Bug out bag (B.O.B.)

[johnnyapollo]

Hey Marlin, can you provide a link to the stove you got on eBay? I see several but wondered which one you liked.

-- John

[Marlin]

Hey Marlin, can you provide a link to the stove you got on eBay? I see several but wondered which one you liked.

-- John

Here is the same model stove I bought, not sure if its the same seller. It is pretty sweet, I have run about a fuel canister of alcohol/butane blend. It will boil water like nothing, and char hot dogs like there is no tomorrow (get it,end of days.... ) http://cgi.ebay.com/Ultralight-foldi...#ht_2017wt_932

It is much smaller than a pack of cigarettes when folded up. Doesn't feel fragile at all and it is multifuel. As long as it is pressurized, that stove will work.
As for generators, I don't really count those as end of days equipment as you need fuel to use em, and they aren't portable. I do have a small 900w HF special. 2 cycle, works great once you get rid of the OEM spark plug. I also had one of those fancy little Honda generators. The VR circuit died, sold it for 150 bucks in a garage sale. Good deal for me!
It was nice and quiet, but once again, completely useless as a BOB component.

There are a few things I won't skimp on. I have a really nice sleeping bag and mat. They are musts. I would say nice wool socks and liners are also a must. I have a nice silk liner to go with my sleeping bag, I try to get everything in the darkest colors possible, I don't want to be found. But for the silk liner, I went bright orange. That way I have a huge 7x6 orange signal flag! Genius if I don't say so myself. It was an Ebay special from Vietnam. I think I paid somewhere around 25 bucks for two, which was far far cheaper than the local camping stores. They are decent quality, the silk itself is fine, the stitching, eh. But they do add 5-10 degrees to your bag, and can be used on their own if its hot.

I just got one of those aluminum pole tents that you can find on alibaba. I got a 3 man tent for 60 bucks shipped. If anything, I will take the poles and use em on my modified cheap 7x7 ozark trail tent. I stitched all that up with kevlar,sealed all the seams, made a tyvek footprint. That tent made it through the tornados in NC a few weeks ago, I didn't get wet at all except where I left the zippers at the top of the door instead of under the little flap at the bottom. I thought I was gonna die, but it held up just fine

[Marlin]

Oh, I forgot, that little jetboil stove is one of two we carry. My wife's pack has the little Esbit stove. Good thing about those, you can burn anything in it. I recognize that the jetboil stove will eventually run out of fuel in the long term. But one of those little cans last a LONG LONG time.

Using the Esbit, I can take a cotton ball soaked in vaseline, use it to heat up a cup of water for oatmeal, coffee and so on. One little cotton ball burns for quite a while. If you wrap the cotton ball with foil and just pull out a few strands, it makes a great candle that will burn for quite a while as well.

[Ldub]

I think Dexter copied mine...

[technocoy]

I think Dexter copied mine...

Hahaha, nice Dub.

Marlin, good call on the kevlar thread. Never even thought of that one. I also agree on the generators. While I don't think it's bad to have one (we all love amenities) Marlin's bags are more about the realization that you may be becoming completely nomadic, possibly on foot only for some time, if not forever. The idea is the things in your bag will get you through, and then, possibly help you to build other, more permanent tools and shelters, etc.

The one piece of modern equipment I tell myself I want to try to maintain would be some sort of iPod/Audio player. Mainly because I don't know if I could get by without my music. Sounds nuts, but it's such a big deal for me.

For that purpose, in addition to my other, very basic survival bits I'm putting in, I have also been scoping small, efficient solar chargers/power supplies that will basically supply just enough power to do two things that will give just a TINY bit of solace for a while: Charge or power a small music/data device, and charge a small set of the new eneloop batteries for a Coast™ LED flashlight.

The reality is that at some point all those things will die, but for just a tiny amount of space you can hang on to some bits of convenience for quite a while. The Coast light is about the size of a medium pocket knife and is ridiculously bright.

Ill have to look through what I've actually gotten so far. I have yet to break it out into bags, but I have it sitting all in one spot.

One cool thing I scored recently from a friend who makes parachutes for the military was a couple reams of ripstop, military grade, parachute material. The thing about it is its so very light and thin, you can fold some nice sized pieces into a tiny space and it's really fairly tough. Might be good for setting up shelter, making a sail, etc and so one once you get into a slightly more permanent position.

One of the other big things to think about is your timeframes and abilities to actually GET OUT of the area you are in. We live very close to a bigger downtown area and it's a real scenario you have to consider that you may have to find a way out that ISN'T a main road. When the panic starts, traffic STOPS.

This is a great thread Marlin. Will be nice to keep it going. We can add good ideas as well as pieces we've purchased.

[Marlin]

When I was in Japan in 07, I found one of these:

http://www.solio.com/charger/

I paid less than 20 bucks for it. Didn't even know what it is was really. It is a charger, as well as a battery pack. It will charge a 1st gen nano 3 times on one charge of its own internal battery pack. Pretty neat, especially since you can buy other cords for it, and it has its own internal computer to control discharge rate and whatnot.

I am a fan of this one as well...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tchlink:top:en

Now, all I gotta do is find it....wish I would have bought more. They were a sale item at some random store in the Ginza. (I know Bart, I am butchering the spelling, don't care)

I will bust out my stuff today, need to repack anyway, the wife and I are going backpacking in a month or so. Should be interesting.

[Marlin]

Here is a list of what I have now:

Waist pack:
Kevlar thread and leather awl
Folding pocket knife
1 tube liquid stitch (prescription mastisol)
2 smelling salts
Water purification tablets
Bandages
1 butane lighter
1 “little sparky”
Beef jerky and walnuts
3 AAA and 2 AA cells
2 non-lubricated condoms (hard to find in stores)
Signaling mirror
2 Insect repellant wipes
Toilet paper
One pencil wrapped in 100mph tape (NOT DUCT TAPE!!!)
All weather notebook
1 bag of Vaseline soaked cotton balls
LED flashlight

Big camping packs:
Both internal aluminum frame packs
55L Coleman Explorer-very nice bag, made of a waterproof material, convertible lumbar pack, kangaroo pouch…I believe its model is T something…
65L Explorer 4000-my bag, I waterproofed it, has separate sleeping bag compartment which I use for 1st aid stuff and thing that I need to readily get to. Not a convertible like the wife’s, but at 20 bucks, I couldn’t say no. I also have a nice thermometer and compass on the bag.
Between these two bags and my kids back packs, all this stuff fits plus sleeping gear and tents strapped to outside:
Survival:
3 folding pocket knives
Knife sharpener
Gerber
Mini-multi tool
250 feet of 550 cord
Hatchet (expendable, nice to have, but not a necessity)
12 wire lock snares
12 yo-yo fishing reels, look em up, they are worth their weight in gold
Various fishing hooks and leaders…
6 LED flashlights and extra cells
Handheld GPS(waterproof)
Wind up LED lights and radios-2
Pur scout water purifier and 2 extra filters
3 cans of sterno gel, relightable
6 packs of fire starter
1 bag of vaseline cotton balls
2 small bic lighters
1 7.75oz butane/propane canister for the jetboil pocket stove
1 esbit folding stove with 24 fuel tablets (works with anything, sterno, wood, and so on)
1 SS cook set, pot and pan, holds the stove, canister, lightmyfire sporks…)
1 aluminum cook set, pot and pan
Flask(duh…just in case you think you might not make it…)
Deck of cards
Coffee filters, great for prefiltering water, extend water filter cartridge
Waterproof convertible gloves, face mask, rain gear, wool socks with liners
Inflatable pillows,also good if you have to float your gear for some reason, they don’t weigh much, and are surprisingly comfortable
Camp towel
3 waterproof rafting style bags
12 mylar blankets, basically single use, but very useful for various scenarios
2 pairs of grip workgloves

First aid:
Hydrogen peroxide wipes
Hand sanitizer(can also be used to start fire)
Vaseline (fires, chapped lips, blisters, waterproofing, lubrication…VERY useful)
Skin staplers and staple remover
Various pills (antibiotics, motrin, Benadryl, and so on)
Insect repellant wipes
Smelling salts
2 full AMK first aid kits, got a sweet deal on em at Dicks
Sunblock
Snake bite kit
Baby powder
Moleskin
Bandages
Liquid skin
Iodine
Toenail clippers
Protection:
Walther P22
Mossberg 702 22lr, hollow stock that holds extra magazines, rounds, lighter, bolt return spring (about the only wear part in the mechanism) and a simmons 22mag scope
550 cord sling for rifle, portuegese double sennet weave, so it can be unraveled and used in sections, it took me awhile to make that and my belt. I also have a few bracelets
Taurus 357 revolver
Charles Daly semi-auto 20ga shotgun

Food stuffs
Various MRE components, tons of cliff bars, power bars, nuts, jerky….
I also like the koolaid single packets, they are a good quick burst of energy, spirit lifter, taste good as well?
Gum
Seasonings

I also use thermarest women’s sleeping pads, they are lighter, smaller…and most importantly they were on clearance.
I have multiple small tents, waiting on my new aluminum poll tent.
I use scouts sleeping bags, they are awesome! Especially with orange silk liners.


I need to add some solar stuff for phone and whatnot.