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So... are you going to post the contents of the bag? Maybe spread out all out on the floor for a money-shot?
I will not be dumping out the entire bag for a money shot but I can list off it's contents for ya.
1x "military" medical kit. Contains all the basics, but most important to me is a legit CAT tourniquet. I added some Neosporin and extra cloth Band-Aids cause why not
1x roll of gorilla tape. It used to be gaffer tape, but in "emergency" situations I place more importance on the strength of the tape and I care less about the residue left behind.
4x "space blankets". Sheets of silver reflective mylar have a lot of uses beyond keeping you warm but they are shocking good at that in a pinch.
1x battery bank with built in charging cables and a solar panel for refilling the bank.
1x waterproof (when closed) electric lighter. I am capable of starting fires without a lighter of any kind but it sure makes it much easier and it can be recharged by the solar pack theoretically an unlimited number of times. It's also on a necklace with a built in whistle and compass.
~30 feet of wax soaked high strength Paracord.
20x 1 foot UV resistant zip ties
1x water key.
1x Leatherman
1x mini ratchet and socket set (5.5mm-15mm) with common driver heads for most common screws
1x small electric screwdriver and tool set for small things (electric screwdriver fails in a usable state)
~20 keys for the most common construction equipment found where I live.
1x umbrella
1x bottle of super glue
1x small tube blue loctite
1x hand pumped 3 stage water filtration system with built in cup and a spare set of filters
1x deck of cards
I feel like am forgetting some things, but that is the bag off the top of my head.
I still have some things I want to add like the GPS for the bag itself, but I think it's mostly where I want it as a daily carried bug out bag.
I think I might start putting together a second bag that has room for bigger things and more quantities, but that one will just stay at home.
Wow, I've never encountered a fully electric lighter. I'll have to look into that now.
That's really smart. Is there any kind of resource for compiling or locating those?
Yeah they shoot crossing beams of "plasma". The waterproof ones I've been using don't have the most accessible beams so you need to use a dry leaf or thin twig to get it between the beams to light it and then use THAT to light the fires most of the time. Definitely not the end all be all and they take some getting used to, but I like them and find them decently reliable. I think I will still toss a regular bic lighter or something in the bag as a secondary backup in case it bricks.
I don't know if it's the case with all heavy machinery globally but most of the machines in the US have universal keys and you can buy sets with all of them on a loop for not that much. I ordered a ~40 pack of "all" heavy machinery universal keys for like 25 bucks and then I just cut it down to the 20 or so that I actually would likely run into in the area I live. I pretty much just tossed the keys for ones that aren't really sold over here and kept the ones that I know I have seen in my state multiple times.
Huh. They would have to be the same in Canada. 25 USD would totally be worth it even on my budget. Thanks!
Rain hat.
It's a seasonal item. It's probably getting removed here soon since California is about to transition to wild fire season any second now lol.
Still good as a parasol if caught without shade
Thanks. Now the umbrella is gonna stay in the bag year round. Lol
You win, just for listing the trauma kit first.
I think everyone should be issued one of these when they turn 18.
We diverge a little here, because I don't trust electronics. I carry a Zippo, a canister of fluid, and a pack of flints. A canister will probably last long than I will, and I also have a flint/striker combo built into the knife as a back up.
Excellent choice! Why wax soaked, though?
Some of the rest are interesting choices, but I can see why you'd include them. The tape and superglue are nice additions, and I think you can't go wrong with a big Leatherman. I have a pump filtration system for backpacking, but it's too bulky for a bug out bag, so I carry a Grayl press bottle and extra filter.
Trauma kit number 1. Always. Hard to survive if you bleed out from a survivable accident.
Space blankets are legit magic. They should be given out more often. They can very easily save peoples lives.
Traditionally I carried water proof matches in a little canister but the electric "windproof" plasma lighter lasts a long time on one charge (like several months of constant use in my testing). Plus the solar charging bank can refill it almost instantly. I also extensive experience starting fires without any tools or assists so if I absolutely have to I can just do that. It's mostly just a lightweight convenience.
The wax soaking means if everything is wet I can better use a small frayed chunk of it to start a fire if nothing else is dry enough to easily start.
Yeah the bag is bulky and heavy, but I work an office job so it pretty much just rides along with me in my car to and from location most of the time. The bag I use is capable of expanding and holding enough clothing for me to reasonably hike or take most trips. Plus it's always funny when people pick it up and are surprised I carry all that shit about every day. But they never complain when I am able to fix of solve their problems because I'm basically a portable work bench.
Yeah, I have a few of those plasma lighters around the house, and I'm amazed that they hold a charge for as long as they do, and run for as long. I've legit picked up a lighter I'd found in a drawer I know I hadn't touched in 4 years, and it still arced.
That said, I've also had one that just... stopped working one day. Wouldn't charge, wouldn't arc; probably just shorted out in there, or the battery took a crap. That's the thing: they're amazing, but I just would trust one in a survival situation. I also worry about water. On the other hand, they're not the biggest thing in your pack, and as long as you have a striker for back up, why not? Maybe I'll throw one in there. I just try to minimize the electronics in my bag.
The wax soaking is a clever idea. I have a single stick of fatwood I'd shave off; it's what I take and use backpacking. But paracord itself is incredibly useful stuff.
Mine's more of a bug-out bag. I don't carry out with me, I'm not a prepper, and I have a wife so I'm not going to go running off. It's just a prepared bag so we're not running around the house gathering stuff if a tornado takes the house down or something.
Your concerns about the lighter are valid. I probably should throw in something that is mechanical or chemical based just as a double super emergency backup.
Burning the Paracord would be pretty much a final hail mary for starting a fire if I absolutely needed one right away and I couldn't get anything else to light. It's obviously much more useful as a rope than anything else. Just a little extra assurance and it doesn't remove any functionality from the Paracord so why not.
Yeah I just realized one day that if the bag is at home under my bed and the entire West coast loses power and turns into anarchy overnight I might not be able to get to my bag and at that point I would just be furious that I didn't have it with me. I guess I could just leave it in my car as there are very few situations where I am terribly far from my personal vehicle, but even then. You never know when you'll need the tools or the trauma kit. It hasn't happened yet, but if someone does get injured to the point that my tourniquet is the difference between them surviving or not I'll happily lug around the bag for the rest of time in the off-chance it saves someone's life one day.