Erik's Bob For The Poor - Pic heavy

[Erik]

Howdy, folks. Today, I thought I'd show you my new bug out bag (BOB). I had another post about a year back with my first BOB, which was actually quite awful. This bug out bag is different enough that I've decided to make an entirely new thread on it.

I don't have a ton of money to spend on a BOB, so if you are in the same position, take a good look at the post. A lot of the stuff in this BOB I already had on hand or I purchased at the local Wal Mart. Almost nothing in the BOB is state of the art, expensive, extra light, or extra small. The setup is not especially pretty, but it is solid, comfortable, and it works. Not including the gun or the Tilley hat, you should be able to throw the entire BOB together for about $200, less than the cost of some of the packs alone displayed on this forum. The whole thing, including full nalgene bottle and loaded pistol, weighs 44.6 pounds.

My BOB is focused on keeping me alive for three days. It's not designed to do much beyond that, so please keep that in mind when making suggestions. Suggestions are welcomed.


Here it is. I decided to replace my original $11 Wal Mart backpack with a $15 BlackHawk! 3-Day Assault pack. Normally, these run around $100, but I found one at an army surplus store near Fort Polk that was used. It had actually been in either Afghanistan or Iraq. It was slightly soiled, but not damaged or worn in any way. Doc Simon, who was there at the time, informed me that BlackHawk! makes outstanding, extremely tough gear, so I bought it. I haggled the shop owner down from $20 because I'm a cheap bastard. The main pack is 2240 cubic inches. Having spent a little time with the bag, I can definately state that it is made of tough material and the stitching is *very* strong.

You can buy them new here.
http://www.blackhawk.com/product1.asp?P=603D00&C=C1008


Here's the back of the pack. It has highly padded waist straps, as well as chest straps. The main straps are nice, wide, and comfortable. All over the pack are places where you can strap and carabiner stuff. It's quite comfortable to wear.


For $23 apiece, I decided to buy a pair of accessory bags, which are actually fairly large. I measure them to hold about 450 cubic inches apiece. That expands the BOB to 3140 cubic inches. The bags attach directly to clips on the main pack. They don't match the main pack exactly becuase the pack faded a little in the Middle Eastern sun. Oh well.

Here's a link to the accessory bags.
http://www.blackhawk.com/product1.asp?P=603DAP

Time to open the bag. I will denote which items I already owned and which were free, so as not to spend additional money.


Here's what's in the left accessory bag from left to right:
1 - Cheapshit pair of binoculars with case and soft cloth
2 - 1/2 liters of water
1 - Compass
1 - Tiny jar of honey. Honey doesn't go bad and can provide a power boost. And this one was free, so why the hell not?
1 - Knife sharpener (already owned)
1 - Vacuum-sealed pair of old jeans (already owned)
1 - Pair of old glasses, in case (already owned)
4 - Heat packs. I got them four for a dollar at a discount store. They stay warm for 10 hours.


Contents of the right accessory bag:
1 - Decent-quality poncho (already owned)
1 - Bag containing 100 rounds of 9mm hollowpoint, a full 15-round P89 mag, and a speed loader (already owned)
1 - 100 foot length of real 550 paracord
3 - Energy bars
1 - Small roll of duct tape (already owned)
1 - Film cannister (for dry storage, inside roll of duct tape (already owned)
3 - Zip Loc bags (for dry storage, inside roll of duct tape) (already owned)
5 - Gel fuel (for starting fire, because I suck at that)
A ziplock containing:
4 - AA batteries (already owned)
1 - Mini Mag (already owned)
3 - Sheets of Paper (already owned)
1 - Pen (already owned)
2 - Lighters (already owned)
2 - Spare Mini Mag bulbs
1 - Iodine water purification pill bottle
1 - Bottle of that stuff to make water not taste like iodine
1 - Petzl headlamp (not shown - I use it a lot at home)


Secondary and mini pocket in main pack:
1 - Fresnel lens
1 - Cheapo multitool from Wal Mart
1 - Deck of cards (already owned)
1 - Pair of work gloves
3 - Area maps. These were free. I printed them off of websites and laminated them at school. Included is a map of my town and surrounding countryside, a map of an adjoining town, and a map of the huge resevoir lake that is a 30 minute hike from my house.
2 - Rolls of toilet paper (already owned)
1 - Box containing three more gel fuel packs
4 - More body/hand heaters in a pouch
1 - Mini fire log (again, I can't start fires very well)
3 - Extra zip locks for dry storage (already owned)
1 - 5x7 camo tarp


Main pack compartment:
1 - Sweater (already owned)
2 - MREs
1 - Pair of underwear (vacuum sealed) (already owned)
1 - Pair wool socks (vacuum sealed) (already owned)
1 - Mess kit
1 - First aid kit (the camo bag)
1 - 2.5 liter camelback resevoir


Here are the contents of the first aid kit. I wish it could be bigger, but I just don't have room for more bulk:
1 - One-handed tourniquet
1 - Pouch o' QuikClot
1 - Pressure warp roll
1 - Kerlix roll
10 - Alcohol wipes
1 - Pair surgical scissors
1 - Pair forceps
1 - Tube of antibiotic cream
1 - Pair latex-free gloves
Tons - Bandaids
2 - Moleskin squares
1 - Roll of 2" medical tape
1 - Needle
2 - Iodine wipes
1 - Gauze pad
10 - Excedrine pills (painkiller PLUS caffeine!)
1 - Israeli bandage
1 - Trek 1 pouch for all the small stuff
2 - Clear bandages
1 - SAM splint


Here is what's attached to the outside of my bag:
1 - Tent. Picked it up at a flea market for $18. It's barely used and big enough for one person (two, if they're very friendly)
1 - Tilley Hat
1 - Sleeping bag. I probably picked it up from Wal Mart or somewhere years ago.
1 - 1L Nalgene bottle
1 - P89 pistol. This is technically on my nightstand. I'd grab it along with my choice of concealed or open carry holsters (pictured), depending on the situation.
1 - Sea to Summit 35 quart dry sack. I use it to store my tent and sleeping bag. At $19, it's one of the most expensive things in my BOB.
1 - Wal Mart machete with aftermarket sheath.


Here it is on my back.

Feel free to make comments or offer suggestions. My only request on suggestions for additional gear is that it be inexpensive.

-Erik

[TheFreakinBear]

Erik...the only thing I can say is that your house FREAKIN ROCKS!....your BOB is pretty kick ass too. I love what you did with it and I really like those $23 expanders that you got. I might have to pick a couple up myself if not at least one to try it out. Pretty bad ass...

[Erik]

I'm glad you like my BOB! Thank you! I'm even more glad you like my house colors. ClearCut says my living room is a bad color.

-Erik

[TheFreakinBear]

I'm glad you like my BOB! Thank you! I'm even more glad you like my house colors. ClearCut says my living room is a bad color.

-Erik

Eh, ClearCut can go suck on a Cut that's Clear... I love the office and all the books and stuff. Makes me jealous. Let me know what kinda stuff you're looking for for your BOB for cheap and I'll keep an eye out and send it your way.

[Tetra Grammaton Cleric]

I like the fact that you've stuck to the purist ZS 3day BOB concept.

I also like the position of the machette. You're more likely to need it to clear a site for the tent / hammer in the tent pegs / cut up some firewood than mix it up with zombies so it makes sense to have on the outside of the drybag that contains the tent and sleeping bag.

As an aside though, if you do get jumped by zombies when you're out of ammo can you get to the machette without taking off the bag? Looks like it might be possible from the photos.
-

[Obiwan]

No suggestions....just a question

How well does it carry??

45 lbs is a hefty load IF your pack does not carry it well

[Erik]

TGC, to answer your question, I *can* reach the machete. It's very convenient. Zombies beware!

Obiwan, the bag is actually quite comfortable. It has the carry system of a larger bag, so it's not that bad at all. I really like it.

-Erik

[kir]

I like it! And yeah, you're house looks awesome too. =)

The only question I would have is, have you jogged for a short distance to see if anything falls off? I can't tell from the photo just how tightly secured the machete is, but I'd be concerned about it falling off if I hadn't tested it.

[Ellie With An Axe]

Hey, this is really cool, showing how to not break your bank in order to get your gear.

Does your sleeping bag hanging down there fwap you in the butt when you're running?

And I love your color scheme too. I've actually been recently building a huge bookshelf kinda like a cross between yours and an Ikea Expedit.

[IllicitDreams]

Erik,

I like the idea, I went a similar route myself. I even got a similar deal on the pack, I paid $20 for a Spec Ops T.H.E. Pack.

One of these days I may just get around to posting pics of my BOB.

Nice work man.

[Erik]

Ellie, the sleeping bag/tent does bump me in the butt. I don't like that, but have no inkling how to solve the problem.

Kir, the machete is *very* tightly strapped down, so I'm sure it would stay. I certainly couldn't get a pinky between one of the straps and the sleeping bag.

By the way, I'm talking about the red living room. What do you guys think of the color? It's important to me that Clear Cut knows his taste is inferior to mine.

-Erik

[meanstreak]

Nice setup Erik. The only suggestion I can really offer is if you are going to carry quickclot, maybe carry two pouches instead of one. If you are shot and need to use it, there will likely be two wounds - entry and exit.

Nice job on the BOB.

[crypto]

Does your sleeping bag hanging down there fwap you in the butt when you're running?

This is what I was going to ask. It looks like it would get in the way of your legs pretty easy.

[Erik]

Does your sleeping bag hanging down there fwap you in the butt when you're running?

This is what I was going to ask. It looks like it would get in the way of your legs pretty easy.

Nay, it's not hanging low enough to hit my legs, just my rear end a bit. Any suggestions to raise it up would be welcomed.

-Erik

[IllicitDreams]

Is there someway to strap it to the top?

[sheddi]

Any suggestions to raise it up would be welcomed.

Could you take a web strap (or something similar) and run it in a loop through the two black straps on your sleeping bag carrier, then up to the daisy-chain on the back of the pack? This might stabilise it enough to keep it from swinging into your rear end.

[crypto]

Any suggestions to raise it up would be welcomed.

-Erik

I'd think about replacing the dry sack (or just enclosing it) in a compression sack so you could reduce it's cross-section. I bet you could really compress the shit out of it, and squeeze about half of it's space with some webbing and buckles, even with the tent in there.

If you're of the DIY type you would probably sew a few small pieces of webbing on the back running from top to bottom, so that they would retain the webbing in place.

[mpi]

From my own experience humping heavy loads for very long distances [m60 gunner] i would suggest you find a way to mount your fartsack on top of your pack. It doesn't have to contact anything but your buttocks to cause fatigue on long foot journeys. the way i carry my machete is vertically between the body of my pack and one of the add-a-pocket pouches on the side of my pack. this keeps it very secure and yet accessible.

IMHO the issue isn't so much accessibility as snagging. i was once seriously injured trying to exit a confined space [m113 on fire] in a hurry. the vertical carry is closer to the centerline and you are already in the habit of no knocking your head on things and can clear it more instinctively if you do catch on something.

[smiffy]

Nice minimal kit.

As soon as I saw the "assembled" photo, I thought a similar sentiment to several other users, that it'd smack against your legs or rump was you walk.

I'd suggest that you avoid this if possible. It'll rob you of kinetic energy with each step, making you hungry & tired sooner.
I'd reccomend that you rig some straps, across the rear (side away from you) of the main pack (possibly using the same attacement points as the side pouches) so that you can stow the bed-roll vertically.
You may find this moves your centre of gravity too far to the rear. In this case the boy-scoutish method of having the roll on top of the pack may work better for you, but may also give you trouble shooting a weapon from the prone position.

Hmm. Everyone else seems to have said the same thing while I was writing...

[smiffy]

---Snip---
IMHO the issue isn't so much accessibility as snagging. i was once seriously injured trying to exit a confined space [m113 on fire] in a hurry. the vertical carry is closer to the centerline and you are already in the habit of no knocking your head on things and can clear it more instinctively if you do catch on something.

Seconded. Never had to egress a burning AFV, but from my time wreck-diving I can see the geometry (for want of a better word) of this situation. See a lot of people carrying their roll-mat vertically now. "Dasiy Chains" seem a good idea

[milesdzyn]

Great job and a very inspirational post for all.

Just two points:

I would be concerned about the handle of the machete snagging, have you tried to mount it between the main pack and one of your side pouches, either side. (R or L handed)

If you are able to add a second strapping system that goes from the lower front of the pack (the part against your back) and attach it at the back of the pack (say at mid point up, maybe through the lowest loop) it should stop the swinging of the sleeping bag.

Later when you can I would suggest an inexpensive night vision ($100.00) this is our Achilles heel against predators of all kinds. I know this goes against keeping the budget at bay but I think its worth looking at.

Miles

[crypto]

"Dasiy Chains" seem a good idea

I'm not sure how a daisy chain would be used to do this, but I'd like to fond out.

[stealthedc]

You don't have a radio. You can get the Durabrand (?) cheapie at walmart for $5. It has a built in speaker (and I think headphones too) and the reception is decent. I would add at least some form of commo...

[smiffy]

"Dasiy Chains" seem a good idea

I'm not sure how a daisy chain would be used to do this, but I'd like to fond out.

Sheddi reminded me of the term, possibly it's a Britishism. It's what i'd call the strip of webbing loops going up the rear-centerline of the pack in question.