help me make a $20 B:O:B :

K

Kevin the grey

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Aug 26, 2005
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4,106
Help me with $20 B:O:B:

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O:Kay let us presume I have the major items . Alice backpack , two man tent ,sleeping bag , knives ,tomahawk/axe , flashlights , hunting/fishing gear , fire starter . what else would I need and stay within a $20 dollar budget ?

I realise laying out $20 bucks for my survival cheapens my life . I,m just trying to make it feasible for the moment . You can make a separate more expensive list if you want to so I can upgrade later .
 
a water purfier and MRE's. This will keep you going for a few days untill the infrastructure is restored or you will have access to foodsources.
 
I got a couple of canadian army mre,s and whoa nelly, someone shot the horse . I,ve got respect for anyone who eats those and they should be given better .
I guess I,ll check out some backpacker mre,s .
 
Can/pot- to boil water. Forget chemical treatment except possibly plain liquid bleach if you want to stay with a $20.00 budget.
For food- only what you can get from the Market, same reasons.
Instant rice, instant oatmeal, rasins, tea/coffee/sugar, bullion soup base,
Spam. Canned single serving meals, 15-16 oz. sizes not the 6 oz. Save the cans to use as cooking containers etc.
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I never though to use a food can for a pot . I hjeard it wasn,t good to cook with them . I know its survival and so I shouldn,t be picky .
 
The cans are better to cook with then the cheap aluminum camping cookware you get at Walmart. And get a good knife and spoon. You can always make chopsticks to eat with. Also Strike Anywhere matches, fishing line, fishing hooks, weights, etc.

You can get the following for your money:

1- Pkg fishing hooks $0.99
1- Sample pkg of fishing line $0.50 (this is only 50 ft and nice and small to carry)
1- Bobbers (asst. pack) $0.99
1- Weights (asst. pack) $2.00
3- Instant rice (flavored) $0.87
1 box- Instant oatmeal (10pk) $2.97
5- Ramen Noodles $0.10 per pack
1- Raisins (6 pk) $0.87
1- Can of peanuts $0.87 (repack these in smaller bags)
2- Instant mashed potatoes $0.87
1- Small bottle bleach $0.87
5- Potted meat $0.87

There's $20 worth of "stuff". I know potted meat sucks but the cans are individual size. Package up some self-rising flour and make frybread and the above is 5+ days of food. 10 days if you can supplement with fish or wild game.

Suzanne
www.bmtomahawks.com
 
beef jerky will keep for about 6 weeks just in a ziplock bag... 6 months if you vaccuum seal it.

if you dry it good and hard, you'll pack a few pounds of meat in a package that fits in your pocket. 6lbs of meat will dry down to about 2lbs if you take it all the way dry, make 4-5 stews off of that.

lipton sidekick spuds & gravy or soups can be packaged smaller with a vaccuum sealer, a handful of them take up very little room.

decent small pot. a 1litre pot should only run a couple bucks. that 1 litre pot will be enough for most meals.

As you can guess, the big thing with my kit is water. I cycle a 2litre jug in my BOB, and have treatment for 25litres more. Between the esbit and canned heat in my bag I can boil water if it gets to that point.

a big thing that ppl underestimate is rope. a 100-150 foot hunk doesn't weigh much, and is usually enough for a decent shelter.
 
Before the schmidt hit the fan this year I had a strong urge to learn to smoke meat proper and pickle fish. Ifn ya start to smoke or jerk meat and put it in the freeze when the infrastructure goes belly up take it out and then count how long it will take to spoil. I keep in the house 5lbs. of rice, 10lbs. of flour, 1lb.sugar. powdered milk, oatmeal(the kind ya cook), but what you'll miss most of all is seasonings. They are light and make road kill taste great.
Learn all you can about living "without". Do it for fun, test yourself . I personally don't have a BoB. I carry a knife and fire and my wits, Ifn I die,, maybe I'll get a Darwin award. When I go hunting or fishing far from home I carry a little more but not much.
 
Try Gander mountain. They have a 'survival in a bottle'. It is pre-pakaged in a Nalgene (Generic) wide mouthed water bottle. It had a space blanket a cheap falshlight and batteries, whistle-compass-match container in one, rain poncho... The one I got was $9.00. I added water purification tabs, a photon light to the biner, a swiss army knife and a couple other small things from around the house.

Badge54
 
One thing Someone pointed out was rope and I shoulda thought of that . I have some good tough clothesline rope that may make a good addition . As you guys suggested it takes more than a bag of goodies to bug out . Practice, especially at fire starting and temp shelter making must be important . Keep it coming and thanks a lot .
 
Foil packets of tuna and chicken, grits, oatmeal, instasnt rice, instant mash taters, bullion, mushroom gravy packets, onion soup mix. The last two, along with salt and pepper and tobasco/cayenne pepper will make anything taste ok... PEANUT BUTTER. Instant hot chocolate mix is full o' calories.

Coffee and or tea. Sugar. A can of sweetened condensed milk with the hot drinks is a great antidote for hypothermia.

Most/all of the above will have a 1 year shelf life if stored cool and dry...

Iodine for water purification

Repair kit - make it yourself.

FA kit.

Copy of Horace Kephart's book Camping and Woodcraft...
 
You got some good comfort foods and lotsa calories in there that will keep well . My toughest challenge there would be to not eat that stuff and keep it in the pack . I added that tough clothesline to my kit . It is proabably a bit bulkier than I want . It is tough woven synthetic rope meant to absorb punishment outdoors so I guess it has its advantages . Anyway it is what I have ,didn,t cost me anything and so keeps me within budget .
 
Duct tape
Bailing wire
Dental floss
Old tshirt or bandana

Take your BOB and use it for a overnight campout and see what you didn't use and what you wished you brought along.
 
White inside = plastic. NG Burning plastic gives off nasty fumes. If it's the only choice, start a good fire, throw the can on and leave.

Gold inside = metal plating. Works fine. No. 10's are about 1 gallon. Put a clothes hanger bail handle on it and you're ready to go. A disposable aluminum pie plate can be modified to make a lid. A stick can be whittled into a handle for the lid. You'll be livin' like a King - of the road.
 
Balrog beat me to it about taking your gear out and shaking it down to get rid of what you don't need and making a list of what you do need.

Items you might already have around the house that could be used;

duct tape
dental floss
55 gal. trash bags. Heavier duty would be best.
safety pins
wide mouth gatorade quart bottles
spool of 80-100# fishing line
fixings for a FAK
nylon cord or small diameter rope
sling shot (catapult)
leather belt
needle and thread
disposable lighter
presto log, cotton/vaseline, cotton/candle wax, etc for firestarting
empty tuna can, filled with wax and wick(s)
bandana
coffee filters
bleach
bird seed

or anything else you think you can use to substitute for a store bought item.
 
balrog said:
Duct tape
Bailing wire
Dental floss
Old tshirt or bandana

Take your BOB and use it for a overnight campout and see what you didn't use and what you wished you brought along.
Click to expand...



:thumbup:
Best advice yet.
 
I guess a torture test is a good way to go .
I don,t know how much casnned goods I would bring butr I suppose I could bring one big can with my first nights meal in it . I,ll be sure to check out the interior coating before I include it in my kit .

Right now I,m foraging hardwood shoots to make primitive arrows for my bow . I,m trying to learn to make a bowstring from natural materials .(not easy at all) . I might be able to give my set-up a small test before the snow flies . I have to concentrate on my arrows as indoor season starts soon .
Keep up the good advice and thanks .
 
I found some Flat Pack Duck Tape at Wal-mart for $.25 each. 3 yards a piece and a nice pocket size or small enough to take up little room in a pack.
 
YOu can buy a bunch of little things for $20 but not much these days.

Sad but having good gear costs some coin.

Skam
 
Good old duct tape . Fixing a rip, repairing a shoe . Makng bracelets for unwanted guests . On that note I think I,ll add one of my own . Tie wraps . Not those cheapo plasticky ones . I have access for some that would proabably tow a car and wouldn,t break in cold weather . I used to work in weather so cold that I didn,t strip insulation off electrical wire . I smacked it against a wall and it broke off . I had to have good tie wraps or they would break .
 
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