Does anyone know if a third party makes the following backpacks or does Echo-Sigma make them inhouse?

https://echo-sigma.com/collections/backpacks-bags/products/echo-sigma-get-home-pack
https://echo-sigma.com/collections/backpacks-bags/products/echo-sigma-bug-out-pack

Also, is anyone familiar with the quality of these bags?

Jeanette Isabelle

I do not know, but I can provide you with an informed speculation. Very few sellers of packs make them in-house -- almost all of them use contract manufacturers, almost all of those outside the United States.

It is telling that their website does not state that they make the packs themselves.

These are a common design and are marketed under many labels.

The Get Home Pack looks almost identical to the Condor 126 Compact Assault Pack. The only difference I see is the back. Condor may have changed that. Is anyone able to confirm this?

https://condoroutdoor.com/126-compact-assault-pack.html

Does anyone have experience with Condor? I've heard about them; as a city gal, that is all I know.

Jeanette Isabelle

Mostly mall ninja gear. Rather small capacity for any significant use beyond casual day hikes.

And while I do not know for sure, I suspect that a number of different factories make packs of this design.



I've never owned any of their gear. What I hear is that they're good, but not great.

This forum, in general, has been knocking pre-made 72 Hour kits. I decided to look into customizing a kit and considered one of those two bags. I also looked at other bags such as the Velox II by 3V Gear.

https://3vgear.com/3vgear-velox-ii-tactical-assault-pack/

Unfortunately, more than one person has experienced the same problem of stitching coming undone.

I looked at Maxpedition; their bags cost more than the $200 Uncharted bag and insert that members of this forum had trashed for being too expensive.

What bag does this forum recommend for a 72 Hour kit?

Jeanette Isabelle

I like the REI Co-op Ruckpack 28 Pack. 210-denier ripstop nylon — 2 lb. 11 oz. empty. It’s designed well for organization of small essentials and has two exterior water bottle pockets. The right side opens to a small essentials compartment and the left side opens to access the main compartment which can also be accessed from the top. In the top there is a small compartment for other items you may need without having to search through the bag. A tethered raincover stows in a pocket at the bottom of the bag.

I got mine during one of REI’s sales so it was way less than the sticker price.

If 1700 ci is too small, there’s also a Ruckpack 40. The Ruckpack 28 is uni-sex, for the 40 you’ll need to choose M or W

BTW, there’s no reason to go tactical in a GHB or BOB. I have a couple Maxpedition bags here and besides price, the empty bags are just too heavy. The bags are for walking/hiking, not going into combat.

Like Russ, i am an REI fan (and have been for about fifty-five years). They sell good equipment for the most part, and they carry an extensive line of packs and backpacks, all of good quality and reliability.

The most important feature of any backpack is that it fits its wearer properly. This is best determined by an in-store fitting, with a load typical of that contemplated in both volume and weight. Usually the most important variable is your torso length.

Volume can be tricky. How long a trip, in what conditions, is contemplated? One carries different items in Wisconsin in January, compared to Arizona in August.

My closest experience to maintaining a BOB was building a backpack set up so that I could respond quickly to SAR operations. In Arizona, it required regular adjustment for seasonal and altitude changes. For that purpose, a backpack of about 4000 cubic inches was quite satisfactory, fine for about 72 hours of fieldwork. YMMV!!

It is probably better to have a pack that is a too much volume, rather than one that is too small. But fit is critical!

There are a lot of quality packs out there, sold in many different establishments. There are often frequent sales, and some stores will rent packs so that you can give them a try.

I heartily agree that a BOB need not be tactical (much hyped term, beloved by marketers).

"If the pack fits, wear it..."

I've had good fortune with Goruck, Alpha One Niner, and VertX. None of them are inexpensive.

Durable will cost more, cheap will not last, but there can be a happy medium. The military style packs have many attachment points which can be practical, but they do not carry as well as the good civilian ones. It really all depends on you, your environment and what you you will carry in it and for how far. Something to keep in a car trunk that will not be used for extensive hiking leans toward the military style. Not too expensive, will work, and are versatile. Something that you will be hiking with over long distances will require a well fitting pack. It is all dependent on your needs.

On that note, there’s an REI at 430 Orlando Ave in Winter Park, FL. If you should find yourself there, go in and try on some packs. Gregory, Osprey, REI Co-op ... there are a lot of good packs available. It’s much better to put one on and walk around the store than it is to buy an unknown pack from some retailer on the internet.

FWIW, $.02

The packs you posted the link to are unknown to me but they do look like the generic Chinese packs you see branded with dozens of different company names. My suspicion is that the build quality is lowish and variable. I have a lot of different small Chinese bags and pouches; they seem to vary a lot in quality not just by brand name but from batch to batch. I've been pleased with cheap pouches only to reorder the same thing and get really junky ones.

IMO Condor gear is decent but not great. They (along with many other companies) seem to look at whatever Maxpedition releases and more or less copy it with a lower level of worksmanship. Maxpedition is somewhat expensive and also made offshore (Viet Nam? ) but their products exhibit very high quality in both craftsmanship and materials.

However, one thing all of them seem to have in common- from the Maxpedition and Condor packs down to the ones linked in the OP- is very poor suspensions. It seems they're basically bags with straps grafted on as an afterthought. I have a couple of Maxpedtion packs and while the quality is outstanding the design of the suspension could use some work.

Personally I like hiking/backpacking type packs more than military style packs. While I like having a bit of PALS webbing/MOLLE to attach a few items to I have found that packs marketed for hiking seem to carry the load better. The packs I tend to carry the most are Mystery Ranch but there are lots of great makers.

Check on Woot.com, they have some Maxpedition packs for $50-$60.

Yeah, Woot has some good deals right now.

Woot has sold out.

Jeanette Isabelle

Drats! Well, they do get Maxpedition stuff pretty regularly so it pays to check once and a while. They do make great stuff! I have a Pygmy Falcon I don't really need but it's probably too small for what you need.

Actually, they still have Vulture-II and Condor-II packs, they're just in the 'Garage Sale' section instead of Outdoors.

Thanks. I hope it's still there after the Sabbath.

Jeanette Isabelle

rI have a Vulture II and there are better packs out there. Rather heavy for its capacity and not all that comfortable. 3 stars out of 5...

I must be missing something. The part I'm quoting does not make sense.

Jeanette Isabelle

typo " I have a Vulture II" I would not recommend this pack

The Maxpedition packs seem to be built for "tactical-ness" and durability, not so much for comfort. I have some of their packs and I wouldn't choose them for a long hike but for something that will ride in a vehicle or sit at home most of the time I think they're pretty good (and of course very well constructed).

If comfort is the priority, maybe just get a hiking pack. I like Mystery Ranch, Hill People Gear, Kelty, Osprey and Granite Gear but there are many good brands.

The other day I asked Mom if she was willing to buy a more expensive Hanukkah gift if it is survival related. She said yes. I'm not sure if, at the time, I had a more exact dollar amount. Just for the bag that I prefer to have (still not 100% clear on the quality of the Echo-Sigma bag) and the starter kit, I'm looking somewhere from $190 to $195.

When I mentioned the approximate amount, she sidestepped a bit stating that kind of money would be better spent on bugging in.

I'm glad she's prepping to bug in. That's better than most people. I don't want every egg in one basket.

She wants me to get out of debt before I spend any more money and there is certainly a lot of logic to that.

Jeanette Isabelle

I am positive you can exceed the quality of what I think you are considering to purchase, the Gatapack, for considerably less that their "sale" price and simultaneously remedy some of its deficiencies, and for that matter, obtain gear more suitable for your situation.

You probably have many of the items lying around - just a matter of organization.

I take it that you mean the contents of the Quick Pack and not the entire kit.

I, of course, have a more comprehensive medical kit than AMK that GATA included. I have a total of four D-Cell MAG-LITE flashlights. I have pens, markers, a few notebooks, a few emergency blankets, two pairs of gloves and a Fox 40 on my keychain. Otherwise, I have nothing GATA includes.

As I said recently, except for my EDC bag which I built from the ground up, I've had better luck with modifying something off-the-shelf than building something from scratch. Since I have not built a survival kit and my one attempt in modifying a survival kit failed, I figure this would be a place to start.

Jeanette Isabelle

Something you may have considered is whether or not the backpak will be carried or is simply carry-able. For a bag that will be carried on a long walk/hike, go to REI and try out a number of bags that are designed for hikers. It may cost a bit more, but it’s money well spent.

For a bag that is only needed to be carried a short distance, the weight and comfort aren’t as critical and maybe that heavy nylon canvas used by Max-P is a better choice.

What is really critical are the circumstances in which you will use this kit. How far do you intend to travel, what mode of transportation, under what weather conditions, etc. These factors determine what is included and what is left if bugging out is the strategy.

Just for starters, I would ditch the Chem lights and the hand warmers, as well as the silly AMK kit. I would include a knife, probably a Mora (several models are suitable), a much better multi-tool (lots of options here), a Bic, and a signal mirror.

In place of the Nalgene and the water packets,recycle a Gatorade bottle and fill it with good old tap water.

Gatorade bottles are designed to be used once. Recycled gatorade bottles are fine until they fail, then they are pretty much useless.

I just bought a new REI branded Nalgene bottle. They are tough and designed to be used over and over and....

I just read an article about the risks of reusing disposable plastic bottles. Suffice to say it's not a good practice. In a pinch it can be done but you're much better off with a bottle made to be reused. I like stainless steel but I'm a fan of regular Nalgenes, too.

Carriable unless, for whatever the reason, we need to ditch the car and walk the rest of the distance.

Jeanette Isabelle

The things you listed are what's included in the Quick Pack Contents.

Perhaps I am not making myself clear. The purpose of this kit is to learn how to make survival kits.

Jeanette Isabelle

I have been using recycled beverage bottles , along with Nalgenes and various other water containers, including some stainless steel types, for years. I have never had a G bottle fail, even with extensive use.

Nalgenes are definitely tougher, but if durability is a real issue, one should probably go to stainless steel. The optimum water container is probably a collapsible unit (Platypus or equivalent) which takes up minimum space when not filled. i have not had any failures of those, either.

Any of these water containers should be placed in a metal cup, capacity 8 to 12 oz, and carried in an exterior pocket. Go titanium if your budget allows, but stainless steel is perfectly good (and better for cooking).

Plastics are pervasive in our environment, and constitute a definite problem, but I don't think recycling bottles will affect the situation one wa or another. The percentage of fluids I ingestfrom recycled bottlesis insignificant.

How is the purchase of a marginal, highly generalized bag of goodies going to teach anyone anything? Their web page, showing the contents, is a useful starting point for improvements and modifications to fit individual circumstances.

Here's a thought: What does one do if an emergency strikes and the handy dandy survival kit is not available (meteor strike, theft, whatever). It comes down to the ability to improvise and problem solve.

FWIW, Maxpedition is having a 50% off Sale on the Riftcore and Falcon II. Those may be a bit small for your needs.

If possible, could you give a reference to the article? Sounds like an interesting read.

Someone else has already figured it out for me.

Mom did build a car kit. And while I did make suggestions on what to include, Mom made the final decision on what and what not to include. The kit looks like it was built by someone with no experience, no consideration was given concerning space and weight and I am not thrilled with some of the components.


Hopefully, by then I learned how to build a survival kit.

Jeanette Isabelle

If you are building something to fit in a vehicle, space and weight are fairly minor considerations.

In any event, assembling a survival kit is an ongoing process, building on user experience and incorporating new items as they appear. I continually tweaked my SAR bag as time went on and got it to a pretty reasonable state. Then it was stolen, and I got to start all over again. But at least insurance covered most of the cost.

You can't just buy stuff, put it in a bag, and forget it. ideally you will have familiarity with items in your kit and know how they perform. An emergency is not the time to be reading the manual for the first time.

If it were just for the car, weight is not an issue. Size may to some degree; not weight.

If we had to ditch the car weight then becomes an issue.


That is how my EDC bag came to be.


I know. The point of the proposed kit is to have something I can learn.

Jeanette Isabelle

We are really talking past one another.

What you will learn by buying this kit is that you will have wasted your money. This assemblage lacks many critical items (map?compass?) and includes many that are ineffective (hand warmers and chem lights). Walk into any decent outdoor store, put on a blindfold, select at random, and you will do as well as this hodge podge.

The best way to test whatever you start with is to get out an use it. Start with day hies, lengthen them and get into overnight and longer backpacking trips. For post graduate work, volunteer with a SAR unit and get first hand experience with realemergencies.

End of rant, I will say no more...

?


One thing I learned is that it takes money to learn. Something else I learned is don't go cheap while learning. Otherwise, I will spend more in the long run.

I don't consider that wasting money. Sure, I may think that at first after everything is said and done; in every situation, I recognized I would not have learned how to do it right any other way had I not spent the money on my education. Let me say this again, when doing something new for the first time, don't go cheap.


As for a compass among other things, that is the purpose of the PSP. As for a map, that is a very geographic specific item and it will change.

As for light sticks, others, besides myself, have vouched for them.


You're beginning to describe my EDC bag. I built it when I lived in Dallas when an unexpected overnighter was the norm. Sometimes I would be in a house without electricity, running water or when we drove to Malissa's house, we had neither.


In case you forgot, I have to be medicated if I have to be in a car for more than a few miles.


What rant?

Jeanette Isabelle

The PSP compass was selected for size, not utility. It’s good for a button compass and might keep you walking in a somewhat straight line, but it’s not really adequate for orienteering/navigation. A real compass such as the Suunto M-3D will serve much better for navigation. That’s just one example, The Compass Store has a good selection.

If I think I will need a real compass, I will include that too.

Jeanette Isabelle

I received the contents yesterday and the pack today. After assembling the kit, I had less space than what I had expected. Perhaps with rearranging, I can get the stove to fit.

Jeanette Isabelle

I ordered a County Comm Bail Out Bag, Gen 8 this morning. My arithmetic indicates the bag is 1386 ci not counting the end pockets and the admin section. It looks to be well thought out and IME County Comm nylon bags are very well built, good materials and strong. There’s a video walk-thru of the bag at the link above.

I've been eyeballing that bag since last night, Russ. I have had two of their previous-gen bags and they're both great.