Please help me reorganize our family BOB!

FAMILY BOB
http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h351/backpackjac/IMG_20120309_164614.jpg
*We are a family of 3 where this BOB is concerned (Two adults and one 8 year old)
*There's way too much for one person to carry so we have a second pack so we can divvy up the gear.
*Our 8 year old has his own BOB, with a change of clothes for himself.
http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=241098&page=1
*This one's intended for about 3 days
*DH and I both EDC a Leatherman WAVE, Maglite solitare and cel phone
*This kit lives in my Jeep, along with 2 thermarests, a lg cold weather sleeping bag, wool blanket and my EDC daypack, (I owe Frisket a show and tell on that) which has things like cel phone chargers, more OTC meds, more tools, etc... and together they'll make up my GHB if need be (not carrying everything, of course!)


EQUIPMENT
http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h351/backpackjac/IMG_20120309_155819.jpg
-FAK (includes OTC meds)
-Sharps (CRKT folder, Buck fixed blade, sierra saw, mini sharpener)
-Shelter (tube tent, thermal sportsman blanket with paracord tie-outs, AMK bivvy, 1p Heatsheet, 2p Heetsheat, 550, bungee cords, bank line)
-Fire (ferro rod, bic, strike anywhere matches, PJ cotton balls, quick tinder packs, tea light)
-Light ( 2 X LED headlights, 2 X mini mags, extra batteries, chem lights)
-radio (with extra batteries)
-compass
-local maps (in H2O proof case with compass and radio)
-sunglasses
-eye glass case with repair kit inside
-cooking (esbit stove, hobo stove and a can of sterno, tea lights, mini bic and mini ferro rod inside cook pot with lid)
-TP and wipes
-feminine hygiene stuff
-pocket sized PSK (based on AMK Ritter PSK)

EDIT: Added a hygiene kit (toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, soap, sock) and removed svensaw

FOOD *packed
http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h351/backpackjac/IMG_20120309_155728.jpg
-Breakfasts (oatmeal, granola, dried fruit, jam)
-Lunches (soup, rice) *Mountain House meals and foil pouch single serving meat the way soon!
-Dinners (MRE mains, Lipton rice, Lipton spaghetti)
-Snacks (Cliff bars, jerky, sesame honey bars, chocolate, licorish, trail mix, fruit snacks)
-Drinks (instant coffee, instant lattes, hot choc, tea, Koolaid)
-Drinking Water (Kleen Kanteen in sierra cup, military canteen in canteen cup, H2O purification tabs)
-Utensils (sporks, spoon, son's take-apart knife/spoon/fork SAK knock-off)

FOOD *unpacked
http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h351/backpackjac/IMG_20120309_155301.jpg

CLOTHES
http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h351/backpackjac/IMG_20120309_154158.jpg
*1 change for 1 adult
*innerwear and outerwear could be broken up to provide clothing for 2 adults but I need to add a scond pair of boxer briefs
*Our son has his own BOB with a change of clothes
-2 X wool socks
-1 X underwear
-1 X LS shirt
-1 X fleece pants
-1 X wool jacket
-1 X rain pants
-1 X rain jacket
-1 X vinyl poncho
-1 X Thinsulate hat
-1 X pair wool gloves
-1 X baseball bat
-1 X polar buff
-1 X fleece naek gator

I would Either Ditch the tube tent and add tarps or keep it and add tarps. They are more Useful and durable and a 6x8 weights nothing really and can be found for 3-5$.

The hobo tool spork and spoon I would ditch and add Lexan ones. I personally thing hobo tools are unhealthy as they have many places for particles to hide. I personally ditched metal to reduce scratching on my cookware.

When you divvy up gear make sure you both have essentials accordingly. You dont wanna split up on purpose or for unforeseen reasons and end up both not having certain items.

Your sauce packets should be put into something crush proof.

Personally I do not see a reason to have two saws in the pack. I would put the larger sierra saw in the car instead and keep the folder.

Cant really think of anything else right now.

Thanks Frisket.

Yeah, I think we might ditch the tube tent. It could make a nice tarp though. DS has a second thermal sportsman blanket in his kit, as well as a second AMK bivvy. We've been practicing building shelters with them and he'[s getting pretty good at it. I'm probably going to get a GI Poncho instead of the tube tent. Having a mostly enclosed shelter, whether a tent or made from tarps or branches, is crucial for the eight year old's piece of mind. Things that go bump in the night aren't so scarey when he's got "walls" around him.

Ya know, I thought we had titanium sporksin our BOB but apparently they've mrigrated. The hunt is on!

Good call on the saws. I thought about switching one out for an axe, but it seems like overkill for a kit designed for a few days to a week. Good call to just ditch one!

Ditto the advice on the sauce packs. For somereason it made me think of hygiene. I should throw in some deodarant and toothpaste, and maybe a shamwow thingy.

We're on the same page when it comes to staying together. We're not intending to but would be sure to cover the essentials in both packs just in case.

Thanks for the always valuable feedback!

Most, if not all, meals should be edibile without cooking. You may not have the time or the fuel to stop and cook a meal. Unless you use a liquid or cartridge fuelled stove, smoke can give you away if you're hunkered down some where.

Be sure to include water, both in the BoB's and the vehicle.

(I could mention weapons, but that's a whole 'nother topic.)

Thanks Woodsloafer.

I'm always torn when it comes to meals. We do have a Peak 1 Micro Stove and fuel, but it adds bulk and weight that seems like overkill in a short-term pack. We're blesed with an abundance of firewood around here though, and the esbit stove seems like a nice middle ground. We are working on a DIY alcohol stove though.

Ready to eat means heavy in most cases but dehydrated stuff uses water and fuel. We've got lots of water, and means to procure it, between the BOB, our daypacks and the Jeep preps. Water is heavy if we have to hoof it but we're blessed with lots of lakes, rivers and streams in these parts. I may throw in a few more MRE mains, and I'm probably going to switch out the Lipton stuff for a few Mountain house meals, as they need a little less water.

Edit: I have requested that my in-laws bring us home some of those foil pack Spam Singles, chicken and salmon when they come back from the States next month. I've got a couple pack of tuna that I can throw in in the meanwhile. Canned meats are popular trail food with us but they're too heavy.


Thanks for not going to weapons. As you can see by the armed vs unarmed man vs bears thread, it gets a little testy around here when the subject comes up.

due to differences in climate I anticipate the need for more fluids... pack has 2L hydration bladder, Sawyer filter bottle,.5L Kleen Kanteen knockoff, powdered GatorAid for EGR and chlorine dioxide tabs...less severe sleeping conditions.. mosquito netting, tarp,GI poncho, AMK heet sheet w/3mil trash liner...

for sharps I have a cut down machete, Vic Farmer, Cold Steel SRK, folding saw, a GI entrenching tool is in the car

long gun and hand gun would accompany me (Florida is a right to carry state)

Jackie...I would recommend a real Trangia alcohol stove over anything you might want to build...

Thank Les!

I've been scouring Jim's site (look what he did to me today! Trangia vs bush buddy!) I'll probably pick up a trangia in the near future. Alcohol stoves seem like the perfect compromise between wood and gas. The fact that they're compact and so simple makes them perfect for this type of kit.

I'm thinking of picking up a GI poncho as well. They're as effective but more versatile than a tarp, me thinks, and would effectively gives us a second set of wet weather gear.

Thanks again!

I do not think weapons are part of your BOB. You should be carrying them as an EDC item if you think that is appropriate. There is no reason to expect that one will magically become proficient with a firearm or other weapon at a time of great stress.

I think it is a reasonable kit. One can argue about the details all day, but many of those decisions are based solely on personal choice rather than some objective standard of what "should" be.

I do not think weight is a big deal. I see no case where a BOB would be in use that I would be hoofing it through the woods on a backpacking jaunt, as many seem to see it. If you end up needing to hoof it, you can take a few minutes to sort through things and get rid of stuff that you can live without.

I am not too worried about food. People seem to obsess over it a lot, but it seems to me it is a fairly low priority item. Mostly a comfort item for a short term situation. I am not real worried about nutritionally balanced meals (whatever that means) for a day or two. While I think there is some merit to the idea of no or minimal preparation type foods (candy bars, crackers, etc. come to mind), if one has the ability to boil water, most people can also heat up just about anything. And the ability to boil water is not real hard to put in your BOB.

BTW, on the canned food versus pouches issue. There is not all that much difference in weight between canned food and the retort pouched food if you look at the net weight per ounce of actual food. The can itself does weigh more than a pouch but the typical pouches of Spam or tuna hold a lot less Spam or tuna than a can does. Since this is not an ultralightweight backpacking setup, a few extra ounces one way or the other does not seem like it makes that much difference.

Thank IlBob!

"I do not think weapons are part of your BOB. You should be carrying them as an EDC item if you think that is appropriate. There is no reason to expect that one will magically become proficient with a firearm or other weapon at a time of great stress."

AGREED. We don't own a gun yet. There are lots of reasons for that but let's leave it at "we're working up to it." DH grew up at the range (guns and archery) and DS and I are working up to it.

"I do not think weight is a big deal. I see no case where a BOB would be in use that I would be hoofing it through the woods on a backpacking jaunt, as many seem to see it. If you end up needing to hoof it, you can take a few minutes to sort through things and get rid of stuff that you can live without."

AGREED.

"Iam not too worried about food. People seem to obsess over it a lot, but it seems to me it is a fairly low priority item. Mostly a comfort item for a short term situation. I am not real worried about nutritionally balanced meals (whatever that means) for a day or two. "

AGREED -to a degree. If it was just DH and I, food wouldn't be a big issue for a few days, except in the winter when it's a good weapon against hypothermia. With an 8 year old in the mix, food becomes an important part of our psychological strategy. Consistency is crucial when it comes to kids, and gaining that through a meal in a high stress situation is worth the weight, space and time IMO.

Nice kits! Only thing I can think of is maybe a deck of cards and some sugarless gum. Kinda morale boosters.

You're more equipped than me. I'm going to use your pics for ideas, thanks.

Instead of the tube tent, or just a tarp -

Consider 3 surplus ponchos, one each. 2 ponchos snapped together make a 3 man hootch - if you sleep sideways. The third poncho becomes the floor.

Even better, the poncho can be used for catching rain, a stretcher, sleeping bag, sunshade, to sit on wet ground, a poncho (wow, what a concept) and more. The new ones are nylon and don't weigh all that much.

Spent many a night out under a poncho hootch, to include Alaska and the Sinai.

bacpacjac,

Although you mentioned "we're blessed with lots of lakes, rivers and streams in these parts." Am I missing the means to acquire and purify water in this kit? I did, however; notice water storage and maybe I am going blind and just not seeing a mention of water procurement.

Stargazer

I'll take an alternate view on the tube tent, but agree with the ponchos.

I think the tube tent, which is basically a tube of plastic sheeting, has too many alternate uses, e.g. ground sheet, waterproofing storage for equipment, etc etc etc, to be left behind. I don't think of it as a shelter, rather I think of it as a general purpose item that can also serve as a very quick shelter: open and get everyone inside, even if not put up in the "typical" way. Plastic sheeting is always something useful to have around. I carry a small roll of plastic sheeting in my car all the times.

This is a 3-day bag? I realize this has some seasonal variation to take into account, but ...

OK, first, WAY too much redundancy. How many multi-tools do you have? 1 for you, 1 for your husband, 1 for your son? Good if you get separated, but you're a walking Home Depot.

Ditch the Mag solitaire's and get a decent flashlight. Something with a run time longer than an hour. Lots of good options: Fenix, Olight, iTP ... For about $20-30 each, you can get a light that keeps a battery every 6-12 months with average pocket use. Try and pick up a model that runs of a single AAA or AA battery.

Same with flashlights. You realize you have 6 different lights for 3 days? I know it gets dark, but c'mon, you're not active for all 12 hours of nighttime. 1 headlamp. Period. You and hubbie already have flashlights, so drop the Mags. Then only carry FOUR spare batteries (ie, one replacement set for each light)

Ditch the CRKT folder. You have a fixed blade, and apparently more multi-tools than God, and each of those have a blade already.

Ditch the tube tent. Maybe the 1-p Heatsheet too. You're too redundant again.

That's a LOT of food. 3 meals a day AND snacks? While I understand more calories are needed if outside and it's winter, I would seriously pare it down. Ditch the lunches entirely, cut the snacks to half. I pack for one meal/person/day, with maybe 1-2 powerbars/day as well. YMMV ... but you look like a walking restaurant. How much water are you carrying, btw? I'd recommend at least a full day/person, just to carry you through until you can find a source and start replacing it.

That's a LOT of clothes. While I understand the cold, I assume you guys won't be running out of the house into a blizzard in January without already putting on a hat, gloves, etc? Consider dropping some of the stuff you already plan to be wearing. And maybe consider changing that wool jacket for a down vest. Light, packs smaller. Plus you keep your core warm still, though admittedly at the sacrifice of your arms. Which is why you carry a spare long sleeve shirt.

Sorry if I sound harsh.

I prefer an actual tent. They are cheap and compact and in my humble opinion much better shelter.

http://ilbob.blogspot.com/2012/03/packaging-weight.html
I did a quick weighing of some canned food versus pouched food. As I suspected, comparable canned food items versus pouched items I just happened to have available to weigh showed there may actually be a weight advantage to the canned foods.

I agree. If you want light weight, MREs are not the answer. There are many lighter items avialale at any grocery store that are lighter - mac and cheese is a good example. The tradeoff is that some preparation, usually boiling water, is required. Canned goods are often in aluminum cans these days, and contain water. If you are carrying water anyway, canned goods make a lot of sense.

Thanks for the feedback folks!

I should clarify a few things -

Purpose:

-this is obviously not a "go to a hotel for a few days because the house burned down" kit. (That one, for a short-term/localized/temporary situation, is kept in hubby's truck.)
-Bugging-in is our primary plan in most scenarios.
-this kit is in case we need to bug out because of a bigger scale situation, like an accident at the local nuclear plant.
-the other primary purpose of this kit to supply my GHB (I've got a 35km trek from work, as the crow flies.)

Kit Contents:

-as it sits, this kit is the result of merging two bobs, from two vehicles, into one. There is a lot of duplication. I appreciate your feedback to help reduce that.
-the mini PSK has about 12 MicroPUR tabs, so water can be made drinkable though initial filtering + boiling or the bottle purification tabs in the water/food kit or MicroPUR tabs
-the plan to potentially have a third adult with us, either my mom (who's at our house weekly) or my step-daughter (who now has her own place, does still visit occasionally)

Thanks ILBob. I can see the benefits of both, but when push comes to shove and we have to hoof it, I think I'd give the edge to freeze-dried and dehydrated meals, along with some ready to eat snacks.

Not harsh at, MDinana. Thanks for the food for thought. You're absolutely right about the duplication. I merged two bobs into one bag but didn't really trim the inventory very much. I wasn't too concerned about the duplication as long as I could get it into one pack. It's kept in the back of the Jeep and not intended to all be carried by one person.

3 days is the minimum for this kit but the reality if that if we needed to use it, it would be an event that's big enough to bug-out farther than to a local hotel. It could very well be in use for a week or two.

Personally I do not like stamping Expiration Dates on my Kits. There is NOTHING in this world to tell you that kit will only be used for 3 days except mass False Beliefs in a Set in stone "Code/System" for survival.

The ONLY things in a kit that will determine Length of "use" is Food Water And Stove Fuel. Of Which You can easily Augment them with Means to Obtain Wood Fuel for fires, Sanitation of water, And Means to Obtain More nourishment.

One Can Argue Hygiene Products can also determine this but there is plenty of natural alternatives one must be willing to turn too in desperation.