Blue_cat's bag dump

I’ve been EDC’ing for the last several years, but never taken the time to “dump” my bag and document it all. My EDC load has grown over the year, and when it gets too heavy to carry, I weed it out to the necessities again. Recently, during a heavy rain, I set my bag down in some mud which is what prompted this full bag dump. I decided that this would be a good time to take a few photos and post it here on the forum.

Let me preface this by saying that I have two teenage children, so my EDC is low budget. Any free money I have gets eaten up by the teenaged monsters, so most of what I carry is things I’ve picked up either low-budget, free or from absolute necessity.

First off, I carry a CountyComm Gen 5 Bail Out Bag.





I’ve been carrying this bag for about two years on a daily basis to and from work. My line of work requires me to leave the office and work in the field, so when that happens the bag usually goes with me (mainly out of convenience, not so much work related use). Outside of work, I carry the bag occasionally depending on where I’m going and what I’m planning on doing.

I’ve been very impressed with this bag considering the cost. It has held up really well and offers all of the “organizational needs” I have. My only real concern with the bag is the lining in the main compartment. The lining is a black polyester lining which does great work protecting my items. However, with the lining being black it makes it very difficult to find items in the bag at night. If I had my choice, I would have used a light grey interior, but that’s just my opinion.

As I had mentioned earlier, I sat my bag down in some mud recently, which is what prompted this bag dump. After emptying the bag I threw it in the washer, hoping that it would survive. The bag came out in great condition and after allowing it air dry is back and fully operational. The one thing I did forget to do after washing my bag was re-spraying it with some water repellant. I treated the bag when I first purchased it, but after the washing, it will need to be retreated.

Next is the actual bag dump. I didn’t weigh my bag before dumping it, but I don’t really think that I carry that much stuff. But, when I laid it all out on the table to photograph, WOW, it looks like a lot.



Starting from the upper left corner and moving right I’ll list some of the items photographed:

• Emergency space blanket
• EDC toolkit
• Disposable tooth brushes (Colgate Wisps)
• Hand sanitizer
• Boo-boo kit
• Tech gadget bag
• 35mm film canister containing quarters
• Screw top canister containing extra batteries (CR 123, AA and AAA)
• Box of long pipe matches
• Pocket package of Kleenex
• Gerber “Flik” multi-tool
• Trauma sheers
• Lunch bag sized paper bags, folded down and rubber banded together
• 2 flashlights (5.11 ATAC A1 and Pelican M6)
• Plastic card (old iTunes gift card) with tape wrapped around it (Duct tape, electric tape and masking tape)
• Assortment of heavy weight ziplock bags
• Small Sham-wow towel folded and vacuum sealed in a plastic bag (very compact)
• 2 notepads
• Various ID cards and lanyards needed for different work functions
• Disposable hand warmers
• Freebie pens
• Work Force bag containing charger cords and wall warts
• Convenience items (two coffee condiment packs (sugar, cream, stirrers) tea bags (vacuum sealed) and coffee cup sleeve) which is stored in a black drink coozie, package of gum and Listerine breath strips

I try to use a “modular” approach to some of my EDC, in particular my toolkit, tech gadgets and boo-boo kit (does not qualify as a first aid kit by any stretch of the imagination).

For my toolkit and boo-boo kit I used cheap knock-off pocket organizers. My toolkit contains some paracord, bomb tech screwdriver (purchased from CountyComm), another little freebie screwdriver, a widgy bar, some safety pins and last but not least some zip ties.




My boo-boo kit contains an assortment of bandaids and small size gauze pads. I also carry an assortment of allergy pills, ibuprofen and antacid pills. All of my medication is in individual one-time use packages that were purchased at a local convenience store. I try not to carry any loose medication out of the package. I also have a couple rolls of gauze, some antiseptic wipes, some alcohol wipes and a pair of nitrile gloves. I also keep another small bottle of hand sanitizer and a small tube of sunscreen (this tube is SPF 30 which is better than nothing).




Both the toolkit and boo-boo kit are kept in the end pockets of the CountyComm Bail Out Bag. I have marked the boo-boo kit by replacing the zipper pull with a piece of red paracord tied in a lanyard knot. This makes it very easy to grab in a hurry and not confuse it with the toolkit which is in an identical pocket organizer on the other end of the bag.

My tech gadget kit is a cheap “car accessory” bag that I picked up at a local “close out” store here in town. It’s just a bi-fold zippered bag with mesh pockets on the inside. It’s perfect for holding USB drives, ear buds (that I don’t use often, but always nice to have when I need them) and a spare SSD card and adapter.




So, that’s my bag dump… Again, when the bag is fully loaded there is some open room and it doesn’t weigh that much, but then again I’m not hiking long distances either.

I’m open for comment and suggestions…

I thought about that after I had posted earlier... I do pocket carry a Kershaw knife and a small SAK on a daily basis as well as my iPhone and CCW.