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Wilderness Survival Backpack | Tips & Tricks for Bushcraft & Camping
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Feb 3, 2024
I go over tips and tricks of setting up a backpack for long-term survival, camping or bushcrafting. Modl Straps: https://www.modloutdoors.com/products/infinity-tool Check out the New Website! https://preparedwanderer.com Watch Prepared Wanderer on Roku and Fire TV: https://channelstore.roku.com/details/16655958b4bbac4534dfafedcd0069f7/eon-media Find products from this video here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/influencer20170928757/list/G2KB0QXOLW6D Prepared Wanderer FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1835005976546722 Prepared Wanderer INSTAGRAM: prepared_wanderer
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hey guys, back out in the woods today and I wanted to do a video today to show you guys
0:08
how I set up my backpacks for wilderness survival, bushcraft, camping, bug out, whatever you
0:16
want to call it or however you want to use it. This is how I set up my bags and there's a lot of do's and don'ts that I want to go over
0:24
so stick around, it's going to be a cool video. Now the first thing that you always want to have or I always want to have in my backpack
1:02
when I go out in the woods is I want a way of hanging my backpack and getting it off
1:10
the ground. Because right now I've got it sitting on the ground and if the ground is damp like it is
1:15
right now, that's going to be a problem, it's going to get my pack dirty, it could get the
1:20
contents wet but what I like to do is I like to carry these in all my bags and this little
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toggle rope that I put together basically is about a 3 foot long cord, it's got knots
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every 5 to 6 inches and on the end I've got a heavy duty carabiner that's at least rated
1:44
to 100 pounds. What I'm going to do is I'm going to wrap this around the tree, this is going to come
1:50
back and it's going to create a place to hang my pack, let me show you
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So obviously this is a thinner tree so it's not too big of a deal, I don't have to use
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the whole thing but that's why you have it 3 feet in case you get into bigger trees you
2:11
can wrap around those. But you put the carabiner on the closest knot that you can get to the tree and then what's
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going to happen is I'm going to take my pack and lift it and hang it from the carabiner
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Now I've got a way of keeping my pack off the ground but I can also get into it a lot
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easier I don't have to bend over, I can have it at a height that I can work comfortably
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with and I can see where everything is at. So what I want to do is I'm going to get this thing unloaded and I'm going to show you how
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I load a backpack of this size. So I've got all the gear laid out, this is typically what I bring on a trip with this
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kind of weather. So we're in January, it's like 35-36 degrees today so I've got my cold weather sleeping
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gear and I've got typically what I would pack in my backpack of this size for a 2-3 day trip
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And what I want to do is I want to show you not specifically what I carry, I'm not going
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to be talking about the gear in depth, I want to show you how I pack things in specific
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bags and how I load them into the pack because that's really important when you're setting
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up a new bag, right? You've just bought this new backpack, you get it home, you've got all this cool gear
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that you've been buying and now you're trying to figure out what the heck do I do with it
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You obviously just don't dump it in your backpack and head out in the woods
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There is a better method for going through this stuff and keeping it organized and having
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it packed correctly so it's easy to find and it's comfortable while you're wearing
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the bag. So what I like to do is I like to pack my gear into sub-loads and what I mean by that
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is I'm packing gear like gear, gear that is similar into packages that I can easily get
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to in my backpack. If you take all this stuff and just dump it in, it's going to be a mess and it's going
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to be hard to find. So by packing it into individual bags that I can easily identify with similar like items
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in that bag, it's much easier for me when I get to camp and I'm setting up and it also
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makes it easier if I'm setting up in the dark, if it's raining, if I'm cold, if I'm tired
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this all helps in setting up camp quickly and easily. So what I like to do is have everything organized in these different bags and then I pack them
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in a certain order into my backpack so that when I get to camp I know exactly where everything
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is at and they come out in a logical order of how I set things up
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And the way I set things up is my shelter is typically the first thing that I want to
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set up when I get to camp. So just going through this stuff briefly, one thing I like to do is I like to have my
5:17
bivvy bag and my sleeping pad together. So the sleeping pad is actually inserted into the bivvy bag and then I roll those two together
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that way the bivvy bag protects my sleeping pad from puncture. It's all together already, the only thing I have to do is unzip that bivvy bag, throw
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my sleeping bag into it and I'm ready to go. And what I've done is with this one I'm actually using these new straps from Modal
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These are their Infinity Gear straps. These things are awesome. It's a rubber gear strap that stretches and then you just run it through the metal loop
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and then hook it and then it stays and it grips. And it is so easy to set these things up
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If you guys have any experience with traditional nylon straps, they are a pain in the butt
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Modal just came out with these, I love these things. Just a really great way of keeping rolled up gear organized
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So this goes on the outside of my bag just because it fits perfectly there and I'll show
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you that as I'm loading. I like to keep my tarp in a bag that I can get to and then inside this bag is my tent
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stakes, my guy lines, and my ridge lines. So the entire shelter system is in one bag, easy to work with
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This is my, I think it's a 9x9 tarp from Helikon-Tek in the woodland camo
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So this is altogether my shelter. Of course my cook pot in a bag, but with cook pots you always want to make sure you're utilizing
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that space that's inside the pot. And in here I keep a little scrub pad and a washcloth that I can actually clean my pot with
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I've got my stove and then I've got my fuel. And this all nests inside the pot so now there's no wasted space
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So this container is my cook kit. Along with the cook kit you're going to have some kitchen items that you need to have with
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you and you're going to need food. I like to keep everything in a dry bag
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That way when I'm done cooking at the end of the day I can hang this from a tree if
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I'm in bear country or if I have raccoons or something in the area
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It's going to keep my food safe and it's going to keep the odor down
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So I keep my food items in this bag and I've just got a sampling of a few things
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So dehydrated meals but I also keep all my kitchen stuff in one bag
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I've got my spork and my folding bowl. I've got my insulated mug and then I've got some coffee and some different little condiments
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that I carry with me to spice up my food. And then I've even got a coffee filter and a drip filter to make a whole coffee
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So everything is in this bag together. A lot of my stuff is camo
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That's just because I prefer it that way. You can certainly color code your bags so different colors for different items
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So this is my kitchen bag. This is a smaller dry bag
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This actually has a t-shirt and socks so this is my change of clothes
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One thing you really need to be aware of when you're packing for trips is don't bring too
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much clothes. You really don't need that much stuff. I mean I know guys that bring like a change of underwear for every day
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You need a couple pairs of socks so you have dry socks the next day, a couple t-shirts
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and then maybe a warm layer and that's all you're going to need
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Another organization item that I like to have is what I call my possibles pouch or
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my survival pouch. This has all of the small little items that I would carry to start fire
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There's a way of sharpening my knife. So there's also water purification tablets
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So it's all those little tiny things that I don't want floating around my bag
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I want them in an organized pouch and I love these Maxpedition pouches because they have
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organizers that lays everything out so you can see it very easily and it has a good grab
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handle on it. My headlamp, I always keep it in a small nylon pouch
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This is like a cell nylon. That way it just keeps it protected and keeps the strap from getting tangled on stuff and
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I always know that by this size pouch, this is my headlamp
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Toiletry items, I like to keep them in a simple, clear bag that I can see into
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That way I can see the contents and I know if I need to refill stuff. I don't bring a lot of toiletries with me
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Toothpaste, toothbrush, contacts, some various medications and some solution for my eyes
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and that's about it. You don't need a lot of stuff for a two or three day trip
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First aid kit in a nice, brightly colored, identifiable pouch. Really important
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Toilet paper, I always keep it in a plastic bag that I can see into
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That way I can see how much I have left and it keeps it dry and it's a big bag so it's
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easily accessible. So when I'm doing my business, I can reach in there, grab what I need to, and put it away
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And I keep that with a plastic trowel so I can dig a cat hole
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Another thing I like to bring in my backcountry bag is a small grill
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I do a lot of cooking over a campfire and having a grill really makes camping a little
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bit more enjoyable. So I have my folding grill and it gets pretty grungy when you're cooking meat and stuff
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on it. So what I've done is I always keep mine in this Tyvek bag
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I got this at the post office. These things are great. They don't tear, they don't rip
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They keep the contents of the grill inside the bag so my backpack does not get dirty
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or filthy with all the gunk on there. And of course the last thing that I carry is my sleeping bag
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This is the cold weather bag from the military, the army sleep system
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And what I do is I always get a nice compression sack for my sleeping bags
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If you don't have one, I highly suggest you do that because sleeping bags, especially
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winter sleeping bags, are going to take up so much room in your backpack that a good
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compression sack is going to manage that size by compressing the contents into a smaller size
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Now what I want to do is I want to show you how I load all this stuff into this backpack
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because this is a very typical bucket style backpack where everything is going to be sitting
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on top of each other. And you want to be thinking about how you're going to load this where a lot of the bulkier
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heavier items are at the bottom and the smaller, lighter things are towards the top
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But also you want to be thinking about the order things go in if you can organize that way
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So obviously the first item that's going to go in here is the biggest, bulkiest thing
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that I have and that's my sleeping system. So that goes in here and then I shove it in and I turn it so it's laying down so it's
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not sitting up, it's laying down so it's covering the width of the pack. That way I have a nice stable base while I'm loading my backpack
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Now next thing I'm probably going to go for is my food bags
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I'm not going to be accessing the kitchen food stuff right away so those can go down
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on top of that. I squish them down. Before I get too carried away, I take my grill and I'm going to shove that towards the back
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against the back of the backpack. Now this backpack has a rigid frame back so I'm not going to feel the contents of the
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bag against my back so it's protected. So the grill goes down there
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Then what I'm going to do is I'm going to use my cook kit because that's not something
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that I need quick access to. Then I'm going to put my tarp towards the top and then the very top of this I'm going
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to put my fleece shirt because this is something I'm probably going to grab if I'm on the trail
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and I get cold and I want to add an extra layer. I can open up the bag, take this out, put it on so I don't keep this in a bag
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I keep this rolled up at the top and that kind of keeps everything compressed
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So you can see shirt's on the top, tarp is the next layer so when I get to camp I open
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this up, I got my shirt, I pull my tarp out, everything is in here
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This is the first thing that I'm setting up in my camp
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Once the tarp's done, I'm going to take this blue tarp that I have everything on, that's
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typically on the outside of my bag, that's going underneath my tarp so I can start putting
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gear down. That's when I take out my bivvy bag and my sleeping bag and I start setting up my shelter area
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So what we do is we want to make sure whatever backpack you use you get everything nice and
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tightened down when you're loading. There's a reason they put all these straps and cords because it helps manage the load
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keeps it from flopping around so everything is tight in there. Now I've got all this little stuff, where does that go
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Well, most hiking backpacks of this size have a top pocket
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And on my pack I have all the little things that I need to get to when I get to camp in
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my top pocket. So I've got my possibles pouch, toilet paper, first aid kit, toiletries, then I've got my
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headlamp, I've got a small lantern that I carry, my trowel
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Everything is in the top lid of this backpack, all that little stuff is not floating around
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in the main body of my backpack. Ok, now I've got a couple things left, water bottles
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I like backpacks that have water bottle pockets on the outside, I don't like my water bottles
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on the inside of my pack. I don't always use a hydration bladder, I've had issues with them, but if I have to carry
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a lot of extra water I will take a bladder, but typically I take bottles and then I treat
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the water before it goes in the bottle either with tabs or a small filtration system like
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a Sawyer. So on this Marine Corps pack it's got a nice deep water bottle pocket and what I like to
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do is, a little trick, is to run your compression strap through the handle of the water bottle
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that way you do not lose it because you think you've got stuff secured but when you start
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walking and hiking things will come loose and they can fall out
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So on this side I've got my water bottle, flip the pack around, this pack is designed
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to carry long things so I've got my silky saw, it goes down this panel and then I run
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it all the way down to the pocket below it and then I put a string or a lanyard on the
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end of my saw, that way I can run it through another compression strap as a way of dummy
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cording it to the pack so if it does come loose for whatever reason I don't lose it
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while I'm on the trail. Now my knife, I would typically carry this on my belt but maybe with this hip belt on
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this pack I may not be able to do that so sometimes what I do is I will actually either
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put this inside the pack or if I have a good clip system like on this knife, I can run
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that through a compression strap, lock that down and that's going to be on the outside
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of the pack easy for me to get to but it's secure enough that I'm not going to lose it
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And the last thing I do is here is my sleep pad in my divvy sack, that goes on the outside
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of the bag because it fits perfectly there, it helps put the weight towards the bottom
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of the pack. You notice I don't put this underneath the lid at the top, I don't want the top of my
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pack overly heavy, I don't want it overly tall. That's a mistake I see a lot of people do is they start loading stuff up on top of their
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packs, they strap things to the top of their packs and now the pack is very tall and heavy
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at the top and it makes it unwieldy. I like everything low, center of gravity so that's why I put my sleep system at the very
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bottom of my bag. One thing that I really want to stress when you're setting up a backpack, and I see this
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all the time and it just drives me crazy to no end, don't put so much stuff on the outside
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of your bag. If you have to hang things off of your bag, extra pouches and pockets, things dangling
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one it's noisy, two there's a good chance you're going to lose those things because
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they're going to get caught on branches and be pulled off of your pack and it's just silly
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So what you really need to do is you need to buy the bag that is going to fit the gear
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that you have. If you have to have all this stuff on the outside, your pack is too small
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Don't try to squeeze by with a small day pack and go on a three day winter trip
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You need a bigger bag. You want to be able to be comfortable, you want to be able to be warm, and you want to
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be safe. So having a good sized backpack, even like this ILBE, it contains everything I need
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I don't have to worry about leaving something at home and then being cold or hungry
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I've got all the gear I need. So always buy a bag that is right sized for your trip
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Okay, got the pack loaded. Now this thing weighs in at about 27 pounds dry weight, no water
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How are you going to get that pack on you easily? There's a lot of different tricks and tips on how people do it
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I kind of manhandle it, but what I like to do is bring it to my side, I bend my knees
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and I pick up the pack by the straps, and I kind of put it on my knee right there, and
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then I put my hand through, I lean into it, I pull it around, I grab my waist strap, finding
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my strap, now I've got it on. I've seen people do an upside down method where they pick up the pack and they flip
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it over. For some reason I don't like that, I can't get my head around that, flipping my bag over
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with my contents of everything kind of moving around. So this works for me
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So now I've got the pack on, how do I fit it
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How is this pack going to become more comfortable? Because right now, the way it is, it's not comfortable at all
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There's a lot of adjustments on this thing, and the first thing I want to do is buckle
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my waist strap, it's loose, grab the ends, and I'm going to cinch it in as tight as I
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possibly can. What's happening is, I'm bringing the hip belt around, it's sitting kind of on top of
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my hip bone, or my pelvis, and then what I'm looking for is this strap right here
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So see that strap right there? This is going to pull the pack into the belt, that's important
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I grab one, and tight. Do the other side, same thing. You can do that at the same time
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So now, that is cinched towards the belt. Now, the pack straps are loose
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What I'm going to do is, take these straps, and I'm going to pull them down
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Okay. There we go. Pull that tight. Grab this one. You may have to lift up the buckle a little bit, but you want these tight because that's
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bringing the pack towards me, so now the pack is brought in and up
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And then the very last thing that I do is the sternum strap
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I've seen people talk about cutting off their sternum straps, not using them
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There's a really good reason why sternum straps are on backpacks, especially of this size
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Because what they do is, when you buckle them, and you pull it tight, it pulls in the straps
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So now the straps are in, they're up, and the weight of this pack is now more on my
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hips and not on my shoulders. That's where you get the fatigue, that's where you get the pain, is when the pack is not
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properly adjusted and pulled tight, you get that pain. So the hip belt, all that weight is going to my hip belt, it's transferring to my hips
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and that's where I'm carrying my weight. And when I'm hiking and walking, I bend just a little bit at the waist so that weight is
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going down. Alright guys, hope you enjoyed the video. As always, thank you so much for watching
25:04
Please share, like, subscribe, all that good stuff. Also, check out the affiliate links down below
25:11
Amazon store has a lot of this gear that I showed in it. Also, check out the Facebook group, that is getting huge
25:17
Lots of great additional content on my Facebook page and my group, so please join that
25:23
And as always, thank you so much for watching The Prepared Wanderer. We'll see you next time
25:47
♪♪��
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