If its yourfamily you're worried about, why not go to good will get 5 bookpacks ( used) and spread the gear among them -- each person carries a bit.

Total cost $25-$50

TRO

In my car, I have two pilot-case type luggage.
One contains tools, oil, etc ... for the car itself.
The second one contains gear for the passengers : water, dehydrated meals, alcohol stove, psk, change of clothes, light hiking shoes etc...
If I have to leave the car in a hurry, I will grab the second one and walk a bit, with the case in hand. Then, I'll take time to stop, open the pilot case, extract the small (and cheap) pliable rucksack I keep in there, transfer the gear from the case to the backpack and go on, hands free.

Now this is OK because of the limited volume of my gear.
A big BOB for a whole familly may not be so easy to transport.

One of my favorites. You can't get much more durability than military surplus. Just make sure the bag you get is military.

I hadn't even considered the possibility of a knock off...yikes! How does one tell the difference? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I searched ebay earlier this AM. Found 1 Spec-Ops Brand pack for $125.00, not much of a deal. As with all military/tactical gear you have to be very carefull of things like USGI type, genuine MOLLE pack. Or even mentioning Spec-Ops in the item title, but not in the deatiled description or ____ like. When you look for quality gear on ebay ( Maxpedition, Spec-Ops Brand,Tactical Tailor,Paraclete or even real USGI) you won't find very many great deals. Not to push CTD but they have an excellent return policy. I've sent stuff back several times and never had any problems. Between nice used quality packs from the thrift stores and CTD or Sportsmans Guide I've never had to lay out a lot of cash.
FWIW, my 2 top choices would be the TT pack on sale or one of the copies that CTD sell.
Dave

There ya go, get the SpecOps for ED use and pick up a couple of decent middle quality packs large enough for your vehicles. You could probably do that for the $300 you were going to originally spend on the 2 SpecOps packs, and this way you get 3 packs (and maybe some cash left over for equipment) and you get THE PACK for every day use, which is really what you probably want anyway!

And I agree about www.cheaperthandirt.com and have bought from them for a long time. This would make a pretty nice BP - not sure about hydration like the other pack you want, but way cheaper:
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/PACK120-1191-1376.html

And don't feel too bad, I just picked up one of these vests below and they have some other interesting vests for which I'm chomping at the bit, but they aren't necessarily military manufacture.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/itemfind.asp

I'm guessing that few folks here don't have a bit of the gearhead in them and even the super-cheap folks get some gear envy now and then. :-)

For those who might not know, A.L.I.C.E and M.O.L.L.E packs are two different systems for attaching pouches, equipment, etc. All-purpose, Lightweight, Individual, Carrying Equipment and MOdular Lightweight Load-carryng Equipment are their designations and the former is a Vietnam-era design while the latter is in modern use.

Too true... Too true... LOL

$150 for a backpack that you hope you'll never use sounds a bit extreme to me. Use a cheap pack. Keep it dry the same way many hikers do, by covering it with a plastic garbage bag.

Hehe... I agree with using a cheaper bag for an emergency BOB that will rarely get used. But wrapping it in a black trash bag is pretty ghetto - at least on the outside of the pack - use on the inside is a nice cheap option.

If it's truly an emergency use thing, how about putting any clothes/sleeping bags/blankets in one of those rolling one-way air vacuum things. And even just use a home vacuum sealer things to group other items like first aid - signal - food - water - shelter - etc. You can keep things in nice individual waterproof packs for use when you need them. Of course, repacking might suck - so keep a spare trashbag handy. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

The first thing you need to consider if the load. Face it most of usd are in the shape that if it goes much beyond 25 pounds we ain't going to carry if far or very fast. So a high tech super bag is overkill.

Sure if you are using a bag on a regular basis you need something that will last and last. For this kind of thing it doesn't need to be that rugged. Mot of those cheap kiddy daypack/bookbags will work. I'veseen them on sale for less than $5.

You could also try a thrif or goodwill store. You might find a bargin. There are also yard sales.