Gaye Levy
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Let’s face it. No matter how much we hope we will never have to evacuate the comfort of our homes, there is always a possibility that circumstances will require that we gather our emergency supplies and leave on a moment’s notice. When that happens, you want to be ready to grab your spouse, your kids, the family pet and a well stocked bug-out-bag with enough gear to get you by for at least 72 hours.
Where do you start? If you are like me, you started with a very basic kit using items you already owned. From there, you advanced to a more robust pack filled with the esoteric items of survival: an emergency radio, a tactical knife, some rudimentary shelter, a first aid kit, and fire-making supplies.
As easy as it may be to be smug in the knowledge that you now have a Bug Out Bag, over time you are going to want to refresh and renew, or even start over.
Today I am thrilled to present the Tactical Traveler Bug Out Bag from Ready to Go Survival.
The Tactical Traveler – First Observations
This pack is fabulous! Okay, I am done with my review. Just kidding, of course.
My first observation when I took Tactical Traveler out of its box was that everything arrived, all at once, pre-packed in a military-grade Rothco Medium Transport Bag. Now why is this important? Because when I order a “package” of something, I want it to arrive together not piecemeal over a matter of weeks. Plus, having everything packed inside the bag allowed me to see how to take advantage of all of the nooks and crannies of the pack and to maximize its space.
The stated weight of the Tactical Traveler is 20 pounds but just to be sure, I weighed it myself and yes, it was almost exactly 20 pounds. Weight is important because if the pack is too heavy, at best you won’t get far and at worst you will hurt yourself while carrying it. I took a 3 mile hike with the fully loaded pack and had no problems whatsoever. Granted, 20 pounds is not a lot of weight but at 105 pounds, I am on the small side and was concerned about carrying even 20 pounds without straining or tiring.
I need not have worried. The design of the pack is such that you can adjust the straps so it fits perfectly. The other thing is that the pack itself is narrow, meaning you can pass though narrow openings without bumping into the sides. The loaded pack was such a non-issue, carry-wise, that I ended up staying outdoors with the pack on, getting water out of a local pond (actually, quarry nine) and even playing ball with Tucker the dog on the green in front of my home.
The Gear
One of the problems I have with purchased kits is that often times the gear consists of cheap, no-name items being sold at a premium price Not so with the items in the Tactical Traveler.
Here is a complete list of what is included:
1 Mil-spec Rothco Medium Transport Bag
1 205 Piece First Aid Kit
20 Potassium Iodide Tablets 65 Mg
10 Ammonia Inhalants
1 Smith & Wesson Tactical Ops Knife w/ belt cutter & glass breaker
3 Wise Company Meals
9 Emergency Food Bars (3690 calories)-
20 Packets of Emergency Water
1 LifeStraw Water Filter
1 Tactical Flashlight 220 Lumen w/ strobe S.O.S.
1 Compass
1 Windstorm Emergency Whistle
1 SOL Emergency Blanket
1 Aurora Fire Starter
2 Disposable Lighters
1 Pack of Storm Proof Matches 25 pc
1 Pack of Quick Fire Tinder 10 pc
1 Roll Duct Tape 10 yards
1 Pack of Water Purification Tablets
5 6″ Glow Sticks
4 Sets of Ear Plugs
1 50′ 550 Paracord (my review kit included 100’)
10 Large Zip Ties
1 Steel Folding Trowel
1 Tube Tent
1 Mil-spec Poncho
1 Signal Mirror
1 SOL Sleeping Bivvy
6 AA & AAA Batteries
1 Pair Work Gloves
4 N95 Mask
6 Heat Packs
2 5′ Utility Straps
1 Fishing Kit
1 Uvex Goggles
1 Etón Crank Emergency Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power & Cell Phone Charger (add-on item)
1 Gerber Multiplier 400 Multi-Tool (add-on item)
I wish that Ready To Go Survival had been around with the Tactical Traveler when I was first putting my bug out bag together. It would have been a lot easier in the long run to start with all of the gear I needed, nicely organized.
What’s Missing?
No pre-packaged emergency kit will be 100% complete. With the Tactical Traveler I will want to add few personal items such as a flash drive with copies of important documents, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, pet food, No-Rinse bath wipes and prescription meds. And of course, my personal weapon. Extra clothing will need to go in a secondary pack.
It is worth mentioning that Ready to Go Survival will customize a pack for you. So, for instance, if you want 2 rain ponchos instead of 1, no problem. Just let them know.
The Final Word
The Tactical Traveler (or any of the other packs at Ready To Go Survival) would make the perfect holiday gift to yourself or to someone you love.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
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385 Responses to “Review: The Tactical Traveler Bug Out Bag”
1. Toilet paper
2. Hand wipes
3. Lucky compass.
4. My SAS book.
I would add some toiletries, snare type wire, few maps of the area topographical and city/street, small address book with pencil/memo inside, bag of personal documents for me and my children, 3 more ponchos, more paracord, our personal medicines, more sm throws, more mre type foods.
I would add TP and hacksaw blades or small folding saw
Hand gun, amo, TP, wet wipes
I’d add crank charge radio with USB charger and some stuffed animals for my girls as well as paracord, insulin, coins, paper money extra batteries and ammo
Great Site!! I would add TP and a Water Rocket.
I would add a roll of TP, personal meds, fixed blade knife, extra batteries, more paracord, handgun with extra ammo, prepaid credit/debit card, spare cell phone and battery, collapsible canteen, two pair of pantyhose (they work great as pre-filters or to keep bugs off you at night, plus they are great as a base layer in winter), all in large ziplock bags. And I’d add my IFAC to the outside of the pack.
Oh, and I forgot #13- a roll of quality toilet paper in a large ziplock bag.
carl
Gaye, I think the Tactical Traveler has a lot of good points,
I see several items I would prefer to have.
1. A small roll of small gauge wire. You’d be amazed how a little wire can come in handy in a situation and it’s small & light.
2. Aeronautical maps of the area (or areas) I live/work in. I make it a point to make notes on the map of other useable resources. Of course I’m in Utah, so out here we have more natural resources than Massachusetts. Even then, in urban areas and cities the aero-map can help a lot.
3. Zip Lock bags, different sizes. The sizes depend on the actual physical size of the Tactical traveler. When the contents are sealed inside the Zip Lock bags, it acts kinda like a dummy cord. Only dummies go hiking or camping without their external gear protected by dummy cords or the internal gear in bags. It keeps the gear together (lessening the chance of losing any) and keeps it dry. Even if your bag is water proof, it’s still not 100% waterproof unless it’s a backcountry expedition bag. BTDT. Redundency pays.
You can also use them as additional canteens.
4. Depending on how much room is in the Tactical Traveler I may add a small summer zippered wool throw. You have a bivvy bag, but when you’re in a crisis, I doubt you would have your ‘jammies with you, so you’d be sleeping in your clothes, likely. Do you want your bivvy bag to get it’s inside dirty? The wool throw/bag not only increases the thermal protection, but it is easy to clean.
5. I would replace the compass and signalling mirror with a folding Silva or Brunton compass. They are small, light, accurate, and they have a mirror. 2 in 1 deal.
6. Unless you are going around rescuing people, I’d have only a couple of the ammonia inhalants.
7. I’d replace the 50′ of 550 cord with 120′, daisy chained.
8. The poncho, if it’s anything like the one I brought back from the Army, works as a poncho and as a shelter. But keep the tube tent. Redundency pays….
9. Spare cell phone. Get a cheap Flip Top Trac Phone, buy a Double Minutes card at least 400 minutes. Also a charge cord and spare battery. And make sure you check the batteries and keep them charged. I found that Trac Phone may not be the most economical pre-pay phone, but they have more coverage than others. Verizon phones tend to roam on towers others than Verizon, and the same for AT&T. Trac phone contracts out to those people so you get more coverage.
10. A set of 3×5 cards with important information and notes written down on them (don’t rely on the Trac Phone or your cell phone memory for this). Names, phone numbers, any important notes, stuff like that, written in ink using a ball point pen. Then water proof the cards (laminate or use “Aqua Seal”).
11. I’d replace the notepad with a“Write In The Rain” notebook and the pen/pencil with a pressurized “Write In The Rain” space pen. But keep the pencil (really).
12. Moleskin. That’s a must for all survival, I think.
There might be more stuff I’d throw in there. I dunno.
Carl
Besides the personal stuff, I’d add a folding solar charger, Aquamira bottel, and a camp folding shovel.