. With three additional changes of clothes, you can cycle through them without needing to wash them for several days (or sometimes even weeks).
Last, but arguably the most important item that is essential, is self-defense/protection. If you and your family are in a scenario where disaster has struck and you are in survival mode, that also means you might have to protect yourself from anything in the wild, or anyone that might not have your best interest in their minds.
So you should have at least one firearm in your group, but I recommend all adults in your party have a lightweight pistol. However, don’t make the rookie mistake of packing away a depot’s worth of ammo in your pack, because it is simply not necessary. If your clip is full, I’d only recommend a plastic bag’s worth of shells. If you are in a situation where you need more than that, a few slugs more than likely won’t make a difference. The average American made pistol only weighs three to five pounds, and a bag of ammo shouldn’t weigh more than an additional pound.
Hacks to Cut Even More Weight
Now that you’ve covered the necessary items, what else you pack with it is entirely up to you. As previously stated earlier, everyone’s bug out bag is handpicked a little bit different. Beyond the essentials, anything extra is just that. Maybe you want to add on a flashlight, or maybe you’ll opt for a couple of lighters instead. There is no right or wrong answer. But there are another couple of tips you can take to make sure your pack doesn’t overwhelm you.
Consider the pack itself. Some backpacks could be designed for extensive trail hiking, but could still have unnecessarily added weight in the design. On the other hand, there are specifically designed tactical packs that are specifically made to be as efficient in both carrying capacity and weight of design to decrease the load on you.
Conventional wisdom suggests that in a disaster scenario you should have tactical or hiking boots in your pack. However, consider opting for low top trail running shoes instead. These are beneficial because they weigh less, can still be water/weatherproof, and they also have added support that make it more comfortable to walk long distances on. Additionally, when packing your clothes, instead of folding them individually and packing them away, opt to roll them up into “skivvy rolls” as shown below:
A skivvy roll is where an outfit is rolled up together, similar to a sleeping bag. You could also stand to ditch the underwear if you’re looking to cut a few ounces here and there, but we do not recommend cutting out the socks. Socks are crucial to preventing blisters from forming and slowing you down. You never know how important your pace could be, and you don’t want any physical limitations holding you back.
We haven’t covered toiletries and medications, because it’s hard to say across the board what is necessary versus what isn’t. Obviously, if you have prescription medication you should opt to bring that along, but instead of packing it in a bottle, opt for a plastic bag to make packing a little bit easier. I also have OTC acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and Neosporin in a first aid kit in my bag because they provide relief for so many different small ailments.
Conclusion
It’s not easy to accept the reality that disaster could strike at any moment, and it’s even more difficult to have those necessary conversations with your loved ones. But don’t let fear paralyze you and prevent you from taking the appropriate precautions. Once you’re satisfied with your pack, take it out on hikes so you can feel comfortable hauling it around. You can make it a family event by having everyone bring their packs on an out-and-back trail hike.
You can get feedback from your group and make changes based on that. Someone’s pack might be too heavy and slow them down. Either way, don’t allow a lack of preparation be the downfall in your disaster plan.
[Note: This was a guest post.]
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