Today's easy addition: A plastic bag

Granted its not cool or sexy (And no I'm not gonna post a pic here) but a garbage bag is handy.

- Keeps the ol laptop dry in a rainstorm
- keeps dirty/wet clothes from migrating
- practical poncho
- creates instant dry spot to sit
- can collect and carry water
- Pack out trash

Cheap and, well, cheap

Add one to the bottom of your pack, briefcase, car kit or snow boarding gear -- Today!

A big bag can be a shelter. Christmas tree disposal bags are approx. 72"x90" flat, about 4' on a side if you run a cord through it for a quick pup tent, big enough to shelter two adults. Not heavy-duty, but they only cost a buck in the dollar stores, or in the after-Christmas sales. Put one inside the other if you've got a spare.

Ziplock® Freezer Bags, esp in the gallon size, are handy for all sorts of things. They can separate gear, keep things dry, and carry water and collected foods.

Boil-in Bags/Cook-in Bags for cooking in. Once used, they can be used for other things, at your discretion. I've ordered Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple by Sarah Kirkconnell from the library. Maybe even more options than I realize!

Sue

a 42gal 3mil contractor's cleanup bag...lay flat, with a 2x4 under open end...add 5gal water + 90degree Florida Sun x 1hr = 5gal water at 130F....dip water out of bag, 5 gal at that temp is a handfull...

130F... watch out for scalding of children, seniors and others with sensitive skin.

Les, does it make any difference with the color of the bag, say yellow vs. black?

Sue

Sue... I was suprised at the temp change in one hour..handling the flexible bag with 5gal of that temp water is asking for trouble...I used black, but it would be a good experiment just to see the difference with the yellow....the theory is the longer wavelength red end of the electromagnetic spectrum is the heat end, and the black should absorb all the visible frequencies, while the yellow pigment reflects and not absorbs yellow ...yellow is close to the red end, so some available heat energy is reflected....the effeciency may not matter if you are just looking for a way to heat water without electricity


another one... a MRE hot beverage bag, or easier to find home made pouch from a vacuum food saver bag (double sealed vertically slighty over 1/2 the width)makes a durable water transport bag that folds up pretty small

After reading another thread here about 6 months ago, I packed two garbage bags in my snowboard jacket. I also added about 80 feet of 550 paracord, which would have come in handy a few times on the mountain (e.g., getting out of deep powder). I'm looking for better cord that's just as small, but the 550 ought to get the job done for now.

It's also awesome to be able to produce a large garbage bag when your daughter has just puked all over the place and you need to isolate all the barfy clothes before driving fourteen more hours to get home.

& in conjunction with using bags to carry water,especially the 1 gal.ziploks if you are toting more than a few,I have found that,the cheapy laundry bags from the dollar stores,do a real good job of carrying 5-1gal ziploks(aprox.4+ gals. of water)up to a campsite 300yds away,the laundry bags pack small/light,& can be used for cushioning purposes when filled with leaves,etc.or whatever else one can think of!

I keep a plastic grocery bag or 2 in my everyday backpack. Exceedingly handy.

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Great thread. I carry a 3 Mil contractors bag at the bottom of my EDC pack. I have it folded flat in a heavy duty gallon zipper baggie which also has it uses.

All the use noted are great, I like to add it can be used as a float if if you wind up in the water.

I have a box of quart sized ziplocs in the emergency supply kit cooking section, and a box of trashbags in with the sanitation stuff. I haven't found much use for them as an EDC item.

A bigger bag also makes a great poncho if you need to travel in wet conditions. Just make a small neck hole and one for each arm. If it's big enough it will cover you and your pack.

I was surprised at the "quantum" of strength difference that .001" makes comparing a 2 mil vs. 3 mil bag... I typically buy 2 mil contractor clean up bags for trash bags, and bought some 3 mil at Home Depot by accident...I had never looked for the 3 mil specifically before..

Very simple and very useful.

I have a few different bags packed including a (few) disposable supermarket bags with handles. Useful for all sorts of things,
including carrying wet or dirty things outside your pack and
good to collect stuff in.

For example, we "issue" them to the kids when on a beach walk, so they have somewhere to stash their loot - by the way, if you issue a small bag, it does limit how much they can collect !

Great idea. Also works for collecting trash off the beach...