Working on BOB's

udtjim

udtjim

Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Messages
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With the long winter days, I have been working on my bug out bag. These are meant to survive longer periods in the wilderness without trying to carry a truck load of stuff. The two bigger bags hold most of the supply's and the small belt bag is first aid and water purifying stuff. The larger bags have shoulder carry straps but also have belt loops although they are a bit large for that. Both larger bags weigh about four lbs each.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3811/knifeandgun213dm2.jpg


I am heavy on fire starting because of my health. The kits contain a small bottle of alcohol, another of Zippo fluid. A Zippo lighter and Bic lighter, wind proof, water proof matches, strike anywhere matches, fire sticks with striker ends and regular fire sticks, cotton balls, vasolene and some sliced cardboard and tissue. My plan is cooking in heavy foil but there is a Sterno Stove and Sierra cup as well. I have two space blankest and a plastic drop cloth. Plenty of nylon line and Para cord. A ruxk Sack and Hunter SAY and a Mora Craftsman. A Surefire light and four batteries, Compass, whistle and signal mirrors. Several heavy latex balloons for emergency watter carry and many other uses. Some large paper clips, two large bandannas, two bug head nets, insect repellent, ceramic sharpening rods and sandpaper. Fish hooks and fishing line and a needle for sewing. Two candles and two gallon heavy ziplock freezer bags. Oh there is also a Magnesium fire starter. I have been working on them for several days so I might have forgotten a few thing. I should have made a list while I was doing it as I suffer from CRSH. What did I forget so far?
 
the back woodsman magazine july/aug 07 had a good article entitled "taking to the woods... another look" that dealt with the long term bug out to the woods idea. if you can get one its worth a read. one of the interesting things the author mentioned was a small camping/woodstove. he also seemed to focus on heavy duty quality as oposed to light weight equipment. obviously weight is a consideration but not the only one.
jd
 
I bought a whole big cardboard box of those bags for 5.00 at a gun show. I guess there was 20 of them or so.

There are different bug out plans requiring different equipment and gear. IMO opinion if it comes to an invasion of our country, the best plan, at least to began with is to go remote. I have several areas in mind depending on the enemy and time constraints. Some folks arm themselves to the teeth and expect to fight it out which IMO is not a viable option unless an advance plan to do so has been made. Tis wiser to survive for another day or at least until some organization can be established.

I the situation is one of civil discontent, IMO its still best to get out of the rat race until a plan can be made with others or a group of trusted like minded people. IMO you must be able to take the basics to get by with until you can start to upgrade your situation and build a semi permanent shelter. Few of us know what to expect or what kind of SHTF.

Just for giggles, what kind of situation comes to your mind when someone says SHTF?

I may be paranoid but IMO we have so many illegals here from all over the world that we may have imported our own invasion force and are feeding them while they wait. I am probably out in left field.:confused:
 
You really need to go and sign up on www.equipped.org. It's another great forum, and the folks there love to discuss BOB's ad nauseum! Good stuff! I **highly** recommend that site for what you are looking for.

I have both of Cody Lundin's books, and also Tony Nester's "Surviving a Disaster". Good reads.

I forgot to say, I have a Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack that's pretty well prepared, I'll inventory it and share that with you.
 
You might also tag your BoB with a list of contents, and seal the bag with a marked zip tie so if you or some one else borrows from the bag you know to check the contents.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I have checked out that site you mentioned, lots of good stuff to learn. I have seen to much stuff go wrong.:(
 
My idea of a SHTF situation is a Katrina type scenario either manmade or natural disaster, or combination of both. Prepare for different levels or evac while also making preparations to bunker in place. Ideally I would prefer to bunker in place if I can. If given time I would bunker in place with family.

I think the worst case scenario most likely, is the onset of an event, such as a storm that has greater than expected impact. I think at the local level infrastructure is losing its ability to cope with disaster. Part of this is poor financial planning and economic. Part is a reliance on State and Federal resources to fill in the gaps. Those "gaps" amount to time without resources for the community if any kind of natural or man made disaster strikes with little or no warning. I think generally people need to be prepared to live without grocery stores, heat or clean water for approximately one to two weeks. Anything beyond that and real skills or resources need to be brought to bear.
 
Thats the kind of thing I was looking for. Of course we never know what kind of thing we might be up against. If we did, it would be simple to be prepared.
 
If you ever get the chance, read World War Z by Max Brooks. It's a zombie book. One of the "testimonials" talks about these people they run into called LMOE's. Last Man on Earth. It is the stereotypical over the top survivalist who sets booby traps for people and is armed to the teeth. Leaving my residence is the last thing I want to do, because it limits my options. I can just imagine what would happen to someone in my neighborhood if they hit the road walking with a large pack, assault rifle, gun on both hips, etc. Either the cops or an entrepreneurial neighbor would take him out from the sanctity of the living room and nab his gear. My plans are all geared around reasonable risk and practicality. You don't want to leave your base unless you have too, because if you have too your options are limited, and if your options are limited your odds of success diminish, and survival begins to rely more and more on your ability to adjust to potentially ever changing circumstances. Changing circumstances are changing expectations. I intend to control as much as I can given the circumstances, and yes the situation will control you somewhat, but that is the game we play as human beings. You see the reality is, it's probably not going to happen, but it might.
 
Take the example of a football team, or any team for that matter. You can dress them up in the latest gear, give them great helmets and pads, fancy shirts. You can put them in the most advantageous of field circumstances, a dome with astro turf. If you don't have a plan, and a team that can implement that plan, you are SOL as a football team. Collecting and packaging gear is easy, developing a plan an implementing it along with practice and planning is HARD.
 
Thanks, The idea of my packs is having the most stuff that I can still carry on foot if need be. Its a good point and something I am very aware of that you must be able to adapt day to day in a world that you have not experienced before. My packs will hopefully buy me the time to adapt and improve my situation. We all pray this stuff will never be needed but if it is, it has to be ready NOW or SOONER. In my truck I have all the other stuff that one would hope to have but depending on the emergency, you may be afoot with only what you can carry. Im my case that is not to much as age and injuries have taken their toll. However I am not going to roll over and play dead.:D

This spring and summer the wife and I will yake the packs and hike out and put them to the real test. Practice as you stated is all important. I know what I could do before the broken foot and such but I really don't know what I can do now. (except that I can't walk through deep snow)
 
udtjim said:
The larger bags have shoulder carry straps but also have belt loops although they are a bit large for that. Both larger bags weigh about four lbs each.
Click to expand...

Looks like someone cut off the waist strap. There are two ways to carry bag:

Shoulder carry: with shoulder strap across chest, waist strap around waist.

Leg carry: use shoulder strap as waist strap and waist strap around leg.

TM 3-4240-279-10 page 2-6.
 
I fixed these for shoulder carry although there are still belt loops. I have about 10 more of them yet.:thumbup:
 
Ok, this is probably more than you wanted, but here we go:

Here is what my Maxpedition Jumbo looks like. The carabiners are handy for hanging things off of it. There is a hidden pocket that you can stuff a .45 or .357 in. I usually carry one or the other. I added the 2 ammo pouches, the cell phone pouch, and the small pouch on the lower right, I forget the name of it right now. I use that one for holding first aid materials.

There's a lot of redundancy here. When I go for a day hike, it's usually with my 2 kids who are almost 8, and my wife. She has some upper back and neck problems from a car accident, so I carry for 2. Plus, the kids are just getting big enough to start carrying their own water, jackets, and the whistles you'll see below. The reason for redundancy is that in case one gets hurt and the other has to hoof it back out, it's easy to grab, say, the Doug Ritter kit, the Mora, and a trash bag and go. This can make up a real nice light kit while the other isn't left high and dry.

Anyway, here's what it looks like. The whole thing weighs about 10 - 12 lbs, including water.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010040.jpg

The 2 ammo pouches, upper left:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010041.jpg

ammo 1
------
blue/red dmt diafold
bic lighter
firesteel
hacksaw blade
jute twine

ammo 2
------
leatherman

nalgene pocket
--------------
gsi cup
nalgene bottle

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010042.jpg

top pocket
----------
garmin etrex
tissues

cell phone pocket
----------------
cell phone (duh)

side pocket
-----------
prybar (blue one in the pocket)
fire straws
becker necker

side pocket (below the first side pocket)
-----------
silva compass
hand sanitizer
duct tape
2 AA batteries

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010043.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010044.jpg

first aid kit
-------------
iodine
witz first aid kit, which contains:

glide dental floss
wet ones
fresnel lens
bandaids
krazy glue
tweezers
artificial tears
gauze
photon 2
razor blade

I keep one of these witz kits in my vehicles when we travel also. Witz is the name of the company that makes the watertight case, everything inside I put together. I just call it a witz kit for lack of imagination...

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010045.jpg

outer flap
----------
ritter kit
signalling mirror

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010047.jpg

outer pocket
------------
wet ones
max keypers
gauze
zippo lighter
bic lighter
zippo fluid
duct tape
permanent match
k&m matchcase
matches
whistle
tweezers
p38
blastmatch
candle
cut up milk carton
Vic Huntsman
sharpie
fisher space pen
sparklite and tinder

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010050.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010051.jpg

main compartment
----------------
vaseline soaked cotton balls
50ft paracord
triple antibiotic ointment
2 55gal trash bags
survey tape
mora w/bic, whistle, and photon 2
toilet paper
instructions for garmin
spade
katadyne mp1
whistles for kids
sewing kit which includes:

needles
straight pins
safety pins
heavy duty waxed thread
 
Just remember to keep the tools and supplies simple SIMPLE. KISS. I would forgo "tactical" for practical. And don't forget some sort of entertainment item, a deck of cards, a book or two, something.
 
udtjim - pardon my ignorance. You list your residence as the Black Hills.

Just where in cr*p are you going to bug out to?

Its not like you live in Los Angeles or New Orleans.
 
Good question. Right now We are living in North Dakota because of my wife job. Given time and travel being possible I have a small farm in the Chyenne river breaks just east of the Black Hills. Its the perfect place if circumstances allow me to get there. If not I have some good possibilities here in rural eastern ND or somewhere in between. I have spent enough time in cities.:thumbdn:
 
SOdak. It sounds like I have it covered pretty well. I have most of the items you listed and/or a close substitute. I need another Space Blanket. My first aid kit is pretty complete and I am working on my doctor to get a month or so extra of my Medications and maybe a Anti Biotic. I have medicine for the runs if a guy gets into some not so good or starnge water plus quite a few Herbs for different ailments.

The firearme are not in my kits but I will have my Browning 22 Camper pistol and 22 ammo. In my vehicle I have a large camp knife, ax and shovel which I would take if I could. I have a Ultra Lite 44 Mag but the 22 is my main bug out choice.

Thanks for all of the replys and many more are welcome.
 
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