Dragon's Backpacking BOB/Kit Thread

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 11, 2014 3:28 am

Alright, this is my dedicated BOB thread as it is right this very moment. This will also be used for most of my other gear as well that I use in conjunction with it or other similar purposes.

My current goals with this kit are as follows: Somewhat lightweight, durable kit to use in 3-4 seasons of Indiana or surrounding area's weather. This isn't meant as an INCH bag as I use it when I backpack and even train with on hikes. I want to have the main three along with some comforts and other force multipliers. All of my EDC isn't pictured here, nor the bang sticks that would actually come in a bugout but those will come later. My area is urban, surrounded by cornfields and wooded areas, so concealment is always a concern. If I have to use this kit to bugout, it will be with as little urban exposure as possible.

In its current form, there is very little food, so that can be added when the pack is just sitting at home as a BOB. Right now the configuration is for an overnight/two day hike.

BOB - Kifaru Timberline 2 5,200 cu.in.

Main contents from top left to bottom right.
Top Row:
Snugpak Ionosphere 1 man tent
Sierra Designs Mobile Mummy 3 season Long 800 Fill in OR compression sack
Exped Downmat UL 7 LW with Shnozzle
Lake and Trail Camp Pillow - self-inflating, cost $10 and works great!
SOL Escape Bivvy - In case I need quick warmth, or I need to get below 20 degrees F.
Merino Base Layer, Poly Mid Layer, and 2 pair Merino Socks
Princeton Tec Fred Headlamp
Silva Polaris Compass (Maps not shown)
Two additional pair of thicker Merino Socks
Bottom Row:
Survival Solutions OPSEC Poncho in GGG pouch.
Water Filtration/Hydration Kit
Hand Warmers
Fire Kit
Carmex
Ear Plugs
2 x 25ft hanks of paracord
Med Kit/IFAK
Antibacterial Wipes
Dental Hygiene Kit
Chemlight
Matches
Gorilla Tape 1" x 25yds I think
Misc. Kit - Tweezers, nail clippers, Emergen-C, Chai and Green Tea
Snacks - Payday, granola bars, etc,.
Tera Cookset with Optimus Crux Stove
Pistol Cleaning Kit
3 x Mountain House
8oz Beef Jerky
Alpen BAK4 Monocular
Morakniv
Gerber Diesel Multi-tool to be replaced SOON!

Top Row:
Instapark Mercury 10 and external battery
Level 6 goretex top and bottom
4 x CR123
4 x AA
Surefire M1
PVS-14
Skullcrusher - also to be replaced with better option
Baofeng UV-5R

Expanded kit view:
2 x 1L Platypus - compatible with Sawyer
1 x 1L Sawyer soft bottle
Platypus hydration tube
Cutoff water bottle for scooping water
Sawyer Squeeze (Might replace with a Mini)
4L Platypus Dirty Bladder
3L Platypus Clean
Misc. dirty and clean hoses
Instapark Mercury 10 Solar Panel + 4 cleaning wipes
Homemade Mountain House Warmer/padded case for PVS-14
PVS-14 + J-Arm
Surefire M1
Tenergy 8000mah battery + cable

Tera Solo Cook Set
Primus 250g fuel
Optimus Crux Lite Stove
Mini Bic
Fire Kit Contents: Waterproof matches + striking pad, 3 x Wetfire, Ferro Rod, and petroleum jelly impregnated cotton balls in contact lens case.

Med Kit/IFAK:
4" IBD
Quikclot Combat Gauze
Misc./Boo boo kit
SAM Splint
Mini Shears

Boo boo kit includes everything from mole skin to antidiarrheal, ibuprofen, tape, gauze, pads, wipes, etc,.

I have plenty of room left internally and my weight is almost exactly 40lbs so I'm under 25% of my overall bodyweight. For the more extreme temperatures we get here, I will only add an outer glove layer and the things I would normally have every day for weather appropriate clothing.

Oh and I am a cold sleeper and have difficulty sleeping on hard surfaces, so the extra bit of comfort I do carry, is about the only way I get sleep. I've so far only used the Exped/Mobile Mummy combo down to 23 degrees F in my Snugpak with sustained winds in the 30-40mph range and it's the warmest I've ever slept under 40 degrees. I was so comfortable I spent the latter 3/4 of the night in only my skivvies since I had gotten so warm.

The only items I'm missing are a good spoon/fork, a saw, insulated boots for Winter, the USB charger for the Baofeng, Eneloop USB Charger and batteries, and some hiking/trekking poles. Suggestions/feedback of course welcome. Most of these items have been choice by evolution and I've gone through several versions of each to get where I'm at. Weight wise, I'm spot on with my goals and I recently cut off about 10lbs by switching to this pack, sleeping bag, and pad from a Karrimor Sabre 60-100, Kelty Cosmic 0 synthetic, and a Thermarest Prolite Plus pad.

Honeypot · **Posted:** Tue Nov 11, 2014 5:20 am

Wow.
You include a goal!
How refreshing.

A combo hiking & emergency bag is a very good approach.
Do you already have a car bag? If not, consider keeping this in your car. Realistically, none of us in the Heartland will ever do a classic "bug out", which is why I don't do BOBs, but I regularly use my car kits. A kit that is used (for hiking and/or "routine" glitches) reinforces the Will to Prep, and gives you more data on what worked well and what needs tweaking. It also means you're always ready for an adhoc camping trip.

Most of it looks fine.
Too bad there isn't "corn camo", eh?

(If there is... I have no doubt someone will post it - thar be a challenge, ZS!)

Do you have any water stored in it?
Or at least a gallon jug (or equivalent) stored immediately beside it.

Are the only lights the headlamp and chem lights?
I strongly recommend at least one regular handheld light. It doesn't have to be anything high end. You can buy pretty decent small no-name LED flashlights for $2 to $5. I particularly like Menard's for sturdy inexpensive ones.

How many ibuprofen is that in your FAK?
It looks like 7 (maybe more underneath?). That's only about a day's worth. I recommend you consider carrying a small sealed bottle, both to increase the quantity and to lower the risk of law enforcement throwing a fit over unidentified drugs. I have the impression you're a young male, so keeping all drugs in original packaging is a precaution you may find beneficial (and stress reducing). It's your choice, of course.

I strongly recommend you keep a complete set of cold weather gear in the bag, including a watch cap (or equivalent), and both inner and outer gloves.
It's reasonable to assume you'll usually be wearing seasonally appropriate clothing, however it's that One Time that you aren't, that Murphy will appear.

I'm a cold weather geek, and twice I've goofed, always at the change in seasons, so now I always keep a core set of cold weather clothing in my car kit, all year round. It's simpler. Simple is good.

Please don't let the current batch of trolls make you defensive about carrying a sleeping pad. This isn't a war zone, and you're not a grunt. Sleeping better is a good and wise thing.

Why a "spoon/fork"?
For now, just use something from your kitchen, and see whether you really need a fork. I've only ever carried one to two spoons and a SAK for cooking utensils, and have had no problem in 4-ish decades.
I've never owned a "tactical" spoon, or spork. I've always used a plain stainless steel spoon (bought at regular stores), that's easy to clean and lightweight. Try at least a couple of different kinds in the field, and see what you feel comfortable with. That's an area of personal preference, not something where there's One True Solution.

You're way ahead of most bags that are posted here - good job!

Wraith6761 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 11, 2014 7:36 am

Dragon80 wrote:

The only items I'm missing are a good spoon/fork, a saw, insulated boots for Winter, the USB charger for the Baofeng, Eneloop USB Charger and batteries, and some hiking/trekking poles. Suggestions/feedback of course welcome.

Overall, a very nice looking kit with a clearly defined goal -- it's so nice to see that. Also nice to see somebody remember that eventually the boomsticks will need cleaning and prep for that.

+1 on keeping any and all meds in their original bottles...if space is a concern, look into the travel-size options, I know most of the major medications (Tylenol, Advil, Alleve, Pepto, Tums, etc) have a travel option that's about the size of a large chapstick tube. I've used this site for single dose/serving orders before, and their selection is pretty crazy: http://www.minimus.biz/

Anything you can eat with a fork, you can eat with a spoon...not sure why you'd want to carry one of each. I'd suggest looking into some of the ones with longer handles if you're mostly using the Mountain House style meals, as it'll let you get more food into your mouth instead of on your knuckles. I've got this one, and it works pretty darn well: http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Summit-Alpha-Light-Spoon/dp/B002IAJ5W4/

Saws, which type do you prefer? The folding style that looks like an oversized pocket knife? Can't go wrong with a Laplander, and some of the Fiskar's saws are pretty nice too, though it's easier to bend the blade on this type of saw. Prefer a bow saw? Look into the Sven Saw, but keep in mind it depends on a wingnut that you could potentially lose, so keeping a couple extras on-hand wouldn't be a bad idea.

Not sure if they're as insulated as you'd want, but I just got a pair of Salomon Ultra Mid GTX boots recently, and while I've only put about 40-45 miles on them so far they've been really darn comfy. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OSZUJIQ/

Trekking poles...surprisingly, the el cheapo $20 set you can find in Wal-mart is fairly nice, and work well enough. However, they're a bit heavy, the twist-locks for height adjustment have a tendency to slip (though to be fair, they do on much higher-end poles as well), and the coating on the handles will rub off onto your hands if/when your hands begin to sweat. I took a pair out with me on Mt Rogers for some hiking, and other than the twist-locks failing occasionally, they were great for the price. Unfortunately, one kinda died during the trip---my fault, used it to try and stop a potentially 35 foot fall down the side of the mountain...successfully stopped the fall after only about 8 feet, but bent the pole all to hell in the process. When I replaced them, I upgraded to a pair of Black Diamond Ergo Cork poles. Much lighter, much more comfortable to use, the flik-locks are much more secure, and overall the poles just feel better to use. Then again, they run almost $100, so I'd be really pissed if they weren't a serious upgrade. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZPYWFS/

omega_man · **Posted:** Tue Nov 11, 2014 10:17 am

Nice looking kit! Looking forward to seeing it action!

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 11, 2014 11:51 am

Honeypot wrote:

Wow.
You include a goal!
How refreshing.

A combo hiking & emergency bag is a very good approach.
Do you already have a car bag? If not, consider keeping this in your car. Realistically, none of us in the Heartland will ever do a classic "bug out", which is why I don't do BOBs, but I regularly use my car kits. A kit that is used (for hiking and/or "routine" glitches) reinforces the Will to Prep, and gives you more data on what worked well and what needs tweaking. It also means you're always ready for an adhoc camping trip.

Thanks, it would be a useless endeavor without goals IMO. I do have a GHB I keep in my car which is currently being redesigned and resupplied. I carry my EDC (pistol, spare mag, folding knife, Fenix PD20 flashlight, watch, wallet, and cell phone) and when I work, I carry a small survival kit since I carpool and can't take my GHB with me. I will be adding that here shortly.

Most of it looks fine.
Too bad there isn't "corn camo", eh?

(If there is... I have no doubt someone will post it - thar be a challenge, ZS!)

Do you have any water stored in it?
Or at least a gallon jug (or equivalent) stored immediately beside it.

Corn camo would definitely be great for a large swath of my area, that's for sure! lol I do have water inside of it. I keep a 3L camelbak bladder in it and will add either a Nalgene or stainless bottle for cooking water. In my area there is plenty of water, but depending on your route you may not see any for miles so having the ability to carry extra is a necessity when it can reach 100 with 90%+ humidity in the Summer.

Are the only lights the headlamp and chem lights?
I strongly recommend at least one regular handheld light. It doesn't have to be anything high end. You can buy pretty decent small no-name LED flashlights for $2 to $5. I particularly like Menard's for sturdy inexpensive ones.

I EDC a Fenix PD20 as stated previously and have a single LED light on my keychain.

How many ibuprofen is that in your FAK?
It looks like 7 (maybe more underneath?). That's only about a day's worth. I recommend you consider carrying a small sealed bottle, both to increase the quantity and to lower the risk of law enforcement throwing a fit over unidentified drugs. I have the impression you're a young male, so keeping all drugs in original packaging is a precaution you may find beneficial (and stress reducing). It's your choice, of course.

The Ibuprofen probably need resupplied. I use out of that kit nearly every time I am out either for myself or a friend, so it's in a constant flux but I need to keep up on it better. As for bottles, space is my limiting factor but I could add more in my food saver sealed bags. I label each med on the outside of the packaging with dosage information as well and they're all over the counter meds so they can be easily identified as they're all very common. I considered that issue when doing this, but I know UL hikers who pretty much do the same without issue over very long distances.

I strongly recommend you keep a complete set of cold weather gear in the bag, including a watch cap (or equivalent), and both inner and outer gloves.
It's reasonable to assume you'll usually be wearing seasonally appropriate clothing, however it's that One Time that you aren't, that Murphy will appear.

I'm a cold weather geek, and twice I've goofed, always at the change in seasons, so now I always keep a core set of cold weather clothing in my car kit, all year round. It's simpler. Simple is good.

Part of my weather appropriate clothing includes a beanie and gloves inside of my jacket pocket ALWAYS! I said I sleep cold, but I am actually cold most of the time so this has become a staple. I will also outline the clothing back-ups kept in my car as well.

Please don't let the current batch of trolls make you defensive about carrying a sleeping pad. This isn't a war zone, and you're not a grunt. Sleeping better is a good and wise thing.

Yeah thanks, I'm not worried, they're not the ones having to sleep, I am! lol

Why a "spoon/fork"?
For now, just use something from your kitchen, and see whether you really need a fork. I've only ever carried one to two spoons and a SAK for cooking utensils, and have had no problem in 4-ish decades.
I've never owned a "tactical" spoon, or spork. I've always used a plain stainless steel spoon (bought at regular stores), that's easy to clean and lightweight. Try at least a couple of different kinds in the field, and see what you feel comfortable with. That's an area of personal preference, not something where there's One True Solution.

You're way ahead of most bags that are posted here - good job!

I normally do use a spoon/fork from home but I am a bit of an ounce counter though not ridiculously so. I have seen long aluminum spork/spoons for fairly cheap and I like having dedicated kit that I'm not robbing from somewhere else. Thanks for the compliment, it's definitely been an experience getting to where I am.

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 11, 2014 12:01 pm

Wraith6761 wrote:

Dragon80 wrote:

The only items I'm missing are a good spoon/fork, a saw, insulated boots for Winter, the USB charger for the Baofeng, Eneloop USB Charger and batteries, and some hiking/trekking poles. Suggestions/feedback of course welcome.

Overall, a very nice looking kit with a clearly defined goal -- it's so nice to see that. Also nice to see somebody remember that eventually the boomsticks will need cleaning and prep for that.

Thanks, a rifle cleaning kit is in the works as well, I just need to decide on a couple of last items before it's dedicated. I'm jockeying around some ideas to save some weight.

+1 on keeping any and all meds in their original bottles...if space is a concern, look into the travel-size options, I know most of the major medications (Tylenol, Advil, Alleve, Pepto, Tums, etc) have a travel option that's about the size of a large chapstick tube. I've used this site for single dose/serving orders before, and their selection is pretty crazy: http://www.minimus.biz/

Travel style bottles are a good idea, I'll have to see what I can find.

Anything you can eat with a fork, you can eat with a spoon...not sure why you'd want to carry one of each. I'd suggest looking into some of the ones with longer handles if you're mostly using the Mountain House style meals, as it'll let you get more food into your mouth instead of on your knuckles. I've got this one, and it works pretty darn well: http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Summit-Alpha-Light-Spoon/dp/B002IAJ5W4/

You're right, I don't really like sporks so a spoon will probably win out and thanks for the suggestion, that is exactly what I had in mind.

Saws, which type do you prefer? The folding style that looks like an oversized pocket knife? Can't go wrong with a Laplander, and some of the Fiskar's saws are pretty nice too, though it's easier to bend the blade on this type of saw. Prefer a bow saw? Look into the Sven Saw, but keep in mind it depends on a wingnut that you could potentially lose, so keeping a couple extras on-hand wouldn't be a bad idea.

The Laplander is in consideration along with the Silky Saw, been reading and watching a lot of reviews lately to help with the process. I've also considered the survival chain saw from County Comm. I will look into that saw as well, it seems difficult to balance usability and weight savings at the same time.

Not sure if they're as insulated as you'd want, but I just got a pair of Salomon Ultra Mid GTX boots recently, and while I've only put about 40-45 miles on them so far they've been really darn comfy. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OSZUJIQ/

I already own/wear the Salomon Quest GTX boot and they're not insulated enough for winter FOR ME. I am looking at their Nytro GTX Snow Boot actually. I can get them super cheap and they've gotten great reviews. I love my Salomons and I will probably not buy another brand of boot for a long time!

Trekking poles...surprisingly, the el cheapo $20 set you can find in Wal-mart is fairly nice, and work well enough. However, they're a bit heavy, the twist-locks for height adjustment have a tendency to slip (though to be fair, they do on much higher-end poles as well), and the coating on the handles will rub off onto your hands if/when your hands begin to sweat. I took a pair out with me on Mt Rogers for some hiking, and other than the twist-locks failing occasionally, they were great for the price. Unfortunately, one kinda died during the trip---my fault, used it to try and stop a potentially 35 foot fall down the side of the mountain...successfully stopped the fall after only about 8 feet, but bent the pole all to hell in the process. When I replaced them, I upgraded to a pair of Black Diamond Ergo Cork poles. Much lighter, much more comfortable to use, the flik-locks are much more secure, and overall the poles just feel better to use. Then again, they run almost $100, so I'd be really pissed if they weren't a serious upgrade. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZPYWFS/

Yeah, I follow the mantra to buy once, cry once that way quality isn't an issue. I will be going with an adjustable for sure and Black Diamonds are in consideration. This is one thing that the local REI comes in handy for as they have a pretty good selection. There isn't a large variety of terrain here but when weather is nasty, the last thing I want to do is take an unnecessary fall under weight and it be my last day walking under my own power! Thanks for the suggestion.

Honeypot · **Posted:** Wed Nov 12, 2014 7:10 am

Thanks for the clarifications, Dragon.

I strongly recommend you do separate threads for each of your car kit, EDC, and small survival kit (PSK?). I'd like to see lots more people post their car kits, since they're the most important kit (not counting one's bug in supplies). I'm curious to see your PSK - your use case is excellent, and one that I somewhat wonder about and might get ideas from (I do have a proven cargo pockets setup plus a couple of mini kits that I can easily move into "Muggle" bags as needed/wanted).

Focused threads tend to produce better feedback, get much higher rankings in good search engines, and help future visitors who are searching for examples of specific types of kits. Speaking of which, kudos for an excellent thread title!

It's also helpful if you sig your kit thread(s). When I first stumbled across ZS, whenever I found a competent person, I'd check out all their other kits. Sigged links make that easy.

Sounds like the packaged OTC drugs aren't as much of an issue for this bag.
I do strongly recommend them for a car bag, in case you're pulled over and searched. Yeah, that's not high risk, so don't stress over it.

You might want to keep an extra ibuprofen bottle in a box with other "refill" items, beside your BOB (as stored at home). That makes it easier to refill when you come back from a trip.

Ditto to pretty much everything that Wraith6761 wrote, in particular http://www.minimus.biz/
Lots of kewl small items there. They now carry the MRE sandwiches, so it's particularly easy to reach their minimum for free shipping.
(P.S. Wraith6761: thanks for the sanitized (garbage removed) URLs, particularly the Amazon ones! That's shockingly rare, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.)

By water, I meant a separate container of the actual liquid.
I was satisfied with your containers, and just wanted to make sure you either had some filled, and/or the means to fill them easily. I usually keep 1 to 2 gallon-sized jugs and several filled half liter bottles in my car. That way, I can fill up the Nalgenes/etc from the jug(s), and/or load up the smaller bottles. There's always tap water... unless you have a water contamination issue. You're far more likely to have a water quality emergency, than have to bug out, so keeping a gallon or two of store bought distilled/whatever water beside your BOB, is win-win.

It's mainly a convenience thing. If you did have to bug out, you'd probably start in your car, so it's good to have a few extra/luxury/handy type items sitting beside your BOB, for easy loading. They're also a reminder. Personally, I'm so absent minded that I have printed loading lists for both work trips and nature trips.

Kudos on the flashlights!
Lots of extra flashlights are particularly essential in car kits, hint-hint. I've got about half a dozen, just in the front.

Even bigger kudos on keeping the gloves and hat in your jacket!

It's a lot easier to find a jacket than small items.

I forgot to recommend that you add at least a couple of cheap mylar sheets. You've got the high-end bivvy, which is great. The cheap sheets are great groundsheets, footwraps, headwraps, fire heat reflectors, shelter liners, or any other adhoc use, in particular cases where they might experience a lot of hard use.

It really sounds like you're squared away.
A lot of my suggestions are oriented towards making things easier, particularly for a bag like yours which sees real use.
As I've said, I don't do BOBs, but my spouse is an avid birdwatcher, and we both do a lot of "emergency" work trips, so we do "evacuate" a lot, with very short notice. Being organized means we save time, stress, and money.

We've made several camping/birdwatching trips to Indiana. If you haven't seen the sandhill cranes gathering at Jasper-Pulasky SP, I highly recommend it for your bucket list.

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:31 pm

Honeypot wrote:

Thanks for the clarifications, Dragon.

I strongly recommend you do separate threads for each of your car kit, EDC, and small survival kit (PSK?). I'd like to see lots more people post their car kits, since they're the most important kit (not counting one's bug in supplies). I'm curious to see your PSK - your use case is excellent, and one that I somewhat wonder about and might get ideas from (I do have a proven cargo pockets setup plus a couple of mini kits that I can easily move into "Muggle" bags as needed/wanted).

Another good suggestion, thank you. I am off this weekend so unless I'm not at home, I will be re-reviewing my EDC and PSK. My GHB thread is already up but that's in

Focused threads tend to produce better feedback, get much higher rankings in good search engines, and help future visitors who are searching for examples of specific types of kits. Speaking of which, kudos for an excellent thread title!

It's also helpful if you sig your kit thread(s). When I first stumbled across ZS, whenever I found a competent person, I'd check out all their other kits. Sigged links make that easy.

I too do the same thing actually, so I might add links to my sig even though I'm not the most active poster on here.

Sounds like the packaged OTC drugs aren't as much of an issue for this bag.
I do strongly recommend them for a car bag, in case you're pulled over and searched. Yeah, that's not high risk, so don't stress over it.

You might want to keep an extra ibuprofen bottle in a box with other "refill" items, beside your BOB (as stored at home). That makes it easier to refill when you come back from a trip.

Ditto to pretty much everything that Wraith6761 wrote, in particular http://www.minimus.biz/
Lots of kewl small items there. They now carry the MRE sandwiches, so it's particularly easy to reach their minimum for free shipping.
(P.S. Wraith6761: thanks for the sanitized (garbage removed) URLs, particularly the Amazon ones! That's shockingly rare, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.)

By water, I meant a separate container of the actual liquid.
I was satisfied with your containers, and just wanted to make sure you either had some filled, and/or the means to fill them easily. I usually keep 1 to 2 gallon-sized jugs and several filled half liter bottles in my car. That way, I can fill up the Nalgenes/etc from the jug(s), and/or load up the smaller bottles. There's always tap water... unless you have a water contamination issue. You're far more likely to have a water quality emergency, than have to bug out, so keeping a gallon or two of store bought distilled/whatever water beside your BOB, is win-win.

It's mainly a convenience thing. If you did have to bug out, you'd probably start in your car, so it's good to have a few extra/luxury/handy type items sitting beside your BOB, for easy loading. They're also a reminder. Personally, I'm so absent minded that I have printed loading lists for both work trips and nature trips.

I do this in my car actually and rotate it very often. I keep a gallon plus some Smart Water bottles in my trunk.

Kudos on the flashlights!
Lots of extra flashlights are particularly essential in car kits, hint-hint. I've got about half a dozen, just in the front.

Even bigger kudos on keeping the gloves and hat in your jacket!

It's a lot easier to find a jacket than small items.

I forgot to recommend that you add at least a couple of cheap mylar sheets. You've got the high-end bivvy, which is great. The cheap sheets are great groundsheets, footwraps, headwraps, fire heat reflectors, shelter liners, or any other adhoc use, in particular cases where they might experience a lot of hard use.

I might add one to my kit as well, it's a great item to have for very little weight and I have about 5-6 of them in my home FAK.

It really sounds like you're squared away.
A lot of my suggestions are oriented towards making things easier, particularly for a bag like yours which sees real use.
As I've said, I don't do BOBs, but my spouse is an avid birdwatcher, and we both do a lot of "emergency" work trips, so we do "evacuate" a lot, with very short notice. Being organized means we save time, stress, and money.

Honestly I'm not big on a BOB either as I don't even like the idea of bugging out but if it ever happens, I want to be as prepared for it as possible.

We've made several camping/birdwatching trips to Indiana. If you haven't seen the sandhill cranes gathering at Jasper-Pulasky SP, I highly recommend it for your bucket list.

I've never been there but I've been nearby. I spend a lot of time in Hoosier National Park actually. I have more food to add as I just field stripped a few MRE's to add so that I have some field expedient food that requires no prep to eat. MH is good but it has its disadvantages as does everything else.

sventhewarrior · **Posted:** Wed Nov 12, 2014 6:50 pm

This is a really nice kit. It warms my heart to see a kit that actually gets used.

How much does this weigh including your weapons gear? My fighting gear weighs about 20 lbs all by itself, so I try to keep my other gear as light as possible.

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 12, 2014 8:36 pm

sventhewarrior wrote:

This is a really nice kit. It warms my heart to see a kit that actually gets used.

How much does this weigh including your weapons gear? My fighting gear weighs about 20 lbs all by itself, so I try to keep my other gear as light as possible.

Hanks, I will have to re-weigh my weapons gear to get an idea so look forward to hat in the future. I am installing a new rail this week so I hope to do this sooner rather than later.

sventhewarrior · **Posted:** Wed Nov 12, 2014 9:53 pm

I'll be eager to see it. If you end up being over your weight goal once you add your weapons, there are a bunch of places you could cut weight.

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 12, 2014 10:36 pm

sventhewarrior wrote:

I'll be eager to see it. If you end up being over your weight goal once you add your weapons, there are a bunch of places you could cut weight.

My current weight goal was only for this kit, not factoring weapons or any other protective kit in.

bltjr1951 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 12:32 pm

Wraith6761 wrote:

--my fault, used it to try and stop a potentially 35 foot fall down the side of the mountain...successfully stopped the fall after only about 8 feet, but bent the pole all to hell

Are you saying the $100 poles won't bend while stopping falls?
Ruining a cheap pole while not falling 35ft seems cheap win to me.

Wraith6761 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:33 pm

bltjr1951 wrote:

Wraith6761 wrote:

--my fault, used it to try and stop a potentially 35 foot fall down the side of the mountain...successfully stopped the fall after only about 8 feet, but bent the pole all to hell

Are you saying the $100 poles won't bend while stopping falls?
Ruining a cheap pole while not falling 35ft seems cheap win to me.

Not at all, I'm sure any pole will bend when exposed to that kind of stress...however, those cheap poles come with no warranty at all (that I could find at least), whereas Black Diamond customer service has been known to help people out by sending a replacement part for a bent/damaged pole. Plus, the more expensive poles fix the other callouts I had with the cheap pair (adjustment locks not holding very well, weight).

woodsghost · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 2:05 pm

I was looking over this, and I don't see any TP? Or a trowel for digging a poop hole? You could always fashion a stick for this purpose unless the ground is frozen. A trowel does not help much with frozen ground though.

I would not carry a full roll of gorilla tape. But that is just my preference, not "right" or "wrong." It would just save some weight

I don't know that you need both rain gear and a poncho, but if you don't have a tarp, then the ponco is kind of a nice dual-use item.

Again, personal taste, but I would not use a tent, just a tarp/poncho. Save some weight.

Great kit!

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 3:18 pm

woodsghost wrote:

I was looking over this, and I don't see any TP? Or a trowel for digging a poop hole? You could always fashion a stick for this purpose unless the ground is frozen. A trowel does not help much with frozen ground though.

I would not carry a full roll of gorilla tape. But that is just my preference, not "right" or "wrong." It would just save some weight

I don't know that you need both rain gear and a poncho, but if you don't have a tarp, then the ponco is kind of a nice dual-use item.

Again, personal taste, but I would not use a tent, just a tarp/poncho. Save some weight.

Great kit!

The OPSEC Poncho is a brand new item into my kit, so it is earning its place actually, so I am right there with you on that one. I never bring TP, only ever baby/anti-bacterial wipes as I can't stand TP even at home (even though I do use it lol). I do have a trowel somewhere, but it's currently MIA. When I backpack, I use a tent, especially in summer for the bugnet.

woodsghost · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 3:40 pm

I agree, a tent is nice for bug duty. I find other ways to work around it, but that is all just personal preference. Again, not "right" or "wrong."

Thanks again for posting that up! I am totally oggeling your PVS 14. I think that has to be one of the most useful pieces of kit out there.

Wraith6761 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 3:48 pm

Dragon80 wrote:

Wraith6761 wrote:

Saws, which type do you prefer? The folding style that looks like an oversized pocket knife? Can't go wrong with a Laplander, and some of the Fiskar's saws are pretty nice too, though it's easier to bend the blade on this type of saw. Prefer a bow saw? Look into the Sven Saw, but keep in mind it depends on a wingnut that you could potentially lose, so keeping a couple extras on-hand wouldn't be a bad idea.

The Laplander is in consideration along with the Silky Saw, been reading and watching a lot of reviews lately to help with the process. I've also considered the survival chain saw from County Comm. I will look into that saw as well, it seems difficult to balance usability and weight savings at the same time.

I've never tried the chain saw from County Comm, but I have tried similar saws (the style made out of an actual chainsaw blade), and while they do definitely work, they also feel like they take a lot more energy/effort to do the same amount of work. Maybe it was just me not being used to that motion for sawing through a log, but I felt like I got tired a lot faster doing it that way than with a more traditional sawing motion. I imagine it would work pretty nicely with two people though.

Honeypot wrote:

(P.S. Wraith6761: thanks for the sanitized (garbage removed) URLs, particularly the Amazon ones! That's shockingly rare, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.)

Not a problem, I hate dealing with the uber-long URLs too....all that's needed is the www[dot]amazon[dot]com/gp/product/B00xxxxxxxx/, which is the identifier in Amazon's databases.
*Edited to prevent the blank amazon example from becoming an actual hyperlink, and to fix some issues with the multi-quoting.

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:30 pm

woodsghost wrote:

I agree, a tent is nice for bug duty. I find other ways to work around it, but that is all just personal preference. Again, not "right" or "wrong."

Thanks again for posting that up! I am totally oggeling your PVS 14. I think that has to be one of the most useful pieces of kit out there.

Yeah, when the biting gnats are around and you're in a mosquito infested heaven, an actual bugnet has absolutely no equal!! Months without insects, I really don't mind being without.

On the PVS-14's, it was a purchase I tried talking myself out of for years but when I got the opportunity, I couldn't pass it up and that "Buy once, cry once" saying has never entered my mind. I don't mind spending big bucks on items that are worth it. Actually come to think of it, I will offer up this advice which I call "The Six Month Rule". If I want something that costs a lot, I wait 6 months and if I can still warrant it being a worthy purchase then I go for it. I also separate things into Wants and Needs. If I need it, no questions. If I want it, apply the 6 month rule but only when Needs are met first.

sventhewarrior · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 5:40 pm

Dragon80 wrote:

sventhewarrior wrote:

I'll be eager to see it. If you end up being over your weight goal once you add your weapons, there are a bunch of places you could cut weight.

My current weight goal was only for this kit, not factoring weapons or any other protective kit in.

That's your goal for total gear carried?

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:35 pm

sventhewarrior wrote:

Dragon80 wrote:

sventhewarrior wrote:

I'll be eager to see it. If you end up being over your weight goal once you add your weapons, there are a bunch of places you could cut weight.

My current weight goal was only for this kit, not factoring weapons or any other protective kit in.

That's your goal for total gear carried?

No, 40lbs was my goal for just the pack in this form.

sventhewarrior · **Posted:** Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:18 pm

Dragon80 wrote:

sventhewarrior wrote:

Dragon80 wrote:

sventhewarrior wrote:

I'll be eager to see it. If you end up being over your weight goal once you add your weapons, there are a bunch of places you could cut weight.

My current weight goal was only for this kit, not factoring weapons or any other protective kit in.

That's your goal for total gear carried?

No, 40lbs was my goal for just the pack in this form.

I'm sorry, I meant to ask WHAT your goal for total gear carried is. I think I got autocorrected.

angelofwar · **Posted:** Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:24 am

Awesome kit from what I can see! Quality goods, all spectrums covered for the most part.

My $.02, and by all means this is NOT criticism, just something for you to consider:

1) Handheld light...if you can afford it, I'd get a 1-Cell Surefire LED (E1L, L1, Etc.). Yes, headlamps are king for doing stuff at camp, but a handheld is king when walking...

2) Water purification Tablets...so you can purify questionable water while you sleep...the "manual purifiers" are great, but you can purify 2-3 liters while you sleep, instead of trying to purify that much through squeezing/sucking...for the room they take up, they are a no-brainer for me.

3) Tinder...put some in your fire kit...the wet fire is good, butit doesn;t necessarily qualify as tiner...through some lint or cotton balls/char-cloth in a plastic, and it should fit in your fire kit no prob.

4) Add a second mini-bic to your kit...again, for their size/weight, another no brainer...your primary lighter can easily leak, and when you go to use it, zilch!

5) I know the CR123's are Lithium, but what about the AA's? If they are Alkaline, I'd replace with with lithiums...why? a) A quarter the weight b) Lith's operate at better at temperature extremes c) lith's don't leak, d) lith's maintain 80% of their power over a roughly 20 year period, as opposed to the 1-1.5 year alkalines do.

6) Weather/SW radio? Yeah, you can talk to people, but how are you going to get other details??? There are some super small radio out there that don't take up a lot of space.

7) Throw some hard candy/bubble gum in their...quick energy on the go and a morale booster.

8) Civvy clothes...so you can go Grey Man if needed...

9) BENADRYL...BENADRYL...BENADRYL...nothing like getting hives (random allergic reaction) and not having anything to fight the itch/inflammation...(Plus, it doubles as a sleep aid!)

Other than that, again, just my opinion, your kit is VERY well though out and should get you through most anything...and is actually one of the better kits I've seen on ZS...these are just some tweaks I see that could be made.

@Wraith6761, thanks for the minimusbiz link...I think I will be doing my med shopping there from now on :0)

Dragon80 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 14, 2014 1:26 am

Angel, I have a Fenix PD20 in my edc. I do have purification tabs actually, thanks for the reminder. I have used the tinder i had in there so I need to replenish it. Not a bad idea on the second mini bic, ill add one soon. Both my 123's and AA's are lithium so im good there. The Baofeng is UHF/VHF and has all the NOAA channels programmed in. I will also ads some candy, it's something I rarely eat so I didn't even think about it. I do have some antihistamines in there as well, I just didn't want to name every single item in the FAK. I also have Tylenol PM for when I'm really having trouble sleeping. Lol I appreciate the feedback, that's exactly why I'm here so thank you!

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