I have always wondered this to myself. About the only situation I can think of for"bugging out" is an immediate threat to your home from a train derailment, or other chemical spill nearby your home. Even that would be a VERY short notice and reasonably short duration.
Would it not be better to take the money spent on prepping for "bugging out" and use it to prep for "bugging in"? I just do not understand why one would leave their familiar surroundings in an emergency. It is going to be hard enough to get by in a SHTF scenario in familiar surroundings let alone adding on top of that, the stress of trying to make your way to some place where you dont live every day. About the only purpose I could see is if you are making your way to a small town / area where you know and are known by the locals. If you are a "stranger in town" that only comes around on a weekend once a month, you may not even be able to get in let alone have any kind of support structure in place.
I think you would be surprised how a neighbourhood will come together in a crisis. It is simply human nature for people to band together in a crisis. This does not mean to trust your neighbours with your life, if you're a prepper, DONT ADVERTISE IT! What you CAN do though is if you have a generator, be prepared to offer to keep your neighbours frozen goods in your freezer (or help them bring thiers to you to keep it online). Do this in "exchange" for something they have to offer. Even if they have no skills, they can still function as a lookout. Whatever you do though, DO NOT ADVERTISE that you have a years worth of food stored. This does not mean you cannot share, in fact it is recommended. Simply dont supply them with a weeks worth of food "because I have plenty to spare". In other words, dont outwardly live higher than your neighbours.
Then there is the whole concept of the "bugout vehicle". If you absolutly insist on "bugging out" having a M35A1 Deuce as a bugout vehicle may be good for the testosterone, but you are unlikely to keep it long in a true SHTF situation. If nothing else, the police or even military may wish to "procure" that from you (and it is not realistic to assume you will fight them to the death). The best thing to have is something that is NOT desirable to anybody else (outwardly) but serves your uses. In other words, do not fill the back of your pickup with "jerry-cans" full of gasoline. Install extra hidden tanks to get you where you are going. Avoid the temptation to paint it camo. All that does is point you out as a "survivalist" instead of an average joe. Another thing here, keep it dirty / faded. Keep the running gear in tip top condition, but let it look like junk outside. Again, not good for the ego, but the worse it looks, the less likely someone else is to "covet" it ;-) The next "feature" aside from the gas tanks is to have a kill switch for ALL the lights. This includes brake lights, which come on even if the lights are off. Lastly, cover the reflectors in a "non-obvious" way. If there is dirt or dust all over the truck, then it will not lookout of place on the reflectors. If you instead tape over the reflectors or simply throw dirt on the reflectors on an otherwise clean truck, then you look like you're trying to hide something.
Well, anyway, that is my opinion. Please throw in your comments here.
Would it not be better to take the money spent on prepping for "bugging out" and use it to prep for "bugging in"? I just do not understand why one would leave their familiar surroundings in an emergency. It is going to be hard enough to get by in a SHTF scenario in familiar surroundings let alone adding on top of that, the stress of trying to make your way to some place where you dont live every day. About the only purpose I could see is if you are making your way to a small town / area where you know and are known by the locals. If you are a "stranger in town" that only comes around on a weekend once a month, you may not even be able to get in let alone have any kind of support structure in place.
I think you would be surprised how a neighbourhood will come together in a crisis. It is simply human nature for people to band together in a crisis. This does not mean to trust your neighbours with your life, if you're a prepper, DONT ADVERTISE IT! What you CAN do though is if you have a generator, be prepared to offer to keep your neighbours frozen goods in your freezer (or help them bring thiers to you to keep it online). Do this in "exchange" for something they have to offer. Even if they have no skills, they can still function as a lookout. Whatever you do though, DO NOT ADVERTISE that you have a years worth of food stored. This does not mean you cannot share, in fact it is recommended. Simply dont supply them with a weeks worth of food "because I have plenty to spare". In other words, dont outwardly live higher than your neighbours.
Then there is the whole concept of the "bugout vehicle". If you absolutly insist on "bugging out" having a M35A1 Deuce as a bugout vehicle may be good for the testosterone, but you are unlikely to keep it long in a true SHTF situation. If nothing else, the police or even military may wish to "procure" that from you (and it is not realistic to assume you will fight them to the death). The best thing to have is something that is NOT desirable to anybody else (outwardly) but serves your uses. In other words, do not fill the back of your pickup with "jerry-cans" full of gasoline. Install extra hidden tanks to get you where you are going. Avoid the temptation to paint it camo. All that does is point you out as a "survivalist" instead of an average joe. Another thing here, keep it dirty / faded. Keep the running gear in tip top condition, but let it look like junk outside. Again, not good for the ego, but the worse it looks, the less likely someone else is to "covet" it ;-) The next "feature" aside from the gas tanks is to have a kill switch for ALL the lights. This includes brake lights, which come on even if the lights are off. Lastly, cover the reflectors in a "non-obvious" way. If there is dirt or dust all over the truck, then it will not lookout of place on the reflectors. If you instead tape over the reflectors or simply throw dirt on the reflectors on an otherwise clean truck, then you look like you're trying to hide something.
Well, anyway, that is my opinion. Please throw in your comments here.