The G.O.O.D bag is what’s known to those paranoid survival blokes as the ‘Get Out Of Dodge’ bag. This bag will comprise of all the sharp and inanimate objects you would need to survive for 72 hours (and I quote) “off grid.”

My idea of this concept is a lot less masculine; less machete wielding through the jungle and hanging your bag of shit a mile away from camp. I think of it is a somewhat healthy exercise in the art of escapism.

“Escapism is the avoidance of unpleasant, boring, arduous, scary, or banal aspects of daily life. It can also be used as a term to define the actions people take to help relieve persistent feelings of depression or general sadness.”

Thing is, people look at escapism as a weakness, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand. And while things can’t be solved by leaving, it can sometimes help you solve them when you get back. Just ask my not-so-close acquaintance (and award winning author), Neil Gaimon:

“People talk about escapism as if it’s a bad thing… Once you’ve escaped, once you come back, the world is not the same as when you left it. You come back to it with skills, weapons, knowledge you didn’t have before. Then you are better equipped to deal with your current reality.”

You see, a packed bag to me, is what an airport is to others. A sense of going, of leaving to go somewhere presumably better than where you currently stand. A packed bag is a sense of purpose, representing the bare-minimum, the most valuable, the dearest possessions that you felt you needed to bring with you.

Is it a robust Northface Duffle? a Luis Vuitton? or is it a slim, or a slim designer-conscious rucksack. Either way, the bag you carry says a lot about where you are going, and what you are doing. A concept I love to pour over while people watching.

You know the movies where things get really bad and the protagonist decides it is time to leave town and they always grab cash, passport, some basic clothing and then before they are about to go out the door they remember something too important to leave behind? That reveals everything about them?

All bags essentially carry-(ha)-out the same function. A temporary house for your stuff. And yet you’ll rarely see the same bag twice which is kind of amazing in a really boring way. But yet, it is like someone who is interested in shoes or watches; they are simple signifiers of intent, wealth and destination.