Whether you have a EDC bag or INCH bag you need pouches to organize, put kits together, keep smaller items from getting lost, attach to the outside of the bag, throw inside the bag to keep all contents water resistant in case of getting into the bigger pack in the rain. The bigger packs are also just as important. in regards to fit, size and function.
Bug Out Packs
Bug out packs should fit your exact body correctly to be carried correctly long distances. Weight is a huge consideration, weight should be carried as high as possible and as close to the body as possible. A person should only carry about 1/3 of their body weight for long distances. Carry high on your shoulders and close to the body. This should give you an idea of how much weight you might be able to carry, but doesn’t take into consideration age, body type, fitness and health. The bug out pack should be water resistant and have organizational options and attachment points on the outside of the pack.
Some examples of EDC bags that we like are: Maxpedition Falcon II, Maxpedition Falcon III and Atlas 24 hour Tactical Backpack and Vanquest Trident. We have not tried any of the traditional backpack camping packs. We like the toughness, water resistance and molle features on the outside of these packs. Examples of INCH bags that we like currently are: Molle II rucksack, Atlas 72 hour Tactical Backpack, military surplus ILBE main pack, Vanquest Gear IBEX and of course military surplus ALICE packs.
Pouches
Pouches should be rugged, water resistant, attachable to a pack or belt, adaptable to the desired use or for your specific desired use such as: medical kit (IFAK – individual first aid kit should open clam shell type fully with quick access to contents, should be able to be removed or deployed quickly, fire starting kit, coms kit (radio/battery charging kit), hydration kit, mess kit, notepad kit and hygiene kit . We prefer Maxpedition pouches for these things so far and for dump pouches as well. We also like Vanquest pouches for these kits. High Speed Gear taco pouches for magazines are preferred. Of course, the Condor Pack Insert to be the go to insert for the EDC bag.
Kits
Maxpedition FR1 kit makes an excellent medical kit pouch as does the Vanquest Fatpack (we like the orange interior to help find items fast and it opens fully), the Maxpedition Fatty pouch works excellent for a fire starting kit, Maxpedition Beefy works great for our coms kit to fit our Anker battery bank into, Maxpedition Notepad Cover holds all the Rite In The Rain contents, Maxpedition Proteus is great for a mess kit pouch, fanny pack or handbag, Maxpedition Tactical Toiletry Bag makes an excellent hygiene kit, Maxpedition Bottle Holder makes an excellent hydration kit or mess kit, we have gone with the cheaper Condor Molle H2O pouch for these two kits.
Medical Kit- Maxpedition FR1 or Vanquest FATpack should contain at least nitrile gloves, tourniquets, 3M transpore tape, flashlight, Vaseline guaze, sharpie marker, Israeli pressure bandage, Celox or clotting agent, bandage scissors and boo boo supplies like band aids, Neosporin, bandages, pain relief, allergy medicine, burn cream and bug bite treatment. You should have at least 2 complete kits with a large amount of gauze, tape and extra bandage supplies at base camp. One small would or cut can deplete supplies very fast. Also, the chances of getting a small cut can get infected very fast when bugging out.
Fire Starting Kit – Maxpedition Fatty pouch works great for this. We have a complete list of what we carry in this pack on our Fire Starters Kit page. As with the medical supplies, you should have 2 of these kits and a sufficient amount of materials at base camp.
Coms Kit – Maxpedition Fatty works well for our uses. We have a Anker battery bank that can charge a cell phone or other devices for about a week. This should include some spare flashlight batteries, headlamp batteries, all rechargeable cords and flashlight extras.
Rite In The Rain Kit – Maxpedition Notepad Cover holds a carpenter pencil, carpenter pencil sharpener, pocket knife, Right In The Rain pad and Right In The Rain pen.
Mess Kit Pouch – Maxpedition Proteus can be used as a handheld bag, a fanny pack with waist belt or a pouch. It will hold a military surplus stainless steel mess kit with silverware or a Stanley nesting pot with a Light My Fire spork and a GSI stainless steel large cup nested with the pot and a bandana.
Hygiene Kit – this kit is very important, cleanliness will be hard to come by when bugging out but it is the most important thing after personal protection equipment when bugging out. If you don’t keep clean then sickness and disease can take over and without medical attention it can be fatal. Maxpedition Tactical Toiletry Bag is great for a hygiene kit and should include at least: a fingernail brush, a polished stainless steel mirror, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, tweezers, fingernail clippers, toenail clippers, camp soap, Norwex antimicrobial washcloth, Leatherman Micra, Neosporin, vaseline and deodorant while it lasts.
Hydration Kit – We do not care for hydration bladder, it makes water easier to carry; however, it is difficult to clean. We prefer Maxpedition Bottle Holder or Condor Molle H2O pouch. This will hold a 40oz wide mouth Klean Kanteen, a bottle hanger, a bandana for filtering debris or keeping between dirty items, nested into a GSI stainless steel large cup, a Sawyer Mini Filter Kit, iodine water treatment tablets and electrolyte tablets. It can also be a mess kit pouch holding the Stanley pot, nested into the GSI cup with a pot scrubber and bandana.
Magazine Pouches – High Speed Gear taco pouches hands down. They are a bit pricey but totally worth the money.
EDC Pack Kit – Condor Pack insert works great to keep all the small items together to make things accessible in a hurry or switching from EDC pack to INCH bag much faster.