Bug Out Scenario

[Scythe13]

TS has HTF and you need to bug out.

Time to get going. But...it's a vicious storm raging out. What do you wear? What do you carry? How does this effect your route? How does it change your BO plan/vehicle/style?

[MaryN]

Hi there, Scythe, great to see you back on the Forum.

Bugging out? Not an option, vicious storm or not. Staying put here.

[Scythe13]

Hello Mary

I'm with you on that. Previously, when I was on the outskirts of a village, I'd have trekked out quite happily in a storm. But now, in the middle of nowhere and with plenty of trees around, I'd be inclined to hunker down a little longer and wait for the storm to pass.

However, I was playing around in the last few storms and have had a little reassess of my clothing options. Nothing major. But I am less certain of what I would go with. Previously I was planning to don my waxed jacket, because it's warm, waterproof and very hard wearing. But now I'm slightly more inclined to wear something more form fitting and to have my waxed jacket rolled up (picnic blanket style) and clipped to the underside of my backpack. So that it's more of a "For when not moving quickly" type of item. But I'm now also reassessing my kit bags and looking more towards drybag-backpacks. Being a fan of ultralite gear, I'm not too concerned by the space restraints. But, having looked into drybags, I'm very tempted to cache some stuff in a few of them and hide them about.

Annoyingly, the more I practice, the more I change and develop my systems. Which is great, but also frustrating.

[Straight Shooter]

I am inline with our Mary on this one .....it’s not a real option for us , although if it had to change we could and would adapt .....our main choice would be to bug in , stay put and defend best we can .....I still have a BO plan in place and relevant BO pack ready to go , but no real desire , if that makes any sense ? .

[bigpaul]

I bugged out of a city nearly 25 years ago, now in a rural area, I'm not bugging out, this is as far as I go.

[Pete Grey]

Hi S13.

The OH and I are both in our late seventies so we won’t be bugging out anywhere unless it’s on four wheels, fortunately we’re lucky, we have the camper and as backup BOV the car. Our preference however has always been to bug in unless our lives are at risk.

We were both doing a lot of hill walking right up to our sixties, in all weathers and have used all types of waterproofs over the years. Waxed jackets are good for outside work and gardening etc but not for days at a time in a BO situation, too heavy and restrictive.

Modern waterproofs are breathable and layered clothing will keep you dry and warm enough but in a severe storm three hours without shelter can still kill you. Steady heavy rain is not too bad but with gale force winds it’s an other ball game, you can’t fight the wind it saps all your strength.

Still clothing is all a matter of personal choice. Find out what works best for you.

[Mortblanc]

Wow, it's almost like nothing has happened in the past two years.

We never had a pandemic, we never had a shutdown of the economy, we never had complete restriction of travel, we never had ghost towns with closed businesses and empty roads and sidewalks.

We are going to go back to talking about "bugging out" like before reality struck.

And of course we are going to talk about SHTF. We apparently have not had SHTF. We never had a pandemic that killed tens of thousands, we were never restricted to specific areas for certain hours and told where we could go, when we could go there and how many people could be in our houses. We never lost a year of economic growth and now face massive recession and inflation at the same time. If you have not been in the middle of SHTF for the past two years you were not on the same planet I was on.

So there is a mysterious thing out there that we have not already seen called SHTF. No one can define it, no one can explain it, but ten years ago it sounded like what we have just been through, and now it is something else. When it happens we are supposed to "bug out". All preppers are supposed to be prepared to "bug out" at a moment's notice.

Is there a phone tree that alerts all the preppers that SHTF and they need to "bug out"?

The problem is that most long term preppers have already "bugged out". We are in the places we organized and established to support us during hardships. Hardships like we have been through for the past two years and will go through in the future as the world we once knew crumbles, then revives in however long that takes.

We are not going to take off to the forest and live like a "ninja boy scout" with a catapult and an alcohol stove made from a tuna can. "Bugging out" is just talking the SOS and does nothing to really prepare anyone for what they are going to have to endure.

SHTF is when someone comes to take what you have so carefully prepared away from you. That might be by force on their own, but most likely it will be with an official and a hand full of paperwork that legally deprives you of your necessities. Don't say it can't be done, or that the people will not tolerate it. It was done and it was tolerated and encouraged by your own grandparents and parents in the name of "fairness".

Perhaps that is the real SHTF! The thing that will put you out of your home, "bugging out" without hope or sustenance.

Government enforced "fairness".

[Straight Shooter]

I can NOT disagree with a single word you write MB ! Not one .....only thing to add is ( the conditioning of restrictions is still ongoing and about to get much worse) if we thought all that has happened Over the past two years was ....not to bad ......wait till we experience the next two years ! ......the pandemic will pale into insignificance ...history will record it as a starter before the Main Course event ! ......food wars are now here ...even if we grow our own food ,fowl, animals to mitigate shortages along with all the tinned and dried foods we have put by ....there will become a point where you will run out or have it taken from you .......as I keep on saying we have seen nothing yet ! .....people can not SEE it ....Even now ! They refuse to confront what’s coming ....this is only my opinion ! For once I hope I am wrong ....but I doubt it ...tens of millions of people are going to be starved to death .......including preppers , especially preppers ! .....eventually people will just stand up and say NO enough and rebel ! Bugging out serves as fighting the fight somewhere else ...other than home .

[bigpaul]

(2 May 2022, 02:52)Mortblanc Wrote: Wow, it's almost like nothing has happened in the past two years.

We never had a pandemic, we never had a shutdown of the economy, we never had complete restriction of travel, we never had ghost towns with closed businesses and empty roads and sidewalks.

We are going to go back to talking about "bugging out" like before reality struck.

And of course we are going to talk about SHTF. We apparently have not had SHTF. We never had a pandemic that killed tens of thousands, we were never restricted to specific areas for certain hours and told where we could go, when we could go there and how many people could be in our houses. We never lost a year of economic growth and now face massive recession and inflation at the same time. If you have not been in the middle of SHTF for the past two years you were not on the same planet I was on.

So there is a mysterious thing out there that we have not already seen called SHTF. No one can define it, no one can explain it, but ten years ago it sounded like what we have just been through, and now it is something else. When it happens we are supposed to "bug out". All preppers are supposed to be prepared to "bug out" at a moment's notice.

Is there a phone tree that alerts all the preppers that SHTF and they need to "bug out"?

The problem is that most long term preppers have already "bugged out". We are in the places we organized and established to support us during hardships. Hardships like we have been through for the past two years and will go through in the future as the world we once knew crumbles, then revives in however long that takes.

We are not going to take off to the forest and live like a "ninja boy scout" with a catapult and an alcohol stove made from a tuna can. "Bugging out" is just talking the SOS and does nothing to really prepare anyone for what they are going to have to endure.

SHTF is when someone comes to take what you have so carefully prepared away from you. That might be by force on their own, but most likely it will be with an official and a hand full of paperwork that legally deprives you of your necessities. Don't say it can't be done, or that the people will not tolerate it. It was done and it was tolerated and encouraged by your own grandparents and parents in the name of "fairness".

Perhaps that is the real SHTF! The thing that will put you out of your home, "bugging out" without hope or sustenance.

Government enforced "fairness".

cant disagree with one word of that MB.

[Joe]

It’s the old bug out or bug in debate again lol. Bugging in makes perfect sense until you are faced with a forest fire, flood, nuclear power plant in melt down etc etc. So not having a bug out plan is pretty unprepared.
The common misconception is bugging out with your bug out bag and roughing it in the woods brrr not easy. However you could have a van, caravan, box trailer or heated tent. If done correctly bugging out is possible without killing yourselves.
Personally I use a small caravan towed by a 4x4 which is set up for off grid operation, solar, 12v generator, food etc.
However we have seen authorities introducing travel restrictions pretty quick so this might need extra thought.
On the topic of storms then ideally you need experience operating in them, most folk in the Uk would struggle to operate in anything above 80mph. I work in them regularly and it’s very extreme, even getting behind a big rock makes a massive difference, more so if you include hail/snow.
I use Keela kit, Munro jacket and waterproof trousers and if it’s hail ski goggles are a must.