EDC Bag Dump Contest: Ryan at TSLRF

This is the bag I carry basically everywhere. It is a merger of my everyday carry bag, survivalist 'get home bag and military assault pack. It has plenty of room for the usual civilian EDC lunch, laptop, paperback book, etc all for when I go someplace. Admittedly the ratio of stuff in there to spare room is pretty high but the stuff in there already covers many of the anticipated needs I would be putting stuff in there to fill the bag with anyway.

This system presumes I am carrying my normal EDC stuff and have servicable clothing/ footwear. I keep some clothes and footwear in the vehicle in case I get caught in swim trunks and flip flops.

My system is carried in a Tactical Tailor backpack. It is about a decade old so names and models have changed but I think they still make a similar bag. This thing has been used and abused and just keeps kicking. There is something to be said for buying nice once. I attached a water bottle holder, want to say Maxpedition but I cannot recall. (Alex note: Yep, it's a Maxped holder or knock off - I have the same one kicking around).

The whole system is shown on my HPG Serape.

Generally from left to right, grouped by rough system:

Food: I set this system up with the home made MRE day of food (oatmeal, ramen, tuna, granola bars, peanut butter) in the ziplock bag but ended up puttiing a bunch more stuff in there, plus an MRE plus a small baggie of granola bars and snacks that sits in the front pouch for easy snacking access. Without doing calorie math this is probably enough food to replace energy/ calorie loss in a high output environment for roughly 2.5 days. There is also a 5 hour energy shot in there. Also pictured are a plastic spork and a metal spoon.

Clothing: 2 pair of boot socks, a pair of nomex fliers gloves, a t shirt and underoos. Also there is a lightweight poly pro top and a fleece beanie. In putting this together I toyed with taking them out as well it is June in Louisiana but they are pretty light and small. Might be good to have in case I get wet and the temp drops a bit or something. The clothing currently rides in a white plastic trash bag in case my backpack gets moist.I would like to replace this with a USGI wet weather bag or similar civilian equivalent.

Over on the other side rolled up is a multicam soft shell type jacket. They are comfortable, breathe well and are good for wind as well as moderate rain.

Lighting: Shown is a Petzl headlamp and a little LED light. In making this my daughter got to messing with the small light and I found out it doesn't work..Next to it is a small bag with a variety of batteries (AA, AAA and CR2032) plus a bic lighter.

Tools: Ka Bar. I wanted a good fixed blade knife for this system and it seemed like a decent candidate. Certainly it was the best candidate already in my inventory. It is there for heavier survival type tasks my folder might not be ideal for. Also it is sharp and could hurt someone if needed. Given that this bag is often lying around here or there I want to stick to tools that are fairly low priced. Would be hesitant to keep a $400 Busse TGLB in here but a $50 Ka Bar is an acceptable risk.

I am looking at shifting up to a slightly beefier more survival (vs fighting/ general) type knife specifically one of those beefy British MOD Sheffiield survival knives or some sort of Ontario offering.

First Aid: I have a 'boo boo kit' with band aid's, tylenol, moleskin, liquid bandaide and athletic tape. The goal is to keep me walking and treat minor injuries. There is also a chapstick in there. Next to it are a pair of spare glasses and some ballistic eye pro.

Weapons Cleaning: A small cleaning kit plus a ziplock bag with an old toothbrush and some pipe cleaners. This is mostly because I use the bag for military applications as well as general/ survival use. Still being able to clean a weapon is a handy thing.

Honestly I dislike this kit and prefer the older ones with solid metal rods but well this one was handy.

Shelter: The system is shown on my HPG Serape. It is expensive but a real useful do a lot of things piece of kit. There is a generic casualty/ thermal type metalish blanket in the  middle and a survival solutions OPSEC poncho over on the right. Next to the poncho are 4 lightweight metal stakes wrapped with a wad of 550 cord and 2 bungie cords to aid in shelter making.

Between the poncho, serape and casualty blanket I have a decent 3 season solution for the South.

Communication: A couple 3x5 cards and a variety of writing implements. Also a piece of VS-17 panel for signaling.

Navigation: Compass, a Silva base model I've had for half my life. It still points north and is light n easy to stick anywhere. The 1 gallon bag has my navigation stuff which consists of a couple maps, a protractor and a couple pencils.

Water:a 1qt steel bottle with nesting lid. For resupply I have a Sawyer Mini water filter and a bottle of purification tablets.

Hygiene: I have a roll of TP for obvious reasons. 

Cordage: There is a wad of 550 cord in a small ziplock bag.

Self Defense: This system presumes I have my normal CCW pistol. Shown are 2 33rd Glock magazines and a G19 mag. They are empty currently. Also 100 rds of 9mm ball is there. I'm still sort of feeling this one out. Honestly I'm not too concerned about firepower but the idea from Ed's post to keep a couple extended mags seemed sound, the G19 mag is just in case I forget to bring a reload or otherwise need a normal sized mag. The ammo is enough to load the Glockamole mags and the spare G19 mag plus reload my 2 edc mags.

Honestly in my area if things developed in such a way I needed them there would be plenty of time to load them. I carry 2 mags for CCW so this is not a huge concern.Got to figure this part of the system out.

To Do (at some point or another):

Replace small LED light

Purchase USGI WW bag.

Get mag pouch to hold 2 extended glock mags. Probably load said mags. Figure out how I want to carry any extra ammo.

Replace plastic spork and metal spoon with 1x metal spork.

Replace cleaning kit with a better one.

Relook food and maybe remove some through attrition.

Add an IFAK for trauma. I have the stuff, just need to put it together and toss it into the bag.

Add a pair of cheapo foamy ear plugs.

Put a bit of cash in there. I typically carry $150-200 USD in my wallet but $40 in mixed bills with a few quarters wouldn't hurt.

Get a stuff sack for the stakes, cord, etc.

I am toying with putting a hydration bladder into this system. It would boost the water capacity a lot and be handier on the go. I have a minimalist camelback and a couple spare bladders so it will not cost me anything to try.

Discussion:

My concerns in rural Louisiana are not the same as many peoples. As such you can see it is far more outdoor survival oriented than on more urban concerns of riots and such.

This bag is rather militaristic and full of multi cam as well as various USGI stuff. That is because I am in the Army and A) this setup is dual use for comparable military and civilian applications.  B) It was largely put together of stuff on hand. Aside from duplicates (headlamp, water bottle, etc) the only stuff purchased intentionally for this kit were the bag and the HPG Serape. The rest was already on inventory.

If I was a civilian the bag would likely be a quality Kelty/ REI type day pack in an earth tone. Ditto for the multicam being replaced with green and the USGI stuff with civilian equivalents.

If folks were interested in setting up a similar system I would recommend they focus more on type/ capabilities of stuff than exact make/ model. No real reason you should get a basic Silva compass like mine over say a comparable Brunton model that is on sale.

From Alex:

Thanks for the entry! And a huge thanks for your service.

Since Ryan is using this bag for military field work, it looks pretty different from the typical everyday carry bag. In fact, this bag looks more like my bug out bag than it does my EDC bag.

When putting together a 'patrol pack' as Max Velocity calls 'em--a bug out bag or go to hell bag in my lingo, level 2.5 pack in Ryan's--a few things are going to make up the majority of your weight and volume:

• Shelter/Warmth
• Water
• Food

With ammo, first aid, batteries, tools and survival-type gear making up the rest. You can see that distribution in Ryan's pack.

For the average civvy, your likelihood of having to spend a night in the woods with only your EDC bag is pretty low. Even in an emergency, there's shelter/improvised shelter all around--getting to the point where you're throwing up a shelter is way down there on the likelihood list. Sure, you might use a few ounces to prepare for that contingency on a daily basis, but not 6 or 7 pounds.

Similarly, while you probably want some water and some food, 3 days worth of food and a bunch of water are overkill.

Now, if you were out hunting, hiking or (like Ryan) running military field exercises, that'd be a different story. Your likelihood of spending a night in the bush goes way up, and you'd plan accordingly.

Point is, given to his role in the military, the outdoor survival, bug-out-bag nature of Ryan's EDC bag makes sense for him. Most of this gear probably doesn't make sense for you to carry on a daily basis.

Along those lines, a few ideas for Ryan:

• 100% add a hydration bladder or just toss some plastic water bottles in. 1L of water will go very quickly in the Louisiana heat. I went through about 3L in 3 hours of yard work yesterday, and I live a few hours north of you. There is likely abundant water to be found in your area, but drinking potable water from a known source is always preferable and more convenient.
• Consider a lightweight hammock - if you are sleeping out in the field, can make life more comfortable, especially in bayou-land like Louisiana.
• Grab some Hoo-Aahs from the PX if you can, vs. the TP. They've even got aloe to soothe those sensitive areas.
• Field strip that MRE if you haven't already. They are handy for eating out of a HMMV, but not very weight efficient as-is.
• Since you're planning on adding some sort of mag pouch for the glock happy sticks, I'd look at the Costa Leg Rig, which I think you have anyways. Otherwise, HSGI is making SMG-sized Tacos, which could be belt-mounted via a Raven Moduloader or similar platform.

Multitools are one of the key parts of my bags...I'd find it hard to live without those, but to each his own.

I can't recall your EDC light set up. If you don't have a good Surefire-type light handy, get one. Doing pistol work with a headlamp is suboptimal.

And, since you're in the .mil and may have the luxury of dudes with NODS helping your cause, some variety of IR beacon or IR chemlights might be handy.

Tribe - what are your thoughts?