Your BOB may come in handy, but...

Liam Ryan

Liam Ryan

Joined
Sep 26, 2005
Messages
3,516
I have recently gotten the BOB fever, and have been making lists and looking around various sites, when something occured to me.
A bob will no doubt help you survive various disasters, for a few days,
now, say the shtf for real. You turn on the news and its all over. You rush for your bag and reach the door, and bang it hits you, not the door, hopefully your more level headed then that, but the realization that your meticulous planning and sizing down of your pack til it was 6 pounds has left many of your favourite possesions scattered about the house, that nice double bit axe, the large bag of rice, 1 more pair of underwear, you get the picture.

Now some of you might say "Well I have a BOV all loaded up and ready to go."
and thats just fine, provided you have clear roads all the way to your destination.

Now I am not saying that a BOB is a bad idea, far from it. It is simply that you may not simply be prepared enough. If you have a destination, why not stock it up in advance? It could be a summer cabin, a trustworty friend in the country, or just a cache you buried in a favourite camping spot.

The bottom line is , dont let your BOB give you a false sense of security that you can handle anything that comes up with your pack on your shoulders.
A bit more effort and you can handle anything. Take your BOB and get out. if things calm down, no harm done, but if things get uglier, you have a Bug Out Destination waiting for you.

Liam Ryan
 
Ha ha, thats a good one, but it gives me another idea. I am guilty of it myself, but how many of these "buggers" are keeping themselves in fit condition? how far have they walked in their packs? some might find they could have easily fit 10 more pounds, others 10 less. I know my buddy in the millitary does day long hikes with up to 70 pounds or so of gear.
Anyway, all I am trying to say is TEOTWAWKI should warrant a bit more consideration then a least amount of gear possible bag.
 
I have a stocked RV in storage (for the winter) in an RV park about 2 hrs drive from my home. I live close to the interstate and about 30 miles out of the main cities so I am already out of the main flow of traffic and hopefully the masses of exiting people. My wife and I work locally so we aren't miles away from home should an event occur.

In any case, a BoB is better than nothing and a few days may be all you need to get some sense of direction back in your life.

Maybe "Jericho" is getting folks thinking again. A BoB ain't helpin' anyone there.
 
Liam Ryan said:
Ha ha, thats a good one, but it gives me another idea. I am guilty of it myself, but how many of these "buggers" are keeping themselves in fit condition?
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Fit condition ?................... I have fainting fits . Does that count ?

I,m trying buddy . I kinda doubt the old Alice pack would even cinch up around the waist .
Even with the blustery weather I try to get out before going to bed . Pump up and stretch out those tired old muscles . Darn thing is it makes me hungry just before bed . :foot:

As for a b.o.d. ? I,ll try and encorporate it into my woodland skill walks . Its mostly on other peoples land so that kinda puts a damper on it .
 
So your BOB will be useful in getting from your home to your RV, and most likely help you overcome any unforseen hinderences, such as being forced to hike par way. It would be surprising I am sure to see how few of us have a real plan for a large scale disaster. I myself am currently in the canadian north, near the arctic circle. If I wanted to get out of here to my home in Nova Scotia I would have to take a plane, which may not be possible.
What would happen if I was forced to endure -50C temperatures without any heat? it could get real ugly, and my BOB wont do me too much good.
I am always thinking about that, how screwed I would be if the SHTF.

Jerhico is a great show, I am really looking foreward to see where it goes.
and that one brings up a third possibillity, staying in your well stocked home and possibly surviving with your community working together.
For anyone who hasnt read it yet, look for the online book "lights out" by the author "halffast" about a community banding together after EMP shockwaves put the power out and knock out cars around the world. Lots of emphasis on firearms, but not too much.
I liked it a lot and it was free.
 
Liam Ryan said:
Ha ha, thats a good one, but it gives me another idea. I am guilty of it myself, but how many of these "buggers" are keeping themselves in fit condition? how far have they walked in their packs? some might find they could have easily fit 10 more pounds, others 10 less. I know my buddy in the millitary does day long hikes with up to 70 pounds or so of gear.
Anyway, all I am trying to say is TEOTWAWKI should warrant a bit more consideration then a least amount of gear possible bag.
Click to expand...


I think this is a really good point and one that is often missed. People have a tendency to analyze risk improperly - I could go on a long rant about why this is but basically people tend to lend more weight to risks that other people present than the far more common accidents and unforseen circumstances that occur in moving around and interacting with the environment.

So, although one's greatest risks after TEOTWAWKI is from infection/disease, bad weather, or physical accidents, risk analysis usually focuses on potential violence from others. So, survivalists and "buggers" have a tendency to emphasize needing a gun over things that will decrease the risk of far more likely dangers. So money and time is spent on acquiring and training with a firearm instead of acquiring, for example, medical knowledge and first-aid skills.

If one is far more likely to take a nasty fall and sprain an ankle or break a bone (limiting mobility and the capacity to hunt and gather food) then wouldn't one be better off spending time and money on taking a yoga or martial arts class that would increase mind/body awareness? Instead, a survivalist or "bugger" is more likely to make sure he has a rifle that can shoot one MOA at 100yds in order to take out potential attackers than take the simple steps that would prevent a nasty fall...

Eating right, regular exercise, and enough sleep NOW will do far more to help you survive in the wilderness than any piece of specialized gear. Survivalism doesn't begin when you hit the trail with your BOB. It begins every morning when you wake up and make lifestyle choices that effect your health and well-being.
 
Well said. The extent that many of us put into thinking about medical emergencies is putting a first aid kit in their BOB, and many of these probably dont even open it to look through it.

Many of these kits are filled with low quality supplies, and a quick trip to the pharmacy and a few bucks later you can have a first rate kit.
But it would probably be a good idea to freshen up your first aid knowledge, at the very least reading a book and getting a pocket sized one for your bag,
but taking a first aid course would be a great idea.
I have taken it several times and believe me, I would be hard pressed to remember much of it.
 
I started my first "bag" after the Bay Area quake in 1989. It was an old backpack with an extra change of clothes, some top ramen and granola cereal. I put together my own FAK, threw in a 10 channel Radio Shack scanner my Buck 110, Mag Light and I was good to go.

Lot's changed since then but mainly the quality of the items in the pack are of higher quality rather than the list of items themselves.

When I put my first kit together, I wanted something for grab and go which meant not too heavy. Now that I am 20+ years older, the same adage is even more of a mantra....not too heavy.

I have developed a layered concept where I have a small personal kit carried with me EDC, followed by a larger more comprehensive car kit and finally the grab and go at home. Either of the three can stand on their own and collectively, adds more time that I can be away from home with the neccessities I need.

I might add, keeping you vehicle in good maintanence and with enough fuel to get you somewhere. I always keep at least 1/2 a tank full in my Suburban which is enough to get me to my RV.

If possible, take the Red Cross Basic Life Support and First Aid classes. My wife is a nurse so at least she is current. I re-do every few years myself.

Lot's of posts say stay in or get in shape. Great idea and that in itself never hurts anyone.

Ideally, home is where I would want to stay. I have neighbors and there is safety in a close community. Plus, all my prep is here!

hatchet-
 
I have actually used the BOB's twice RT once after a tornado had damaged the house we were living in, and later when a train derailed down wind of Where we moved to after the Tornado. Both times having that bag with us meant more or less it was just a move. ALL the other stuff was overwhelming, but we had clean change of clothes, we had our meds and tooth brushes and we not left with just the clothes on out backs, When the derailment happened, we had far less time than after the tornado, it was siren on the street, and a automated phone call in the 911 service telling us to move now. As my wife was pregnant with child #2 and child #1 was like 10 months old, We did not stick around. We ended up in a nice hotel BUT the experience was far different for us than many of the others who ended up there. WE were prepared, we had what we needed and that made the difference.

If we hit a EOTWAWKI scenario things might be different. I am not planning to leave out current house to make it living in the woods. I would leave here only when forced and would be taking my time to do so. I have enough water to last a month easy, food for a year, at least, and ammo enough to keep it that way. I have a pump well in my yard that can be run by hand, which reallyl slows down the reasons for me to run. For me my bug out bag has been used only for those short term emergency issues, but i plan on hunkering down and defending in situ if i can.

I have multiple options to leave here if i have to. there is a bike path a half block away that ties in with an old Sioux line right of way that goes a few hundred miles in either direction, the truck,the 4 wheeler, the Skidoo, or feet or bikes can make it out that way with miminal traffic, three blocks away also is a light commercial airport, My ticket is lapsed pending a new physical, but with a pair of bolt cutters I could be on my way outta here at 200 knots. faster if i pick the right hanger......
 
It sure is getting weird out!

It sure is refreshing to read that others have the same ideas of doubt about what may be just around the corner!

Having had the chance to attend formerly Pike's Peak Outfitter Guide School, now known as Colorado Outdoor Adventure School, it was mentioned every day that at some point, hopefully when you least expected it, a day trip would turn out into a drop off point, and you would need to make it back to school from some point unknown. Grate fun! The standing joke for the first thing that goes into a day pack? was TP, as there are only 101 uses for toilet paper, and one was better then the bloodstopper that you don't have!

One of the things I miss in some BOB threads, seems to be what reasons there would be to Bug Out? Knowing what your going away from, may be half of what your going too?

Do others here remember Gary Larson's Far Side cartoon, with the 2 guys out fishing and behind them is an apparent mushroom cloud of a popped nuke? The caption was rather amusing, "You know what this means? No Limit!"

Just for a point, the rules are off, if you think about it? To me, that means a very good footwear! As the further you are some the mob, the better it will be, at least for a few days.
 
I put up a post about WHY, WHEN, and WHERE reagrding Bugging Out.
It was a lengthy intro (apologies) , but, I asked the questions to see what was on people's minds.

A tornado, or forest fire as I have heard recently are certainly good reasons to have a BOB and to be prepared to Bug Out. Moreover, a good reason to have a destination.

Tornados and forest fires are a bit simialr, as they are localized to the point that safety and civilization can be as close an as hours drive away.
I don't know of anyone who has "head for the hills" , on foot, with their deer-skinning knife and a backpack, due to these types of sitautions.

Catastrophic survival emergencies are going to be the ones that extend beyond a couple hours drive on relatively clear roadways.
they are going to be regional, with clogged roads, no electric power, cars running out of gas, food scarce, etc.

When I think of a survival BOB, I do think ( whether right or wrong) of a major calamity, where I am leaving the safety of home and so is everyone else and their brother around me.

If we're heading off a couple hours away to a friends or relatives, are we carrying Machetes, hatchets, and ferocium rods, and food stores, or are we more likely packing a suit case for somewhat of a hotel stay?

I guess there a few different kinds of catastrophes, localized, Statewide, regional or Nationwide.

I am not downplaying the need for a BOB, nor the seriousness of a threating fire or tornado. Just suggesting that there are many different potential scenarios, each that will be handled differently. Anything from heading off to Aunt Sally's for a few days until the river subsides up to an epic event like "The Big ONE" earthquake, where California tumbles into the sea.

Each situation dictates how you pack, what you pack. Meaning that if we simply concentrate on a Wilderness focussed BOB, then we may only be planning for an event that is driving us into the wilderness, not up the road to safety.

I look at emergency sitautions more like a decision tree.

Is life threatened immediately, where I am at right now? YES=Get out of dodge(example-tornado). NO=Assess and prepare (Hurricane forecasted).

Are roads passable? YES=pack the car and go. NO=Think about alternatives.

Will we be heading to a destination with warmth and food, or, possibly sleeping "outside"?
Pack appropriate gear for each eventuality.

And on it would go.
 
hey guys as far as medical concerns go the min you step out doors espicaly if you plan on "roughing it" your need foer medical prep goes through the roof. no matter how great your bob if you dont know how to treat that nasty blister that has the potential to become infected all the prep in the wourld goes down the crapper. i just ets'd out of the active army where i was a medic for four years and i saw that kind of thing all the time. hard core 11 bang bangs goin down for the count from simple infections and not thinking ahead. i STRONGLY suggest u pick up the SPECIAL FORCES MEDICAL HAND BOOK its a mil manual that i never went to the field without. infact i took three with me to baghdad. they are written on a 7th grade reeding level so are easy to understand and cover almost anything u would need to know. sorry for runnin off at the mouth but just wanted to post my .02 cents
thanks
doc silas
 
Doc Silas, that's good experienced talk right there.

Things like trenchfoot, infections, are almost forgotten back here in the world.

I saw a guy go into shock once, in the field, he got stung by a bee, not an immediate allergic reaction, but the sting site became infected over days, (Dirty bee?) he got nauseous, chills, fever, etc, all in less than 24 hours from the first signs of any trouble. We then srumised may not ahve been a bee, could have been anything, spider bite, Wasp, or whatever other unknown critters were in that part of the world.

Carrying every single thing we would ever need to medicate ourselves would be tough, but, a little antibacterial ointment can save ya. At least the basic first aid kit is a MUST.

Good advice, thanks doc.
 
I have never posted much on the SHTF or BOB threads before.
Frankly, I don't have a BOB per se. I have a Get me Home bag in the car should something happen and I either have to camp overnight, or make my way by foot. That was more of a concern when I was in sales and on the road all of the time......hell, I could be three hundred miles away from home sometimes with little or no notice.
Getting home has always been the top priority for me. I'm not in an urbanized area, nothing here to target, fallout from anything nearby should not be a problem. I have NO intention of leaving my home without good reason. Some of my buddies get all into this crap.....buggin out, livin' in the woods back to nature garbage. You let me know how that works out. I'm gonna sit by the wood stove with a nice hot cup of coffee while reading a book with my FAL across my lap. Actually an accurate quote would be "Why would I leave my house? THAT IS WHERE I KEEP ALL OF MY S#@T!!!"
Having said that......:o
I do have "evac" plans in case of some sort of massive "something" that I have not forseen. All evac plans begin with cars. Knowing when to evac and beating the traffic would be the kicker in my opinion. If i decided to pull out rather than stick it out, I am confident that we can be heading down the road with the car loaded and the tank topped off within ten minutes of notice.

I couple of poster are right on about physical health.....I can't count the ammount of times I have recieved "advice" from gunstore commandos that probably haven't seen their own feet in years.

My 2 cents
 
Yeah, its kinda hard to take advice about outdoors related topics from a 250lb creampuff who gets out of breath walking out to his car. I have a bad habit of judging books by their cover but there are times when I've been spot on.
 
Dont you guys think though, that as much as we all love our gear, the best survival tool is the software in your noggin rather than any hardware or bag of goodies. Knowledge and skills, and the most basic gear , like a pocket knife, a fire starter and maybe some rolled up aluminum foil, so you can boil water if you have to, is the really the way to go. You might need to be able to hike with a 100 pound pack on your back, but the scenario may never go down that way either.

Doing your best to learn, to look at any location you are in and assess how you could utilize it for shelter, water, warmth, saftey are more effective than getting locked into preparing for any one scenario, if you think about it, we should be doing our best to be as versatile as possible and learning to perform survival tasks with a minimum of gear. Building a knowledge base and skills is the most important point.
 
That is a good point. Even the best gear can get lost/stolen/broken at any time, then what are you left with.
If you can do it with the bare minimum then anything else will feel like luxury.
 
It seems to me that the SHTF scenarios that are even remotley likely in the USA TODAY ARE localized disasters. Tornado, hurricane or a 9/11 event. Chances are in most cases home is your best bet. I think keeping your home well supplied is the best hedge against disaster.

I live in hurricane central and have learned this lesson the hard way. I now have everything I need at all times for an extended hold out in case of most disasters.

If my home was some how completly destroyed A BOD is an excellent idea. Something I have not given enough thought to. I guess I assume like most of us that a cushy hotel will be waiting for me.

My next bug out project will be plannining my BOD. Thanks gang for waking me up.
 
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