dweste ... my own approach is to use the BOB as much as possible. I take it for camping, daily activities that require those items, and also I carry it in my rucksack once a week (at lunchtime). It is frustrating to use up the BOB supplies and then need to replace them. BUT this inconvenience is minor compared to the enormous advanatages of being able to evaluate all the equipment in your BOB on a regular basis. The more you use the stuff, the better it will be tested under real-life conditions.

Just my $0.02

cheers,
Pete #2