Part of this reasoning was if I've got to cross a river and tow BOB or try to squirm through a small space and drag BOB on a line attached to my belt- if I've got to break away for some reason, I'm not SOL.

The time limit has to do with certain tactical requirements. Hopefully they never come to pass, heck I hope I never need to use BOB for anything other than camping, but no sense in not planning it out. Probably just paranoia, but....