Bug Out Bag List | Ultimate 137-Point Checklist

Sean's Bug out Bag contents laid out and displayed on concrete floor.

A survival-focused bug out bag list with an accompanying guide & PDF checklist.

BY SEAN GOLD, UPDATED:

December 11, 2025

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Our bag out bag list is one of our most shared resources and will help you gather all the needed items for short-term survival on the move. Creating your bug out bag is a personal process that varies based on where you live, your experience, and potential disasters.

I have been building bug out bags for decades and tuned my own to tackle a variety of threats, both big and small. I’ve also taught thousands in the military how to build Go Bags (24-hour deployment bags) as an emergency manager. A bug out bag is designed for “bugging out”, but I also use mine for home-based preparedness. A good ‘go bag’ can help with any emergency plan or survival kit.

When you need to evacuate your home, you won’t have much time. Hopefully, you’ve planned for this exact situation and have a bug out bag for each family member to grab and go.

If not, you’ve found the right place. We have the most comprehensive bug out bag guide on the web to get you ready to survive whatever is thrown your way. With gear suggestions fitting any budget, in-depth reviews and comparisons for all the survival gear we suggest, and downloadable or printable checklists, we have your bug out bag list covered.

Contents (Jump to a Section)

What is a Bug Out Bag?

A bug out bag is a mobile survival kit that is designed to help you execute an evacuation plan, often called a ‘bug out plan’. The primary focus of the bag is survival, but the secondary focus of navigating to a specific backup location is equally important.

A broad range of gear designed to keep you alive for at least 72 hours is considered essential, with other gear varying to match your situation. You should customize your own bug out plan to fit your needs best- whether that is starting from urban locations, depending on vehicles, fitting a budget, accounting for disabilities and kids, and even including your pets.

I’m Sean Gold, and as an emergency manager in the military, I built, taught, and inspected Go Bags- the military equivalent of a Bug Out Bag, designed for rapid deployment (less than 24 hours). I’m proud to share my expertise in this guide and hope it brings you a step closer to being prepared.

Sean carrying his bug out bag through the woods. — Build a bug out bag that works for you. *(Credit: TruePrepper Team)*

Bug Out Bag Essentials

These are the essential items that most experts agree are needed in a bug out bag. Further down in this guide, we list out what we suggest but do not consider essential. Those items are good for specific situations, but the following gear is needed as a bare minimum:

Bug Out Bag

The bag itself has to hold all the essential gear and any other survival gear you want to carry. Weight and volume can become an issue with smaller bags, plus you will want to pack your bag like a professional backpacker.

Tactical Survival Backpack: 5.11 RUSH 72 2.0 Backpack – A rugged, tactical 55L backpack with unparalleled durability. Ideal for customized loadouts.
Wilderness Survival Backpack: TETON Scout 55 Backpack – A lightweight, practical 55L backpack with internal frame support. Ideal for long journeys on foot.
Grey Man Backpack: 5.11 COVRT24 Backpack – A discrete 41L backpack that doesn’t draw attention but is extremely functional. Ideal for urban areas.

Many people find selecting a backpack to be a very personal process. We talk more about this in our best survival backpack review, and we go over capacity and carry weight targets for bug out bags specifically. After you select a bag, it’s time to move on to the survival basics.

Water

Water weighs 8.35 pounds per gallon (or 1 kilogram per liter for the rest of the world). Anyone familiar with backpacking can tell you that this is not very forgiving when you need to carry water on the go.

Carrying water is not just a weight concern, but also a packing problem. A gallon of water takes up 231 cubic inches, which is a huge displacement compared to your survival gear. You’ll want to carry water containers and ways to treat water on the go, so you don’t have to carry as much with you. The best water container to use? A simple stainless steel water bottle.

This will allow you to boil water- the most reliable purification method that only requires access to fire. Insulated bottles like Yeti and Thermos will fight against you, and plastic will melt, so simple single-walled steel is best. I also carry bagged water, but that’s not essential, so you’ll find it further down in our suggestions.

Water pouch with purification tablets, water filter, and stainless water bottle displayed on wood ledge in front of woods. — You’ll want multiple methods to purify water- a stainless bottle and a fire adds one. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Steel Water Bottle: Vargo Para-Bottle Stainless 32oz [Top pick from our survival water bottle review] – Tote and boil water, plus it’s the exact size for tablet treatment.
Purification Tablets: Potable Aqua [Top pick from the water purification tablet review] – Lightweight, effective tablets that can treat while you move, and didn’t bomb our taste test.
Water Filter: Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System [Portable pick from our survival water filter review] – Insane versatility gives it the edge over the Lifestraw, with a longer filter life to boot.

Food

Next in the order of survival priorities is food. Because this is a mobile kit, we suggest food that works best on the move.

Neither of these options requires any sort of stove or cooking, which makes them ideal for moving quickly to your bug out location or evacuation meet-up point. They are low-weight and high-calorie but aren’t stellar on the nutrition front. The bottom line is that these will keep you moving.

Two MREs and six ration bars sitting on wood ledge in front of woods. — Stash enough calories for 72 hours, nutrition be damned! *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Ration Bars: Millennium Bars [Top pick from our emergency food bar review] – Ration bars and high-shelf-life energy bars are a great calorie source on the go.
Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE): US Military MRE [Top pick from our MRE review] – A highly portable, all-in-one hot meal.

Nav & Comms

Navigation and communication are both important to stay informed and to make it to your bug out location expediently.

An emergency radio is one of the more versatile building blocks of a bug out bag- it can inform, entertain, charge other electronic equipment, and even be a flashlight. Besides this, all of the navigation and communication essentials are relatively low-tech.

Get free maps online (quads) and/or from your state DOT/travel department (highway maps) and learn how to use them with a compass, setting your magnetic declination ahead of time.

Maps, weather radio, phone charger, and compass on wood floor. — Essential gear can get you where you need to go and keep you informed. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Emergency Weather Radio: NOAA Solar Crank Radio [Budget pick from our emergency weather radio review] – You can also use the crank to recharge the lighter we mentioned in the section above.
Local Maps: Print copies of local maps. Here’s how you download them or get them from your state for free.
Compass: Suunto A-10 Compass – Navigate and plot your maps. (See why this is the best survival compass)
Survival Mirror: Coghlan’s Survival Mirror (See why this is the best signal mirror)

Power & Energy

Having light at nighttime and the ability to power electronic devices both give you an edge. Keep your phone charged up, since it’s a communication, navigation, and informational powerhouse.

Limit using your phone during emergencies, especially for its secondary uses, like as a flashlight. Instead, get dedicated light sources that are reliable and powerful.

Spare Cell Phone Charger: Make sure it works with your main cell phone.
Flashlight: Olight Seeker 4 Pro Flashlight [Upgrade pick from our survival flashlight review]
Headlamp: ThruNite TH20 Pro Headlamp [Top pick from our survival headlamp review]

Expert Tip: Solar solutions and larger batteries are heavy- pack those only if you plan to use a vehicle and when your destination is far away.

Shelter & Warmth

Being able to get covered is important for surviving a wide range of environments or potential weather scenarios. At the very least, a durable but lightweight tarp can keep you dry, and a bivy and survival blanket can keep you warm.

Brown shelter sack with survival blanket and life bivy displayed on wood ledge in front of woods. — Shelter options can be heavy and bulky, so watch the weight and make sure they’ll fit or attach to your bag. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Your gear can get bulky and heavy once you start considering tents, which is a big reason we don’t consider traditional tents essential.

Survival Blanket: Arcturus Survival Blanket [Top pick from our survival blanket review]
Survival Bivy: Thermal Bivy [Budget pick from our emergency bivy review] – Camping sleeping bags are more comfortable, but a survival bivvy will always get the job done.
Waterproof Tarp: AquaQuest Defender Tarp [Bushcraft pick from our survival tarp review] – Tarps are essential for making impromptu shelters quickly.
Lighter: Windproof Arc Lighter [Top pick from our survival lighter review] – Being rechargeable makes it good for virtually limitless uses if you don’t break it and have a way to charge it.
Waterproof Matches: UCO Stormproof Match Kit [Top pick from our stormproof matches review]

Orange fire kit pouch with lighter and matches displayed on wood ledge in front of woods. — Always have *at least* two ways to start a fire. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Clothing & PPE

Changes of clothes are always important for any sort of evacuation kit. Clothes help keep you protected from the elements, and keeping them dry and clean will help with hygiene and health.

Safety often goes overlooked in survival situations, but you want to keep your ears, eyes, airway, and hands safe and protected with PPE. We consider gloves essential (a few types), along with an N95. You’ll find the eye protection and earplugs further down in situation-specific gear. We don’t list gas masks at all, because even though we find them valuable, we don’t think they have a place in a bug out bag unless the CBRN event is already happening. Instead, we list them in kits specific to those events.

Work Gloves: Mechanix Wear Covert Gloves (Tactical pick from our review on the best survival gloves)
Socks: Darn Tough Light Hiker (Upgrade pick from our review on the best survival socks)
Long Sleeve Shirt: Carhartt Midweight Crew (See why this is the best survival shirt)
Underwear: Under Armour Boxerjock – A wide range of sizes and good performance made these win a pick in our survival underwear review.
Pants: 5.11 Tactical Ridge Pants (See why these are our best grey man pants) – Staying dry is important during an emergency.
Rain Poncho: Arcturus Rain Poncho (top pick when we reviewed the best survival ponchos)
N95 Masks: 3M Aura 9205+ N95 Masks [Folding pick from our N95 mask review]
Nitrile Gloves: Venom Steel Nitrile Gloves – Protect your hands from contamination with the most durable nitrile gloves we’ve reviewed.

Black tactical clothing, poncho, N95 mask, and orange nitrile gloves displayed on wood floor. — Changes of clothes and some simple PPE are critical to any mobile survival kit. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Expert Tip: Roll your shirt, undies, and socks into a skivvy roll to condense them for packing and make them easy to grab on the go.

Medical & First Aid

First aid is common sense for any survival kit, including your bag. Don’t go straight for a trauma kit unless you are trained and experienced. Starting with a basic med kit and adding IFAK components as your first aid skills improve is a good path for beginners.

Basic First Aid Kit: MyMedic Standard MyFak – A robust IFAK that gives you all the basics with room to expand.
Prescription Medication: Jase Case (See why Jase is the clear leader for emergency prescriptions) – Don’t get caught without your meds! Get emergency prescriptions for everything you need, including antibiotics and EpiPens.

Red IFAK pouch next to blue/green medicine pouch displayed on wood floor. — First aid kits are essential in any survival kit, but organized IFAKs work best in bug out bags. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

MedicBox is towards the top of our survival subscription box rankings and will help you build your first aid supplies and skills over time. CTOMS training and best-in-class tactical IFAK and trauma gear will get you up to speed.

Protection

Protecting yourself, your family, and your belongings is important with the wide range of threats you can encounter in the modern world. The one force equalizer that we consider essential is, of course, a handgun.

Handgun: The preferred CCW that you are trained on (see ours here)
CCW Holster: Alien Gear Concealed Carry Holsters – Get a holster in the profile you want from the best brand.
Ammunition: Get ammo for your CCW at huge discounts by checking out our ammo deal tracker.

While we consider this essential, there are some major caveats: it is only essential if you are trained, comfortable, and of sound mind. If you don’t own a gun or are untrained, we do not suggest obtaining one and joining a shooting club just to fill your bug out bag. We’ll go over non-lethal or alternatives with less commitment in our suggested and situationally specific items sections.

Tools

Self-defense is always a high priority, and that priority is easily supported as crime historically increases drastically during widespread disasters. Even during non-emergencies, security and self-protection consistently show up as the top focus of most risk analysis.

Bug out bags are what you make them, so if you choose not to include a firearm, that’s perfectly fine. We consider them essential. If you include firearms in your plan, you should be trained, regularly practice at the range, and follow common-sense safety measures using gun locks and safes.

Survival Knife: Cold Steel SRK Fixed Blade Knife (Budget pick when we reviewed the best fixed-blade survival knives)
Bushcraft Knife: Morakniv Companion Fixed Blade Knife (Budget pick from our best bushcraft knife review)
Multitool: Leatherman Signal (Top pick when we reviewed the best survival multitools) – Designed for survival, it is no wonder it topped the competition.
Paracord: TITAN SurvivorCord (Upgrade pick when we tested the best paracord)
Duct Tape: Gorilla Tape To Go (Top pick when we reviewed the best duct tape for survival)

Knifes, paracord, tape, flashlights, and multitool organized on wood floor. — Most tactical gear is ‘suggested’ or ‘situation-specific’. Shape your gear to your skills and threats. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Hygiene & Sanitation

Hygiene (and sanitation) are often underrated when it comes to survival. They are the areas that can undermine all of your preparedness if you choose to neglect them. Keep your body healthy by keeping you and your gear clean (especially dishes and utensils).

Toothbrush: GUM Folding Toothbrush
Toothpaste: Colgate Travel Toothpaste
Soap: Campsuds (from our survival soap review)
Feminine Supplies: Feminine hygiene supplies may make sense to store in your bag, even if you are a male.

An emergency waste sanitation plan is important for any survival situation, even though we don’t consider any of the gear to be essential (catholes don’t technically require gear). Don’t let sanitation be the Achilles heel of your preparedness plan.

Green hygiene pouch with camp soap, toothpaste, travel toothbrush, displayed in pockets on white background. — Emergencies are no excuse to neglect hygiene, sanitation, and overall health. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Personal Documents & Items

At the very least, you should have a copy of your emergency plan, some cash, and writing utensils ready to go. Motivational items belong in this category, so feel free to add family photos, small but important personal belongings, and anything else that can help you get through tough situations.

Emergency Plan: Print a copy of your TruePrepper Basic Emergency Plan.
Copy of ID: Quickly prove your identity.
Cash Stash: Stash some money in your bag.
Rainproof Pen: Rite in the Rain EDC Pen – Take notes in any conditions (see why this is the best survival pen).
Rainproof Notebook: Rite in the Rain Notebook – The best writing pad to have in your survival kit (our waterproof notebook review shows why).

Checklist, cash, waterproof pen and notebook in a small brown zippered pouch open on a white background. — Essentials keep it simple- no need for an overstuffed admin pouch. *(Credit: Sean Gold)*

Suggested Items

This gear may not be essential by definition, but adding any of these to your bug out bag will improve your bag’s versatility for even more situations. You won’t be able to fit it all in your bag, so you’ll need to keep an eye on weight and space.