Hello all,

I'm debating whether I should exchange this enormous wheeled duffel bag that was given to me for holding all my gear. It is big enough to hold everything, and then some, and it is great to have everything nicely organized in one place. For shelter-in-place the bag is perfect. The con, once it is completely loaded up it will be extremely heavy for my petite frame to carry. I'd have to roll it around on the wheels, and if I had to cross some rough terrain on foot I'd run into some trouble. If there was a fire in my house I'd more than likely hurt myself throwing it out the window to use once I'm safely outside.

I have a backpack which contains the essentials and which I use for day hikes, and serves as a supplementary pack for the gear in the larger bag. Should I keep the larger bag, or get a smaller one that is easier to handle but can't hold as much?

Any opinions would be appreciated, as well as advice or alternatives gleaned from your experiences.

Christina,

Can you keep the bag in your vehicle? If so, that might help if you need to evacuate your house/area.

If not, you might want to separate out into another backpack or other modular system those items that might be considered more essential and leave the “nice to have” items in the roller bag.
Pete

Put the bag by the most likely exit door.

If you have your own home, put it outside. If you don't have an outbuilding or garage, get an old water heater, cut out one side, stuff the bag in the water heater and turn the heater over so the cutout does not show. The water heater method works real well in the basement of a house for valuables and guns as damn few burglars turn over old water heaters. If there are is items sensitive to heat or cold, keep them indoors near the likely exit door.

Bountyhunter

For rough terrain a short version of the indian travois is superior to wheels. Take two staffs and lash into a V. secure your duffle to the V and make some manner of harness to drag it. You now have 2 very usefull shelter supports, hiking staffs and litter poles. Gear has a point of diminishing return. To little and we rough it, to much and we are prisoner to it's logistics. Exerience only can help lighten the physical load. I would opt for a more manageable backpack.

I agree with Chris.

I assume you are planning to be on foot and in that case not every situation is going to allow you the time to simply roll your equipment and supplies down the road. I backpack alot and most of the time I live for days on what I carried in on my back. For ease of movement, nothing beats the backpack. You may have to limit the nice to haves to get everything in, but as I have seen mentioned here several times, we are simply talking survival, not setting up an outpost. So I would recommend the backpack. Then you can place the nice to haves in your car or use one of the previous suggestions. Depending on the situation you may have the time and luxury of getting it, but if not..the backpack is your mainstay.

When selecting one, if you go that route, make sure that you don't overbuy. In otherwords, look at what you have to go in it and buy one to fit. If you buy one to big then you will end up adding in some of those nice to haves and your backpack is so heavy you and your back will regret it.

Just my thoughts.

Something you may wish to consider. If you have a planned place or places where you would go, you can leave a bag there with items.
Dave

I've always had the mindset that it was worth making some tradeoffs to keep my 72 hour kit so that it fits within a daypack. I make some tradeoffs on the food side in particular, using lifeboat rations, like Mainstays, to minimize space/weight, while providing calories and nutritional content. I'd rather take up more space/weight with water than food anyway, since it's far more important.

There are a few reasons to stick with a backpack, I think:
- It allows you to have your kit with you, travelling with hands free. That's important for potentially walking/climbing over rough terrain, through damaged areas, etc. I think assuming that you'll be able to drag a large wheeled bag around might not be the best scenario to put yourself into.
- The backpack will also stay with you. If it's on your back, and not too heavy, you won't tend to take it off. In a survival situation, you want to have everything "on you" if you can. Situations change quickly, and you don't want to make the "should I go back to get my gear that I left over there for just a few minutes" when the levy breaks, or the building next to you starts to fall.
- The backpack may be easier to manage if you're injured. If you hurt one of your legs, or an ankle, you can probably brace it, and walk with an impovised cane. If you have the backpack, that still will work, if you're trying to drag something, it's going to be a lot harder.

Another suggestion, get a pack with a good, padded weight bearing waist belt. If you can keep the weight on your hips, rather than the shoulders, you can handle that load a lot easier. Some daypacks have flimsy waist straps, avoid them. It's better to spend a few bucks more for the comfort.

I have a "different" type of BOB carrying aperatus. I use a fishing vest. It has tons of pockets to put everything in. It distributes the weight on the shoulders well.
Also, if I can use my vehicle I have another 72 hours kit in a "rubbermaid" container. It does have a sturdy tarp that the fishing vest doesn't. However the vest does have a sturdy poncho which I can use as shelter.

Basically it does come down to what kind disaster is going to happen. Hurricane-I drive my truck away with more luxuries. Riot-grab my vest and head for the woods.
Just my two cents...YMMV

Charles