Larger duffels/packs for loading preps into car?
Posted by Highwayman1717@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 29 comments
I have my BOB comfortably set up, but now am seeing more folks recommending keeping a primary BOB and then secondary kits that go from ‘in case you have time to grab this other bag…’ to loading rubs into a car. I love the idea of my gear closet being ‘packed’ instead of laid out on shelves, but have no experience with anything but modern civilian backpacks.
If I just need some handheld bags to haul down a flight of stairs to my car: Do I go for ones with pockets and organizers, or find a way to organizer a big canvas one? Any favorite models you swear by? What about labeling them by color or with tags for different categories?
Casiarius@reddit
As long as the bugout bag is just a way to transport your stuff to the car, use a suitcase. It's not tacticool but you can roll it around on wheels or carry it over obstacles and down your stairs. You can fit a lot of junk in a suitcase, and as long as it's just going in the car, weight is not a critical limitation.
One other tip I would offer concerning bug-out bags is... every time you buy a handy gadget for your bug-out bag or EDC, buy an extra one and put all of these in a box right in front of your bug-out bag. Then when you decide you really need that gadget for something else, you won't have to raid your packed bug-out bag. I am terrible about looting my own bag for things I can't find around the house.
Crawlerzero@reddit
I really like this approach. If you can get out with your car, that’s a great idea. I’ve always felt that emergency bags should always be backpacks but have started second-guessing that as I age. After seeing bulldozers pushing abandoned cars aside for emergency teams to combat the CA wildfires, I’m convinced that’s still the right thing for me and my situation because getting through urban sprawl with suitcases during gridlock would be a nightmare. Now my plan is primary backpack plus wheeled duffel.
I do the same thing with tools. Anything that goes in the bag, lives in the bag and does not exist except in an emergency. Anything that lives in the bag that might have every day use has a twin that lives in the toolbox.
Casiarius@reddit
The benefit of having a bug-out bag ready to go is that it's fast, so that if everyone in town suddenly decides to evacuate, you can be the first one on the road and not the last. But having the bag packed might really only save you 30 minutes. If you really want to be the first one out of town, you have to stay aware of threats and decide to go before everyone else gets the same idea.
sea-horse-@reddit
I have a duffel bag with wheels and handle. I like it.
Elegant-Procedure-74@reddit
Do you have a brand recommendation for this? Our duffels are just ones with handles and a longer strap but I have been thinking about something like this!
Spiley_spile@reddit
How much weight can you safely carry in a hurry? On stairs? Surrounded by debris in the dark? In a time sensitive situation, it would suck to pull a muscle, or trip and sprain/break your ankle. And if you're having to bug out, chances are your access to medical care for an injury will be limited/delayed/non-existant. So dont over pack whatever bags you'll be grabbing in a hurry.
Routine_Awareness413@reddit
You know that this is the way things get of hand quickly right?
Personally, I try to slim down my BOB and GHB.
Bezerker00@reddit
I love my Cam 3.0 from 5.11. It’s big has hell, has rollers, fits a ton!
churnopol@reddit
Tips from a r/mobileDJ :)
My cable organizing gig bags. They come in different sizes. The ones for chauvet stage lights are really big. Those ones can be an SUV bug out bag for a family of 7. Smaller ones are about the size of a milk carton is perfect for a trauma kit.
Each slot helps keep everything organized and, most importantly, entirely visible when you unzip the bag open. Vacuum sealed clothes in the first few slots, then first aid, then fire starting supplies, free dried meals, etc.
I have it set up so if I ask someone to find something in my gig bag, it shouldn't take more than five seconds to spot it.
Crawlerzero@reddit
This is a great idea. I have a gig bag for my bass gear but it’s just a sling. I never thought to look for one that has backpack straps.
Photography bags are also good for organization.
ericlarsen2@reddit
Those bags are pretty slick. Thanks!
IlliniWarrior1@reddit
have a whole collection of GI duffle bags in stock >> not for adding to the a bug out pile - but "sweeping" the workbenches and tool boxes and field stashing gear located away from my property .....
going to have to leave behind all kinds of gear & tools - rather than leave them exposed to looting - pack them up in duffle bags - weatherize the bags - relocate them to camouflaged remote rural stash locations >>> hoping to re-secure later in the post SHTF return ....
mike-42-1999@reddit
We camp alot for Scouts. So we "bug out" regularly. We too use the military duffel that have the backpack style shoulder straps. I line them with heavy duty contractor bag, so nothing inside can get wet. My son's and I each have a duffel with: tent, sleeping bag, thermarest, 2 8'x10' tarps, 2 days clothes, towel, paracord, Headlamp, mess kit, camp soap, collapsible 'wash basin'. Food, stove, common utensils are in a troop patrol box, or if we personally camp, that all goes in a tote or tote in a duffel. We also have other odds and ends in.our personal duffel. But it makes camping pretty much grab and go, with specific clothing changes for weather and season
IGetNakedAtParties@reddit
I think in layers:
paratethys@reddit
If it's a "gotta haul some armloads of lightish, bulky stuff to the car" problem, consider Ikea bags. 99c, good ratio of "keeps the stuff in" to "easy to get into".
If you want to build out real kits, lay out all the items on your kitchen table and try categorizing the stuff in them with clear zipper bags. Then load it all into a shopping bag and measure. that will tell you the size and pocket configuration that you should shop for to keep the whole kit tidy.
If you sew, you can make custom pockets for bags that you already have.
Anonymo123@reddit
i use a large canvas type hockey bag for all my other stuff in the vehicle. it goes in the top cargo box that I have that locks with security straps. It typically had extra seasonal specific gear and a lot of freeze dried food if i go on a long trip. My plan with it is to have my backpack and this bag as needed, I can easily hike with it as far as I need. My loadouts are designed to be 72 hour bags to get home, simple, light and with that purpose and modified for each season.
DeFiClark@reddit
For tubs: Plano sportsman tote
For bag: any decent clone of the Israeli deployment duffle (eg Rothco)
HajjiBalls@reddit
look up hockey bag.
TheWoman2@reddit
For the secondary kits we use those blue rubbermaid totes. They are durable, waterproof, nearly unbreakable, and stack well with each other. They would be terrible if you had to carry them a long way, but are just fine for moving from a closet to a trunk. They happen to fit really nicely in the back of my vehicle, but you would want to make sure they fit well in yours before relying on them.
thenamelessdruid@reddit
Get the medium sized ones from home depot and they'll fit on a dolly through most doors. used to use them as my makeshift packout toolbox.
drank_myself_sober@reddit
I got a roller bag. A 50L bag like what you’d use for sports equipment
ResolutionMaterial81@reddit
My GBH Kits in the vehicles are already in separate stealthy bags, labeled & have collapsible wheeled carts + dolleys for transportation.
Subtotal9_guy@reddit
If I was going to have a BOB I'd look at a used hockey bag. They're tough, cheap and readily available. No sense spending money on something you don't use often.
IKEA sells a zip up bag for $3 that's the size of a duffel. They're surprisingly tough for the price.
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
They make some pretty big green military ones. Kind of a hand carry. You got seabags. Smaller but backpack moode avaliable.
TacTurtle@reddit
Plano 56qt sportsman truck totes + folding magna cart or similar dolly with bungee cords.
Inexpensive, stack extremely well, easy to tie or bungee down, water resistant, and not so large they get super heavy even when full.
HillbillyRebel@reddit
I keep my extra stuff in large plastic totes. I don't have any stairs, but to get my stuff from inside and out to my vehicle, I used a collapsible cart to move it. It is a heavy duty cart that can hold up to about 400lbs. It can also handle going off-road fairly well. It folds up pretty small too, so I can just pack it in my vehicle to use later. I have a Jeep and off-road a lot, so I am moving all kinds of gear back and forth from my house to my Jeep.
iwannaddr2afi@reddit
Ehhhh ymmv but for us the go bag is meant to be self contained and can be carried on foot—if we are able to take the car and extra stuff, we would take our go bags plus the extra stuff, which either lives in the car all the time or is in a basic functional bag, just a pack that will hold the stuff. It's just to get it from house to car and keep it together once in the car.
That said maybe you're wanting to keep different stuff for different scenarios and if so I can understand your reasoning, but yeah that's beyond what I find worthwhile. The extra stuff is largely travel and "never going home" stuff.
My feeling is don't overthink that part.
Specialist-Swim8743@reddit
Honestly, I just use a couple of military surplus duffels. They're cheap, tough, and you can cram anything in them. Organization happens with smaller stuff sacks inside.
_ssuomynona_@reddit
I’ve decided that I’m going to buy a Christmas tree bag when they go on clearance. I’m going to put in it my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, pillow, and extra comforter in it. The blue ikea bag I use is not big enough. For $5-$10 it’s worth a try. I can play with filling it, yet keeping it balanced and some what light. Easy to throw in the truck bed on top of bins.