Best practices for physical and inventory management of a ready pack/bug out bag

Question

Hopefully this is acceptable. I figure this could be relevant as my bug out bag is essentially what I would bring on a camping trip (first aid, fire starters, some food, shelter materials, mess kit, survival knife, cordage, etc.) but my 'camping bag' is more of a stand-by for emergencies. So you can use substitute "bug out bag" with "camping pack" if you feel so inclined.

TL;DR

• How do you manage larger survival bags?
  • Since I don't use it every day and don't really have time to drill with it or whatever people do, I have an Excel spreadsheet so I can remember exactly what I have and where it is (not to be used in an actual emergency)
• Also looking for improvements to current design (I know what works for some, may not work for others)
• Noticeable flaws with my design? (aside from complexity)
• Is it generally better to have a modular system (such as mine) or multiple packs for different purposes? Money is a factor else I'd have seperate bags (24 hr, 72 hour, camping, urban get home, etc)

It's supposed to be a general bag, mainly a 72-hr SHTF pack but can also double for camping.

In my spreadsheet, I have info such as:

• Categories and subcategories (e.g. Water: Purification or Water: Storage)
• Brands/Models/Description/Features/Directions (e.g. Snugpak Jungle blanket, 24"x36" rated to 36 deg F, polyester, compressed to 6"x6")
• Item weight (in 0.00lbs) so I can track the overall net weight of the bag (using a postal scale)
• Expiration dates if applicable and a field that tells if item should be replaced soon (I have set to 90 days), plus another sheet that notifies if items expire within <1 year, <6 months, and <90 days which I aim to compress to one spreadsheet
• Item $ cost (for personal reason)
• Location within bag (I'm reworking this but maybe have a picture of the bag with each compartment labeled by a number, maybe with a color and buy the colored dots used for yard sales to I know where each item goes)
• Retailer (with link if applicable) where I purchased said item (for replacement or additional feature descriptions

A bit overkill but so far works. Does anyone else do something like this? Aside from not doing it, and I know most people don't do this, I'm looking for improvements/alternatives to make it easier.

My Current Setup:

• I'm using two bags: A 5.11 Tactical RUSH 24 main bag with the RUSH tier system attaching a 5.11 MOAB 10
• Bags are attachable to each other to create one large pack
• One bag is more of a 24-hr pack, the other is a compliment to make it into a 72-hr pack

Answer 1

You are overthinking this.

First: The dates on food, don't mean they are expired, they are the date the manufacture wants to you buy a new one if you haven't eaten it yet.

Are Dates for Food Safety or Quality?

Manufacturers provide dating to help consumers and retailers decide when food is of best quality. Except for infant formula, dates are not an indicator of the product’s safety and are not required by Federal law. Source

Second: One EMP and your excel sheet is useless. Depending on your tolerance for risk, plan regular hands on check and inventory. This might be monthly, quarterly or annually.

Thirdly: You want stuff that is going to be there when you need it. If you have items that need to be changed every 3 months, how much value will they be if you have to count on them for an event that happened the day before your planned to change them?

Fourthly: Your Excel sheet is crutch that might cost you your life. You need to KNOW where your supplies are, you need to be able to find and identify them in the dark.

Finally speaking to scope. It doesn't matter if it is a Bug Out Kit, or an emergency preparedness kit. One day your going to be outdoors with just what you have. It doesn't matter why you built, just that you have it with you.

What types of food make for good emergency rations that I can store in a car?

Answer 2

In my experience when people are trying to inventory personal gear with a checklist or spreadsheet it comes from inexperience with using the gear.

It you use it enough you will know which gear you need and which is just extra weight and what gear you might need.

At the start a checklist can be useful but after a while you will have a mental one because you know what gear you have used and therefor need and then any extra gear can be left behind.

Just store it in the same place in your backpack to make it easier to remember where you put it.

Answer 3

Maybe this is an obvious thing, but does your BOB have to be completely prepacked? (Or even, is it?) I.e. do you expect to need to grab this bag and have less than 60? 30? 10? seconds to get out the door? How much different would it be to have a packed bag of essential gear with open containers ready (but empty) to grab perishables / other kits? When I was a working EMT-P, we needed kits that we could grab in literally seconds. This required checking them before every shift. Which might be the kind of problem you now feel you're up against: how often do I check that gear is where I want it, repack for improvements / replacements, throw away expired consumables, etc.

If you expect that you will have even a few minutes to supplement a basic kit, you can have most common necessities (clothing, duplicate gear) pre-packed in a designated bag and then add in the exact additional things you plan on needing. Depending on your available living / storage space, one solution might be to have a designated, partially pre-packed BOB in the center of a well-organized, easily-accessible, and suitably-laid-out collection of survival / camping gear. This gives the benefit of having your emergency gear as part of your normal 'checking on / using camping gear' routine. Do you have a closet or wall you can designate as your camping gear space and organize accordingly?

This will change the constraints of needing to have a list of consumables you have to remember to check; the checking becomes part of your normal routines. This also means that your BOB doesn't need to be prepacked for every contingency (which may also be complicating your decision process).