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4K views 30 replies 23 participants last post by  Texas Fire 
#1 ·
I think a bug-out bag or get-home-bag should be relatively light. For example 30 pounds for an average healthy adult man, and less for most women and children.

There are government regulations for maximum carrying weight, to prevent chronic damage to the spine. These regulations can be found on the websites of NIOSH, OSHA, CDC, etc.

There is a big difference between the weight that you are allowed to wear incidentally for short periods of time, and the weight that you are allowed to wear for days.

During evacuation you could add a second bag in a small cart. Or you could use a bicycle to carry some extra weight.

That means you need the equipment used for ultra-light backpack camping, including an ultra-light tent and sleeping bag in a cold climate, plus a small survival kit and a small folding saw.

Then there is no weight capacity left for extras, such as a monocular, radio transceiver, playing cards, climbing rope, axe, handcuffs, camp shovel, bulletproof vest, heavy tools, child toys, etc.

It is important to train to camp regularly for a few days with just your bug-out bag, in all types of weather.

This can be done on a terrace in a garden, or on a balcony, or in an open car garage, if you want to protect yourself against dangerous tick bites. Or it can be done in winter in an unheated attic, with the windows open.

You can train in long-distance walking, while carrying the weight on your back. For this you can use an old backpack, filled with cheap and faulty material.

This way you can keep your high quality emergency equipment undamaged for a real disaster. Moreover there is no risk of your real bug-out bag being incomplete, if you need it for a real emergency.
 
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#3 ·
For pack weight, about one-third of your body weight is a good general guide. Preferably less. You can carry more but it will injure or tire you.
Some of the Brit soldiers in the Falklands War carried ridiculous weights overland. But they were fit and highly trained (and, I think, pretty tired afterwards).
Heavy boots also tire you out. Lightweight is better but reliability is the number one consideration.

Using belt order, webbing or vests can help spread the load so you can have a smaller pack.
 
#4 ·
I think a bug-out bag or get-home-bag should be relatively light. For example 30 pounds for an average healthy adult man, and less for most women and children.
Great.

I think you may be missing the point of a bugout bag though and likewise a get home bag.

Here is the thing you probably havn't considered but probably should consider.

It needs to do its job. Having survival bags is about keeping you alive, generally life comes before injury, so if you get injured as a result of saving your life it is generally viewed as better than not saving your life.

Hopefully you are putting together a bug out bag with a bug out location in mind. Some type of plan you've put together. From that plan you should be able to put together what you need to execute that plan. Some bug out plans may be much easier going to get to than others. The weight of your bag should be dependant upon what the unique needs are based upon the given bugout you will be undertaking with the bag. Key considerations are how long will it take you to get there, and what envrionment are you in while getting there.

The same general principles can be applied to a get home bag but generally speaking a bug out bag is for when you need to leave your primary domicile while a get home bag is generally due to a breakdown of regular transportation methods that got you from your home in the first place and there being no viable alternatives other than going on foot. However the range of a GHB may vary, generally a GHB deals with shorter distances and thus timeframes but may have more extreme environments as generally a bug out should happen before things go bad while a GHB may be required when there is a sudden unexpected event. BOBS can also plan for an unexpected event but imo normally these situations will require bugging in because it is not practicle to be mobile while most scenarios requiring a bugout are active.















Then there is no weight capacity left for extras, such as a monocular, radio transceiver, playing cards, climbing rope, axe, handcuffs, camp shovel, bulletproof vest, heavy tools, child toys, etc.
While I don't totally agree, I do think that you should stick to essentials. If you are bugging out with children a toy may actually do a lot to keep your child funcitoning enough to keep them mobile.


It is important to train to camp regularly for a few days with just your bug-out bag, in all types of weather.
I don't totally agree with this either. Once you have done it is more of the same. There is a point when there really isn't a reason to train but rather you want to go out and do it, because you arn't going to be learning anything new once you get the basics down. What would matter though is being in different enviornments, differnt seaons, different terrains. It isn't just weather though, that is the imprtant take away, it is location. Sleeping in a swamp is not the same as sleeping in a forest is not the same as sleeping in a snow field is not the same as sleeping in a cold storage unit, is not the same as sleeping in an attic in summer. Every location is going to be a little different. Weather imo isn't as important as how that weather effects your sleeping conditions or ability to sleep. Weather itself is all solved by the same thing, good clothing and footwear.



This way you can keep your high quality emergency equipment undamaged for a real disaster. Moreover there is no risk of your real bug-out bag being incomplete, if you need it for a real emergency.
Train with what you use. You don't want to keep something in a wrapper only to find out it doesn't perrform the way you thought it would in the field.



None the less at the end of the day it comes down to essentials. Food water, clothing.

Everything else is operational.


Cost can be a concern... however generally speaking most essential kit is not expended when used.

Costs may end up going up when trade with china is ruined more. Get what you can. Its a money thing not a best practice thing. As the years roll by, small things here and there can add up... but if you don't actually try it in the field, you may be suprised when you try it. I'd instead suggest get two of anything that is going to be expended... test it out and keep the other for use in emergency.
 
#10 ·
How many people over or under fifty in the US could walk a mile with a thirty pound pack? I haven't seen many. How many people in the US buy riding mowers because pushing one for an hour is beyond them?
If you maintain a good fitness regime and eat sensibly, you'll increase your capabilities, but even better you'll be much healthier. It's a win, win scenario.
 
#11 ·
I think most people under 60 can walk a mile with 30 pounds.

The really silly thing about the GHB/BOB weight threads that continually pop up is that who is planning on walking ? I mean Walking is always plan B or C for me. And I am pretty sure I can take things OUT of my pack if I have a 30 mile walk and want to lighten the load.

Should you have heavy coat in your GHB ? Maybe. Can you leave that coat in the car if it’s 99 degrees outside and save the weight , yes.

If you can walk a 1/4 mile with 30 pounds you can walk a mile
Or even 10 miles. It just may take a while.

I workout and walking is a little as part of my workout ( treadmill inclined most of the time ) to keep in BO shape a little.

But I don’t plan to walk Very far when SHTF unless my other plans fail.
 
#12 ·
If for example I wanted a bug out bag in case of say a bushfire. By the time I packed overalls, boots gloves, mask and goggles I would probably be over the 30lb limit.

But that isn't to get me miles on foot. That is to get me to shelter.

Bug out bags are very generic and so one size doesn't fit all.

I tend to go heavy with bug out bags. But I also plan to not have to go very far with them.
 
#13 ·
The really silly thing about the GHB/BOB weight threads that continually pop up is that who is planning on walking ? I mean Walking is always plan B or C for me. And I am pretty sure I can take things OUT of my pack if I have a 30 mile walk and want to lighten the load.
The idea got really popular as 'the thing' that defined a prepper at some point and everyone jumped on it.....I'm not sure everyone really thought it through all the way. There is a reason we don't talk about them very much anymore. Most people who thought about it very long realized that bugging out meant bugging out somewhere better than you started, through something so terrible that you had to leave your home and everything you had..and once you think about that very long most people see that they really don't have any place to go and decide to pour more effort into bugging in....and so the BOBs turned more into GHBs and INCHs.

Of course the BOB concept is not totally invalid but it has to be more than just "general stuff I run for my life with" and more...."My safe house is fifty miles up the side of this hill and this is what I need to get there with if the roads are blocked.

And once you get to THAT point a specific weight limit is less of a thing and its more like what you need for the mission.
 
#14 ·
Ask anyone that has spent any extended period of time with a plate carrier on as part of their vocation.

I know men that are strong as an ox in every part of their body but the connective tissue in their lower back or c-spine is gone

Yes, a heavy BOB will destroy you especially if you're training with it, not to mention cause you to burn massive amounts of extras calories
 
#15 ·
BOB ang GHB are totally different though in the scenarios I would expect to need them. I would expect for my family and I to be using a vehicle Of some type in most BOB situations and be on foot in most GHB situations. As mentioned above the GHB can be evaluated at the time of need and resources increases or decreased based on distance and climate.

I have items in my vehicle that are not in the bag that may be added. I also have items in the bag that may be removed
 
#19 ·
I agree with the 30 pound rule, but I also need you to tell my company commander about the back damage with heavier packs. Lol. Last time I did a ruck I weighed my pack in at 52 pounds. It was super heavy, super sucked, and I was super slow.

35-40 is probably about max poundage for most people who don't ruck often, and even that will suck pretty dang bad.
 
#20 ·
Choose your gear based on the mission, then find a way to carry or cache it.
Limiting your gear to 30 lbs does not make sense if you need to carry a winter tent and bag, or a weeks worth of food and water.
If you are looking to assemble a bag with no real shelter, no food, and no water, I don't believe I can help you much.
 
#21 ·
When I was 50 I hiked with 60 lbs @ 7000+ elevation, but then I was in SAR and did a lot of heavy lifting for my work in construction and machinery and on boats and snow cats.
I am nearing 70 and my computer back pack weighs about 37+ lbs and I don that every day.
It is prudent to put some effort to building your body to face the unknown, or make provision so you can face the unknown more prepared in the event of an unplanned weakness, i.e. twisted ankle, or worse. I created a cart for my self in the event I had to bug out on foot. I use it on my property for hauling wood and debris up to 300#.
When traveling my computer back pack has all I need for getting Home on foot ,If peradventure while out there is an EMP and my vhehicle is damaged beyond my ability to repair it. One thing I do while traveling is observe the way out, resources I may have to use too survive along the way home. shelter, water sources, crops, and grain fields, fruit trees, ect...
 
#23 ·
Someone can probably remember the reference, but I understand that there was one major study completed by the US military in WW2 that suggested that 50lb was the upper limit of what could be carried by trained soldiers for prolonged marches without wearing them out. For those that are younger, older, of slighter build or limited time to do work up marches/hikes with their gear, even 40lbs might be more realistic.

If someone is in shape and wants a bag in their vehicle that might need to be carried a few miles on foot through smooth terrain to a final destination, a heavier pack is probably okay, as long as one realizes the limitations of how far they can reasonably expect to travel with it.

I recall that the German Army had plenty of infantry that had to march approximately 50km a day during the invasion of Poland, but I would point out that they were young, well exercised, may have been boosted by narcotics and were probably carrying a lighter fighting load while their larger backpack and/or duffel bag was in a truck or horse drawn carriage that was part of their column. In any event, I hope that none of us have to march several hundred kilometers with a bug out bag, especially since you probably cannot carry enough food in one to travel that distance unsupported.

You need to practice walking with the bag both to build up stamina (which not only lessens the chance of back injury, but allows you to finish a lengthy march and still have the energy to repeat it the following day. Perhaps most important, the practice breaks in the footwear, without which you'd be prone to develop blisters within the first few hours of walking, which make any much further travel unsustainable.

Funny enough, I will be heading to a friend's farm tomorrow to camp out and try some of my gear, much of which is in my BOB, though I will likely add a tent and probably a .22 rifle. I probably won't travel far with the bag though due to time restraints. but the practice might help to adjust the selection of gear.
 
#25 ·
Don’t be fat. Get some fitness. Work your way up and hike with heavier loads so you’re accustomed to it.

Take things out of your bag you don’t need if you get easily winded or get too sore carrying a heavier bag.

KISS.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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#26 ·
I have had to get Shoulder Surgery this year as my Work Tool Bag weighs in a 62 pounds and that is after I take out a couple item.. Over the years of throwing it over shoulder and walking a good distantce it finally wore out. At 70 in a couple months I could wak with that back pack well over a couple miles until the middle of last year when wear and tear on my shoulder finally got the better of me.
 
#28 ·
I keep seeing it that, it is vital you have a pack that is of proper design for weights. I was out yesterday for a 12 hour hike and its not my back that is sore coming back. It is my calve muscles, my shoulders ever so slightly, The chaffing burns, incluing making a vital error of wearing shorts with inner liner that is esalstized are the pain I have to deal with.

The pack was mostly on my hips the entire time either with my upper strapping tight or when relaxing a bit with loose shoulder straps (not connected and pulled tight on the chest connecting strap.

The key is having a good rucksac.. the shoulder, hip and chest strapping is vitally important .. I would have a blistered spine if I attempted to do the same hike witha an alice as with a genII or genIII rucksack... or my goto light pack right now a modified russian hunting an camping bag.

I have had to restitch the shoulder strappings and the russian plastic is not as good as the US composite for clips and the zipper is cheap, but the pack itself is really comfortable.

https://armada-store.com/backpacks-bags/floating-raid-backpack-b---l.html


again, its not back strain as the weight should be on your hips not your shoulders.. the shoulder strapping is to hold the pack on your back.. the force is suppose to be transfered to your hips. I use the US hip pad with it, and can use the stock hip pad as a stomach pad to double up on the lower supports.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/used-us-arm...834312?hash=item3b100502c8:g:~Y4AAOSwhzhcHjMh


again its not the weight as much as it is how the weight is transfered.. your back should not be stressed.

If it is stressed because you are trying to use an assault pack as a rucksack.




<-------------- watch this





the problem with a heavy pack is how much you sweat.. that is all.
 
#29 ·
guess it all depends on where you are, time of year, how far and terrain type. for a GHB for me, I've got a couple MRE's broken down, a 1 gallon water bladder, spare pistol mags (2), extra socks, extra pair of pants and a pair of tenni runners, and a rain poncho, I've got 7 miles to cover mostly woods and cow pastures, mind you this is summer time, in the spring or fall I'd throw a hoody in there. this pack usually weighs in at 13lbs give or take

winter pack would be heavier.
 
#30 ·
Just went through my BOB after a few years...got rid of some out dated things...added a couple things...as of now it weighs 37 lbs...I have a bad back but can easily carry it. More than likely though, I will throw it it in the back of my truck if I'm bugging out.
 
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