Waste of Money for My Go Bag or Not I Need Your Opinion

@Tevin you are right it the original post did solicit opinions. And... there is a difference between saying why you would or would not do something and saying something inflamatory like... what a dumbass idea.... which is I think @Thumper40 s point.

Thus forum is typically very respectful and we have a few posters who default to WADAI

 

What Ganado said. As well as some advise on how to take advise that is given.

Admittadly, at the time I wrote the post you quoted I was in rare form.

 

On bags themselves i just dont understand the need to buy expensive go bags. Hoping someone will explain tbis too me. all of mine are inexpensive nylon travel bags and i use diaper or swim gear water proof bags inside to seperate them.

A couple of examples.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F4O10R8/?tag=survivalmonke-20

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0722XKZF3/?tag=survivalmonke-20

 

There are some folk that can sit and do nothing for hours and be perfectly content, then there are others of us that can't sit for 5 minuets without being productive .
My life since I was a child ,has always demanded productivity ,even if i'm listening to a sermon, or engineering seminar, I can't just sit there, so I draw and listen and take notes if it's interesting.
My Mac Air is compact and lite and has no moving parts, so it travels well without fear of vibration damage . Having a motorcycle this is important. .With this computer I can receive photos from almost any source and expand the screen for better reading and examining pictures like nothing else I've ever had ,plus it's spell check has learned me and generally knows my thought patterns for correcting mistakes . I get roughly 10 hours on a charge and that on a 5 year old laptop .
I also have a small solar panel , but not specifically for the laptop . it is for charging other electronics including lights . If I have to I could wire it in for charging the laptop .
My experience has taught me, electric light is far more efficient than flame light , and significantly safer in the long run.
Of course I'm never without a flashlight or a knife for that matter .
So what is a computer good for post SHTF ?
If there is no internet
Primarily information and pictures and taking notes and a few games and drawing .
As humans we thrive on entertainment , been that way for all time , Even education is a form of entertainment .
The genius that i am still requires a stored mountain of information to refer to from time to time , and it is something to pass on to my children and friends.

 

You bring up a very good point Arleigh. Entertainmrnt. The mind needs distraction even more in stressful conditions than it does in the mundane. Well it doesnt have to have it. But it can bring stability to otherwise chaotic conditions.

I dont have any computers or what not in my go bag. Kinda always figured that id have my phone on me. Though I never planned on using it much if things did go south. I suppose that even if the worsrd case scenario happened and everything went dark right off the bat being able to just look at pictures of loved ones would bring stability.

Might have to finally open that survival charger I got for father's day a couple years ago and put it in my bag.

 

Fair enough. I may not have the best grasp of the dynamic here yet. Ill learn whos who and whats what here with time.

 

To give Ed a better opinion, why don’t you buy a modern ebook reader. Most have expandable storage, WiFi capable, and with the WiFi off, they can have a batterie life of at least 2 weeks or more.

 

You have no idea the depths of my depravity, the darkness or the straight up strageness that makes up my personality.

So thank you for the compliment.

 

I'd test the snot out of those bags - the last thing you want in a life or death situation is to have one of those fail (usually at a poorly surged seam) and force you to leave essential equipment behind. I'd see what it takes to make one fail and then consider reinforcing it. I did that with backpacking gear back in the day before they started making all the fancy expensive ones. Ripstop and ballistic nylon along with QUALITY thread and super glue are your friends. Even with improvements they won't be as comfortable for the long haul as a better designed pack,then again you won't notice any discomfort until the adrenalin wears off.

 

This is all great, and it's fine that we all have our little quirks.

But again I must point out that the purpose of a "go bag" is to get by for the short term (1-4 days). Maybe it's one of my little quirks, but I wonder how serious about prepping one is if they can't go four days without being "entertained".

Even a one or two pound MacBook Air in your bag means:

• One or two pounds less of water
• One or two pounds less of food
• One or two pounds less of medical supplies
• One or two pounds less of defensive weapons
• Lugging along a power source that you would not need but for the computer (which takes away more space/weight from the above list).

If SHTF is anyone going to have time for diversions anyway?

If someone is going to dedicate scarce go bag space for a relatively large and heavy device that is of very limited usefulness, then ok I guess. We all got our priorities.

I'm just a bit shocked that any serious "survivalist" would go through so much trouble, to the point of excluding important supplies, for something that can only be considered vanity.

 

something that can only be considered vanity.

So a Merck Manual, "Where There is no Doctor," Where There is No Dentist," a Physician's Desk Reference, etc, have no place in a bob...since they're merely vanity. I'm certain carrying around those reams of paper is preferable.

Yes, Ed is a bit spontaneous, buying things before asking possible ramifications, not thinking through scenarios, and pretty much refusing to consider relocation before things get bad, but a multipurpose instrument isn't necessarily a bad idea...unlike living in urban California.

 

OK, so my cup holder goes, too... The line at Starbucks will probably be too long during SHTF anyway...

 

@ED GEiN what are you going to be using this laptop for? You are asking should you have more space but for what? This is a serious question. What are you thinking you will use this laptop with all that space for?

 

The post I quoted referred to entertainment, so that's what I went with. If you want to stretch that definition to include medical books, then ok, whatever.

But, and I'll say this for the third time since many seem to miss the point of a go bag, a go bag is a limited-purpose resource to get you by for a short time, typically 1-4 days, until the trouble is resolved or you have relocated to a safe place stocked with long term supplies.

It is not meant to be a "soup to nuts" comprehensive kit for every possible obscure situation.

That said, I'm unconvinced that a Physician's Desk Reference is something you'll need for a short excursion, but if you must have it along with a pile of other medical books, I suggest an Amazon Fire tablet or a Kindle. They cost less than a hundred bucks, weigh a fraction of any one printed book, and with conservative use will not need a battery fill up for a few days. They can hold more books than you'll have time to read in a year. If you want to travel even lighter, buy a cheap used smartphone and store your data on that. It's a far more practical method of accessing books than dragging along an entire laptop computer and the requisite power source.

I still think including a computer in a go bag, especially for "entertainment" purposes, is at best a very poor use of resources and at worst empty vanity. I am willing to bet a person with this line of thinking will not make it four days anyway, so they may as well go out feeling amused.

 

you've never been shopping with em or you would know how well i test them =)

and your point is well made