We’ll assume you have a good amount of water in your bug out bag. Having 3 full days of water is not practical, 3 gallons is hard to carry on your body. The food in your bug out bag should minimally keep your spirits up while giving a baseline of nutrition to keep you operating effectively.
MRE’S Meals Ready to Eat
You just can’t go wrong with MREs. They have a good mix of variety and familiarity even though they have a great shelf life. I have 3 MREs in my bag. If space is anything close to being a concern you should break down your MRE, remove most of the packaging and any items you’re not going to use. This saves lots of space.
Nuts and Beef Jerkey
Nuts pack in so many calories that I don’t even eat them when I’m trying to lose weight. In a survival situation those calories can fuel your ability to get where you need to be. Nuts are a great source of protein as is beef jerkey of course. Studies show that protein is more important than carbohydrates for cognitive ability. Protein also gives you a long term sustainable energy. If you want some carbs in there throw in some raisins.
Coast Guard Survival Food
This nutrient dense food packs tight. It’s easy to get a few days food into a pack. It won’t be entertaining or boost morale but it will deliver calories and vitamins.
Liquids
I keep a relatively small amount of liquid in my bug out bag. Two bottles of a Gatorade like drink are all I have. I make sure that the bottles are strong and reusable, the hope is that they can be refilled. I don’t carry a water filter, seems like overkill. I do add water purification tablets
in my bug out bag.
Drink Mix
The purpose here is to maybe deliver a few carbohydrates, vitamins and some flavor to keep morale up. Questionable water, filtered through your shirt with an iodine tablet would go down a lot smoother with some orange flavor. You get a really big bang for your buck on an item like this.
5-Hour Energy Drink
Stay with me. This is something you’d want to use as a last resort. When you’re tired but you still need to go for another few hours. I had to stay up for work for an extended period while using my brain. I can say that 5-Hour Energy Drink works. I felt alert, confident and able to think quickly, firing on all cylinders. You have to know that it lasts for about 5 hours. When it’s done be prepared to crash. Make sure you will be in a position to get some rest.
