Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 2 1 2 >
Topic Options
#55169 - 12/03/05 10:16 PM Food in bug-out bad?
Omega Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 11/10/03
Posts: 77
For how many days food do you think I should keep there?
Thanks,

Top
#55170 - 12/03/05 11:26 PM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
Nicodemus Offline
Paranoid?
Veteran

Registered: 10/30/05
Posts: 1341
Loc: Virginia, US
How much food should be included in a BOB is a tough question.

You have to ask yourself a few questions and answer them before you might be able to get some sort of an idea how to answer that.

Here are a few questions I asked myself when trying to determine a similar thing for myself. These questions go beyond the number of days I would prepare for, but I included them anyway.

  • For what situation or situations am I preparing a BOB?
  • Based on the answer or answers to the first question, how long do I estimate it will take before I can get to a reliable source of food?
  • What are maximum and minimum caloric requirements to stay alive and to be very active during that time if necessary? (this goes to determining whether it was a wait it out situation, one where I would have to be on the move, etcetera)
  • What type of emergency rations would be best in different situations where I would require a BOB? (This goes toward size and weight carrying restrictions and what resources would be available i.e. (e.g.?) dehydrated foods, MREs, Food Bars, etc)
  • Subsequent to the last question, are there any dietary restrictions I should take into consideration?
  • Also subsequent to that prior question, is it more important to carry as much water as possible rather than pack a lot of food?
  • How many people will have to survive on the sustenance I want to pack in my BOB?
  • Are any of the situations for which I am planning cases where food makes a good bartering item?
  • How much can I realistically pack in my BOB without it being a detriment? (I'm not just packing food, but other items as well)


This is all off the top of my head, so I'm sure I have missed more than a few questions I originally asked myself during the exploration of this question.

_________________________
"Learn survival skills when your life doesn't depend on it."

Top
#55171 - 12/04/05 06:37 AM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
benjammin Offline
Rapscallion
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/06/04
Posts: 4020
Loc: Anchorage AK
There really are no standards for BOBs. Some say it should be a 7 day kit, some say it's synonymous with a 72 hour kit, still others consider it to be even less. What you have to consider with a BOB is what is it going to take to get you out of a perilous situation to an acceptably safe and secure one where aid/supplies are more readily available. In Baghdad, I had to think about what I would need to take if I had to haul a$$ to one of the outlying Bases. The food in my BOB then consisted of 4 hoo-ah bars. The priority was the 3 liters of water in my hydro pak, plus another couple bottles of water if I could grab them on the way out. By all counts, we figured if we didn't make it to safety in two days on our own, we'd probably be done for anyways. In fact, we pretty much all agreed that if the bubble went up and we didn't get evac'd out by our boys within an hour or so, we were pretty much dead men walking at that point anyways, and all the food and water would do is prolong the agony of the waiting.

Now back here in the real world, it's all about how much Pemmican I want to tote around with me.
_________________________
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Top
#55172 - 12/04/05 03:44 PM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
Well, my BOB just has to get me about 90 miles down the road to the "ancestral land". If I can't cover that in four days, bury me, becuase I can get at least half way there by car in two hours if I stick to the back roads and then hoof it.

I carry a couple of MREs (Surepak-12s, about as close as you can get to the real thing these days), some wet packs of rice and meats, a couple of small cans of stuff, some granola bars, some bullion cubes, and a bag of instant rice. For fast energy, some "fun size" Take-5 bars and Milk Duds.


Edited by ironraven (12/04/05 04:03 PM)
_________________________
-IronRaven

When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

Top
#55173 - 12/04/05 05:10 PM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
Omega Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 11/10/03
Posts: 77
I agree factors will affect everything. My question was more what I had better keep in case of emergency.
So far I found information that it should be for about 2-3 days of food and water per person.



Top
#55174 - 12/04/05 09:18 PM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
That depends on a lot of variables. How close are you to DC, NYC or LA, for example. Is the emergency likely to be relatively short lived, thus ground transports reaching you in a day or two, or is it something that is going to restrict anything short of helicopters even after the sky is clear?

_________________________
-IronRaven

When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

Top
#55175 - 12/04/05 10:29 PM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
snoman Offline
Member

Registered: 09/22/02
Posts: 181
My BOB has a few packets of bouillon and instant oatmeal, a few Powerbars and two packs of ramen noodles. I know it's not much, but food wasn't high on my list of necessaries.

Top
#55176 - 12/05/05 04:08 AM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
MrBadger Offline
journeyman

Registered: 11/22/04
Posts: 61
For backpacking in the past I've used peanutbutter mixed with hunney and corn flower (not corn meal). I've also added Nutella to the mix at times. High calorie, high carbs, both simple and complex, lots of nutrients, and it tastes good too! I sometimes have it wrapped up in torillas or just plain.The person I got this from calls it "moose goo". I found the idea here: Moose Goo

Edit: forgot to say that for a BOB I'd just have a can of peanut butter, sealed pack of corn flower, hunney, and nutella.

I'm sure I'd get sick of it after a while, but for a week it will keep you alive and moving forward.


Edited by MrBadger (12/05/05 04:10 AM)

Top
#55177 - 12/05/05 05:42 AM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
Ah, heck, you're making me hungry.
_________________________
-IronRaven

When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

Top
#55178 - 12/05/05 05:51 PM Re: Food in bug-out bad?
benjammin Offline
Rapscallion
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/06/04
Posts: 4020
Loc: Anchorage AK
If you add some figs or dates and some Sesame Seeds to that peanut butter concoction, you have what's known as biffy bar. Very tasty indeed, and still high in energy and nutrition. For those who can't stomach plain Pemmican, this is a good alternative, though not nearly as substantial.

This brings up a good idea. Pemmican doesn't have to be just dried meat and suet (or Tallow). You can add all sorts of things to it, like dehydrated berries or veggies, nuts, whole grains, and even seasonings to give it some character. In fact, most of the indian Pemmican I've eaten contains dried berries and usually sunflower seeds.

One of the most exotic Pemmicans I've had contained Grape Nuts cereal, powdered pork rinds, and whey powder. It was so good I nearly ate a cupful, but it was so rich I almost made myself sick doing it. Once you start thinking outside the box, you can come up with some truly palatable recipes.

You gotta remember, there were literally thousands of people living off of Pemmican for hundreds of years in our past. If it weren't possible to make it taste reasonably good, I doubt it would've been as popular. Some folks even preferred a good Pemmican ball to fresh roasted game.

Of course, a good portion of that has to do with mindset too. for instance, there's folks up north that will chew whale blubber, and think Castor oil is candy, and many traditional Japanese eat foo-goo for breakfast, which is well beyond my consumption capabilities any time of the day. But then I could never get the big grub down during SERE training either.
_________________________
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Top
Page 1 of 2 1 2 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 324 Guests and 6 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.