There are plenty of resources available to get a good understanding of preparedness. There are also varying levels of being prepared that you may or may not be aware of. Most people who overland are relying on what they have in their vehicles to survive for the time they are out adventuring. This gives a good basis for what we mean by preparedness. In my mind, there are levels of preparedness that I follow. In my case, there are four levels of a triangle. Each level expands on the previous with more and more capabilities. My end goal is to

As a quick overview, Everyday Carry, or EDC, are essential items that a person carries on them from day-to-day. I mentioned the three items that most people have every day in the preparedness triangle overview article. Outside of those three main things, several other things should be considered for an EDC loadout. While your EDC isn’t going to help you in a long-term emergency scenario, it should be stuff that is helpful in the short term. EDC falls into the smallest section of the triangle. Ideally, the items are carried on your person rather than in a bag. They should

Vehicle Everyday Carry (VEDC) expands greatly on what you carry on your person as well as keeps you prepared for events beyond what a traditional EDC would prepare you for. In my case, most of what I might need in the event of an emergency is already in my vehicle. My additional VEDC ends up being more safety and personal items. I keep most of my camping gear in stackable Plano Sportsman’sTrunks that are easily transportable if I’m getting away for a weekend. We’ve written about keeping a go box, which allows you to get out of town for a weekend

The next part of the triangle deals with having to leave a location and move on foot from A to B. Whether that’s from work to home or from a location in the woods to the nearest road. A Get Home Bag (GHB) and Bail Out Bag (BOB) are for similar situations but set up for different lengths of time. A Get Home Bag (GHB) and Bail Out Bag (BOB) as I see them are not the same things. My GHB is to get me from point A to point B in the event of an emergency in town. Point

The last and bottom part of my preparedness triangle is going to be a subjective one. As mentioned in the overview, this is going to come down to personal preference and what your plan is for emergency scenarios. The bottom part has two options, shelter in place (SIP) and not coming home (NCH). All of this information right now is basically just a plan. We haven’t started pulling everything together yet. However, with how things have gone this year because of the pandemic and instances of social unrest, it has put into perspective the need to have a solid plan