When I travel, I carry the same backpack that I take when solo backpacking. The odds of SHTF occurring whilst out is extremely low IMHO. The odds of a beautiful day in the mountains and having the opportunity to take a day or three off to do a bit of fly fishing after visiting clients is much greater. Not counting the weight of water, I have been able to get the total weight down to less than 30 pounds.
I don’t get out nearly as much as I would like the past few years nor have I been as far as I wished, but I have been going out into the woods during all four seasons solo since the mid ’70s – Gear has changed drastically since then and so have I. I am no longer willing to carry a 60-70 pound bag for miles and fortunately, experience and cash has allowed me to reduce the weight. The main issue is that you have to pay to cut the weight. I haven’t counted how much I have invested in my gear.
My justification for carrying my backpack? I am intimately familiar with each item in my bag. Each item allows me to not only survive away but to be comfortable away from support. I have purchased each item, assessed it’s practicality and have used each item multiple times or it is discarded after an outing. I keep a gear spreadsheet with weights and will do a post trip assessment on gear and food.
In my car or truck, I have a separate vacuum bag with non-cotton camping clothes: synthetic tee shirt, long sleeve shirt, underwear, synthetic zipper pants and one pair of wool blend socks. The only cotton that I carry into the woods are a few bandannas. I carry a separate fanny pack for my fly fishing gear: Line, tippet, a couple of boxes of flies, this pack has a flashlight, fire, Mylar space blanket some snacks, water purification tablets, quick first aid items. It has sleeves for water bottles. I usually purchase a couple of bottles of the flip top type. The fanny pack can be attached to my backpack. The fly gear can be left behind and the pack can be used as a separate grab and go bag. Also inside of the pack is an outdoor products mini day bag, it compresses to the size of a fist and weighs 3.7oz BTW: I learned long ago never to count on catching fish as your only supper.
If you have never been cold, wet to the bone, puking and pooping sick away form home, consider yourself very fortunate. Being in the woods or away from a warm room and bed, any one of the above can be deadly. I don’t use everything every time I travel but have needed it at some time.
This is what I have in my 30 liter backpack:
Food Bag
Dehydrated meals, Mountain House, Good To Go, hot chocolate, Starbucks Via coffee, dried fruit, nuts, cheese, crackers, *180 proof Everclear alcohol. Metamucil wafers. Salt tablets, drink mix, breakfast bars. Lots of V8 powder.
Water Bag: Sawyers personal water filter. Several feet of tubing. Coleman Purification tablets and neutralizer. Several Platypus collapsible 2 liter water bottles, Sea to Summit collapsible water bucket. I prefer the Sweetwater water filter which I did not carry on the last outing. I will carry it from now on due to the ease of producing large amounts of drinking water in a short time.
Cooking/Kitchen Bag
alcohol stove 1.8 oz, 750 ml Toaks lidded pot 3.8oz, Titanium spork, Titanium handled cup 1.7 oz . Stove fits into the cup which fits into the pot. Small wire rack, heavy duty aluminum foil.
Shelter/sleep
poncho, Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 Tent dependent upon the weather. Thermarest Neo Air pad, Pounder sleeping bag. – sleeping bag liner,
Clothing Bag – extra socks, 1 pair of underwear and 1 synthetic tee shirt, silk long underwear top and bottoms.
Hygiene Bag
lots of wet wipes, small bottle of hand sanitize, potty shovel, toothpaste and brush, Dr. Bronners soap in a .5oz contact lens sample bottle, Clorox in another contact lens bottle. Camel Pack towel 1.4oz 3 rolls of Coleman Campers toilet Paper
Several trash bags, several grocery bags, lots of zip lock bags
First Aid Bag– Ibuprofen, rubber gloves. Dental floss with sewing needles, decongestant, Imodium, anti histamine tablets, band-aids, prednisone, tape, wet wipes, rubber gloves, **straw full of Noesporine. Straw full of new skin. Pack of matches. Moleskin. Flaslight, other stuff that I didn’t go through to list.
Extras Bag: 100 feet of paracord, 100 feet of masonry string. 1 mil plastic sheeting. 2 mylar space blankets. Several cheap aluminum caribiners for hanging food/bear bag and hanging things, nylon web belt with fastex buckle on pants: works for hauling wood if you build a fire. Gerber Saw. 3.4oz
Altoid Wax and cardboard fire box 4.2oz Cell phone battery charger. I’ll probably have to get a LuminAid Packable charger ($50.00 REI) light to eliminate the Luci and a battery charger pack.
Gerber light weight pocket knife, Buck ultralight minitool. Full tang sheath knife.
Outside pockets of Bag: Mini Umbrella, mosquito head cover, snacks in a ziplock, bug spray in a ziploc. Aluminum Fuel bottle with Denatured Alcohol – for stove and medical.
Ruger LCP II, with 1 extra magazine, two small canisters of pepper spray one in side pocket of pack hip belt. Flask with Everclear, Poncho. Orvis fly fishing nylon hat.
Compass and thermometer attached to bag, extra button flashlight.
Flashlights At least six flashlights,including hat clip on, At least four lighters, one in my pocket, one in my kitchen bag, one in the fly fish bag. One in the fire bag Magnesium and ferro rod. Luci solar inflatable lantern.
Fire bag: Candle, Tri-ox tablets, lighter, matches, magnesium
Notes:
I always carry walking sticks,
I know my travel area and seasonal weather conditions. I carry appropriate weather related clothing in a separate bag or in my luggage, Boots, Patagonia Neo Puff synthetic coat, REI rain jacket, REI rain pants. Turtle fur fleece toboggan, fleece gloves, overmits, Gaiters,
Several of the flashlights that I stash in various bags are the mini key chain led flashlights, amazon has them for about a buck a piece. The hat lights came from Walmart and are about the same cost.
Most of my gear comes from REI, Sierra Trading Post, Sportsmansguide or Amazon.
* Everclear – Grain Alcohol for first aid, alcohol stove and a bit of evening relaxation.
** with needle nose pliers grip one end of a drinking straw ¼ inch from tip, melt with lighter. Put neosporine or other in straw. Grip other end near tip. Melt with lighter. – Small light weight storage. Works well with spices too.