Parents' BOB or 'Why Can't I Stop Spending Money?'

[Sledgecrowbar]

Since Google Docs came into my life, I've returned to my once-love of spreadsheets. The up side is that I'm orders of magnitude more organized about my gear, weight planning and budget. The down side is that I'm seeing just how much I spend on all this crap.

My mother recently caved in to my mad rantings about preparedness by putting a (family heirloom, no less) wool blanket in a bag. For those who didn't get it, that's a BOB. She also asked me for a flashlight like mine (Fenix TK21). I went home and out came the gear spreadsheet.

Now, I love my parents, but I don't trust them with a folding-titanium piece of gear any more than I'd hand a hobo my new handgun. I needed to build a BOB that was light enough for a retiree to carry indefinitely (or for three days, whichever comes first), quality enough to give me peace of mind, and cheap enough that I'd actually feel like doing it in reasonable time. Being light was a two-fold purpose: I wanted it to be Russian shovel-simple and straightforward. No flint and steel or magnifying glass, just matches and Bic lighters, no solar chargers and Li-Po batteries, just an extra set of AA's, and no collapsible wood chimney stoves, just lifeboat rations. The most complex, high-speed-gear item is probably the water filter, an MSR Miniworks.

I still ended up around $300. And that was with a Medium ALICE pack. It surprised me how far I pared down still ended up costing.

A break down of gear. Prices listed are the best I could find when I was buying them, some I did well on, some are just par for the course. All prices include actual shipping, when I ordered gear online.

Medium ALICE pack $30
Wool ambulance blanket $6
6x8' blue poly tarp $2
MSR Miniworks EX $72
MSR Dromedary 10 L $36 (had a spare or would have gone smaller)
Nalgene $10
Mainstay lifeboat rations x3 $14
Paracord, 100' $8
Bic lighters, x3 $3
UCO stormproof matches, 25 in that bottle they come in $7
Kershaw Compound $19
Fenix LD22 $60
Compass I had (and made sure was true) $N/C
No-training FAK built from my stock of Kerlix and other assorted high-speed medicine from reading the FA forum too much: $21
Small squeeze bottle of dish soap: $N/C
Half a dozen unused white shop rags, washed: $N/C

14 items. There's nothing there to qualify you as more than a hobo on sight and it cost me $288. The blanket lives in one of a handful of contractor garbage bags I included and most of the other stuff is organized into freezer bags.

Admittedly, not everyone is going to have a Fenix flashlight, you could half that price with a MagLite XL100. That's still $260, and I wouldn't put a dollar store flashlight in any kit, owned by anyone. I did consider a military surplus 5-quart water bag for $20, but I liked the modern Dromedary and knew it would be at least as reliable, and I liked that the filter screws onto both the bag and Nalgene. I realized the filter was going to be the big chunk as I was refining my checklist, there was no way around it. I wasn't going to give them instructions on making a charcoal filter out of a funnel, a coffee filter, and yesterday's campfire, and hope for the best. I honestly picked throwaway-tier items for everything but water and couldn't build a survival bag for under $200. For some reason, this seems like a lot to me. I know almost half is the filter, bladder and canteen, and there's another $100 in tools. I could find a $10 pocketknife, but for that difference in price, why would you?

I'm satisfied that this will keep my parents warm, dry, clean and fed, all things you wish you were when caught unprepared during a sudden-evacuation order hurricane, flood, Decepticon invasion, etc. The more I look at it, the more the bottom line makes perfect sense, but it took me by surprise when I added it up for kicks.

I haven't put it together yet, but by the numbers it should be about 25 pounds, which I thought was good.

[Redeyes]

That was a nice thing to do for your folks. I am going to sell a gun soon and am going to build a better bug out bag. I will probably put it together mostly the same way you did. I like simplicity.

[TacAir]

25 pounds may not seem like a lot to you, but to a 60 YO woman, it may be a lot to carry.

May I suggest you consider adding a small 'luggage' handcart. They fold up when not in use, but snap out and to carry to the load. The ruck should fit on the cart, so take it with you when shopping for the cart.

I used one to pull my toolbox in rural Alaska, and with the exception of a couple of locations - it worked like a champ. Another thought would be to pack it into a newer luggage set with a built-in handle and ruck straps, just in case.

Good on ya for helping out the folks.

[NamelessStain]

I applaud you in helping your parent(s) prep, but I have a few questions if that's ok.

Where are they going when they bugging out? I ask because my family is spread out all over the US. Luckily my brother still lives near my parents and we have a plan in which he helps them move to the BOL. They only lives around 2 miles from him which is convenient and their BOBs have minimal weight and supplies.

For example my mother's pack includes:
Pack (nothing special)
2 sets of clothes.
2 collapsible bottles.
Stainless steel water bottle
Lighter
Matches
Poncho
Toiletries (no cosmetics)
Flashlight
Small pocket knife
Basic FAK
Bandanas
Personal defense items

Once we had this assembled she said something to the effect of "Why can't I have a water filter in my bag?" I looked at her and said, "You can, but you have to carry it." Her reply was priceless "Oh well then I don't want one since I'm just walking up the road. I'll store one there." /tear Mom understands a BOL.

One time she was out of gas for her grill, she got out her fire pit thing she uses on the back porch. Started a fire, grabbed 4 empty cans and put them around the fire pit and put the grill grating over it. Because damnit, she wanted grilled chicken and she was going to make it happen. LOL, I really do love her.

[Sledgecrowbar]

I may be rambling, but I'll try to answer some questions and paint a better picture.

Just to specify, I wasn't making them a BOB for zombies. My parents would most likely not want to bother surviving the apocalypse. It's not cold-hearted to say so, it's pragmatic. My mother is almost 70 and my stepfather is almost 80, and I can tell you that the reality of growing old is tough on Special Forces, but he doesn't insist on doing everything himself.

They are my family, extended or otherwise. We don't have a vacation home or cabin, if the coast sunk into the ocean, we'd be looking for a hotel on the new Atlantic coast of Ohio, et al.

Being on the coast and of a certain geography, our area (though not our specific neighborhood) gets flooded badly in warmer weather often, just from rain. The freak hurricane last summer brought water right up to our door sills for the first time in all our lives (unsettling to see). Right before that we had the so-called earthquake. Neither of these natural disasters did more than leave some of our area without power for a few weeks, but my mind wandered to hurricane Katrina. If we had had to evacuate, as some of my coworkers just a few minutes south did for our hurricane, I wanted there to be the security and peace of mind of having your bag already made, that they wouldn't start running around the house trying to figure out what amounts to all the research, planning, testing, and corroboration that we do here in the Gear forum, in a matter of hours or minutes, trying to judge what was needed or superfluous, what would be used and what would be dead weight, what would work and what would be wishful thinking.

The situation I had in my mind was of being a refugee, of having to leave your home in a hurry for a destination unknown and not knowing if there would be rooms or beds or showers or anything at all aside from ground under your feet. The knowledge of having everything you need to stay warm, dry, clean, and fed no matter where the bus goes, right on your back, was paramount to me.

The wheeled cart idea hadn't occurred to me, but it's definitely worth considering. I have seen backpacks that convert to such setups. I'll have to see what they can actually comfortably haul over an extended period, and the weight penalty. I'm still looking for a padded waist belt option. My stepfather has been described by doctors as 20 years younger than he should be because of his service, and my mother is actually in better shape than that. It would probably be accurate to compare them to people in their late 50's.

[EricinVirginia]

Yeah, the wheeled cart is a good idea. My only reaction beyond that you gave them a great start was as follows:
1. Giving them an ALICE pack paints them as quasi-military off the get go. The luggage approach paints them as refugees. I think an older couple survives better as refugees.
2. Give them a map with an encoded route and BOL #1, #2, #3... and some kind of way to mark it where you could conceivably meet and retrieve them. As #1 gets compromised, they'd make a mark indicating the date they left for the next one.
3. It's your parents... how about some family pictures? Some $20 bills (or at least a holder for them to put money in)?
4. Trekk poles or a walking stick would help.

[sarky]

The wheeled cart is the way to go. Just remember the cart has to be light enough for them to handle. What I did was find an old jogging stroller that had been tossed out. I had to replace one of the inner tubes and gave it a new paint job. I stripped all of the nylon and cheap plastic of the baby seat off of the frame and tied a mesh of 550 cord to create a floor and backing. the larger tires of the jogging stroller will allow it to easily be dragged over rubble. The 550 mesh will hold over 100 lbs (I know because I can stand on it and I weigh 180 lbs)
You can hook the straps of a back pack into the 550 cord mesh or just tie off to it.

[Sledgecrowbar]

The ALICE pack was a choice of frugality, I had looked at Jansport bags as well, and still might go that way for another $20-$40. ALICE was just available quickly, cheap, and known to be reliable. And that's what he carried in the wars. NOBODY is going to mistake my parents for military.

I considered a whole atlas, tucked into the blanket. There isn't going to be a BOL. We have no other family, no other property. If the oceans rise or a tsunami comes, we're going west. Insurance will eventually cover new homes. Eventually. Until then, we need to survive the first three days until the National Guard arrives. Which makes me start to think about a crank/solar radio.

[sar5]

Great job look g out for your folks. I salute you.

[ForgeCorvus]

Flash card or thumb drive with life re-boot documents and copies of family photos ? Weighs less then a safe and half a dozen albums
Luggage rather then pack, Seconded

Your old man got a gun? That'll have to get packed too

Great idea, helps that the Olds are (or seem to be) on-side

[Sledgecrowbar]

24 years in Marines Force Recon, Korea and Viet Nam. Might have a gun. Might even know how to hold it. My mother found out that her last name is the same as a certain manufacturer of firearms that's well-known to the movie-watching public, so now we're looking for a second non-related sponsor to endorse her permit. I can only hope this doesn't end with a hole in Dad's foot and/or ass.

His unit was The Walking Dead.

[Lynn LeFey]

My husband has one of the backpacks with an internal frame, a luggage handle, and little wheels (he uses it when he travels). Don't use them, if you're intending it for a BOB. The wheels are like the size on rollerblades. They handle airport carpet and tile well, but even relatively smooth pavement is unfriendly to them. If that was the kind of set-up that folks meant, I'd really recommend avoiding it. Get the folding carts folks sometimes haul groceries in, with larger (6ish inch wheels). At least, that's my recommendation.

If you find a good small crank radio, I'd be interested to hear about it. I have a Eton FR300 crank radio in the house and it works great, but it's a bit bulky. I'm looking for a smaller one for my BOB.

[KnightoftheRoc]

I like the idea of setting your folks up with what they need. Hopefully, it will never need to see use.

Have you considered dying the ALICE packs? If you went with an orange RIT dye, you'd end up with a sort of tannish-brown to actual orange, depending on the pack you started with and the strength of the dye job. The more orange you get them, the less military they'll look, and RIT dye is about as cheap as it gets, so no great additional expense involved. A red would work, too, but come out more brownish, I think.

The luggage cart idea is good, as far as it goes. Most of them I see have wheels that, even when bigger than most, are still too small. Some careful measuring, and you could bolt larger lawnmower replacement wheels to the outside of the original wheels to get a larger radius, and not have them rub on the cart frame. I did this on a grocery cart once, and it worked out real nice.

[TacAir]

Something a bit more heavy duty but still folds - good for 200 lbs and costs under 30 USD. Will carry a metric crapton of tools and parts. YMMV

[ForgeCorvus]

24 years in Marines Force Recon, Korea and Viet Nam. Might have a gun. Might even know how to hold it. My mother found out that her last name is the same as a certain manufacturer of firearms that's well-known to the movie-watching public, so now we're looking for a second non-related sponsor to endorse her permit. I can only hope this doesn't end with a hole in Dad's foot and/or ass.

His unit was The Walking Dead.

I wasn't taking the piss

What I was trying to say is that in addition to their BoBs they'll have to haul anything that a scumbag would find useful to being a scumbag.
Stolen guns are a bad thing (I think we can all agree on that), no gun-safe (or lock for that matter) you can buy is going to keep someone out who wants in bad enough and has time and tools enough.

TacAir posted something useful there, plus it'll have non-Bugout uses.... I'm half your old man's age and I could use that thing myself

With wheels, opt for the biggest you can. I've pulled a few wheeled things over allsorts of outdoors and even a flat rugby pitch is a pig to move on with tiny castors

You Mom's name "Enfield" or "General Electric" ??

[TacAir]

24 years in Marines Force Recon, Korea and Viet Nam. Might have a gun. Might even know how to hold it. My mother found out that her last name is the same as a certain manufacturer of firearms that's well-known to the movie-watching public, so now we're looking for a second non-related sponsor to endorse her permit. I can only hope this doesn't end with a hole in Dad's foot and/or ass.

His unit was The Walking Dead.

I wasn't taking the piss

What I was trying to say is that in addition to their BoBs they'll have to haul anything that a scumbag would find useful to being a scumbag.
Stolen guns are a bad thing (I think we can all agree on that), no gun-safe (or lock for that matter) you can buy is going to keep someone out who wants in bad enough and has time and tools enough.

TacAir posted something useful there, plus it'll have non-Bugout uses.... I'm half your old man's age and I could use that thing myself

With wheels, opt for the biggest you can. I've pulled a few wheeled things over allsorts of outdoors and even a flat rugby pitch is a pig to move on with tiny castors

You Mom's name "Enfield" or "General Electric" ??

(snirk) General Electric.... Bawahahaha - good one...

[Sledgecrowbar]

I totally hadn't thought of that. He's easily got more rifles than two people in the prime of their lives could carry. Something will have to be done about that to be ready in a bug out situation. I have ideas but it's an excellent point you bring up.

This essentials-only BOB with throwaway gear I'm putting together has me looking at my own BOB differently, I recommend trying it. There are a lot of advantages to traveling light, and making it mentally easier for you to leave it behind if you needed to. Not saying that $300 is easy to leave, but you could keep what goes in your pockets and still survive. I'm wondering if downgrading or removing some choice items of my own gear might actually help overall. In the end, you have to find a balance between fast & light and preparedness.

I don't think either GE or Enfield have gotten any coverage in the movies by name. If you can keep it under your hat, I'll say that the manufacturer in question is best known from movies in the 60's starring a Scotsman who played a Brit carrying a German gun. Which narrows it down to one country, anyway.