New prepper looking for advice on types of kits
Posted by Tough_Tax_102@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 25 comments
Hi, I'm newly into prepping and want to start by making "go bags" for each person in my family. This would be doomsday type prepping (not few day/short term) so I'm wondering if it's better to get waterproof roll top backpacks for each person like this- https://a.co/d/1gJpfvm or an actual backpacking pack with loops and straps to hold a tent and other supplies like this- https://a.co/d/8vhU9bG
Any advice for someone getting started with this is welcome! Thanks in advance
silasmoeckel@reddit
You go down to a backpacking outfitter and get everybody fitted for a pack. You then do shake down hikes to make sure they are right. Get boots while your there.
People that have never done 20+ miles of walking a day for multiple days don't get that there is no one size fits all solution here.
Those shake down hikes will also show that there is a pile of stuff you don't need and simply can't carry. That you need to figure out resupply and somewhere to end up not just endless hiking.
Ok_Candidate7759@reddit
Sage advise.
ForsakenBend347@reddit
I second this. I learned a valuable lesson the first time I went upland hunting and wore an ALICE rig, because I thought it looked cool. The weight was wrong, my shoulders hurt and so did my hips. I learned, changed my gear, and felt much better while hunting this last season.
silasmoeckel@reddit
Alice brings me back. Wasn't vintage when I was wearing it.
Brudegan@reddit
Mine was vintage when i bought it around 30 years ago. Its still in the same condition despite usage.
But i wouldnt use it for hikes. While the medium one would be ok if you want a 3kg pack instead of <1kg one the large Alice has its center of mass too far from your back when full.
Now i only use the big one in my car to get my groceries from my car into my apartment...and not a bit farther. Even using it to go shopping on foot its too big and heavy for my knees.
ForsakenBend347@reddit
Great for larp, maybe not great for prepping.
silasmoeckel@reddit
Think my son took it to airsoft, perfect for that.
Brudegan@reddit
I have quite a bit of the "doomsday" stuff i didnt even put in my emergency bag. And i took most of the stuff that went in out to get it lighter. Now i even consider taking out the rest of it to get my bag below 15kg weight including 2-3 days food and water.
My suggestion is to stop living the fantasy (outside of it being a "what if"-hobby) and do a reality check. You will never need a real INCH bag (or whatever you call it). If you dont have a bug out location ready you will just be a refugee if you have to leave your home. We all started with the fantasy but you should learn from others and skip these steps. Everything else will send you down a rabbithole you probably dont need as a beginner. You can always come back to that later after you got the basics.
Start with water/food etc. for like 7-14 days for your whole family and then get a few basics like some type of camping stove to boil water or cook, a package of lighters (and a ferro rod as backup), a battery powered radio, rechargable batteries and a powerbank/-station with solar panels to keep them charged, LED lights for each of you, a water filter, first aid and so on. There are tons of websites/videos out there explaining the basics. The basics havent changed for decades except having a water filter and some type of solar generator nowadays.
At the same time i would get a backpack for each family member and put in the things that go into an emergency bag for when you have to leave your house in a hurry in the middle of the night. Again theres a ton on videos out there on the topic.
After that gradually stock up your food/water for up to 1-2 months without power. You could have some of the classics like rice/beans for 6-12 months in case of shortages but i wouldnt really bother doing more unless you really know what youre doing, have the location and the money for it. My tip is to just stock up on what you eat regulary depending on how long the food stays good so that you always have a buffer but less stuff you dont eat and can go bad. After that you only need to rotate the food and eat the oldest stuff first.
Backsight-Foreskin@reddit
You're trying to direct traffic to stuff your have a vested interest in selling. Scammer.
Vegetaman916@reddit
If you're looking for "doomday" prepping advice, I'm your guy. Maybe. I've been taking very dramatic steps to get ready for collapse for quite some time now, and these days my sole focus is educating about it since I'm as ready as I can get myself.
If you are interested, at least in regards to bugging out, I talk about it at length in videos and also on my blog, Wasteland By Wednesday. Just a google search away.
In general, though, the first step to getting a bug out bag together is to do a real-world threat assessment of your area and the potential threats, and then make a comprehensive plan for you and your family to bug out. You don't want to fall into the "head for the hills" bug out trap, you need to have a concrete plan for where you are going, what you have on site when you arrive, how you will get there, what threats exist along the way, and what you will do long term once you reach your bug out location.
Once you have the plan, and are able to do a walk through practice of it, you will more easily see exactly what you need for your specific family/group and your environment. My bag will look much different from yours, and so on for everyone else's.
You aren't going to be bugging out into a random place with no plan, that is not the way to do it successfully. And once you have the plan, it will dictate the kind of gear and supplies you need for your kits.
One last general tidbit is to make sure that, once you have your kits, you actually get out there and use it all. Strap that bug out bag on and head out one weekend to live out of it outside of society. Do a run through of your actual bug out and make sure you have all the skills needed to use the things in your kit correctly. This is one of the best ways to find out for yourself exactly what you are capable of physically, and it will also give you the best possible insight into what is important for your kit and what isn't.
CTSwampyankee@reddit
Define the crisis you are preparing for based on historical events in your area. Work on your basic skills so you know what you need. Go camping.
You can look up endless lists and may find someone telling you to pack 5 knives and hatchet before you even get to food, water filter, appropriate heating/cooking plan figured out. The decent stuff can be pricey because it’s made to last and light.
You have to carry this stuff so a bag with no frame and a lot of weight will not work for any real distance. Research and reading are free.
Tough_Tax_102@reddit (OP)
The site told me this didn't post because I was a new user so I wasn't expecting all these replies! Even tried to repost it but still got the error that it didn't post. Pleasantly surprised to see all these! Thanks everyone!
AgateDragon@reddit
What many won't tell you or don't think about is that your most important prep is you. As an older person I can tell you disasters happen at random in normal life. Weather is often the culprit, but not always. Maintain the physical fitness you would need to hike to where ever. The first time your car breaks down in a no cell service area and you have to hike out to get gas or cell service you will be glad. It's the same fitness you depend on if a disaster requires your area to be evacuated. All the preps in the world don't help if you can't hike to help. Also learn anything you can, the more you know the more you can deal with. First aid of course but also pretty much anything else. You will rarely find knowledge a bad thing.
Background-King9787@reddit
If you intend for a go bag to get you through a full doomsday/never come back…look at the gear lists on alone. Note that the things they bring are super heavy, and I would never bring them backpacking but my stuff would shred in 100 days of attempted survival like that. Lots of repair supplies/a repairable pack.
But like previous OPs said, you need the skills to match the goals before the bags make sense.
IGetNakedAtParties@reddit
Bag comes last. First plans, then skills, then gear, and finally bags.
ArtisticDegree3915@reddit
Fitness. That should be first for most Americans.
my11c3nts@reddit
..........
ArtisticDegree3915@reddit
Hilarious.
my11c3nts@reddit
As someone who is slightly overweight, I have to give you that...... Even though I do walk over 10 miles a day for my job and bike on my days off..... You are right...... If you're not capable of moving for a good period of time. You're not gonna get anywhere.
IGetNakedAtParties@reddit
For sure, plans should be realistic given the fitness age and abilities of the whole group.
my11c3nts@reddit
This is true ..... There is no one bag that rules them. It depends on everyone's circumsdances, a bag that's good for, say, the alaska wilderness, wouldn't work for the middle of Nevada....
You need to have a plan and then acquire the skills first, then practice those skills to realize what you're actually gonna need and what you can live without.
gadget767@reddit
You have skipped the first question relating to a “go bag”. Where is it that you’re going? Also the second question….How am I getting there?
FlashyImprovement5@reddit
You are looking more at evacuating in a vehicle and that is a different sort of prep
Due_Satisfaction2167@reddit
Start up a family backpacking hobby.
If they aren’t super into that, your prep plans likely need some serious re-evaluation.
I mean, you need to re-evaluate your plans anyway if you’re trying to live indefinitely out of a backpack when your alternative is a whole ass house and a car and such.
People need:
In that approximate order.
You should work out how to provide that if you can stay out in your house, and how you’ll provide that if you have ti leave your house.
Your answer likely isn’t going to fit in everyone’s backpack, especially if you have small kids.
GeforcerFX@reddit
"Go backs" arn't really a doomsday prep, they are getting out of dodge and sustain me till I can get help kind of prep.
That being said I would go role top for the guaranteed water proofing and just have smaller bags to divide and organize the supplies inside the main bag.