What is in Your Go-bag?

[Ruffino]

Given the environment in this country right now, I am putting together a go-bag. I am hoping the readers on this site can give me some ideas on contents. I always try to be prepared for a trip in the bush and keep my backpack handy and pretty well put together.

What I'm looking for here are some ideas on a separate bag that contains survival and emergency gear to handle most situations that a quick take-off would entail. I know this is a little general, but I thought that this site would be able to suggest gear that would fit most situations and I will make those ideas into a sustainable kit.

[Roy]

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HERE are some pix of two of my bags
the top bag is a Eagle LE BOB loaded as i carried it daily

the next pack is a Kelty Pengrine 1800 loaded as i carried daily

I currently use a ATS COBRA raid for daily carry

These are two bags that i had set up as EDC style Go bags. i kept them on my person as much as possible. Living/working in a college town made carrying the back pack no problem. I have powerbars or something like that in them and in my truck, i make sure i have a boo boo kit and a trauma kit i carry extra ammo for my primary and back up in the bag.

You need to figure out what your plan is.. Is this a sustainment pack to get you home. is this a fighting bag it depends on your mission and AO..

A map of your AO is never a bad idea.

[Outlander Systems]

Are you looking for an all-season, sustainment-kit? A "72-Hour Get-Out-Of-Dodge" bag? A Fight-Your-Way-Out-Of-Dodge bag? How far is your destination point? Are you trying to limit this to a certain size?

Quickest Death-Dealers when the lights are out:

1) The Elements (Extreme Cold, Extreme Heat)
2) Dehydration
3) Starvation

Priority one should be a shelter. This can be anything from a trash-bag or poncho thrown over some sticks, to a tent. There's plenty of shelters available, from Bivvy sacks, to one-man tents, to hammocks. I would say that, for most purposes, a sleeping-bag is mandatory. You NEED shelter; a space blanket, a sleeping bag, a plastic bag over a couple of sticks; you NEED shelter.

Priority two should be fire, which, in effect, is water, depending on your perspective...You need something to treat water. Water itself weights quite a bit, carry it in your gut, not your back. Camelbak's are cool if you're working in the yard, or on a day hike, but in a survival environment, they're a total waste. Get a Klean Kanteen. I took Mike G's advice on this, and haven't used my Jetboil since. The bottom line is that you need a water treatment system. I don't care if it's Aquamira tabs, SteriPens, an MSR Miox, or a lighter and a plastic bottle. You can either die tomorrow of dehydration, or risk dying of cancer in 20 years from BPAs. Always prioritise.

Food is good, but compared to the other two, it's the lowest on the totem pole. Stuff two jars of peanut butter in your pack, and possibly a coke bottle full of olive oil. You want calories.

You must abandon any notions of comfort. The goal is quite simply to get where you want to go without dying. You don't need a "variety of flavours" of freeze-dried spaghetti-O's to survive. You just need calories. You don't need a triple-reverse-osmosis/portable distillery, you need water that won't make you shit yourself, literally, to death. You don't need a North Face mountaineering tent, you need something to keep yourself warm and dry.


I would suggest not skimping on, and prioritising in this order:

1) Sleeping bag
2) Knife
3) Multi-tool
4) Fire-starter
5) Quality shoes/boots

You can decide what you want to fit your needs from the above list.

Anything beyond the list isn't what I would view as mandatory, only, they make the journey easier.

Oftentimes, less is more.

As well, the environment is going to determine more about what your specific needs are. If you plan on traversing urban terrain on foot, your needs are going to be different than walking from Phoenix to L.A.

[Roy]

The above is a great post as always.. I think the OP needs to specify his needs a bit more.. so we can help a bit more....

[Outlander Systems]

Picked one of these up yesterday. This is, quite possibly, the coolest little item I've found in a long time. It is essentially a sealed Zippo, that goes on your keychain.

http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=16

http://goinggear.com/images/large/products/bottlelighter_brc_01_LRG.jpg

Its sized right. It's been added to my EDC Carbiner.

http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=56471