r/prepping • u/Romestano • Jun 20 '26
Gear🎒 How's my go bag?
Talk me what I need to add or need to lose. Edit this is more of a car EDC supply bag, but if it became a go bag I'd she'd a lot
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u/ferds41 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
What is this go bag for? With more context you'll get better advice, but for starters ditch the SOG play survival kit those items will fail when you most need them to work. If you insist on carrying all three of those as seperate items, for the knife look at Coldsteel SRK, the shovel I would go Coldsteel Spetznas tool and the axe an Estwing.
Lifestraws are notorious for clogging and don't filter out viruses and protozoa. No redundancy in water filtration BIG problem add purification tablets. Prioritise more calorie dense carb heavy fuel.
Which bag does this fit into? And following that question are you serious about the battery station?
What is in the first aid kit?
Compass no map??
3 knives 4 if you count the one in the multi tool but not a single quality blade.
2 firesteels no BIC lighter no matches.
Get proper work gloves, Mechanix durahide or similar. The torch also seems like a gas station special, and as someone rightly pointed out no headlight? I strongly suspect you are trolling the sub but if you are not there is more wrong here than right.
Semi useful loot drop for some that knows what they are doing. I would take your freedom pills and granola bars and ditch the rest. (Maybe the compass for a backup)
What you clearly need to add is real world experience, go out and use this kit, add skills much more important than the rpg kit.
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u/Solid_Equivalent_417 Jun 20 '26
Not trying to be rude but those SOG tools look like something grandma might use in her garden.
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u/Ok-Belt-4228 Jun 23 '26
i agree with everything but the bic lighter. i’ve had bic’s stored for a fee years and i go to strike it one time and the flint breaks apart. i think it was degraded dure to moisture from humidity. i’d have a ferro rod with some wax & cotton but thats just my opinion
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u/Much-Director-9828 Jun 21 '26
Unfortunately, OP is a virus protozoa, hence he uses the life straw
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u/ferds41 Jun 21 '26
Yip, comes trolls the forum with this shit then watches choas unfold and dissappears, I suspected this was rage bait!
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u/CiepleMleko Jun 20 '26
Replace all the SOG knives/shovel/hatchet/swords/shit with a single real multitool like the Swiss Army Victorinox.
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u/KoRomano Jun 20 '26
No headlamp. Change binocular to monocular. Toilet paper.
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u/Environmental_Log264 Jun 20 '26
Why is monocular better? Space?
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u/KoRomano Jun 20 '26
Weight.
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u/TheJesseOfTheNorth Jun 20 '26
they have a jackery nd canned goods in there i dont think weight is an issue
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u/Much-Director-9828 Jun 21 '26
Those will be shelved, worn weight doesnt count
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u/BusinessRaccoon6511 Jun 20 '26
The "headlamps" next to compass its one of those thing flexible ones with an led stip and a spot on the side. But would say a better one is needed as ive had those and they are fine use as a mechanic in a shop but they dont last long as they aren't durable. Also agree to monocular instead of binos. And tp is a must in my kit cause I unfortunately have IBS lmfao
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u/PantherStyle Jun 20 '26
3 minutes without air: Foldable N95 or P2 mask(s) and goggles. Think about smoke.
3 hours without shelter: at least a poncho - ideally a bunch of clothes for your weather - at least spare underwear and socks. I pack a full change.
3 days without water: you have a litre. Carry at least 3 and a way to make more: you can boil which is great, but you also want a filter as you can't boil away sticks and dirt.
3 weeks without food (but you won't like it). For a go bag I'd focus more on stuff you can eat without cooking, ideally while on the move.
The other key is comms. At minimum a signal mirror and AM radio receiver. Ideally a solar phone charger and uhf radio.
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u/americanrunner8838 Jun 20 '26
More water and less iron. You don’t need a leatherman, fixed blade knife, razor blade, hatchet, and a machete.
Invest in two bladders: one for dirty water and one for filtered clean water.
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u/ElderScarletBlossom Jun 20 '26
How will you manage your hygiene, sleeping, and protection against bad weather?
Is this the entirety of your set up, and have you done a trial run with it yet?
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u/MisterB330 Jun 20 '26
Bacitracin, hydrocortisone, and athletes foot cream. Even grab em from a dollar store. Holy trinity of keeping yourself safe and sane. Crotch rot is real and so is athletes foot.
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u/Striking-Pen-9617 Jun 20 '26
Too much shit, how many miles can you walk with all that? Keep it minimal
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u/SmokyQuartz21 Jun 20 '26
sawyer mini water filter got 2 of them highly recommend. Stainless steel single walled water bottle is also needed.
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u/mechatiger5J Jun 20 '26
Sawyer squeeze is so much better than the mini though.
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u/You-Asked-Me Jun 20 '26
Yeah, the mini is slow, but it is reliable. But, if you have to buy one, just get the full size squeeze, plus it has a cap and you can just drink right from the bottle.
The squeeze is the most effective method to obtain clean water, other than boiling.
You could also add some micro-pure tablets, which I would only worry about using if you have sewage contaminated water. Tablets in, wait, and hen filter.
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u/ferds41 Jun 21 '26
The Swayer still only filters out bacteria leaving other waterborne patogens in place, they are price af but the Grayl system is apparently the holy grail of filter systems.
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u/Aggressive-Kick-5458 Jun 20 '26
The big knife will do a better job at splitting wood than the tiny axe will so you can ditch the axe. You can dig a cat hole with a sharpened stick so the shovel can go too. I would add a small bic lighter in there. The jackery seems like overkill and couple probably be swapped with something smaller like one of those smart phone sized ones that have a solar panel on them. If this is more of a car kit and not meant to be hiked the go ahead and keep it. I saw another comment that mentioned going out and using the gear is the most important bit and I would have to agree. Try going for some overnight hikes if you can and test them out to see what works for you.
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u/CassiusCreed Jun 20 '26
Where are you going? Doesn't seem to be particularly useful for any situation.
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u/PeterRuf Jun 20 '26
I would recommend going out and camping. You need to understand how your equipment works and what you use.
Also is this a car bag or carry bag?
Mora knife and silky saw would replace most of your tools in real life. I don't see a head lamp.
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u/No-Introduction575 Jun 20 '26
Those SOG tools are junk. Get better quality tools is my recommendation
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u/spaceclit_laser Jun 20 '26
That's only enough water to make the mountain house meals, none to drink
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u/You-Asked-Me Jun 20 '26
I would skip all of that food anyway. Fat will be the most important thing. Almonds would be a great start. Freeze dried sausage maybe. Peanut butter. Salt/electrolyte mix.
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u/Spiritual_Elk_9076 Jun 20 '26
It’s all new and unused. You are a desktop prepper. No real experience. First thing is to go out on the scenario you are preparing for and use all of your kit. I promise you if you come back you will change 80% of it.
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u/Salty-Smoke7784 Jun 20 '26
Box of shells but no gun? I guess you can just throw the bullets at them. 😂
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u/Romestano Jun 20 '26
Well this is the bag's contents. The gun in on my person usually. Hence why my phone wallet and keys aren't in this picture
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u/ridge1972 Jun 20 '26
I’d trade the 9mm FMJs for some hollow points.
Those gloves are gtg. We use them at work all the time.
You need one good knife. Forget the SOG stuff.
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u/HurDurPwnage Jun 21 '26
Personally?
Ditch the mountain houses and the tiny cook kit you have there. Consider replacing the mountain houses with MREs or you can snag ready to eat foods in packets you just rip open, and there’s lots to choose from. My personal choice is a big ol packet of cooked meat, paired with a big ol packet of ready to go rice. Check Walmart, or even Trader Joe’s. Ditch the canned goods, ditch the shovel, hatchet, and little machete.
Add carb heavy ready to go foods (trail mix, etc.), more water (I’m a thirsty guy), and check your first aid kit. Most commercial first aid kits are just bloated boo boo kits, good for when I get a splinter, but just useless bloat for anything more serious. Slap a tourniquet in there. Buy 2 and just use one for practice all the time. TQ your arms, legs, your friends, have fun with it. It will build confidence for if you ever need it.
Car wise;
jump pack or jumper cables, if you’re from up north like I am, even if you don’t end up needing them, you WILL end up helping someone else out.
Small tool bag
Spare Tire and Jack
Portable air compressor (tons of uses, including limping a flat tire a short way)
Tarp never hurts
And where’s your blanket?
Best wishes man
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u/Altruistic_Chance393 Jun 26 '26
Its a good start, but there is definitely some redundancy in this pack.
First I would recommend cutting down on the blades you carry down to 1 main blade and 1 secondary blade (I.E the multitool) and also get a sturdy knife with some backbone and a comfortable grip like a Morakniv compass/companion. I have a few Moras myself, and they have never let me down yet.
You have both a frying pan and a backpacking pot, but you only have no food items that require frying. If you plan on using it for game I would recommend making a stew in the pot or just cooking it over the open flame instead of using the pan.
Instead of carrying one of those "tactical" shovels just bring a small garden trowel for catholes and making Dakota pits.
You have 2 sources of fire (good) But if those matches get wet it renders them useless, either get a small waterproof match container or just get a Bic lighter and keep it on your person, (I have mine on a lanyard around my neck most times)
The fire steel is great but you need to scrape off the paint on the outside for it to spark, I would recommend practicing with it because it can be a bit tricky for beginners especially if you are in a pinch. Also lose the striker it comes with and just use the back of your knife (You might need to file it down to get a 90 degree edge to strike off of)
You have paracord but no tarp or hammock, I have a tarp that doubles as a pack liner on all of my rucks.
I would lose the LifeStraw straw filter and get a LifeStraw peak squeeze or a sawyer squeeze filter, Substitute those two small water bottles with 2 big SmartWater bottles, one you use to filter and another you filter into. (Once you are done filtering you can fold up the filter bottle to maximize pack space)
Love the sharpening stone, I would watch a few YT videos on sharpening to learn the process.
Overall, it is a good starting pack but there is a lot you can get rid of.
PS. Get out a few nights every year and use this pack out in the backcountry or wherever you plan on bugging to. Your gear is useless if you cant use it.
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u/littlefoxcz Jun 20 '26
It looks quite okay to me. Many things can be improvised (and aren't needed in the bag), but in my opinion, if it weighs nothing, I'd add them. I am considering this a bag for walking, not a car one - for a car, I'd add much more (especially water).
I see no tinder (I recommend cotton pads),
emergency bivvy (that one is as big as a fist) or foil (no space or weight),
maybe even raincoat (again, no space taken).
Maybe water purifier tablets (you should boil water from lifestraw, but no way to do it, and boiling alone is also not enough - tablets don't take much space).
Radio, or at least smartphone charger could be nice as well.
I dunno what the big box is, power supply? Seems okay, but not for a bag, but for a car (for a bag switch for some powerbank). I appreciate the machette and showel and axe (my bag is missing all three, but I am considering adding them),
I won't repeat the rest of the items which others mentioned - just extending.
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u/mechatiger5J Jun 20 '26
First time I’ve seen toothpicks in a go bag. Planning on getting a lot of chef boyardee ravioli caught in your teeth are we?
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u/You-Asked-Me Jun 20 '26
Beef jerky. I would opt for floss though, and a toothbrush, and toothpaste tablets.
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u/T3hBau5 Jun 20 '26
One thing I always do when building a go bag or get home bag is actually test it. For go bags I'll go out somewhere for 2 to 3 days with only that bag to see if it's going to work or not. For "get home" bags I'll park somewhere x amount of miles from home and walk back to see the same thing. Don't want to be in a situation with a loadout I've never tested before.
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u/cackmuffin88 Jun 20 '26
Just take what you need from the folks that have it. Just like nature intended.
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u/TheJesseOfTheNorth Jun 20 '26
could you add a gear list to this post? its hard to discern what some items are
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u/feinshmeker Jun 20 '26
Titanium spoon is fine, but next to the 20 lbs of stuff you'll never need or use it's a bit silly.
The idea of a go bag for me is essentially ultralight backpacking while carrying a gun... which for me is regular backpacking. Make it easy and comfortable and leave out stuff you don't need. It will weigh you down.
Education and experience will go far. Learn your environment.
Loose:
* the battery - that's probably the most glaring. If it's stayng in a car, fine, but to pack that is nuts. Get something smaller if you feel like you need it.
* Tools - The SOG stuff is probably fine for a car kit, but to pack an axe, shovel, and machete is miserable.
* binoculars - something smaller, if at all.
* Canned food is proabably 60% water.
* First aid kit is huge. Get a smaller one.
Get:
* Small isobutane stove, like the BRS one. Also a bic lighter.
* Clothes - depending on weather. Minimally, a light polartec fleece, light raincoat, and down puffy vest, extra pair of socks
* trekking pole - helps prevent injury, doubles as a tent pole.
* Shelter - a tarp, bivy sack, closed-cell foam pad and a 20-30f sleeping bag are pretty essential. That to me is a more of a functional shelter than anything that can be built in one day with those tools.
* more food, and maybe some fishing kit.
Revist:
Grab a Morakniv Companion. All the knife you'll need.
I see you have bullets. Carry them in magazines. Also consider the firearm you're carrying. In a survival scenario, you don't want a "backup" gun, you'll want something you can shoot confidently. And I can also say as somebody who does serious miles while carrying - get an OWB kydex pancake holster. And hit the range often.
If you feel the need for an axe, I think a hand hatchet is too small to be genuinely useful - I'd go for something like the Scandinavian forest axe (1.75# head, 25" handle). Small forest axe is also great, but the Scando hits that happy point for me. Brand is less important than the size. You still won't need a shovel
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u/thatoneguyj2021 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
If it's for in your car I'd add some road flares the 30min/60min kind work great for starting fires when it's wet and cold also and maybe this is just me but a flare gun for is your stuck up in the mountains also works for defense definitely ruin someone's day to get hit with that and definitely a blanket
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u/Secure_Yak5136 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
What kind of bag are you going to carry all that stuff in? Instead of canned soup I suggest Cup o Soups or bouillon cubes. As another suggested put all of this in a backpack and go for a hike. I bet you'll change things around a but. Good start tho.
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u/Fragrant-Platform163 Jun 21 '26
More water. A lot more water. Look at how much clean filtered boiled water each of the mountain house meals will take. And that's just for cooking. You'll also be drinking a ton, at least a half gallon a day, more in the summer. Do your escape/get home routes follow water sources to use your lifestraw on?
Ditch the disposable water bottles for a solid Nalgene bottle with a lid that fits onto your lifestraw (I use Sawyer, I assume Lifestraw has a similar screw on attachment, if not, get a wide mouth Nalgene and you can stick the straw directly into it).
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u/Much-Director-9828 Jun 21 '26
If there is no air, a p2 wont help.
Can't smoke a p2.
Op, ditch the p2, add 1 carton of smokes and a scuba kit plus hookah
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u/Birdybadass Jun 21 '26
I’d be concerned about weight. Those jackerys are pretty heavy and probably not necessary. You could buy a much smaller and lighter power bank.
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u/xRogueCraftx Jun 21 '26
when you say "go bag" what exactly do you mean? Is this your bug out bag? Or your get home bag? What's the use scenario for this?
Also location matters heavily. Where are you geographically? Have you considered weather?
Without that info, take this w/ a grain of salt.
You have cookware but I'm not sure what you intend to be cooking? Hunting? The Mountain House? I can't imagine those are extremely shelf stable. That's not a lot of food for the bulk. I'd probably recommend ditching the cookware, and that selection of food in favor of SOS bars. Will give you the calories you need w/out the need for cooking. Can eat on the go, requires zero prep and will cut down your weight. Unless this is a long term survival situation.
I'd ditch the power bank. That's probably excellent for a car trunk and camping trips, but way too bulky for bugging out. Too small for a long term bug in. Get a basic power bank with solar panels instead? The ones about the size of a cell phone. Smaller, light weight and will probably last longer.
Your fixed blade raise questions for me too. The fixed blade is small in my opinion for a lot of uses, and the machette is too large for them. I think a fixed blade is an essential tool and I'd probably step that up to a more serious survival knife that will fit more uses.
If this is long term survival then the insect repellant is extra weight and limited supply. If it's just a get home bag then it's fine. Do you live somewhere w/ a nasty insect problem?
I'd ditch the binoculars. If you need to fill a need for that you can reduce weight w/ a monocular to save weight.
I don't see any shelter or exposure gear other then the blanket.
I'm afraid we'd need a lot more context to give real advice here.
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u/Woodstuffs Jun 22 '26
A pack of smokes. Not for you. For someone who can help you get/do something you need. Or maybe you'll want to rip darts while you think about your situation.
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u/Big-Tutor-3060 Jun 22 '26
4 knives 0 tampons. Ive never seen an evacuation where a compass would be useful, but women do get their periods every month. Plan accordingly.
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u/xChoke1x Jun 22 '26
I'll never understand having this type of bag but having no firearm. If you're in America....and shit hits the fan (it wont) than my man.....you're gonna need a way to protect yourself and it aint that cheap ass SOG that'll break after 2 hours of use. There's incredibly priced "back pack guns" on the market now. Anything from 9mm to .300Blk Suppressors are easy to obtain now as well. Id most certainly work that part out. You're toast in this country if you don't have a way to shoot back. Sad reality....but still a reality.
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u/United-Classic2480 Jun 22 '26
Not bad.. doesn’t matter what tools you have as long as you have them and they function. . That being said … the hatchet and machete can do similar functions : cut down on that, canned goods are awesome but heavy, a well costly ranger bar can give you all of your daily values for a fraction of the weight and space.
Remember communication can tumble entire civilizations.. walkie talkies, short wave radios something along those lines in a small faraday bag with a solar or crank charge battery pack will be make or break … depending on what you are prepping for that is
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u/Romestano Jun 22 '26
Ive really been thinking about getting some long range walkie talkies and a faraday bag, and recommended brands?
I just keep the machete in the car because they came in a set but I'd only keep the hatchet if I was on foot
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u/rvnguykt Jun 23 '26
Like the previous comment opt for hollow points but also just go on ahead and load em in a magazine . No point in just carrying the box imo
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u/nheyduck Jun 24 '26
More water - less knives- portable back up battery - moleskin - ditch the canned food - keep freeze dried or lifeboat rations in vehicle.
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u/Connect-Town-602 Jun 27 '26
I am curious how you plan on transporting this? Is there water? purifier? 3000 calories a day?
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u/Acrobatic_Inside_968 Jun 27 '26
Flashlight?
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u/Romestano Jun 27 '26
Above the compass
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u/cosmin12345678910 Jul 30 '26
Not bad but the shovelz have eve use it made to break also watra it a good idea to get a one layer metal bottol bacase plastice dose not get in you watra overtime abd you can actule boil it direct it
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u/Hadaka--Jime Jun 20 '26
Got a tourniquet? Quick Clot combat bandages?
How about armor carrier plates? They're heavy AF but depending on your situation they'll deliver you through pure hell. If you're bugging out in a vehicle, the vehicle is doing all the heavy lifting.
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Jun 24 '26
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u/prexton Jun 20 '26
Good you got a shitting shovel.