How long's your BOB good for?

Does BOB=72 hours?

What's your take?

Here is my 2 cents:

EC (Everpresent Carry) = immediate functionality; designed to make general tasks easier, regardless of situation. Everybody has his/her own preferences here, but generally include things like keys, wallet, LED (light emitting diode) light, lighter, multi-tool, cellphone, etc. Think what makes my life easier.

PSK (Personal Survival Kit [up to 72 hours]) = immediate first aid + immediate subsistence; designed to maximally increase the likelihood of surviving current situation. PSK's are generally designed for survival at a fixed location until rescued, which most typically takes place within 72 hours if you did your pre-trip work and/or are carrying a PLB (personal locator beacon), or other viable communication device. Every member of your party should be carrying one. There is much controversy concerning these, and they take on an endless variety of shapes, sizes, and configurations, not to mention the endless content debates. Just think worst case scenario and common sense.

BOB (Bug-Out-Bag [72 hours to 2 weeks]) = longer term first aid + longer term subsistence; designed for evacuation either to or from home. BOB's are generally designed to facilitate fast and constant movement over an already established route. Every member of your party should carry his/her own. These will vary depending on distance to be traveled, seasonal weather, and generally will not focus on food aqcuisition, etc. These can and should be supplemented during the bug-out with predetermined caches along the route. Get the whole family involved in preparing for this one, as it is much more than just a kit.

EK (Expedition Kit [2 weeks to indefinite]) = civilization is not a foreseeable option gear; designed for complete self-sufficiency. EK's are generally designed to enable one or more individuals to live off the land for extended periods of time. Much of this kit can be shared between party members, such as hunting rifle, camp axe, rope, etc.

That was fun!

My BoB has 10 days supplies & is designed to allow me to cover 1000+ miles in order to get home.

Yes, I will have to scounge for the additional resupply needed along my way.

Resupply will require: food, water, and equipment.

Enroute supply acquisition includes: weapons & ammo.

My BOB is for 72-hrs. After that, I'm toast...

Nah,I plan to bug-out by car, and when SHTF I put my home-supplies, FAK, BOB,etc. in the car (wich also has supplies itself) The BOB is in case I have to leave the vehicle.

I plan to bug-out well before something is planned to happen (when possible), so that I'm not stuck in the traffic..

My BOB is actually three bags, 1st is my Camelbak Hawg which contains FAK,shelter,personal protection,and a great deal of other survival equipment. The next bag (duffel) contains food & water, and lastly the third (duffel) contains clothes and personal care items. All of this is carried in my truck which is one large BOB, it contains additional food, water and shelter. Bugging out is a last resort, getting back to my home is the primary goal. If I do have to Bug Out everything in the Shelter In Place inventory will go in the truck designed to get me to my Bug Out Location. So to answer the main question, my BOB's are designed around longer than 72 hrs but the food and water will last 5 days

I guess it depends on if you have to be completely self-reliant or not. For me, my BOBs contain supplies and tools enough to get me out of harm's way, which I figure could take a day or two or maybe three. After that, the consumables are pretty much gone, leaving me with a robust survival kit of tools and implements that I can use for an extended period. Security, water purification/filtration, shelter and clothing, fire, food, first aid, signaling and orienteering are the longer term requisites that make up the durable goods in my pack.

If it is complete self reliance, then I have enough to keep me going for a good three days. That is about all I want to carry with me anyways.

Well mine is really designed more as a Get Home Bag. Bugging out isn't really much of an option for me. to bug out I'd have to have a place to go to. Living and working in South Jersey to bug out I'd have to cross 1 of 6 bridges to get into either PA or DE. That in itself would be a nightmare.
On a day to day basis I'm usually not more than 25 miles from home. I've prepped at home to survive at least a year so my task is to get home.
I figure that with my GHB I'm OK for at least 3-4 days on foot.

That's what I have. Screw all that "depending on someone else to save me" crap. You have to depend on yourself, first and foremost.

I'd look into getting an inflatable raft.

Mine is good foodwise for about 72 hours, and less with water. I'm not really even good for two days on water. If I was trying to leave NYC, getting out of it while carrying enough water for three days, and nothing else, would be difficult, unless driving is a real option. If I can do that, at least another 5 gallons comes with me. The limit on carrying food has made me think about adding stuff to my BOB that could allow me to get more food; snares, fishing kit, etc.

If I Bug-In, the supplies will last longer.

Yeah kinda sucks.
40 miles east = Atlantic Ocean
20 miles west = 5 different bridges into Philadelphia PA
30 miles south = 1 bridge into DE
North, fugetaboutit North Jersey/New York

Well, you could skirt the Delaware upriver a ways and that might afford you some degree of separation from the urban sprawl, but you are in a tough spot to be sure. I wouldn't wanna cross the river into PA much anyways. I hear the mayor has all but declared martial law in Philly?

Seriously, I'd get an inflatable raft. Worst case scenario - all bridges are destroyed or otherwise obstructed. Get to the river, inflate raft, cross river, leave raft, survive.

Or stay and die. Either way, it's up to you.

Instead of heading west, across the Delaware River, you could head east or north (and then either east or west). If you head north, once you leave NJ, you might be able to cross the Delaware wihout a bridge or a boat.

Hmm, I never really thought of an inflatable raft as a BOB item. In any case, I wouldn't want to try and cross the Delaware in a raft that would fit in a BOB anyways. Might as well just BOB one of the $1.99 air mattresses as you'd get just as wet and probably fare better.

If you can follow the river upstream, you will at least know fairly well where you are at any given time.

BOB = however long it takes to get there + safety margin

Before I relocated back to what would have been my BOL under normal circumstances, BOB had 5 days of food, the ditch kit one day. That assumes breakfast, some grazing during the day, and a meal at night before bed, but not any supplementation. There is a tote without about a month of food in it that would have gone in the car, but if I had to walk I wouldn't have shlepped it with me.

As for water, I've got five quarts in my gear, I'd like to add another three. And get two of them into my vest rather than just one.

When I first worried about TEOTWAWKI, ancient Anasazi God of mayhem and brother to Kokopelli and WTSHTF; I had a BOB, PSK, FAK for any SNAFU of FUBAR short only $100 of colourised Ronald Reagan .925 Silver commemerative coins and 5 bricks of .22 lr for barter. Now I have developed the STUFFIT system, or 'supplies to fix food if troubled.' I have yet to use those tiny tobbasco sauce bottles on my fruitcakes or heat a MRE over a fire that has been stabbed in the center by my survival spear. I'd wind up making some mini lantern out of the thing to go with the coke can stove and MRE packaging duct taped emergency quilt I made after talkng with an Amish. But I could given all the backup kit I have to replace kit I in all likelyhood won't use anyway.We have learned from Katrina that 72 hours may indeed not be enough.This is when my KISS acronym 'Keep individual survival simple' comes into play. You AREN'T GOING to have everything you want, so have enough of what you NEED. In spite of yesterday's tragic event in San Francisco, members in that earthquake prone city really don't need Holland and Holland side by side stopping rifles. More than 72 hours basic food would imply leaving the liferaft behind.

Well said Chris, well said.

"...Kokopelli..."

Ya gotta watch out for that guy, or you will have another mouth to lug food for...

It's not a BOB item. It's a trunk of the car, get the hell out of New Jersey item.

Emergency planning has to be tailored to fit the individual's specific circumstances. If my circumstance was being boxed in by water, you better believe I would own a raft. But as it happens, I am not boxed in by water, so in my individual circumstance a raft is not needed.

The small town where I went to school through the seventh grade had a big flood. A few months later when we were going though the town about 50% of the remaining homes had small aluminum fishing boats in the back yard, I had never seen so many of those boats outside of one of those rental places at a big lake.

Yep, that makes more sense, I was thinking more in terms of the context of the thread, but it would be prudent to stage some sort of water transportation device(s) if the likelihood of having to use such is an imperative in a bug out situation.

Out of curiousity then, would you consider toting an air mattress or something similar in a BOB, or maybe even EDC, in such an environment where toting a raft would be impractical?