SCARE Bag Guide, Gear List, and Checklist
Sometimes, a typical EDC just isn’t enough. And staying put isn’t an option. Enter the SCARE Kit (Social Chaos and Response Emergency Kit). Designed for short-term and high-threat survival, the SCARE concept stresses the importance of self-protection gear and skills to navigate civil unrest.
SCARE bags are still an extension or variant of everyday carry, even though they serve a specific objective. Below, we break down what exactly a SCARE kit is, how it is different than a bug out bag, and share a comprehensive SCARE bag checklist you can download, print, or save in multiple formats.
Contents (Jump to a Section)
In this latest update for our SCARE Bag guide, we updated photos, links, and the PDF checklist for relevancy and accuracy. We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Disclosure»
What is a SCARE Bag?
SCARE Kit stands for “Social Chaos and Response Emergency Kit”, a specialized type of kit for surviving situations brought about by civil unrest. The bag contains equipment to help you avoid or prevail in unwanted confrontations.
A SCARE Bag is different than a bug out bag or go bag. Out of all of the well-known bug out bags, get home bags, or other loadouts, the SCARE is closest to a heavily focused EDC (or Everyday Carry). The SCARE kit is meant to be carried nearby when you expect potential chaos, riots, or social degeneration.
The SCARE concept was first documented by Mike D., the lead instructor at Combative Fighting Arts, a mobile cadre of blended fighting systems experts. The first guide, written over 10 years ago, is no longer online as the writer at DirtTime changed their website’s focus.
Mike’s concept, however, stays relevant as he and his team have been training soldiers around the world as well as civilians in the US on risks, personal safety, and how to handle themselves in extreme situations.
The SCARE kit isn’t for everybody, and it requires a specific type of threat, exposure to that threat (risk), and a skillset to back up the gear you carry. This rules out plenty of people in general, as well as preppers who are unlikely to encounter civil unrest.
SCARE Bag vs. Bug Out Bag
SCARE bags are designed to meet different goals than bug out bags.
Bug out bags are typically designed for 72 hours, or to go from point A to point B if you are utilizing a Bug Out Location (BOL).
SCARE bags are designed to be by your side indefinitely, or if you are heading into an area that is socially unstable for a very short amount of time.
Because of this difference, SCARE bags are much more focused on potential conflict and conflict avoidance.
If you are looking for our top-level guide with all supplies related to bugging out, check out our comprehensive bug out bag guide:
SCARE Kit Gear List
We’re covering the original SCARE kit list with a few modifications, plus we’ve broken it down into essential, suggested, and obsolete gear (just to show the original lists’ intentions).
Essential SCARE Gear
This equipment is considered essential for this kit, and most of these were from the original list, with a few upgrades here and there based on gear advancements and changing threats over the past decade.
- Backpack: 5.11 COVRT24 Backpack (from our gray man backpack review) – A gray man backpack has plenty of room and functionality without giving away the contents.
- Knife: ESEE Izula Fixed Blade Knife (from our neck knife review) – Works as a neck knife or in any kit where you need a dependable fixed blade.
- Small Firearm: Your preferred CCW that you are trained on (see ours here)
- Ammo: Stock up on your CCW (and other calibers) when you see good sales – we track ammo deals daily.
- Lighter: BIC Classic Lighter – You don’t need anything fancy. The classic BIC still makes our list in our lighter review.
- Flashlight: Olight Seeker 4 Pro (from our survival flashlight review) – The blinding 4600 Lumens can come in handy during encounters or just seeing your way at night, which is one reason it grabbed the upgrade pick in our flashlight roundup.
- Compass: Suunto A-10 (from our survival compass review) – Stay on track and navigate with maps.
- Map: Make and mark your own local maps. Here’s how you download or order them for free.
- First Aid Kit: 299 Pc First Aid Kit – A simple first aid kit is best for most people.
- Hands-Free Cell Device: Whether it’s AirPods or a wired headset, be able to make your cell phone hands-free.
- Water Bottle: Vargo Para-Bottle (from our survival water bottle review) – This is the best survival water bottle because of the stainless steel design, but that also makes it a nice, blunt, last resort.
- Ration Bars: Millennium Bars (from our emergency food bar review) – Keep your energy up.
- Disguise: Slightly different than our clothing suggestions for other kits, you’ll want to have colors and clothes different than what you typically wear. The idea is that you could throw on a jacket/hat/face covering to drastically change your appearance if you are being followed.
- Jacket: 5.11 Bristol Parka (from our survival jacket review) – Lightweight but extremely versatile for a wide range of conditions.
- Hat: Wazoo Cache Cap (from our survival hat review) – Our top-reviewed ball cap is a good ‘disguise option’ if it’s a style you typically don’t wear and you want to change your appearance fast.
- Bandana/Shemagh: Free Soldier Shemagh (from our shemagh review) – A shemagh can be a tough look to pull off if you are unfamiliar with it, but it really is the most versatile option, being much larger than bandanas. This best-reviewed shemagh comes in over 16 different colors, so with a bit of practice, you could change up your look and cover your face quickly.
- Protective Mask: Mira CM-6M Gas Mask (from our gas mask review) – If there is anything we know, it’s gas masks. They are a quick way to cover your face and protect yourself from riot agents, building debris dust, and more! The CM-6M is the top-reviewed pick in our gas mask roundup.
- Earplugs: SureFire EP4 Sonic Defenders (from our earplug review) – There are plenty of reasons to protect your ears, and these are versatile enough to meet every need.
- Multitool: Leatherman Signal (from our survival multitool review) – Designed for survival, it is no wonder it topped the competition in our multitool roundup.
- Window Breaker: Resqme Escape Tool (from our window breaker review) – Compact and effective spring-loaded mechanism means you don’t have to have room to swing.
- Miniature Pry Bar: Spec Ops D10CLAW (from our prybar review) – Not suggesting a demo bar due to weight, but this prybar can get it done.
- Paracord: Atwood Paracord (from our paracord review) – Too many uses to list.
- Zip Ties: Gardner Bender HD Zip Ties (from our zip ties review) – Get the best when you need to rely on them.
- Duct Tape: Gorilla Tape 35-Yard Roll (from our duct tape review) – Again, you want the best duct tape here.
- Emergency Cash: Stash some money in your SCARE bag.
- Lock Pick Set: Multipick ELITE (from our survival lock pick review) – A reliable lockpicking kit that can get you in and out discreetly.
- Door Wedge: Addalock Portable Door Lock – Even better than an old wedge, this portable solution can give you sole access to a door.
- Handcuff Key: GTFO Handcuff Key Bracelet (from our handcuff key review) – Easily break free of wrongful detention.
Suggested SCARE Gear
This set of gear makes more sense for some, but not for others. With conditional applications, we merely suggest you consider adding these items to your kit:
- Trauma Kit: Trauma IFAK – This isn’t an auto-include because you should use it only if you are trained.
- Swim Goggles: A budget and low-profile option if you don’t have a gas mask.
- Nose Plugs: Another budget and low-profile option if you are mask-less.
- Trip Wire: USGI Trip Wire (from our snare wire review) – Used for snare or trip wire paired with an alarm. Or it’s just versatile and durable cordage.
- Trip Wire Alarm: CampSafe 12GA Trip Alarm (from our trip-wire alarm review) – Add some bang to your tripwire with an easy-to-rig alarm.
- GPS: Garmin Instinct 2 (from our survival watch review) – We prefer our GPS in watch form.
- Survival Mirror: Survival Signal Mirror (from our signal mirror review) – Discrete signaling at its finest.
- Signal Flares: Orion Safety Flare Gun (from our emergency flare review) – Individual flares are relatively light and pack a punch when you need to signal.
- Whistle: SOL Slim Rescue Howler (from our emergency whistle review) – Whistles make getting attention easy.
Common Equipment We Don’t Suggest
While you can make decisions on your own for your kits, we don’t suggest the gear below, but acknowledge that it was in the original SCARE guide, and many people opt to carry them:
- Security Badge: The original list suggested a metal security badge, so you could infer that you were an officer of some sort in a tough situation. Typically, these types of situations don’t play out like they do in the movies, so we wouldn’t suggest impersonating an officer of any sort.
- Roofing Nails: The original author of the SCARE kit guide recommended roofing nails to use as makeshift caltrops. There are many better self-defense plans and gear, and we can do better than Home Alone-type shenanigans.
- Sonic Grenades: You can’t find the old-school sonic grenades anymore, but you can get portable motion detector alarms that work pretty well for the same purpose. Again, though, you’ve seen this in movies.
SCARE Bag Checklist
A perfect SCARE bag doesn’t exist- what is right for you depends on your situation and risk tolerance. That said, we have as close to perfect of a starting point for you: our comprehensive checklist.
Our checklist is available as both a PDF download and as a Google Sheets/Excel file where you can check off items yourself, and even add and subtract items from the checklist once you have it saved to your own account.
Printable PDF Checklist
If you are looking for the simplest way to print and use the checklist above, download our printable PDF version. It is one page long on 8.5″ x 11″ paper and makes creating a SCARE kit extremely easy. Once you open the SCARE kit PDF checklist in your browser, you can either print it directly or save it through your browser.
Excel / Google Sheets Checklist
If you are looking for a comprehensive way to track your SCARE bag contents, open our Excel / Google Sheets version. The sheet is shareable, and you just need to copy it to your own Google Sheets account or download it to Excel to edit it. We also keep the best-reviewed item for each category linked to simplify shopping for any equipment you may find yourself missing.
The Next Step
Whether or not you’ve chosen to build a SCARE kit, our next step in this guide series stops off at EDC, or Everyday Carry. This is a larger and more comprehensive take on what you have on you each and every day, beyond even a SCARE kit.
Check out our Everyday Carry Guide here:
Keep exploring, stay prepared, and be safe.
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Why do you need to carry a compass and a GPS unit? A large majority of people do not know how to use a compass now a days.
Why do you need to carry a pistol; prybar, lock pick set, survival knife, and a handcuff key? If you get caught by the police; you might be arrested.
If a EMP did happen to hit, well your GPS would be rendered useless. It’s true probably that most people don’t right off hand know how to read a compass but it’s quickly picked up if you have any know how or common sense. As for the rest of the gear, it’s not a one size fits all for everyone I feel but a general suggestion on being prepared for whatever situation can happen. Remember prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
If the police caught you carrying these items; you’d likely be arrested.
Why would you willingly travel in to a potential civil unrest area?
In a town or city; there will be certain areas where civil unrest are likely to happen. why not avoid them(if possible).
Living in South Africa a SCARE kit is vital. Unrests flare up without warning and you either have to run for your life or sit and wait it out for hours and sometimes days until it is cleared up and safe. Saved me and my family numerous times. You can’t always avoid them as life must go on. Rather be prepared than a sitting duck.