Current list of items for my b.o.b. - Thoughts?

[Vincent M]

I just started gathering all this a couple weeks ago, feel free to make suggestions or give advice, I'm new to prepping but not to the outdoors

Here's what I have so far In no particular order :



· GPS - Hand Held - Garmin® GPSMAP® 64st

· Flashlights - Fenix FX-PD35TAC Flashlight, 1000 Lumen/Fenix E12 CREE XP-E2 130 Lumen LED

· Knife - Fallkniven A1 Survival Knife Kraton Handle Zytel Sheath

· Communication - BaoFeng BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174MHz VHF & 400-520MHz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery ( Two )

1. Whip Antenna - ( Two ) Authentic Genuine Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female for BaoFeng Radios

2. Get/Learn HAM Radio Operator & Get FCC Licensed

· Compass - Glow in the Dark Military Compass

· Map – Local & Regional Paper Maps

· Shelter - Survival Shack Emergency Survival Shelter Tent | 2 Person Mylar Thermal Shelter 8’ X 5’ | Reflective Material Conserves Heat | Lightweight | Waterproof |

· Emergency Blankets – (Two) of TITAN Extra-Thick Emergency Mylar Sleeping Bag, Woodland Shrowd & TITAN Two-Sided Emergency Mylar Survival Blankets, 5-Pack | Forest Camo

· Paracord – (Two) TITAN SurvivorCord | DRAGONSCALE | 100 Foot Hank | Patented Military Type III 550 Paracord / Parachute Cord (3/16" Diameter) with Integrated Fishing Line, Fire-Starter, and Snare Wire.

· MultiTool – Leatherman - Sidekick Multi-Tool, Stainless Steel with Nylon Sheath

· Water Purification - LifeStraw Go - 2 Pack (Blue & Purple) & Potable Aqua Water Purification Germicidal Tablets

· Medical Kit - First Aid Kit Molle Medical EMT Pouch Waterproof Case Bag for Emergency at Home, Outdoors, Car, Camping, Workplace, Hiking & Survival (FDA Approved)

· Medication – (TWO) Potassium Plus Iodine 180 Tablets, Ibprophen, Antibiotics, 2-FMA, Etizolam

· Tomahawk - Ontario 9423BM Ranger RD Hawk II

· Backpacks – 5.11 Tactical Rush 72 Backpack for my wife, and I have a Direct Action Ghost Tactical Backpack MultiCam that's fully accessorized

· Food - Emergency Food Rations - 3600 Calorie Bar - 3 Day Supply - Less Sugar and More Nutrients Than Other Leading Brands - (5 Year Shelf Life)-9 bars

· GlowSticks - Cyalume Green Glow Sticks - Premium Bright 6” SnapLight Sticks with 12 Hour Duration (10 Pack)

· Tarp

· Clothes

Questions? comments? All are welcome. Thanks.

EDIT : Had to fix the backpacks listed, sorry about the underline it won't go away

EDIT : 2

- PDW : Sig Sauer MCX Chambered in 5.56mm and I have the barrel to swap out .300 loads for rifle needs with a nice ROMEO7 day/night red dot site on it.

Sig Sauer P226R-40-EQ-CA with Sig Lite night sights ( I HATE Cali gun laws... )

- Cooking vessel

- Entertainment for kiddos - Rassberry Pi

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

 

[jontte]

some games for your kids? to keep them thinking of nicer things.
food for the 1year old??
go through that first aid kit with thought,some things may be pure crap,you might consider replacing items.

 

[Dani]

A pot may be nice to have to cook any game or foraged items that you find and did I over look a firestarter?

 

[Silent Earth]

It appears to be a fairly nwell thought out loadout, have you tried it out in a practice drill ?

 

[Silent Earth]

I Spose that living in CA means survival bivvy bags will do where as in many area a lightweight sleeping bag would be more apt.

I would swap the GPS around for your Maps and Compass in the order of priority if you have one.

Where are your spare batteries?

Only advice for the future is to try and harmonise your batteries so all your gear only needs one size / type EG AA powered GPS, AA powered Flashlights, AA Adaptor case for the baofengs etc

 

[Silent Earth]

Damn I still keep forgetting to point out that your
Knife
Flashlight
Lighter
Compass
PDW

Do NOT go in your BOB, they only ever go on your person

Some folks also include
Multi Tool
Paracord Bracelet
Spare Mag
To their personage.

Imagine a SHTF situation ( you choose) and for what ever reason you cannot grab your BOB, Stolen, lost, siezed, out of reach etc, Then you are left with what you are standing in. So your CORE EDC essentials should be in your pockets, on your belt, around your neck / ankle Not in a bag in your office or vehicle.
Some folks now sew extra bits into the linings of their work clothes, like Silver Coins, Pain Killers, Bandaids, Silk Map, Paracord, Button Compass, Water Puri Tabs etc

 

[Brent S]

Great point on the carry on your person stuff. There are too many ways to loose your bag. I even have two bags. One is a backpack and the other a bag with a handle to carry. The carry bag is mostly for luxury items, like blanket and tarp, etc. they are all good things to have but could be dropped if ever in a hurry. The backpack would be a big loss though. It's got a lot of stuff I would call essential. I don't think I had a waterfilter in mind to carry on my person, but will from now on.

 

[Brent S]

I just started gathering all this a couple weeks ago, feel free to make suggestions or give advice, I'm new to prepping but not to the outdoors

Here's what I have so far In no particular order :



· GPS - Hand Held - Garmin® GPSMAP® 64st

· Flashlights - Fenix FX-PD35TAC Flashlight, 1000 Lumen/Fenix E12 CREE XP-E2 130 Lumen LED

· Knife - Fallkniven A1 Survival Knife Kraton Handle Zytel Sheath

· Communication - BaoFeng BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174MHz VHF & 400-520MHz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery ( Two )

1. Whip Antenna - ( Two ) Authentic Genuine Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female for BaoFeng Radios

2. Get/Learn HAM Radio Operator & Get FCC Licensed

· Compass - Glow in the Dark Military Compass

· Map – Local & Regional Paper Maps

· Shelter - Survival Shack Emergency Survival Shelter Tent | 2 Person Mylar Thermal Shelter 8’ X 5’ | Reflective Material Conserves Heat | Lightweight | Waterproof |

· Emergency Blankets – (Two) of TITAN Extra-Thick Emergency Mylar Sleeping Bag, Woodland Shrowd & TITAN Two-Sided Emergency Mylar Survival Blankets, 5-Pack | Forest Camo

· Paracord – (Two) TITAN SurvivorCord | DRAGONSCALE | 100 Foot Hank | Patented Military Type III 550 Paracord / Parachute Cord (3/16" Diameter) with Integrated Fishing Line, Fire-Starter, and Snare Wire.

· MultiTool – Leatherman - Sidekick Multi-Tool, Stainless Steel with Nylon Sheath

· Water Purification - LifeStraw Go - 2 Pack (Blue & Purple) & Potable Aqua Water Purification Germicidal Tablets

· Medical Kit - First Aid Kit Molle Medical EMT Pouch Waterproof Case Bag for Emergency at Home, Outdoors, Car, Camping, Workplace, Hiking & Survival (FDA Approved)

· Medication – (TWO) Potassium Plus Iodine 180 Tablets, Ibprophen, Antibiotics, 2-FMA, Etizolam

· Tomahawk - Ontario 9423BM Ranger RD Hawk II

· Backpacks – 5.11 Tactical Rush 72 Backpack for my wife, and I have a Direct Action Ghost Tactical Backpack MultiCam that's fully accessorized

· Food - Emergency Food Rations - 3600 Calorie Bar - 3 Day Supply - Less Sugar and More Nutrients Than Other Leading Brands - (5 Year Shelf Life)-9 bars

· GlowSticks - Cyalume Green Glow Sticks - Premium Bright 6” SnapLight Sticks with 12 Hour Duration (10 Pack)

· Tarp

· Clothes

Questions? comments? All are welcome. Thanks.

EDIT : Had to fix the backpacks listed, sorry about the underline it won't go away

That's a great start and well thought out. Better than most people's I'm sure. I agree with testing it out. Try going camping or at least a day hike to see what you need for your specific family. It's amazing how much you can ditch too when the weight starts to slow you down.

 

[Silent Earth]

That's a great start and well thought out. Better than most people's I'm sure. I agree with testing it out. Try going camping or at least a day hike to see what you need for your specific family. It's amazing how much you can ditch too when the weight starts to slow you down.

Yes and to begin with get dressed ( both of you) and put on your clothing you expect to bug out in, Then put on your rucksacks.. Now walk up and down the room and jump up and down on the spot a few times. .............. If anything is rustling, rattling, clanging, banging or making NOISE then repack until no more noise. Most Veterans will tell you the greatest give away of where people / victims are is the NOISE they or their KIT makes. Make like a Ghost, Become a shadow, Be uninteresting and go unnoticed. if you try to play Rambo or GI Joe chances are you will only end up dead.

 

[Silent Earth]

Also when actually bugging out it matters NOTHING if your THREE DAY Bug Out Plan takes THREE WEEKS to Implement, the object is to arrive SAFELY, UNHARMED etc so time has no major concern in MANY ( but not all) scenarios. Til better to go around , unnoticed and unmugged, unrobbed, un raped and unmurdered than to get into a fire fight on someone elses home turf.

 

[Silent Earth]

Double post

 

[Silent Earth]

Great point on the carry on your person stuff. There are too many ways to loose your bag. I even have two bags. One is a backpack and the other a bag with a handle to carry. The carry bag is mostly for luxury items, like blanket and tarp, etc. they are all good things to have but could be dropped if ever in a hurry. The backpack would be a big loss though. It's got a lot of stuff I would call essential. I don't think I had a waterfilter in mind to carry on my person, but will from now on.

Consider just a sachet of 20 water purification tablets in your wallet.

 

[Silent Earth]

There are far more ways to be parted from your Bob than there are in keeping hold of it. But if you have your absolute essentials on YOU chances are you wont be separated from them unless you are particularly dumb

 

[jimLE]

i don't remember who it was here.but he he pointed out,in a different thread..that he found his platoon from hearing velcro from being undone,while on a practice run.so you might want to avoid velcro..

 

[Silent Earth]

i don't remember who it was here.but he he pointed out,in a different thread..that he found his platoon from hearing velcro from being undone,while on a practice run.so you might want to avoid velcro..

Twas I, I had a company of Recruits on exercise I misplaced just as dusk was falling, I was wandering the training area when I started to hear faintly then louder s I got closer troops opening Cuffs, Pockets, Storm Flaps, Pouches, Rucksacks etc that were secured with Velcro tapes on the latest issue kit. I was horrified and yet I found out that this serious shortcoming was common knowledge by many other troops, All of my kit got modified or changed to Press studs, Canadian buttons , Elastic shock cord etc.

 

[Silent Earth]

Velcro is not the soldiers friend, and nor the **** scared prepper trying to get out of Dodge alive.

 

[Proud Prepper]

A solor battery charger and rechargable batteries for all your electronic. Try to use devices that all use AA/AAA baterries. A compact .22 survival rifle and ammo, they are under $200 and are 2.5 lbs.

 

[Mountain trapper]

My bob, or every day carry bag, is very basic and has only the barest of essentials for what I think I would need for my area. My winter bag has more cold weather related items than summer, even though it can get very cold in the mountains at night even in summer. Every person's bug out plan would be different, and their expected route may cover different terrian, hazards and obstacles, which would dictate what they would need in their bag. Since I'm living in a very sparsely populated area my concerns for bugging out could be much different than someone living in an urban or city environment or even a small town in a populated area. Someone living in a desert or hot humid area would have different needs than I would. I don't expect to ever bug out of my place, but if I did have to bug out I have a route planned just in case. On my route water is plentyfull and clean, but I still carry a filter anyway. All but the smallest streams have fish, so I carry a basic fishing kit. Small game is everywhere here so I carry a dozen small snares as well as a .22 pistol with a couple hundred rounds of ammo. Since most of my area is heavily forested building a shelter is easy but a fire starter kit is vital. Especially during winter. This is the same bag I carry everywhere I go, including my winter trap line.

 

[Silent Earth]

One thing I do with all my Bobs GHBs etc is to elasticate as much of the bags as possible using elastic shock cord as seen in the image below of my GHB ( Rush 12)
The elastic holds the contents of the bags firmly in place which helps keep them quiet.

 

[Mountain trapper]

A couple items that I Don't carry in my bag are flashlights, batteries or chargers. I really haven't seen the need for them in my experience.

 

[Maverick]

A good backpack, billy pot, good knife, multiple means for fire making, good base plate compass (not military), seasonal dependent clothing/shoes, cordage (bank line or para-cord) and tarp should be the foundation to any BOB. Knowledge in foraging for the specific area is a must.

Trying to pack items that made my Wife comfortable such as packable solar panels, charger and batteries along with extra gear took it's toll on me traveling on uneven grounds off any trails (it's an age thing) everything in the BOB needs to be packed in and tested for two to three days, go off trail on uneven grounds, this will test your loads weight distribution and endurance with what you are carrying, it took me two trips in to get it comfortable and forced me to remove over burden items. (required a lot of renegotiation's with the Wife)

 

[Vincent M]

some games for your kids? to keep them thinking of nicer things.
food for the 1year old??
go through that first aid kit with thought,some things may be pure crap,you might consider replacing items.

For sure, I got the wife a 5.11 Rush 72 but I think it's too big for her now that I have it. Since she'll be carrying food/clothes/baby mainly I don't wan't a huge pack for her, even though she says it's fine - she hasn't hiked with it full yet heheh. Maybe the dragon egg or rush 24....

Quite right about the medical bag weeding out! Luckly Mom was a RN so I learned a thing or two about first aid. as for games, I'll probably work on a pi rassberry that plays ROM's for long battery life, but good thinking since my boys a 8 & 1

 

[Vincent M]

A pot may be nice to have to cook any game or foraged items that you find and did I over look a firestarter?

Gotta add the pot/cup ! duh. I have a rainproof fire striker and a plasma torch for back up no, but yea something to cook in is vital.

 

[Vincent M]

A good backpack, billy pot, good knife, multiple means for fire making, good base plate compass (not military), seasonal dependent clothing/shoes, cordage (bank line or para-cord) and tarp should be the foundation to any BOB. Knowledge in foraging for the specific area is a must.

Trying to pack items that made my Wife comfortable such as packable solar panels, charger and batteries along with extra gear took it's toll on me traveling on uneven grounds off any trails (it's an age thing) everything in the BOB needs to be packed in and tested for two to three days, go off trail on uneven grounds, this will test your loads weight distribution and endurance with what you are carrying, it took me two trips in to get it comfortable and forced me to remove over burden items. (required a lot of renegotiation's with the Wife)

A good backpack, billy pot, good knife, multiple means for fire making, good base plate compass (not military), seasonal dependent clothing/shoes, cordage (bank line or para-cord) and tarp should be the foundation to any BOB. Knowledge in foraging for the specific area is a must.

Trying to pack items that made my Wife comfortable such as packable solar panels, charger and batteries along with extra gear took it's toll on me traveling on uneven grounds off any trails (it's an age thing) everything in the BOB needs to be packed in and tested for two to three days, go off trail on uneven grounds, this will test your loads weight distribution and endurance with what you are carrying, it took me two trips in to get it comfortable and forced me to remove over burden items. (required a lot of renegotiation's with the Wife)

LOL. Well the wife and kids certainly will get to know what roughing it means. Heck these days it's almost too easy with technology. I wish the 101st Airbourne dropped with all this tech in World War II. I've got a plasma torch and waterproof striker/tinder for fire starting backup ( cotton in Vaseline ) and the paracord is is wax tinder as well. Do need a pot/cup of some sort though...

 

[Vincent M]

It appears to be a fairly nwell thought out loadout, have you tried it out in a practice drill ?

Not just yet, need to get the wife some lighter weight heavy duty Items ( decent knife, good bag setup for her, etc ). Plus were just moving into a new house, so not much time atm

 

[MaterielGeneral]

Hey welcome to the forum. I haven't been on a lot recently because of life. I don't know your specifics or needs or plans but I have vehicle get home bags which are tiny and very light weight compared to my bug out bags. I am bugging in so if I have to bug out I want to be better prepared because I don't have much of a plan. My bug out bags are Army issue for durability so that right there is going to tell you they are heavy and they are full.

A lot of the guys suggested a pot but I want to specify. I spent 16 years in the military and I can tell you the Army mess kit that they withdrawn from service sucked ass. Years ago I bought some lots of East German mess kits and they are awesome. They are basically are all the same as this: https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...itary-surplus-mess-kits-2-pack-used?a=1851808 which is present day a really good price. I noticed that a lot of European countries have the same design. I like it, it is in all of our bug out bags. It is not just an eating utensil it is a pot that you can boil water in. It is well worth the weight and space.

This is also a really good deal: https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...itary-surplus-mess-kits-2-pack-used?a=1809735

Your water: In my opinion Lifestraw sucks. Every time you bend over at a water source you are allowing an enemy force to move on you. Unless you have an observer. I like Sawyer because you have options. You can backflow it to clean it from dirt. You can use it like a Lifestraw and better yet you can use the filter with the enclosed bag and take it with you. You can squeeze the water filling a clean container with clean water and take it with you. You can drink standing up while you look around providing security. Sawyer just has better options. I do have Lifestraw bottles. I got them on clearance and its a sports bottle with the Lifestraw filter inside.

Your going to be hungry and need the nutrients and energy. Add some mountain house meals to your pack. They are freeze dried and have little weight. Your kid(s) and your belly will be thankful.

If you have kids you need better crap than the Mylar survival blankets. Don't get rig of it but add a real sleeping bag or two. One for each member minus one or two. Why because you need to have at least one person on guard duty at all times. While a person is on guard duty they don't need a sleeping bag. So this allows less weight and space. This will actually allow more food to be carried. Have at least one real tent that is subdued colored. People under estimate the protection that a tent gives you. If you have kids then this is mandatory especially with a Mylar blanket plan.

If you have tools that require batteries then have spares. I suggest that you have rechargeable batteries and then have a lightweight solar panel to recharge the batteries. I have Goal Zero Nomad 7 with the battery charger. Today I don't recommend Goal Zero because the price sucks and there are cheaper alternatives. Something else the Solar chargers are good for is charging phones and tablets. Not so you can call someone but so you can upload information onto them such as PDF Books.

Something every bag needs is a survival book for the simple fact that you forget. In a crisis you have trouble remembering details so a hard copy of the Army Survival manual is a must. Personally I have the SAS Survival Guide in all of the BOB except one which is the Army manual.

If bags get to heavy then make alternative plans. Use a bike or bike/trailer. A cart or wagon and a very large baby stroller offers an option. Use your imagination.

Good luck

 

[Maverick]

Hey welcome to the forum. I haven't been on a lot recently because of life. I don't know your specifics or needs or plans but I have vehicle get home bags which are tiny and very light weight compared to my bug out bags. I am bugging in so if I have to bug out I want to be better prepared because I don't have much of a plan. My bug out bags are Army issue for durability so that right there is going to tell you they are heavy and they are full.

A lot of the guys suggested a pot but I want to specify. I spent 16 years in the military and I can tell you the Army mess kit that they withdrawn from service sucked ass. Years ago I bought some lots of East German mess kits and they are awesome. They are basically are all the same as this: https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...itary-surplus-mess-kits-2-pack-used?a=1851808 which is present day a really good price. I noticed that a lot of European countries have the same design. I like it, it is in all of our bug out bags. It is not just an eating utensil it is a pot that you can boil water in. It is well worth the weight and space.

This is also a really good deal: https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...itary-surplus-mess-kits-2-pack-used?a=1809735

Your water: In my opinion Lifestraw sucks. Every time you bend over at a water source you are allowing an enemy force to move on you. Unless you have an observer. I like Sawyer because you have options. You can backflow it to clean it from dirt. You can use it like a Lifestraw and better yet you can use the filter with the enclosed bag and take it with you. You can squeeze the water filling a clean container with clean water and take it with you. You can drink standing up while you look around providing security. Sawyer just has better options. I do have Lifestraw bottles. I got them on clearance and its a sports bottle with the Lifestraw filter inside.

Your going to be hungry and need the nutrients and energy. Add some mountain house meals to your pack. They are freeze dried and have little weight. Your kid(s) and your belly will be thankful.

If you have kids you need better crap than the Mylar survival blankets. Don't get rig of it but add a real sleeping bag or two. One for each member minus one or two. Why because you need to have at least one person on guard duty at all times. While a person is on guard duty they don't need a sleeping bag. So this allows less weight and space. This will actually allow more food to be carried. Have at least one real tent that is subdued colored. People under estimate the protection that a tent gives you. If you have kids then this is mandatory especially with a Mylar blanket plan.

If you have tools that require batteries then have spares. I suggest that you have rechargeable batteries and then have a lightweight solar panel to recharge the batteries. I have Goal Zero Nomad 7 with the battery charger. Today I don't recommend Goal Zero because the price sucks and there are cheaper alternatives. Something else the Solar chargers are good for is charging phones and tablets. Not so you can call someone but so you can upload information onto them such as PDF Books.

Something every bag needs is a survival book for the simple fact that you forget. In a crisis you have trouble remembering details so a hard copy of the Army Survival manual is a must. Personally I have the SAS Survival Guide in all of the BOB except one which is the Army manual.

If bags get to heavy then make alternative plans. Use a bike or bike/trailer. A cart or wagon and a very large baby stroller offers an option. Use your imagination.

Good luck

I agree the old US Military mess kits isn’t a good choice for bugging out, though the Military mess kits wasn’t designed for the purpose of prepping food from scratch, it was designed for field mess lines with already prepared food, even the old German design mess kits isn’t really designed for food preparations but is far better than the US design and more doable least it has a bail wire handle, I prefer 2qt minimum belly pots similar to the mors pot especially for boiling water and cooking foraged foods, even a 6 cup camping (bail wire) percolator would do better than most Military mess kits. Regardless, pack limitations will dictate what is carried, if very limited the German style mess kits would be my preference too.

 

[MaterielGeneral]

I agree the old US Military mess kits isn’t a good choice for bugging out, though the Military mess kits wasn’t designed for the purpose of prepping food from scratch, it was designed for field mess lines with already prepared food, even the old German design mess kits isn’t really designed for food preparations but is far better than the US design and more doable least it has a bail wire handle, I prefer 2qt minimum belly pots similar to the mors pot especially for boiling water and cooking foraged foods, even a 6 cup camping (bail wire) percolator would do better than most Military mess kits. Regardless, pack limitations will dictate what is carried, if very limited the German style mess kits would be my preference too.

I agree with everything Maverick stated I just wanted to comment that the reason why I made a point to say that the US mess kit sucks is that I have seen postings on other forums and on YouTube videos showing the mess kit as part of their gear. Unless your in a field kitchen line and getting slop slapped onto the mess kit its useless. It is dead weight in a pack. Hopefully the in experienced or young will read this and learn or at least take the advice to heart.

The mess kit style that I posted may be larger and probably more weight but its got a pot and a plate if that is what you want to call it. It can boil raw water for drinking. Boil water for freeze dried meals or you can cook in it such as rice. As Maverick noted the bail wire handle. The wire handle can be put on a leaning stick over a fire and then cook/boil that way. It is made out of aluminum so I probably wouldn't want to cook directly on coals. Put a pop or beer can into a fire and see what happens. For a BOB its the better way to go in my opinion. If bugging out in a truck is part of your plan then it is a really good idea to have a Dutch oven so that you can cook directly on coals if you have to. FYI cooking with a Dutch oven takes practice so you are not burning stuff.

 

[Vincent M]

It appears to be a fairly nwell thought out loadout, have you tried it out in a practice drill ?

Not yet, still gettting the wife to realize A quake amd a SHTF is a reality to face... getting th4ere though..

 

[Vincent M]

I agree the old US Military mess kits isn’t a good choice for bugging out, though the Military mess kits wasn’t designed for the purpose of prepping food from scratch, it was designed for field mess lines with already prepared food, even the old German design mess kits isn’t really designed for food preparations but is far better than the US design and more doable least it has a bail wire handle, I prefer 2qt minimum belly pots similar to the mors pot especially for boiling water and cooking foraged foods, even a 6 cup camping (bail wire) percolator would do better than most Military mess kits. Regardless, pack limitations will dictate what is carried, if very limited the German style mess kits would be my preference too.

I agree, especially with hauling my wife and 8 & 1 yr old. She try'd on the rush 72 and said " yeah no prob " but shes 5'3 " and would be carrying clothes and food mainly ( except essentials like flashlight, knife, etc on a belt )

I think the Rush 72 is too big for what she thinks shes can carry... thought of a Rush 24 etc but just wondering on opinions? Thanks!

Cheers