I'm an American, so not only do I have different weight measurements lol but I also have different needs for survival, and different equipment available to me, primarily firearms. But one thing we can definitely all agree on is that when you're talking about living nomadically in the wild you cannot bring too much stuff with you - if you can carry it. Personally, I am happy to lug a lot of weight around, and 45 kilos is not ridiculous to shoot for, given the right circumstances. Something as simple as a pack with wheels would be enough to alleviate the issue up to a point, but if you're deep trekking through brush, woods, fields etc. it's reasonable to assert that you should carry far more items then you would if hiking, camping or bushcrafting. For me, my kit actually is probably heavier than yours, because I carry a handgun and rifle anytime I'm getting away from civilization, and ammunition is very heavy. I also bring a lot of tools, because in America you have a lot of opportunity to tame and use the land and foliage to construct shelter. An entrenching tool, a folding saw and actual rope are must-haves. I also happily carry not just one tarp, but three lol One is a personal "emergency" tarp, just large enough for me, the other is for construction of a dedicated shelter as a roof, and then there's my ground cover, which is usually used for unpacking onto a neat, clean area. They all use the same grommet system, so I can easily lash them together to make a very long overhead cover, or even a decent sized, fully wrapped box with overhead flap. It is a lot of weight, but it's not too much when you're thinking about sheltering your family, too, whom are going to be with me should the worst happen and we need to flee our home. On top of that, I have a detachable bag that holds an additional layer, and I always have a jacket with me, either worn or stored in a vehicle. Instead of a change of clothes, though, I have several under layers that I can cycle through, and just put on the same clothes over it again. Even though I'm happy with what I have, and probably wont change it much I love watching videos like this and seeing what other people are doing. I hope I never have to survive in Australia lol but there are challenges there that can carry over to the states, so I'll probably be rethinking and reprioritizing some things, such as battery banks and other forms of power. Good thoughts all around, and definitely subscribing for more
Hiking is for enjoyment, survival is for life. The two cannot be compared. Bugging out to a location for long term sustainment requires a substantial amount of gear. If you’re concerned with weight I’d suggest changing your plan to bugging in. Great video!
Thanks for sharing. Difficult topic.......... But I would say the pack you carry is as heavy as the gear you NEED for the event you going for..... And yes, there are physical restrictions. I mean at the end it doesnt matter how many percent of your bodyweight your pack weighs. If you need 5 liters of water, you´ve to carry 5 kilogramms. Period. The RU-vidr "Grunt Proof", Randal, said once: if a few ounces are to much for you to carry on your back, you should add pounds in the gym.... Cheers from Germany
Thanks for the comment. Right on the money. You can only be so selective in the gear you take, there are always going to be some things you just *need* (like water) and that's going to add extra weight, like it or not. Train hard, exercise, practice, and survive
@@australiansurvivalist Right! Maybe some of the recommendations about pack weight are coming from the backpacking- hiking industry.... Can´t blame them for wanting to sell their light gear.... 😅
At the end of the day you are basically replicating a soldiers load mostly, similar usage and weights. I see your pack on you at 20kg add 1 Lt water. Heavy load. Average for 3 days in the Army in the 80s. A bit of advice. Move the sleeping bag location. Maybe a bigger pack, too, QLD an external frame less sweat more ventilation. A dos bag in a bivi can be just put in bottom of pack gear on top compresses it bivi will keep it fry if it rains. Minus the sleeping bag, your pack is a good height, to ride on webbing LBE. An Alice harnes, belt, 3 older style 1lt Aust issue water bottles. Your pack will ride on those bottles and be a lot lot easier to carry. Plus you git 3lt water, grab a cups canteen or 3 1 stainless other aluminium. You could set it up with a bum pack get some weight out of your pack get it on your hips. Get some 👓. Molle do a wrap around protect your eyes from the side they are rugged and you can have 2 pair 1 tinted . Suture kits. Disagree somewhat. If you can see it to sew you can clean it. Sewing it is a bit of a skill. But you can do about 3 stitches on yourself. No local of course. At which point your hands will be shaking so 3 4 is about the limit. Consider a Trangia. The cups canteen stove is a perfect height for a Trangis. 1 Lt fuel 1kg. It's also hand sanitiser, blisters, wash for hands before first aid. Rough ready but worx. Pack cover. Elastic sure it works. But look at Mil issue ones. Elastic AND straps. A good wind and your cover is off flying. Not the end of the world. You can get a few straps nylex buckles sew them on. 45kg. Tbh you need to be super fit to do. But you'll carry it a lot easier on a harness and pack. AND easier IF you go a ventilated pack with a frame. Even if you just get an ALICE pack frame cheapest option, use what you have and strap it to the frame. That's just my experience especially in 1. Summer, 2. Upper weight limits you'll sweat a lot less. I don't see any hydrolytes electolites a definite must. And a underwear mesh bag. Several pair of sox. Change at lunch break throw in the mesh bag attack to your pack outside so they can dry. Depends on the situation you may need to rotate them over a few days before washing them. In which case a half day pr can go 2 days icky yes but your feet will thank you
@CragDawgs no interest in being a you tuber tbh. But it's easy stuff to find. Just tool at pics of Cold War Soldiers. Vietnam is perfect. You'll see either Australian/ New Zealand troops with packs above Alice harneses. Riflemanmoore is a Brit reanacter. He has mannequins and will dive detailed vids of how the particular webbing is assembled. Visa vis my Alice advice. It's all basic stuff water bottles or bum pack clip to a belt. The belt clips to the harness. Pretty basic. If it's a bum pack harness clips to bum pack. You'll find how to do this online here. Any disposals store can sell you water bottles a harness etc. Or Facebook market place. Or you can buy it new eBay. Or FB marketplace you'll get a set in auscam cheap. If camo bothers you, spray it with matt enamel aerosol in coyote brown. Look up Dragon Suplies or Crossfire harness watch that. It's a more modern take, very expensive. You can get out of it a lot cheaper using surplus Alice gear. Probably find a set up of that if you can find an Australian Cadets webbing set up on RU-vid too.
@CragDawgs Brandon Pallandino 3.59 vid on ALICE harness 1980s. Different packs different height. Some ride well on 3 water bottles alone. Some ride better on a bumb pack. If your bothered as I said you can paint it. Or just pop a small backpack rain cover on it $10 eBay. Then it just appears to passer bys' as part of a pack. I do this catch a train do long 2 day hikes no dramas. Leave the rain cover off you'll at the very least have a how are you going mate chat with transport police🤣
G'day David, many thanks for the benefit of your experience mate !!!!! I do reckon its fair to say, .... lotta ways to skin the same cat. I've tried a couple of mates, A and H frame packs, I do appreciate the lower back strap/brace and ventilation, but gotta say, ultimately not for me. Personally I find 5.11 Rush 12 and Covert 18 much more comfortable with decent ventilation. Mind you, none of the above are water PROOF or come with a rain cover. I hate wear'n 'em, though a good poncho does the business ...... and with no water course between one's back and pack ; ). I do carry a sail and a smaller sewing needle and thread for gear/clothing repair. Haven't had to suture ..... yet. And in that case, if you carry gorilla or other cloth type tape, you can stick a strip either side of the wound and stitch to that, to bring the wound together, then wrap/bandage the whole shebang, to help keep the sticky in place and keep the muck out of it. Yep 45 kg range would be too much for me over distance; ...... thats like half a person, ..... It'd have to be a dire emergency to even think about it ; ) I reckon the hydro/electo sachets are the go, lighter weight and go further than the bottled stuff. Socks & jocks; .... yep dry comfort, ..... over stench, ....... you may remember the old joke .... just turn 'em inside out ; ) Hava good one mate. Cheers Duke.
I wore glasses for 26+ years. Finally pulled the trigger and got lasik eye surgery. Cost about $2k for each eye, but WELL worth the money. Best decision I made. No more worrying about glasses, contacts, etc. In a survival situation, not worrying about losing/breaking my glasses is a major stress reliever. As someone who felt the struggle of dealing with glasses, I'd highly recommend looking into it. Great video, though!
When I was young..in my 30's I packed 45Kg hiking into the Rockies 20km a day and 40Kg one day 80 Km hiking out.. Now saying that, my bud that smoked only carried 60% of what I did. I carried all the climbing gear and the tent.
First time watching your videos. Good content. Enjoyed it. I am going through this very thing right now. One pack for my survival pack and one for a day pack. I keep my packs in my truck because it is always with me. I like to spend time in the southwest because of all of the free camping and wandering on BLM land. I just retired and expect to stay out most of the winter. I have also purchased a Rokon motorcycle to help me go farther in my exploring once I get to a location. Look forward to watching your other videos.
i used my poncho to make a smoker to smoke fish, the smoke and heat caused the pu coating to peel away from the nylon, it wasn't a cheap plastic bag poncho, it seemed like a good idea at the time, looking back, i should have used my cheap, non waterproof chinese tarp, most modern gear is silicone or polyurethane coated for water proofing, it seems to me the chemicals in smoke will break down polyurethane
I've been experimenting with just clothing rather than a sleep system and at -7, your sleeping bag rating, you really don't need the bag. This means you can now carry the extra clothing which you really do need anyway. My opinion is that any bugging out means times have gone bad! When times are dangerous I don't want to be trussed up in a sleeping bag and I don't want to be sleeping with my boots off. Plus, need to be ready to just up and move. I also carry two water filtration systems. Enjoyed the video.
No Axe or saw? Just found your channel and subbed. I look forward to future videos explaining some of the individual items. Not really interested in the vehicle videos though.
G'day Jet, you dont exactly travel light mate, but hey you're quite right, planned "survival", especially over several days or more, does avail itself to a decent load out. I try to keep it under 15 kgs, (I aim for around the 12 kg mark), before food, water and bedding. Obviously you carry a break down bow, (I'm seriously think'n about it), as is, I go with a big blade of some description, (a parang or BK-9), a 5-6 in. belt knife and a folding saw. So it still comes out a bit over, or under, 20 kgs in the end. To be honest that's about as much as I'm willing to carry, ... over any sort of distance anyway. The great thing about skills is ..... they don't weigh anything ; ) It was Mors who famously said, "the more you know, the less you carry" ... personally, I dont think thats quite right, .... though I'm sure you get the point. Cheers Duke. P.S. For training; I've been known to wear my pack around the house and walk'n the dog, yeah I get some odd looks in daylight hours, but who gives a .................................... ; ) Incidentally, I recently saw a bloke on YT somewhere, doing push ups with pack on, ...... I thought, what a great idea, I'll give that a crack ..... lets just say ...... its a work in progress ; )
I'm also a work in progress ( very slow progress), anyway my plan is to eventually to use the treadmill and stair climb at the gym. Oh with my backpack on.
The issue with B.O.B. Or SHTF bags is you cannot pack a bag for every probability. A popular hiking phrase “You pack your fears” is a phrase used to encourage hikers to remove items they will never touch. I have an entire closet of camping gear “That I couldn’t carry with a wheel barrel” I can easily put a bag together for a weekend BUT that is assuming I know where I’m going… I have roadside emergency kits in every vehicle. I also have “Get Home Bags” in my vehicles. My Get Home Bag is all about putting down miles. Basically it’s a Poncho, a water container and filter. There is more to it but that is the basic premise Cover and Hydration, to self evac my way home. If I found myself Bugging out in my vehicle I empty my camping closet in to the truck and go. If I’m bugging out on foot 🤔 I would have to pack that bag based on what information I had at that time. That said I have a camping bag mostly packed already with items I use every trip, and in an emergency with limited time I would just grab it and stuff it with food a couple letters of water and go. That said that bag would start out heavy but would get lighter every day till I run out of food 😂👍 Long term food acquisition would be fishing🎣. I would also have some options for small mammals and birds but we all know bugging out into the wilderness and living out our lives as cavemen is not reality. You have to eventually find a community and integrate into it… that’s why the best SHTF plan is to circle the wagons with your neighbors and defend what you hold till society finds its way back to you.
Short distance pack weight doesn't matter, long distance 5-6 day sections, up/down mountains, temps to 10F, max pack weight is 32 lbs including 5+1 days food & water. My summer pack fully loaded down to 40F is 27lbs including 5+1 days food & water. A 3 day 2 night minimalist gear is 12lbs. No need to cook food so no stove but I carry Titanium cup in food bag. All gear sets covers the basics during the day Food, Water(+filter), Insulation(jacket/gloves), Hygiene, First Aid, Rain Protection. At night I need Shelter + more Insulation (ground & cover). Everyday carry in my pockets are Lighter, Ferro Rod/Striker, Compass, Whistle, Pencil Sharpener, Knife, Cash, Phone
When I was at peak fitness I could carry a 90 lb pack no problem (45 kilo). I weigh 150 lbs so that is way over half my body weight. The secret is to get a frame pack, either internal or external frame. You adjust your waist belt so your hips are carrying the weight. Your shoulder straps are only balancing the weight and not bearing down on your shoulders. I would hike the Utah mountains and camp out no problem carrying that much gear. If I had to use my shoulders to help carry I could not even do 45 lbs, maybe more like 25 lbs max.
Thanks for your comment. I did run an Alice pack (with a frame) for a while and I found my carrying capacity was much higher for exactly the reasons you've mentioned. If you can get the frame to stop squeaking, its actually a really good piece of kit. The 5.11 RUSH 100 Backpack (which is a aluminum / fiberglass hybrid frame) is my next choice, but I wasn't crazy impressed with the lack of compartments the pack offered out of the box. I feel like the RUSH 100 is one of those packs where you really need to utilise the molly if you want to build out any sort of equipment compartmentalisation, and that seems to be the norm these days on most frame based packs.
Anything under 20kg is doable if you're an average fit male. But if thats just survival gear, its not going to take much food and that weights going to increase very quickly. In my younger days i use to go on 2wk hunting trips, and for the first 2days (time it took to walk to "base camp") my pack weighed 50-55kg, plus rifle, plus water! I can tell you from experience if you have to carry that much you won't be going fast! And recommend not carrying your load for more than 4-6hrs as you need to give yourself recovery time!
For a long term pack... Yea... Weights bitch but unless you have some sort of pack animal, fairly unavoidable. You cant wait till winter to get your winter gear.. you have to have it all year.
If you start to need to carry over 20% of you weight…. Seems to me it is time for you to buy a trail pulley (trekking chariot ?) to carry all this gear ! It helps a lot, believe me !
If you are bugging out with people who aren't able to keep going, set up camp and rest. Tomorrow is another day, if you can as a group hike for 3 days and then have a rest day. The idea is to survive not kill yourself in one day on relentless travel.
Unplanned survival is uncomfortable. Planned survival needs to be well thought out contain as much gear as necessary for your long term survival success.
How about you take this bag / loadout and actually put it to the test? Put the money where the mouth is so to speak. Hike with it for a couple of days into a remote location one weekend - something that almost none of these survival channels ever do. Then you can come back, make a video on how it went, adjust accordingly and share what you learned. Now that would be some useful content. Experience is key, it's what separates real experts from theoretical ones.
I've done this a few times with a similar load out to this one, but unfortunately this was long before I started posting this sort of stuff to RU-vid. With all that said, we are planning to do some remote filming this year, its just a bit of a mission at the moment as I'm not a sponsored channel. It means taking some time off from my day job, which, with the cost of living right now, isn't particularly easy to do. Watch this space.
@@australiansurvivalist That sounds great man, yeah the prices of things these days are wild. I will subscribe to check it out when you get to do get to do some trips. One thing so many people never do is iterate on their gear selection, it makes a big difference
You have too many individual bags for items, it just adds weight and bulk, sure its nice for keeping things ordered, but i recon you have half a kg of useless extra nylon/mesh bags. A lot of your gear looks unused, it that why you still have the bags they came in? It looks like you just bought most of this stuff recently and never used it. No food or water? in the first 8 hours your gonna be in trouble. Gloves need to be 100 % leather for fireproofing. No machete, fixed blade knife, multi tool or axe? Olive oil on metal is going to go rancid, then stink and then promote rust. Bow hunting is not a very reliable way of getting food, for the space/weight a fishing rod and reel would be a better idea green sucks as a camo color, use light brown instead. You should engrave your full name on a hip flask and put it in your pack, that way when someone finds it, and your remains, it can used it as your burial marker and they can say some nice words and toast you, to thank you for the gear they get from you.
Thank you for your comment! I'd like to clarify a few things to ensure we're on the same page with all this. First, none of the gear in this particular bag has been used in the field. As I've mentioned in previous videos, when I find gear I really like, I often buy multiples. I keep one set unused in my SHTF kit(s), while the other stays in the bags I use for camping and field testing. This helps preserve the gear in this SHTF bag, keeping it in top condition for emergencies. Regarding the mesh bags you see, they aren’t original to the gear. I specifically purchase these bags to wrap items separately for a couple of reasons. They keep the kit quiet by preventing items from rubbing or banging together, and they also help organize the gear, making it easier to keep track of everything. This makes it simple to find what I need, even when moving items between kits. Yes, they add a bit of weight, but it's minimal. As I've mentioned in several videos, I fill my hydration bladders from jerry cans in my vehicle just before hiking out, so I don’t store them full. My kits also carry survival food, but as noted in this video, I removed that food before filming. My multi-tool and knife stay on my belt, which is why they're not shown in this pack video. The saw is in my partner’s pack, and I’ll be explaining how our kits work together in a future video. As for olive oil, it’s perfectly fine as long as you use a very light blend. I’ve been using it to treat knives for 20 years without any issues. However, a full-flavor olive oil can go rancid quickly and tarnish the blade. Finally, a fishing rod is useful only if you're in an area with plenty of fish. As I mentioned in this video, I do carry a fishing kit, but you don’t necessarily need a commercial rod and reel to fish. I’ve also been bow hunting for over 10 years, and it’s a reliable method if you know what you're doing and are in the right terrain, which is part of my bug-out plan. ~ Jet
Well tell me ? .... How maneuverable & fast Do you think you're going to be. When somebody is chasing you shooting at you and trying to kill you? And when you have to squeeze into small, tight places. How well are you going to be able to climb? Let's say buildings and trees with this.
Yes and I have your pack. Also means you're going to consume more calories and water doing it. The lighter your pack is the less calories you consume and water
