My philosophy on BOB has changed somewhat over the last couple of years. At one time, the BOB was pretty much the same and only changed slightly in terms of clothes dependent on the seasons.

The main drawback with this approach is multi-faceted. Where we live the weather can change dramtically within a few days to a week. For example, we just went through our worst December in 40 years in terms of record snowfall and extreme cold. Now we are back to above seasonal norms and fast approaching spring temperatures already. Clothing requirements need to be altered as the clothes needed two weeks ago are no longer required. Yet another cold snap can come in next week and once again, the clothes in the BOB would not be sufficient.

This also does not take into account that the BOB's are also a secondary backup when used on hiking, fishing and camping trips that take place any time of the year and in vastly different locales and environments. One day we could be basking in 75F weather in valley bottoms and the next day be in an mountain tops where the temperature is a cool 40F.

Due to situations such as the above, changing and maintaining the BOB every few weeks is not conducive to the time required and inconvenience of it all. The methods now in place are the result of much experimentation over the last 1-1/2 years and so far have been successful in terms of least maintenance and overall usefulness. In addition to the standard BOB in the trunk of the car, a separate large soft-sided bag containing a mix of spring/fall, summer and winter clothes, other seasonal items and extra food is also kept in the car trunk. This bag supplements the BOB's and backpacks for whatever outdoor activity, regardless of season. For example, if we are out hiking somewhere and decide to spend a couple more days, there would be no issue as there would be more enough supplies for this. The only downside to this is that the car trunk is aways perpetually full...yet that is not all that bad of a downside.

At home and in a worst case sneario where we were forced to leave with the car on a moments notice, we would have enough clothes and food for close to a week. Assuming we had more notice (30 minutes) and were at home, we have extra bins packed that could be quickly put into the car and this would give us about 3 weeks of supplies.

On a similar vein where we left by car and then had to abandon it for whatever reason, having a large selection of gear, clothes and food to choose from and to add to the base BOB improves our odds much more significantly.