Dear Black Bag Confidential Reader,
Allow me to introduce you to Jeff Anderson. Jeff and I have a few things in common, perhaps the most important of which is the desire to provide strategies for average Americans to protect not only themselves, but also their families, in any sort of disaster, crisis or collapse.
In his 10 years of military training with elite infantry units around the world, Jeff was able to get a firsthand glimpse of what a city in the midst of a collapse is like for its citizens.
And he uses this unique experience to inject a more realistic view of what to expect in survival scenarios and provide practical solutions — even in extreme environments — for true survivalists.
Take a look at Jeff’s piece below in which he offers his top tip for transforming your bug-out bag.
And as always…
Stay safe,
Jason Hanson
My No. 1 Survival Gear Tip for Optimizing Your Bug-Out Bag
If you know me, you know I love sharing my best secrets for building the ultimate survival gear plan on a budget.
As most of you know, I’m not a fan-boy of the same regurgitated game-plan all the “armchair preppers” out there follow when it comes to building out your survival gear… especially when it comes to your bug-out bag.
My time “humping a ruck” in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division quickly showed me how critical it is to follow an “ultra-light” philosophy that maximizes weight and space.
For example, one of the best areas for you to knock several pounds off your bug-out bag AND free up a ton of space is with your sleeping gear.
Take a look at this picture…
Now I’ve seen a ton of bug-out bag lists out there and every single one I’ve found is total crap.
I can usually tell if someone knows what they’re talking about depending on how they’re planning for their sleeping gear with these three options:
1. Cotton Sleeping Bag
“Old school”
Yes, it will keep you nice and comfy, cozy… but as you can see, it will pretty much take up about 75% of the real estate in your backpack.
Plus, the material used in these “traditional” bags are the heaviest you’ll find and the size places a lot of the weight away from your body, adding more stress to your back and shoulders (people don’t think about weight distribution as much as they should).
2. “Mummy” Sleeping Bag
This is a much better option for those looking for “luxury.”
As you can see, I was able to compress the polyester sleeping bag down to about half the size of a cotton bag.
But to get it down to that size, you’ll need a lighter bag and these will only keep you warm down to about 40 degrees or so.
Plus, these are the most expensive options, and frankly, I’m not looking at bugging out as a “luxury vacation” where I need an expensive bag that will only keep me warm in a moderate climate.
For me, size and weight are key…
3. TACT Bivvy
I can tell you that whenever I speak at survival expos, this is THE #1 question I get…
“Where can I get that awesome ‘survival sleeping bag’?!”
As you can see from the picture, the TACT Bivvy (#3) is super tiny — especially when compared with all the other options.
It’s basically a Mylar “emergency blanket” in a sleeping bag form so it weighs nothing and is so small, I can put my entire “camp” (including shelter) all inside of just one of my exterior pockets on my X-BOB bug-out bag.
Not only will it keep you warm down to 20 below, but it’s a FRACTION of the cost of any other bag option so you save a ton of dough at the same time.
And now they’ve come out with the new version 2.0 “improved” model that’s even smaller AND more durable!
You can check out the new TACT Bivvy (on sale) here…
This really is my #1 survival gear secret when it comes to saving money AND I get flooded with questions about it at the events I speak at.
If you don’t have several of these (for all your bug-out bags and survival kits — even your car), then I highly suggest you grab some while they’re on sale and you can get the new model.
I know you’ll love it as much as I do.
[Editor’s note: Check out this FREE online workshop offered by Jeff and his team over at Modern Combat and Survival. In it, you’ll learn three military survival secrets that could save your life during a disaster. But there are only 200 available spots, so be sure to sign up and claim yours today.]
