bug out bags and toddlers

hillman

hillman

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I have mine and my wife's bug out bags packed with three days worth of MRE type eat on the go food, as well as another few days worth of survival bars and all the other normal bug out gear.

My problem is I have a three year old. He is too small to carry much on his own so, not knowing if a situation happens when both my wife and I would be home, or just one of us, I packed three days of food for him in each bag, not just half in one, half in the other. Doubled up on shelter and socks/undies as well.

Problem is this starts to get heavy. I have one day of water pouches for 2 people in each bag, plus empty containers with life straws and tablets...

As he gets older this problem will start to get better but for now... How do you all handle bug out bags for little ones?
 
Tough one, I think you just have to suck it up until he is big enough. I would still get him a small back pack just to get used to wearing it and maybe put a little bit of weight in when you go out for walks now. I think I would keep a full separate pack for him in the vehicles though
 
They can carry some clothes and other bulky but non-heavy stuff.

The alternative is to "bug in".
 
I would assume an extra bag of stuff for him that either of you could attach to your bags at need. Maybe even two small bags to split the load when you are together and both fit on one bag if you have to. It also depends on your method of 'bugging out'. Walking, biking, driving? On road or off? What you want to carry for walking through the woods on a deer path isn't the same as walking city streets or sticking to seasonal roads, gravel roads, paved roads, etc... it all comes down to options. Maybe keep a wagon to carry stuff?

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk
 
I've got 2 younglings, I've got some extra clothes and slingshots for them feel like they are helping.
 
A 3 or 4 year old is not going to walk very far in the best of situations. Hiking with my kids...with or without packs...you can get an hour or two when you have carefully planned around meal times, naps and picked a fun spot in great weather...in that hour or two you are only traveling a few miles. Try to take off in the middle of the night or just before nap time and good luck as to what you might get! If you are planning to leave home during any type of emergency on foot I would want a big three wheel stroller or other alternative for any child...in winter I snowshoe while pulling a backcountry sled...4 year old will alternate between sled and using his own snowshoes but it is probably 90% sled for even a moderate trip out...it would take an awful lot to make me leave home on foot with kids but if I did there is no way I would count on them walking...they will volunteer and think is a great adventure...some combination of bribes might extend how far they go...but the pace of a 3 year old over any reasonable length of time is very very slow.
 
We hike often with him. We can usually get two miles out of him before he gets cranky. The plan is go by car, of course, but you never know. We also have a three wheeled stroller and a bike trailer. Believe me, hiking is absolute last resort.
 
hillman said:
We hike often with him. We can usually get two miles out of him before he gets cranky. The plan is go by car, of course, but you never know. We also have a three wheeled stroller and a bike trailer. Believe me, hiking is absolute last resort.
Click to expand...

mine is 8 and gets cranky around 2 miles[smile]
 
Put your gear in a wheelbarrow and put the little one in a pack like this:

buying_lg_backpack_carrier.jpg


See here for more info.

My thoughts only.
 
RickMac said:
A 3 or 4 year old is not going to walk very far in the best of situations. Hiking with my kids...with or without packs...you can get an hour or two when you have carefully planned around meal times, naps and picked a fun spot in great weather...in that hour or two you are only traveling a few miles. Try to take off in the middle of the night or just before nap time and good luck as to what you might get! If you are planning to leave home during any type of emergency on foot I would want a big three wheel stroller or other alternative for any child...in winter I snowshoe while pulling a backcountry sled...4 year old will alternate between sled and using his own snowshoes but it is probably 90% sled for even a moderate trip out...it would take an awful lot to make me leave home on foot with kids but if I did there is no way I would count on them walking...they will volunteer and think is a great adventure...some combination of bribes might extend how far they go...but the pace of a 3 year old over any reasonable length of time is very very slow.
Click to expand...

This all the way. Three kids and we all backpack every year. A nice jogging stroller has no substitute. And I mean a nice one. They're worth every penny and the resale value is great.

We had a BOB Ironman. Survived two of our boys and is currently on its third with a friends family.

http://www.bobgear.com/strollers/ironman
 
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I've got two pneumatic tire hand carts. The ones that have a bar that flips down in the front. This way I can stack at least two bag maybe more on one cart. I got the five of us to consider all over the age of ten and two that can shoot the other would if had to.
But this way we all can shoulder the weight of the packs if needed on the two wheeler's and if I had to strap one of the kids to it if they get injured along the way.

Jason.
 
Clearing out some oldies from the email bin. Saw this, and what came to mind is using a diaper bag as a "bug out bag". VERY discrete.

Those Radio Flyer wagons, or the bigger brother ones with larger tires could come in handy here, too.
 
Once he starts school, you'll probably have a backpack for school (pre-school here requires a change of clothes, etc). Get a similar one and fill it with food and socks, underwear in a survival situation is a temporary comfort. Extra shoes, have to protect the feet. You aren't going anywhere if the feet are jacked up. Carrying a toddler will really slow you down and you don't want to start anything with your kid covering your center mass.

I've also got a small trailer/cart. I use it around the house, but in a real bad situation, I could load it and pull it.

I have 3 kids under 6, so no way I could carry them. I have to keep them moving on their own if it came to that.
 
Get a cart. It worked for this guy:




Shogun Assassin

220px-ShogunAssassin.MoviePoster.png






Lone Wolf and Cub

230px-Lone_Wolf_manga.jpg




Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades

220px-Lonewolf3.jpg




http://www.videotapeswapshop.co.uk/...n-1980-directors-robert-houston-kenji-misumi/
… They were supposed to kill my father, but they didn’t. That was the night everything changed, forever. That was when my father left his samurai life and became a demon. He became an assassin who walks the road of vengeance. And he took me with him. I don’t remember most of this myself. I only remember the Shogun’s ninja hunting us wherever we go. And the bodies falling. And the blood.
Click to expand...




Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril

220px-Lonewolf4.jpg




 
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