Choose Storage for the Load You Actually Carry
Make a Foliage bag for your early supplies, then craft a Sling bag when you want wearable storage. Among the larger options, favour a Backpack for total capacity or a Trauma rig when reducing the burden of its contents matters more.
The early crafting instructions follow demo 7.0.1 guidance, while the comparison includes older Scav Prototype item values. Check the tooltip in your installed build before swapping equipment. For the full game, use its own item values when they differ.
Compare Bags, Wearables and Other Storage
Read total capacity and maximum item weight separately: spare capacity does not make an oversized item fit. For the loot options below, search container crates, drop capsules and life pod chests. Treat that as a search priority rather than a guaranteed drop.
| Option | Capacity | Item Max Wt. | Bag Wt. / Load Cut | Carry Slot | How to Get It |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backpack | 7.50u | 5.00u | 1.00u / 45% | Back | Search container loot |
| Bandolier | — | — | — | Other container category | Search container loot |
| Belt | 4.00u | 4.00u | 0.20u / 60% | Belt | Search container loot |
| Bucket of no chicken | 3.00u | 3.00u | 1.00u / 10% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Cardboard box | 4.00u | 2.00u | 0.30u / 25% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Duffel bag | 5.00u | 2.80u | 0.90u / 45% | Back | Search container loot |
| Fanny pack | 2.00u | 0.80u | 0.15u / 65% | Torso front | Search container loot |
| Foliage bag | 4.00u | 2.00u | 0.75u / 25% | Inventory container | Craft: 1 Rope + 2 Canvas, INT 5 |
| Grav-Bag | 5.00u | 4.00u | 1.00u / 100% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Leg pouch | 3.80u | 3.00u | 0.50u / 75% | Thigh | Search container loot |
| Liquid pouch | 1000mL | — | 1.60u / — | Torso front | Search container loot |
| Material pouch | 5.00u | 0.25u | 0.75u / 80% | Thigh back | Search container loot |
| Med-kit | 4.00u | 1.50u | 1.20u / 85% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| No popcorn | 2.00u | 2.00u | 0.20u / 20% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Plastic bag | 3.50u | 3.50u | 0.20u / 50% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Pouch | 2.50u | 1.00u | 0.20u / 65% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Purse | 2.50u | 1.25u | 0.90u / 65% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Ripped bag | 6.25u | 2.25u | 1.25u / 55% | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Sling bag | 4.00u | 2.50u | 0.75u / 40% | Back | Craft: Foliage bag + String + 2 Rope, INT 7 |
| Small backpack | 3.25u | 2.00u | 0.80u / 50% | Back | Search container loot |
| Toolbox | 10.00u | 6.00u | 4.00u / 75% | Hands only | Search container loot |
| Trash bag | 4.00u | 4.00u | 50% reduction | Inventory container | Search container loot |
| Trauma rig | 6.00u | 5.00u | 70% reduction | Torso front | Search container loot |
Capacity, Encumbrance and Slots Solve Different Problems
A Backpack offers 7.5 units of capacity and a 5-unit single-item limit, with 45% encumbrance reduction. A Trauma rig holds 6 units with the same 5-unit limit and 70% reduction. Choose the Backpack when the total contents will not fit elsewhere; consider the rig when its smaller capacity is enough and burden is your main problem.
Weight reduction changes the contribution of the contents, without removing the container's own weight. Wear slots also affect the choice: a back-mounted bag can be used alongside a waist Belt. Compare the complete arrangement you can wear, rather than judging every container as a replacement for your current bag.
The Material pouch illustrates why capacity alone can mislead: it holds 5.00u in total but accepts individual items only up to 0.25u. Use it for small crafting materials that fit. Some demo containers also restrict item categories, so check suitability before reorganising the entire kit.
Make Your Early Storage Upgrade
- Open crafting with C to inspect the storage recipe you intend to make before spending your materials.
- Prepare 1 Rope and 2 Canvas from foliage for the Foliage bag recipe, which requires INT 5.
- Craft the Foliage bag to establish an early container before moving on to optional equipment.
- Upgrade through the Sling bag recipe when ready: it uses a Foliage bag, String and 2 Rope at INT 7, producing wearable storage.
- Favourite the finished bag and tools you want to preserve with F, protecting them from later crafting recipes.
Pack Essentials and Remove Unnecessary Weight
- Inspect your largest essential items first, so you can reject storage whose single-item limit would prevent them fitting.
- Keep a dressing or tourniquet, antiseptic, drinking water, light and an emergency cutting or digging tool easy to reach.
- Move suitable small crafting materials into a Material pouch when available, organising bulk materials away from emergency supplies.
- Drop redundant heavy scrap, unsuitable weapons and low-value objects when their burden threatens your mobility.
- Check your load status after repacking. Encumbered means your stamina and mobility are reduced, so reconsider what you are carrying before continuing.
A successful change leaves your essential items in usable storage and your emergency supplies easy to find. Leave some room for the next useful discovery instead of treating every empty space as a reason to collect more. If the new bag still leaves you burdened, reassess the contents before chasing another capacity upgrade.
Check Condition Before Trusting a Full Bag
In the older prototype container rules, containers lose condition while holding items, with the Grav-Bag as the exception. Check condition before entrusting a worn container with important supplies. Empty containers can be packed inside other containers, which gives you a way to organise spare storage.