“Prepared for the Unexpected”

When I was teacher working in rural Paraguay in my early 20s, I would often be unexpectedly stranded away from my home base.  Ever since then, I have maintained a bag — my Just-In-Case (JIC) bag — containing all the essentials I would need if away from home and civilization for a few days.  This bag has evolved over the years to what it is now.  Many of these items are included in my usual packing lists, but I keep this stocked bag just in case the unexpected happens.  

How do I use the JIC bag? 

1)  As an emergency bag.  It comes with me when I travel (except plane travel), go on road trips, and traverse to rural undeveloped areas.  It can also be quickly grabbed if I need to evacuate my home.

2)   As a minimalist camping bag.  Adding a little more food, stove fuel, and a small compression sack with my sleeping gear (one-man tent, Thermarest pad, silk cocoon, down blanket, and pillow), this contains everything I need.

3)   As a last-minute weekend travel bag.  When I use it like this, I take out the stove, water filter, and meal food, and add a change of clothes, a small makeup bag, my iPhone, and bluetooth keyboard.   Ready to go!

My JIC bag is a
21L Camelbak Helena backpack.

Amazingly,
everything listed below fits in it.

What’s in the JIC Bag?

(Descriptions and links to the following gear can be found HERE.)

Small Top Pocket:        

    • Leatherman Multi-tool  
    • Headlamp
    • Sunglasses    
    • Hair clip      
    • Earplugs
    • Breathmints in pill container
    • Dramamine/seabands
    • (USB power adapter for iPhone – only bring if in civilization and will need to charge phone)

Main Compartment:

    • Collapsible plate, bowl, cup + spork   
    • Emergency Bivy     
    • Small Compression Cube  (for clothes)     
    • Sawyer Water Filter with water pouch & backwash syringe (in Ziploc bag)
    • 16 oz. Backpacking pot & lid with Pocket-Rocket stove inside
    • Lightweight nonperishable food/drink mixes *  (e.g., freeze-dried meal, Clif bars, Gatorade packet)
    • Blue soap container:  Food & Fire
      • Waterproof matches/lighter 
      • Flint & steel  
      • Survival can opener/minispoon combo
    • Purple soap container:    First Aid
      • Variety bandaids
      • Single-use Neosporin, sting relief, burn cream 
      • Cleanser wipes
    • Small Eagle Creek Quarter Cube:   Toiletries, etc.   
      • Bandana 
      • Face cleanser wipes (3)   
      • 2-oz. bottle Dr. Bronner’s Almond Castille Soap
      • Shampoo (for one-time)
      • Travel-size toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
      • Travel-size deodorant
      • Folding hairbrush 
      • Travel container of Tylenol/Aleve
      • Travel-size sewing kit
      • Nail clipper
      • Tinted BB face cream with SPF
    • Small round container:   Coffee, tea, etc.
      • 2 Starbucks instant coffees
      • 4 individual flavored creamers
      • sugar packets
      • 1 regular tea bag & 1 mint or orange spice tea bag

Front Compartment:

    • Travel disinfecting wipes
    • Travel WetOnes wipes
    • Insect repellant wipes  
    • 550 cord
    • Emergency poncho 
    • Toilet paper (rolled inside TP roll)

    • In organizer pockets:
      • Waterproof card holder  (for DL, military ID, professional ID, debit & credit card, cash)
      • Small notepad
      • Travel tissue pack
      • Pen flashlight, pencil, multi-color pen
      • Stick charger for phone 
      • (In velcro pocket) iPhone charger, earbuds, earbud splitter
      • (Keys on key clip)

Front Open Pockets:

    • Luci Light   (secured to bag with carabiner)
    • Small scented trash bags  
    • (Collapsible sunhat)

Side Mesh Pockets:

    • Lexan bottle with measurements with carabiner
    • Collapsible 1L water bottle with carabiner

Clipped On:        (this makes these things easily accessible)

    • Hand Sanitizer  (e.g., Bath-and-Body Pocketbac Hand Sanitizer & holder)
    • Hand cream    (e.g., favorite hand cream in clip-on container)
    • Lip Balm
    • Dr. Bronner’s All-Purpose Soap  (in clip-on container)
    • Sunscreen
    • 6-in-1:  Compass, Thermometer, Magnifier, Signal Mirror, Emergency Whistle, Mini Flashlight 
    • Waterproof Watch
    • Mini Packtowel
    • Packable totebag  
    • Extra carabiners

Back Hydration Pocket:

    • (empty – use for hydration bladder or important papers)

* If primitive camping, I will attach an Eagle Creek small/half-cube with food to my pack with a carabiner