Go Bag (Backpack) Water & First Aid Medication Questions

I'm revising/tweaking My Go Bag Backpack & after researching multiple websites I have some questions about things that were left out from what I read.

I'm assuming that a Go Bag is something that is prepacked that one can grab instantly and leave immediately on notice. As such does that mean:

1, Water should already be in your bag. If so, when do you change it? 2 months, 6 months, a year? Or are you just suppose to take a few minutes after you need to leave and add water via a sealed container, thermos, etc? Thus you won't be able to evacuate immediately as you have to add water to your Go Bag.

2. As far as first aid and medicine, if you have high blood pressure and other medical conditions, do you pack as much medication as you can take instead of a 3 day amount because the weight and space adds up?

Thank you for your answers

 

This should pretty much hold yer go bag and maybe a few other essentials

 

Yer right I forgot Ed is on the coast and has a water option

 

But seriously folks.......

 

Having a Go bag is one thing. Having somewhere to go is another thing!

 

I have my BOB but my Go bag is full of ammo and snacks

 

You can change out a canteen every 4-6 months. And carry as much meds as possible.

 

@ED GEiN Put some bottled water in your go bag, then augment with a squeeze through filtration system that will work with those bottles:


The bottled water will last a long time, maybe swap out annually to be safe. BTW the gal that made the video has a lot of very good and sensible ideas about backpacking and gear. It's worth looking through her channel.

 

I have no place to go either. I cannot afford to have my current residence and a BOL. Just not in the budget. So does everyone here have a secondary location? All you on the West coast, do you have your go to place when the big one comes and a tsunami wipes out the cities? What about all you on the East coast if a hurricane comes at you, do you have a specific BOL? I see all those folks that evacuate when a hurricane is headed towards them, I doubt every single one of them has a specific destination. I believe people move away from the danger.

I believe having a fluid plan could be key for some. Who knows what the danger will be. Example: those people near the Oroville Dam. Their dangers are flooding from dam breaking, forest fire, earthquake, refugees from city rioting- those are just off the top of my head. Different situations with dangers coming in different directions. If you lived near the dam and planned on bugging out to Ted & Mary's in the hills but if the danger is a forest fire, bugging out to the hills may not be wise.

I have a few doors that are open to me and mine where we can seek refuge but it depends on the situation. Those doors are not my go to in certain circumstances. What about the preppers that bought RV's and are planning to bug out from danger. A home on wheels. Sometimes a specific destination will collapse then what? I believe that being fluid, having flexibility to your plans is key.

 

As for your original question:

Experts say change out water stored in your bag once a month. That will be easy if you have a normal Aquifina (whatever) bottle of water. Store bought bottles need to be swapped out regularly because they tend to develop leaks. If you have water stored in a thermos type bottles, same rule applies. Once a month dump and clean the container. Hot water, drop of bleach, bottle brush, rinse well and refill.

I cannot answer on the prescribed medications because we do not have any but others here could probably advise and give you their plan. I do know that first aid kits should be refreshed once a year. Just look, smell and check dates.

** do not merge my posts please

 

I won't have a proper BOL until I jettison myself from AntiFalandia. Even then, my BOL will be a place to get some rest and do some healing until I can go back and kill whoever ran me off.

There are doors open to me if I need to bug out for whatever reason (man made or natural) and they know what I bring to the table and what I will bring with me. Never plan on seeking a safe harbor without knowing what your job will be and making sure you will pull more than your own weight. That's one reason I'm working to improve my skill set. The more skills the more you are valued as you are at that point a refugee. Medical skills have been "next" on my list for too long. Past time to deal with it.

Bugging out is a last resort. I'll bug in until it no longer makes sense.

Back to water and meds...
I'd keep both at the top of the BOB or where they can be easily accessed for both use or for rotation. Your meds especially should be rotated, or perhaps all should stored in the BOB as if you do need to bail it's likely those are the last ones you will ever get. You could put them in a pouch like the Zpacks pouch that you can attach to your BOB. That way your meds won't interfere with your other gear. They even make for decent concealed carry (remember RWOL means RWOL)

 

Ed and gunkid cop a lot of stick....for the seemingly unique scenarios they paint, but perhaps we should
look at their 'what ifs' from the point of view of Socratic enquiry...

In this thread, Ed has raised two 'Go Bag' issues...

1. Water to be carried,

and

2, First Aid and Medications to be considered for inclusion.....both, valid concerns, and worth making provision for.

My suggestions.

1. Water

First, how much water to carry in a go bag....it will not be enough to last 3 days if mobile, especially if walking away from a disaster / walking towards a refuge. You will probably be able to carry enough to get you started, but you will have to be able to source and decontaminate water along your journey to wherever it is that you are heading towards. My bug-out water storage capacity consists of...

4 x 1 litre wide mouth PET bottles (Full In Go bag)
2 x 1 litre (milspec) plastic water bottles ( full on belt order)
1 X 2litre (milspec) plastic water bottle in carrier with sling (empty in go bag)
1 x 2 litre hydration bladder (empty in go bag)
1 x .5 litre wide mouth thermos (in go bag filled with cooking ingredients)
1 x collapsible 5 litre bucket (empty) for toting water to a harbouring place from water source if there is any distance.

This set up should give me 24hrs immediate use water (6 litres), with the capability of augmenting that with a further 4.5 litres as water is found during the course of my journey: It represents the compromise of not overloading myself whilst moving, yet having more storage capacity when static. This setup also allows for some flexibility, should I have to abandon my go bag, or cache it: the belt order bottles, the slung, milspec 2 litre bottle, and 2 litre hydration bladder become the core when patrolling without my cached go bag.

Given that water may have to be sourced along the way, water filtration, sterilisation and decontamination capabilities need to be part of the go bag load. The PET bottles may help with that by using UV sterilisation, however, that method requires one to be static for a number of hours to be useful. A survival straw and ziplock bags are part of my 'possibles' bag.

Water in sealed water bottles should be good beyond the stated use by date, but the longer the date is expired the potability is reduced. Leaching of PET components into the water may become an issue. Chlorinated tap water stored in water bottles ought be changed regularly...get a rotation / refilling program calendar happening...its easy to forget / overlook this necessary task.

2. First Aid and Medical

First aid supplies is a rabbit hole I don't want to disappear down....mine is layered
A small core of essentials in my 'possibles' bag.
A FAK in my belt order that consists of dressings and other items for immediate patching up of wounds.
A more comprehensive kit with basic minor surgery instruments and with some dressings as replacements for immediate use dressings.

Medications: If one is dependent on medications to stay in good health, or indeed alive, because of a chronic condition, then my suggestion would be to have as much as one can store. Thought must be given to shelf life issues, and storage environment requirements. Some medications that require refrigeration for optimal shelf life will need to be kept in refrigeration until bug out mode commences. Rotation of stocks will be important. A thermos filled with ice may enable refrigerated meds to last at least for a while 'on the road'.