I have talked about my day bag in several posts now so I thought I would share with you what the contents are and how I adapt it to what we are doing that particular day. I am always adding new items to my day bag that we discover we need for emergencies or just to have. When we go hiking or hunting, there are more survival type items in my bag that I will go over in another post. This post is more of my every-day-day-trip bag.
The bag part of my day bag is the first part that is adapted, depending on what we are doing. The bag on the left is a large fanny pack that my husband used to use for hunting. Now, it is used as a day bag for the ATV. The bag fits in my ATV trunk very nicely and keeps everything in one place instead of all over the bottom of my ATV trunk. The bag on the right is a backpack I use for most of our day trips. It has a lot of pockets and holds all of the contents you'll see below and also a Plano box or 2 with fishing lures. It also has comfortable straps so I can carry it on my back for a long walk comfortably. (No, you can't go to a Napa store and buy this bag. You have to know the Napa Man to get one.)
There are a lot of items in my day bag and you will see I use a lot of Ziploc baggies to protect them and keep them organized. The face wipes and the toilet paper roll in the Ziploc bag go in the ATV bag. The face wipes were added this past summer for long days on the trails riding behind my husband's ATV. The toilet paper in the Ziploc bag is for easy access because there are hardly ever public restrooms on a trail. The toilet paper in the food saver baggie (it's the flat thing the tp in the Ziploc is on) is for the big bag because that one usually gets used when we are near bathrooms, but it is always good to have toilet paper for emergencies. The Kleenex in the baggie also goes in the big bag. We just use the toilet paper on the ATV trips, but we aren't going to open the food saver bag just to blow our nose. We also carry a Lightload Towel (1 in the ATV bag and 2 in the bigger bag) just in case we need a little heavier towel for something.
I am kind of afraid of the dark. If it's a nice quiet night with nothing moving around I'm fine. BUT, if I hear something moving around in the darkness, I'm not having fun. To help with this, I carry a LOT of lights. The smaller flashlight goes in the ATV bag and all of the other's are in the big bag. I carry a little bit bigger flashlight, the blue lamp/flashlight, there are actually 2 hat clip lights in my bag and then my really awesome head lamp from Coleman. If you go night fishing with me, it can get bright in a hurry if needed.
This is what happens when you go through your day bags which she knows usually means she is either getting left at home or going to have fun soon.
I always have plenty of sunscreen with us. We each have sunscreen in our tackle bags plus what I carry in my day bag. Just because we have the sunscreen, doesn't mean we remember to use it though. Bug spray is another one we have with us at all times, but I always remember to use it (bugs are another thing that can ruin my day). I also bring a small tube of lotion which I don't use while fishing because I don't want the scent on my bait. After putting my hands in the water and dirt all day, tying fishing line and messing with worms and other bait all day, I really want some lotion.
I also carry a lot of tools. The multi-tool and pen-screwdriver stay in the big bag because we carry plenty of tools on the ATVs. I also don't carry the umbrella and hand fan on the ATV because we carry rain gear and the breeze while riding cools me off. I get hot really easy and then I get sick so I try to stay as cool as I can and the handheld fan helps this. The binoculars and pocket knife are handy on any day trip.
I use the bags bed sheets come in for a lot of things. I like the ones with zippers better, but I haven't had one of those for a long time. This smaller size one is great to keep my braces in.
I can fit my knee brace, big wrist brace, 2 small wrist braces (not pictured because I forgot to put them away after the last time I used them and now I'm not sure where they are), large ankle brace and 2 smaller size ankle braces all in this smaller sized sheet bag. I have been known to fall on a flat, straight path with nothing to trip over so I keep all of these close on any day trip.
This is my all-stuff-little bag. This bag is easy to transfer from one day bag to the other. I used to have one this size with a zipper but the side ripped out of it (that was a very sad day). This bag will do until it's time to buy sheets again.
The main part of the small-stuff bag and the part that stays VERY easy to get to is the bee sting supplies because most of my family is allergic to wasp & bee stings. I have the bite & sting kit (also good for snake bites), lots of band aids, Benadryl and meat tenderizer. The meat tenderizer is in that long food saver bag on the right. I'll have to do a post on how to seal a powder in a food saver bag.
I also carry hand warmers, Wet Ones, an Ace bandage and ear plugs.
Even though we usually have the spray bug spray with us, I usually have the Off towelettes and some bug bracelets just in case. I also have antibiotic cream (Neosporin), more band aids, Hydrocortisone cream and Zanfel cream. Zanfel cream is kind of expensive, but if anybody in our group ever gets into some poison ivy they will LOVE me.
I also carry a whistle (this one has a compass on the end, a string to carry it around your neck and the compass end screws off for a small storage space), a can opener, nail clippers, empty Ziploc bags and the makeup compact is carried for the mirror not the makeup. It is good to have a mirror for signaling and also fixing a stubborn contact lens and seeing if the bug you hit while riding the ATV made you bleed or left his guts on your face (yuck!). I also had a spare emergency survival blanket so I threw it in the bag.
I have some OTC medicine in my bag, too. In the green squirt bottle I have aloe gel mixed with some water (so it will squirt) for burns, hand sanitizer (for helping clean hands during a fishing trip or ATV trip at lunch time, this foaming style is very nice for this), eye drops (contact lens wearers usually carry these), pain medicines, Pepto pills, Tums and allergy medicine. I don't want a headache, muscle cramps, tummy troubles or allergies to get in my way during any fun trip. We also added the toothpick/flossers last summer when we kept getting beef jerky stuck in our teeth. I also carry a mini Tide To Go Pen because I kept staining some of my favorite fishing shirts. The pen doesn't take up much room and since I started carrying it, I haven't had to use it much.
I also carry plenty of Girls In The Outdoors stickers to hand out to people, because everyone needs one of those!
I will share more trip specific items in later posts. If I find something else to add to the every-day-day bag, I will also share that. What to you carry in your day bag that I should have?
