A go-bag holds what keeps a person alive for 72 hours and can be grabbed in about 60 seconds: 1 L of water with a way to treat more, three days of no-cook food, shelter, a fire kit, first aid and medicines, a map and compass, a knife, a light, a whistle, cordage and clothing layers. A realistic packing comes to about 7-9 kg, well inside the 10-15 kg limit for adults, because carrying all the water for three days would add about 5 kg.
Part of Escape Route Planning
A go-bag is a pre-packed, personal bag of essential survival items kept ready for immediate departure, sized to the carrier’s strength and to the first three days away from home.
The Bag Is For Three Days; The Caches Hold The Rest
The parent article wants every bag ready to grab and move within 60 seconds, and lists the critical items: water, food, shelter, fire, first aid, navigation, a knife, light, a whistle, cordage and seasonal clothing, and then additional items if space allows. The weight limit is 10-15 kg for adults, and the reasoning is that you are fleeing, not relocating. What the bag cannot carry is left to Staged Equipment and the caches in Hidden Food Caches.
What You Need
- Water: at least 1 L in a bottle, plus purification tablets or a filter, as the parent article says. See Water Purification.
- Food: three days of calorie-dense, no-cook food: nuts, dried fruit, bars, jerky, peanut butter.
- Shelter: a compact tarp or emergency blanket and 15 m of paracord. See Tarp Configurations.
- Fire: a lighter, a ferrocerium rod and waterproof matches, all three, as the parent article advises.
- First aid and medicines, including personal prescriptions.
- Navigation: the hand-drawn route map and a compass.
- Tools: a fixed-blade knife, a small light or headlamp with spare batteries, a whistle.
- Clothing: rain gear, a warm layer and spare socks.
Method: Pack, Weigh, Cut
Step 1: Pack everything from the list into the bag.
Step 2: Weigh it on a scale or by hanging it from a spring balance.
Step 3: Cut to the limit. If the bag is over 15 kg for an adult, or too heavy for a child, cut comfort before safety.
Step 4: Test-carry for an hour on a rehearsal walk.
Step 5: Rotate. Replace food, water treatment and medicines on a schedule, and check batteries.
Step 6: Add a copy of the route map and the roster.
Worked Example: A Weight Budget And The Water Trap
The item masses below are my own typical estimates, not sourced; weigh your own.
- Water 1 L: 1.0 kg, bottle 0.2 kg, treatment 0.1 kg = 1.3 kg.
- Food: 3 days at 2,500 kcal a day (an assumed need) is 7,500 kcal. Nuts are about 6 kcal per gram (a figure I am recalling, roughly 5.5-6.5), so 7,500 ÷ 6 = 1,250 g = 1.25 kg. Mixed foods at an average of 4.5 kcal/g: 7,500 ÷ 4.5 = 1,667 g = 1.7 kg. So 1.25-1.7 kg.
- Shelter and 15 m of cord: 0.7-1.1 kg. Fire kit 0.2 kg. First aid and medicines 0.5 kg.
- Knife 0.25 kg, light and batteries 0.3 kg, whistle, compass and map 0.15 kg.
- Clothing layers: 1.5-2.0 kg. The bag itself: 1.0-1.5 kg.
Low total: 1.3 + 1.25 + 0.7 + 0.2 + 0.5 + 0.25 + 0.3 + 0.15 + 1.5 + 1.0 = 7.15 kg. High total: 1.3 + 1.7 + 1.1 + 0.2 + 0.5 + 0.25 + 0.3 + 0.15 + 2.0 + 1.5 = 9.0 kg. So about 7-9 kg, leaving 10 - 9.0 = 1.0 kg to 15 - 7.15 = 7.85 kg of headroom.
Water. The corpus’s survival minimum is 2 L a day, so 3 days is 3 × 2 = 6 L = 6 kg. Carrying all of it would add 6 - 1 = 5 kg to the 1 L the bag already holds, which is why the bag carries 1 L and the means to treat more, and the route is planned past water.
Common Mistakes
- Too much comfort. The first 72 hours need warmth, water and shelter.
- Duplicate gear in every bag with nobody carrying the group items. Assign shared gear (tarp, first aid kit, stove) across bags.
- Forgetting medicines. Prescription medicines are the item people most regret leaving.
- A child’s bag too heavy. Children carry less, in a bag that fits.
Safety
Fire kits, blades and bags near exits
Keep fire-starting gear and knives out of children’s reach and in a sealed container; store the bag beside, not in, the way out; do not store fuel in it. Medicines and water treatment tablets must be kept out of the reach of children, labelled, and rotated. Check dosing from the label; do not guess doses.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Staged Equipment — what waits along the way
- Combine with: First Aid — what the first aid kit needs to cover