Posted: 1/25/2010 3:32:01 PM EDT
| how much does your bob weigh? im looking for ideas to cut my weight so i can hump more gear. i have a child whos gear i also have to carry. its right about 50 lbs. im looking for a way to carry more water have canteens as well as a camelback. can anyone recomend a water filter thats afordable. im live at the coast so freshwater is limited to small ponds and lakes. any input will help. im useing a molle generation 2 rucksack with slper system and two sustainment packs. this is also thought of a never going home back aswell. |
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Honestly, you need to put a pack together and go out and camp with it. Even if its car camping (hiking is better), the only way youll know what you NEED is to see what you USE. My BOB started out at 60-65lbs, after a few hikes its down to its fighting weight of 35lbs for florida winters, 20lbs for summer/spring/fall time. Most ppl carry way too much stuff. Your best bet is to (in order of importance);
1) Load it up and use it, see how your contents work for YOU. 2) List them here and we can nit pick at it. But remember, what works for me , may not work for you. 3) Take pic and list them so we can see what we are nit picking at, lol |
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My BOB is ~33 lbs. depending on the time of year. (I have a 15 month old's gear too) Maybe list your gear with weight and see if we can offer suggestions?
FYI most of the Molle type bags that are affordable are not the best for weight. I have these type of packs for SHTF patrolling and such, but prefer the backpack/hiking type bags for actually carrying a substantial amount of weight comfortably. I would suggest taking your gear out for some hikes/overnighters and seeing what works best for you. A pretty good and dependable water filter is the Katadyn Hiker ($39 at Bass Pro) With that said I have a MSR Hyperflow (smaller,lighter and more $) One product I really like are the Platypus water storage bladders. You can get them and keep them empty to save weight, but fill up when the opportunity arises. Similar products are available from Nalgene, MSR, and Sea-to Summit. Check out THIS section at REI. (There are a few pages with products that may help you out.) |
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25 summer and 35 winter. That's a full service greater than 3 day BOB with food collection.
My GHBs which are max 3 day are way lighter averaging 15 lbs. The pack I carry for work when traveling is 25 lbs so not only use to the weight, but life is much better since I trimmed my BOB down. Just remember shave lbs before ounces, get out there and see what you need versus what you think you need, and it will come with time. TJ |
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IBPLHM
in before Protus loses his mind. Heres a great thread you should check out. BOB thread |
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Quoted:
25 summer and 35 winter. That's a full service greater than 3 day BOB with food collection. My GHBs which are max 3 day are way lighter averaging 15 lbs. The pack I carry for work when traveling is 25 lbs so not only use to the weight, but life is much better since I trimmed my BOB down. Just remember shave lbs before ounces, get out there and see what you need versus what you think you need, and it will come with time. TJ Best piece of advice for BOBs. Get out and use it. You'll learn so much from one trip. Keep a small notebook to record what you wish you had, what you wish you didn't, and to bring toilet paper next time. 
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My BOB (which is also my GHB) weighs in at 32 pounds, and I'm working on getting it down to 30. Started at 45, but one short walk on a trail was all I needed for motivation. Try taking your BOB for a walk in the woods.
For water I carry a USGI canteen and a katidyne filter. Makes every lake, pond, river, or stream a water source. Carrying a lot of water is just dead weight if sources are available in your area. If you live in one of the more arid parts of the US, then carrying water becomes more important. In my neck of the woods, staying out of the water is a problem. I do like the idea of the collapsible water carriers though, almost no weight empty, but available for duty if water sources are not too close together (as in a one quart canteen range). stasiman
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Quoted:
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25 summer and 35 winter. That's a full service greater than 3 day BOB with food collection. My GHBs which are max 3 day are way lighter averaging 15 lbs. The pack I carry for work when traveling is 25 lbs so not only use to the weight, but life is much better since I trimmed my BOB down. Just remember shave lbs before ounces, get out there and see what you need versus what you think you need, and it will come with time. TJ Best piece of advice for BOBs. Get out and use it. You'll learn so much from one trip. Keep a small notebook to record what you wish you had, what you wish you didn't, and to bring toilet paper next time. +1 on the TP, and a small pack of wipes for follow up (hands)! 
stasiman |
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i have 5 deer park bottles of water
1 camel back 1qt canteen a 4x6 tarp gonna go to a 8x10 hatchet soap, tp ,wipers, first aid kit, small multi tool, 550 para cord, 15 dollars in change, then i have added 200 rounds sealed in bag of .556 50 rounds of .40 6 extra 30 rd ar mags loaded. 2 slpning bags. 1 for me 1 for todler mountain house meals X4 snak for child would like a too added purafier. can you purafie brackish water? this gear is all in the bag. i weighted the bag empty and weights about 9 lbs a bit heavy but very rugged. thanks for any help |
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i have 5 deer park bottles of water 1 camel back 1qt canteen a 4x6 tarp gonna go to a 8x10 hatchet soap, tp ,wipers, first aid kit, small multi tool, 550 para cord, 15 dollars in change, then i have added 200 rounds sealed in bag of .556 50 rounds of .40 6 extra 30 rd ar mags loaded. 2 slpning bags. 1 for me 1 for todler mountain house meals X4 snak for child would like a too added purafier. can you purafie brackish water? this gear is all in the bag. i weighted the bag empty and weights about 9 lbs a bit heavy but very rugged. thanks for any help  Im going to go out on a limb and say your pretty new at this. So, we will set you on the right path. Youve got enuff stuff to last about 1/2 day.
To answer your one question, a good filter will filter mud if need be. I have filtered pond scum. To help make what you carry easier to understand. There are 8 essentials that you should have in a BOB. what items you choice to use is up to you. Another key element is to have backups to your essentials. 1) Fire starting i.e matches, lighters, flares, etc etc 2) Water i.e canteens, camelback, purifier (it could be as simple as iodine tablet and a baggie) 3) Shelter i.e. improvised (man made i.e cave, trees, etc) , tarp, tent, clothing, sleeping bag 4) Signaling i.e. mirror, flares, fire, improvised 5) First aid - self explanatory 6) Tools i,e. knife, saw, axe, hammer, etc 7) Weapon , can be part of tools or by itself, i.e. guns, knife, spear, etc 8) Morale i.e. radio, book, bible, singing, etc You should have atleast one of each categories in your BOB, and then have backups for example. 2) Water - my first line would be MSR mini works EX water filter, backup would be a survival straw (mini filter), and third line would be Pur water tablet and a baggie. understand? You have to have a way to heat up those mountain house meals too. One of the keys is to have good gear, but also to learn how to improvise aka survive, to make do with very lil, this takes time, training and trial and error. |
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Quoted: Quoted: i have 5 deer park bottles of water 1 camel back 1qt canteen a 4x6 tarp gonna go to a 8x10 hatchet soap, tp ,wipers, first aid kit, small multi tool, 550 para cord, 15 dollars in change, then i have added 200 rounds sealed in bag of .556 50 rounds of .40 6 extra 30 rd ar mags loaded. 2 slpning bags. 1 for me 1 for todler mountain house meals X4 snak for child would like a too added purafier. can you purafie brackish water? this gear is all in the bag. i weighted the bag empty and weights about 9 lbs a bit heavy but very rugged. thanks for any help Im going to go out on a limb and say your pretty new at this. So, we will set you on the right path. Youve got enuff stuff to last about 1/2 day. To answer your one question, a good filter will filter mud if need be. I have filtered pond scum. To help make what you carry easier to understand. There are 8 essentials that you should have in a BOB. what items you choice to use is up to you. Another key element is to have backups to your essentials. 1) Fire starting i.e matches, lighters, flares, etc etc 2) Water i.e canteens, camelback, purifier (it could be as simple as iodine tablet and a baggie) 3) Shelter i.e. improvised (man made i.e cave, trees, etc) , tarp, tent, clothing, sleeping bag 4) Signaling i.e. mirror, flares, fire, improvised 5) First aid - self explanatory 6) Tools i,e. knife, saw, axe, hammer, etc 7) Weapon , can be part of tools or by itself, i.e. guns, knife, spear, etc 8) Morale i.e. radio, book, bible, singing, etc You should have atleast one of each categories in your BOB, and then have backups for example. 2) Water - my first line would be MSR mini works EX water filter, backup would be a survival straw (mini filter), and third line would be Pur water tablet and a baggie. understand? You have to have a way to heat up those mountain house meals too. One of the keys is to have good gear, but also to learn how to improvise aka survive, to make do with very lil, this takes time, training and trial and error. Good advice D-T.  |
| MSR mini works EX is what I use, it works very well. And you can service it out in the field. If it gets clogged just clean the ceramic filter. What I like about the EX is that if it gets clogged it wont pump, so you not putting unfiltered water into your containers. And the EX will screw onto nalgene bottles. Sum ppl like the Katadyn, but they are heavy and expensive, but work well also. I have the PUR Hiker, it works but is extremely slo. So it goes in my Daypack for emergencies more or less. |
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35 lbs This ^ MSR mini works EX is what I use, it works very well. And you can service it out in the field. If it gets clogged just clean the ceramic filter. What I like about the EX is that if it gets clogged it wont pump, so you not putting unfiltered water into your containers. And the EX will screw onto nalgene bottles. Sum ppl like the Katadyn, but they are heavy and expensive, but work well also. I have the PUR Hiker, it works but is extremely slo. So it goes in my Daypack for emergencies more or less.
And this^ |
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My bug out bag is around 85 pounds right now, and my wife's is around 40 pounds. They are meant to be able to grab everything we need for an extended period of time in minutes. They are not for hiking, or long walks. We have a 5 month old which means we will be high drag, low speed. We are dependent on my truck to get us where we are going if it is of any distance. I have enough gas to travel roughly 800 miles. I plan on bugging in, but if I must bug out it will be to a bug out location. A 5 month old is not going to make it long in single digit weather with out adequate shelter. While the indians were able to do it; I am not an indian nor do I have the skill set they did.
If it is TEOTWAWKI, then we all will be reevaluating what we really need. If I have to ditch stuff to reduce weight I can later. I have a fancy french coffee press and two pounds of coffee which is for comfort not needed but there for comfort. Stuff like this can be ditched very easily, but if my truck is running I might as well have it. My main purpose is if we have to leave in a matter of minutes, we can and be very well equipped. ETA my get home bag consists of a knife, fire starter, matches, water, instant oatmeal, lots of tuna in foil packets and a good face mask. I am in good shape and rarely travel more than 10 miles from my house. That is a quick walk to get home to get my family. I will not leave my family, even if it costs me my life. Then I can grab our extended stay packs and get out of dodge. |
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Well here is my take on it. I've maintained two bags. One BOB and one INCH bag. Then a couple axioms always come to mind: Two is one, one is none. If something can go wrong, it will. Better to have and not need, then need and not have. We build 72 hour kits, yet have no prognostic ability to even determine if we can get back home or to a second supplied site in 72 hours. If you have a cabin already loaded with extra food, great, but many of us don't have that luxury. My hope is that I will have the ability to leave by vehicle and have 30 minutes to leave. I can get alot in the vehicles and my family could get by for a good long time. Having to go on foot, I've pretty much abandoned my BOB, which is now merged into my INCH bag. It does weight in at 50 pounds, but does have EVERYTHING to get by for weeks in any environment in any place. My logic at the moment is that I can easily carry that weight for 6 miles (tested) with little issue. I can easily dump weight if need be, or offload weight to my family members if needed. We can't predict if we can get back to good supply lines, so I'd rather carry a 3lb Gerber shovel that will last indefinitely, then a plastic substitute, that may only last a month. Right now I can bear the weight, and may feel different in 20 years, but I carry with what I am comfortable physically and mentally. So my advice is carry what you want and can bear, but make sure you have good reason to do so. No two peoples needs are the same.
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30 lbs. One pack for all seasons. I'd look into buying a small amount of pre-packaged water for your BOB. There could be plenty of situations where you're not near water, and a couple small boxes could make things much better.
Alot of places sell these, and they have a 5 year shelf life- http://www.aquablox.com/ |
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I'm gonna chime in here with a standard rant I've been developing over the years. The majority of you guys aren't LRRPs or rangers, and the majority also have jobs that preclude practicing humping gear all over the countryside. Most of you, if you're even reading this, will stand approximately a 60% chance of being already out of town, should that be the proper course, and watching the castatrophe unfold on television when TSHTF.
The odds, therefor, of your actually having to hump that BOB are pretty slim, and your odds, if you have to hump it, likewise. So why, oh why, is it that everywhere I turn, supposed survivalist types are planning to (in the 21st century no less) stagger out into the woods with all their (remaining) worldlies on their backs? Homo Sapiens Sapiens, man! The tool user!
Put a good, padded handle on the pull bar, a good, padded handle on the push bar (that you'll install) and two people can move a pretty good chunk of weight in the event you won't be able to get your vehicle into motion. Additionally, if your kids get tired, they can ride. For even more added fun, if you have to spin around quickly to address a threat, you won't go cartwheeling into the scenery because of that thirty or forty pound counterweight poking out of your spine. With a little ingenuity, you can add flotation capability in the event you're desperate enough to ford bodies of water. And the wheels are big enough to weather most of what you can. If even this doesn't seem rugged enough, try something along the lines of: 
This one, with its very large diameter wheels is built along the lines of a peddler's cart and will traverse some pretty rough ground. Of course, the two wheel design isn't what you want, as you'll be balancing that load by yourself. A combination of the two could probably be cobbled together pretty easily. Another thought is to equip your bugout wagon (BOW) with traces. Why drag your own BOW when you can hand that task 
over to your bow wow?  
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 LOL, My BOB is intended to get me home from work. I can easily see the roads being shut down or impassable, and having to hit the pavement. I do not plan on running off into the woods and taking up residence in a cave. I'm just ready to walk up to 47 miles over a few days on paved back roads to get home. Any further BO from there will be with a BOV and stored fuel.
stasiman |
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Quoted:
I'm gonna chime in here with a standard rant I've been developing over the years. The majority of you guys aren't LRRPs or rangers, and the majority also have jobs that preclude practicing humping gear all over the countryside. Most of you, if you're even reading this, will stand approximately a 60% chance of being already out of town, should that be the proper course, and watching the castatrophe unfold on television when TSHTF. The odds, therefor, of your actually having to hump that BOB are pretty slim, and your odds, if you have to hump it, likewise. So why, oh why, is it that everywhere I turn, supposed survivalist types are planning to (in the 21st century no less) stagger out into the woods with all their (remaining) worldlies on their backs?] Well I don't know about all my worldly possessions, but there's a lot of sense in having a small personal bag that I can grab and run with. Now keep in mind that at home I have a stocked emergency pantry, plenty of water, propane, diesel, and the like - far more than I'd be comfortable carrying in anything but a trailer. A lot of that is in totes that I can easily toss into my truck (which also has its own smaller kit). For most of us, the bag is just one part of a larger plan. But I like the pics. |