Myth: A GoBag is Just Camping Gear

GoBag.One™ | GoBag or Stay Home™

I’ve camped in sleet, heat, and everything between. A GoBag isn’t that. Camping is optional and scheduled; emergencies are mandatory and rude. If you treat a GoBag like a weekend kit, you’ll pack comfort and leave out the things that keep you moving, communicating, and alive when the plan shatters.

Key Takeaways

Different mission, different load: Camping optimizes comfort at a fixed site; a GoBag optimizes mobility, time-to-move, and problem-solving.
Life support beats lifestyle: Water, shelter, comms, medical, and documents outrank luxuries and duplicates.
Test under stress: Run timed drills. If your bag slows you down or can’t handle a wet night + cold morning, it’s cosplay, not kit.

Main Points

Myth: “If I can camp, I can evac.”
Reality: Camping assumes known weather, known routes, and a return to the truck. Evac assumes nothing. Your mission is speed of departure, safe movement, and 72+ hours of independent function while the world argues with itself. That demands redundancy in critical systems and brutal honesty about weight.

1) Water & Shelter First
Campers bring coolers and big tents. A GoBag carries treatment and protection: a bottle + filter, tabs as backup, and a compact rain/wind layer with insulation that still works when soaked. Your shelter isn’t a palace; it’s a heat and dryness plan. If your bag doesn’t handle a windy, 38°F rain at 2 a.m., it’s not a GoBag.

2) Comms & Power
On a campground, phones charge from the car and you chat at the picnic table. Under stress, towers choke and power drops. A GoBag includes a small radio (AM/FM/NOAA), a modest power bank, charge leads, and a discipline plan for screen time. Information is oxygen—especially for route choices.

3) Medical & Admin
Camping kits carry band-aids. A GoBag carries care: blister kit, wound cleaning, gauze, gloves, meds you actually use, and a tourniquet you’ve practiced with. Add copies of IDs, insurance, and contacts in a sealed pouch. Paper still works when batteries don’t.

4) Tools That Work in the Wet
Pretty knives and multi-tools love Instagram; real ones love mud and cold hands. Keep it simple and serviceable. If your tools scare you into “saving them,” you picked the wrong tools. (If you need a loadout primer, see the three-knife rule in the related Field Notes.)

5) Weight & Time-to-Move
Camp comfort explodes weight—chairs, heavy cookware, duplicate clothing. In an evac, the clock is your predator. The bag must shoulder quick, sit tight, and move clean through doors, stairs, and debris. If it takes you 10 minutes to leave because you’re sorting stuff, your bag failed before you zipped it.

6) Security & Light Discipline
Camps glow. Evacs go dark. Your light plan needs a night mode and beam control, and your bag shouldn’t jingle down the block like a keychain. Think through what you look and sound like at 1 a.m. If the bag makes noise, fix it. If your light can’t dim, change it.

Pro Tips

Run a 5-minute go drill: From couch to curb with bag, shoes, jacket, keys, and docs. If you can’t make the time, lighten and stage smarter.
Prioritize “wet wins” gear: Layers that insulate when soaked, fire that works with cold fingers, and water treatment that doesn’t clog after one muddy bottle.
Cut duplicates: If two items do one job, you’re packing fear, not capability. Keep one primary and one micro-backup for true criticals.
Rotate with reality: Seasonal swap—heat vs. cold, allergy meds, battery checks. Put it on the calendar and sign your name to the card.

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Myth: A GoBag is Just Camping Gear

Key Takeaways

Main Points

Pro Tips

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