[The Reaper]

If you consider the most likely contingencies, and start with the ones with the most serious consequences, you are on your way to putting together a plan. Also consider that your primary or secondary means of travel could be compromised. Remember PACE, and have alternatives, to include walking. Your BOB should reflect that contingency and have the appropriate items.

Since in my example, the only weather related concerns are hurricanes and tornados, we built our home in excess of code and with a LOT of strapping, tie downs and reinforcement. Sometimes, you can plan ahead and mitigate some of the risk or improve your chances ahead of time. We plan to hunker down and ride it out. Hurricanes give you plenty of warning, so you have time to consider staying or sheltering in place. A BOB would only be necessary if you decided to evacuate or had severe damage to your home and had to move. In both cases, you would have plenty of time to prepare. A tornado is a freak event. It is not likely to occur, and has a small footprint, but if it does hit, you would have little notice. In that case, you would use the BOB temporarily until you had a safe place to return to. People who live in heavy snow and severe cold climates should keep a BOB/kit in the car in the event they are stranded in the vehicle. The rest of the natural disasters like wildfire, flooding, mudslides, etc. span the above gamut of preparation time and impact. The BOB should take all of that into account. As noted, you may need a seasonal change in BOBs.

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, etc. are generally limited to specific, known areas in active regions or near the coast, in the case of tsunamis. If you live in an area prone to those events, you probably know it already. A BOB, in that case, would likely be to allow you to get home and assess the damage before deciding to stay or go, or to immediately evacuate the area. These catastrophes specifically, can create serious impediments to travel. Have multiple alternatives to your plan.

WMD attacks are serious business, but are really nothing new. The targeting has changed from strategic military locations to population centers. Here in the country, the odds of a WMD attack are very low. In NYC, DC, or any of the largest cities in this country, you have to consider it as one of your top priorities. The FOGs here remember the Duck and Cover drills. If a WMD were deployed in your AO, you might not be able to return home for a very long time. If it was an all out nuclear attack, you might have nothing but what was in your BOB to survive on for a very long time.

We have all read about the dangers of pandemics and seen the movies. Again, if you live in a remote area, you are much more likely to survive than in a metropolis, due to your ability to isolate yourself and avoid exposure to most pathogens. The BOB would be to get you home, or to a retreat elsewhere. The BOB for such a contingency should consider the threat, and contain masks, gloves, antibiotics, etc., along with the usual items.

Another contingency to consider would be an economic collapse. In that case, you would use the BOB to get to your home or to your retreat. You might want to consider how you would travel long distances and obtain items that you might need along the way.

Finally, you have to consider the routine events that could put you out of your home or office, like a fire, crime, etc. In that case, you would need to be able to get out and get to an alternative place of safety.

The lists that I have seen are good, depending on the plan you intend to execute with them. At the same time, you have to build the BOB lists around capabilities or broad categories of items, like first aid, navigation, signaling, shelter, and so forth. Plan and figure out what you need to do, or be prepared for, then build a BOB kit that supports your requirements. My kit to move 30 miles in my environment is not going to look exactly like the list of a guy in Alaska or Haiti who is trying to prepare for something completely different.

Everyone would like to bring the kitchen sink, till they actually have to lug it around for a few days. Items should have multiple uses, and overlap. Understand the difference between wants and needs. Make your list, and then pare it down to the key items. A long gun would be nice to have, but isn't really practical for most of us to lug around in a case several times per day. 1,000 rounds of ammo would be sweet, till you realize that it weighs 50 pounds. Take a look at what you absolutely have to have to accomplish your mission, and once it is reasonable, find the optimum container for it that allows you to move, and function while carrying it.

Incidentally, if you are living in San Francisco, IMHO, you should have a signaling device, like a whistle, a hammer/hatchet, and a prybar high on your BOB list of goodies to keep handy.

Best of luck.

TR