In the last post, we spent time going over what to look for when you’re checking through your equipment in your Bug-Out-Bag. But how do you know if it’s time to upgrade your equipment?
Ask yourself the following questions
(1) Is my old item well-worn and starting to wear out?
(2) Is my old item not working properly?
(3) Is my item outdated – and a new one has a lot of new and very helpful features?
(4) Do I have a little extra money and see the benefit of upgrading the features in my BOB item?
If you answer, “Yes!” to any of these questions, this might be the time to update your Bug-Out-Bag items.
I’ve learned two very practical lessons this last year. (1) Buy what you need. (2) Buy the best you can afford. Moving to a homestead is an expensive venture! Not only do you require a substantial amount of capital to buy the homestead, but you will also end up investing more money into it than you realize! So I’m learning to buy what I need (and try to ignore what I don’t). But I’ve also learned (the hard way) to buy the best that I can afford – as it will save you money in the long run. So whatever it is that you are buying, make sure that you are looking at this as an investment.
Equipment to consider upgrading
The principle of ‘buy the best that you can afford’ holds true with your Bug-Out-Bag itself. While I wouldn’t spend $200 on a bag, I do need to make sure that the bag is adequate for my needs.
So what do you need in the bag portion of your Bug-Out-Bag?
Comfort
Your Bug-Out-Bag should fit you well. It shouldn’t be too small or too big for your frame. It should distribute the weight appropriately across your shoulders and back so that you don’t feel the weight in one place. Make sure that the shoulder straps are padded! You don’t want to be carrying this thing for a period of time without nicely cushioned shoulder straps. I prefer to have a chest strap as it keeps the bag in place as well as helps to distribute the weight more evenly – and even helps posture. Many bags also have a waist strap – which is an additional plus!
Sturdiness
The backpack that I currently use for my EDC is a Lands End backpack. It is known for its sturdiness; however, when I went back to get a link for the backpack that I currently have (and purchased about four years ago) I was gravely disappointed in their current backpacks – both in their size and construction. So I went searching out another option for everyone and came across this one – which I just ordered for my husband’s Bug-Out-Bag. The reviews are stellar! I’ll update this blog post once I receive the bag for my husband, but from the reviews, this bag appears to be incredibly sturdy.
Capacity
Unlike what many people may think, I do not mean that it needs to hold a lot! Actually, I think Bug-Out-Bags need to be able to hold 2 days worth of clothes, 3 days worth of food, several key pieces of equipment, and no more. Our Bug-Out-Bags should NOT look like this.
I have found that in general, a 40L backpack is a good size, and you should be able to fit all your clothes, equipment, and food in easily.
Color
As mom’s oftentimes, it’s so easy to want a fun color! When I went looking for a bag to buy for my husband, the bag that I chose – and dropped a link in above – came in a beautiful purple. My first thought was, that’s such a wonderful color. Maybe I need to upgrade my bag too? But if you are ever in a situation where you don’t want to call attention to yourself, you don’t want someone to say, “Oh, look for the woman with a purple backpack.” It sets you apart. You SEE a purple backpack, whereas, a navy or grey or black backpack doesn’t seem to call near so much attention to itself.
Organization
Does the backpack have the right amount of pockets for you? I find that you need one pocket for your clothes, one pocket for your food, one pocket for your equipment. Usually, that is sufficient. By having separate pockets for everything, you can easily find what you are looking for quickly.
What should you look for when it comes to lighting?
I used to go chintzy and bought these mini wind-up flashlights. And when I say ‘mini’ I mean these were about 1 inch by 1inch. There are larger wind-up flashlights that don’t break as easily, are brighter, and work better, but I think the handiest kind of flashlight that everyone should have in their Bug-Out-Bag is a headlamp.
When you are looking for headlamps you need to consider several things.
Comfort
No one wants to wear a headlamp where the strap pinches their head – nor do they want one which falls down all the time. Some headlamps have a strap that goes across the top. This can be helpful, but may mean that the headlamp is heavy and unwieldy or cumbersome. Find a headlamp with a comfortable band and a lightweight lamp.
Multiple Settings
How many lumens does your headlamp produce? You don’t want just one strength of lighting either. There may be instances when you need just a low light. Maybe you don’t want to wake someone up, but you need to be able to see. Or you may be needing to fix something on your vehicle, and you need a powerful light that can illuminate a larger area. Having a light with several luminosities would be helpful.
How is it powered?
Battery-powered is fine. Though you should never store your headlamp with the batteries in it. Having an alternate power source is helpful. On this headlamp, you get the option of purchasing a special “Core battery” which is capable of being recharged in three hours.
Can it be cleaned?
You don’t want a headband to get dirty and for you not to have the ability to clean it. Make sure that you get one that the lamp is detachable and the headband is washable.
Is it easily found when you need it?
If you keep all your equipment in one pocket of your Bug-Out-Bag, it should be fairly easy to find, but some headlamps, like this headlamp, have a phosphorescent reflective strip that makes it easy to find it in the dark.
What should you look for in an upgraded water filter and storage container?
I believe that every Bug-Out-Bag needs some kind of water filter. This could be something as small and simple as a Life Straw or equivalent. Or it could be something like this more complex water filter – which has consistently been our water filter of choice.
Can you carry filtered water with you?
This was a big one for me. I used to have Berkey Water Bottles. The problem is that if I wanted to cook with the water, I still had to have another way of filtering it. I wanted to be able to carry already filtered water with me so that the water was already good for drinking, cooking, hygiene, etc. when it was in my water bottle or water bladder.
This is the downside of using something like a Life Straw or equivalent. You can’t carry water with you. What if you need to drink later, and you can’t find another stream or water source? Carrying water with you is a must!
I prefer a water filter that allows me to filter water from the source into a clean container. This is my filter of choice.
How strong is the filter?
Life Straws filters are .2 microns. This equivalent that I found, is .1 microns. The water filter that I recommend filters everything out at .01 microns!
How much can you carry with you? 
Because I believe we need to have the ability to carry water with us, we should consider the capacity of our water containers. Make sure that you balance the capacity of your containers with the weight that they will add to your pack.
One gallon of water weighs EIGHT pounds! So the water bladder that I carry – at full capacity – weighs over four pounds. That may not sound like a lot, but when you have everything else in your pack, that adds up.
This is my water bladder of choice. When I filter water directly from the water source this pliable yet sturdy bladder works to carry water with me. Because of it’s design, it fits easily in my backpack.
Emergency Radio
When you are considering a new emergency radio, what are the features you should be looking at?
How is it charged? And how many ways can it be charged?
I think it’s fair to say that the more ways that you can charge the radio, the better it is. Does the radio use batteries? Does it have a solar panel – and if it does, how well does it work? Can it be charged with a USB charging cord? Does it have a hand crank and how fast / how much do you need to crank it to get it going well.
Does it charge your USB devices?
One of the important things to consider about an emergency radio is – can you use it to charge other things? If your cell phone loses it’s charge, and you get stranded, having a way to make even just one call could be the difference between making it out and not or between someone knowing where you are and everyone wondering.
Can you listen to enough radio stations that you can get the information that you need?
An emergency radio only serves its purpose if you can get the information that you need from it. Make sure that it works well enough an can pick up multiple radio stations well.
Other features to look for in an emergency radio
- Does it have a flashlight?
- Does it have an audible emergency signal?
- Does it have an emergency flashing light for nighttime?
- Can you listen to NOAA emergency alerts?
- Is it water-resistant?
- Does it have a motion sensor light? I found one that did!
Work gloves 
How comfortable are they?
This is the number one thing that you need to consider when replacing work gloves. They will do you no good in protecting your hands if they are constantly rubbing you the wrong way when you wear them? If the cause blisters or raw spots, find another type of glove.
How sturdy are they?
This is the second most important consideration in a pair of work gloves. If they are going to give out on you quickly, they aren’t worth it.
But are they still flexible?
Even if gloves are sturdy, they still need to be flexible so that you can function while wearing them. You do yourself no good if you have to take your gloves off in order to complete tasks that are hard on your hands.
In Conclusion
So once you’ve gone through your Bug-Out-Bag and checked out your equipment to make sure it’s functioning properly – if you find that you need to replace something, this should give you a good idea of what to look for in the main pieces of equipment that you may need to replace.
What About You?
Do you have other pieces of equipment that you keep in your Bug-Out-Bag that we should consider having? And if you do, what should we be looking for in each of those items if we want to buy the mfor the first time, replace a worn out version, or upgrade to a new version?
Leave a comment below to share your opinion with us so that we can all be better prepared!
