Unorthodox Additions To BOB / Home Kit

Hi there, just wanted to put this out there.

I'd like to hear of any seldom mentioned or unorthodox item people put in their doom kits.

I was sitting here staring at a partially opened paper clip, and I think I should get a box of like a 1,000 and throw it in my bag.

You can pick locks, replace crucial parts in various machinery, organize your manifesto, etc.

McGiver (and McGruder) have shown us the way.

Any thoughts ?

It's pretty hard to pick a normal home lock with a paperclip. I can do desk drawers and *maybe* simple luggage padlocks.

As for "unorthodox" i'd say tampons and Always with "wings"...great for temporary emergency first aid.

Also, you can use matches/lighter to melt the tampon and sharpen it into a shank. This is why women in prison aren't allowed tampons (at least at our prison).

reply to post by MystikMushroom


I've tried and tried and tried to pick a simple lock, like a desk lock, with a paperclip. I guess I just don't have the touch. Is there any secret to it other than jamming it in the keyhole and wiggling it around?

I can pick a lock with a tampon.

reply to post by Signals


various gauge Zip-Ties...

the potential uses are innumerable, imo

MystikMushroom
It's pretty hard to pick a normal home lock with a paperclip. I can do desk drawers and *maybe* simple luggage padlocks.

As for "unorthodox" i'd say tampons and Always with "wings"...great for temporary emergency first aid.

Also, you can use matches/lighter to melt the tampon and sharpen it into a shank. This is why women in prison aren't allowed tampons (at least at our prison).

It's probably the plastic applicator that they melt into a shank. The tampon itself is cotton, which can be used as tinder to start a fire.

On a grosser note, during a tour of the Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles, we were shown cells in the women's section that were being repainted. The inmates had used "soiled" female sanitary products to block the air vents pointing at the bunks, the slit window, and even decorated their walls!

I watched this the other night. Using a pencil sharpener to make tinder shavings from small sticks.

reply to post by Magister


now that's pretty ingenius and crafty. !!! :thumbsup:

Zarniwoop
I can pick a lock with a tampon.

Nah you need the ones with Wings!



They fly into the lock and expand to push everything away!!

Oh man, I've not remedied my incapacated state... Eek.

In my bob I've only got random things like flints, knives, whet stones, compass, etc. I'd be lost even if I knew where i was. But I'd have the ability to cut open something and burn it.

I do like the idea of paper clips.. small, no weight, lots and lots, and you can be creative on the fly, no pre-designed idea to follow. Hooks, needles for threading, hot poker for .. sticking in your eye when you have an eyeball infection.. I dunno, but definitely has potential.

I could include those big clips too, the sort I used to use on my stil to keep the lid on when I used a 20 litre pan. Maybe they would take up more room than they'd help remedy a situation..

interesting idea to consider things I'd not have otherwise considered.

* I think sanitary pads have wings, tampons have strings. I onno, women don't let me near them..

reply to post by MystikMushroom

This is why women in prison aren't allowed tampons (at least at our prison).

How long before you get out? Surprised you're allowed to post here.

Agree tampons have many a use. From butt chugging to fire starting they are handy.

Knowledge is power. Instead of lugging along a huge book and a number of maps I think it's a good idea to type all the information you want readily available in small print, laminate it and have a magnifying glass. You could have all the information about local flora and fauna, all the maps you want, all the medical advice etc. in a very sturdy and small package. Have a nonsense page that when used with a substitution cypher (be clever here) has all of your important info, bank accounts, insurance, SS #'s etc.

One thing I've rarely seen mentioned is surgical tubing. Tons of uses for it. It's light and you can squish it to fit even in a small pack.

Bailing wire is another one. Heavy, but a lot of uses and doesn't take up too much space if you consider how handy it can be in building structures, making hillbilly repairs, flossing your teeth (How tough are ya?).

Small manual drill (I can't even remember the proper term). You know what I'm talking about though.

Salt, pepper and Tobasco sauce. Sounds obvious, but rarely have I seen it included. You might have to eat some nasty stuff.

One of those heavy duty folding slingshots. Why waste bullets to kill a duck or rabbit? You could just make your own w/ surgical tubing and found items but these things are awesome and surprisingly accurate/long lasting.

Titanium spork. Love 'em. Super light and durable.

Waterproof bags. REI sells them in a number of sizes. Put them inside each other, roll them up and you can have a ton without sacrificing too much space. I love these things and have used them on long kayaking trip, and always put stuff I worry about getting wet in a few when I hike.

One of those 'Shamwow' like towels. They work very well, can help dry you and your gear, don't weigh a lot and take up far less space.

I think morale is highly important. Laminated photos of loved ones and pets. A deck of cards. A favorite book.

I guess these are all fairly obvious, but a number of them seem highly useful in different situations and I've not seen them mentioned much if at all.

All home bug in stashes should have a good assortment of first aid and hygiene.

Assortments of nails and screws.

Bailing wire, duct tape, rope, stretch wrap (very good one) get it where they sell packing supplies.

Mason jars, candles, matches, lighters, string, tacks, paper clips, staples.....

Alcohol (vodka is good as it's pretty neutral in taste)
Bleach
Hydrogen peroxide
Ammonia
baking soda
lye or concentrated soap
pumice
diatomaceous earth
rolls of wire
Hand tools
deep cycle batteries - like golf cart batteries

Back when I was a little kid we used to use my great aunts push plow to make furrows and plant in her garden. One of us would pull with a rope and the other would steer and push.
It had a big wheel in the front and was similar to a wheelbarrow but had a cutting share instead of a trough.

In a zero power situation old stuff like that still works great.

Magister
I watched this the other night. Using a pencil sharpener to make tinder shavings from small sticks.

That's what knives are for.
Regular razor blades would be more versatile.

unorthodox? Dunno about that but I haven't heard either any or many others list these for their BOB:
Mousetraps - trap triggers, catching mice
Spiderwire fishing line (green) - sutures, tripwires, lashings, fishing, traps,etc.
Safety pins - closing wounds, replace lost buttons, fishing hooks
Electric guitar strings - animal snares, bindings.
Surgical tubing - drawing water from hard to reach areas such as tree holes, rock crevices, deep in the ground, siphon, discrete urination when in a hide
Dental repair kit

reply to post by Asktheanimals


I was pondering on the simple pencil sharpener, and was wondering, could it be used to sharpen projectile shafts after fire hardening of the wood? in lieu of other small game point options?

That would provide at least a triple purpose for such a light addition to a kit?

I love to ponder potentials of items

reply to post by JacKatMtn


Sure, but why not use your knife?
If it's not sharp enough to make shavings you might as well leave it at home.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Don't like to sharpen a pencil with my knife, is my only excuse

I scored a vintage butcher at the thrift store, along with a boning, slicing, and paring knife of the same old school carbon steel... cost ?

less than 5 fiat dollars...

I guess I can sharpen pencils with the paring knife

reply to post by Signals


I keep a pack of alka seltzer, which is 2 tabs. They are aspirin, not acetaminophen. These have many uses including: their primary purpose plus: cure a urinary tract infection (gotta take it quick though), catching fish, relief from insect bites, and generally cleaning of supplies.

I also keep one benadryl in case I have an allergic reaction.

reply to post by JacKatMtno


You ought to be able to sharpen a pencil with a bowie knife.
Digging the Jeff Beck AV btw. Nice!

Panty hose or thigh high hose. Helps keep your legs warm, prevents blisters on feet, can be used to strain water.

Try that with a knife! (Raspberry blown!)

reply to post by badgerprints

Great list man, the most important wound cleaning liquid is hydrogen peroxide, I cured a REALLY nasty under skin fungus with it, Don't know if it was Jungle rot. They also sell it highly concentrated and in a paste to bleach hair so make a trip to a local hairdresser when the SHTF. Lye is not a problem, just pass water through ashes of medium hardness to soft woods and render fat and just allow the lye to react with the white lard. Eat your marrow and blood kiddies.

ETA you should really download from a torrent "insanity Workout" and do that for the next months. Forget weightlfting, you do not want to raise your muscle mass, you want lean muscle and body fat. Iodine is good, chlorine for water and salt!

reply to post by Signals

Speaking as a locksmith..... paper clips for picking locks? You might get lucky on some crappy wafer locks but you won't be picking many pin tumbler locks with them. A lock pick is pretty high grade steel. Hard, somewhat bendable yet certainly capable of snapping. I used to make them out of hacksaw blades when I was young but they are probably a bit too brittle. Paper clips are too flexible. Picks are flat with width for strength. Just buy some lock picks. They are sold online "for amusement purposes only" though possibly illegal as burglar tools in many places. And then... you have to know how to use them. A standard Schlage lock as 5 pins and each pin can be in one of 10 positions that are a mere 15 thousandths of an inch apart for 5 to the tenth power possible combinations. 5x5x5x5x5x5x5x5x5x5 A good Schlage cylinder has good enough tolerances that if your key is as much as 3 thousandths of an inch too high and it will turn very tightly. The same too deep and it will have a catch. A full one cut difference of 15 thousandths of an inch means it won't turn at all. That goes the same for a lesser amount somewhere in between. Good luck with a paper clip!
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