Could you give us an example of misconceptions you are talking about?


I see this as a good thing as it helps to be the grey man. You don't want to look like a survival expert during the zombie apocalypse.

Jeanette Isabelle

I can't bring myself to watch their videos, so I will confine myself to further description of their blatant inaccuracies.

From their piece on floods:
" A flash flood may result from a tsunami, but not always." Both involve inordinate amounts of water in the wrong place at the wrong time, but any similarity ends there. The flow of water is quite different. Unless you are in relatively low areas along the coast, you need not concern yourself with tsunamis. flash floods can occur over a much wider area. I have dealt with amazing floods in the desert. There are bits of good advice in this section, but overall, it is highly superficial.

There is a lot of misinformation and just plain typos ("sheers" for "shears" - First Aid Kit) that one wonders about their general competence,knowledge, and ability.

They state that their bag has a capacity of 48 liters, giving the dimensions as 18x12x6 inches. That is less than 1300 cu inches, or 21 liters.

Apparently there is some sort of storage container, not illustrated or described, which would increase the capacity, but their figures are misleading.

Burncycle's comments are right on! He also mentions the cumulative cost of the gear he has assembled. I am in the same boat. I was surprised to see the total cost of some of my survival essentials.

The things I would use in a survival situation are also the items i use regularly when out and about, so nearly everything has a purpose beyond some stark survival situation. My gear has been accumulated over time and that eases the pain. When you are in a tricky situation, cost is irrelevant. Hanging from a rope, I have often thought, "Whatever this cost, it was worth it!"



Finally, I don't understand the concern with being grey in a tough situation. Short of some sort of riot/mob situation, I am going to step up and help people in worse shape than me. I have been doing this quite regularly and there is no reason to stop now.

If I am ever faced with a frenzied mob, I will deal with the situation. Until then...

I did that. All I ended up with, after more than $200 went down the drain, was nothing but the knowledge of don't do that again.


I already addressed that.


As for the volume of the bag, do you need me to fill it with water to find out how much it can hold?

Jeanette Isabelle

Very broadly speaking I've seen two types of tough situations.

By far the more common kind I've seen is where being visible has helped a lot. For example, when I came across a bicyclist injured in a motor vehicle accident, after parking and scanning for scene safety I announced myself as a member of the local Emergency Response Team and started to render aid, regretting the absence of my bright yellow CERT traffic vest.

Very rare in my experience have been the, "It's time to go right now!" tough situations, like seeing the beginning of a riot or an armed kidnapping. There was nothing positive I could immediately add other than absenting myself (for the riot, the police were already there, for the kidnapping I did call the police once we got to cover).

In tough situations in the wilderness being very visible is almost always what I want. In urban and suburban areas, I'd like the option to blend in.

Normal bookbag? Really! That bag doesn't look like any book bag I have ever seen. With its off center water pocket (which will render the bag very awkward when full).

There is a reason all hydration packs have their bladders in the center and close to the back.

Actually, the unique look, logo and all, might be advantageous. The bad guys will recognize it and conclude to leave it alone, since it is filled with junk, and continue on, searching for something better, a not particularly difficult task.

You may fill that bag with whatever you wish, but it is not necessary to do so in order to determine its volume. They give the dimensions are 18x12x6 inches, which is a volume of 1296 cubic inches, around 21 liters (litres?, whatever). That is about half the size of the typical day pack, 2500 cu in. For bigger loads and overnight trips, I prefer a pack at around 4000 -4500 cu in. The typical load would weigh around 45 pounds.

Gear costs money. That's life. You need to choose wisely, and plan for the long term. Fortunately my profession, employer, and my hobbies have all given me a lot of time outdoors and the incentive to acquire decent gear. Most of this is quite applicable to a variety of emergency situations. If I have learned anything, it is to buy quality gear which will function well, rather than cheaper stuff which will fail unexpectedly (typically in a crisis). Fortunately not all good gear is expensive - think Mora knives.

There is always someone who will peddle subpar items at a seemingly bargain price - like this survival lash up. Although the price really isn't a bargain. Like I said, it is better than nothing, but not much better.

Oneof the best outdoor items I ever had was from a Frostline kit (sew it yourself gear). It was a reversible down jacket, dark green on one side (a perfect match with my NPS uniform) and screaming blaze international orange on the other. Talk about options....

It was also nice and warm..

If this is true, no one would think that I've modified mine. As I stated earlier, I wasted more than $200, attempting to build one from the ground up. Therefore, I'm in the early process of doing what I have done with my medical kit. Buy one off-the-shelf and modify it.

Jeanette Isabelle

What was wrong with the BOB you built? I don't remember reading about it.

Jeanette_Isabelle, we are not criticizing you personally, nor your choices, only the serious, potentially dangerous deficiencies of this kit "as shipped."

I think those of us with extensive experience are primarily concerned that people will purchase this and assume "problem solved!" when that is honestly not the case.

But purchasing a base kit (even overpriced) AND meticulously filling in the gaps is a reasonable strategy, and you've made it clear that is your approach.

So relax and tell us how you have chosen to fill in the gaps.

I discussed it last year. The kit is not "gray man," and it screams, "I don't know what the heck I'm doing."

Jeanette Isabelle