Backpacking - backpack guns, that is....

[AJMD429]

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dut1V8ikO08

This guy seems to have a backpack-setup for every need imaginable (and some I can't imagine)...

There is some merit to a vehicle 'get home bag' and/or a 'bug-out bag' for some circumstances though.

Mine at this poinnt would be just a good first aid kit, some extra water and a change of warm clothes, plus a half-dozen loaded pistol mags. That would get me home from anywhere I drive, and I don't really desire to go anywhere else to 'bug out'.

[mickbr]

Add a half days food dried food, currency and copies of ID to your list doc and it pretty much equates the grab bags we had on jobs in the 3rd world. Light, handy, so it makes weight/storage limits on rescue vehicles/airlifts, also semi-disposable since if your vehicle is broken into or you have to leave it, you dont mind so much.

[AJMD429]

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...a spare pair of eyeglasses isn't a bad idea for many of us.

[jeepnik]

Before I retired I frequently drove up to a couple of hundred miles each way to reach customers. My biggest concern was getting home after a natural disaster(earth quake, flood or fire) or civil unrest.

The thing to remember is that both natural disasters and unrest are highly localized. But the old saying, hope for the best but plan for the worst, when preparing for either always applies.

Now I always drove 2 wd pickups. And as any experienced off-roader can tell you a 2 wd vehicle will go amazingly far with proper driving techniques. Still, stuff happens so I geared my emergency gear to having to walk that couple of hundred miles.

What you need are in order of priority, water, food, shelter, first aid and lastly firearms. In my case however those are all bumped down one spot and insulin takes the top spot.

Traveling on foot your biggest enemy is weight and the problem is that the usual top priority, water weighs much more per volume than most of your needs. And it’s the one need you’ll likely have to replenish on an extended walk

Those were my considerations when putting my emergency gear together.

[2ndovc]

Before I retired I frequently drove up to a couple of hundred miles each way to reach customers. My biggest concern was getting home after a natural disaster(earth quake, flood or fire) or civil unrest.

The thing to remember is that both natural disasters and unrest are highly localized. But the old saying, hope for the best but plan for the worst, when preparing for either always applies.

Now I always drove 2 wd pickups. And as any experienced off-roader can tell you a 2 wd vehicle will go amazingly far with proper driving techniques. Still, stuff happens so I geared my emergency gear to having to walk that couple of hundred miles.

What you need are in order of priority, water, food, shelter, first aid and lastly firearms. In my case however those are all bumped down one spot and insulin takes the top spot.

Traveling on foot your biggest enemy is weight and the problem is that the usual top priority, water weighs much more per volume than most of your needs. And it’s the one need you’ll likely have to replenish on an extended walk

Those were my considerations when putting my emergency gear together.

That's very close to my situation as well, with just a few differences.
I've been driving 4x4s since I was a kid, so that part is a constant.
I can also end up a few hundred miles from home and may have to hit the pavement, but I hope that won't be the case. For me that would be slow going. I've always thought that if it were a really serious event, all I had to do is make it to Lake Erie and "borrow" a boat to get me home. Faster than walking and this side of a lake freighter, there isn't much out there I can't run. A small sailboat would be ideal.
I have one backpack with spare socks, t shirt, etc. Spare medications, first aid. Though my first aid kit needs a rework. There's a solar charger/ light in a Faraday box. I have a small tote of food and always have at least ten bottles of water, usually more. As you pointed out though, water is quite heavy so there's a "Life Straw" in my pack as well. Water around here isn't a problem, but you still have to purify it. My thinking on the water/ food I have stored in the totes is; eat what you can, take what you can carry and leave the rest for someone who may need it.
Sometimes travel with my dog. I have a pound of dry dog food in my pack as well.
Firearms are necessary as far as I'm concerned. It won't take long before someone is going to try and take what you have. I always have my carry pistol, a full size 9mm and a Mossberg Shockwave. A couple of spare magazines and a mixed box of slugs, 00 and some bird shot should be enough.
It sounds like a lot of stuff, but it fits into my backpack.
I read a lot of post apocalyptic books, probably too many but pick something up from each of them.

Almost forgot a small fire starting kit and a couple good knives. A pack of utility knife blades in the bottom of a pack isn't a bad idea either.

jb

[AJMD429]

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My commute is 'only' 28 miles or so, but if a person has to walk that far, it is going to take a full day, even if the situation is calm enough you can just briskly walk down the main roadways. Plus - most non-hiking footwear is NOT up to that task, and/or in some of our cases, geezeritis has taken enough of a toll on the feet that that amount of sustained walking might make us pretty miserable.

Lots of stuff to consider.

Some friends who have long commutes have a disassembled bicycle in their vehicle for that reason.

[Paul105]

"geezeritis" - covers a multitude of maladies - love it.

[JimT]

Sometimes I carry almost that much stuff just going from the house to the shop!

[2ndovc]

That's good. I was starting to think I was just being weird, at least more than usual.

I did forget the footwear. Always have a good pair of boots and spare sneakers. I never know how bad some of the ins. losses I get into are until I get there. I'm kind of obsessive about multiple pairs of socks. I'm my early-mid '30s I did a lot of traveling in Europe. LOTS of walking. hiking, looking for memorials and bridges from the campaign across Europe. Most would be surprised how quickly a pair of socks wear out. On two different trips, I had to resupply on plain old cotton socks.

jb

[jeepnik]

My philosophy on traveling any distance, especially under adverse social conditions it spelled out in my sig line.

I was 18 when a very old sgt (maybe 24) taught it to me. By the way age has nothing to do with years. Those that understand know what I’m talking about.