Hopeless at packing .

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
Hi my name is Kevin and I,m a packaholic. Worse thing is ? I can,t keep it down........ or in or on and on and on ............. You get the picture . My car trunk is full of small grocery bags of little kits . My stones and steel for sharpening . My string making/fletching repair kit , leather projects I am working on .

Actually thats not the real issue . I am slowly upgrading to leather pouches .

What I am actually talking about is emergency kits . You guys seem to pack everything including the kitchen sink in 1 square inch . I have trouble packing 1 square inch in the kitchen sink . L:O:L

I don,t want to buy a pre-packed kit . Its more than I can afford and is not my preference anyway . I prefer to be on intimate terms with what I use . If I take it out to practice with it I,ll never get it back in .

I would like two kits . One that will go into the hollow handle of a shovel/chopper I am modifying from a garden spade .

The other would be a main emergency kit .

The handle kit must be 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch tapered over 4 inches . Absolutely nothing breakable .

The other kit would be a full sized self contained unit . What is your secret and what do you reccomend ?
 
For the handle kit, which will arbitrarily be very minimal due to space restrictions, I would focus on fire making & a bit of cordage for shelter construction. A small firesteel and/or a few storm matches, as many firestraws as will fit (experiment to see how short a firestraw will consistently get a fire going for you under worst-case conditions in your locale), and braided fishing line comes to mind as likely candidates.

That contents list for the handle kit leaves you drinking surface water as you find it, unless you can rig a boiling container or a sand/charcoal filtering device. You would likewise have to improvise signalling, food, first aid, and any other requirements. This minimal kit will likely be largely complemented by what else you have on you at the moment of need, like your EDC knife, clothes, pocket Bic lighter, etc.

For the "other kit" I manage to get lots into it by packing it in Rubbermaid type 18- or 20-quart tubs in a car. ;)

Check out Schwert's concentric layer approach to kits. (Be sure to scroll down the page to find much of the text. In Mozilla there is a large gap after the Introduction section near the top of the page.) That concentric layering always struck me as a good idea.
 
Rokjok your handle ideas sound great . For the car ? An 18 or 20 quart rubbermaid tub is just more prepared than I want to be . L:O:L

I,ll check out that site .
 
hmmm for your other pack would you consider an lbv?

i made one for my dad and he has a bad back due to injuries while playing hockey when he was younger.

i can suggest a simple load out that can be used very efficiently and not strain your back so much (i remember reading one of your previous posts stating you had injured your lower back???). i made a simliar lbv for myself which i use for day hikes

heres the lbv list:

2x canteens of water
1x water proof matches
1x fixed blade (sog seal knife)
1x folder (spyderco endura straight edge)
1x signalling mirror
1x magnesium flint rod fire starter
1x 50 feet of 550 paracord
1x 20 feet of fishing line
1x small box of fish hooks/lures/split shots
1x safety whistle
3x granola bars
1x box of water purification tablets.

i have confortably been able to hike a full day to two days with this setup. of course thats IF i catch fish to eat. and this is of course while i was hiking in the summer. the shelter that i made was an a frame and wasnt at all bad.

if you'd really like to pack a go-bag or what not then check out one of my previous posts "whats in your go-bag?"

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417393

there are many members on the forums who have contributed and lots of info to read up on.

hope that helps

cheers
 
also when you pack things like clothes try doing this to save some space...

put in one set of clothes.. ie. shirt, socks, boxers... into a ziploc bag after you've folded them. try to make them thin as possible and utilize the full size of the bag. after thats been done.. try to push out as much air as possible by either pushing down with ur knees or getting your kids or wife to help.

then zip is up and it should hold that flat shape... therefore allowing you to save some space while packing alot

another thing i've learned to do is pack within packing...(i know that sounds weird but let me explain)... i believe if you pack efficiently your bag will allow you to hold more then you originally intended (not of course if you plan on bringing your whole life with ya :D).. look at the shape of objects and try to get them to fit together nicely.. just like a jig saw puzzle.. when you find a gap inbetween somewhere then fill it with something like socks or what ever else you find necessary.

i would assume that a 45L hiking bag would be plenty of space for you to cram a bob into.. should last you about a week if properly made...

also personally i wouldnt' put my gear in a tuperware tube.. reason being is because you may have to leave your car and travel/hike yourself out of the situation that you're in.

perhaps it'd be better to get a backpack or even a dufflebag which is easier to transport then tupper ware.. just my 0.02

cheers.
 
jca21 said:
perhaps it'd be better to get a backpack or even a dufflebag which is easier to transport then tupper ware.. just my 0.02
Click to expand...
That is a good point. Thank you for noting it. I absolutely agree. As clarification, the tubs serve as the third layer for me -- after on-body kit and a grab-n-go pack. Consequently, the purpose of the tubs is to provide larger storage for rather bulky/heavy redundant items like extra clothing, additional water, more food, etc.
 
Excellent suggestions . My main hiking/hunting /B:O:B: is an alice pack with three outside pockets . I,m just guessing . I would say including exterior pockets that is within 40 to 50 litres with it being closer to fifty .

Wait a minute . I,ll just fill it with water from my 45 litre aquarium and see how it goes . I,m not exactly sure how much the fish would like it ? L:O:L
 
lol i dont think they'd like it at all... 45L is just perfect for my gear i dunno about you guys but then again my bob is designed to last me 3-4 days comfortably and 1-2weeks roughing it. so i guess it all depends on what you put it in there.. rather then trying to put pen to paper and write out a list of stuff to put in a bob i'd suggest pulling all the stuff out and placing it on the floor in groups. in that way you can get an overall/general look at your stuff and also gives you a chance to do some early spring cleaning.

i have 3 bobs. the lbv which i leave at home, a duffle bag bob in trunk, a hiking bag, and a backpack bob (45L).

good luck kevin

cheers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top