What Color Trash Bag?

Triquetra

Triquetra

Joined
Mar 7, 2002
Messages
759
I've read a lot of articles that suggest carrying trash bags in a survival kit especially for kids. The bright colored ones are usually recommended. I found some in red, orange, and yellow. I've seen red recommened but the yellow ones look like they would be highly visable. What color do you all recommend? This time of year it seems like orange or red would blend in with the folage.
 
yellow will stand out even in low light or shadow,,taxi's are yellow and they stand out??
 
I carry them, but not for kids. I carry a couple of the 55 gallon contractor-grade bags as improvisational shelter.

I also always keep one in the side compartment of my climbing deer stand. On more than one occasion, the bags have saved my bacon when a rain storm blew in.

Couple of years back, I sat (and slept) comfortably through an hour-long rain storm while 20 feet up in a tree--entirely due to the contractor garbage bag I had with me. After the storm passed, I eased the bag down and found a small doe had bedded down directly in front of me. Not more than twenty minutes later, I filled a tag with a larger deer that decided to cross in that same exact spot.
 
Triquetra said:
I've read a lot of articles that suggest carrying trash bags in a survival kit especially for kids. The bright colored ones are usually recommended. What color do you all recommend? This time of year it seems like orange or red would blend in with the folage.
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Orange. When we teach youth kids goups the "hug a tree" program its orange. Orange is visable in snow as well where as yellow is not.

Fall is an orange time of year but orange is still the color, keep it simple.

Skam
 
As well with kids. A breakaway whistle around the neck, an orange garbage bag, light stick or small flashlight, non melting snack, small toy or game and a picture of the family all stuffed into a small fanny pack. Put it on them when they are in an area they could wonder off.

Teach them to stay put, get under shelter and put the bag on (poke a hole for the head) blow the whystle and dont hide from searchers calling your name. ALWAYS! tell them they will never get into trouble for getting lost.

Skam
 
I purchased a box of orange 55 gallon bags. I wondered what I'd do with all of them, but I find all sorts uses. When the kids go on school trips we pack their gear in the orange bags so when the buses dump gear off I can find it right away.

I use them to protect backpacks at night when backpacking (tent's too small for gear inside).

One problem with red is that if you decide to use it as a regular trash bag (heaven forbid) then it will look like medical waste and may be left behind.
 
I'm not sure if I should say this but we sell "Bear Claw Bags" at my place of buisness. Thay are a extremely heavy duty 30 gal. bag that are 2 mils thick. I have Orange, Purple, Teal, Light Blue, White,Red and Medium Blue in stock.
They come in a box of 40 bags for $12.50. Please feel free to call me at work 8:30-5:00 EST.... Metrics Unlimited 1-800-638-7986 just ask for Nick.

Moderators, if I'm out of line please delete my post. I'm just trying to help out here.


Thanks
Nick:)
 
kenk said:
I purchased a box of orange 55 gallon bags. I wondered what I'd do with all of them, but I find all sorts uses. When the kids go on school trips we pack their gear in the orange bags so when the buses dump gear off I can find it right away.

I use them to protect backpacks at night when backpacking (tent's too small for gear inside).

One problem with red is that if you decide to use it as a regular trash bag (heaven forbid) then it will look like medical waste and may be left behind.
Click to expand...

I went ahead and bought a box of orange too. Good ideas as the box has 100 bags. They'll probably go faster than I think. Besides my BOB and my kids emergency hiking packs, whenever the kids take a friend hiking/camping, I alway make them a little kit with a whistle, emergency blanket, orange bandana, and a little food. Now I'm going to replace the emergency blanket with a couple of trash bags.
 
Any of those colors should work as long as they are large and thick enough to be semi-puncture and tear resistant. I personally use the 4 mil thick orange bags you can buy at www.outdoorsafe.com but that is just because you can buy them by the bag at that site. It is the only place I have been able to buy singles, although I probably should have just ordered a box of them when I first bought them. Oh well.
 
I tend to think the 55 gallon trash bags are much better than the emergency blankets - even for adults. Two trash bags can cover a person from head to toe - though there could be some condensation issues :-o

I'd recommend kids carry at least two of them, preferably three - with one pre-cut with a face-hole (no arm holes) at one corner. The hole should be on the side - not the bottom - from one corner down to be just enough to see and breath out of. The idea isn't to stick a head through the hole, which would allow precious heat out of the head. A second one is great for sitting on or in.

I found big 55 gallon see-thru trash bags at Home Depot. I teased my kids that they could use that and then not have to put a hole in the bag to see through it ... at least until the air ran out. Truthfully I've been thinking of trying to use these as transpiration bags to gather water, but haven't gotten around to testing them yet.

If you haven't seen Doug Ritter's Kid's Wilderness Survival Primer its worth a look:
http://www.equipped.org/kidprimr.htm

Regarding your kit, you might add a small flashlight. The little orange LED lights with switches from http://www.countycomm.com/orngled.htm are fantastic for only $1 each!!! Get a pile of them. Hang them next to the whistles.

By the way, the best low cost kid's whistles I've found - for the $2.95/dozen - are here:

http://tinyurl.com/2b3p2e (they're from http://www.orientaltrading.com - item IN-20/45)

They are amazing tough and loud, and the wrist lanyard is real practical.

Source for orange bandannas: http://www.wholesaleforeveryone.com
Note that there are two different 22"x22" size orange bandanas - one is cotton and the other (American-made) is a poly-cotton blend. The poly-cotton one is noticably brighter orange, but not quite as comfortable on the skin.

Source for orange trash bags: http://www.spectrumbagsonline.com/categories.php?cat=7
 
I'll have to try those whistles. Like I said, I hand them out to every kid that tags along with us out in the woods. Spectrumbagsonline is who I ordered from today (55 gal orange). Seemed like a good price for the bags. They would probably work good cut up for markers.
 
i would stick with orange if you want colored ones

clear ones are also good to carry as they do not break down in the sun :)
you could also use the clear ones to put together solar stills :p
 
I would suggest the orange ones also. I have to agree that the red ones are to close to a biohazard bag and would suggest avoiding those.
 
Go with a non natural color. There is a reason that hunter orange is hunter orange. Nothing in nature is hunter orange, and because of this it sticks out.
 
I carry clear bags but my main reason for carrying them is for emergency water (solar stills) I carry emergency blankets for signaling as well as their intended purpose.
 
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