What's In Your Go Bag?

By TLS

Go Bags, an often under appreciated and neglected item that most people likely consider ridiculous. Until it’s actually needed. Ask the LA fire victims what they think of Go Bags.

A Go Bag, in the simplest form is a bag or a box or a kit of extremely important vital items that one would likely not have time to grab or more likely would not have the presence of mind to grab in an immediate emergency. Go Bags can also serve for holding additional emergency supplies. You have emergency supplies, right?

A Go Bag could be as simple as holding additional needed medications. Some medications are dangerous to stop abruptly so having a backup supply is very important. In addition to this basic need, Go Bags can have all manner of rural or city survival gear as well as other emergency supplies.

Go Bags I think should reflect your position in life as well as your location. Additionally one should take into account current social, cultural, and political considerations of the area. Regional problems or risks should also be taken into account. Examples would be hurricanes in the southeast, tornadoes in the Midwest, earthquakes on the west coast, as well as fire concerns in the summer, power outages and freezing conditions in the winter, and of course there is always everyones favorite, flooding.

Ultimately though a Go Bag is meant to provide some level of safety and security when there is little to no time to actually pack for the current emergency or disaster. As a result a Go Bag might not necessarily be the best supplied for every situation, but would have enough to get a person through the initial days of most unexpected emergencies.

I believe a Go Bag should have a variety of items. Here's a list, in maybe a slightly prioritized order: bottled water at least a couple liters per person, water filtration and water purification methods, fire starting devices, medications and or medical supplies (antibiotics are often a good idea to have available), rain gear such as a poncho, a hat preferably with a large all around brim, space blankets, spare glasses sun and/or prescription, some form of high protein long term storage food at least a little bit, flashlights with extra batteries (don’t store the batteries in the ligbt), a durable knife, and possibly a firearm and yes extra ammunition. Lastly some amount of cash, or spare credit card, for purchases if available during this emergency. If there’s still room, a change of clothes.

This list could continue for quite some time but I think we hit most of the basics. Some of these items would need to be accessible for changing out due expiration dates. Much of the rest should be vacuum sealed to take up less space as well as provide for waterproofing.

A Go Bag is a piece of kit that one hopes to never need and ideally would eventually be considered a waste of time and money. But, if it's ever actually needed it could easily be worth its weight in gold. So, if you don’t already have one, maybe give it some consideration. A little bit of preparation now may be the difference between life and death later.