You're more equipped than me. I'm going to use your pics for ideas, thanks.

Instead of the tube tent, or just a tarp -

Consider 3 surplus ponchos, one each. 2 ponchos snapped together make a 3 man hootch - if you sleep sideways. The third poncho becomes the floor.

Even better, the poncho can be used for catching rain, a stretcher, sleeping bag, sunshade, to sit on wet ground, a poncho (wow, what a concept) and more. The new ones are nylon and don't weigh all that much.

Spent many a night out under a poncho hootch, to include Alaska and the Sinai.

bacpacjac,

Although you mentioned "we're blessed with lots of lakes, rivers and streams in these parts." Am I missing the means to acquire and purify water in this kit? I did, however; notice water storage and maybe I am going blind and just not seeing a mention of water procurement.

Stargazer

I'll take an alternate view on the tube tent, but agree with the ponchos.

I think the tube tent, which is basically a tube of plastic sheeting, has too many alternate uses, e.g. ground sheet, waterproofing storage for equipment, etc etc etc, to be left behind. I don't think of it as a shelter, rather I think of it as a general purpose item that can also serve as a very quick shelter: open and get everyone inside, even if not put up in the "typical" way. Plastic sheeting is always something useful to have around. I carry a small roll of plastic sheeting in my car all the times.

This is a 3-day bag? I realize this has some seasonal variation to take into account, but ...

OK, first, WAY too much redundancy. How many multi-tools do you have? 1 for you, 1 for your husband, 1 for your son? Good if you get separated, but you're a walking Home Depot.

Ditch the Mag solitaire's and get a decent flashlight. Something with a run time longer than an hour. Lots of good options: Fenix, Olight, iTP ... For about $20-30 each, you can get a light that keeps a battery every 6-12 months with average pocket use. Try and pick up a model that runs of a single AAA or AA battery.

Same with flashlights. You realize you have 6 different lights for 3 days? I know it gets dark, but c'mon, you're not active for all 12 hours of nighttime. 1 headlamp. Period. You and hubbie already have flashlights, so drop the Mags. Then only carry FOUR spare batteries (ie, one replacement set for each light)

Ditch the CRKT folder. You have a fixed blade, and apparently more multi-tools than God, and each of those have a blade already.

Ditch the tube tent. Maybe the 1-p Heatsheet too. You're too redundant again.

That's a LOT of food. 3 meals a day AND snacks? While I understand more calories are needed if outside and it's winter, I would seriously pare it down. Ditch the lunches entirely, cut the snacks to half. I pack for one meal/person/day, with maybe 1-2 powerbars/day as well. YMMV ... but you look like a walking restaurant. How much water are you carrying, btw? I'd recommend at least a full day/person, just to carry you through until you can find a source and start replacing it.

That's a LOT of clothes. While I understand the cold, I assume you guys won't be running out of the house into a blizzard in January without already putting on a hat, gloves, etc? Consider dropping some of the stuff you already plan to be wearing. And maybe consider changing that wool jacket for a down vest. Light, packs smaller. Plus you keep your core warm still, though admittedly at the sacrifice of your arms. Which is why you carry a spare long sleeve shirt.

Sorry if I sound harsh.

I prefer an actual tent. They are cheap and compact and in my humble opinion much better shelter.

http://ilbob.blogspot.com/2012/03/packaging-weight.html
I did a quick weighing of some canned food versus pouched food. As I suspected, comparable canned food items versus pouched items I just happened to have available to weigh showed there may actually be a weight advantage to the canned foods.

I agree. If you want light weight, MREs are not the answer. There are many lighter items avialale at any grocery store that are lighter - mac and cheese is a good example. The tradeoff is that some preparation, usually boiling water, is required. Canned goods are often in aluminum cans these days, and contain water. If you are carrying water anyway, canned goods make a lot of sense.

Thanks for the feedback folks!

I should clarify a few things -

Purpose:

-this is obviously not a "go to a hotel for a few days because the house burned down" kit. (That one, for a short-term/localized/temporary situation, is kept in hubby's truck.)
-Bugging-in is our primary plan in most scenarios.
-this kit is in case we need to bug out because of a bigger scale situation, like an accident at the local nuclear plant.
-the other primary purpose of this kit to supply my GHB (I've got a 35km trek from work, as the crow flies.)

Kit Contents:

-as it sits, this kit is the result of merging two bobs, from two vehicles, into one. There is a lot of duplication. I appreciate your feedback to help reduce that.
-the mini PSK has about 12 MicroPUR tabs, so water can be made drinkable though initial filtering + boiling or the bottle purification tabs in the water/food kit or MicroPUR tabs
-the plan to potentially have a third adult with us, either my mom (who's at our house weekly) or my step-daughter (who now has her own place, does still visit occasionally)

Thanks ILBob. I can see the benefits of both, but when push comes to shove and we have to hoof it, I think I'd give the edge to freeze-dried and dehydrated meals, along with some ready to eat snacks.