What size bag?

[Guest Benelli Nova Guy]

I've been reading everyone's suggestions on gear and whatnot and decided its time to get one together myself. It'll be for me my wife and 20 month old daughter. I found some that look promising at Bass Pro. They're dimensions are either 12x12x24, or 15x15x32.

[Guest SUNTZU]

Best suggestion in this situation, is make sure you and your wife both have one, even if your wife is carrying less. Two is one and one is none. You will be carrying more since you have a 20 month old. I'd go with the larger bag since you will be packing extra for the child. Maybe just a regular school backpack for your wife. Just my two cents.

[peejman]

+1 to ^. Plan to revise the contents frequently as you already know how fast needs change with little kids. Backpacks are great with little ones because it keeps your hands free.

[Guest HvyMtl]

strong, durable, light weight, quality, hiking backpack sounds like the best deal. 1) weight is better distributed 2) hands free 3) practically designed to be a B.O.B. Then you find the bag that fits you, and one that fits your wife, within your price range.

[Guest Benelli Nova Guy]

I checked em out and they both have metal hooks on the bag, but plastic on the strap. It sounds like I'll need to make a bag of this size a vehicle bag and pack lighter for wife and I.

[Smith]

Make sure you get an internal frame pack. You can carry a lot more weight and not kill yourself in the process. That being said a 2-3 day pack will be about all you can carry with a child. Get your wife a 1-2 day and you should be set to go. Just remember the bigger the bag the greater the chance of taking too much unnecessary stuff. Wise planning and packing will make more difference than the size pack. There are some really efficient and knowledgeable guys who can take more useful stuff in a 1-2 pack than I can in a 4 day. Just a thought.

[Smith]

I should also add for the kid nothing is better than one of those baby sling things. You can make one yourself, but basically it's a strong piece of fabric you make into a sling. Cool thing is you can ride the kid in front, back, hip, ect. and the sling can be used in emergencies for many different things. You'd be amazed at how easy it is to carry a kid that way. I thought they were gimmicky till I saw African women tilling up fields by hand with 2 yr olds strapped to their backs!

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Hikers seem to like in the ballpark of 5000 cu in internal frame packs for multi-day trips. I have such a pack in dark gray from Cabelas that didn't cost a fortune and seems well made.

Read in a hiking book that camo is often 'noted' as odd by fellow hikers. It was also mentioned that non-nylon military-type packs tend to be heavy and non-optimal for long trips.

I'm dumb and dunno nothin, but in an emergency either a lot of camo, or bright yellow and orange equipment, might garner too much notice from fellow humans. One wouldn't want to be especially noticeable.

A how-to book oriented to wilderness backpackers would HAVE to contain at least some useful nuggets of info applicable to a bug-out situation. What kinds of stuff you really need bad enough to tolerate the aching back of toting it along.

It wouldn't be dumb to take the kit out for a night or two and a few miles on the trail to test out any theories. Or maybe just day-hike a few miles out in the woods with the loaded pack. That would definitely at least get the Campells Soup cans off the packing list.

Walking sticks look kinda dorky, but help balance a pack, keep you from falling off rocks on a hilly trail, and allow you to walk further with less effort. The collapsible aluminum ones are nice, and can also work nicely as tent poles and such.

[Guest SUNTZU]

You can use a regular bag because pack covers come in all colors.