To help you gather the items you might need to add to your bag I've put together the list below. Over the next few weeks I'll add a link from each item with more detail. Choosing your gear is a personal choice. To help you make your own decisions I sometimes refer to specific items like duct tape, but whenever possible I use categories of items like Lighting or Hats.
Primary Go bag checklist
- Bandana
- Comfort items
- Communication
- Deck of playing cards
- Distress signals
- Documents
- Duct tape
- Emergency blankets
- Face masks
- Fire kit
- First aid kit
- Food
- Leather gloves
- Hand sanitizer
- Hats
- Hygiene kit (partial)
- Lighting
- Maps
- Money
- Pepper gel
- Plastic bags
- Pocket knife
- Ponchos
- Prescription glasses
- Sense of humor, and patience
- Travel tissues
- Water bottles
- Waterproof matches
- Writing supplies
Secondary Go bag checklist
- Camping stove (small) and propane
- Clothes
- Cook kit
- Entertainment
- Food (additional)
- Hatchet
- Hygiene kit (full)
- Lighting
- Rope/line
- Repair kit
- Solar charger and battery bank
- Water filter
Additional gear checklist
Right next to the Go bags I keep camping gear that, if time allows, could be thrown into the car.- Additional food
- Additional clothing
- Boots
- Camping stove (large) and propane
- Car kit
- Lighting - lamps
- MREs
- Picnic blanket
- Portable stove
- Pry Bar
- Sleeping bags
- Sleeping pads or cots
- Tent (s)
- Traveling bag or carrier (if you have pets this may be the best way for them to travel)
- Water jugs (with water)
What can you do right now?
Click on the links above for each item to learn more about what kind of gear would be valuable in your Go bag. Keep this in mind, the goal is not to be done, but to do one little thing today that makes you better prepared for the future.If you haven't done so already, start with a bag to keep all your stuff handy.
