---
title: "Go Bag Checklist with Weight Calculator | Pack Whistle"
description: "Go bag (grab bag) checklist for leaving home fast, with a typical weight for every item, the load per person, documents to copy and a door card to print."
url: https://packwhistle.me/go-bag-checklist/
---

Go bag and grab bag packer

# Go bag checklist: what to pack, and what it weighs

A go bag, or grab bag, holds what you need if you have to leave home quickly: water, snacks, medicines, a torch, a phone charger and power bank, copies of documents, cash, spare keys, warm waterproof clothes and a whistle. Lists from Ready.gov, the UK’s Be Ready campaign, Get Ready Queensland, NSW SES and the Australian Red Cross agree on those basics. The packer below adds a typical weight to each item, so you can see whether the bag is one you can actually carry.

## What goes in a go bag

Official evacuation lists overlap almost completely. The UK’s Be Ready flooding advice says to pack a grab bag in advance with medication, a first aid kit, important papers, a torch, drinking water, warm waterproof clothing and baby supplies, kept somewhere easy to reach. Get Ready Queensland’s evacuation kit adds food and water for three days, a battery radio, a phone with chargers and a power pack, spare cash, gloves, a face mask, toiletries, bedding and books and games. NSW SES adds spare keys, a whistle for signalling for help, maps and at least a quarter of a tank of fuel, and lists what to add just before leaving: phones, chargers, medications for 5 days and prescriptions, a small cool box for medicines that must stay cold, and baby supplies. The packer starts from those lists; untick what you don’t need.

## Water is the heavy part

A day of water at the US figure for three people outweighs the rest of their two bags.

A litre of water weighs about a kilogram, so a day’s supply at Ready.gov’s gallon per person is about 3.8 kg for each person, before food or anything else. That is why the default card is over its limit. **Worked example:** two adults and a child, a day of water and food, two bags. The water is 11.4 litres (11.4 kg), the food 1.8 kg, the two empty backpacks 2.2 kg, and the clothes, torch, radio, first aid kit, documents and the rest bring the total to 21.5 kg: 10.7 kg each, 0.7 kg over a 10 kg limit, with water 53% of the weight. The fixes are the ones the message suggests: carry less water and plan to refill, share the load among more people, or leave bulky bedding in the car. Canada suggests small bottles that are easy to carry. For carrying weight relative to your body weight, our sister site [Summit Cabin](https://summitcabin.top/) has a pack weight calculator built for hikers.

The item weights are typical figures for common products, labelled as such: a small LED torch with batteries at 150 g, a power bank and cable at 280 g, a waterproof jacket at 400 g. Yours will differ, so weigh the packed bag on a bathroom scale and adjust the limit until it is a bag you can carry for a long walk.

## Documents and copies

Paper copies matter when phones are flat and offices are shut. The Australian Red Cross recovery kit lists copies of passports and other ID, birth and marriage certificates, ownership documents for property and car, insurance documents, wills and important prescriptions, plus a list of important numbers and access details for bank accounts. NSW SES adds proof of address, a rental lease and landlord contacts, and scanning everything to the cloud or a USB stick. Ready.gov says copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records can be saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container. Keep them in a zip-lock or waterproof wallet in the bag, and photograph pets with you for proof of ownership.

## Children, babies and pets

For babies, pack ready-to-feed formula, nappies, wipes, a blanket and a sling, which the Australian Red Cross lists. A comfort toy and a card game help children through a long wait, as NSW SES suggests. For pets, Ready.gov lists a collar with an ID tag, a harness or lead, a carrier for each pet, food, water, medicines and records, and warns that many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside, so find somewhere that will take them before you need it. Get Prepared Canada suggests food and water for pets for at least 72 hours: 4 litres a day per average dog.

### Shopping for kit? Keep the newsletters out of your inbox

Some outdoor and preparedness shops offer a first-order discount code in exchange for an email address. A temporary inbox from [CleanTempMail](https://cleantempmail.com/) receives the code with no sign-up, and its messages are deleted after three days, so the newsletters that follow go with them.

Place the order itself with your real email address, so delivery and returns reach you, and sign up for official emergency alerts with your real phone number and address.

## Where to keep it, and when to check it

Somewhere easy to reach on the way out, which is what the door card is for: it tells anyone at home where the bags are, what to grab last, where to meet and who to call. Check the bag when you check the home kit: the UK checklist suggests every six months for expiry dates. Swap clothes for the season before winter and replace water you bottled yourself every six months.

## Common mistakes

- **A bag too heavy to carry.** Try it on and walk with it before you need it.
- **Medicines left in the cupboard.** Keep a few days in the bag, or a note on the door card to grab them.
- **No cash.** Card machines and cash machines may not work, NSW SES warns.
- **Documents in the bag but nowhere else.** Keep a second copy online or with a relative.

For the full stay-at-home kit, use the [emergency kit list builder](https://packwhistle.me/); to agree where to meet and who collects the children, the [household emergency plan](https://packwhistle.me/household-emergency-plan/).

General information, not medical or veterinary advice. If you are told to evacuate, follow the emergency services’ instructions; don’t delay to pack.

## Sources

All checked on 5 November 2026. Item weights are typical figures for common products, not official data.

- UK Government (Cabinet Office), Be Ready: [Flooding](https://beready.campaign.gov.uk/be-informed-about-hazards/flooding/) (grab bag) and the [Be Ready checklist](https://beready.campaign.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/252/2026/10/Be-Ready-Checklist_English.pdf) (15 October 2026).
- Get Ready Queensland (Queensland Government): [Pack a kit](https://www.getready.qld.gov.au/prepare/kit) (last updated September 2026), evacuation kit.
- NSW State Emergency Service: [Emergency kit](https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/emergency-kit) (no date shown).
- Australian Red Cross: [Get packing](https://www.redcross.org.au/emergencies/prepare/packing/) (survival and recovery kits; no date shown).
- Ready.gov (FEMA): [Build a Kit](https://www.ready.gov/kit) (1 July 2026), [Pets](https://www.ready.gov/pets) (20 March 2026), [Food](https://www.ready.gov/food) (12 March 2026).
- Government of Canada, Get Prepared: [Making an emergency kit](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/policing/emergencies/preparedness/get-prepared/emergency-kits.html) (12 September 2025) and [Pets and service animals](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/policing/emergencies/preparedness/get-prepared/emergency-planning-resources/animals.html) (16 February 2026).
- Denk vooruit (Dutch government campaign): [Stel je noodpakket samen](https://www.denkvooruit.nl/bereid-je-voor/stel-je-noodpakket-samen) (spare keys and a whistle in the emergency kit).

## Questions

**What should be in a go bag?**

Water and snacks, medicines and a list of doses, a small first aid kit, a torch and spare batteries, a phone charger and power bank, a whistle, copies of ID and insurance documents, cash, spare keys, warm waterproof clothing, toiletries, and supplies for any babies, children and pets.

**What is a grab bag in the UK?**

The UK Government’s name for a go bag: essentials packed in advance in case you have to leave quickly. Its flooding advice lists medication, a first aid kit, important papers, a torch, drinking water, warm waterproof clothing and baby supplies, kept somewhere easy to reach.

**How heavy should a go bag be?**

There is no official limit: it should be a bag you can carry for a long walk. Water is usually the heaviest item, at about 1 kg per litre, so share it between bags, carry less and plan to refill, or keep extra in the car.

**How much water should go in a go bag?**

Ready.gov’s work grab-and-go kit covers at least 24 hours, and Get Ready Queensland’s evacuation kit lists water for three days. A day at Ready.gov’s gallon per person is about 3.8 kg each, so most households carry a day and refill.

**Which documents should I copy for an evacuation bag?**

ID or passports, insurance policies, birth and marriage certificates, property or lease documents, wills, prescriptions, bank details and a list of important numbers, in a waterproof wallet, with a second copy online or on a USB stick.