Ok, I have a bag that I will grab and run with if there is no time for anything else. However, should I have 5 mins. I can grab other things that would last me for weeks, such as my food supply container that has many MRE's etc. I have 3 day supply in my truck plus my PSK. Do you all think you have to "grab and go" or do you think you'll have some time to load up more supplies if you really have to "bug out"?

I wanna know who this "Bob" character is ... and most importantly, why so many people care how much he weighs!

My personal definition of the BOB is strictly "grab and go". If given 5 minutes to prepare I could (and would) not only grab my BOB which also contains my PSK when it is not being used, but also an entire carload of other goodies. The BOB is absolutely "grab and go" (perhaps even on foot) for me and that's exactly how I built it. Frenchy, in response to your "campfire" post I'll try to get my contents listed here in the next couple days but I will probably do it in this forum since it will definitely be a gear-related post.

why not just stuff a few mre`s in your b.o.b instead?

if any items you carry dont need to be refrigerated id keep some in your b.o.b incase you DONT have those 5 extra minutes to get out of dodge.

The one time I "bugged out" was due to an ice storm that left us without power for 11 days.After a couple days we moved in with friends who had power.I could have moved the whole house.

Of the thousands of people who bug out each year most have plenty of warning.What is the cause of most bug outs?

Wildfires,floods,hurricanes.You know there coming,how close etc.Now things such as 911 you have less time,but who bugged out of NYC after the attack? and if they did I'm sure they took the time to grab some stuff.Now the folks inside wtc I'm sure just fled and who carries their bob in their hand at work?

Keep as much as possible in your bob,your car,ON YOU,but short of living near a nuke plant, large chemical plant,(even then I'm not sure going out side is wise)or down stream from a large damn that you feel may burst it seems as if for most folks the major threat is one that has ome warning.Just don't be one of the dopes that stays till the flood waters up to the roof....

In fact in my case I'm more concerned with" bugging in"that is getting to my house.

Just my 2 cents.

Actually, I know of one person who tried to bug out of NYC after the 911 attack. She was close enough so she had to walk thru smoke, dust, and hot rubble.

She could have used goggles, a dust mask (or better!) and footwear other than dress shoes with heels. In the thousands of times she's relived the trauma, that's the BOB stuff she wishes she had.

DBAGuy:

Now remember what your doctor said about taking your medicines on time.

Go lay down with your feet slightly higher than your chest, rub your stomach and pat your head.

Everything will be all right, just don't forget to take the medicine again.

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Time to pick and choose is nice, IF you have it, but you MIGHT not. Captain Rogers stressed being ready to go at a moments notice, and if it's good enough for rangers, it's good enough for me (shades of Red Dawn). <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Troy

P.S. Sorry to all those who choose to believe "it can't happen". <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

The interesting thing about bugging out is contemplating why you would be doing it.

If you could find 10 people who HAD BOBs and had to grab them, it would be fascinating to know how many of them were running from an expected situation, or an unexpected one.

It might be extremely disorienting to be prepared for flood, earthquake, volcano or firestorm (my area), just to have a lost oil tanker run into my house.

Oh, well... they say that the only game with no percentage of luck involved is chess. Probably so.

'Pup

red dawn is actually one of the few films id like to see a remake of.

but in todays sissy political climate we would have to make the invading foreigners into all white male militia members or else someone could be offended at a work of fiction.

dont laugh or doubt it they did it already with the movie " the sum of all fears".

i still think about the WTC attack honestly because i was almost there that day and i knew alot of people who were there unfortunatly.

I always have my BOB within reach, and had it on 911 even though I was far enough uptown to to have to bug out

How many folks buged out of NYC? Hint - everything below Canal St was closed for days, and let's say you lived in Battery Park City (BIG apartment complex) - The evac'd you that AM, and you were not let back to even take anything from your apartment for a couple of weeks, and if I remember right, to live for a few MONTHS. There was actually a major issue with pets in lower Manhattan - originally they were going to let no one back for a LONG time, but the ASPCA convinced the city to allow escorted trips to get your pet

My mother was a little farther away, but close enough. She simply hunkered down until she could arrange to get out of Dodge. Granted my father and sister were on Long Island and could lend assistance. Did she need a BOB? No. Do those who live in the general vicinity need one? Yes.

My wife was across the river from the Pentagon the same day. She simply bugged out before the city closed down mass transit. Did she need a BOB? No. Did anyone in the general vicinity? No.

I am posting this simply to show that the need to have a BOB has less to do with the type of event, and more to do with the effect it has on your ability to live. Most people affected by 9-11 were commuters, not residents.

Hurricane Isabelle knocked out power to my house for a couple of days. No need to bug out, just hunker down. Snowstorms, again no power but no need to go anywhere. So what would cause me to bug out? Immediate life threat - wildfire, flooding, earthquake (rare in VA, and not necessarily a reason to go anywhere).

Terrorist strike against a nuke plant? While I doubt the effectiveness of this particular method (former nuc sub officer), you first need to determine wind and fallout directions. It is not necessarily an immediate threat due to the method of material spread.

Dirty bomb, more important to get out of ground zero, I will give you this one. This also would correspond to an attack against a large chemical plant or refinery. Think Bohpal (sp?) India, different method, same result.

Public riot - If you live in LA or DC, I would be able to evac the city for at least a week.

Sorry for the long ramblings, and I will fault no one for being prepared. Look at the realistic threats and you may find that maintaining an emergency equipment stash for natural disasters to be more important than having a BOB within arms reach at all times.

From my own 9-11 experience, communications breakdown was the hardest obsticle to overcome, hence why I have been following the HAM thread.

Bill

I think the 3000 people who died in Bohpal, never had a chance to wake up, let alone bug-out.
Bugging out is only a good idea if you know whats happening as the event unfolds, otherwise, at best, your wasting your time, and at worst putting your life in danger unneccessarily.

In response to your comment about the viability of an attack on a nuke, I work the outages, and every refuel outage, low flying air traffic scares the bejeepers out of me, no details, but enough said.

In 1993, when they first bombed the WTC, that was the day I was moving in to my apartment, exactly one block north of the WTC, on Greenwich Street.
There was, as the time, a parking lot directly across the street from my apartment, with military helicopters landing and taking off constantly.

Nothing moved that wasn't olive drab or had a rotating red light on it for days. To get supplies, I had to march north, and to bring supplies in, they had small brigades of guys with hand-trucks.

It wasn't TEOTWAWKI, but it was dammed inconvienient.

Someone on CPF explained a while back that the original meaning of a BOB was something an emergency responder (paramedic or whatever) kept at home in case they got a call in the middle of the night. Its purpose was not to have supplies to get OUT of an emergency with, but rather to go INTO an emergency from the outside on short notice, to assist with rescue, repairs, etc.

For most folks at home, in most but obviously not all situations, staying put ("shelter in place") is the best strategy. Keep stuff on hand to get through whatever it is, and to help your neighbors. No need to add to the load on already strained emergency response crews, shelters, and so forth.