When it hits the fan, you don’t want every thing—you want the suitable issues.
Most guys constructing go luggage overdo it. They stuff 72-hour kits full of fireplace starters, tarps, fishing hooks, and freeze-dried meals like they’re mountain climbing the Appalachian Path. That’s not what we’re speaking about right here.
That is about constructing a minimalist go bag. A bolt bag. A speedball. One thing you possibly can seize when issues go sideways—quick. A brief-term, under-48-hour bag for getting out, not bugging out. It’s designed to be carried day-after-day or stored inside arm’s attain. Suppose fuel station to house, metropolis to security, or lodge to your automobile.
Let me present you what that appears like for me.
Goal of the Minimalist Go Bag (a.okay.a. Speedball, Bolt Bag)
This isn’t a tenting package. It’s not meant that will help you reside off the land. It’s meant that will help you get house, get out of a nasty space, or trip out a right away disaster with out trying like a man cosplaying Crimson Daybreak.
You need it small, quick, and unassuming.
Mine lives in my automobile or will get slung over my shoulder after I journey. Your complete setup is designed to advertise short-term self-reliance in high-stress conditions. Not survival within the woods. City mobility, velocity, and redundancy.
I’ve been by a number of configurations, however I hold coming again to the PF-1. It’s compact, armored and offers me quick entry to the necessities.
It’s not overloaded. It’s not flashy. It blends in.
I don’t off-body carry my firearm in it, however I do hold important help gear inside, and it’s laid out so I can entry every thing in seconds.
It’s additionally obtained a quick-adjust shoulder strap, so I can sling the bag behind me, cinch it down, and transfer quick.
What I Hold In My Minimalist Bolt Bag (and Why)
Spare Magazines (x4) – Loaded with 147-grain 9mm hole factors. One magazine isn’t sufficient—that is for sustained protection, not a warning shot.
Money – A pair hundred in small payments. Bank card readers fail, and money talks when techniques are down.
Passport – Fast ID in an emergency, proof of citizenship, or a backup in case your pockets disappears.
Smoke Grenades (x3) – For distraction, escape, or cowl in a worst-case state of affairs. Particularly helpful in city settings, riots, avenue takeovers, or low-visibility conditions.
Bear Spray – Non-lethal deterrent that buys distance. Works simply as effectively on two legs because it does on 4.
Small Medical Package – Simply the necessities: tourniquet, stress bandage, gloves. It’s not a trauma suite, however it might probably save a life.
Headlamp – Fingers-free beats handheld each time—whether or not you’re making use of a bandage or navigating at midnight.
PSA Dagger Upkeep Package – A compact set of instruments and cleansing gear to maintain my sidearm practical.
Duct Tape (Brief Roll) – Gear restore, wound closure, restraint, you title it. Should you can’t repair it with duct tape, you didn’t use sufficient.
Hand Restraints – For when you could management a risk or safe somebody till legislation enforcement arrives.
Gloves – For every thing from trauma response to maintaining your prints off something that should keep nameless.
Telephone Charging Cable + Battery Pack – My iPhone does maps, messaging, flashlight, digicam—you title it. This setup provides me one full recharge from zero.
What I Don’t Carry (On Goal)
Right here’s the place I differ from the standard prepper guidelines:
No Water Bottle: House is tight. I’ve debated swapping out the bear spray for a bottle, however for now, the spray stays. The jury continues to be out on how I’m going to include water.
No Shelter or Fireplace Package: The place I reside and function, I’m already dressed for the climate. I’m not mountain climbing into the mountains. I’m navigating cities, highways, or rural farmland—and I’m doing it in correct footwear or boots, not flip-flops.
No Spare Shirt or Socks: I’m not planning to vary garments. I’m planning to maneuver. Rapidly.
Going Even Lighter: My Extremely-Minimalist Setup
Typically, even the PF-1 is greater than I wish to carry. I scale all the way down to an ultra-compact setup utilizing the SOE FUPA fanny pack.
It rides near the physique and offers me simply sufficient gear to be helpful with out slowing me down. Sure, it’s a woodland camouflage sample, however as increasingly more folks carry camo luggage, it blends in additional than you assume.
Right here’s what I pack into it:
2 Spare Magazines – Nonetheless loaded with 147-grain hole factors. Much less firepower than the total rig, however a resupply to the one within the gun and spare in my Tier 1 Hid IWB holster..
2 Smoke Grenades – If I want to interrupt contact or create chaos, these give me an edge.
Minimalist Upkeep Package – Simply the fundamentals—sufficient to clear a malfunction or give my PSA Dagger a fast discipline wipe-down if wanted.
Gloves – Skinny, practical, and prepared for something from medical response to scraping by damaged glass.
Duct Tape (Brief Strip) – Rolled flat. It nonetheless does 90% of what a full roll can.
Hand Restraints – Light-weight and simple to stash. They keep in each loadout, no matter dimension.
Compact Medical Package – Only a TQ, some gauze, and chest seals. Sufficient to plug a gap.
Headlamp or Flashlight – Each have their place, however just one matches comfortably.
This can be a “get in, get out, get house” package when even the bolt bag is an excessive amount of. It’s quick, it’s gentle, and it really works.
Goal Over Paranoia
This isn’t about enjoying undercover agent. It’s about being ready with out being encumbered. Each merchandise in my bag earns its hold. If it doesn’t serve a clear, quick operate, it’s out.
That stated, you need to tailor your package to your Space of Operation (AO). Stay in Arizona? Add a water pouch. Work in a dense metropolis? Perhaps think about upgrading communications with a two-way radio. Spend time in snowy climates? Layer accordingly.
However don’t carry what another person says you want. Carry what you know you’ll use.
After I was within the SEAL Groups and dealing with OGA in Iraq, most squared away guys stored somewhat “Go Bag”. The aim was when the sh** hit the fan, you would seize your bag and just about have what you wanted (naked necessities solely) to get the hell out of dodge. In Iraq, this normally consisted of bullets, first support package, US {dollars}, blood chit, water, extra bullets and another necessities. – Navy SEAL Iraq Veteran
Closing Ideas: Construct a Bolt Bag You’ll Truly Carry
On the finish of the day, the perfect gear is the gear you’ll even have on you. A bolt bag shouldn’t be some overloaded rucksack that you just dread carrying. It must be small, quick, and mission-ready.
If I had to decide on between the 2 luggage above, I’d go along with the PF-1 solely due to the shoulder strap. It simply works so effectively, and when cinched all the way down to your physique, it has little to no flop. The SOE Fupa, however, whereas smaller, flops round greater than I like.
Should you’re nonetheless constructing your go bag or rethinking your setup, begin small. Be intentional. Suppose like an issue solver, not a gear hoarder. That’s the way you keep ready with out getting slowed down.
About Scott Witner
Scott Witner is a former Marine Corps Infantryman with 2ndBn/eighth Marines. He accomplished coaching in desert warfare on the Marine Air Floor Fight Heart, Mountain Warfare and survival on the Mountain Warfare Coaching Heart, the South Korean Mountain Warfare College in Pohang, and the Jungle Warfare faculty within the jungles of Okinawa, Japan. He now enjoys leisure taking pictures, path working, mountain climbing, practical health, and dealing on his truck. Scott resides in Northeastern Ohio.
