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My Go Bag/BOB/GHB

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 8:13 am
by dangerman
Here is it! The accumulation of all my crap!

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I've been working on this for ages. The problem I've had is that I've got a ton of stuff, but no one place for it. So the whole point of having it, for emergencies and quick evacuations, is negated by the fact that it's never all together in one place. It's mixed up between EDCs, day packs, know I'm going somewhere bags, family go bags etc.

I went for a walk up Moel Famau last week and thought I'd bring this badboy to test it's practical appliance. This is the hiking and wild camping set up you see in the picture, so for my hike I dumped the sleeping mat and just took the bag. Inside is all sorts of gear that I didn't need, like my tent and sleeping bag, but the point was the make sure it was all carry-able over a long distance.

Was it? Well yes. I ended up getting hopelessly lost on the way up the hill, and then hopelessly lost on the way down too. So I trekked for six hours in total, and covered about 15-18 miles. Mostly up bloody hill. Even on the way down somehow.

The bag is the Maxpedition Vulture II which is called a three day pack. But I didn't manage to fit clothes and things like that in, so really, I'd say it's a two day (one night) wild camping pack. That's if you are squeezing the tent and sleeping bag into it. But as a usual Go Bag/BOB etc, you could dump that stuff and easily fit extra clothes and things into it.

My back was incredibly sweaty after the hike, but it was reasonably comfortable to wear. Although near the end of the walk I found that I was slackening the shoulder straps and chest strap to relieve the pressure on my collar bones.

A few lessons learned, but overall a good load of kit methinks. Now I need to unload it all again because I need the bag for work...

Re: My Go Bag/BOB/GHB

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 8:28 am
by dangerman
List of stuff I had in the bag:

Sleeping bag (small one season)
Tent (HiGear Soloista)
Tarp (1mx2m)
Emergency shelter (poundland special)
Little storm kettle
sit mat (very small sleep mat)
Hip flask (WHOOSKEY)
Bog roll/wipes
Folding shovel/spade
Towel/flannel (microfiber)
Drybag
Duct tape (small folded, about 5m)
Syphon tube
Sawyer mini water filter
Sunglasses
First aid stuff (tablets and plasters etc)
LedLenser&head torch
Water bottle with pot
KnifeForkSpoon
Fallkniven F1 Knife
Waterproof matches
BG Parang
Swiss Army Knife (Spartan)
SOG Paratool
Nuts
Jelly babies
BCB Ultimate Survival Kit
BCB Mini Fishing Kit
Map&compass
GoPro chargers and batteries
Solar charging kit and cables
Fleece top
Packable waterproof jacket
Packable backpack
Degen solar/wind up radio/torch
Emergency contact info and important documents in waterproof wallet (photocopies)

I think that's all.

Re: My Go Bag/BOB/GHB

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 11:44 am
by butterbean
nice

Re: My Go Bag/BOB/GHB

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 2:09 pm
by dangerman
Image

Re: My Go Bag/BOB/GHB

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 2:51 pm
by BaseOne
Excellent exercise - wise to try out your kit.

Maybe two too many knives?

Nice to see a sitting mat - they pack flat, weight nothing and keep your bottom dry and apparently can help prevent piles.

Add a lightweight pair of pliers (I find them invaluable on multi-day hikes)

You can alleviate the sweaty back with some underwear (I use these http://www.finnsvala.com/fin/index.php/ ... retch-mesh ), together with a change of outer layer.

Re: My Go Bag/BOB/GHB

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 3:13 pm
by dangerman
Aye, I'm aware I don't need them all, but the dedicated knife is a must for wood work, the parang is useful to get bits of stuff quick and easily for the kettle and the ones that are attached to the KFS, SAK and SOG are afterthoughts. I also have a mini SAK champ on my key ring. At least I'll always be able to open a package quickly, eh? :D

The long-johns are a good idea, but I've been buying too much stuff. I bet there will be never ending stuff that will improve my life slightly. I think I'm going to try the minimalist route for a while and see how I do with he stuff I have. I'm going to try not to buy anything extra for my kit for a good while.

I cocked up with my water on that run out - hard lesson learned. I walked right past a perfectly good stream right at the beginning of the walk at Loggerheads. But I'd packed the water filter into the front pocket of my backpack and my water bottle into the main section of my backpack. And so to fill the bottle would have meant stopping for a good few minutes and I didn't want to be stopping so early on on the trek, assuming more water would be available later. But there wasn't - no streams, not even any significant puddles. I also packed my food into my pockets rather than into my bag. This was the wrong way around - I snacked all the way to the top and was then uncomfortably dehydrated. Then I was hungry on the way down.

From now on the water filter goes in my pocket, the water bottle will be strapped to my body (Bear Grylls style) and the snacks will go into the bag.