Anybody Try Vacuum-Packing the Contents of Their PSK or Go Bags??

Tolly

Tolly

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Jan 1, 2006
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I recently repacked my largest "Go-Bag", the one that is kept in case we ever have to leave the house in case of a weather type emergency, and while doing this I decided to vacuum-pack all of the clothing, first aid supplies, and other loose items. As far as the clothing goes, this greatly reduced the area that it took up in the bag, and it made the entire bag easier to organize. Another added benefit would be the waterproofing effect that the vacuum-packing would have on everything in the event you had to egress through water. Also, these bags can be cut open and resealed, and they are very tough as they are made to store and cook food in. After doing this I got to thinking...why wouldn't this also be a good idea for our PSKs and the like???
 
Holy Crap I was just thinking of this then seen this thread. Should work. I was thinking of it when my new pack comes in.
 
yes, but if it fits sucked together,what happens when you open it, now nothing fits right, or doesn't fit at all.

I suck the air out of things like tinder kits.
 
Actually, everything was already in the bag before I ever decided to vacuum-pack it, so ya, it will still fit. You could always pack yoour bag or PSK before you vacuum-packed everything to make sure it would fit first without being vacuumed. Then take it out and vacuum-pack it. Vacuum-packing also keeps things from rattling around and banging in to each other as well as the other benefits previously mentioned. I am really starting to like this idea.
 
Tolly said:
Actually, everything was already in the bag before I ever decided to vacuum-pack it, so ya, it will still fit. You could always pack yoour bag or PSK before you vacuum-packed everything to make sure it would fit first without being vacuumed. Then take it out and vacuum-pack it. Vacuum-packing also keeps things from rattling around and banging in to each other as well as the other benefits previously mentioned. I am really starting to like this idea.
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well if it fit already, then you'd be fine.

If you do it, I would think it would somewhat of a hassle after you take stuff out, unless you kept the things you'd need in a survival situation vaccumed untill you needed them. You know keep the normal things out, flashlight,sweater, odd and ends, but vaccum you psk,tinder kits, a firstaid kit or something.
 
Also, if it all fits, then you vacuum pack it, you will have room for food & water, which will decrease at the same approximate time you need to unpack the rest. Double benefit. :)
 
Originally Posted by Fonly
If you do it, I would think it would somewhat of a hassle after you take stuff out, unless you kept the things you'd need in a survival situation vaccumed untill you needed them. You know keep the normal things out, flashlight,sweater, odd and ends, but vaccum you psk,tinder kits, a firstaid kit or something.
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When I put this bag together, I put it together specifically for it's intended purpose, and everyone in my houshold knows that nothing in this bag is ever to be touched unless we have to get the hell outta Dodge! The only exceptions are rotating out fresh prescription meds and batteries. I tried to think ahead on the rotating out of meds and batteries by leaving the bags they are in a little long so that I can revacuum-pack them after I resupply. I also placed the meds, batteries, money, small radio and scanner into heavy Zip-lock freezer bags before vacuum-packing them so that they could be resealed and somewhat waterproofed even if we have to open everything in an emergency situation and start using it.
 
This actually seems to be a good idea and one I have thought of myself. if you use a bag that has outside attachement points, once the survival situation begins you could put some items on the outside of the pack, or get an expandable type of pack, keeping the package tight and neat for storage and the initial bug out.


My question is what vacume sealer to get their are several models from 40-100$ in my local retailers and i dont know what to look for.
 
I have a "FoodSaver" that I bought at CostCo a few years ago. I think I paid a little less than a hundred bucks for it. I like it, but there are times I wish I had a unit with a more powerful motor to vacuum out the air.

I use it to pack up lots of little "kits" within my survival kit. It is well suited for things that will only be used in an emergency and that do not need to be rotated. For things I will need acess to, I just use a good quality zip-lock and suck the air out.

-- FLIX
 
I have done this for years, for canoe trips, except I had a food sealer that didn't have the vacuuming feature. No matter, it was easy enough to force most of the air out before sealing the bag. For things like toilet paper, paper towels, or whatever, by leaning on them, compressing them before sealing, it had a similar effect to vacuum sealing.

On the cheap side, a recycled bag that will work well for resealing is the plastic bags used for milk. Rinse out, dry and use.

Doc
 
I got a Food Saver and a couple boxes of bag rolls at a garage sale a couple weeks ago. From what I gather Costco sells them (or did at one time). Anyway, they work pretty good. I was surprised how fast it warms up and seals the bag. I put some bread in a bag and turned it into a flat rock :)

Any time you remove the air, you prolong the life of products, seal out moisture and contamimation. It would sure save space in a pack by vacuum packing clothing. That isn't the best idea for insulating garments-- you can kill the loft by over-compressing and leaving it like that in storage.
 
I use it for keeping a dry set of clothes handy, if I storm soaks me to the bone or I take a dunk in a river again at least I will have a set of clothes to change into while I'm drying the others out. Also you can make up premixed soups out of dried veggies and meats with some bullion cubes then just open it up and dump it into your cook pot. I mainly use mine at home to break up bulk packs of food into more manageable sizes and freeze the extra.
 
On a river trip I took a Loooooong time ago, the "guy in charge" had vacuum packed most all of the food and also handed each of us a vacuum packed box of matches to stick in our pack. With eight guys, that gave us the ability to swamp all four canoes every day and still be able to start a fire... :)

The bags are a bit spendy to be vacc'ing everything, but I really like the idea of having a dry set of clothes sitting by "just in case"! For the non-compressables, a Zip-Loc is the way to go since it's also resealable. Just make sure to use the freezer bags, they're thicker.

J-
 
Has anyone tried bigger stuff Like clothing, I was thinking an extra pair of socks or woolen cap.


I have been playing with the Idea of vacuum-packing Trauma pads for some first aid packs, I guess I have to get a vacume sealer this week and start playing.
 
EmsRescueGuy, If you'll read the initial post where I started the thread you will see where I did it to both clothing and first aid supplies. It worked very well for both. I have a pretty extensive first aid/trauma kit in my main "Go Bag" and it vacuum-packed very well. In it there are several different sizes of gauze pads, Ace wrap, large and small Israeli Trauma Bandages, EMT shears, exam gloves, etc.. and it all shrunk right down with no problems.
 
Tolly I was just re reading the thread and noticed that I hadnt read through your first post that thoroughly. sorry about that. :o
 
HomeBru said:
On a river trip I took a Loooooong time ago, the "guy in charge" had vacuum packed most all of the food and also handed each of us a vacuum packed box of matches to stick in our pack. With eight guys, that gave us the ability to swamp all four canoes every day and still be able to start a fire... :)
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Great idea. I have some of the REI waterproof matches which require the striker packaged with them and they won't fit "standard" match cases. I carry them only for emergency use, relying on a mini Bic for regular chores. Might as well vacuum pack some tinder with the matches. I wonder if the bags burn well....

This would be great for Esbit fuel tabs too--they stink!
 
Something else I used to do. The bags I used (Seal-A-Meal) were boil-safe. When going on a canoe trip, before leaving for the trip, I would cook up something like steak, fried onions, mashed potatoes and seal everything individually, then freeze them. The first night on the river I would fill a large pot with river water, put on the fire, throw in the Seal-A-Mealed entrees and let them defrost and heat up. While everybody else, tired from the day's paddling, would be screwing around preparing supper, I would lean back against a nearby tree with a cold beer and let my supper prepare itself.

Over the years I have really come to hate cooking outdoors. I would rather spend the time preparing things at home, where there is easily available hot/cold water, etc., than messing about when I may be cold/wet/tired/grouchy. Also, I would much rather be spending meal prep time, hiking, doing bushcraft, etc.

Another thing, when winter camping, a pot of boiling water was good for defrosting/warming up wet ones before a trip to the latrine. Also food that would freeze or otherwise be adversely affected by the cold, could be heated if sealed in the bags.

Doc
 
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