Urban Survival SKills - More Readers Questions on Survival Bug Out Bags

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com continues to receive many comments on Survival Bug Out Bags. I’m going to address a couple of them here:

“Anonymous said.......Excuse my ignorance, but why not have a small caliber handgun with your Load bearing kit?

“John in Kansas asked,……What do you think about building Bug Out bags around the Maxpedition SITKA gearslinger or KODIAK gearslinger bags? I like the water bladder and concealed weapon feature.”


UrbanMan replies: Concerning the small handgun in my Load Bearing Kit…….. I actually have six rigs, only two of which I posted pictures of. A couple of the other rigs have molle plackets with Blackhawk Serpa holsters for my Glocks. I have pretty much settled on Glocks as my family and group Survival handgun. If I did it all over again, I probably would have went with the S&W M&P semi-automatics. These are highly touted by some friends of mine who use them regularly in bad places.

With different rigs and configuration I can select the rig I need for the purpose. Some rigs are light, no armor and other’s have soft armor and/or plates. For the rigs I use without a Glock holster, I can wear a handgun on my pants belt or a drop rig, and although I am not fond of drop rigs, I own several…mostly for carrying Glocks with the excellent Surefire X200 pistol light.

So to answer the question, I don’t carry a small handgun on my rigs. I do however always carry a Kel-Tec .32 auto. In my shirt or BDU/ACU type pocket all the time. I guess you could carry a small handgun on your rig, and I am interpreting your question to mean an additional handgun.

I am a big believer in having some gear on your body in your clothing, such as a folding knive, belt knife, handgun in belt or shoulder holster, firestarting equipment, etc. in case you are separated from your load bearing rig for any reason. I know, I know,…but as much discipline as you have not to be separated from your kit, it happens…and a good example would be a river crossing when you have to jettison your kit.

As far as the other question on Maxpedition SITKA and KODIAK bags. The best bag for a Survival Bug Out bags are like anal orifices,… ….everybody has one. All gear and equipment from Maxpedition is quality gear. Either bag would an excellent Bug Out Bag. I like Small Rucks with a hydration bladder and Molle compatible so extra smaller bags can be hooked to the outside.

As far as the hidden compartment for a handgun,…that’s a decent feature, but I would carry my handgun in an more accessible location. If I was actually using my Survivial Bug Out Bag for it’s intended purpose I would also be carrying a M-4 carbine in my hands. So I see no reason to hide a handgun unless you are using the Bag before the collapse.