Hi :

I have assembled some gear(pics later) for my both my wife’s and my vehicle to serve as a BOBs or “Bug in Bags” to provide basic supplies and food for approx 3 days .We live in the mountains and winter ice storms have occasionally closed the road which is the only way to access our home. My question concerns what container to store the supplies in…currently -I’m using two leftover from the kids LL Bean bookpacks, which are OK, but not entirely satisfactory- food items get crushed and local bears have been known to enter vehicles due to food odors. I’m considering using 5 gallon plastic buckets with “gamma seal “ lids from US plastics – advantages:

a. waterproof
b. critter proof
c. usable as a water carrier or ,if necessary ,a toilet
d. useful as a seat, say at a shelter

Disadvantages:

a. Difficult to carry
b. If liquid containers break inside ,all contents will be wet
c. No way to carry individual items if bucket used for other purposes

Anyone have any thoughts on vehicle BOB containers? Rubbermaids,duffles,backpacks,buckets?

Thanx!

If you carry a trowel or shovel, you'll never need to use it as a toilet.

That being said, just throw a bag in with it. I saw, at Dick's sporting goods, a small nylon backpack (very light construction), that was crammed into a stuff sack about the size of a baseball.

What about using Ice chests, will help with the thermal problem and are tight enought to maybe get past the Bear problem and have a handle to carry it with.

Five gal buckets and ice chests both have some advantages, but don't consider them to be able to contain odors, or be bear proof. A black bear can open one easily, so just think what a brown could do. In some locations (Yosemite and Sequoia NPs come immediately to mind), the bears there are well known for being able to read words like Coleman and Igloo on ice chests, and know that a treat is inside. They will also rip the door off of your car to get at the ice chest. If you really worry about odors, I would vacuum seal all of my food, and never ever eat in my vehicle, or go thru a drive-thru at McD's, for sure you will drop a fry on the floor, and its odor will remain for a long time...

Concerning food odour in a car attracting bears check out this recent newspaper link from Northern Ontario.

http://www.elliotlakestandard.ca/webapp/...mp;classif=News

The car contained fast-food wrappers which attracted the bear.

Hope this works, first time I have tried to post a link.

Mike

How about something like the Flash UL pack from REI. Basically it's a stuff sack with a few pockets and back pack straps. Should collapse small enough so as to not crowd out other survival gear in the bucket, but doesn't look completely worthless as a backpack either. I bought one for my cousin a while back and he seems to like it. Uses it as a sleeping bag stuff sack / day pack when he goes backpacking.

Hmm, sounds like it's time to start carrying that pet skunk around in the car...

That story was both odd and unsettling. At least no one was injured.

Pooh-Bah:
maybe seal the top with silicone, and camo the buckets and Ice chests?

Maybe. It's your car...

Another idea is to get a backpack that has a hydration bladder included with it. You could get one that holds 100oz of water, which is plenty for a single person in the car.

Then have the other stuff packing in the other sections of the backpack.

Nothing is ever completely critter proof. Bear proof, just about, raccoon proof, maybe, but never rat proof. Keeping food in factory containers will help to block oders some, but....

I've used a packframe with a cargo shelf and a bunch of bungie cords a few times to carry 5 gallon buckets of stuff. The only one readily available is the old ALICE frame, but with better straps and pads and a little work it gets a lot more comfortable. In fact, you might even be able to stuff one of these INTO an ALICE pack, which would let you carry the small stuff.

The other option I can think of, if you can manage it, is to use a staff across the shoulders with two buckets, but they have to be balanced.

Or switch to a decent backpack. Knowing more about what you are carrying would help with to make a good suggestion there.