Go bag, bug out bag or 72-hour kit: which one you need, and in what order

Print this checklist Prints the checklist without the menus.

Do this now

1. Decide your two kits: one that stays at home for 3 days, one small bag you can carry. Every other name is one of these.
2. Check your cupboards first. Be Ready says you don't need to do it all at once: add an item or two on each shop.
3. Get the water in: 3 litres per person per day for 3 days (Be Ready). That's 9 litres each.
4. Put one spare bag by the door with your medicines list, copies of ID in a waterproof bag, a torch, a charged power bank, cash and warm clothes.
5. Tell everyone at home where it is. Ready.gov says the whole household should know where the go-bag is and who carries it.

Five names, two kits

Which first: stay or go?

Ask one question: in the emergency most likely where you live, are you more likely to be told to stay in or to get out?

• Stay in is the normal UK instruction for a power cut, a water outage, snow, and a radiation emergency. UKHSA's advice for radiation is go in, stay in, tune in, and it says you should not evacuate unless advised to do so, because leaving shelter may raise your exposure. That is a home-kit job.
• Get out is likelier in a flood, a fire, a gas leak, or when the police set up a cordon. That is a grab-bag job.

So for most homes the order is: home kit first, grab bag second, work or car pouch third. If your home is in a flood risk area, move the grab bag up to first equal. See stay put or leave?

The home kit (the "72-hour kit")

Be Ready's checklist helps you manage for 3 days. It covers:

• Water: bottled water for 3 days, 3 litres per person per day for drinking, and more for cooking and washing.
• Food: non-perishable food that needs no fridge or cooking, ideally food you normally eat.
• Hygiene: hand sanitiser, wet wipes, bathroom products.
• Light and warmth: a torch and spare batteries (Be Ready says torches are safer than candles), blankets, sleeping bags, warm clothes.
• Information: a battery or wind-up FM radio and a charged power bank.
• Money and documents: cash in coins and notes, cards, printed copies of ID and documents, written contacts and medication lists.
• Health: a first aid kit and essential medicines. Order repeat prescriptions in good time.
• Babies and pets: ready-to-feed formula your baby already uses, nappies, wipes; pet food and water.

Full list: Be Ready's 3-day kit.

The carry kit (grab bag, go bag, bug out bag)

Be Ready suggests keeping essentials you might need to take with you if asked to leave your home quickly in a spare bag. Ready.gov says a go-bag should be something you can carry on foot or on public transport.

The Environment Agency's flood kit is a good short list: important documents and contact details, warm waterproof clothes and footwear, a torch, drinking water, medicine, toys for children, baby care items, and a phone charger or spare batteries.

Where "bug out bag" lists go wrong (our view):

• Weight. Many prepper lists add weeks of food, axes and big knives. If the weakest adult in your home can't carry it to the end of the street, it won't help.
• The law. GOV.UK says it's illegal to carry most knives in public without a good reason. The exception is a folding pocketknife with a cutting edge of 3 inches or less that doesn't lock.
• The plan. No official UK advice tells households to head for the countryside. You'll be told where to go: follow the route the emergency services give.

Step-by-step packing: how to make a go bag.

The get home bag

There's no UK official version. Ready.gov says to be prepared to shelter at work for at least 24 hours, with food, water, medicines and comfortable walking shoes in a grab-and-go case, and to keep an emergency kit in the car in case you're stranded. If you commute a long way, a small pouch at work makes sense; what goes in it is up to you. Car kit: winter car emergency kit.

Printable checklist: two kits

Home kit (3 days)

• Drinking water: 9 litres per person (Be Ready)
• 3 days of food you already eat, no cooking needed
• Manual tin opener
• Torch and spare batteries
• Battery or wind-up FM radio
• Charged power bank
• Cash in coins and notes
• First aid kit
• A few days of every medicine, plus a written list
• Hand sanitiser, wet wipes, toilet roll, bin bags
• Blankets or sleeping bags, warm layers
• Baby and pet supplies

Grab bag (carry)

• Medicines and a written list of names and doses
• Copies of ID and insurance in a waterproof bag
• Phone numbers on paper
• Torch
• Charged power bank and cable
• Cash
• A bottle of water each
• Warm, waterproof clothes and sturdy shoes
• Small first aid kit
• Baby items, pet lead and food, a toy for children
• Bag light enough for the weakest adult to carry

Every six months (Be Ready)

• Check expiry dates and swap out old items
• Recharge the power bank, test the torch and radio
• Update the kit if your household has changed

What we couldn't check

• "Bug out bag" and "get home bag" have no official definitions. The descriptions above are how the terms are commonly used.
• No UK source gives a water figure for a grab bag.
• Ready.gov is US advice. We use it for the work and car kit points because UK guidance doesn't cover them.

Related guides

• Grab bag list UK: what to pack if you have to leave home
• The 72-hour emergency kit for UK households
• UK emergency kit checklist (printable)
• Keeping household documents safe and to hand
• Go bag checklist: what to pack if you have to evacuate

Free tools

• Be Ready kit: every item on the official list as a tick list
• How ready is your home? The 2-minute Ready Check
• Emergency supplies calculator (water and food for your household)

We're an independent UK site, not the government. We check guides against official sources and link to them. In an emergency call 999.

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