You gotta bug out - do you stop to change clothes or gear

only concern about clothes that I can see, with any earnest, is more Get Home than Bug Out .... if you commute and white collar or even too preppy, I'd want to dress down to get out of the city and any questionable surrounding burb(s) .... leave the briefcase at the office and grab the GHB .... stash the wallet, watch/jewelry, cash, phone ect ect out of site .... unless your usual commute transportation is kaput, your trip home will be one of those totally screwed commutes that happen .... if you need to walk out - you won't be alone - let the shepple lawyers in the Brooks Brothers suits and Rolex have the attention ....

Bugging out - forget the all military - that's just screaming AR or AK to any roadblocks .... same thing with decking the family out in matching camo or jumpsuits - might as well sign up for being the next weirdo DoomsDay Prepper family .... dress to look normal but prepared for the weather and any situations .... unless you waited to freaking long to bug out - the trip to the BOL should be fairly normal ....

 

SHTF. I might have to change my undies. But I could go native commando.

 

If coming from work the wife would be in scrubs with her ID around her neck. We've talked a lot about this. It most likely will get her a pass through check points/road blocks as she is a "doc". Not always true, but it has helped her in the past during ice storms/hurricanes. She has yet to get a ticket while wearing her "work clothes" and the woman drives like a bat outta... so its worth a shot. She carries jeans and shirt in her bag because scrubs aren't worth much as real clothing. Around here, like many have already mentioned, cammo shirts/pants are VERY common. Most likely I will be in jeans and a work T of either gray or tan. That's what I've been wearing for years. Throw on a tan long sleeved welding shirt if needed.

 

Once you go commando you'll never go back!

 

Having a pass with a specific name (mine) giving permission to go through local, parish, state and federal roadblocks is a good thing to have. Being dressed to fit the part certainly helps. Well-groomed, dress slacks, button-up shirt and spit-shined boots - "no problem, sir." Being able and willing to disseminate info to some of the folks manning the roadblocks sits well with them if you need to make multiple trips, too.

My apologies for the bit of a drift, but looking like you belong and acting like you know what's going on play a big part on bugging out - and back.

 

From the "ground up" or underwear, I wear subtle colors that will blend into the shadows easily but not stand out in a threatening way. Am not "tacticool"--just plain joe the "grey guy"---long as you do not "shake me"--lol.

 

I would throw on my State Emergency Response Team neck lanyard and act like I own the place... If I really had to bug out in a more urban setting my big old guitar case (nylon with back straps full of BOB gear and an m1a1 style carbine... with 4 15 rnd mags and 100 loose round + my EDC... I would change from my normal office wear to more appropriate clothes Hog washer overalls, and a red man cap...

 

Same here. Lots of Bubbas and Good Ol' Boys. Wearing my huntin' cammies I blend right in. If I have sufficient warning I'll take time to dress in good rugged field clothes. But I usually wear jeans and heavy shoes or boots anyways. Would mostly just need to throw on a good heavy duty shirt. Grab the BOB and go.
But at my age and with some health concerns, a full blown BO is a strictly last-ditch thing! Remember to set the charges on the way out, if it's this bad, I won't be coming back.

 

I work in Jeans and a Polo shirt but at the sign of trouble the polyester shirt goes in favor of something more durable. I always wear boots of some type, and always have the battle rattle close by. I'd never just run out without the means to be effective. Should things get jiggy, I stay with civilian type clothing though it may be over a level III. Hiding in plain sight is always best.

 

I've studied this topic a lot; and I still haven't made up my mind on certain issues. One thing I'm presently undecided about is whether or not I should actually attempt to bug out? Then again, I live in the country; and, at least for a while, I should be able to remain inside my well stocked, well defended larder. (I've already got my fields-of-fire laid out; and my fallback positions have been carefully chosen along with everything else that needs to be prearranged.)

My own, 'survival guide' was written by FerFAL. According to his life experience: Inside an urban environment, people who show visible guns - especially long guns - tend to draw fire, and be summarily shot at! After all, 'Why' not? Isn't it better to shoot 'um when you see 'um rather than wait until later on when the fellow you gave a, 'free pass' to, today, might be the same person who sets up a successful ambush for you, tomorrow! (Makes sense, right!)

Me? I'd take all of the available time I had to leave my home in as well-prepared a condition as possible; so yes, if I'm at all able to, I would take time to change into the most suitable and appropriate clothing I had; and, if I were forced to, I'd even risk beginning to fight right away. Otherwise, the moment I was fully supplied and ready, I'd simply run.

Remember not to wear anything conspicuous, and show as few weapons as possible. FerFAL recommends slinging your AR/AK underneath your arm, as well as wearing some sort of cover garment over it. (Have you ever watched a military drone airstrike? Who's always the first person to have dozens of 50 caliber gatling gun rounds rain down on his head? That would be the man with the, ....... !)

Whenever you recognize that you might have to engage an armed target later on while you're at a tactical disadvantage, can you really afford to ignore that same armed target right now? (Can you?) Well, the United States Military does NOT; and this is, perhaps, the only one of the US military's much too often asinine rules of engagement that US Military Command actually has right! (Tragic, isn't it.)

What if you do give a viable target a, 'free pass' today? Then who's to blame when a bullet comes flying through your bedroom window the next night and strikes you COM? If you ask me it's always better NOT to be seen, NOT to be heard, and NOT to draw any additional attention to yourself - No, 'red flags!' No, 'target markers!'

Talk about bugging out! Have you hidden any resupply caches, anywhere along your expected exfiltration route? (You should because otherwise you might be reduced to marauding, and become part of the problem rather than part of the solution!) FerFAL, himself and his family, did NOT bug out; instead they formed a mutual protection alliance with an enclave of their neighbors.

(Forming an alliance with the neighbors (if you can stand them) is an alternative survival strategy that also needs to be given careful consideration; and, quite frankly, because of my own age, and a few other factors, THIS is the first survival strategy that I would be anxious to pursue; and, just between the two of us, my personal skill sets are such that I would be a valuable survival asset to any community I elected to join.)

Other than these considerations fate, fortune, and destiny also have to be taken into consideration. (So does, 'the Hand of God'.) I'm reminded of several appropriate scriptures, each from the New Testament:

'Pray ye that your flight might not be in the winter, neither on the sabbath day; for then shall there be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world up until this very day, no, nor ever shall be again.' (Matthew 24:20-22)

'Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.' (Revelation 3:10)

Bugging out is serious business; and, regardless, other than the previously recorded specific promises of God, there is absolutely no guarantee of success. Sometimes - sometimes - it's better to simply (and, perhaps, more courageously) shelter-in-place. Read this:

'The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman and every free man indebted to them, they all hid themselves in their carefully prepared secret dens, and in the deep hidden clefts of the mountains.'

'Wherein they and said to themselves: Let the mountains fall upon us and hide us from the Face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the resolute wrath of His Chosen One; for, the great day of His vengeance is finally come; and none shall be able to stand!' (Revelation 6:16-17)

Worth stopping to think about before you start running, yes! (Herein endeth the sermon for this sunny Sunday morning!)

 

For a Lone Gunman, that's some powerful preachen

 

I'm a flip flops and shorts guy 99% of the year, even living in the Wet side of the PNW.

My bob is the same as my hunting setup so I would grab my boots and hunting gear, always ready to walk out the door minus the guns and ammo.

I also take that stuff with me anytime I'm going more then a 30 min drive from home, I don't want to have to walk home in flip flops if possible lol.

Mostly I'm less then 6 miles from home and been doing the home dad thing for a few years so that's why I'm so casual.

That'll change once I start working again if I can't find a from home job that's decent.

 

Earth toned civilian clothing with plenty of pockets made of durable cloth...buttons instead of zippers. With some variety of head dress...with options to alter appearance. Clothing that wouldn't be out of place in the AO.

Sturdy civilian day-pack (with camelback and haversack. For long distance hoofin' it, a sturdy backpack.

Weapons concealable.

Sturdy boots.

 

I see a lot of people touting jeans. I loves me my jeans...but not for spending days humping outdoors in variable terrain and weather. I wear TruSpec 24/7 pants for work and keep a pair in my BOB and in my vehicles. Loose fitting, fast drying poly/cotton blend, lots of pockets...even pockets for foam knee pads (which are also in the BOB and vehicles). In winter I also keep a pair of wool long johns in the BOB and vehicles.

Sorry, but jeans just plain suck when they are wet...and suck even more when they are frozen and wet!

 

Yea, nothing cotton or denim for sure.

 

With constant drastic changes in the weather patterns ,it seems prudent to plan for the worst and have gear capable of handling he worst case scenario .
Indefinitely Bugging out in the summer and lasting through the fallowing winter take a lot more than mere summer clothing.
If every thing in the home is lost , then more serious considerations need to be addressed.
I don't relish the idea of being homeless again but it is possible no matter how well one plans.
On another board I visit on of the members is loosing their home to flooding and all their preps . this is flooding that has never ever happened before in their area.
If your gear and your preps are boxed in such a way, that at a moments notice they can be moved to safety your miles ahead .
My dry goods are all in 5 gallon buckets ,but caned foods are all shelved and not easily moved with out taking the time to box and haul.
Which is more inconvenient, leaving it behind because it would take too long to box up, or having it boxed and ready to hook and haul ? Best of both worlds , Having buckets and lids or boxes ready to make on demand and tape to secure them for transport.
Food for thought.
buckets can also contain your stand by clothing , if there's a flood that clothing will be dry at least.

 

Well, at this end of the thread it's touched on already! Don't wear cotton blue jeans! Or anything else of cotton! If you get caught out, anywhere like where I live in the PNW, hypothermia can certainly kill the heck out of you! It's a miserable way to go, too!