to answer the original Q:
I (we) don't have a BOB.
no need for it, enough time to gather things.
to answer the original Q:
I (we) don't have a BOB.
no need for it, enough time to gather things.
Ive spent weeks and months in the jungle & bush, living off the land.
Im going where no one will find me.
I can hunt, fish, and live a guerrilla exsistance until its safe to come back in.
What My BOB carries will keep me going for months.
I have the same gear I used decades ago, so Im used to it.
No bug out bag for me, why? Don't plan to bug out. With a wife and two younguns, the bob would be a fully stocked motorhome with a trailer aka second home.
Think I will stay put.
I have 2 bags set up. One is my survival bag which carries this:
2mre's ---------------------------------------gotta eat
big bag of trail mix---------------------------- " "
waterproof bags -----need to bury, or keep something fresh
Multi-tool --------------for whatever
first aid kit --------------------------------duh
2 pairs of gloves -----might get cold, or for work purposes
bunch of hand warmers -------might get cold
300ft of parachord ------------use for building shelters
folding shovel --------------dig a disposal and fire pit
hand saw ---------cutting limbs for fire or shelter
flashlight w/spare batteries -----------it gets dark
matches ------------------------gotta light a fire
lighters ----------------------back-up fire starter
magnesium stick ----------------another back-up
fire starter sticks ----------in case its wet out, these will burn for a while
2 skinning knives -----------for killed game
2 folding knives ------------for whatever
2 water bottles ------------for water
hatchet ---------------------chopping up logs
small pistol and ammo --------------protection/hunting
and my sleeping bag gets strapped to the back of it with some really heavy duty zip ties
Everything in my pack i've used, and based on a little camping and survival exercising, i've come up with uses for them.
My other bag I call my S.H.T.F. (sh*t hits the fan)bag. I'm still working on it, but it contains:
3 fully loaded AR .223 mags --------------------for the zombies
2 empty AR mags------------------------------- " " "
3 boxes of .223 --------------------------------- " " "
6 fully loaded Glock .40 mags -------------------- " " "
3 radios -------------------------------------for me and my partners
extra batteries for radios --------------------duh
1 mre --------------------------------------gotta eat
holster for a glock ---------------------------for the glock
1 folding knife -------------------------------for the zombies
....more yet to get packed...
Last edited by xj2000; 03-08-2010 at 02:00 AM.
BEND OVER - Here comes the "change"
"I don't like repeat offenders, I like dead offenders." - Ted Nugent
Just having the knowldge if anything actuley happend from floods (which we get here a lot), to food shortages, to full out war, I am at least a little prepared. I have a bag with three days worth of essentials, and army surplus gear.
I admit, owning a BOB has possibly made me more paranoid about disasters , but to be honist noone really thinks a disaster will happen to them until it does. so Id rather have one and not need it, than need one and not have it.
That said, everything in my bag should equip me with basic essentials, be able to attract help if needed, treat any basic wounds or accidents for myself and family, and have three days worth of food and water inside.
I basiclly want to be able to be self sufficant in a disaster for a short period, three days worth of supplys because thats how long its "supposed" to take to set up rescue operations following a disaster.
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3 days is not really enough... Ask Katrina folks, ask the Haitians.
If it's really bad you can expect a week for someone to help out, if then...
I plan on bugging in, and have planned accordingly. Have seeral hundred gallons of water and 3 month supply of long-life food plus stored stove fuel and many other items at home. The long life stuff is not stored in the house. My BOL is actually my work as it is a self sufficient mountain top. Just don't have the house there yet... When I do, it will be fully stocked over the next year.
"Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke [1729-1797]
Ya Well,i I dont "justify" anything thing to anybody, Pee off.
Last edited by huntermj; 04-10-2010 at 10:51 PM. Reason: PG-13 Please.
I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.
Oscar Wilde
http://www.youtube.com/user/jimhuntermj21
I hope you're not gettin' torqued over a 3 month old post.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
I liked the first part of the OP that said to justify your kit until it got to the “to me” part. Upon reflection have decided to give the benefit of doubt and just consider it a poor choice of words or maybe just a cultural difference.
I think the most immediate threats will be other people and the elements. My idea is to look like a normal person not attracting attention to myself and then disappear into the woods. Many people carry small back packs so I limit what I carry to fit into one of them. Walking around in camo might draw attention so I try to just buy earth toned clothing and keep the following camo gear in a small pack.
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Booney hat. It rolls up small, keeps rain and sun off my face and will help hide me.
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I was told hands should be camouflaged because movement makes them stand out more giving position away so I have gloves. A scarf hides face and neck and helps breathing in smoke. A mosquito net keeps the bugs off and hides face. Army poncho keeps the rain off and makes a handy shelter that’s hard to see. O.D. green Para-cord helps camp to blend into scenery also.
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I also keep a small piece of foam to have a dry warm place to sit and a camouflaged hammock to keep me off the ground. Neither would be easily seen.
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I should mention that ponchos are very versatile for shelters and can even be set up free standing. A single hiking pole makes a nice lean-to to reflect heat. You could just use a stick.
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With a couple of saplings you can turn a poncho into a small dome tent.
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Even if you want to build a debris hut throwing a poncho over the top of it will make it a lot dryer.
I use a Swiss Army stove for cooking. A handful of wood is all it needs so it is very easy to carry a pocketful dry wood if going into treeless or wet environment. Easier than building fire in the snow. It also has a water bottle inside it.
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Food gathering is another challenge. My wife is a good forager but for myself I have a small book with just Alaska’s edible plants (lots of pictures). Many of the plants need to be used at certain times an sometimes just parts of the plants that I just don’t seem to be able to remember so I just carry the book. Maintaining fishing nets was one of my chores as a boy and know dozens of ways to use them. As a kid I used to make them to catch animals for pets so they are not just for fish. Just another odd thing I do so that’s why I don’t carry snares. There is nothing I can’t catch in a net.
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This pack weighs 6 pounds but I have a empty compartment reserved for a survival gun or more ammo for a larger weapon I may be carrying. I don’t keep gun in pack because I feel that these days responsible gun owners should keep guns secured in a safe to keep them out of the hands of criminals. My choice for this pack is a Ruger Single Six that has an extra cylinder to convert it from 22 LR to 22 Magnum. Both calibers are light weight but with case and ammo it raises the overall weight of pack to 10 pounds.
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I should probably mention a 22 can not stand alone in Alaska. It is strictly for hunting and you should have a defensive weapon. More important to me than even a survival kit is my 44 that is never far away from me. It will be on my hip even if I am standing there naked and for long term survival one bullet from a 44 will put more meat on the table than a thousand 22 caliber bullets. It is kind of like the net thing in that it requires some skill but with 9 ½ inch barrel and scope is a capable hunting tool. 42 rounds in gun and speed loaders are worn on belt that and box of 50 could easily provide for me the rest of my days.
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Back to the survival kit, I carry some tools. A big knife that can also be used as a chopping tool and silent weapon. A small saw that I use mainly as bone saw and shaping wood like cutting notch for fire drill, etc. A pocket shovel, compass, small multi tool, Swiss Army fishermen knife, Mini Mag light and some kind of tie thing I picked up that cinches rope and saves having to tie knots or cut to be able to get more use out of Para-cord.
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I use carabineers and S-bineers to be able to hang tools on belt or outside of pack. Ordinarily I keep them in pack but when in use I want them handy and some times I will just fasten them together so they will rattle in bear country. Unnatural sounds will make everything aware of your presence and there are times you want that. It also helps to keep them from getting lost when you can hang them as opposed to just laying them down somewhere.
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As a brief justification of tools. Being able to shape wood into fire drill.
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Starting a fire in Alaska’s wet cold environment is not the same as other places. About August it starts and raining until it starts snowing and then all the wet wood freezes and gets covered with frost. I’m not the expert that knows a dozen different ways to build a fire but I know one that always works. I saw off a small section of a branch and split it to get to the dry wood inside. If needed I can split it down to tooth pick size. As a Boy Scout one of the fundamentals I was taught was to build a fire with one match. I still do.
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Everything I carry needs to be “justified” “to me” and earn it’s place in my pack. For some a shovel may be for just digging holes or leveling ground. I also use mine to pack mud in stone and logs to build raised fire pits and seal logs. I also use it to provide food. You heard me right, food. I test my survival gear and went to the beach to see how many clams I could dig up with a small pack shovel. After a couple of hours on a not particularly low tide I was able to dig up these clams. An easy meal.
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I have picked crabs out of tidal pools and found thin spots in creeks to kick salmon out with my feet but I like having options and a varied diet that a few tools can provide.
I carry a few other odds and ends. A Bic lighter will last a long time if used to just light a thin piece of wood then you use it to start fire. Map, Mosquito repellant and toilet paper are self explanatory. Monocular used to spot game and find easier path through rough terrain. Small compass is handy and clips on with carabineer built into it and a small magnifying glass folds out and will build fires on hot days saving butane.
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This kit is just the first progression in a series of kits to go all the way up to two sleds that is all me and my wife can drag. But even this is a progression to what I can carry by boat and ATV but even there my approach is different from most and don’t carry the stuff specified on most lists.
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We each have to make our own choices and there is a lot of expert opinion on survival that may conflict with the way I do things but one phase comes to mind when as I hear some of the online debates no matter how witty the comments, “He who laughs last, laughs best”.
Last edited by Alaskan Survivalist; 08-30-2010 at 01:53 PM.
AS, very well done, thanks, seem you got it pretty well covered.
Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
Evoking the 50 year old rule...
First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27
Thank you sir.
I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.
Oscar Wilde
http://www.youtube.com/user/jimhuntermj21
Well, another fine post and some rep your way. I had really never considered the poncho as a tent using the saplings. That's pretty ingenious. Opens some doors I hadn't considered.
On the carabiners, the next time you are in Anchorage, stop by the Ace Hardware store and walk back to the section with chains. You'll find dozens of heavy duty caribeners there for far less than commercial climbing caribeners and rated for more weight.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
Thanks guys, I like ACE and we used to have one in Palmer. I like the one in Anchorage and it's on my way out of town but it's too late for me. I have just about everything already and seldom go to stores. I saw a lot of this economy coming a few years ago, paid off debt and purchased all I thought I would need before inflation comes. I have just turned the corner where all my money is no longer going to preps. I feel Ive prepared beyond any rational thinking and trying to return to a normal life pretending nothings wrong and going about my life without a care in the world only prepared if things go bad. There has been threads about keeping preping in perspective but I have obsessive traits that find me over the top all the time. I have learned that if I focus all my time, my thought, my money, my effort on one thing I get it done. I have mentioned before that what really matters is getting the job done.
AS, I tried to give you some rep as well, but it says I gotta spread it around.
Pulling everything out, taking the pics and posting can be a long process, especially putting / or trying to put everything back, (why doesn't all this stuff fit?, did before?)
Thanks to all, that do go thru the process for the benefit of everyone, and has been brought up, "if there ain't no pic's, it didn't happen".
Does give you an excuse to drag everything out, re-supply, re-evaluate, re-pack, something that should be done anyway, (I try to do it spring/fall, sorta with setting the clocks)
Again thanks for your efforts.......................
Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
Evoking the 50 year old rule...
First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27
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