Posted: 4/10/2011 12:58:35 PM EDT
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Was just thinking about this last night, what if I'm in a situation where my BOB needs to be buoyant. With my current load I'd be a goner. Not that I'm packing that much, but most of it doesn't float. I was thinking that one of those foam boards little kids lay on and kick their legs while learning how to swim (usually has Barbie or Transformers on them). I thought about cheap inflatables, but would hate to spend time blowing them up and having them fail while crossing. Any ideas? Has anyone tested their BOB for buoyancy? Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
| You could always carry a large garbage bag. Not only could you use it for other purposes if needed like a poncho for example, but you could put your bob inside and seal it shut as best you can with some extra air. If done right, and your BOB isn't too heavy, that should keep it afloat. |
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i keep a 40L sea line dry bag in my bob.... does not take up too much room.... If needed, remove from bob, place bob in dry bag, seal up leaving some air inside and float away..... you just have to get the right size bag to fit your bob while leaving plenty of room of empty space....
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| i have used my sea line and a ozark from wally world & both have worked great at floating and keeping the water out..... i keep everything in the bob when i put it in the dry bag, so i never worry about anything poking through, they are pretty heavy duty bags.... |
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Both of these work well. I used them many times while in the Army for river crossings. I carry two ponchos in my gear.
RLTW AUSTRALIAN PONCHO RAFT 17-15. If you do not have time to gather brush for a brush raft, you can make an Australian poncho raft. This raft, although more waterproof than the poncho brush raft, will only float about 35 kilograms (77 pounds) of equipment. To construct this raft, use two ponchos, two rucksacks, two 1.2-meter (4-foot) poles or branches, and ropes, vines, bootlaces, or comparable material as follows (Figure 17-5): Push the hood of each poncho to the inner side and tightly tie off the necks using the drawstrings. Spread one poncho on the ground with the inner side up. Place and center the two 1.2-meter (4-foot) poles on the poncho about 45 centimeters (18 inches) apart. Place your rucksacks, packs, or other equipment between the poles. Also, place other items that you want to keep dry between the poles. Snap the poncho sides together. Use your buddy's help to complete the raft. Hold the snapped portion of the poncho in the air and roll it tightly down to the equipment. Make sure you roll the full width of the poncho. Twist the ends of the roll to form pigtails in opposite directions. Fold the pigtails over the bundle and tie them securely in place using ropes, bootlaces, or vines. Spread the second poncho on the ground, inner side up. If you need more buoyancy, place some fresh green brush on this poncho. Place the equipment bundle, tied side down, on the center of the second poncho. Wrap the second poncho around the equipment bundle following the same procedure you used for wrapping the equipment in the first poncho. Tie ropes, bootlaces, vines, or other binding material around the raft about 30 centimeters (12 inches) from the end of each pigtail. Place and secure weapons on top of the raft. Tie one end of a rope to an empty canteen and the other end to the raft. This will help you to tow the raft. RLTW 
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Here is another:
BRUSH RAFT 17-14. The brush raft, if properly constructed, will support about 115 kilograms (253 pounds). To construct it, use ponchos, fresh green brush, two small saplings, and rope or vine as follows (Figure 17-4): Push the hood of each poncho to the inner side and tightly tie off the necks using the drawstrings. Attach the ropes or vines at the corner and side grommets of each poncho. Make sure they are long enough to cross to and tie with the others attached at the opposite corner or side. Spread one poncho on the ground with the inner side up. Pile fresh, green brush (no thick branches) on the poncho until the brush stack is about 45 centimeters (18 inches) high. Pull the drawstring up through the center of the brush stack. Make an X-frame from two small saplings and place it on top of the brush stack. Tie the X-frame securely in place with the poncho drawstring. Pile another 45 centimeters (18 inches) of brush on top of the X-frame, then compress the brush slightly. Pull the poncho sides up around the brush and, using the ropes or vines attached to the corner or side grommets, tie them diagonally from corner to corner and from side to side. Spread the second poncho, inner side up, next to the brush bundle. Roll the brush bundle onto the second poncho so that the tied side is down. Tie the second poncho around the brush bundle in the same manner as you tied the first poncho around the brush. Place it in the water with the tied side of the second poncho facing up. |
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put all your cloth items or flexable items, in various heavy duty trash bags with all the air squeezed out of them and tie them off...I used that in the military for water crossings and for boat operations so you can use your pack as a floating bag and even prop your rifle on it....to help clear the beach if you need to.
Use the bags to seperate your stuff, like meds in 1 bag, socks and pants in another, shirts and socks in another and stuff them all into your back pack and you have a water proof bag if you do it right. |
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Make a dry bag part of your kit. Put the dry bag inside the pack, and most of your gear inside the dry bag. Be aware of anything with sharp edges so it doesn't poke or wear a hole. It will protect the dry bag from getting a hole with normal use since it's inside the pack, and you don't have to worry about your extra socks or whatever getting wet if you get soaked in the rain. And you don't have to prepare anything before getting in the water.
Don't try and use it as flotation for you though. If you force the bag down into the water it will leak some. A tether on the pack that you can release quickly is handy since you can swim and just tow it behind you. If you have anything that absolutely needs to stay dry, put it in a pelican box (crushproof) or ziplock inside the dry bag. |
| I use a Seal line dry bag - usually it is there to keep everything in the main compartment of my BOB dry - spare socks, 'cho liner, etc, but for river crossings open it up, and re-seal with as much air a possible and it does pretty well. If your really carrying a ton of weight a gontractor type garbage bag inflated and secured to the outside as an extra source of boyancy works well too. |
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Doing long adventure races, we carry the little inflatable rafts (very small, like for the smallest kids) when we are racing in heavily forested country with lots of water... In Canada, it's easier to cross the lake than to try to sight your bearing and bushwhack around, abit with more risk.
Typically our packs were golites with one of their 'dry' bag liners and the whole works inside a trash bag before the raft. In 6 days of racing, we tried both ways. We found that taking the time to blow up the little raft, throw our packs in it, swim across, build a fire, warm up, rest, dry out, and pack everything back up was still about half trying to bushwhack around the lake due to the thickness of the forest. It was also easier to stay on a bearing. |
| Pick up a US GI ruck sack waterproof liner. It's basically a waterproof bag with a tie on the top. Line your main compartment with it and tie it off. It will float with just about anything in it as there's a lot of little air pockets in your pack. And its cheap. |
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i live in the desert, crossing water ain't my problem.
and if/when it rains, some areas get flash flooding. you simply DO NOT want to be in the washes then, as you'll probably get washed away and drown. crossing the lake or river ain't a big need.... there nothin' on the other side. |
| I was going to make a smart-ass comment about pulling a life raft and air compressor out of my BOB...but the gallon milk-jug guy saved me: I carry a collapsed 5-gallon HD plastic water jug in my BOB...I'm guessing that it could be filled with air and attached to my BOB in such a manner that wouldn't overly stress it...maybe placed within the shoulder straps, and then the bag/jug wrapped in my poncho (a tough nylon .mil unit) and secured with 550 cord? |
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http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2614989/how_to_create_a_life_jacket_out_of.html "How to create a life jacket out of pants...Typically jeans make excellent material whereas loosely woven materials such as khaki pants won't work well at all. This life jacket technique also only works with long parts and not shorts." You get extra lift from bubba-sized pants. |
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Quoted:
i keep a 40L sea line dry bag in my bob.... does not take up too much room.... If needed, remove from bob, place bob in dry bag, seal up leaving some air inside and float away..... you just have to get the right size bag to fit your bob while leaving plenty of room of empty space.... +1 |
| Army waterproof bags aren't. They tend to have lots of little pin holes in them. We always used to open them up and look inside holding them up to the light. It often looked like the inside of a planetarium. I've used the poncho raft with success and that'll be my go to plan. |