Emergency/SHTF/BOB Packs

Well I think it really depends where you live and the time of the year. Here in South Florida it really doesn't get that cold so the sleeping bag isn't a necessity. A tent for me is not a necessity although I have a very compact 3 person tent that weighs about 4 or 5 pounds. Instead of a tent, I packed a blue tarp and 2 black garbage bags in the bottom of the bag. 3 days food really doesn't take up that much space either if you pack high protein items like power bars, beef jerky, tuna fish in the foil packages. As far as carbs, I have 4 bags of instant brown rice that you just throw the bag into boiling water for 10 minutes. I also have some hot sauce packets and salt and pepper packets in the bag.
Here's a brief list of what I recall is in my bag: My bag is basically a typical army issue bookbag. Items highlighted are in Altoids tin.
Tools / Misc. Gear
Fishing line – 40ft
Hooks - 7
Weights -2
Beetle spins - 2
Assorted bungie cords
Duct tape wrapped around pen and pencil – 25ft
crayon
550 paracord – 50ft
Xenon flashlight
3v batteries - 10
2 LED caribiner flashlights
Zip ties - 12
Magnesium fire starter
Ziploc baggies - 6
Waterproof matches – 4 boxes
1 pack matches
Firestarters – 8 sticks –
P32 can openers - 2
S&W SRT knife
Gerber Multi-tool
Toothpicks – 4
Twine – 40ft
Superglue
Campsite Pots/pans
Needle/thread kit
Wiresaw
Magnifying glass
Survival handbook
Shelter
Tent
Tarp
Black trash bags - 2
Poncho
emergency Blanket-2
Medical/Healthcare
Goodies powders – 2 / 24 Aspirins
Motrin – 11 tabs / 24 Ibuprofen
Benadryl – 9 tabs
Imodium - 10 tabs
Tylenol cold – 6 tabs
Band-aids -9 / 24
Water purifier tablets - 50
Babywipes – 1 package of 12
TP – 2 emergency roll
Insect repellant
Moleskin – 1 package
Sunscreen
Travel toothpaste and brushes - 2
Neosporin
Various bandages
Travel soap
Travel shampoo
Food/Supplies
Water filter bottle
2 liter camelback
Trailmix-1lb.
Breakfast bars-3
Protein bars-5
chicken in foil-2
tuna in foil-2
Beef jerky-1lb.
Instant brown rice-4 packets
S&P packets, hot sauce packets, sugar packets

Of course with all said, I plan on bugging in for most situations. This is mainly a bag for camping / hunting.

I think the secret to fitting stuff in your pack is to downsize. Use the smallest and lightest shelter you can get by with. Use lightweight nesting pots in only the sizes you'll need. Use compression stuff sacks for your sleeping bag and tent, and get an appropriate, light bag that compresses well. When it comes to food, go for dense foods that offer a lot of energy for their size/weight. Same mindset goes to water purification and storage, stove, etc. Carry only what you're likely to absolutely need and only as much as you'll need.

You can make small differences here and there with a little thought. For example, you can remove the cardboard tube from toilet paper rolls, then vacuum seal them. This not only reduces their size considerably, but protects them from the elements.

You'd be surprised how much you can actually fit into a pack, but the weight goes up pretty quickly. Carry the bare essentials. The best way to find out what you really need is to hike with, and camp out of your BOB a few times. This will let you see if the weight is comfortable for carrying and what you'll actually end up using, how much of it you actually use, etc.

Like Shadowbob, I plan to bug in if possible, but I have several layers of bug out gear at the ready also. I have 2 car BOBs. One is a grab and go, and the other is a cold weather add-on in case of a winter crisis. At home, I keep larger, better prepared cargo tubs ready to be grabbed and tossed in the vehicle if the crisis hits while I'm home and I have time to "pack".

Last summer, I actually had the unfortunate chance to give my bug out preparations a real world test. We had extreme flooding that blocked my only 2 paths out of the area. The river near my house had already jumped it's banks farther up and was threatening to overflow here at any moment. I tossed my bug out tubs into the truck and me and the doggies spent a few days living in the desert uphill from the flood zone. Other than worrying about my home and belongings, it was actually a lot of fun. Spent a lot of time plinking and playing with the dogs. I even got used to the smell of wet dogs sharing the tent.

Honestly, most of the BOB gear you'll see here is from people who are a little too...umm...excited about the topic.

A true BOB is typically intended to keep you alive for 72-hours. Anything more is either unrealistic, excessive or miss-classified.

Check out the wiki entry (and related links). You might also want to check out what search-and-rescue teams in your area carry. In my neck of the woods, most volunteer SAR teams require their members to carry 24/48/72-hour kits.

That depends on what they're planning to bug out from. If the river had jumped it's banks here, I would have been living out of my bug out gear for a lot more than 72 hours, with no hope of resupply till it dried out enough to de-ass the area. My car kit is set up for 72 hours, but I keep more stuff in tubs at home just in case. At the very least, it made my days in the desert a lot more comfy and actually rather fun.

Skunk,
Don't you need to save some room for your SPAM?

Nice shelter...

Being one of those who are, um, "a little too excited" about the topic, I say you decide what your most likely reason for bugging out will be, then decide how long you will have to be "out" then plan your gear accordingly. Your AO also forces certain items as "must haves".

Then arrange the gear and find a pack that will fit.

IMHO 1 day = 1000 c.i

for a BOB or longer than 3 days "backpacking" wiould suggest a pack that in the 3500-4500 range. 7-10+ days depending on the aera(weather) you may need a larger 55-7500 sized pack.

I would check REI and campmor for packs that are one sale.

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The above wuote is from someone who is a very active hiker and SHTFer

then decide how long you will have to be "out" then plan your gear accordingly

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I totally agree with you. However, I was simply addressing the BOB issue. A BOB is typically a I gotta get out right now/72-hour bag. It keeps you alive at least long enough for the cavalry to arrive.

The benefit of a BOB is convenience...I can keep one with me all the time. If you want to keep a BO-tub/BO-SUV/BO-BUS with a BO-arsenal in the back, more power to you. I might be over after 3 days.

how do you guys fit all that stuff y'all list into your emergency packs?

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Ummmm...don't? ;-)

I've been kinda going in circles around this myself.
Two major mistakes in making a BOB:
1. Buying the bag first. You'll want to put into it whatever you want to put into it ... so gather that stuff first, sift it down, then get a bag sized to match. I know, it's so tempting to buy a cool bag, then jump on the contents to force them in.
2. Too darn much stuff. Stop what-iffing your bag to death, and focus on the few essentials as dictated by your climate, conditions, and goals: heat, shelter, water ... those achieved, you'll have time to improvise the rest.

Know your goals! An all-purpose BOB will certainly be large, mostly filled with stuff you mostly won't use. 99% of the time I'm within 3-day walking distance of home, which obviously has everything needed for long-term ... ergo, my goal is be able to walk 3 days, and as such it all fits in a side pocket of my omnipresent computer bag:
- water bottle with filter
- medium knife
- space blanket
- matches/lighter/flint
...and that's really all I figure I truly need. Augmenting that for comfort & enhanced safety includes (also in same bag pocket):
- ASP baton
- flashlight
- lightstick
- Sharpie marker
- 50' paracord
- large bandage
- bandaids
- plastic bags
- whistle
- chapstick
- New Testament
- Advil
- Benadryl
- granola bars
- earplugs
Not a particularly good list, but decent enough. Thing is it's ALWAYS with me.

...well, "always" until I ravaged the thing to pack a waterproof BOB box for the canoe. Now I have to go re-buy almost everything and re-load my computer bag.

That said, and referring now back to my early comments...
The bag in my car (which is usually a minute away) is a problem. I try to deck that out more for basic camping, with tent, sleeping bag, MREs, change of clothes, and other stuff. I got the bag because it looked like the right side, looked kinda cool, and had a big Camelback bladder built in. Turns out the main selling point - the Camelback water bag & tube - is stupidly inconvenient! There just isn't quite enough room to cram everything I want into the bag, half the stuff has to be yanked out to access the other half, and worst of all: once packed, there is no room for a full water bladder! I have to completely unpack the main compartment to relieve enough pressure to slide the bladder into its space, then re-cram everything into its nooks and crannies.

(Anyone wanna buy a Camelback HAWG? Please?)

Yesterday I was fondling a medium-sized "assault pack" which seemed quite suitable. Every compartment unzipped to wide-open, allowing easy access to everything. No semi-hidden nooks & crannies. Rectangular shapes make packing easy. I'm tempted.

Lesson:
1. Gather up all the stuff you want in your BOB.
2. Dispose of anything not crucial to your intended mission (walk home? survive indefinitely? ride it out with family?).
3. Repeat #2 several times. You still don't need a lot of that stuff.
4. Once you're convinced of what's going into the BOB bag, THEN get the bag!

The best way to work all this out is USE IT. Go camping. Use the contents whenever possible (I've given up using matches completely for a while, and am learning nuances of flint; frequently use the water filtration bottle; etc.).

IMHO 1 day = 1000 c.i

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Excellent advice. I'll try it. That's 10"x10"x10" ... seems kinda big when you start adding up days.

Tent? Sleeping bag? Cookset? There are lighter/more compact alternatives to all that stuff. Lightweight tarp, bivy sack, poncho - all those are lighter and smaller than a tent. I have dehydrated food and no stove - put the water in and come back in 30 minutes - good to go!

I think the lighter and smaller your BOB is, the more likely it is to be there when you need it. I have enough for me, my wife, and 2 toddlers in a 3000 ci daypack that I toss in the car when we go on daytrips. It has a lot of stuff, but most is stuff that is more flexible and less single-purpose. You are probably not going to be in the woods, and you really don't know where you might be - rural or urban. You might be put on a bus or jump in the back of a pickup as the floodwaters hit - with a compact BOB you can put it on your lap.

It is not really a camping bag - survival, not weekend-camping comfort is the goal! If you have more time, obviously pack the sofa, but the idea is having enough to survive.

Have you checked out neardeathexperiments and zombiehunters?

I also agree that bugging in is far preferable. I live in a pretty nice suburban neighborhood, but just in case I have 1200 feet of concertina wire, 600 full sandags, and 15 concrete-and-steel vehicle barriers for just such an occasion. Plus parapet guns for the wife and kids.

- Sharpie marker

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2. Dispose of anything not crucial to your intended mission

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I suggest that "sharpie marker" is not crucial to your intended mission.

Tent? Sleeping bag? Cookset? There are lighter/more compact alternatives to all that stuff. Lightweight tarp, bivy sack, poncho - all those are lighter and smaller than a tent.

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I'll agree that "bivy sack" is adequate in most places; no need for tent.

But unless you're south of the Mason Dixon in February, "bivy sack" may NOT replace "sleeping bag". Up here, sleeping out in a bivy sack in February without a sleeping bag, even with all your fleece on, can result in hypothermia and death.

It's all relative.
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Skunk, nice to see you're relaxing a bit these days after your southern adventures.

Well, yeah - I am in Phoenix. But, a GI ponch liner is warm and pretty compact. In the northern climes I would have a supercompact sleeping bag.

My $0.02...

I have a lot of my camping / emergency gear in Rubber maid boxes in one area. If I need to Bug Out, those get loaded in the car and finished. I have some backpacks and if I need to Bug Out that way (on foot or something) I will load them out of the crates. Let's be honest, the BOB threads and stories have really morphed into HAVE SUPPLIES AT HOME to see you through a disaster.

The only time I will need to BUG OUT is Catagory 5 hurricane, Nuclear attack (large not some terrorist suitcase nuke) or the like. In just about every case, I can either use my car or stay in my house.

If Alas Babylon happened, then you load the crates and a wagon in your car and drive until you one reach destination or until you run out of gas, then you load the containers in the wagon and keep moving.

In any event, just remember the pioneers, they could load a lot more into a covered wagon than we can a back pack and THEY STILL HAD TO BE EXTREMELY selective about what they took. Make a plan to stay at home and keep your provisions loaded in crates in one area of your garage or storage area. That gives you adaptability depending on the emergency.

In most emergencies, you will be at home. Make sure that you can build a safe room in short order or have one already in case of fall out, chemical or biological attack in your area. Everything else needs to be food, water, water purification and bullets. Can't do more than that I think.

Don't focus on buggin out, so that you are only prepared to bug out and not sit tight.

As a SAR member I got used to the idea of a 72 hour bag and still have one. What I have learned is that, esp. with two kids, my 72 hour bag is more of an exercise than a real item. I now keep my "gun bag", "medic bag", "food/coook bag", "water procurment (Actually this is one that I think is most essential and have back up items in everything else) and "electronics (HAM Radio operator)". Grab each bag/tote, throw in the truck and I'm out the door ASAP, including with the kids.

Sharpies are actually really useful, no really. It's for first aid markings, trail signs, writing on clothing or tape or plastic or metal whatever. It's more valuable than it seems but this is great stuff here;

The best way to work all this out is USE IT. Go camping. Use the contents whenever possible (I've given up using matches completely for a while, and am learning nuances of flint; frequently use the water filtration bottle; etc.).

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Using it will teach more than 1,000 posts from different people from different parts of the world.

ST