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Reply to: BOB plus Get Home Bag? Posted January 4, 2022

Yes, this is pretty much exactly where I’m going! I probably read this back when it was first published and it stewed in my subconscious… at the time we were dealing with the death of a parent, so I don’t think I really took it in. Like a lot of people, we’ve been more focused on the sheltering in place aspects of preparedness for the last couple years. However, recent events have understandably rattled the whole community into New Year’s resolutions like completing home inventories and assembling go-bags, which led me into reevaluating our own away-from-home supplies and systems. Feeling scattered, I decided to start again from the beginner’s checklist; when I searched for something along the lines of combined BOB + GHB, I found this forum post but somehow missed that article, so thank you for sharing it. It’s really interesting (and applicable) to me how the first 3 bags are backpacks, even with this example being for a single individual. I have often ended up also carrying my youngest child’s backpack in front on hikes, but it’s not typically heavy nor bulky like the bags pictured. I will have to experiment… Years ago I got an Osprey Sirrus 24 to help prevent me from overpacking on my children’s behalf and wrenching my own back in the process. I love it and go for it whenever I want more than a purse, but it has a rigid back and therefore I’d be considering it my #1 pack. Expanding on that capacity into a “full BOB” may not be 100% possible carry-wise but more deeply embracing the priority mindset allows for letting go of being a “list completist” yet still feeling reasonably prepared for most situations.

Reply to: BOB plus Get Home Bag? Posted January 2, 2022

I appreciate this thread, as it’s something I’ve been struggling to wrap my mind around also of late. We work from home and we’re aiming to walk/bike more and use the car less when we do leave the house, so that could be a blend of EDC/GHB depending on how we leave. Also on my mind is that where we live we’ve had 2 localized events in an 8-year span (epic flooding + urban wildfire) when people suddenly and unexpectedly could not get back to their homes while at work or running errands, so I’m feeling less use for specific-use differentiation. My husband and I often wear an ordinary backpack/daypack while out already (I’d at least have a purse in most situations). I’m shifting to centering the high priority items on the bags we already usually use, and adding gym/duffel bags for lower priority items we could toss in the trunk when traveling by car but could wear slung in front while wearing the backpacks if it came to that. This would involve making good use of small organizing bags to shift things as seems appropriate when leaving home for routine reasons. I think it will work if it’s easy enough to grab both in one go out the door. This would be emergency blanket/ultralight tarp level bulk, not tossing sleeping bags and tents in the car for a trek to Costco. I’ve read elsewhere on this forum about people loading their empty luggage with extras ready for something along the lines of a pre-evacuation alert scenario when you have more lead time to load up a car, and I like this idea as well. It uses what we already have and expands on the priority-focus. The last reason I think moving to one overall system and making decisions on what to take on the way out will be a good everyday practice for us is that there’s an element of “set it and forget it” in having the stuff sit in the car. It was a godsend with young kids and just getting out the door, don’t get me wrong. However, now that the kids are older, I think the intentionality of what to take each time will offer better modeling and life practice. For example, once our younger, more inexperienced selves drove up to the mountains in summer clothing and were surprised by snow at the trailhead; I felt like a genius for having extra layers in the trunk in a generalized “just in case.” Having that stuff allowed us to skip taking the time to consider where we were going, so we weren’t prepared in a sense I want to develop better for myself and my kids.

Reply to: Review: American Family Supply powdered eggs Posted June 4, 2020
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Reply to: BOB plus Get Home Bag? Posted January 4, 2022

Yes, this is pretty much exactly where I’m going! I probably read this back when it was first published and it stewed in my subconscious… at the time we were dealing with the death of a parent, so I don’t think I really took it in. Like a lot of people, we’ve been more focused on the sheltering in place aspects of preparedness for the last couple years. However, recent events have understandably rattled the whole community into New Year’s resolutions like completing home inventories and assembling go-bags, which led me into reevaluating our own away-from-home supplies and systems. Feeling scattered, I decided to start again from the beginner’s checklist; when I searched for something along the lines of combined BOB + GHB, I found this forum post but somehow missed that article, so thank you for sharing it. It’s really interesting (and applicable) to me how the first 3 bags are backpacks, even with this example being for a single individual. I have often ended up also carrying my youngest child’s backpack in front on hikes, but it’s not typically heavy nor bulky like the bags pictured. I will have to experiment… Years ago I got an Osprey Sirrus 24 to help prevent me from overpacking on my children’s behalf and wrenching my own back in the process. I love it and go for it whenever I want more than a purse, but it has a rigid back and therefore I’d be considering it my #1 pack. Expanding on that capacity into a “full BOB” may not be 100% possible carry-wise but more deeply embracing the priority mindset allows for letting go of being a “list completist” yet still feeling reasonably prepared for most situations.

Reply to: BOB plus Get Home Bag? Posted January 2, 2022

I appreciate this thread, as it’s something I’ve been struggling to wrap my mind around also of late. We work from home and we’re aiming to walk/bike more and use the car less when we do leave the house, so that could be a blend of EDC/GHB depending on how we leave. Also on my mind is that where we live we’ve had 2 localized events in an 8-year span (epic flooding + urban wildfire) when people suddenly and unexpectedly could not get back to their homes while at work or running errands, so I’m feeling less use for specific-use differentiation. My husband and I often wear an ordinary backpack/daypack while out already (I’d at least have a purse in most situations). I’m shifting to centering the high priority items on the bags we already usually use, and adding gym/duffel bags for lower priority items we could toss in the trunk when traveling by car but could wear slung in front while wearing the backpacks if it came to that. This would involve making good use of small organizing bags to shift things as seems appropriate when leaving home for routine reasons. I think it will work if it’s easy enough to grab both in one go out the door. This would be emergency blanket/ultralight tarp level bulk, not tossing sleeping bags and tents in the car for a trek to Costco. I’ve read elsewhere on this forum about people loading their empty luggage with extras ready for something along the lines of a pre-evacuation alert scenario when you have more lead time to load up a car, and I like this idea as well. It uses what we already have and expands on the priority-focus. The last reason I think moving to one overall system and making decisions on what to take on the way out will be a good everyday practice for us is that there’s an element of “set it and forget it” in having the stuff sit in the car. It was a godsend with young kids and just getting out the door, don’t get me wrong. However, now that the kids are older, I think the intentionality of what to take each time will offer better modeling and life practice. For example, once our younger, more inexperienced selves drove up to the mountains in summer clothing and were surprised by snow at the trailhead; I felt like a genius for having extra layers in the trunk in a generalized “just in case.” Having that stuff allowed us to skip taking the time to consider where we were going, so we weren’t prepared in a sense I want to develop better for myself and my kids.

Reply to: Review: American Family Supply powdered eggs Posted June 4, 2020