Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >
Topic Options
#44157 - 07/17/05 09:40 AM Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
Anonymous
Unregistered


Greetings All,

I am putting together a disaster/ Bug Out Bag kit and would like recommendaions for a back pack. I would like the kit to be able to sustain me for 4-7 days. The terrain would be a midsize city to rural MidWest. What size back pack would be appropriate for this role?

Thank you!

Top
#44158 - 07/17/05 01:11 PM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
AyersTG Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/10/01
Posts: 1272
Loc: Upper Mississippi River Valley...
Just to start things off:

Depends on how much "comfort" you require. You could manage fine with a fairly small pack if you are OK with being a bit hungry and cold and improvise along the way. Most people would prefer an "ordinary" sized pack (now enter the interal frame vs external frame debate) in the 3500 ci - 5000 ci range.

If it's an all-up BoB, you need to size it to include your winter clothing and gear. If you are OK with a seasonal supplemental bag for your seasonal clothing, a smaller bag will do fine.

7 days food adds up to a lot of bulk and weight, no matter what you use. Figure how you're going to handle water and assume surface water in the MidWest is full of runoff from livestock AND ag chemicals (because it is).

Top
#44159 - 07/17/05 05:49 PM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
JohnN Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/10/01
Posts: 966
Loc: Seattle, WA
Yah, as an example, I carry a 2500cu in pack every day which is really geared at getting me home. With the various supplies and a bit of clothing it is full. I don't carry much (if any) food in it and do not carry water in it, although my target is to add 4L of water for my dog and I from my office or car supply if in a disaster. So that is about as much as fits in 2500cu in. Consider it a 24hr pack.

I figure this is a good baseline to build on where you factor in food, water and additional clothing.

Part of the question is also, do you plan on walking for seven days, or do you have a brief walk to some shelter. Or are you planning on driving and just have the pack for convience and just-in-case?

What I'm trying to get at is -- you need to pack to a target that is realistic for you to carry for your target distance.

Personally, I think I'd be happy with about a 4500 cu in pack for longer term situations, but I doubt I'd pack much more than I have in my 24 hr kit other than more water and food. The gotcha is water is darn heavy...

Another consideration is how much clothing are you planning on carrying. Clothing, while light, can be bulky and take up a lot of room. In the midwest, I suspect it would make a huge difference in the winter vs summer for example.

One thing you might want to do is put everything together in a pile that you think you are going to carry and then eyeball the size before you go pack hunting.

Which comes to another point in picking a pack. When the load gets more serious, you really want a pack with real support. I would read backpacking reviews of the packs you are considering and make sure they perform well with heavier loads. Most book backs and military style packs don't have much if any support. I use a book bag style but the load is fairly light.

-john


BTW, here are some (old) pictures of my 24 hr kit. I'm re-doing it and hopefully will have revised pictures at some point. Note that some of my items are fairly specific to my situation and I would assume yours would look slightly different.


Edited by JohnN (07/17/05 05:57 PM)

Top
#44160 - 07/17/05 07:51 PM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
MGF Offline
dedicated member

Registered: 06/16/05
Posts: 114
Loc: Illinois
John, that is a purely awesome collection of gear.

Top
#44161 - 07/17/05 08:38 PM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
7k7k99 Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 06/01/05
Posts: 375
Loc: Ohio
Hi John
do you have a source to get that New England Tech Cord? I can't find anywhere to get that 3mm cord

Top
#44162 - 07/17/05 09:30 PM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
Anonymous
Unregistered


Gents,

Thanks for the helpful replies. John, Great photos of your BUG pack. I want to be able evacuate my area, and then being able to live out of the pack for a few days.



I am considering the Mountainsmith Cross Country II. It's an internal frame and has a 5000 ci volume. Unfortunately, there are no real outdoor retailers within a 100 miles of me so everything is mail order. I can't try it out in a store.


Top
#44163 - 07/18/05 02:37 AM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
JohnN Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/10/01
Posts: 966
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
Hi John
do you have a source to get that New England Tech Cord? I can't find anywhere to get that 3mm cord


You know, I just looked the other day and couldn't find a source either. I think I originally got mine at 911Providers GearShop but they don't have it on their web site now. Maybe you could give them a ring and see what the deal is.

I half way wonder if people started getting worried that people would use them for escape gear like mine. I'm aware it is a bit risky, but there is no way I could EDC as much if it wasn't so thin and light.

-john

Top
#44164 - 07/18/05 02:45 AM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
JohnN Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/10/01
Posts: 966
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
John, that is a purely awesome collection of gear.


Thanks. I've been working on it for quite a while and still don't have it down. It's also interesting how complicated an exercise this is and as much thought as you put into it, there is always room for improvement or things you overlooked, etc. But I'm pretty close to being happy with it.

At this point I've actually split my kit into two containers. The first is a Maxpedition Fatboy and the second is the pack in the kit. I actually have a Maxpedition Condor on order and hope to replace the Kelty pack.

The reason for the split is that it just wasn't practical to always take the backpack with me. I can pretty much get away with having the Fatboy with me tho.

-john

Top
#44165 - 07/18/05 03:33 AM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
KyBooneFan Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 06/19/05
Posts: 233
Loc: West Kentucky
John, this web site has the cord on sale.

http://www.cmcrescue.com/product.php?dept_id=1006

Must be powerful stuff at 60+ cents a foot ON SALE. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
"The more I carry, the less I need."

Top
#44166 - 07/18/05 03:40 AM Re: Need Disaster Kit Pack Recommendations
JohnN Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/10/01
Posts: 966
Loc: Seattle, WA

Thanks for the link, but 7k7k99 was looking for the 3mm cord. Several places seem to be carrying the 5mm.

And yes, it is powerful stuff! 3mm is rated for 3100 lbs!

-john

Top
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 324 Guests and 6 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.