A cheap Casio watch has lead me down a rabbit hole

+1 on the Slime kit compressor, I have one for the ATV that goes pretty far off the beaten path.  I only need 5 psi, but the rears are pretty big and a hand pump would suck. 

I also carry a Lenox Finsh Cut Saw. While not as good as a tomahawk/hatchet/deathstick, it folds for space and uses Sawzall blades. I carry one long, coarse blade for cutting branches that have fallen or cutting firewood, and another blade for cutting metal for frame repairs and getting through old fences etc. You can easily get through PCV, wood, steel or amputate a limb if things get really bad.  Think of it like a bigger multitool. 

I'd get one of those water filter tubes that enable you to draw acceptable drinking water from almost any body of water with some extra filters.  They're compact.  I would also get one of those wire saws (with the D-ring on each end) per Chuck Yeager's book.   A small compass certainly wouldn't hurt, or depending how far out in the weeds you expect to get a Garmin GPS might not be a bad idea.   Some sort of lockback knife or a multi-tool would qualify.  Surgical tubing to make a tourniquet or a slingshot.  Duplicate fuses for the essential functions of your vehicle.  

I can't remember the guy's name, but he's a famous motorcycle writer who wrote a column in Motorcycle Weekly (or was it Cycle?) about 40 years ago on his emergency kit that fit into a 35mm film canister.   He carried a few links of final drive chain, a few spools of various wire and some 1" sections of hacksaw (to be held with a Vise-Grip).  First Aid kit, obviously.  Perhaps a few small aspirin bottles with antibiotics/vitamins/salt tablets/etc. might not be a bad idea.  

Flint/Steel or some of those Russian survival matches for starting a fire.   Light sticks (the ones you crack and then they glow).  

How about a small backpack and a large brim floppy hat with a cheap poncho (or garbage bag)?  Fluorescent orange vest.  Spare socks and maybe talcum powder.

Maybe somebody here is into Ham Radio--is there such a thing as an emergency radio beacon?

Nick Comstock said:

Now I'm not going full on prepper mode here but there are a bunch of things that I should probably have with me just in case. And seeing as my only mode of transport is on two wheels I need to be very conservative with the size. I need to only have the essentials and I'd like to be able to bring the kit with me in case I end up on foot somewhere. The majority of the time I'm just commuting back and forth to work but occasionally I'll find myself five or six hours from home with nothing more than a cell phone (many times with no signal) and a couple bucks in my pocket.

What are you escaping from?  A weather disaster, zombies?  Or is this just in case you break down on the road?  It will help define what things you need.

In reply to stuart in mn :

Uh, all of it? 

Nothing particularly specific. 

Well I went to the Walmart and found a bag. It was the right size and seems built well enough for what I need. It came with a shoulder strap so that eliminates the need for carrying an extra bag. It also came with a pretty useless pouch that I decided to modify.

Inside the main compartment are a big sleeve on each side and mag pouch pockets attached to each sleeve. It has a zippered pocket on the front and one on the back.

So the silly little pouch seemed pretty useless to me. To make it somewhat useful I first ripped the seams to open up the pouch. I sewed some 3/4" elastic bands unto some 1 3/4" elastic bands to create some places to secure things. Then I sewed those bands to the pouch. Once that was done I cut a piece of thin eva foam board to give it some structure then sewed the whole thing back together. Here is some random stuff I stuck in it just to give you an idea of what I did.

And It's just about as big as I can go while still leaving room in the side cases for lunch and such. 

Now I can slowly start filling it up with useful things.

How does everyone feel about pepper spray? 

Worthwhile or skip it?

Isreali bandage, and sterile 3x3 or 4x4 bandages, multitool, flint and steel, dryer lint in a doubled ziplock with chunk of wax or small candle, ~20ft of paracord, gun with extra loaded mags, a 1" mirror (made to stick on side view mirrors)  a large piece of clear plastic (saran wrap is great)  Lifestraw type device, gloves or an extra pair of boot socks (for feet or hands) roll of medical tape or 2, cable saw, several feet of neon orange trail and tree marking ribbon, 2 or 3 bags of corn chips and a Snickers bar, all wrapped in a light duty poncho.

that should be enough to build a fire and get warm (flint and steel plus lint plus wax), stay hydrated, defend yourself, snare small game, signal for help, mark your path for yourself or others, create a shelter, Fritos burn easily, poncho = tarp+paracord = "tent" 

bandages, tape, gauze, paracord = stop bleeding/make splint

clear plastic to catch dew or put over a dug hole for "distilling" or catching condensation

several ziplocks can be used as water containers or to keep things clean and dry

Nick Comstock said:

How does everyone feel about pepper spray? 

Worthwhile or skip it?

Milspec stuff may be worth it.  I think "less than lethal" options are more for arguing in court that you tried to resolve the problem before going straight to lethal force.  I'd be more inclined to go with a Taser, personally, but I have experience with either. 

In reply to stroker :

I was thinking more for aggressive dogs. The people in this town have more dogs running loose than anywhere I've seen. Just last week two streets over in my neighborhood a man was walking and an aggressive dog escaped from the owner and the man shot and killed the dog in front of the owner. Now the whole neighborhood is in an uproar. 

We had a thread that went sideways some years ago regarding loose dogs and how to respond to them.   IMHO, a loose dog is the owners responsibility.   Bear spray or pepper spray MIGHT work but I'd still bet on a taser based on the videos I've seen.  

In reply to stroker :

I remember that thread well, that's the first thing I thought of when I learned of it happening. And not too surprising the reaction of the neighborhood is going the same way that thread did. And I completely agree with you. 

Getting a firearm and a permit to carry concealed is on the list but it's way down on the list. I just can't allocate that much money for it at this time.