Prudent Prepping: Carry What You Can

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Now we concentrate  on what to do in, and how to plan for, the long term via Prudent Prepping.

Carrying What You Can

With What You Have

Part of being prepared is having a backup plan for your backup plan. My plans are based around bugging in for family reasons, so in the event I do move, having something to put items in is important. From watching the news about evacuations from cities in first world countries (such as Ukraine or Georgia), it is common to see pictures of people walking with boxes, suitcases or even just holding items in their arms. In my area, roads, overpasses and bridges may be damaged beyond being able to drive over, so carrying gear and supplies safely is important.

So with that in mind, I went shopping and found this backpack on Amazon.

The Explorer B3 Pack
From the website:

This tactical pack is built to exacting standards using heavy-duty nylon material, reinforced double-stitched nylon seaming, molded nylon buckles, and heavy duty coil zippers. The pack measures 17"" x 9"" x 11"" - perfectly sized and brimming with features. Three external pockets, a large rear velcro pocket, and a spacious main compartment provide maximum storage room for all your gear.

This was purchased with Amazon Credits supplied by friends for my birthday.
Against my wishes. And THANK YOU anyway. You know who you are.

I wanted a small(er) backpack of about the same internal volume of one of my pails, so it can serve double duty as a Bug Out Bag and also be used for Every Day Carry/Range Bag/Day Hike.

This bag is going to be filled with most of the contents from one of the 72 hour pails and then placed back into the bucket.

The Contents

• 6 cans of tuna 
• 6 packages of instant oatmeal 
• 10 packages of instant coffee 
• Three cans of chili 
• Ziploc bag with restaurant salt, pepper, sugar, salsa and P51 can opener. 
• Kentucky Fried Chicken knife, fork and napkin packs. 
• Ziploc bag with wooden matches, toilet paper, Bic lighter, and dryer lint in a separate bag inside TP core. 
• First aid kit with band aids, alcohol swabs, sterile eye wash, gauze pads, tape, triple antibiotic cream, asperin and Tylenol. 
• Two 500ml water bottles. 
• 6 Katadyn Micropur MP1 water purifier tablets -- enough to treat 6 liters of water. 
• 3" folding knife
• Mini Light My Fire fire starter

There are still extra pockets for whomever gets this bag to store their personal items, or move things around to suit their tastes.

Rating
Not as heavy-duty (or expensive!) as some of the name brands, but is sized just right for my needs and budget.

However, with some Amazon reviewers downrating this after heavy use, I'm going to give it 4 out of 5 stars, just to be safe.



If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased be me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.