There are three tiresome topics that come up repeatedly in survival forums, blogs, and websites:
- the top items to store for barter
- bugging in vs. bugging out
- what should be included in a bug out bag
I’m weary of these discussions, and at least one of them can be put to rest with Creek Stewart’s new book, Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag.
Was I excited to receive this book to review? Not exactly. My bookshelves are full of survival and preparedness books written by men, and they pretty much re-hash the same things over and over again and cover topics not in my areas of interest. This book, however, is different. It’s interesting to read, contains photos that illustrate important concepts (uses for an emergency blanket, for example), and is comprehensive.
Creek was smart to zero in one a single narrow topic, bug out bags, and then write The book on the topic. Seriously. Nothing more needs to be said about bug out bags. He covers every possible angle of these bags from choosing the right style and size to how to organize the contents, which type of lighting and communication devices to carry, considerations for food, and tons more.
The book contains dozens of photos, shaded boxes with Survival Quick Tips, an index, charts, and checklists. Heck, for the ladies, there are plenty of photos of Creek who is cute, in a cleancut-hippie kind of way!
Creek’s background is in wilderness survival, which he teaches at his own training facility, Willow Haven Outdoor, in Indiana. I first found Willow Haven when I was searching for survival apps for my Android phone. The app was well designed, so apparently, Creek sets his standards pretty high for anything he produces, and that would include this book.
Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag would be the perfect gift for any guy, and I feel confident in giving it my highest recommendation for women, too, and for a “guy book”, that’s a pretty high recommendation, indeed!
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What survival apps do you use? I really want one at least for our food! Thanks!
For iPhone, the best survival app I feel is “SASsurvival.” Very useful information and tools.
I have the book and I am about halfway through it…its very well done and I am impressed by Creek. He supports his views very well. thanks for your review!
I’ve just finished reading this book and I agree, it is very well written for a man or a woman.
I finished this book recently. It’s how I found your website. I’ve started to pick up some of the items. My husbands giving me a really hard time about it, yet last year before hurricane Irene, he was thankful that days before the storm I had him bottling water, stocking the pantry and getting a genny. You see. I grew up down south and know that if you focus on the eye of the storm, and don’t pay attention to how big and powerful the outer bands are, you’ll be surprised. Living in the crowded northeast corridor leaves me with great trepidation over our safety in the next few years. I have land in Va and plans to build in the mountains, but not until DS 15 graduates. The time won’t get here soon enough.
I finished this book last week and I really have to say that it is a great read and I was very glad to have stumbled upon it. Great review too!