In an earlier post I mentioned an Every Day Carry Bag (EDC), and you may have already heard of the Bug Out Bag (BOB) , Go Bag, Get Out Of Dodge Bag (GOOD), or the Get Home Bag (GHB). There are many great resources that explain the BOB or GOOD bags in great detail. You can even find examples of bags and their contents. These bags are for situations in which you are forced from your home and have to leave in a hurry. My theory behind an EDC/GHB is similar to a bug out bag, except that its purpose is to get you to your family and where your Go Bag is or home to your long term preps. My bag is also and everyday carry bag, meaning I always carry it with me, every where I go. If not with me it'll be in my vehicle that I'm using at the time, never more than a couple of minutes away.
There are many "kits" or bags that are sold already assembled for you. These would be a great start, but I would suggest building your own bag with gear that you know and trust. Won't do you any good to start learning how to use something when you need it, or have a piece of gear break down on you because of poor quality. I suggest starting with a good quality bag. For good, quality bags that will take a beating a surplus military ruck or military style packs such as Camelbak, or Maxpedition would be a great pack. But for those that don't want to stand out and blend in there are also packs out there designed for hiking and camping that are of good quality, suck as Kelty, Oakley, or JanSport.
The contents of your bag depends on you and your situation. I don't have to pack for cold weather here on a tropical island, but I better have some rain gear, bug repellent and sunscreen handy. Keeping in mind that this bag is designed to get you home, it should contain just the right amount of essentials to do just that. Depending on how far you often travel everyday from home is what you should be planning for. If you had to walk on foot from where you work, how far and how long would it take you? Using this distance as a guide will give you a good idea on how much food and water you will need. What routes will you use to get home? If things are bag, you'd probably would want to stay away from main roads. Will you encounter any bodies of water? If you do, think about waterproofing your gear. A good cheap way is to stick everything that can't get wet into ziplock bags or if you can afford it a good dry bag, such as SealLine. Ultimately the contents of your bag will be determined by weight, size of the gear, price, and priority.
Weight - If you don't mind humping around a 80lb. bag be my guest, but your bag should allow you to move quickly, and over great distances comfortably. You'll also be carrying this every day, if it's too heavy you just might "forget" it at the house a lot of the time.
Size of the items - If you have a piece of gear that is shaped weird and is hard to pack in your bag without it taking up too much room, it better be worth the wasted space.
Price - You get what you pay for. It's better for it to hurt the first time you buy a piece of gear, than for it to hurt you when it fails and again when you have to purchase a better one. If this is not a problem for you, then I want you to know that I accept donations.
Priority - Your gear can be separated into three piles: Essential gear you can't do without, gear you think you need, and stuff you'd like to have. Be truthful with yourself when you do this, it might save you from a back or shoulder ache and a few blisters later. Basically all the gear you really need would be in the first essential pile. Everything else would be just added weight.
So, if you can afford it, don't mind carrying it, can fit in your bag and will help get you back home, then its a winner. The gear that you eventually choose to pack in your bag will fall into one of several basic categories: food, water, health, shelter/clothing, and tools. When choosing and packing gear remember a common saying, "One is none, two is one". Due to Murphy's Law your gear will either fail, get lost, or will be destroyed. So plan in some redundancies or back-ups, it might save your life.
The bag I chose had to be black and non-tactical looking. For everyday carry it could blend in and if SHTF, I hopefully wouldn't draw any attention or worse become a target. It had to be of good quality and rugged, to stand up to everyday use and field use if necessary. Medium sized, with ample compartments for storage and organization. Large enough to carry everything essential, but not too big to move quickly and comfortably. Fortunately I had a Jansport bag that I bought before, that fit all my criteria.
This is an example of my EDC, which I try to add to whenever I can. I just bought a little bottle of alcohol that I added to my little first aid kit. I think a 99 cent prep is better than no prep at all. Let me know what you think, I welcome any input. I'd love to hear and see what you carry. Take Care. "Prepare. Survive. Live."
2 comments:
"There are many "kits" or bags that are sold already assembled for you. These would be a great start, but I would suggest building your own bag with gear that you know and trust."
---That is a line of wisdom for sure. At most, the pre-assembled kits save someone time, but at what cost? No pre-made kit can match a person's needs precisely, and they should only be bought with the thought that they are a foundation for the final unit.
I had an observation on your medical kit. I think it should be external to your bag. I like mine where they can be reached NOW, since I use them when I come across accidents on the road. I also want someone that finds me incapacitated to see it. He might be a medic, or trained First Aid responder.
My IFAK is a US ARMY issued set, with my own modifications to the contents. (Maybe I oughta do a blog post on that one. hmmmmm.....)It is camo and does stand out. You might not want that... maybe a simple red cross sewn onto a generic kit would do. Just thoughts, though. I'd hate to see a post where a pal of yours says "Yeah, he's gone. Couldn't get to his blow out kit soon enough."
The rest of it looks good. If you did anything to it, you might want to consolidate duplicated items to save weight. I'd start by reducing down to two methods each, and then reassess to see if a third is important.
"I had an observation on your medical kit. I think it should be external to your bag. I like mine where they can be reached NOW, since I use them when I come across accidents on the road. I also want someone that finds me incapacitated to see it. He might be a medic, or trained First Aid responder."
---I like that idea and totally agree, but just haven't found a bag that suits my needs and tastes yet.
..."You might not want that... maybe a simple red cross sewn onto a generic kit would do. Just thoughts, though."...
---This is also a really great idea. Another simple and easy one, that I will definitely do, once I find the bag or pouch that I settle on.
..."The rest of it looks good. If you did anything to it, you might want to consolidate duplicated items to save weight. I'd start by reducing down to two methods each, and then reassess to see if a third is important."
---The weight is not a problem right now with the current setup, but I can see your point. I've also taken a step back and seen how "all my eggs are in one basket" right now. If my bag were stolen, lost or destroyed a lot of my essentials would be lost too. I'll be looking to add to my "on-person EDC" to reduce weight in the bag and have my options in more than one place.
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