My First BOB what else do I need?

Iced Saphire

Iced Saphire

Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Messages
63
So far i have this all stashed in a thick heavy backpack and I live in an urban area.

Gerber multitool
200' 550 paracord
2 "Space Blankets" the kind that are supposed to help keep body heat in. One to make shelter and one to keep warm
Lensatic(sp) compass with tritium markers
Brunton helios ligher
Extra lighter fluid
good size first aid kit
$20 Subway and bus ticket
Spyderco Sharpmaker
Spyderco Endura 50/50 aluminum handle (only 50/50 blade i own and its only if I manage to lose both my EDC knives
Wind up radio
Wind up flashlight (not as bright as my Surefire C2 but last infinantly longer)
water purification Tabs
16ounce water bottle
3 pair of extra socks(I HATE wet feet)
Change of clothes (jeans/T shirt/sweatshirt/underwear)
Hand sanitizer
Extra pair of decently waterproof shoes
$105 in cash 50 bucks in fives ,fifty in ones ,and five dollars in change so I don't have to worry about having too large of a bill(around here no one like to make change for anything over a 10
5 sets of plastic eating utensils
10 powerbars in a couple of flavors


what else should i add or even delete from my bag?

PS. Heres my EDC thats allways on me that way you know what else i'll have on me

Emerson CQC6 (Light Use)
Emerson CQC7 (Heavy use)
Surefire C2 Centurian with extra batteries in a keychain carrier
Brunton Helios lighter
Panerai Luminor Marina Watch
Nokia 3390 Cellphone with nationwide coverage
Keys
Pocket Lint
 
Where are you planning on BO'ing to?

For how long are you planning on having to get by with this kit?

What would cause you to BO?

Knowing these things helps to plan the kit efficiently. Otherwise, it's too easy to fall into the kitchen-sink syndrome. (I mean, my BOB kit contains an inflateable kayak, but I have special needs :-)
 
My BOB was put together with the idea of keeping me alive for three days. My assumption was that I fall and injure myself so that I can't walk out, and that I'll be found in three days.

Given the above shelter and warmth become relatively important. Therefore I'd take a large knife/hatchet...a chopper. I have both a Becker Patrol and a CRK P1. These will easily build me a debris shelter, and chop firewood.

Fire is warmth. As a back up to your lighter I'd take a ferrocerium rod and cotton rounds impregnated with vaseline.

Finally a coat or tarp for warmth and rain protection. I have a Gore-Tex jacket and a LandShark shelter.

Signalling devices are handy. I carry a signalling mirror, smoke pot (pour the powder in an aluminum cigar tube and stick a fuse in the powder), laser and whistle.

Hope we don't need them. But it just occurred to me that I used my BOB six hours ago. My grandson got a bug bite on his finger. A little Bactine took away the itch.

Take care,
bug
 
Sounds like a pretty good set-up. Personally I would add some snare wire, duct tape, and 3-4 3mil garbage bags. All the above items are light weight except the duct tape, and that depends on how much you take. I cut a roll in two then flatten it to make it store easier. Duct tape is great for sealing up holes in your clothes, or sealing your garbage bags together to insulate your shelter.

The garbage bags (large industrial type) can be used with your space blankets as a good sleeping bag, they also keep the blanket from becoming too damaged to use. The garbage bag also makes for a good make shift rain suit (just cut a hole for your head to poke out of).

I have a Sure Fire 3p which only uses one battery at a time yet provides a tremendous amount of light for its size.
 
A good way of breaking down your BOB is by categories of need: fire, shelter, meds, tools, light, etc.

I agree with all the comments so far. bug and J.J . are right on the money with the hatchet, backup fire starter, signalers, wire, duct tape, and garbage bags.

For the bags, go to Wal-Mart and get the 55 gallon drum sized "contractor's grade" bags. They're very big and very thick. Great for all kinds of stuff--from shelter, to ponchos, to water gathering, to well...holding trash.

The pocket lint is pretty good tinder :D but it burns up fast. Cotton balls with vaseline, as mentioned before, make better tinder. Just stick some in a zip lock or a film canister. Also good is the "Fatwood" brand heart pine you can buy at Wal-Mart. For about $3, you get a fair amount, and you can place a few sticks in with your kit. Or you can make some char cloth out of old t-shirts.

No one mentions matches. Your best order of operation in lighting a fire? Lighter, matches, and then a ferro rod or magnesium rod. Why work when you don't have to? If the lighter fails (and they can), then it's a lot easier to strike a match than start tinder with a rod. Basic waterproof matches are cheap. Even better are the storm matches (NATO or "lifeboat" matches). As for a lighter, throw in a few Bics. They're super cheap, and you don't have to worry about lighter fluid drying up.

Light? Get a Mini Mag for your pack and a Photon II for your keychain. Both offer a lot of light for a long time on a set of batteries. The Surefire is great for brilliant light (if it's a tactical light you're talking about), but you're only going to be able to use it for about an hour on a set of batteries.

I might toss in a bullion cube or two. If you don't have the "neutralizer" for those water purification tablets, your water is going to taste nasty. Some kind of flavoring will help.

Get a stainless steel camping mug. In my pack I keep a steel mug crammed full of hot chocolate, instant coffee, tea bags, bullion cubes, and cup-a-soup (all in zip locks). As some have mentioned here, nothing eases the mind and the nerves like a hot beverage. You can heat water in the mug and then enjoy your drink.

Signaling? The whistle has already been mentioned by bug. Good whistles are plastic and pealess. The Fox 40 or the Jet Scream are nice choices. Or a good storm whistle. The Star Flash seems to be the standard as far as signaling mirrors, but a small compact mirror would work.

Other stuff that might be handy in a BOB? Can opener, emergency candles, sterno, toilet paper, a saw (though the camp axe will be better), some toiletries (I feel better when I can brush my teeth), bug spray, sunscreen, sunglasses, bandanas. All except the TP are pretty small.

There are tons of good sites on the web on BOBs. Also if you want to do a search here, you'll find good ideas from the past. Other places to do a search are the General Discussion forum at TFL (www.thefiringline.com) and the Outdoor Forums (www.jungletraining.com).
 
Glad you mentioned toilet paper; it is wonderful when you have it and terrible when you don't!

I also carry some solid fuel bars; a piece or two of a fuel bar will burn longer and hotter than vaseline.

I also carry the little AM/FM/TV/Weather radio from Radio Shack. Since you will be using METRO to get out of town - you will likely be in range for all those channels on the little radio. It runs for about 30 hours on two AAA batteries.

I do like the AAA one cell mini-mag lites for general use. They are plenty bright for most uses and double as electric candles for night projects. I also carry lots and lots of reading material about all sorts of "survival stuff" which has been reduced to 2 pt type and a little fresnel reader.

You sound like you have civilian style clothing which is far better than military in my opinion. However, I'd opt for wool instead of cotton and some of the modern better-than-wool synthetics that are warm when wet, breath well and insulate well. A hat with a brim and sunglasses are good as well.

And for emergency warmth; a warm hat that covers the ears such as a wool watch cap, warm gloves, a neck scarf and a vry large bandana for the face will give you fantastic warmth for the space, money, and weight they take up.

And, more toilet paper... :)
 
I designed it to keep me alive and get me out of town within a 72 hour time frame. I've added Toilet paper and a thick heavy rain poncho. Firestarting isn't a necessary thing because being in an urban area its more than likely it would get me locked up. Duct tape is a good idea too. Thanks fr the advice keep it coming

Regards
Dennis
 
Bic lighters, Matches, and a Fero rod are always nice to have on you and are cheap enough that you won't cry over them if lost. I wouldn't carry a sharpmaker in the pack though. kinda bulky and noisy. Get a small fold up diamond sharpener for emergency sharpening. Can't believe no one noticed this but you don't have a canteen. The GI ones aren't bad espc if you combine it with the metal cup that packs into the canteen cover. Take a look at Brigade Quartermasters for them. Plastic utensils are good but if you know how to use chop sticks just keep a pair in the pack and carry STAINLESS STEEL SPOON for soups.
BTW, a can opener is a must. Wouldn't want to ruin the finish on that emerson opening up a can of food.
 
A map of your area.

Preferably with pre-scouted out routes noted, along with the places normal roads/bridges would be expected to be out in various sorts of disaster.
 
Another light to consider is the CMG Infinity Light. It's 3.1" long, weighs about 1 oz w/o battery, and is waterproof to 10' depth so shouldn't be bothered by rainshowers. It is EXTREMELY sturdy. However, it's greatest selling point is its amazing "on" time. This light runs for about 40 hours on one AA alkaline battery! If you use lithium batteries, that time goes up by several times, so you could be approaching a maximum runtime of close to 200 hours with a lithium AA battery!!! :eek:

There are a number of reviews of the Infinity light out on the web which are easily found with a search.

I've got an CMG Infinity with a white LED and it doesn't seem as bright as the colored Photon II and red ASP LED lights I have. But it is bright enough to use walking down a trail at night or finding your way out of a non-smoky building no problem.

http://www.cmgequipment.com/infinity2.html
 
I recently put together a 72 hr. BOB geared towards wilderness survival, to supplement a small wilderness 1 day pack and my deployment bag for my job (which serves as an urban BOB of sorts). Here are a few ideas.
- I would suggest that you determine how much weight you can carry in your BOB. A bad back and knee limit me to about 30 lbs. or around 25 lbs. for moving quickly over difficult terrain. If you are in good shape you could probably handle a 35-40 lb. pack, but I would not plan on any more unless you are an experienced backpacker.

- Since an average healthy person needs at least 2 quarts of water each day, I would carry more water.

- For protection from dust, I would include a dust mask, goggles, and a bottle of eye wash.

- A few other things I would bring that have not been suggested are a good hacksaw blade wrapped with duct tape to form a handle, a small sewing kit, a few Cylume sticks, work gloves, a can of pepper spray and perhaps a pry or ripping bar. A plastic hard hat with a chin strap and a headlamp might be a good idea as well.
 
I would get rid of jeans in favor of wool pants (wool will keep you warm even after it gets wet)keep T-shirts incase you need to wrap a wound. and wear silk long johns ( again silk properties like wool--keep you warm after it is wet) if you can't afford silk, Poly propelene make good long johns (wick moisture away from your body into outer clothing-like the wool pants) staying warm is very important.
:p
 
<a href="http://www.losalamos.org/LASAR/LAFB/cotton_kills.htm"> Cotton kills! </a> It's not worth the weight to even carry around.
 
Originally posted by frank k
- A few other things I would bring that have not been suggested are a good hacksaw blade wrapped with duct tape to form a handle,.
Click to expand...

A good alternative would be the folding saw by Allway Tools. Two blades, one for wood, one for metal. Found out about this in the thread about the Altoid tin. Went to my local Wally World and found them. YMMV. http://www.allwaytools.com/
fldghsaw.jpg
 
I used to pack all sorts of stuff in a bugout bag, but this is what I learned post 9-11 (I live a few blocks from ground zero) in no order whatsoever.

Have passport, lots of ID, and some sort of plane fare (frequent flyer miles or credit cards) ready. If they don't shut down the airports, that's the quickest way out of town.

Pack cash and food. Even in catastrophies, many stores will still be open, but if you're in the immediately affected area, no stores will be open.

Pack some sort of locking bag or box if you end up in a shelter. Urban areas will be full of imporvised shelters.

Learn to hotwire a car in case everything goes to crap. Don't carjack... it's rude and a good way of getting shot.

Sometimes staying put is better than bugging out. Urban areas have an excellent civilian support system.

A battery or dynamo operated radio will entertain as well as inform. Information will help you make better decisions.

Cellphone charging cord... cell and pcs antennas may be affected in a catastrophe, but phone companies will have self sustaining mobile antennas out in a matter of hours.

potassium iodide pills in case of a nuclear disaster if you live near a potential nuclear target or nuclear power facility.

a supply of very strong painkillers, anti diarrhea and antibiotic medication...

forget the gas mask... as a civilian, your only indication of a gas attack will be people near you dropping dead, and by then, it will be too late to don one...
 
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