My 72hr bag...well so far!

With our upcoming move I am not going to start every ones bags just yet. I have "started" mine, which will be more of a communal bag and pretty basic. Once we get settled and Jared and I both have jobs and know whats going on with our lives, I'll pick back up on it and get every ones started.

For right now though this is what I have.

This summer Meghan and I got an itch to go hiking, but between both of us working crazy hours we only made it out once, and that was just to the state park, which is just hills lol!

It did give me a chance to try out my new pack and some cool flash light things I found.

A lot of what can be found in 72hr kits can also be hiking/camping materials. So when I notice our Walmart was clearing out the "camping" stuff I stalked it like crazy. At the time I was not really thinking 72hr bag so there were things I should have gotten as they were at awesome clearance prices. Things like thick ponchos, weatherized undershirts and pants, drybags, hatchets, all kinds of stuff!

Some things I did get during the clearance though were-

My backpack

Camp Soap(small sheets)

Water purification Tabs

Generic first aide kit

Water proof matches

These were all awesome finds!

With this I have added other stuff-

Life Gear-Glow Stick flash light

Safty wrap(silvery blanket)

Tarp

Match container

Instant Ice pack

Cleaning tabs for my Hydration Bladder

Quick Clot Combat Gauze

1 Mountain Home Ice Cream MRE

Stinger waffles

550 Cord

Gerber

So let me elaborate a little and tell you why I have each of these things.

 Life Gear Glow Stick- Saw these and was intrigued at the multi purposefulness. I have a red and a pink. The whistle is kind of awkward to use but works well enough. I love the flashing or solid of the color part. The light its self is not all that bright. I used it at night and was just "eh" about it. I think they would be a good option for younger kids bags though.

Safty wrap- The one I have is similar to the link. It was in a first aide kit that was down to its bare bones so it went into the bag when I bought a new FA kit. We used on during our blizzard incident and it was pretty helpful!

Instant Ice Pack-Again part of the first aide kit. Just one of the ones you squeeze and it gets cold.

Cleaning tabs for Hydration Bladder- This is the brand I have although Im sure there are others out there. When you first get the bladder it will make your water taste like plastic. I recommend these for 2 reasons. 1 for cleaning so you not tasting plastic and 2 for bacteria or mold growth. My husband is deathly allergic to mold so its something I have to think about.

Quick Clot Combat Gauze- So this is kind of an odd addition. The only reason I have it is because it was Jareds. Ever soldier has to have it during deployments.

This stuff is pretty awesome though, should someone be injured and is hemorrhagic you put this on the  wound and it clots it. Jared says it burns the area around the skin though and gets really hot. When the medics take it off it will take some of the meat around wound. 

The site for the link just says $48, not for how much of it you get though, so Im not really sure how practical it is to buy and from that site at least, you have to have a military id.

Mountian home Ice Cream Sandwich and Stinger Waffles-I'll explain another time.

550 cord/para cord- This stuff is SUPER cheap at surplus stores. Mine is neon pink. You can make it into a super cool bracelet. Its pretty handy in an emergency situation. We also have like 30ft of it that Jared, again, somehow acquired. 

Gerber Tool/ Leather mans- Not sure which one Jared has because his was issued to him. My dad ALWAYS had one of these when I was growing up and used it for everything.  Again you can find them at Army/Navy supply stores or heck if you live near a military base there is a site called BooKoo that many military people use and they are always selling items.

Coleman Camp Soap Sheets- These were one of my clearance finds and that's the main reason I bought them. I honestly am not worried about hygiene during a disaster. My life is more important than how I smell BUT these are TINY so I figured why not!

Water Purification Tabs- I cant seem to find the exact ones I have but this is the jist of it. Mine is a 2 step process though. These bottles are smaller than fingernail polish so I think are a must in your 72hr bags. Yes you should have water in your bag but should you come across a body of water why not use that before using up what you have??

So as you can tell I do not have everything I listed in detail. Im thinking of doing my very first video for you all!! That will make it a little easier for you all to see what Im talking about!

Emergency NOM NOM NOMs

Food and water are going to be a top concern in instances of emergencies. Its one of those times that, if you are forced to leave your home, you may not know where or when your next meal is going to come from. Will there be a water source? Is that water source clean?

There are a few different ways you can stock your 72hr bags with food. 

You can pick basic foods normally found at your grocery store that will stay good for a while such as 

-granola bars

-nut mixes

-canned goods

-Microwave meals(some can be made with hot water)

You can go with foods found in outdoor/camping stores like the Mountain House line, which are pretty fancy MREs. They are pretty expensive though, you could probably try to find some coupons or buy a few when they are on sale.

There are also the traditional Military MREs. You can find these online and Im fairly sure at Army/Navy supply stores. These can be expensive too but I would honestly choose them over a commercial brand like Mountian House just because I know more about them. I would check the supply stores first if there is one near you, I would think you would have a good chance of finding MREs cheaper. It may not be a whole kit like they sell on line though. 

I've been lucky enough to have tried some MRE meals with Jared being in the Army. 

Spaghetti is not to bad. If you find one with the brownie stuff, EAT it lol! Most are edible enough if your hungry enough. 

One thing Jared did tell me though is that if you are not quite used to it, it COULD block you up a little....know what I mean??

He thinks its the "bread" since its really dense(it dries your mouth out pretty well) so I would just nibble on it, don't discount it all together though since its a good source of carbs!

Another component of the MRE(what ever type) is if you want your food hot. Now for me, food is food. Hot or cold, as long as I have food I will be fine. There are options though. What I have experience with are the "Flameless Heaters" that came with Jareds MREs. They are simple to use and get REALLY hot. 

What ever kind you get they can be used for other things too(they are a one time use thing though) like keeping your body warm in a pinch. 

They can be slightly spendy though so if it came down to it I would be buying extra MREs instead of the heater.

Then we come to water. Im finding out its sold in a few forms.

-Pouches

-(juice)Boxes

-Cans

All of these options, I feel, have a place and purpose. 

-Pouches- in our 72hr bags/kits. They make the most sense there for their size and weight.

-(juice) Boxes- In the car is where I would put these. They are perfect for kids and could be stored easily in car type compartments. 

-Cans- Either in your house or in a pre determined shelter you already have set. My in laws have property in the mountains that Jared and I have talked about as a place to go. Storing cans up there would be perfect, as long as we make sure to leave a can opener too!!\

Another water option is a back pack with a bladder. This is your run of the mill bladder. You can get backpacks with them or ones without(but still have a spot for them. Most packs that are made for them have a hole in by the shoulder area of the strap allowing for the hose to come out and then a loop on the lower part of the shoulder strap to secure the hose. 

Keep in mind though that a fully filled bladder can get kind of heavy. I filled mine at a festival for the first time and it was pretty uncomfortable to me. That could be the backpack though or my  bad back!

Along with this I want to mention having some sort of water purification. There are tools that you can buy to take with you that will purify like THIS but they are expensive and can be bulky. I would invest in one for maybe a bigger pack or shelter(like the land I spoke of), but for a 72hr kit I would say to go with water purifying tabs, smaller for your pack but they do take a little more "thinking" in making sure your doing the steps right!

I think thats all I can think of for right now for food stuff.

Really just do your research, find good prices, look around. You cant really go "wrong".