BOB contents and + general questions about food and water etc...

OK...have my BOB pretty much ready to go...I'm on a very limited budget, so here are my contents as follows:

Matches (a pack of waterproof as well as several books)
Lighters
About a half of a gallon ziplock bag of dryer lint as a starter if needed
Emergency blankets X2
An aluminum mess kit
A battery powered am/fm/tv radio
Utility knives X2
Pocket knives X2 (which are swiss type...with can openers and whatnot...)
Multi-tools X2
1 roll toilet paper
15+ feet of nylon rope
Small LED flashlights X2
First aid kit
Change of clothes (pair of pants and a shirt...2 pairs of socks)
Bedroll (which is a blanket that is warmer and lighter than most sleeping bags...)
1 1lb package beef jerky
Northwest Territories Backpacking tent


This setup is approximately 30 lbs. The hydration bladder that accompanies it is another 4 lbs

Questions for the masses...:

Do I fill the hydration bladder now? can I fill with bottled or tap water? How long will tap water last in there? How long will bottled water last in there? (I have plenty of bottled water on-hand...)

And food...I have chimed in a few times here regarding foodstuffs in a BOB, but apparently that was before I was building my own. MREs are too expensive for me...so looking for some cheap light alternatives. I have vienna sausages, ramen noodles, and sardines...but seems to me like these may be too heavy after a while. Is there an agreed upon ratio as to how much your BOB should weigh in proportion to you?

There's alot of pretty good sites out there for your water questions as I can't answer. However, if I were you I would include a decent size Bear strength pepper spray, and a gun. I am in process of buying my prepackaged bob and get home bag form a pretty good looking company. I could post contents if interested.

Depends on what you are preparing for.

Water proof matches and a gallon of bleach would procure thousands of gallons of water in a hurricane or flood.
If you are prepping to survive in a drought or a desert, the best tool is knowledge of procuring water. You could fill a tarp in the back of your truck and it won't last you long. Knowing how to tap wells or get moisture from plants would provide you with limitless water.

Sorry I don't have an answer for ya. Water is heavy tho, depending on where you live you can just produce your own clean water with readily available resources instead of carrying it.

One thing i would advise you to look into getting, or making your own version, is a cleaning kit for your hydration bladder.

I just spent the last day getting mould out of the kids bladder tube after they left some water in there for ages.

Congrats for including toilet roll in there.....i see so many BOB's that don't and i just don't even want to envisage the implications of that.

CX.

Get some water purification tablets.

No need to have your water filled unless some sort of event.

Make sure to have waterproof liners that could come in handy and ponchos.

If you add weight fine, but try to distribute weight for front and back. You can get a nice backpack or alice pack and add along with a utility belt to hold additional items including a butt pack.

Also get some good waterproof boots. Nothing worse then wet feet. I recommend goretex.

reply to post by CX


Toilet paper is a waste of space and subject to the elements.

It's gross but.. right hand for eating, left hand for cleaning.

I'm talking like your stuck in the woods... you gotta have a plan for everything. Bark hurts but its abundant and relatively efficient at cleaning your nether areas. You have two hands for a reason.... lol.

reply to post by litterbaux


eww! I hear they do that in the middle east.

Anyways, never underestimate walmart, lots of good items there. I got a three pack of the coleman tp.

TP aside, I keep a med kit and a hygiene pack. In each one I try to just keep a little of everything. I replenish it as needed.

Originally posted by litterbaux
reply to post by CX

 

Toilet paper is a waste of space and subject to the elements.

It's gross but.. right hand for eating, left hand for cleaning.

I'm talking like your stuck in the woods... you gotta have a plan for everything. Bark hurts but its abundant and relatively efficient at cleaning your nether areas. You have two hands for a reason.... lol.

All the best to you dealing with that one then. I guess as a last resort, but for a short term BOB like this, sticking a roll in a sandwich bag won't do any harm at all. The alternative, plus dealing with the infection that would come with that doesn't appeal to me on bit.

Pack of baby wipes is another option.

I'd be using big leaves, moss, that kind of thing before i use my hands.

CX.

reply to post by thehoneycomb


Great suggestions Honeycomb.
I would have to add a rain poncho, an Edible wild plants book and a first aid kit as well.
What about self-defense and protection from insects?
I would recommend a hunter's headnet for keeping the bugs off and for camouflage.

For food I carry dried meat, dried fruit and peanuts.

Dump the dryer lint and take cotton wool balls, they're better to light and have other uses.

If you have some, soak some in petroleum jelly, and squash them up. Paxck em in an old film canister and you'll be able to get loads stuffed in.

How big is the TV/radio? I imagine too big it it has a TV, try and get a smaller radio.

It should be light enough for you to carry for a very long time, I don't think I've ever seen a strict rule on it.

And water portage depends very much on where you're bugging out to?

reply to post by FX44rice


FX44rice, thanks for input. Yes, please at your convenience could you share the contents, and perhaps a link to it?

reply to post by thehoneycomb


Thanks! Water purification tablets I forgot to mention...they are on my "to get" list. Boots were not on my list, though they are part of it...I have a good pair

reply to post by khimbar


khimbar, excellent idea about cotton balls! Hadn't run across that before.

The radio is small, approx 3 by 4 inches. It does not have a TV, just a TV band...

Toss in some Gorilla Tape, a couple of different sizes of breeze clamps/hose clamps, slow burning emergency candles and an esbit stove among other things. Great thing about the esbit stoves is their ability to burn with virtually no smoke in case you need to use it in a closed in environment or use it discreetly. Plus those fuel tablets make for great tinder when starting a larger fire. Just scrape and spark. Poof!

www.esbit.net...

reply to post by edaced4


toilet roll is a waste of space.. Moss is more effective and readily available. Its what they used in Roman times. Its highly absorbent and has antiseptic properties.. It can be used in bandages too..

reply to post by edaced4


Your BOB weight shouldn't be a set weight amount according to your weight, it should light enough for you to move all day getting to where ever you need to go.
As far as water in the bladder goes, NO I personally have a few bottles right with my bag to dump in it, if I need to, because the water in your bladder will get the bladder very nasty over time.
As far as other gear for your BOB, it is what YOU NEED, not what everyone else thinks you need, they have no clue what your plans are or how far you will have to go, the type of weather and terrain you have to deal with, or the routes that you have to take to get where your going.
Those are just a few of the things you need to keep in mind when putting a BOB together.
Other questions could be...
Can I make it easily in a day?
do I need more than just a few snacks to get me by?
will I be helping others on my way?
time of year, and outside temps?
type of clothing needed?
do you have a BOL that is properly stocked for you?
can you get there without a vehicle ?
will you still have all you need with out a vehicle?
Will you be bugging in, cuz you have no shelter for bugging out?
do you have cleaning supplies? bleach, soap, things like that stored up?
enough food stored up?
enough meds..asprin or other types you might need?
enough water?
what will you do with no power?
with no gas ?
with no propane?
do you have a heating source for the cold winter coming up?

I could ask a million and 1 questions about do you have this or that, but everyone here will have different answers for many of the questions, so think about what you need for you and go with that, to build YOUR BOB, and have it be things that you think you need for it...
Only you know your skills, your strengths and weaknesses...go from there, work on the weak skill sets and build them all up to what you think you need to know...you might find you don't need much to get by, if you can have multiple uses for items.
Just my .02 cents.

reply to post by saltdog


saltdog,

Thank you! You should package up your 2 cents worth and sell it! Your post should be a sticky on this forum!

Of course a BOB is going to be subjective. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before. What you may need, I may not have a use for.

The water questions were my main thing...and thanks to CX and yourself for clearing it up for me.

As for TP...gonna have to leave it in the mix . Squashed up and sealed in a zippy bag it takes up just a few square inches. And, if push comes to shove, and I run out of dryer lint and/or cotton balls, I'll have an excellent source of tinder...

reply to post by Asktheanimals


I recommend doing a search for the US army survival manual. It is available for free on pdf and covers most all situations.

There are certain things that apply against insect like garlic and that was one important thing I forgot to mention. However I keep a small pack of household herbs of every kind as well as a small stick of insect repellent that applies like deodorant.

Anyways for self defense, rifle and pistol and vest that can hold magazines and clips. Camo? Definitely recommended. I go with BDU's as they are somewhat water resistant.

Oh also forgot to mention that I also carry a bb gun and slingshot. These are both great for catching small game when you don't want to waste bullets as well the slingshot is a silenced weapon.

Forget hauling water! Way too heavy. I recommend getting Ketadyne Pocket Filter. It weighs less than 2 pounds and will filter over 10,000 gallons of rank water into potable water. I've used mine for hiking and campign for years and have never had an issue with it.

reply to post by edaced4

A 9 foot, 7 pound tent is pretty extreme - consider dumping that for a bivy, or a tarp and some cordage.
Save space and weight.