So if something happens, you're just going to throw whatever is at hand into a pack, and set off for the "great wild" to rough it out, high-tech caveman style? That is an amazing BAD unplan, no offense. While I don't always agree with everything Duncan Long says, or how he says it, he sums up the problems with that theory pretty well.

You look at the Norrona and you see a really big backpack; I look at it and see a lot of high quality thread making thousands of stitches. If you load this thing with things that don't float, you will overload those stitches. I also see a lot of fabric that can be cut, poked and abraded through with very little difficulty, if you are tossing things in there willy-nilly, you'll kill it. And possibly tear a hole in your back before you are done.

Assuming you can actually move with this much weight on yoru back. What percent of your body weight is 40kg/88lbs? Anything over half your weight is just BAD if you have to carry it for any length of time, and I would recommend no more than a quarter-to-a third your weight if you are in shape.

I think for what you have in mind, your best bet is to completely avoid an internal frame pack. An external frame pack with a cargo shelf is very forgiving of bulky and badly packed items, and they are more comfortable IMHO for heavy loads. I've even seen them with Pelican cases bolted to them and it didn't feel as uncomfortable as it looked, even if it was unwieldy.

But not matter what you go with, your best bet is to have your core in a pack, and most of it in your vehicle or a cart.

But the question of what are you putting in this pack still stands as a key one, and just as key, do you have a destination where you are expected if you have to bug out?

Re Fishmode

There is a way to carry up to 40Kg and more of gear quite easily and would allow you to cover up to 25-150 miles in a day depending on the terrain and your fitness. Get a good mountain bicycle and outfit with pannier racks and bags. You won't be able to go mountaineering with the bicycle but you may be surprised just how much distance you can cover over difficult terrain in an emergency. In most cases anyway it may be easier to go around the mountain on a bicycle than attempt to go over it on foot. Think along the lines of the Japanese invasion of Malaya or the Philippines in WW2, the Vietcong on the Ho chi min Trail or how British Paratroopers used their bicycles in Arnhem.

I totally agree, Bentirran!

I have 3 bicycles in my stable with one of the applications being the transporting of heavy goods cross country while pushing the bike.

The Vietnamese have demonstrated it's practicality in the roughest of terrain and under the hardest circumstances that we American Military could provide!!!

Thanks for the insight guys! Ironraven, you are killing me here! Lol! Well, I have to admit, you are correct about going into a situation without a plan is very dangerous. No doubt about it. Although if there were a situation where you would have to go unprepared and unnotified into a scenario where you didn't know what was coming around the corner. What would you bring?

For me, I would bring as much as I can carry! Now thinking back into it. The thought of having a mountain bike to help push things forward is very likely to stick to me. But, then say there's the instance the bike were to break down or I were to have to go on foot, for some reason. If the pack had the ability to provide me with those features...I'm happy.

Again, thanks for the insights and hopefully this 'fore-plan' and anticipation will result in a null reality.

Cheers

Assuming I've have less than 300 seconds

I'd toss the totes that carry my camping gear in my car, my rifle and hiking stick on top of them, covered with the sleeping bag, put on my ditchkit and the pack I use for camping and as BOB, and go. If the car dies, open the tote behind the driver's door, lash the bag to the bottom of my pack, grab some food modules out of the tote behind the drivers seat and put them in the pack, put on the pack, sling the rifle and set out as a tripod.

If I don't have the time to grab the extra stuff, I grab BOB with what's in him, as I'm already wearing my ditch kit and go with that. If I have to drop BOB, I'm good with the ditch kit. And if I have to shrug out of that, I've got my PSK with me. Survival gear is just like clothing- layer it.

But I've also got a place to go, and I'm rarely NOT prepared. I walk the fine line between paranoia and preparedness. Even if I'm on the road, I've got the basics in my trunk and EDC. I've thought about this a lot because my car isn't always the most reliable, and weather has a habit of complicating things. I will go as far as I can with as much as I can, by car. And it craps out, on foot. I've got waypoints where I might be able to beg some floor space every 20 miles or so.

Keep in mind, that the pack in question in winter is an old, Medium ALICE pack on a civilian frame (need more gear), while in summer, I use A SpecOps THE Pack with one of thier SAW pouches and one of thier X-6s on each side. The reason why I keep asking about what gear you want to put in this pack is becuase when I see someone who wants to carry a lot of gear, when thier pack get's shaken down, there is a lot of redunant stuff, a lot of stuff that can be consolidated into one or two mutlipurpose items, stuff that can be made lighter/smaller, and just a lot of, well, junk.

For a 40 kg load, I think you should leave one of the gold bricks at home, and probably switch to a smaller kitchen sink.

Regarding a pack that can carry it, I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about the backpack. I think most good quality backpacks will handle at least as much as the person is willing to carry. I've carried 50 lb loads in my 30 year old external frame with no problems, well no problems with the pack at least. But if you're looking for huge carrying capacity, Dana Designs Terraplane has been the standard in the backpacking community for lugging heavy loads.

Also, a bicycle will allow you to carry a lot more, and if you're worried about the bicycle breaking down, barring any major accidents, it will still work as a set of wheels. There really aren't that many things that can go wrong with a bicycle that will render it completely useless, and they're pretty easy to fix.

But like everyone has been saying, rather than spending time trying to figure out how to carry as much as you can, you'll probably be better off in the end if you can learn how to carry as little as possible. Even carrying 40 kg worth of stuff (what is that, like 80-90 lbs?), you're still not gonna be able to carry everything you could possibly need, there's always something that's gonna be missing. Learning how to improvise and make do with what you have is worth more than a backpack full of stuff.

Like Ironraven mentioned, a good rule of thumb is to keep your pack weight between 25%-30% of your body weight, even less if you're not used to it. I think some people in the military might say up to 50%, but I wouldn't count on being able to do that. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's not something an average person can do without a lot of training, and you'll definitely pay for it at the end of the day

Hello,
You may want to check out Mystery Ranch ( www.mysteryranch.com ) if they have not been mentioned. The company is high end and I believe started by the Dana Design founder after selling the label.

Thanks everyone for their comments! I guess I have to think about this a little more...

Thanks again,

Fish Mode

That`s quite a pack. Personally, I carry a 65L pack when hiking that`s about 12-15kg depending on the amount of food I bring. There`s a lot of stuff in it, for any situation that might arise. I don`t have a car, but when I get one, I`ll probably just leave my backpack in there all the time and that will be most of my survival kit, except the typical car- and extra-for other-passengers-stuff.

12 kg is what we did the 3 mile(european) run with in the army. If the back pack is comfortable, you can run with that for hours.

So much of what people buy for emergencies is soeasily improvised in field wih a little knowledge anyway. I`m sure the most important thing in such a scenario would be to get away in a hurry, so I`d pack accordingly.

In this way, I`m also very familiar with my kit, since it`s my spare time, heavily used, recreation pack. A lot of stuff I used to think I needed has been removed. But well, I`m not a fan of owning a lot of stuff anyway.