This Humble Backpack Could Save Your Life When the Big One Hits
Image: Jet Pack
By now, you already know that the Pacific Northwest is due for an earthquake of epic proportions. What you may not know is how to prepare for it. A Portland-based survival company used a rugged combination of Boy Scout know-how, military expertise, and personal obsession to create the Jet Pack Bag, an all-in-one kit designed to help you survive the Really Big One.
The result of a dozen prototypes, Jet Pack's simple black backpack is a comprehensive, 72-hour survival pack that contains survival essentials, including waterproof matches, a crank radio, emergency food packets, a water purification system, and a first-aid kit, all weighing in at about 12 pounds. Have a larger family or small children that can’t carry their own bag? Jet Pack offers a family-sized kit with extra goodies, designed to sustain two to four people for the same 72 hours as the original, single-serve pack.
Image: Jet Pack
Inspiration for the bag came when Jess Weinstein, the mastermind behind the Jet Pack Bag, was helping his son move out for college.
“He had a shit-ton of gear from just being a boy who collects everything through the years,” says Weinstein. “Gas masks, waterproof matches, machetes, and all sorts of things that little boys collect, and when he went to college there was all of this stuff in our garage.” So naturally, he curated, added to, and compiled the stuff into the Jet Pack Bag, priced at $299.
“It’s been a total labor of love thing,” says Weinstein. “I meet people who say, ‘I have all of that stuff, I don’t need it.’ Great! And there are people who are like, 'This is too expensive. Can I build it myself?' Absolutely. I will give you my list of everything that is in it, because if you want to build it yourself, I encourage you.” But for those who would rather have a “disaster personal shopper,” Weinstein’s your guy.
“This is a totally realistic concern,” says Weinstein. “When I tell people I am doing this that aren’t from Portland, they are like, ‘Oh, interesting. You are one of those crazies.’ But I’m not.”
No harm in being prepared, folks.
