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#251402 - 10/03/12 10:29 PM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: TeacherRO]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
My new job will have me flying more. I've avoided air travel totally for some years, and honestly I'm not looking forward to it at all. One upcoming trip is for two weeks and will require me to check luggage.

My previous experiences both post- and pre-TSA is that theft of and from checked baggage is rampant. The airlines do a uniformly wretched job of preventing and reacting to it. I will say goodbye to everything that goes in my checked bag before I get to the airport.

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#251408 - 10/04/12 12:18 AM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: chaosmagnet]
thseng Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/24/06
Posts: 900
Loc: NW NJ
I've UPS'ed my tools and parts to my hotel numerous times for work recently. Include "Attn: Hold for Guest John Smith" in the address.

Time it to arrive a day or so before so you can check the tracking and then call the front desk to confirm it is there and remind them when you're arriving.

If you can generate a return label and send it along for the trip back, do that. Include a mostly used up roll of packing tape so you can pack it back up to ship home. The hotel will probably not have a regular UPS pickup but you can request a pickup or just locate the nearest UPS store or whatever.

I also pack only 3-4 days of clothes and just make sure the hotel has an in-house laundrymat - hopefully a free one.

I hate traveling for work but I try to make the best of it.
_________________________
- Tom S.

"Never trust and engineer who doesn't carry a pocketknife."

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#251411 - 10/04/12 12:27 AM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: chaosmagnet]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Flying is certainly not as enjoyable as it was, say, in the 70s or 80s, but at least it is still a very safe way to get from here to there.

Most of my flying since retiring in 2000 is to South Dakota, where I have participated in an annual dig for mammoths in Hot Springs, South Dakota. I am there for a month, flying both ways. Each summer we bring in two crews of around twelve Earthwatch volunteers, who mostly fly in and out. Over the past twelve years, this group has made easily two hundred incoming flights. All or nearly all of them would have been connecting flights, with greater potential for lost or strayed luggage. There have been cases of delayed bags, perhaps one a season - twelve or so. Instances of items pilfered from luggage - none. I won't dispute that pilfering doesn't occur, but, from what I have experienced, it isn't rampant or out of control.

The worst thing about flying today is the crowding, high prices, and the inability to board without even an itty bitty knife with which to clean your fingernails. Oh, the flight attendants back then were prettier, but I am sure they could say the same thing about me (On the other hand, maybe I am just as ugly as ever)....
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#252179 - 10/24/12 03:09 AM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: TeacherRO]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
Add pets, pet porter ( kennel) food, leashes and their documentation as well

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#262186 - 07/29/13 08:21 PM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: TeacherRO]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
And treats. Dogs do better with treats

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#262419 - 08/10/13 06:09 AM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: TeacherRO]
Craig_phx Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 04/05/05
Posts: 715
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
Have fun with that while the rest of us have real a BOB.
_________________________
Thermo-regulate, hydrate and communicate.

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#262424 - 08/10/13 01:13 PM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: Craig_phx]
Jeanette_Isabelle Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
Teacher has a point. Not all of us have wilderness experience. Nevertheless, the place we bug-out to may not have electricity. Therefore, replace the nightlight with a flashlight.

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#262425 - 08/10/13 02:39 PM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: Jeanette_Isabelle]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Most of the bug-out crowd with dillutions of carrying a 100# BOB on their sojourn won't get 10 miles before they cave. Where I live, 10 miles doen't get me to the city limit, let alone "wilderness". If you don't have a specific place to go, why bug-out? If you do have a place to go, why not cache your bug-out supplies near that location and carry a smaller/lighter BOB focused on getting there -- if you can't simply drive there with your BOB in the trunk.

We all have slightly different perceptions of reality, that's why cognitive dissonance is such an important concept. Anyone/everyone with a survival mindset, or what they think is a survival mindset should analyze their situation based on reality and not on a possibly misguided perception of reality.

Just my $.02
_________________________
Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.
Okay, what’s your point??

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#262426 - 08/10/13 03:32 PM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: TeacherRO]
bacpacjac Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
I think it really comes down to what you seriously think you might be bugging out from. Leaving because our house burnt down is going to be different than if there's a rail crash with a chemical spill, and significantly different than leaving because one of the nuclear power plants around here melted down, don't ya think?

Another thing to consider: if we ended up at my in-laws for any significant amount of time, setting up my camping gear in their backyard would become more and more attractive as time goes on. wink

We've got two set-ups for a reason, and I suspect that a combination of both would be the most likely outcome. We've been stuck in a hotel out of town due to a vehicle breakdown before, while on the way to a camping trip, and our camping gear came in just as handy as our typical suitcase stuff. We just didn't need the tent.
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Mom & Adventurer

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#262432 - 08/11/13 02:17 AM Re: Re-thinking the BOB philosophy [Re: ]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I can look back on decades of backpacking, climbing, SAR and field work (often in a true wilderness setting), and from the perspective of this thread, I have been practicing for a BOB event all that time. The gear I would choose is basically light weight stuff suitable for a wilderness because that is what I possess and what I am familiar with.

If fate should choose to direct me to a five star accommodation with chocolates on the pillow, fine linen, and all that stuff, I suppose I am adaptable enough to make the change, but when I walk out the door, I am prepared for much rougher accommodations.

BOB would not be my first choice- in the event of a major quake here in SoCal, I would prefer to camp in place on my property and salvage/repair whatever is left. On the other hand, a wildfire would dictate q quick exit from the premises.

One must stay on top of the situation and remain flexible.
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Geezer in Chief

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