Some other posts here about what gear you need to get to and how you get to it led me to think about an underlying practice in packing gear that I have been following for a while.

Some kits are like a parachute. You carefully and slowly pack it to fit in a tight space, and set it up so it deploys quick when you need it, but once it's deployed, it's gonna take a while to get it all re-packed. Many of my emergency kits were packed Parachute style, until I had to actually use them in emergencies and I found that the time I spent re-assembling a kit was a PITA. Communications kits are packed Parachute style as are some longer-term items.

Then there's the Tool Box style of packing. Orderly, neat and with everything individually accessible. Not nearly as efficient as a Parachute setup in terms of space efficiency, but if it's a kit you're going to actually be using, you need to sacrifice ultimate packing density for ease of access and use. All of my medical and auto extrication kits are packed "toolbox" style - not the ultimate in tight packing, but nothing is hidden away from view either.

Finally, there's the "purse" - call it what you will, this is stuff that's not really "packed" at all - it's just carried around and at hand at all times. Cell phones, pocket knives, fire - also hatchets, guns or saws - this is stuff that you need to be able to reach for and grab without looking for it. A fire tuck is configured partly as a purse and partly as a tool box, never as a Parachute.

Anyway, just a way of thinking about stuff.