RECOIL OFFGRID Gear Conquering the Cold with the Vanquest IBEX 26
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Venturing out at the peak of the winter season can bring many challenges that we do not encounter in warmer conditions. Freezing temperatures bring snow and ice that can make navigating a familiar landscape challenging and turn our daily commute into a dangerous situation if we are not prepared. Gearing up involves ensuring we have appropriate clothing, outerwear, and footwear. Beyond ensuring our on-body gear is keeping us safe, we also need to ensure our Get Home Bag is ready to manage the harsh winter conditions.
A get home bag is designed to provide all the tools and supplies you will need to get back to a secure location. The challenge of building one is finding the appropriate balance of gear and weight. Unlike a bug-out bag, which is designed for three or more days away from home, a get home bag should contain about 24 hours of supplies. During warming seasons, keeping your get home bag light and nimble is simple, but the harsh weather and freezing temperatures of winter leads to the need for additional items — resulting in a heavier bag.
While many will not be concerned about extra weight in their get home bag if they are not traveling on foot, wintery conditions increase the likelihood we may have to abandon our vehicle and move on foot. Snow and ice will already make traveling on foot more difficult, and adding a heavy pack to the mix can be a recipe for disaster.
Mitigating this challenge is a two-part process. Smart packing and making use of multi-purpose items can help reduce weight. Second, choose a bag that helps safely manage additional weight.
Vanquest is a small U.S.-based company that specializes in making top-quality soft goods including backpacks, slings bags, and organization pouches. Beyond having a passion for excellent craftsmanship, each piece of gear Vanquest designs has a goal of providing solutions for common gear hauling problems. The IBEX series is a perfect example of the Vanquest ethos.
The IBEX series is available in a 26- and 35-liter options — for the get home bag, I opted for the 26-liter option to avoid overpacking. At first glance, the IBEX looks similar to many hiking-style packs with its tall narrow design, waist belt, and numerous external gear mounting options. This design style is ideal for safely managing a heavier pack, as the weight is better distributed and the hip belt allows the weight of the pack to be taken off your shoulders and moved to stronger muscle groups in your hips and legs. The shift in weight off your shoulders improves balance, reduces fatigue, and decreases the likelihood of muscle strain injuries. Like high-quality hiking packs, the IBEX has excellent padding on the straps and a stiff but breathable back for structure and comfort.
What makes the Vanquest IBEX unique is that it successfully blends the comfort and safety of a well-designed hiking pack with the toughness and organizational benefits often found in tactical-style packs. Unlike traditional hiking packs that employ a thin, lightweight nylon, the IBEX is primarily built with ultra-durable Cordura nylon that is both wear and tear resistant. The external MOLLE panels are made from Hypalon, which is resistant to the elements, continuous UV rays, and chemicals. Vanquest uses high-quality YKK zippers paired with Spartan zipper pulls that make rapidly opening or closing the pack easy in high-stress situations.
In addition to the MOLLE panels that pouches or gear can be lashed to, the exterior offers two pockets on either side that can house quick-access items and even expand to fit larger items. The pockets contain hook-and-loop panels, where optional accessory pouches can be added. The top of the pack offers one large pocket that also can provide access to the main compartment without having to unzipper the whole pack. The exterior also offers a number of attachment points that can be used to lash on items like trekking poles and hatchets.
The main compartment offers a mesh zipper compartment, secondary access to the top outside pocket, a back pocket that can easily fit a large laptop or water bladder, and MOLLE/hook-and-loop attachment points for additional organization pouches.
Many of the items stored in your winter get home bag will be valuable in any season, though some items may require special consideration during freezing winter temperatures. In addition to survival basics, additional items will need to be included to help keep you safe in the harsh winter weather. Let’s break down each of the categories to demonstrate where special considerations and additions may be required.
Fire
The ability to make fire is vital in most survival situations. Fire serves as a means of cooking food, boiling water, and producing heat. Fire can also be used to help signal for help and raise morale. In the winter months, producing heat if stuck outdoors is a top priority, and some special consideration is needed when packing fire-starting equipment for the winter. Standard lighters will not always work as well in the extreme cold. Electronic lighters can be an acceptable alternative, but batteries will also deplete faster in cold environments. We must also consider the high levels of moisture from snow, especially if it has begun melting.
Man-made tinder and chemical tinder will burn hot even when wet. Chemical tinder options can burn very hot and may aid in getting wet wood burning if no dry wood is available.
When searching for wood in snow-covered areas, it is best to try to find dead wood that is still attached to standing trees and off the ground, as they are likely to be less moist than wood found on the ground.
Another option is to soak cotton balls in WD-40, as they will be flammable and could double as lubricant for zippers and small tools. Learning to use a ferrocerium rod is especially valuable in cold and wet environments; it will still produce sparks in those conditions.
Water
Water is something we can’t go without for very long. When it comes to dehydration, many people immediately think of hot climates, but dehydration is as much of a threat in the winter as it is in the summer. The coats and heavy clothing we wear to shelter us from the harsh winter elements can also cause us to sweat once we start exerting ourselves, which can cause rapid water loss if we are not careful.
Stored water can freeze in our packs if exposed to freezing temperatures, so it is best not to leave your get home bag in your vehicle. When traveling outdoors on foot, the water should be packed closest to your body to help prevent freezing.
Wild water sources can be limited in the winter, and even if running water is found, it is not as simple as bottling it and drinking it. Even in cold temperatures, water can be home to pathogens that can make us sick. Purification or disinfection methods such as boiling, chemical treatments, or filters should be used. If you carry a portable water filter, it is important to know if it is rated for freezing temperatures.
Drinking cold water can also contribute to rapidly cooling our core, increasing the threat of hypothermia. Snow or ice should never be consumed for hydration for the same reasons cold water should not be directly consumed.
Shelter
Having shelter or carrying the items you need to make a shelter is an important addition to any survival kit. In the winter, we may be wearing heavier clothing, but sheltering ourselves from wind, snow, and freezing rain can help extend our ability to survive outdoors longer.
In the winter, we need to account for higher winds and the weight of snow and ice when building a shelter. This means heavy-duty tarps may be a better option than something thin. Ensure tarp materials that won’t absorb moisture, resulting in cold water dripping into your shelter as the interior area warms up.
Keeping your body off the cold ground is also essential, so plan on carrying or having the ability to create insulated ground cover.
Clothing
In the winter, we should be dressing appropriately even for a short excursion away from home; things happen, and you don’t want to be stuck out in the cold without proper protection from the elements. It is also vital to carry a spare set of dry clothes with you.
Wet clothing is a major contributor to hypothermia. If you fall into a body of water or your clothing becomes saturated with water or sweat, getting into fresh dry clothes can keep you alive.
Wool is an ideal material for winter use, as it can keep you warm even when wet. While it is still best to get dry clothing on, if there is no additional dry clothing, wool is a better option than cotton.
Keeping your spare clothing dry is important while your pack may be water resistant, but adding an additional layer of protection like a dry bag or even a tightly tied trash bag can help ensure clothing stays dry.
Navigation
Snow can make navigating more difficult. Even a familiar area can appear alien when it is covered in snow, especially areas that are less traveled. Paths and trails become impossible to see, and familiar landmarks can be obscured by snow cover.
Having and knowing how to use a compass can help give you a sense of direction while on the move. A stand-alone GPS unit can help guide you to snow-covered paths or trails, but like all electronics, it can suffer from faster battery depletion in the cold. If relying on electronics, always carry backup power and keep electronics and backup batteries as close to your body as possible to reduce battery drain from the cold.
Light
A method of light production is something everyone should have available in their everyday survival kit. Light is even more important for extended emergencies. One advantage to snow is that it is light reflective, allowing better visibility from both synthetic light sources and the moon at night.
When considering light sources, we must account for cold weather battery drain. Lights with alternate color modes beyond just white can help reduce glare from snow and preserve natural night vision.
Headlamps can be beneficial to produce hands-free light, allowing you to keep your hands in your pockets for warmth or utilize other tools.
Tools
Basic tools can make a big difference in survival situations and play an important role in our survival kits. Knives, multi-tools, saws, hatchets, and axes can serve just as well in the winter as they do in the warmer months.
When picking tools for winter survival, we should consider tools we can effectively use with gloves on. If we must take our gloves off to use a tool, keep in mind that metal handles can get very cold if exposed to the elements, so it’s best to pick tools with polymer or wood handles.
Food
Food provides valuable fuel to keep our bodies moving. In the cold months, we can see a significant increase in caloric burn to help keep our bodies warm, so having access to calories is important.
Wild food sources may be abundant in the warm months, but they can become scarce in the winter. Packing shelf-stable food items that are less sensitive to freezing can be beneficial. Like water, food items should be stored closest to your body to prevent freezing.
Self-Defense
Having something to defend yourself in an emergency is important. Keep in mind that some of these tools may be affected by freezing temperatures.
Pepper spray can be less effective in freezing temperatures, having diminished spray patterns, and canisters can be damaged or rupture in extreme cold temperatures. Keeping your pepper spray close to your body can keep it functional. Firearms can also be damaged or have performance issues with prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures. Proper lubrication and maintenance beforehand can reduce both corrosion and performance issues.
First Aid and Medical
Basic first aid items to treat a minor injury are a must for any survival kit. Additional items to cover more severe injuries can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency, but only have value with the proper training to use them.
Many disinfectants, like alcohol pads, can double as a fire starter in an emergency. Medications, especially liquids, can be susceptible to reduced effects if exposed to the cold for extended periods of time.
Bleeding control is essential when facing extreme cold, as blood loss can rapidly speed the onset of hypothermia.
In the winter months, it may be beneficial to pack more items related to slip-and-fall injuries, including splints and fabric wraps.
With a pack like the Vanquest IBEX-26 and some careful planning, you will be ready to face the challenges that come along with traveling during the winter months. While we all hope never to face an emergency, it is a far safer bet to be prepared with the knowledge, skills, and equipment needed to keep us safe should disaster strike.
See our full review of the Vanquest IBEX 26 Here
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Editor’s Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.
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