BOB Help, with a twist!

Hi folks. As summer rolls in, I've taken the opportunity to shuffle some clothes out of my BOB. It occured to me as I heaved this thing out of the basement, that it has kind of gotten away from me, size-wise. So, I present to you, kind readers, my BOB, with this request:

What can I get rid of to help bring the weight down!

First my "ditch kit." I got this idea from one of the other ETS members, basically a larger version of an EDC. Something to keep in case I lose the main pack. It contains:
1 military fanny pack
4 foil water packets
2 FirstStrike Ration milkshake pouches (325 Calories/ea)
2 Platypus collapsable 1-qt bottles
a few handfuls of TP
A small FAK (bandaids, motrin, tylenol, Neosporin ointment)
1 River Rock AA flashlight
1 Proton AA flashlight
4 AA batteries
1 match case with REI storm matches
1 Byrd knife
1 double head screwdriver, with duct tape along handle
1 lightstick
20 ft paracord, 20 ft of mason's line, some zipties
Coffee filters, 6 aqua-pur tabs (the non-iodine type), a plastic knife and spoon
1 "fire kit" - tinder, matches, cotton balls



Here's the main BOB. The black pouch on back is a FAK, the small black pouch on the waist belt is some quick-access snacks. It's a CheaperThanDirt Molle bag.



Opening the main pouch, there are 2 "sides" (the back, and the rest of the pack). This is what's in the pouch directly behind the shoulder straps:
2 wool blankets, wrapped in trash bags (clean and dry)
2 civilian MRE meals
2 Mainstay 1-day rations
Pocket size SAS manual
1 small nalgene bottle with photocopies of ID, 20 aqua-pur tabs
Pouch with military poncho
EDIT: Removed 1 shotgun round belt, with: 5 rounds of slug, 5 of 00 buck, 15 of #4 birdshot
1 REI 2-gallon (?) water pouch



The facing side of the pack:
2 dehydrated meals
1 6-pack KoolAid mix
2 Gatorade mix pouches
12 Trioxane tabs
box of 12 Esbit tabs
100ft paracord
coffee filters
1 pack of wetwipes
4 45-gal trashbags



The FAK has gauze, gloves, a few ace wraps and gauze wraps. No big suprise. The food pack has a powerbark, 1 pack of Cliff-shots, and some sesame crackers from REI. There are 2 small pouches on the sides of the bag. One side has a 1-gal USGI canteen and canteen cup. The other has a 1-gal USGI canteen with duct tape around it.

On the back of the pack are 2 pockets, on top of each other. The larger carries:
1 RiverRock LED lantern (3AA), with 3 spare AA batteries
2 rolls of TP
1 gal. bag with: 1 pr wool socks, 1 pr cotton socks, 1 pr wool glove liners, 1 fleece hat, 1 pr. boxers
1 P-38
3 lightsticks
1 Albuterol inhaler
3 packs of plastic eating utensils
Some tin foil
2 1-gal ziplock bags
50 rounds of .22 ammo
1 pack wetwipes



The small pouch outside of this pocket is fairly snug. It contains:
1pr leather work gloves
1 small hatchet
1 headlamp (not AA, but such is life)



The bottom outside pouch is rather packed. It has:
1 Paraframe knife
1 SOG multiplier
1 sharpening stone
1 Esbit stove with 6-pack inside it
10 back AA batteries
6 pack of KoolAid
1 chapstick, 1 hotel-size mouthwash, 1 hotel-size shampoo, 1 hotel-size soap bar
4 oz contact lens solution, 1 contacts case
1 firesteel
5 9-hour candles
1 altoid tin of drier lint
5 paper matchbooks in ziplock bag



So that's it. As I write this, I realize that I might have a bit much in terms of fire, and probably toilet paper (though, if I end up with diarrhea, I'll be happy then!). If you see things I can trim, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

I just reduced my BoB down to miniature size (for commercial flying purposes), posted it for review and was shocked at what items were pointed out to me that would cause problems with the TSA. I was shocked because the items in question were obvious. I guess I just thought I was awake when I was going through everything.

Tomorrow I will go through it again and remove those items. I will then repack my regular BoB which I will take to the boat by car and leave there in the event that I need it.

I am not good at looking at lists and spotting the redundant and/or unneccessary items. All I can say is to look for redundant items and take them out.

Good Luck and don't forget to put your "waterwings" on before you go to bed. I'll be up there in your "neck of the woods" in a few days (Saturday --->)

With all due respect and with loving kindness. My harshing of your kit:

1 military fanny pack - Substitute a lightweight nylon civilian version.

4 foil water packets - Eliminate. If the area really is truly dry, most aren't, substitute 2-12oz bottled water. Half the cost and twice the water. these can also allow you to eliminate canteens.

2 FirstStrike Ration milkshake pouches (325 Calories/ea) eliminate or substitute power bars.

Platypus collapsable 1-qt bottles - Good.

a few handfuls of TP - Good. Quarter roll TP flattened. Keep core in as this gives you cardboard to burn or act as footbed.

A small FAK (bandaids, motrin, tylenol, Neosporin ointment)- Drop Tylenol and add Imodium. Nothing is quite as debilitating as diarhea.

1 River Rock AA flashlight -
1 Proton AA flashlight - Pick one. Drop the other. Insert lithium batteries to get better performance and lower weight.

4 AA batteries - Eliminate. With lithium run times will be long enough that replacements are not necessary.

1 match case with REI storm matches. Eliminate. Flint is listed lower down. A mini-Bic is more compact and it has a lot more lights.

1 Byrd knife - OK.

1 double head screwdriver, with duct tape along handle. If you carry a multi-tool you can drop the screwdriver.

1 lightstick - Eliminate. You already have light sources.

20 ft paracord, 20 ft of mason's line, some zipties - Drop the zip -ties. Mason line is redunadant but acceptable due to extreme light weight.

Coffee filters, 6 aqua-pur tabs (the non-iodine type), a plastic knife and spoon - Drop the coffee filters. Use a cotton bandanna if the water is chunky. You have a knife so eliminate the plastic one. The generic plastic spoon is OK but a lexan spoon or spork is more durable.

1 "fire kit" - tinder, matches, cotton balls - Substitute tinder paper at half the weight and bulk.

Here's the main BOB. The black pouch on back is a FAK, the small black pouch on the waist belt is some quick-access snacks. It's a CheaperThanDirt Molle bag.

Opening the main pouch, there are 2 "sides" (the back, and the rest of the pack). This is what's in the pouch directly behind the shoulder straps:
2 wool blankets, wrapped in trash bags (clean and dry)- Substitute one poncho liner. Half the weight and bulk.

2 civilian MRE meals

2 Mainstay 1-day rations

Pocket size SAS manual - Read the manual and memorize the important parts. Leave the book behind. In the field and in an emergency is Not the place to be reading the manual.

1 small nalgene bottle with photocopies of ID, 20 aqua-pur tabs
Pouch with military poncho

1 shotgun round belt, with: 5 rounds of slug, 5 of 00 buck, 15 of #4 birdshot - Skip all that.

1 REI 2-gallon (?) water pouch - Ok.

The facing side of the pack:
2 dehydrated meals
1 6-pack KoolAid mix - Eliminate. Drink water.

2 Gatorade mix pouches - Eliminate. Sub two sachets of rehydration mix.

12 Trioxane tabs -
box of 12 Esbit tabs - Eliminate. Build a fire or do without.

100ft paracord - OK.
coffee filters - Eliminate.
1 pack of wetwipes - If small and light OK. Else, sub a washcloth and water.

4 45-gal trashbags - OK.

The FAK has gauze, gloves, a few ace wraps and gauze wraps. No big suprise. The food pack has a powerbark, 1 pack of Cliff-shots, and some sesame crackers from REI. There are 2 small pouches on the sides of the bag. One side has a 1-gal USGI canteen and canteen cup. The other has a 1-gal USGI canteen with duct tape around it.

On the back of the pack are 2 pockets, on top of each other. The larger carries:
1 RiverRock LED lantern (3AA), with 3 spare AA batteries - Eliminate as redundant.

2 rolls of TP - Eliminate. You have TP.

1 gal. bag with: 1 pr wool socks, 1 pr cotton socks, 1 pr wool glove liners, 1 fleece hat, 1 pr. boxers
1 P-38

3 lightsticks - Redundant. For backup you might add a Photon keychain light.

1 Albuterol inhaler OK as I assume you require this.

3 packs of plastic eating utensils - Eliminate. If you have company they can share your Spork.

Some tin foil

2 1-gal ziplock bags

50 rounds of .22 ammo - Skip.

1 pack wetwipes - redundant.

The small pouch outside of this pocket is fairly snug. It contains:
1pr leather work gloves
1 small hatchet
1 headlamp (not AA, but such is life) - Eliminate or substitute a Nite-Ize headband that allows use of small flashlight, listed elsewhere, on head.

The bottom outside pouch is rather packed. It has:
1 Paraframe knife -
1 SOG multiplier - Pick one or the other knife or multi tool. Total of one moderately sized knife or multi tool. One half size or small SAK as backup. One tiny pen knife or similar kept razor sharp for first-aid use and third.

1 sharpening stone - Eliminate. Substitute a pen-type diamond sharpener. Or a piece of silicon-carbide wet-dry paper glued to a flat surface. Something you already carry is ideal. A paint stirrer is also good.

1 Esbit stove with 6-pack inside it - Gone.

10 back AA batteries - unnecessary.

6 pack of KoolAid - Get used to plain water.

1 chapstick, 1 hotel-size mouthwash, 1 hotel-size shampoo, 1 hotel-size soap bar - Keep the chapstick toss the rest. Sunscreen type chapstick is best and add a small tube of sunscreen.

4 oz contact lens solution, 1 contacts case - With blowing dust, smoke or allergies you may not be able to wear contacts so add glasses in indestructible birth control frames. Flip-down sunglasses on them add functionality.

1 firesteel - Already mentioned.

5 9-hour candles - Carry one. When it gets dark you sleep.

1 altoid tin of drier lint - Eliminate. You already have tinder.

5 paper matchbooks in ziplock bag - Redundant, gone.

Well, I hope that wasn't too painful. Just my considered opinion. YMMV.

Thanks Art, that's the kind of tough love I'm looking for. I've already removed the shotgun shells, figuring I can't carry 2 guns. I'll leave the .22 ammo, since it's lighter than heck. If I do grab the .22 rifle, chances are good I'll be in a rush and forget the ammo. Nice heavy club then.

Re: FSR milkshake packs. For now I'll keep these instead of power bars, which they replaced. It's dehydrated, so it's just "add water" and I suppose could eat dry (yum). Also, fairly well balanced nutrition.

Other random comments... the knife sharpener is this tiny one from County Comm: http://countycomm.com/sharpener.htm
Only about 2" long, weighs just a tad. I have a "pen" style sharpener in the kitchen, but find I sharpen better with a stone than a stick.

Again, thanks!

In my experience it is always easier to critique others bags than to critique my own. Problem is I tend to get into a train of thought and fall in love with my choices.

One of the first times I went camping I must have carried three lighters, matches, a match safe with lifeboat matches and a couple of flints. And probably what amounted to a half-pound of assorted tinder, birthday candles, Vaselined cotton, char cloth, and, if I remember right, a road flare. In a series of quite logical 'what-ifs' and 'might-need' and 'just-in-case' steps I had talked myself into humping way more than I would ever need.

A lighter, a few lifeboat matches and a flint is about all anyone could realistically need. Perhaps a couple of mini-Bics or Peanut lighters. They are both so small and light I wouldn't feel bad about carrying a spare.

Redundancy is good but it comes at a high cost. A fact that only becomes clear when you are hot, tired and pretty much exhausted when you really could have used that extra energy. Or, on friendlier terms, when you look at the content of your pack after the fact and figure all the stuff you could have gone without. Every piece of gear increases bulk and weight. The encumbrance will be making choices for you. With more weight you move more slowly, perhaps unable to outrun a crowd, fire or flood; less sure on your feet, more prone to slipping and injury; and more fatigued, less alert and able to spot dangers.

The need to sharpen a knife has to be offset against the odds a knife will need to be sharpened in the time period your contemplating and the number of knives you have.

I have seen diamond impregnated stainless steel cards, about the size of a credit card, that look good and, after seeing them used, seem to work. They come in several grits, are light and, because they are flat, quite compact.

You might add some Emergen-c packets I like the super orange instead of the drink mixes for 72 hr bob 3 should be enough.

Lee

NightHiker, I'm curious how much it weighs as well! I don't have easy access to a scale, but I'd hazard a guess of near 40 lbs. Might be a touch less, but the 2 canteens are empty - I pass the kitchen sink on the way up from the basement, so the plan is to fill if I need to there.

The rifle is stored separate from the kit. Mainly b/c I like to go shooting, so it's a little easier access. However, it is within about 5 ft of the kit normally, and close to the exit route.

Perhaps I should clarify "Civilian MRE." It's 1 main entree, a Nutrigrain bar, some gum, and maybe a drink. Not quite as heavy as a true MRE. Good point though, as it is bulky, and heavier than the dehydrated meal. Of course, the dehydrated stuff is usually a single dish only!

Thanks!

I suggest working to set up a BOB checklist, preferably a computer spreadsheet.

Include whatever functional categories you think are appropriate. Mine include: First Aid, Shelter, Fire, Water, Food, Navigation, Light. Signaling, Self-protection, Hygiene, and Morale.

Focus on one category at a time. Clarify for yourself what purpose the gear in that category must serve, and how long you intend to rely on only that gear.

Consider grading each item of gear and other stuff to maximize, relative to other stuff in the same category:

Multi-use
Durable for at least 72 hours
Easy- to no-maintenance
Compact
Lightweight
Appropriate to the conditions you are likely to confront
Effective, gets-the-job done
Supports bugging out on foot for at least 72 hours
Easy to use

[If you want to get mechanical, award each item in the category 1 point for meeting one of the criteria, then rank by points.)

Edited to add: Evaluating a BOB also requires looking at your EDC in order to evaluate potentially excess redundancy.

For the ditch kit, add some type of shelter (even the old style space blanket is a big step up from nothing, and is dirt cheap and very light)

As far as weight goes, easiest thing is to reduce number of items (batteries and candles for example). Think about expected timeframes - you can't carry enough to outlast TEOTWAWKI

I'm a big fan of zipties... When you are in a rush to lash a shelter together, zipties will make short work of it... And they are light as heck..

For a BOB, maybe a pair of sturdy glasses in a semi-hard case with a neckcord or elastic band would be more appropriate than spare contacts?

I'm just thinking that tired, on the move, in the elements and dark isn't the time to delicately balance a contact on your fingertip and try to figure out which goes in the right and which goes in the left eye. Nor would it be much fun to do the contact hunt in the great outdoors.

Dave

I understand that there are personal prefernces and YMMV, but all of my kits get packets of these: http://www.charmin.com/en_us/pages/prod_fresh.shtml
I prefer the results, especially when not in a comfortable place.

As usual, it depends. A bug out bag is based on a whole pile of assumptions and questions...

Your plans, experience area? Level of fitness, nearness of re-supply, relatives?
Weather conditions, available cash, ability to leave an area early?

TRO

- did I miss the comm gear? ( cell phone, radio, etc.)

I think it is a great idea to look at the assumptions that go into assembling an bug-out bag, and the implications of those assumptions. Here are some suggestions:

Assumption: You do not know when you may have to grab your BOB and go.

BOB Implications: You will not have time to pick and choose BOB contents - it pretty much has to be ready to go as-is. If you live where there are major seasonal environmental variations that necessitate different BOB contents, then you better repack each season (or have a BOB for each season).

Assumption: Your BOB contents will be guided by the Rule of Threes (You may die if you go: 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food).

BOB Implications: You want gear that lets you breath: particulate mask, your medically necessary inhalers and antiphylatctic (sp?) shock gear, and whatever first aid gear is reasonably carried to keep you from bleeding out from injury. You want clothing, including footwear and headcoverings, and gear that can provide shelter from the elements if you cannot find shelter. You want to carry water and food, and the means to find, treat, and carry more if your supplies are not sufficient to reach your projected next source of re-supply. You want to carry more water than food.

Assumption: You will have gear in each survival category, including First Aid, Shelter, Fire, Water, Food, Navigation, Light, Signaling, Self-protection, Hygiene, and Morale.

BOB Implications: With so many categories of gear, you must severely limit the stuff in each category to the most necessary, with a priority on stuff that is compact, multi-use, durable, maintenance-free, etc.

Assumption: You need to travel, on foot if necesary, to reach your next source of re-supply.

BOB Implications: You want excellent footwear and foot treatment supplies. You want light-weight gear. To cover distance you want food and water sufficient to spend minimum time foraging. The overall weight and size of your BOB must match your physical ability to walk for what may be an extended time. You have whatever you may need to navigate to your next source of re-supply in what may be a highly altered environment that no longer allows shortest-distance travel.

Hypothesis: While we may have preferences and economic limits that show up as variations in specific gear, the contents of most BOBs will be remarkably similar.

dweste...I love you!! that was an amazing post!!!

You could always get the military MREs instead of the civvy ones then dispense with the TP completely if your putting together a 72hr BOB.

Yup, no need for TP at all... At least not for 72hrs.

Put a pouch with a few boxes of shells in with the rifle. Grab the rifle and you have the ammo with it.

Ha! You don't know my bowels.... OK, TMI. I probably can get rid of most of the TP though.

Good idea with the shells with the rifle, SBRaider. However, then there's an issue with safety, in terms of ammo seperate from the rifle. It has, however, crossed my mind.

One of the other comments regarding my environment: Fairly good fitness level (run 2-4 miles, usually 5x/week). The asthma is fairly well controlled. Family within 45 miles east, or about 180 miles north. After that, nearest family is about 8 hours away by car. Living in metro Detroit right now, so I can either stay urban, or probably hunker down in some of the larger undeveloped land tracts around.

Experience: not much camping lately, but I started at 6 years old, did Boy Scouts through 18 (eagle scout), mostly in the CA mountain ranges. Didn't grow up with "seasons" like they have out here, so I probably overdo the cold weather gear a bit.

Cash: I'm a student. Limited, but enough to scrape up some gear. Assuming there's some time, I might strap on my tent, bivy bag, or sleeping bag from my camping gear.

Thanks for the comments so far everyone.

Trust me... If you've ever eaten enought mil MRE, you learn the amazing properties of them. Thus the lack of need of TP...

That sounds like a challenge to me.

I'm still not leaving home without my wipes. I'll carry the few extra ounces.

MDinana, I see your point about not growing up with seasons but I'm the other way, I am known for underdoing the cold weather gear...I don't get cold, but if I do get cold then it is usually really cold, really quick! So I am one who realy needs to learn about layering!

I certainly wouldn't leave home without some TP tho... That's for sure...