Erin's New GHB, part 3: Food & Water Pouches

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

 No, not pouches of food and water, but quick access pouches for food and water. You'll see the difference in a moment.

Water Pouch

The water pouch is on the right side of my pack. (Why the right side? I dunno. It seemed the place to put it. But if I change my mind, the beauty of MOLLE is that I can swap them easily.) You can also see my Cold Steel Kukri Machete which I've used and abused for over a decade now and which I highly recommend.

Since my GHB has a hydration bladder, I don't need to carry external water. Instead, this pouch has the gear I need to filter and refill my hydration bladder via the drinking tube. See the post Hydration Tube Inline Hijinks for more details on how that works. 

I have them in separate bags to prevent cross-contamination. That it helps keep water droplets from getting everywhere is an added bonus. 

The item in the top left is a Sillcock Key, used to turn on external water spigots without handles. 

Food Pouch

To be fair, this is more of a "snack pouch" than a location for actual meals; if I'm sitting down to eat a proper meal, I'll be there for a while and won't mind going through my bag. This is mainly a source of snack items to keep me going that I can munch while taking a 5 minute break. 

The small dark sticks to the left are straws of honey. 

You can see the the theme here: "I need energy." With the exception of the 6 Hour Sleep and the activated charcoal, these are designed to keep me going when I'm sleepy, fatigued, or fighting the mid-afternoon nap monster. The Sleep is there partly for logic (they're from the same company, in the same size bottles) and partly because I just don't have room for them elsewhere. 

The activated charcoal is there also because I don't have a better place for it. My thinking is "If I need to take it, it's because I ate or drank something I shouldn't have," and I'll need to get to it quickly. Where else to put it, then, than in the quick access eat and drink area?

I'll post more about the benefits of activated charcoal next post.