A bug out bag gets you from point A to point B. It's essentially all of the supplies you'll need to get you to your bug out location from no matter where you happen to be when SHTF.

There is a lot of conflicting advice as to how to put one of these bags together, and here are the top 10 mistakes:

The top lesson you can take away from this is SPEED. Your bug out bag needs to get you to your bugout location as quickly and efficiently as possible. You should have the bare minimum to allow that to happen with just enough gear to fall back on if things don't go as planned.

If your bag is comfortable, you'll be able to move faster. If you aren't loaded down with weapons, you'll be able to move faster. If you are relying on bushcraft skills to snare food and build shelters, you'll have to stop all the time and a trip that should take a couple of days could take a few weeks. Speed is your friend.

This is all excellent advice that should be heeded in the preparation of all bugout plans.