People die from the heat every summer. If you’re out in the wilderness, in some survival situation, you need to take some extra precautions to stay safe. There are two key safety areas you need to keep in mind: protection from direct sunlight and hydration.

Protection From Sunlight

Sunburns hurt. The longer you are out in the sun unprotected, the more you can get hurt. Burn enough and you won’t be able to move without some fairly severe pain. In addition to that, direct sun exposure can lead to an increased risk of heat exhaustion.

Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to protect yourself from an excessive amount of sun. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Find or make some shade to rest under when the sun is at its peak (midday).
• Wear clothes. This might make you a bit warm, but it’s important to find a balance between skin exposure and overheating. Unless you’re working on a tan, try to keep your skin protected.
• Use sunscreen if you have it.
• Lip balm protects your lips from becoming dry and cracked (which is very uncomfortable).
• Wear a hat. This is a good way to keep your head in the shade even if the rest of your body isn’t.

Hydration

Keeping properly hydrated takes care of two necessary bodily functions. It will keep your cells working properly and act as a coolant system fuel for your body. Without sufficient hydration, you won’t last long in the heat.

Your body’s natural coolant system is sweat. As you probably know, sweat is mostly water. It acts by cooling down your body from the outside, and “catching the wind” to increase the cooling. The more you sweat, the more your body uses water. If you are sweating a lot, you will need to drink more water to make up for it.

You won’t last very long without water in your day to day life, but that timeframe shrinks when you are in the heat, exerting yourself. To stay hydrated, simple steps will do:

• Keep water or some type of sports drink with you.
• Keep enough water for your planned journey.
• Have a refillable container, so you can refill your water supply when necessary. It’s also a good idea to have some type of water purification system in your pack, too.
• Stay cool. The less you sweat, the less water your body will use (thus the less you have to drink).

Surviving the heat is not a problem if you take some simple precautions and use your head. Plan ahead, get your necessary gear and protective wear together, and you shouldn’t run into any serious problems.

The key points to keep in mind are to protect yourself from direct sunlight, and to keep yourself hydrated. Do those two things, and you can make it through even the hottest days. If the desert tribes of the Middle East have been doing it for hundreds of years (or more), you can too.

Want to learn more about preparing yourself for an emergency situation? Learn about disaster preparation, survival, and bugging out with The Bug Out Bag Book – How to build a personalized emergency gear kit.

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Got a blog or other website? We have brand new banners just uploaded today, professionally designed, that you can use to promote the book and earn some cash. Check them out here:

Bug Out Bag Book Marketing Banners

Be sure and read that entire page, because it details how you can earn some money promoting the book. The page has general advice, how to sign up to earn commissions, banners you can use freely to promote the book and drive traffic, and even sample email marketing copy if you have your own opt-in email list.

So check it out today and earn some extra cash. Who doesn’t need extra money these days?

Bug Out Bag Book Marketing Banners

Soap is something that should be in every personal emergency kit, but it’s one item that is often overlooked. Why is soap so important? Because it cleans stuff. Seriously, it does.

Keeping things clean might be a lower priority for you during an emergency, but it’s something you really need to think about. You need to think about it on a personal comfort level, and on a first aid level. Soap can keep infections away, and help you feel more comfortable. Both are important.

We can die from a simple infection. I know that it’s largely unheard of in developed society, but when it all hits the fan, we might not have the simple stuff that modern life gives us. We might not have any medical care available, clean facilities, or even a disinfectant. In cases like this, cleaning a wound with soap and water might keep you healthy enough to go on.

Even if you’re not injured, soap can go a long way to feeling comfortable. If you don’t have the opportunity to bathe, you might start to feel icky. And if you live in a humid area, you might start to grow fungus in some uncomfortable spots. I’m talking about your feet and your crotch region. You don’t want anything growing there. A simple quick wash with some soap and water can help keep that fungus at bay. For people who grew up in a dry climate, but then find themselves bugging out during the summer in a humid climate, this can be a problem.

Keep soap in your bug out bag so that you can enjoy a bit of comfort, and maybe keep a wound from getting a dangerous infection.

Water is a vital necessity. Without it, we won’t last beyond a few short days. Unfortunately, water is heavy, so putting a bunch in your bug out bag can hurt as much as it helps. If your bag is too heavy, you’ll move slowly, tire more easily, and use up more of the water in your body than you need to.

So how do you find some middle ground? How do you carry enough water so that you aren’t weighed down too much? The easy solution is to carry water and a water purification system. That way, you have some water to drink right away, and you have something to make most found water drinkable.

Natural water sources, such as lakes, streams, and rivers contain bacteria that you don’t want in your system. You know, the bottom fall out of your world and the world falling out of your bottom type of stuff — best to avoid that. Once you finish up the water you brought with you, you’ll need to sterilize or filter (or do both) water so you can drink it without making yourself sick.

I recommend carrying some type of water bottle (extra, beyond the couple of store-bought sealed bottles of water or Gatorade that you packed in your BOB). This can be a military canteen, a Naglene bottle, or anything similar. Then, have some type of purification process and supplies packed in your bag, too. I’m not going to go into the specifics of that here, but you can find a wide variety of camping-oriented water purification systems on the market. Any sporting goods store should have something you can use.

By carrying water or a sports drink that you can access right away, you won’t have to stop to purify water if you are in the middle of bugging out. Once you get to a safe place, you can collect and purify more water for drinking and cooking. Using this type of system, you’ll be able to keep your pack weight down while still addressing your basic survival needs.

I’m not sure if it’s the price of gas over the last couple of years, or just the economy in general, but MREs are more expensive than they used to be. While unfortunate, things like this are just going to happen. It seems like everything is more expensive than it was a few years ago.

But don’t worry. You can still pick up MREs at reasonable rates. I’m a firm believer in MREs — keeping them around for your bug out bag, bug-in disasters, or just to take with you when you head into the wild for some outdoor fun.

Here are the current prices on MREs at BDR Gear.

MRE Case – 12 Pack – No Heater: $88.75 ($7.40 per meal)

MRE Case – 12 Pack – WIth Heater: $92.99 ($7.75 per meal)

On a per-meal basis, they cost about the same as a fast-food meal for one. These, however, provide a lot more nutritional value and have a much longer shelf life. Perfect for bugging out (or in), and affordable, too.

Grab a case and divide it up amongst your family’s bug out bags, or just keep the meals where you need them. I’m going to have a video review of these meals soon, so you’ll be able to see exactly what comes in each one, and how big it is. The size is important for determining how many you will put in a bug out bag, get home bag, or even a purse (if you carry one).

Subscribe to the newsletter for notice of that post.

If you want to learn how to create a bug out bag that meets your needs, I’ve got a resource for you.

It’s The Bug Out Bag Book, and it’s packed full of bug out bag how-to. This book is all about building a bug out bag, from the bag all the way to optional accessories.

Not only will you get gear selection tips, but you’ll also get the “why” for everything that goes into your bag. You’ll know what to pack and why you packed it.

You’ll even get some “additional considerations” about how to customize the bag to your individual needs. Since people have different needs, it’s great to have a guide that discusses meeting those needs with your bug out bag.

Don’t wait around for some natural disaster to hit too close to home. Build a bug out bag now. Get the book, get your gear, and be prepared for whatever might come your way.

It’s always going to be worth the time and effort to prepare. You wear a seatbelt, don’t you? You keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire, right? Build a bug out bag and be ready in the event that disaster hits home.

Check it out here: The Bug Out Bag Book.

Here is a how-to great article about recycling an old circular saw blade into a nice guthook knife. Use it for hunting, toss it your bug out bag… Read the article here:

How to Make a Guthook Knife from an Old Saw Blade

Maxpedition gear is now available at BDR Gear. Here’s the page with all the current products: Maxpedition Gear. Based on all of the reports and reviews I’ve seen so far, the Maxpedition line is top notch. I’m talking gear suited for both every day use and while working in hostile conditions.

I’ve been carrying all of my daily gear around in a messenger bag, but after seen the Maxpedition gear, I think I’m going to have to upgrade. Even though it’s big, I’m going to go for the Maxpedition Colossus Versipack. That should have plenty of room to carry my gear…and then some.

Sure, I’ll have a man-purse, also known as a “murse,” but who cares? I usually have to wear something with cargo pockets every day, just so I can fit all of my gear. If I start carrying around a gear bag everywhere, then that means less junk for my pockets. And that means two things: 1) I’ll be more comfortable while carrying my gear around, and 2) I’ll have more style choices when choosing my pants.

On top of all that, this bag will probably make a really good get home bag. Well, I guess that’s what it will end up being if I use it as an EDC (every day carry) bag.

When I get it, I’ll take some pictures and write up a review. I might even get adventurous and video the review for you. In the mean time, head over there and take a look. Who knows… you might find something you’ve gotta have.

Survival Kits. Bug out bags. Disaster prep kits. They are all the same basic thing: Gear you may need in an emergency. A large disaster will likely require all of the gear in your kit, but other times you just may need one or two things. Being prepared is the smart thing to do.

A survival kit is basically a bag (usually a backpack) that is filled with emergency items. Some of these items would be food, water, first aid supplies, a knife, a poncho, and similar. The actual contents of any emergency kit should meet your particular needs, but there are some staple items common among all emergency gear kits — which would be what I named a moment ago.

At the very least, each person should have a bag packed and ready to go that contains food, water, and something for warmth. Fortunately, there are some pre-made solutions out there — emergency gear packs with the gear already packed in them. All you do is add some customizations to meet your particular needs, and you’re good to go. There’s no need to spend a bundle of money and a lot of time buying all the gear individually, unless you just want to.

Emergencies happen all the time, but not everywhere at the same time. Even something as simple as a tornado warning is cause enough to grab your gear bag. The world doesn’t have to be at war for you to be ready to take care of yourself if you ever need to.

You can see some ready-made survival kits at BDR Gear.

I’m writing a book all about the Bug out Bag. It’s a handy thing, yet many people know little or nothing about them, how to construct them, or why it’s a good idea to have one in your home.

The book will be an eBook, so it will be available for instant download. I don’t have an ETA yet, but it won’t be long. Two or three years, tops. Kidding. I’m kidding. I’ll let you guys know more as I figure it all out.

I’ll be selling the book, but a few of you will be able to get your hands on it for free. So keep an eye out for more details, a page about the book, teaser samples, and more.

By Caleb Rogers

When disaster strikes, where will you be and how will you get to your family? Will you have supplies with you if you’re out and around town? The purpose of this article is to discuss what is known as the “get home bag,” and differentiate it from a bug out bag.

A get home bag, though it goes by many names, is a basic emergency kit one usually keeps in their car. The purpose of this kit is to keep you, and whoever is typically with you, safe and fed until you can get to a more secure location or more long-term gear. A bug out bag, on the other hand, should be designed to hold enough gear to completely sustain you – and any family with you – for 72 hours or more. Depending on the size of your family, you might need a few bug out bags.

While bug out bags should typically be large enough to carry a lot of gear, a get home bag only needs to carry enough to get you home or to a similarly safe location. The bag you use for a get home bag should have two basic characteristics. First, it should be small enough that you can carry it around comfortably. A common backpack or shoulder bag designed for school books should be sufficient. What you don’t want to do is use a large military-style rucksack. They are bulky and won’t help you out if you need to get out in a hurry.

The other characteristic is inconspicuousness. Drawing attention to yourself in a disaster isn’t a good thing. If the situation is bad enough, people will beat you and possibly kill you for your food and water. If you are trying to get to a secure location, your journey should be as smooth as possible. Keep a low profile by using a small, common backpack or shoulder bag. You’ll look like everyone else, so chances are you won’t be singled out by unsavory characters as a target.

I like to think of a get home bag as a mini bug out bag. Like a bug out bag, the get home bag should be filled with gear that you personally will need. Customize it to suit your individual needs. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Food: I like to use MREs for this. MREs are military rations designed to keep you going and do so from a small package. You can fit two or three in a backpack and still have room for plenty of other gear.
• Water: This one is tricky because water is heavy. Two or three water bottles will probably be what you need, but that will add a lot of weight. You will just have to judge your own personal circumstances and needs to determine the right amount of water to carry. It might be a good idea to carry a little water, and then some type of water purification system.
• Foul Weather Gear: Depending on your area, you might need something to protect you from rain, snow, or hard desert heat. Ponchos, anoraks, wool sweaters, gloves, headwear, and such will fit the bill, but you have to pack according to your needs.
• Knife: Carry a pocket knife or multi-tool in your pack. It’s the most versatile tool around and it’s a staple of any survival pack.
• Rope: Carry a length of rope or paracord in your pack. You can use it string together a quick shelter made of branches or a tarp, lash on a splint, or make a tourniquet.
• Flashlight: It gets dark every day, so be sure to have a way to see in the dark, along with batteries to keep that flashlight going.

When packing your get home bag, there are two things you need to keep in mind: Your individual gear needs and your local laws. Aside from dying, the last thing you want to do is get arrested in a disaster. Whatever type of personal security equipment you put in your bag (including your pocket knife), you need to make sure you follow local and state ordinances. Even though you may be in the midst of a disaster, police officers will still be around and they still have a job to do. Take care of yourself, but don’t run afoul of the law.

Keeping a get home bag in your car is a simple way to keep gear close to you when you might need it. Getting home in an emergency is important, and it’s a lot easier to do if you already have equipment on-hand to aid and support you.

I’ve been adding more and more products to my bug out gear supply shop. And I’m going to add more and more. So go check it out and buy some gear. If you don’t see anything you want or need right now, sign up as a customer so you will receive the BDR Gear newsletter, which will be filled with product and site updates.

Everyone needs a bug out bag. Why, you ask? The answer is simple. You never know when you might need it. Emergencies are emergencies because people don’t see them coming. The disasters strike suddenly and with great force. Then, all of a sudden, you are surrounded by crisis.

Having some gear ready in the event of a crisis can help you keep a clear head. If you don’t have to worry about your next meal, or what you’re going to use for shelter, you can spend your energies focused on the actual crisis. Ideally, this gear should be in a single bag — something with which you can just grab and go.

Later on, I’ll write up a little piece about what you should put in your bug out bag, but for now you can just take a look at this bug out supply shop and pick up a few pieces. Those pieces may save your life, or, less dramatically, make a bad situation a little easier.

While camping this weekend, I learned a valuable lesson. It’s good to have a padded sleeping mat when camping. I learned this the hard way, quite literally, by sleeping on the hard, rocky ground. Not only will one of these pads make sleeping all nice and comfy, but it can be a vital part of your bug out gear, too.

When you are bugging out, there’s an emergency going on somewhere in your region. During times like this, rest is critical. With yourself better rested, you’ll have more energy and be able to make more sound decisions. Both of which are vital to survival during a disaster. Not only are they good for you, but if you have to care for an injured person, putting them on your padded mat can help facilitate a quicker recovery. No, it won’t actually help heal a broken leg or take a fever down to safe levels. What it will do is make your charge more comfortable. And comfort aids in healing.

The pads are light, and they don’t take up much space on a pack. If you don’t have one, I suggest you get one. I’m going to.

A little trick I learned from my Marine OSO Captain was to pack plenty of zipper-locked sandwich and freezer bags with your gear. Books, maps, and electronics don’t like water very much. No matter how water-resistant your pack is, the rain will penetrate eventually. Not to mention streams and lakes you might fall into while hiking.

Keep zipper bags and baggies in your gear and put your water-sensitive items in them. You will be thankful that you did. This also protect against sweat. If you are keeping a little navigation notebook, journal, or paper map in your pocket while hiking, there’s a pretty good chance that it will get soaked with your sweat. Keep in the the plastic bag and it will be fine.

Don’t forget about any ammo you’re carrying, either. Put that in a bag so it stays as dry as possible.

When you need to get out of town to avoid getting caught up in some disaster, you’ll need supplies. Bug Out Bags are not really meant to be a replacement to your life, but rather to get you through the first tough couple of days of a disaster. Once the initial shock is done, emergency services and supplies may start to trickle in.

Whether you are bugging in (staying put and waiting out the storm) or you you are bugging out, you’ll need some basic supplies. I found a good online resource for getting some bug out kits ready made. These 72-Hour kits are meant to get you through the initial stage of the disaster. You may have to travel to another state, or walk 100 miles. Or maybe you’re just snowed in for a couple of days. Take a look at this site:

Not only do they have ready-made 72-Hour kits to get you through a hurricane, earthquake, or some other disaster (massive riots, for example), but they also have supplies you can use to create your own. The kits range in price from $20 to $180, and they seem to cover the basic areas of food, water, and emergency gear.

Take a look at them and see what they have to offer. Having an emergency kit is like wearing your seatbelt. Sure, you don’t need it every day, but if you get in a car accident, you’ll be glad you were wearing it. Likewise, if there’s a disaster in your area, you’ll be glad you have some emergency supplies in a grab-and-go bag. Click on the banner, see what they have to offer, and buy your emergency supplies today.

It is with a sad heart that I must announce the closure of my online shop, BDR Gear. It was a good run, but it’s time to close down. Fear not!

I will have some gear shop recommendations for you. So, if you don’t already have a favorite shop you use for your bug out and tactical gear, just keep tabs on this site. Subscribe to the feed, too.

The first shop I’m throwing your way is Nitro-Pak. It’s an online shop that seems similar to mine, but with a lot more stuff. I haven’t purchased anything from them, so I’m not exactly vouching for them. I’m saying check them out. I’m going to order a few things from them, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’m particularly interested in their MREs, since they are a different brand than what I sell (for just a bit longer). Speaking of which, if you want to get anything from my shop, order it now. I’m closing the doors to it on June 30, 2007. So check out Nitro-Pak, and make one last purchase from BDR Gear.

More gear sources will be coming soon!

The Hurricane season is now here. If you are in a danger zone, you need to prepare yourself. If you haven’t already done so, buy some MREs, bottled water, emergency blankets, a good pocket knife, a good flashlight, and a good pair of boots. Put all that gear (including whatever else you might need) in a rugged bug out bag and pay attention to the weather.

Just be prepared. If you are faced with disaster, it will go much smoother if you have some gear ready to go. Your equipment doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to work when you need it.

The B.O.B., or Bug Out Bag, is probably the most important piece of equipment you need in case of an emergency. Though it is made up of several parts, it’s one grab and go item that you will be glad you have should disaster strike.

Even though this piece of equipment has “Bug Out” in the name, you don’t necessarily need to be wilderness bound to use one. One can bug in just as easily as bug out. For example, say that you are in Northern Montana, in a rented ski cabin, and a gigantic blizzard pours snow on you, trapping you in for days. With a well-stocked bug out bag, you can just bug in and wait for the roads to clear up.

When putting together a bug out bag, the first thing you need is a bag. Now, this is supposed to be something that you can grab and head out with, so a backpack would be ideal. When selecting a pack, make sure it’s a good one, because if you’re having to muscle your way through angry crowds or run through some thick woods, you don’t want your pack to fall apart.

If you need a regular-sized backpack, why not get a military-style 3-Day assault pack? If you need a large pack, capable of sustaining two people, or if you will need to travel for a while to get to a safe location, try a larger back, like the CFP-90. Those packs are large, tough, and pretty comfortable, too.

In another post, I talked about the value of having food in an emergency. When building a bug out bag, keep in mind that it may very well sit in your closet for years without seeing the light of day. So, you should pack military rations in it, since they are designed to last for years without going bad. I recommend SurePak MREs, which are nearly identical to the government issue military rations. These complete meals are packed in a bag that fits nicely into BDU cargo pockets. So, putting a few of these in your bug out bag won’t take up much room, and will solve the food problem. Keep in mind that they are meals only, and don’t come with water. So you’ll have to pack some of that, too.

These suggestions of mine are just the very basic necessities. There are many other things that you may need to add, and still other things that I think are a must. A good knife, for example, is a must for any BOB. You never know when you’re going to have to cut some rope or divide up some badnages. Flashlights and extra batteries, along with some type of warmth and shelter system are also musts for a bug out bag. I have a polypro tarp and some paracord in my bag, so that I can construct a basic tent or put a covering on a lean-to shelter.

Whatever you decide to put in your bug out bag is up to you. Just make sure that you have one. The last time I grabbed mine was when a tornado hit a block behind my house. That was quite and exciting night! I grabbed my bug out bag, and got my family into some protective shelter and waited out the storm. If we had been dislodged by furious winds, we would have had flashlights, water, protien bars, and emergency mylar blankets.

Take this basic information and expand upon it so that it meets your needs.

Now go make a BOB.