The team at Bugout Survival Gear have been survival show fans since before the company existed and so it is no surprise that when History's TV series "Alone" came along, each episode of every season was watched quite contentedly, but also with an eye out for any applicaple survival tips and techniques.

For those who are unaware, "Alone" is very much a survivalist show. The basic principle of the show is that contestants are dropped off in a very remote and wild location with a limited list of items, and participants tap out one-by-one until a sole winner remains. Though the locations (Vancouver Ilsand, Mongolia, Labrador, etc.) and participants are very interesting on their own, we focused intensely on the items the participants had to work with. These items are split into seven different categories: shelter, bedding, cooking, hygiene, hunting, food rations, and tools. For the purpose of the show, there is also a list of forbidden items, which are not applicable to this article.

The official list, as provided by the History Channel, looks something like this:

Of course there is an allotment of clothing items as well, including a poncho, but from the list above participants were to choose only ten items. To the credit of the resilient, many contestants made it past the two month mark using their selection of ten items, a handful made it past 80 days, and one contestant (Roland Welker) made it to 100 days during the seventh season of the TV series. That is a very long time to surviva using such a small list of survival gear.

This article is inspired by such resilience, and the wise adaptation of only ten items from a fairly long list. We wanted to compare our Bugout Survival Gear bags to the items which "Alone" contestants had to work with. For the purpose of this comparison, we have excluded categories of items which are highly personable, that our customers will be deciding for themselves; specifically, this means food rations, hygiene items, and hunting items (which may or may not be applicable to the purpose of the Bugout Bags we sell). We will focus on shelter, bedding, cooking, and tools.

( = equivalent item or better, = lesser but similar item )

	Lightweight Kit	Signature Kit	Deluxe Kit
Tarp with Grommets
Rope
Paracord
Hatchet
Saw
Sleeping Bag
Bivi Bag
Sleeping Pad
Hammock
Pot with Lid
Frying Pan
Ferro Rod Set
Bowl
Spoon
Disposable Lighter
Canteen or Water Bottle
Bear Spray Canister
Pocket Knife
Hunting Knife
Multi-Tool
Sharpening Stone
Adhesive Tape
Small Shovel
Sewing Kit
Carabineer
LED Flashlight
Pair of Ice Spikes
Total "Alone" Items:	21	25	35

So the BSG survival packs include 21 to 35 items that contestants could only have 10 of. Of course, this list does not include additional items that are included in our packs, but were not on the list of items for contestants to choose from. These items include things like a fire kit, compass, webbing, plastic bags, a first aid kit, and even a tarp (with our Deluxe Kit). Truly our kits have a massive pre-built Bugout Bag advantage over the contestants of Alone.

So why do our Bugout Bags differ from the contestants of Alone? Simple: we wanted to make our bags more mobile (contestants were mosly stationary in the show) while providing more items, and items that are multi-purpose and re-useable, and to provide more tools for both urban and suburban locations. Our kits exist not only for those planning a trip to the bush, but also for those forced to evacuate or escape from cities.