Packs

The pack is the foundation of a mobile kit, the one piece everything else depends on. Size it to the job first. Seventy two hours rarely needs more than thirty five to forty five liters, and a bigger bag mostly tempts you to carry weight you'll regret on foot. Fit matters as much as volume, since a pack that rides badly at mile two is a problem you can't set down.

Then match the pack to the situation. A get home bag should read as an ordinary daypack, plain enough to draw no notice on a normal commute. A go bag wants a real suspension, a frame or good harness, and enough external attachment to carry a sleeping bag or medical pouch where you can reach it. Durability is the quiet requirement under all of it, because a pack that lives loaded for years has to open and close ten thousand times without failing.