My GHB/EDC and Review of Fox's Medium Transport Bag

[LawDog76]

I apologize for the picture quality. I used my camera phone because I have been unable to find my digital camera.

This is what I call my Get Home Bag. I usually work with in 10 miles of my home so to some this may seem like overkill. There are times I may travel as far as 140 from home so I can justify to myself the need for all of the items in the bag.

I would like to add some "Quick Clot" and Headlamp of some type. Preferably one with a red diffuser for night use. Here's what I have so far.

Self Defense/Hunting

Sub2000 with 2 - 33rd Mags and 3 - 17rd mags
Gun cleaning kit with Rem Oil and Rem Oil Wipes
S&W 3" lock blade knife


Fire

2 Bic Lighters
Magnesium Fire starter
Waterproof Matches
"Strike a Fire" fire starter sticks

Water/Food

5 bottles of water
Sawyer 7/6/b Water Filter bottle
Stainless Steel water bottle (Not painted and no plastic lining)
Potable Aqua tablets
Iodine based water treatment tablets
Bandana
4 MRE's (few items added and a few taken out)

Shelter

Back packers tarp 5X7 with 4 aluminum steaks
3 Emergency Blankets
Hot hands

Additional Clothing

Extra base layer of clothing Wool and Polyester blend
Wool socks
YAKTRAX Ice/Snow cleats
Gloves
Poncho and Rain suit pants

Medical/Hygiene

Bio-wipes
Jig-A-Clean
Repel 100 insect repellent
Basic first aid kit
Neosporin
Blistex
Zantac and Tums
Basic mix of pain relief and allergy pills

Other items with misc uses


1/2 roll of duck tape wrapped around an old gift card
Super Glue
Leatherman
100' of paracord
3' of braided paracord (Used to keep my bag in place when it rides in the back of my truck. Also can be used as a sling to carry my sub2000 under my coat to make it more readily accessible.)
two carabiner rope tighteners
Compass
Battery flashlight and Solar rechargeable thumb light

It all weighs in at 32 Lbs placed into a Fox Outdoor Medium Transport Pack (Soon to be replaced.)

The bag held up fine while I would just carry it back and forth for home to car. I actually tried to using it one weekend and about 4 hours into the hike when we stopped for lunch, I noticed several rips in the bag.

They don't look as bad now because I used super glue hoping it would hold for the weekend which it did. I've e-mailed Fox Outdoors back on July 7th and they've promised a replacement but as of Nov 1st. I still haven't received it.

Today, emptying my bag for this post, I've notice a new hole in the bag. It's where the waist strap connects to the bag.

I'm to the point where I consider Fox Outdoor Products junk and their Customer Service a joke.

I may be replacing it with the LA Police Gear 3 Day Backpack or a 5.11 Backpack depending on the discount I can get on the 5.11 bag.

All questions, comments, suggestions and ideas are welcome.

 

[Icarry2]

Looks great, I don't trust the new water bottles because the plastic is so thin anymore, I forgot my YakTracks, I love those things.

I sent a nice little tattle tale email to Fox, hopefully they actually try to make things right. My bag has a small tear but nothing like yours.

Great work,

 

[LawDog76]

I've been using the Ice Mountain water in my bags for about 2 years now without an issue. I usually secure my bag so it can't move about my car or truck so that may be why I've never had an issue. If I do have one that starts to leak, I'll just transfer the water to one of the bottles I carry on the outside of my pack.

The YakTracks I couldn't pass up for $9.99 a each. The store had them tagged wrong so I grabbed a set for me and the wife. When I went back the next day they were still tagged wrong so I grabbed 3 more for the kids. I was going to buy a few more and give them to some of my wife's co-workers but by then the store corrected the price to 24.99.

 

[spearheadersarge]

Don't hold your breath on the LA Police gear bags. I bought two and after using one on a guard weekend, I noticed that the seams were ripping out similar to yours. Granted, I packed it like Army gear but the seams pulled in several locations. I am looking to get them repaired (double stitched) when a suitable place is found. YMMV but I wouldn't recommend for a bug out bag.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

I'm sort of surprised you don't have a canteen cup or Sierra Cup in your gear - unless you plan to heat liquids in your steel bottle? If you end up scrounging food, a stainless steel bottle won't work well to heat up canned stew or soup (for example) and a Sierra Cup doesn't take up much room.

Even the best packs can have stitching fail, especially if, like me, you tend to cram as much as possible into a pack. In a low-end pack, I check the interior seams and shoulder strap attachment points. Single-row stitching is OK as long as there is plenty of material after the stitching so it doesn't ravel past the stitches - which is what has happened to you. If you buy a low-end pack which works for you, plan to reinforce the interior and attachment stitching yourself.

A better option for something like this might be to look for a military-grade pack. If you have a problem with military camouflage, companies like CamelBak, SpecOps Brand, and SandPiper make military-grade packs in other colors (specifically Black and Coyote Brown). If you don't mind OD Green, I could probably put you in touch with someone who is getting rid of a CamelBak Raptor, which is very similar in size to what you're currently using (it's not me or anyone on INGO).

 

[Steve]

I ordered a 3 day pack from LA Gear for my grandson as a bookbag. After 4 months, some of the seams started coming apart. I called them and they said send it back, which I did. They sent me a brand new one at no charge ( including shipping). So far, after 3 months of daily use, no problems. And I guarantee his books are heavier than most BOB bags and have sharper edges. Gotta admit that I'm impressed with their cus service.