BOBs -- why?

O

Old Painless

Joined
Apr 10, 2006
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174
Ok, all. here's the question:
Think back to the time when you didn't have a BOB. What finally prompted you to pack one and why?
 
First off, I dont have a full bob. I dont have a need for one. If shtf, I'm headin to the woods. I can find all I need there.

As for the kit I carry, when I was younger I grew tired of needing things in the woods and not having them. So I came up with the bright idea to make a kit.
 
I'm a cityboy so I couldn't stand being stuck in the woods for more than a night or two most likely. My goal would be to travel to a destination, be it friends, relatives, or simply somewhere unaffected by whatever caused me to have to leave my home.
I am putting together some basics that would allow me to get where I need to go, but also the basics for being outdoors (fire-starting, shelter, food, etc) Just In Case. I'm very much of the "hope to never have to use that stuff" mindset though. :D

What prompted me to start this? A perceived increase in disasters, both man-made and natural, in the last few years, and the knowledge (or perhaps "shocking truth" for people like me who'd never thought about it before) that big government is helpless and more likely to create problems than solve them. So I guess since not long after Katrina demonstrated that very well for all to see.
 
I don't have a BOB so much as I have a 'Grab and Go' bag. It isn't meant for emergencies. Rather, I keep it around so that when I get the impulse to head out into the woods, all my stuff is together and ready to go. This way I get out of town that much faster, plus I'm much, much less likely to leave something useful behind.

The idea of bugging out when you're surrounded by a couple million clueless suburbanites and urbanites is laughable to say the least.
 
I don't have a BOB as much as I have a BIB (Bug In Bag) that stays in the vehicles.

After the black-out that crippled eastern Michigan and stretched as far as NY, I learned that getting back to the wife and kids is what I am most concerned with. I work 33 miles from home and the black out happened while I was at work. As did the 9/11 attacks and other events in recent history that could have resulted in turmoil/chaos.

Once I get back home and all are accounted for and in good health, then I can work on bugging out. If at home, I know where the essentials are and can be ready to move rather quickly. Its getting back to the family that is top priority to me. Even in the worst case senario, it shouldn't take more than 48 hours to do that unless I'm out of town on business. Then, I'm screwed.


The BIB contains about all I'd need to make it home on foot. Once home, I have two teen-aged kids that I can use as pack mules to haul the gear :D .
 
I think a lot of folks put together BOBs primarily because they're interested in the notion, and not so much because they see doom and gloom on the horizon. I see most BOB folks as being knife/wilderness skills/outdoor enthusiasts who are serious about their pursuits. Let's face it, playing and accumulating gear is fun and addicting!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing BOB folks at all. I may not have a stocked BOB ready to go, but that doesn't mean I'm not into that line of thinking. I probably have enough packs and gear around to amke up about 4 BOBs or so. I have a binder full of BOB lists and survival kit lists that I've been accumulating since I discovered this wonderful 'Internet' thing.

I see the BOB thing as a good thing on several levels. 1) It allows us to collect and play with gear. 2) It allows us to think of why we are putting together such a kit, thus forcing us to look to the future and plan ahead. 3) Most of us can't simply go out and immediately buy the stock we need for a BOB, so we are encouraged to think outside the box, and make the best use of the equipment we have on hand or can afford. There are probably lots of other benefits, too.

But as mentioned a million time before, BOB = Useless without skills and know-how. The best gear in the world can't help you if you don't know how to apply it.
 
The riots in Paris made me think. I live in Belgium, which is not that far from Paris...
 
The blizzard we just had here in Denver made me think about the BOB (or survival pack) I'm putting together for our vehicle. Lots of people stuck out on the highways, on side streets, or at work. Also, thoughts of James Kim and others who have had bad luck and or judgement in wooded areas prompted me to make one for me and the family.
 
I lean to the term PSK now, Personal Survival Kit.

Sure, we'll keep saying BOB, it's easy, and it conveys a similar thought, a container for your "essentials."

I have always had an "essentials" Bag or Pack, back to when I was a teeneager. More recently, mine had become mixed in with everyday gear, camping gear and such, and I realized, in an emergency, it would be nice to grab one thing, on "bag" , that contained the bare-minimum to sustain life, even outdoors in the elements.

It's basically foollowing the Boy Scout Motto:
"Be Prepared"

To some it may be an "earthquake" survival bag. Others it may be a "hurricane" survival bag, and so on.

The Boy Scouts prompted me to have a BOB, may have been called a BackPack back then, but, it was my BOB.

Be Prepared
 
I've had enough life experience now to know that the "safety net" so many trust in is not always there or if it is there, it's not big enough for all of us.

Even as I type this there are people in Wester Washington still without power from a big windstorm we had a WEEK ago.

I have been stranded in airports before, had a vehicle die in the desert (pre-cell phone years!) , and a few other adventures. In had a vehicle literally destroyed by vandals, and when I got back to the trailhead, had another 8 miles of gravel logging road to a phone, that's after a week in the Cascades.

As a memeber of the LE community, I know that we do out best to help people, but if a situation is bad enough(Katrina, ice storms, floods,power outages, etc) we don't have everything it takes to fix everyones troubles.
 
I tend to agree with SkunkWerx on this one, I keep a PSK on me most of the time, and i have supplies at home and in my car, for camping and rescue, I also keep a 24 hour ready pack for Search and rescue. if i need to "bug out" 5 minutes will change a psk or 24 hour ready bag into a bob for extended periods.

My main concern in a shtf situation is going to be to get home or to my squad building to see where i am needed. If everybody pitches in the need to BUG out is less likley.
 
Right now disaster/wilderness survival is a hobby of mine, but it could be much more than that in the future. I like to collect the gear and put it together in a kit. Practice wilderness survival by backpacking & such. Just watching survivorman on TV is not enough. I learned all that stuff in the boy scouts...be prepared is foremost though. Have a detailed plan.
 
I live in California.

Earthquakes , terrorism , fires , riot/civil unrest, flood - whatever else may come our way.
This is why I have a B.O.B. near the foot of my bed and carry a smaller version daily. You just never know if something that bad is going to happen and if so , I would like to be prepared somewhat for it.

That brings a little peace of mind.

That and a few constantly loaded and maintained firearms. :)
 
Old Painless said:
Ok, all. here's the question:
Think back to the time when you didn't have a BOB. What finally prompted you to pack one and why?
Click to expand...

I remember it distinctly. I had to a take a ride on the "chunnel" about 45 minutes after watching (on TV) air planes fly into buildings in NYC. The chunnel is a train that goes through a tunnel below the North Sea from England to France - takes over an hour. There were three guys in the car directly behind us with towels around their heads. I couldn't help wondering if I was going to make it back to my family - I started thinking differently that day.

I was living in Belgium at the time and several protests envolving 500 or so T-heads occured in Brussels when we decided to strike back.

I used to be into primitive living skills and minimalisim, etc. because it was fun. Now I am into gear and gadgets that will give me the edge to make it home to my family from work - I have more of a Get Home Bag.

Merry Christmas to everyone!
 
You guys got me thinking about setting up a BOB. Especially after the major earthquake we had in Hawaii a few weeks ago. Oahu was totally in the dark for most of the day. Fortunately Maui was not without power for more than a few hours. But I started thinking I better be prepared before the next big one hits. We're long overdue on a major tsunami and the second major quake that happened on Thanksgiving Day persuaded me to be prepared for the worst case scenario. I'm not being paranoid about it but it is nice to gather the essentials now than think after the SHTF that I should have, could have, would have.
 
I started my first BoB in 1989 after an earthquake in the SF Bay area. It was an old backpack with a spare change of socks underwear and some canned food I had in my apartment. That was to get me by in case the aftershocks caused me to leave.

Now, it's evolved into several kits: one in each vehicle, a winter supplement kit for the same and a grab and go stored in the house that includes a couple MRE cases and a Rubbermaid tub with a more extensive supply of OTC remedies, latex gloves, masks, Pepto/Imodium and Gatorade.

We recently experienced a windstorm up here in WA and lost our power for 6 days. Glad to say the advanced prep we have worked on over the years kept us warm, dry, fed and safe during that time.

We didn't need to Bug but what we had stored in our kit came in handy, i.e. additional batteries, transistor radio and flashlights. we learned lots of flashlights are invaluable. Nothing fancy just ypur good reliable D cells.
 
i don't have a bob, but i keep my gear belt next to my bed on a hook. on the belt is a mid size camera pouch (tinder, firesteel and striker, "micro med kit", small metal file, small folding knife, sewing kit, earplugs, duct tape, small ceramic sharpening stick), a filled 1 quart canteen (with attached mini survival kit), 4 inch fixed blade knife.

i also keep my pants on the same hook, with the pockets pre-filled (AAA mini maglight, folding knife [2 or three usually] cash, ID, several tissues {toilet paper, tinder, wiping the runny nose...} 10 feet of cord, to keep me occupied, and for whatever else.

i also keep my shoulder bag by the door, filled with another knife or two usually, fatwood, lots of matches, mini prybar, first aid kit tailored to my skills, camo compac (just for fun) and a bunch of other useful stuff.

on the bedside table i have a knife and a large military 2 D cell flashlight, with the red lense filter in.

the belt goes with my everyday, perhaps minus the canteen and the knife (in my bag) when i go somewhere civilized. the bag often goes everywhere with my as well, and naturally i always have my pants with me. i worry most about something happening at night, when i am unable to react at full speed and when i am without my gear.

i have been toying with the idea of keeping a large stuff sac filled with clothes and my refill stash, where i keep all the extras of my gear (like alcohol stoves and dried foods) by the door with my shoulder bag, just in case.

i am thinking about a car kit, with some things like one of those mini snow shovels that have the collapsing handles, food, clothes, hatchet/machete etc
 
rebeltf said:
That and a few constantly loaded and maintained firearms. :)
Click to expand...



You can have loaded firearms in California?!:eek:


The reason I started being prepared, is just logic. I have always carried some stuff with me....always...In high school, I was always the guy with the stuff, when we were out partying in the hills....etc. So, now that I am older, I have all my stuff in the jeep and truck, stuff that stays in there all the time and a small bag I take when the wife and I are going places. It contains the perishables and firearms. So no matter what vehicle we are in we are always prepared. At home, we got all we need. John
 
I hate to carry certain things in my vehicles like OTC meds or bandages or tape because I feel that the heat in the vehicle will ruin them. I do carry my very small and light first aid kit in my shoulder back that I pratically carry with me everyday. I also have a Penrith Tin survival kit, a 36 hour candle, small SureFire flashlight, a couple sporks and titanium chopsticks that breakdown, Kershaw Leek knife, pepper spray, military can opener, waterproof matches, tinder, bottle opener, Atwood Bug Out Bar. I figure since I'm on the road most of the time, I carry what I can and need at the moment. If I'm at home and I had to get out of my home because it was damaged by an earthquake or tsnami, I am in the planning stages of putting together a 72 hour PSK for me and my family (wife and daughter). Small camping stove, some can goods, change of clothes, my BOB, emergency shelter, ponchos, gloves, water, hatchet, 9mm pistol, ammo, amateur two-way radio, scanner, batteries and other items that I am still working on.

As hikeeba said earlier about setting up a BOB:

<quote> 1) It allows us to collect and play with gear. 2) It allows us to think of why we are putting together such a kit, thus forcing us to look to the future and plan ahead. 3) Most of us can't simply go out and immediately buy the stock we need for a BOB, so we are encouraged to think outside the box, and make the best use of the equipment we have on hand or can afford. There are probably lots of other benefits, too. <quote>.
 
Yep, the BOB is just a name that is used widely these days, whether to plan to run at the first sign of trouble, or not, the BOB is just a basic well stocked Survival Kit, carrying what is needed to keep you alive, should you find yourself in a tough spot.

I think sometimes the term BOB conjurs up a militant "Survivalist" ready to hea for the hills when the Zombies invade the US of A.

It's really just a Personal Preparedness Pack. (PPP)
 
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