Winter travel gear...

[bigfoot]

We have been getting pounded by winter storms this week. Here's a quick rundown of what I have been carrying in the vehicle:

Cell phone w/car charger
Bottled water
Food and snacks
EDC/Bug-out bag
Warm clothes
Jackets, fleece, hats, gloves, waterproof boots
Survival kit
First aid kit
Assortment of knives, lights, and firestarters
Toilet paper

[Lugsalot]

Any pics of your setup as it is kept in the vehicle? Are these items kept in one spot (like the trunk), or spread out in different areas?

Would you mind giving a more detailed rundown of the contents of your various kits? Also, what lights and knives are part of your vehicle EDC?

Thanks in advance! :)

[ChopperCFI]

Since you are already carrying TP, here is a coffee can survival heater (http://www.equipped.org/coffe_can_survival_heater.pdf) that wouldn't take much more space.

[parnass]

I carry a blanket in my pickup truck in addition to spare gloves.

[bigfoot]

The survival kit and small first aid kit (guts from an AMK Solo) are sitting in a blaze orange MTM weather-resistant dry box. It's about double the size of a .30 cal ammo can. A good portion of the items are vacuum sealed and the box always sits in the trunk. I'll try to get some pictures and a contents list up soon -- been meaning to do that for a while.

My EDC/BOB is my Maxpedition Nucleus bag that has all the usual fun stuff: Leatherman Wave, Benchmade Mini-Grip, Surefire 6PL, Arc AAA-P, GPS, spare batteries for everything, flash drive, cell phone and charger, iPod, small first aid kit (another AMK Solo), compass, notepad, space pen, small Witz homemade survival kit, etc.

The water consists of one of the six packs of 0.5L bottles that are already shrink wrapped together from the store. Usually I have a couple of Gatorades with me, too. Food and snacks are either within arm's reach or in a small cooler in the trunk. Various maps and an old Mag 3D flashlight ride up front.

Clothing and boots... I wish I could say they were all neatly stuck in some special bin for winter weather, but nope... just loose in the back. T.P. sits in the trunk as does a backup personal hygiene kit. Never know when you are going to run out of toothpaste or deodorant in the middle of nowhere.

Come to think about it, this entire setup doesn't really change much for summertime, either. As you can probably tell, I spend a little too much time on the road! :buck2:

[bigfoot]

Thanks for the link to the coffee can heater and the blanket suggestion!

Definitely good ideas and if I really had to spend some time huddled up, I'm not so sure a Space blanket or an AMK heat sheet would be very warm.

(Off to go through the closet for an old blanket...)

[bigfoot]

Okay, I've got some pictures up along with a more detailed description of the gear in the MTM box survival kit:

http://edcforums.com/index.php?topic=14471.0

:)

[Russ]

My winter kits evolved after trips from SOCAL to Washington driving through the Siskiyou mountains between California and Oregon. Besides food and water, I keep a duffel bag with cold weather cloths, boots w/ extra socks, a +20 mummy bag, both wool & fleece blankets, a backpack in case I need to walk, camp stove with fuel and a large first aid kit. Basically I decided that if I got into some bad weather going through the mountains I wanted to be able to pull into a rest stop, dress for the occasion, cook a nice meal and go to sleep. Wake up, boil some water to make coffee and get back on the road.

That said, I take a close look at the weather before my trips and if I saw a storm coming through, I'd find a hotel/motel to camp in.

[bigfoot]

That's a great approach. The Siskiyou Pass can be a real nightmare in the winter; lots of times it's closed to anything but a vehicle with chains on. And if you do get stuck in a ditch or a snowbank it's a good to know there is a backup plan to keep warm. Amazing how quick the hotels fill up within an hours'+ drive in any direction when they close I-5.