"The main thing you want to think about is decrypting your data if needed. Can you download the decryption software on a friends pc? When you find out the survivor check in station is at a school and they only have mac's can you decrypt the data? Or you bug out to the grandparents and the only pc is a P100 running windows 95 (no USB)."

That is why I am really surprised not to have ever seen a laptop on the BOB lists on this forum. It seems to me to be a pretty crucial piece of hardware. At least as important as a GPS.