What non necessity item do you have B.O.B.?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - What non necessity item do you have B.O.B.?

Posted: 8/29/2010 2:38:44 PM EDT

For me its baby wipes. Its a good way to get clean and who knows if the worlds ending I may get lucky so I want to be clean.

Posted: 8/29/2010 3:36:33 PM EDT

[#1]

I couldn't do without baby wipes! Id be a mean SOB once they ran out!

Posted: 8/29/2010 4:36:43 PM EDT

[#2]

I have a couple things wouldn't be considered necessities by some, but would add a bit of comfort to me, but mostly my family during a BO. I keep about half a dozen of those hand and toe warmers. I used them when I could in the Marine Corps and they definitely help out. I also have some of those powdered Crystal Light drink mixes along with some Gatorade ones. I also have a deck of cards to keep busy.

Posted: 8/29/2010 4:40:24 PM EDT

[#3]

I added a backpacking tent. It adds a few more pounds over the tarp I had, but it adds a great deal of comfort and is a great morale booster for me.

Posted: 8/29/2010 4:53:38 PM EDT

[#4]

Candy bars. I would be really grumpy without my daily chocolate bar.

Posted: 8/29/2010 5:47:02 PM EDT

[#5]

Deck of playing cards

Posted: 8/29/2010 7:54:35 PM EDT

[#6]

Well lets see, I have the floss picks, those plastic dental floss thingies, baby wipes, coffee, need my caffeine, deodorant, mouth wash, shampoo, soap, and extra socks. They are not a total necessity, but I will be damned if I do not have them.

Buzz.

Posted: 8/29/2010 8:11:21 PM EDT

[#7]

Pillow

Posted: 8/29/2010 9:27:38 PM EDT

[#8]

couple spare pairs of clean boxers

Posted: 8/29/2010 10:36:19 PM EDT

[#9]

i have a different take on this stuff.

i have an emergency kit with just the basics and a bob with the basics + snivel gear. to me just surviving isn't enough. a bit of comfort gear can raise the spirits and make life easier at a time when you really need it most.

Posted: 8/30/2010 4:02:55 AM EDT

[#10]

I would say that almost half of the stuff in my BOB is a necessity. I could build a shelter instead of using my tarp, so its a comfort and convenience item. I could build a fire if I was not concerned with noise and light discipline, so my jet boil is a comfort item. I could eat twigs and berries so all my food is a comfort item. I could boil my water so my Katadyn Hiker is a comfort item.

All of my "comfort" items are designed to increase my chances of survival by lowering my calorie consumption and exposure level.

I do carry a bar of soap and some wet ones because I like to be clean.

Posted: 8/30/2010 4:53:30 AM EDT

[#11]

I have a deck of cards and glow in the dark dice. I have been intending to pick up some Yahtzee score sheets as well.

The iPhone is also one of those non-essential items and I keep videos and music on there as a comfort thing. Works well to keep the kids entertained all too often!

Posted: 8/30/2010 5:36:11 AM EDT

[#12]

Towel. Yes, I pack a towel.

Posted: 8/30/2010 4:46:57 PM EDT

[#13]

A deck of cards

Posted: 8/30/2010 5:34:00 PM EDT

[#14]

Either I am hardcore or stupid... or both. I don't carry any of that shit. Comfort items I pack: toothbrush, TP, A couple bandanas, and an MRE. I guess creature comforts aren't as important to me.

Posted: 8/30/2010 5:56:37 PM EDT

[#15]

Two paperback books.

Posted: 8/30/2010 6:06:02 PM EDT

[#16]

depends on how you define necessity... mental well being is critical to survival, so I have a Bible, a spiral to write my thoughts/lkeep track of stuff, and a deck of cards...

and that's in addition to my baby wipes, camp towels and hard candies.

Posted: 8/30/2010 6:09:06 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Either I am hardcore or stupid... or both. I don't carry any of that shit. Comfort items I pack: toothbrush, TP, A couple bandanas, and an MRE. I guess creature comforts aren't as important to me.

Or you don't have kids! My kids are 13, 11, 6, and 15 months. I need anything I can find t help entertain them as much as anything.

Posted: 8/30/2010 6:53:56 PM EDT

[#18]

small photo alblum

Posted: 8/30/2010 7:36:21 PM EDT

[#19]

Probably the disposable hand warmers. My bag isn't designed for camping out in the boonies during the end of the world, it's for life's surprises and getting through them with minimal trouble. So, while the heat packs are nice, they're pretty much just a snivel gear type thing.

Oddly enough, the most USED item in my bag is the stash of allergy meds. Every few weeks I'll be out somewhere and really need them. The other most common item is the Wet Ones wipes. Life's messy. I keep some in the med kit but also a bunch in the top zipper pouch for easy access day to day. I just replenish both items regularly.

Posted: 8/30/2010 9:03:00 PM EDT

[#20]

Medicine for Mountaineering

Posted: 8/31/2010 8:35:28 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Either I am hardcore or stupid... or both. I don't carry any of that shit. Comfort items I pack: toothbrush, TP, A couple bandanas, and an MRE. I guess creature comforts aren't as important to me.

Or you don't have kids! My kids are 13, 11, 6, and 15 months. I need anything I can find t help entertain them as much as anything.

That's exactly what I was thinking as I read his post!

Posted: 8/31/2010 9:45:36 AM EDT

[#22]

In all reality, I think everything but a knife and maybe some cordage could be considered non-essential. You can pretty much accomplish just about anything else (depending on your AO) with natural resources. Sure, I can start a fire with sticks, I can make a bow and arrow, kill an animal, tan the bladder/stomach for a water container and use the hide for shelter. I've done the whole primitive thing before, and while educational, it's not something I would want to do day in and day out. Survival is really more than just surviving, more than scraping out a living, its about making a life. We just understand the need to adapt that life to a different set of curcumstances, and its the items in our bags that makes the adaptation process a little smoother.

I pack a lot of non-essential crap for sure, but man, baby wipes can be worth their weight in gold at the end of a LONG day.

Posted: 8/31/2010 9:50:55 AM EDT

[#23]

Baby wipes are not a non necessity. Baby wipes are a must.

Posted: 8/31/2010 10:49:03 AM EDT

[#24]

A deck of Uno card and a New Testament. I also have a small pill bottle with a needle and a small spool of thread....

Most forget the spiritual part of buggin out!!!!

Amos1909

Posted: 8/31/2010 12:14:07 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
i have a different take on this stuff.

i have an emergency kit with just the basics and a bob with the basics + snivel gear. to me just surviving isn't enough. a bit of comfort gear can raise the spirits and make life easier at a time when you really need it most.

Absolutely. Good post.

Posted: 8/31/2010 9:02:43 PM EDT

[#26]

my non-essiental item is a harmonica. I can't play it very well but my main music instrument is a guitar which won't work in shtf so got to have something to make music or i'd go nuts. Also pack a deck of cards which I think is well worth the small amount of weight for the recreation it would offer. We like to play cards when just camping too.

Posted: 8/31/2010 11:15:11 PM EDT

[#27]

Pint of Old Crow.

Posted: 9/1/2010 5:57:28 AM EDT

[#28]

Deck of cards

Posted: 9/8/2010 7:55:23 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
Deck of cards

I have that in mine as well. I was thinking of putting in tea just because it too is a morale booster. If I could afford a solar charger, I'd put my iPod in there as well.

Posted: 9/8/2010 9:29:21 PM EDT

[#30]

Flask of 'Goose
5 Hour Energy
Tang

Posted: 9/9/2010 8:39:40 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
Towel. Yes, I pack a towel.

I'm the same way, got to have one. THESE are amazing. Very light weight, very absorbent, and they dry really fast.

Most of the benefits of a real towel at 1/4 the size.

Posted: 9/9/2010 8:41:43 AM EDT

[#32]

Posted: 9/9/2010 8:55:38 AM EDT

[#33]

Camping French Press and coffee grounds. Life after the big one would not be worth living without a cup a joe...

Posted: 9/9/2010 9:07:53 AM EDT

[#34]

I don't really keep anything in my BOB for weight that I don't really want to carry and would see as non-necessity. I could get by without them I guess, like the deck of cards, extra lighters, and metal usgi spoon and fork, but prefer not to as they can be very useful.

Posted: 9/9/2010 9:28:32 AM EDT

[#35]

For post 223.....

In my opinion, anything beyond the basic food/water/shelter is nonessential. I based my get home bag on Maslow's hierarchy of needs...

I'm covered for three days on food/water and I have a tarp with 550 cord plus an anorak/hat/wool sweater for shelter. Some of the additionals beyond fire sources, blades, and lights are a med/blowout kit with a Fisher Space Pen and paper, a small pack of tissues, deck of cards, and a pair of earplugs. I have a really bare-bones approach but each item in my bag serves multiple roles as I was careful to choose only what I could foreseeably need to get home or bivouac a bit until I could. I was also careful to factor in the presence of my EDC items that are always with me so I would not have redundancies, and as a result I have a fast+light kit that fits easily in a Camelbak Motherlode and is not punishing to wear.

Posted: 9/9/2010 5:56:47 PM EDT

[#36]

cheap pair of flip flops for when I want to walk around at the end of the day with tired feet. Pack of laundry soap in case I actually stay in a hotel when bugging out with family instead of in the woods. Nothing like a clean pair of drawers.