That's the best thing you can do ahead of time. Many folks put together a BOB/GHB/EDC but never test the gear out in a situation/setting that is somewhat reality based. Several of us on the SEP forum get together throughout the year and do primitive camping out in the deep woods. This gives us an excellent opportunity to test the gear under real world conditions. It's allowed me to change or tweak the contents based upon that experience.
:wavey:
My bags have been tweaked a lot based on my camping experience. Some items that I thought would be used infrequently, I've actually used a lot. I bought a $25 battery/solar/hand-crank power lamp/AM/FM/NOAA radio. I thought that would be a just-in-case item, but I've gotten a ton of use out of it! Other things I thought would be useful, but haven't been. I brought a couple of logic puzzles (Block by Block) to keep my mind occupied when I had down time. I haven't had that kind of downtime at camp all year.
And there were other items that presented some challenges that I didn't initially expect.
Moisture is EVERYWHERE when you stay outside (at least here in the Northeast). Bug out BAG? Nope. More like Bug out BOX(es). Hard sided plastic boxes that offer some protection from the elements.
Strike anywhere matches? Not as easy to light as you might think. Or at least, not as easy to light as I had thought. (I actually might do a youtube video on matches and/or firestarting ...LOL)
Can openers? Good to have more than one, even if your backup is a Leatherman. I went to camp once to find the metal on my dollar store can opener was so degraded that it couldn't open anything.
Basic first aid? Unless you are backpacking and weight/space is critical, bring regular size bottles of Advil, boxes of bandaids, tubes of Neosporin, etc. When you are in a new environment, unexpected things happen, and that can lead to more ouches and owies than usual.
