Posted: 5/2/2009 8:42:57 PM EDT
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I would like to start preparing a BOB, but I can't spend a lot of money. I read some of the sticky above and some of the items look pricey. Is it possible to set up a BOB without spending a lot of money ?
I don't have any items yet, not even a bag.. How much do you think a BOB with the essentials will cost ? (bag and all) |
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You know if I had to name the two most used items for BoBs in history it would probably be a suitcase and pillow case.
We make due with what we have. There's no reason why any of us even if we don't have any ready cash on hand to not have a BoB made from the things we have around our homes. You can always upgrade a piece of gear at a time as money permits. Being prepared, though it looks it on the internet often, has nothing really to do with being stylish. Though I have quite a bit invested in my long-range BoB, all of my GHB (Get Home Bags) that I keep in my vehicles are very inexpensive. They are a higher risk to being stolen or damaged and technically they only have to work once. The highest priced one I have, I paid $30 for and its camo with a hydration bladder and contains 3 days of supplies with all the basics of the rules of 3 covered. Get started now, you can catch up with these other guys in time. Tj |
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From next to nothing to loooooooots. A Surplus medium ALICE pack can be had quite affordably. The stuff inside will vary in cost according to quality. Cover the essentials first: Fire, Water, Shelter, Food. Fire can be as little as a Bic and a thing of $.99 "Waterproof" Boating matches. Water could be a $2 thing of Iodine pills, etc. I know guys that pack nothing but the Snicker's energy bars for food.
In essence, you can build a BoB for less than $100 easy. $50 is possible, just depends on your thrifty-ness. ETA: for example, my wife's GHB is in an old Jansport book bag with some left over stuff from my army days and Walmart and Dick's camping sections. Doubt I have $20 out of pocket on it. Also, remember the Rule of 3's (someone correct me if I'm wrong on these), and pack accordingly. You can't live: 3 minutes w/o air. 3 hours w/o proper shelter (climate dependent of course) 3 days w/o water 3 weeks w/o food |
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On this topic, I can't tell you how many guys here on the forum I have camped with that only had a 0.2 micron squeeze bottle water filter that sells for around $20. Better, I've used them and saw them use it on water one of the other guys here drank straight and got Ghiardia.
There's nothing wrong about going inexpensive. You just have to shop around. Like Paulie just mentioned, I just love Army Surplus stores. There's always neat things in them, often used, if you give it some thought can be used in a Bob or GHB or even as one. That little $12 Swiss surplus pack use to be awfully popular here on the site. |
No Kifaru gear at all in the above pic. (Dust Bowl) Look around your house. You've prob got some gear that will already get you well along your way toward a good BOB. The pillow case/suit case is an excellent example from TJ above. A bit of string or a belt tied to the pillow case can make a simple sling to let it be tossed over a shoulder instead of carrying it in your hand. Got water? bottles of water, old canteen (buying a good filter is good money spent and prob the first thing that anyone should buy if they've got some of the other stuff below laying around the house) Got fire? matches, cheap lighter, magnifying glass, flint/steel Got shelter? tarp, blanket, sleeping bag, plastic sheeting, garbage bags Got food? bet ya do... ramen is cheap and will keep you alive and can be eaten w/o cooking, stear away from canned goods or food that weighs a lot (imho) Got protection/tools? pistol, rifle, kitchen knife, big stick with a nail thru it, steel pipe, hammer, etc lots of tools can be used for protection and hunting or help to fashion hunting materials/traps, string, rope, cordage etc can all be very useful all the above is to just get you thinking. You're prob a lot better off once you get your mindset right about it. And IMHO your mindset is the single most important thing to have as a prepper. Your ability to think your way out of problems and to use your training that you've actually practiced (flint/steel mentioned above for example) will go a llot onger way toward keeping you alive than an expensive bit of gear that you don't know how to operate. Good luck with it and let us know what you put together |
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I picked up 7 Med Alice packs with frames on ebay for $10.00 each. I then added and continue to add little by little as I can. For a waterproff liner I use contractor trash bags. I just picked up one water proof liner for $5.00.
For my GHB that goes with me everywhere, I have used a $13.00 soft breafcase from Wally World for $13.00. Find it in school supplies. I just picked up a US Marine issue 3-day assult pack yesterday to replace it. In the past year, I have added; 1-AR15, 1-500 Mossberg Pursauder, 1-Springfield XD40, 1-XD9mm, 1-Ruger 1022, some ammo, food, water, LBE$5.00, US Marine Flac jacket, Gas Mask, Gerber LMF II, 2 -Standard Horizon HX370 radios, 1-VX6 2M radio, ham license and more. This is when my business took a dive and money was/is tight. It can be done. Do what you can now without breaking the bank. Every little thing you do is you being one step closer to your end goal. BTW- Lets say you had all the money in the world needed to outfit yourself. You would still be changing stuff and perfecting your BOB. It is just the nature of assessing what is going on around you, seeing better things, getting new ideas. So.....you are better off where you are, financially, in some ways, to go through the process without spending a lot of cash. StagPower |
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It costs as much as your life is worth. meaning you don't have to have the most hightech most expensive stuff on the market. I started with heavy outdated stuff and it worked great until I could upgrade pieces at a time. As with riding motorcycles, if you have a $10 head, you buy a $10 helmet. I'd be embarrassed to say what I have spent on my BOB, but not as embarrassed if I were to tell you what I wasted along the way by buying things that didn't work out or were replaced by something "better". |
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start cheap and start small.
ALWAYS be on the lookout for deals and cheap gear. ALWAYS look for upgrades to what you have. you can begin with under 20.00 bag and gear if you are willing to get a used bag and JUST the essentials. after 10 years or i have probobly 75.00 total in mine <not couning pistol and ham radio> |
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I threw my son's bag together out of stuff in the basement and stuff I had out grown or replaced.
You can make do with generic low end stuff and then isolate things that you find lacking. Until you get out there and carry and live out of a pack for a day, you have no idea what you can stream line. My first bag was a huge as I carried my comfortable get home clothing in it as well. I now have an essentials bag and a duffel with Woolrich BDU type pants, lightweight PolarTec top, hoodie, well broken in boots & Smartwool socks. The duffel may go along for the ride but it will get left behind as I tire or get delayed and need to change routes. In my GHB; I do carry a foraging bag in the form of a stuff sack. Pete |
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what's a site that sells some good bags ? I can't spend the $100 + bags I see posted here  (<–– college student, broke)
Should I purchase an ALICE pack ? Any particular type, or are they all the same ? Try Ebay, or I ordered a Flecktarn medium [55Liters] alice pack from Maine Military supply for 39.99 [Link] . I like it and it's good for us college students with little amounts of money and lots of ramen! You might want to consider Molle type packs as well, I really like the ability to have attachments that you want on your pack. That will probably be my next buy. |
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what's a site that sells some good bags ? I can't spend the $100 + bags I see posted here (<–– college student, broke)
Should I purchase an ALICE pack ? Any particular type, or are they all the same ? Dude, I have a brand new medium alice that I can send you with no frame or straps. If you can buy a frame/straps off of ebay or a local surplus store, I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping it. I only ask that when you upgrade it, you do the same for a new prepper. Send me an IM with your shipping info if you're interested. |
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You can buy a $20 Jansport backpack, some nature valley bars, some bottles of water and a change of clothes/blanket and you'll be miles ahead of where you are now.
Just think practically –– you don't have to buy all the whiz bang stuff some of us have right away. To me a BOB has the necessities you need to survive for 3 days. Food, water, and shelter. Everything else is just for comfort. |
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When funds allow; buy a Victorinox Swiss Army knife and a sturdy fixed blade for starters.
On Amazon, you can get a Vic 2 AAA LED and knife for under $30...shipping is free. Fire can: Coffee can...jamb in a roll of toilet paper minus the cardboard center add most of a quart of denatured alcohol. Pete |
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If you can, look up some of the dollar store challenge threads; it's absolutely amazing what you can find.
My main BOB is specifically designed to be tossed in the car and then combined with either my good backpacking backpack, if I have time for more than one trip to the car, or the GHB in the car, which was an old external frame backpack from Germany, I think, from Cheaper than Dirt for only $10 or so on sale at the time. Another couple packs I've used were bought from the same place on a 3 for $10 sale - old French pieces of crap (for $3.33, I'm good with that - one turned into spare parts for the others). Start with your own old stuff, peruse yard sales and dollar stores, and research the topics here for the good but inexpensive stuff (Mora fixed blades are a favorite). That main BOB is one of the French backpacks with a canoing dry bag inside of it - the inner bag keeps things dry, the outer bag is tough and has shoulder straps. Next to it is the water bag, a surplus Air Force duffel bag with water pouches inside it and a Nalgene bottle in an insulator on the shoulder strap - you could do the same with cheap water bottles from somewhere (or from giveaways at school, work, or whatever, when they happen - take one but don't drink it) and a thick garbage bag or used blanket and needle and thread. On top of that is a WWII vintage messenger bag with belt hooks, full of USCG 5 year lifespan emergency rations (see the recent testing thread); you could do the same thing with a can opener and some cans of stuff you can eat cold. Start with what you have. Planning and not panicing is the most important thing. Pick up book matches from restaurants! My one piece of real advice would be consider spending the money for freezer grade ziplock bags to be able to contain spills or leakage from soaking/ruining too much of your stuff all at once. |
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I found a medium alice pack at army gear for $25 without the frame. they also have the straps for $8
I think i'm gonna go with an alice pack, the main compartment and the 3 smaller compartments looks good and pretty comfortable. I was also looking for something that wasn't camo, and these are olive I'll make a trip to wal-mart and Dicks and take a look around their camping section |
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It costs as much as your life is worth. meaning you don't have to have the most hightech most expensive stuff on the market. I started with heavy outdated stuff and it worked great until I could upgrade pieces at a time. As with riding motorcycles, if you have a $10 head, you buy a $10 helmet. I'd be embarrassed to say what I have spent on my BOB, but not as embarrassed if I were to tell you what I wasted along the way by buying things that didn't work out or were replaced by something "better". As the OP said, he doesn't have a lot of cash to drop, so getting one thing here and there doesn't help for the now if needed. I would rather start with more and upgrade as I can. Just my .02. Also, trial and error to fit your own personal needs comes to play as well. Check out good will, flea markets, garage sales as you can. I have found Silva compasses for .50 and a good amount of other gear there too. It has taken me 28 years to get the good stuff. |
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in reference to a pack.....LAPolice Supply has a Diplomat Gear––3 Day Sortie Backpack on sale for I believe $39 dollars, possibly less. I purchased one, only comes in black. Has the Molle straps and is pretty comfortable. Go to their web site and take a look at it...Its not bad quality for the buck. It has a 2590 cubic inch capacity.
Happy Trails! |
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Here is a link to my thread with my BOB... I am still learning and tweaking it with these guy's input... Hopefully you might be able to get some ideas there.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=18&t=623500&page=1 |
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Quoted: start cheap and start small. ALWAYS be on the lookout for deals and cheap gear. ALWAYS look for upgrades to what you have. you can begin with under 20.00 bag and gear if you are willing to get a used bag and JUST the essentials. after 10 years or i have probobly 75.00 total in mine <not couning pistol and ham radio> Great advice right there. We've had really basic kits for a couple of years now. Basically a change of clothes, some toiletries and a few other odds and ends. Now that I have the money and the time to do some good research I'm building us some really good ones. I'm tracking cost (and weight) of everything that goes into it. I'm expecting to have close to $250 in just my pack, with the majority of that going to the pack, stove and water purification. |
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in reference to a pack.....LAPolice Supply has a Diplomat Gear––3 Day Sortie Backpack on sale for I believe $39 dollars, possibly less. I purchased one, only comes in black. Has the Molle straps and is pretty comfortable. Go to their web site and take a look at it...Its not bad quality for the buck. It has a 2590 cubic inch capacity. Happy Trails! $34.99 Comes in Black, OD Green, and Coyote. |
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You can get very good deals at walmart check out the sale items in sporting goods. I recently purchased a winchester multitool with leatherman micra knockoff and two other small knives in a kit for i think $10.
Well i can tell you this is going in the bail out kit because i'm not going to spend top dollar on this stuff right away cause i have other interests. Im building two bob packs and a bail in or bov set of totes hopefully this stuff will never be used other than testing. You don't have to spend a fortune on food and clothes either. You can always just make a list and throw that stuff in the bag when its time if you don't have extra of some stuff providing you have this stuff at your pad. Most people in here will be raiding their pantry if they have to jump in the bov and GTFO. I think if shtf you will be supprised how many people are using bottled water and not some camelback, a case of bottled water can be had for about $4. Although i still thing some form of water purification is very smart. As far as food skip the stove and get precooked or food that does not require cooking like mre's all you have to do is stay alive and get to where you are going. Think like the military on patrols no fire if it's not needed just shelter, water, food, and the nessacary clothing/first aid supplies/meds to get the job done. Take into consideration what type of temps you might encounter and plan for it. I can not over state the many usages of contractor bags, have several on hand. Most importantly the KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. It works almost every time. I still find myself going back to simple after over complicating things. One more side note this got started for me durring y2k and has slowly expanded. |
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Just thought I would throw out my two cents on this. For those who have not and those who are new, I would suggest taking an advanced wilderness survial school. After attending a class of this nature the items for a BOB/SHTF bag make more sense. You will also learn to make due with less which would be helpful if you were seperated from you main cache of gear.
TR |
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It costs as much as your life is worth. meaning you don't have to have the most hightech most expensive stuff on the market. I started with heavy outdated stuff and it worked great until I could upgrade pieces at a time. As with riding motorcycles, if you have a $10 head, you buy a $10 helmet. I'd be embarrassed to say what I have spent on my BOB, but not as embarrassed if I were to tell you what I wasted along the way by buying things that didn't work out or were replaced by something "better". As the OP said, he doesn't have a lot of cash to drop, so getting one thing here and there doesn't help for the now if needed. I would rather start with more and upgrade as I can. Just my .02. Also, trial and error to fit your own personal needs comes to play as well. Check out good will, flea markets, garage sales as you can. I have found Silva compasses for .50 and a good amount of other gear there too. It has taken me 28 years to get the good stuff. Well, it's a matter of priorities.. How many people (not saying I know the OP) can afford a big screen TV but never build a BOB? Given the compressed schedule that the wheels are falling off the financial system in this country and the tactics being used to prop them up without addressing the problem it behooves us to get our butts in gear and get the best we can, while we can. OP: Start with the Rule of Threes for the basics, then go from there. 3 minutes without air 3 hours without shelter 3 days without water 3 weeks without food 3 months without hope Add in that you will need the ability to navigate, see in the dark, and a first aid kit. Air: gas mask $varies shelter: many tents out there, many of us like the Eureka Zeus EXO2: $120 water: water pump, any reputable maker: $60 food: minimum of a week's food, weight will mean freeze dried or dehydrated, $100+- hope: nav: lensatic compass, military style $50 maps of your AO: $5 GPS: $70 used see in the dark: headlamp and/or flashlight, $50 1st aid: IFAK, $40 Pack to put it in, 2800cu. in. or more, $50+ spare clothes and boots: varies sleeping bag: $100 Sleeping pad $50 hydration system: $40 Tailor this to what you need and what your plans are. My plans involve covering 210 miles by van, bicycle or foot if necessary, will need to communicate with others along the way, need to power electronics without battery resupply etc. and will be different than your plans. Shoot for a target of 40lbs, cheaper packs will carry more with less suffering but you won't fool your legs. ALICE packs are like torture racks-get something modern even if it is imported CHICOM knockoff type shit. |
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My advice is to get a used ALICE pack. They are cheap, modular, and can hold as much weight as you can carry, plus the shoulder straps have a quick release mechanism that is good in case it gets water logged.
The ability to hold extra weight is important; if you are forced to move on foot, who knows when you will be able to use transportation again. As such you may eventually have to move supplies on your back. We used to load our rucks with so much weight that you needed help from other guys to stand up. As for the modular part, I never realized how important that was until we were issued some experimental internal frame rucksacks. The first time we went to the field with them, a good percentage of them tore a shoulder strap. On ALICE pack, you can easily change out a broken strap, on the new ones, there was nothing you could do to fix them until you returned. |
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Try thrift stores and yard sales.
I know you can find a name brand, very nice backpack that is used for 5 bucks or less at one of these. I have bought 20-30 of them over the last 5 years. I end up selling most for 10-20 bucks. There is always lots of camping or other good stuff out there that folks are tired of storing. They have to make room for more crap!!! |
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in reference to a pack.....LAPolice Supply has a Diplomat Gear––3 Day Sortie Backpack on sale for I believe $39 dollars, possibly less. I purchased one, only comes in black. Has the Molle straps and is pretty comfortable. Go to their web site and take a look at it...Its not bad quality for the buck. It has a 2590 cubic inch capacity. Happy Trails! $34.99 Comes in Black, OD Green, and Coyote. That is a damn nice looking pack for the money! I see a coyote tan version in my future (or two). I have paid $150 for packs that didn't have a bit more space or were designed any better. Wish I had happened across a pack like this several years ago. All you'd need is to add a water bladder and/or a couple of MOLLE pouches to the sides for nalgene bottles. Then start acquiring and tossing in your other gear. |
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Med or Large ALICE pack is where it's at as far as bang for your buck. I think I have maybe 100 bucks invested into my BOB. A lot of the stuff in it is extra things I had laying around the house. 3 day supply of the necessities.
My ALICE is currently a Medium on a frame. The Medium can also be used without the frame but it's harder to carry lots of extra weight without the frame. The Large IIRC has to be used with the frame. Te ALICE frame is very sturdy and hard to break. The MOLLE packs use plastic frames, and all of the MOLLE frames I've seen that weren't brand new have their frames held together with duct tape. |
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I just got my Diplomat 3day pack from LA Police Gear and loaded it up yesterday. I really like this pack.
My only thought is that the straps could use perhaps a bit more padding, but I haven't really carried the pack yet for any length of time or distance, so it's hard to say. Otherwise, it's a great looking pack and seems to suit my GHB needs pretty well. |
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Another nice piece of advice is to look for last year's model on clearance when the new whiz bang stuff comes out. My recent purchases using this method include a 39 dollar pack, a 9 dollar tarp (customer return, had a discolored smudge on one corner), and a couple of water bottles (can't remember what I paid for them, but they were damned cheap). About a year ago I also got some nice snivel gear that way (including a marmot precip jacket –– under 50 bucks–– which I love to death).
There is some cool high tech stuff out there but you don't need the slickest gizmos on the planet to get from point A to point B. You definitely don't need 50-70 lbs of gear for 3 days, and just because you have 5000 cubic inches of space doesn't mean you gotta fill it with crap, because when the metal hits the meat, you're going to have to lug all that stuff around with you and that just plain sucks. Food, water, shelter, fire doesn't have to weigh a ton. Since budget is a concern, you might have to buy something a little heavier with the hope of replacing it with something lighter later. That's fine. Finally, take your shit out and use it. You'll quickly find out what works for you and what doesn't. Don't fall in love with a piece of gear that really looks neat but never actually gets used in the field (it's just dead weight in your pack). ETA: one piece of gear worth buying quality the first time? Compass. Get a good one. Also, whatever you spend, make sure your pack fits you and is comfortable (getting beat to hell with your own equipment sucks)... your $500 tactical uber pack is no better than a 3rd hand ebay special if it doesn't fit you (in fact it may be worse). |
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Got my BOB from a storage place dumpster, someone threw away about 3 medium old school alice packs with shoulder straps no frames. So mine was free. Just washed em up and started packin stuff in it. Anything will work, might not be exactly what you want it to be but then again a BOB is pretty much for SHTF type stuff, so get stuff that will work for now and upgrade later if you wanna go cheap.
Lol not sayin I was dumpster divin, was throwin shit away and saw them right on top so i snagged them up. |
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in reference to a pack.....LAPolice Supply has a Diplomat Gear––3 Day Sortie Backpack on sale for I believe $39 dollars, possibly less. I purchased one, only comes in black. Has the Molle straps and is pretty comfortable. Go to their web site and take a look at it...Its not bad quality for the buck. It has a 2590 cubic inch capacity. Happy Trails! $34.99 Comes in Black, OD Green, and Coyote. Just ordered one myself. Plug in their 15% saving code "July09" and you're set. |
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It's easy to find cheap packs. It's not quite as easy to find cheap packs that fit you. Try before you buy.
Beyond that, as a general rule with any camping gear, you can pick any two out of cheap, lightweight, and effective. If you have to go cheap, which certainly isn't a bad thing these days, you're going to be stuck with some heavy stuff, or limited supplies. On the other hand, that still beats the hell out of no supplies. Walmart camping first aid kit, walmart flashlight, spare batteries, $4 for a boatload of bottled water, a cheap water filter, a poncho or tarp as a rain cover, cheap sleeping bag, some canned food and a tin mess kit, lighters and matches, hatchet, and you're on your way. I think most of us, knowing what's useful and what isn't, could go into walmart with $75 and come out pretty well equipped for a couple days' hike. Might not be super comfortable, but it'd be liveable. So, don't get spooked by the expensive stuff you may see in this forum. Just ask "what's a cheap way to get the same result?" Nothing whatsoever wrong with financial responsibility. |
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You can often get a cheap backpack that will be adequate as a BOB for $10 at wally world, on clearance sometimes for less.
Its not like it will get used a lot so the quality of the bag is not critical. Turn off the TV one night and sit in your easy chair with a note book and write down what you think your BOB should do for you. Most people have really stupid ideas like they are going to live off the land for several years off the contents. Not even a remote chance of that happening. Think more like having to walk home from your place of employment. When you decide you have to evacuate, this is what you grab and take off with. This is something you keep in your desk or locker at work. Or the BOB you keep in your car to keep you alive until someone finds you, or maybe you have to walk 5 miles to get to a place of safety. The reason I mention walking is because an awful lot of BOB planning seems to ignore that possibility. Unless you wear shoes you can walk long distances in, you need to make sure that some walking shoes are included and that they are well broken in. Probably best to rotate a pair of shoes in and out of your BOB so they stay broken in. The most likely thing you will need is water. A couple 2 liter bottles should be adequate. Hopefully you will have proper clothing for the weather with you already so you probably won't need that, but I see a LOT of people driving to work with light jackets on in very cold weather. Thats fine for walking 50 yards from the parking lot, but not so great of you have to walk 5 miles in the cold. Useful things in any BOB. Multi tool. Can be used for a lot of things. Even a cheap knockoff is a good addition to your BOB. Fire starter. I don't get real excited about this. Matches, Bic lighter, something to start the fire with. Something that lights easily. Lint impregnated with Vaseline works. Candles also work pretty well, as do some fire starter sticks. Flint and steel is probably the worst choice. You want something easy to use, not something to show off your wilderness "skills". Shelter. A cheap poncho and some parachute cord can go a long way toward keeping you out of the weather. Skip silly things like military shelter halves. Just too heavy. First aid kit. I would not go overboard but you will get lots of use out of a small first aid kit. I would not get too excited about food, but you might want some. Most of us won't be harming our health any by skipping a few meals. If you regularly eat candy bars or other snacks, maybe rotate them through your BOB. I think you get the idea. Think what it will be likely used for and plan for that, Don't try to get the most stuff. Or stuff like surgical kits you have no clue how to use. And remember, you may have to carry the thing a long distance, so its best to keep the weight to a minimum. One more thing. This is not really a wilderness survival kit, although a lot of people want to make it into one for some reason. Very few people will ever be stuck out in the wilderness. If that is a possibility, make up a kit that is more suited to that possibility. |
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From next to nothing to loooooooots. A Surplus medium ALICE pack can be had quite affordably. The stuff inside will vary in cost according to quality. Cover the essentials first: Fire, Water, Shelter, Food. Fire can be as little as a Bic and a thing of $.99 "Waterproof" Boating matches. Water could be a $2 thing of Iodine pills, etc. I know guys that pack nothing but the Snicker's energy bars for food. In essence, you can build a BoB for less than $100 easy. $50 is possible, just depends on your thrifty-ness. ETA: for example, my wife's GHB is in an old Jansport book bag with some left over stuff from my army days and Walmart and Dick's camping sections. Doubt I have $20 out of pocket on it. Also, remember the Rule of 3's (someone correct me if I'm wrong on these), and pack accordingly. You can't live: 3 minutes w/o air. 3 hours w/o proper shelter (climate dependent of course) 3 days w/o water 3 weeks w/o food I rarely see Agua Pure or the like mentioned is there a reason? a bottle costs like $6? and treats many quarts of water |