tools in your BOB

[spanish dog man]

is it worth the weight? do you carry any wire cutters or some small bolt cutters or screwdrivers and etc? i guess when i think of a BOB i think of my surroundings. i am not fortunate enough to live out of city areas and live in a small city and if i have to bug I have to go through some city to get out of town.

streets will be crowded and maybe back roads. I may have to cut though fences and etc to get out. may have to ditch the vehicle may not....

so do you think it is worth it to keep some simple tools/cutters in your BOB for fences and chains and etc?

[YOTD76]

you're right when you say weight is a concern. I carry the following "tools" in my BOB;

Kabar
Gerber folding saw
mini prybar
leatherman wave
spyderco endura
folding shovel/pick.
duck tape
550 cord

After getting some good feedback from members of the forum I've considered removing my hammer/pliers and screwdriver set. Now if I had an INCH bag i might consider carrying more.
I do carry more tools in the trunck of my car such as

come along
stanley fubar
ratchet set
hammer
pliers
screwdrivers
gas siphon
axe
bolt cutters
booster cables
wrenche
tow cables
and a few other odds and ends

[DryGrain]

I EDC some small vice-grips, duct tape, 500 cord, gorilla glue, and a Leatherman. I haven't seen anyone mention vice-grips yet, but they are incredibly handy in most situations requiring a tool.

[Squirrley]

I EDC some small vice-grips, duct tape, 500 cord, gorilla glue, and a Leatherman. I haven't seen anyone mention vice-grips yet, but they are incredibly handy in most situations requiring a tool.

+1. A pretty horrible tool to use on a regular basis (chews the hell out of nuts and the like), but an excellent tool for improvisation type stuff. Used to carry needle nose vise grips, needle nose pliers w/ wire cutters, and a knife all the time working at the boat yard. The vice grips work great on things like cotter pins that take some force, but are generally dispose-able so you don't care so much if you ruin them.

[hdandb]

I always think about this for my BOB. Being in maintenance and running across different repairs at every door, I usually do pretty good with my Leatherman, Klein 10 n 1, and 12" channel locks.

I start to think about BOB and adding this tool and maybe that tool then before I know it I have tool bag.

[E]

+1 to channel locks. I've used them for everything from picking up burning logs and boiling pots, to pounding in tent stakes in hard ground, to turning frozen water spigots.
Great tool, definitely has a place in anyone's bag

[Irwin J. Finster]

For that vice grips - I have been thinking about adding a Leatherman Crunch to my GHB (I carry a Charge TTi on person most of the time).

[exile27]

A multi-tool and a Gerber Artifact are as close to tools as I get in my BOB. I am planning to purchase a BOV in the near future, and that's where the tools will be kept.

[rush2024]

Ive added a true crow bar and a medium set of bolt cutters to my BOB - I call them "Keys to the City."

[Stormrider]

Has anyone ever had experience from those little mini crow bars from county comm?

[Woods Walker]

is it worth the weight? do you carry any wire cutters or some small bolt cutters or screwdrivers and etc? i guess when i think of a BOB i think of my surroundings. i am not fortunate enough to live out of city areas and live in a small city and if i have to bug I have to go through some city to get out of town.

streets will be crowded and maybe back roads. I may have to cut though fences and etc to get out. may have to ditch the vehicle may not....

so do you think it is worth it to keep some simple tools/cutters in your BOB for fences and chains and etc?

A good multi tool can do lots of those jobs and not add pounds to your pack. I wouldn't worry about fence cutting however. Not that I have any real proof that this will not occure but it just seem kinda unlikely. I carry a folding saw, fixed blade knife, sometimes a hatchet and the multi tool.

[olaf_yahoo]

Has anyone ever had experience from those little mini crow bars from county comm?

If you mean one of the small ones they carry you can buy those at any hardware store for $2, I did the exact same thing they did for my survival keychain. Just bought one myself, cut it down and drilled a hole and chamfered it. Those things are only useful for very minimal prying jobs. If you want to do anything remotely substantial then get a better tool. The larger ones county sells, they are ok but very basic and not very comfortable in the hand.

Some tools I have in BOB:

[thelight]

Aside from assorted knives, I keep a leatherman (belt), can opener (P51, keychain), klein 10-in-1 screwdriver (BOB), and pocket chainsaw (E&E).
All of them are well worth the negligible weight.

[Jeriah]

is it worth the weight? do you carry any wire cutters or some small bolt cutters or screwdrivers and etc? i guess when i think of a BOB i think of my surroundings. i am not fortunate enough to live out of city areas and live in a small city and if i have to bug I have to go through some city to get out of town.

streets will be crowded and maybe back roads. I may have to cut though fences and etc to get out. may have to ditch the vehicle may not....

so do you think it is worth it to keep some simple tools/cutters in your BOB for fences and chains and etc?

A good multi tool can do lots of those jobs and not add pounds to your pack. I wouldn't worry about fence cutting however. Not that I have any real proof that this will not occure but it just seem kinda unlikely. I carry a folding saw, fixed blade knife, sometimes a hatchet and the multi tool.

Agreed. The Leatherman Wave is my #1 tool, both EDC and BOB. Add to that a Pocket Chainsaw, the Gerber Sport Axe, and a fixed blade knife, and I've got the tools I expect to need.

I can see the utility of a barbed wire cutter or bolt cutters to get through chain link etc. that's keeping you from getting where you're going, but weight precludes them from my pack. If my AR had a bayo lug I'd pack an M9 bayo, partly for the wire cutter. But it doesn't, so I don't.

[Woods Walker]

is it worth the weight? do you carry any wire cutters or some small bolt cutters or screwdrivers and etc? i guess when i think of a BOB i think of my surroundings. i am not fortunate enough to live out of city areas and live in a small city and if i have to bug I have to go through some city to get out of town.

streets will be crowded and maybe back roads. I may have to cut though fences and etc to get out. may have to ditch the vehicle may not....

so do you think it is worth it to keep some simple tools/cutters in your BOB for fences and chains and etc?

A good multi tool can do lots of those jobs and not add pounds to your pack. I wouldn't worry about fence cutting however. Not that I have any real proof that this will not occure but it just seem kinda unlikely. I carry a folding saw, fixed blade knife, sometimes a hatchet and the multi tool.

Agreed. The Leatherman Wave is my #1 tool, both EDC and BOB. Add to that a Pocket Chainsaw, the Gerber Sport Axe, and a fixed blade knife, and I've got the tools I expect to need.

I can see the utility of a barbed wire cutter or bolt cutters to get through chain link etc. that's keeping you from getting where you're going, but weight precludes them from my pack. If my AR had a bayo lug I'd pack an M9 bayo, partly for the wire cutter. But it doesn't, so I don't.

The multi tool in my BOB has a replaceable hack saw blade. But I don't know how long it would take to cut a bolt etc.

[Invictus99]

I edc a Leatherman Wave, Spyderco Native and Leatherman Squirt (on my Keychain)

In my bob, I have a Ka-bar, swiss army knife, and a Gerber hatchet/ saw combo as my tools. I feel like for most wire... my leatherman would do the trick... if it won't then I guess I'll just have to find a way around the obstacle.

[Squirrley]

I feel like for most wire... my leatherman would do the trick... if it won't then I guess I'll just have to find a way around the obstacle.

+1. All the fences I've seen around here (usually just barbed wire) are easy to hop over, or scramble over. If for some reason (injured party in the group or the like) I had to cut some, I could sit there and hack at it with my leatherman for a minute or two and get through, I think. Any place with a serious fence that would present a major obstacle for me is probably around some place I don't want to be going anyway, like a military base or Rocky Flats or someplace.

[WILLIE]

Why do people carry a pry bar in their back pack? That is a very heavy and specialized tool. You can't improvise? For example, in a paw or shtf situation, you want access to a building. You can't just break out a window with a rock or other tool? Why not just run a car through the front of the building? How about using an ax? It's much more versatile. What about scrounging a pry bar like tool if needed. You could always break a lock by shooting it. I can see a pry bar and cutters in the car, but carrying them? Explain please.

[olaf_yahoo]

Prybars are normally smaller and more light weight, crowbars are the larger more industrial types but not all are 4' long and weigh 15lbs.

From experience simple chain link fence needs professional bolt cutters to go through, none of those mini jobs will do. As far as a simple wire cutter like you find in a Leatherman or like multi you can forget it, they simply don't have the leverage! If you are wanting to cut barbed wire that is even tougher steel and the aforementioned tools will be even less useful. If you have a HSS metal cutting hacksaw or just the blade you can go through them both pretty easily but it will take you some time to clear a large enough cut/hole to pass through.

However the wire cutter on my M9 (bayonet) and it's sheath does an ok job of the chain link but is still a pain, haven't tried it on barbed wire. The cutters on my Surefire Delta fixed blade are good for a lot of wire jobs but those also don't have the necessary leverage for those sorts of jobs. You can improvise if you really want bolt cutters in your BOB but don't want a lot of weight. Get smaller sized bolt cutters (not mini cutters just for small wire jobs) from any hardware store. Then remove the handles from where they meet the the steel tubing that they fit into. (I understand this requires some fabrication but it works and is quite light) then have 6, 1 foot sections of hollow Aluminum rod 1" in diameter drilled and threaded to fit into each other. You will then have enough handle material to make a bolt cutter with a relatively small/light cutting head but variable handles up to 3' long.

Or you can buy this thing, but your cutters would still be bulky and heavy...

[WILLIE]

With a chain link fence, why not just climb over it? It's less work, faster and leaves no trace. I don't get carrying a heavy specialized tool like bolt cutters in your back pack. With barbed wire why not use your knife to pry a staple from the fence, then spread the wires and go between? That’s a quick operation that leaves very little trace. I definitely get carrying a sturdy knife. It's a multi-functional tool/weapon. I'm not being argumentative. The point of my post is looking for a rational reason why you would carry those very heavy, specialized tools in your back pack. I'm very picky about what I put in my pack because extra weight means extra misery. Whatever it is I'm carrying better be damn useful.

[acropolis5]

Olaf, who makes the folding knife/tool/wire cutter shown in your post? Please give us a link and a price point. Thanx.

[olaf_yahoo]

Sure thing, here ya go, if you look around you can get this for much less without it being a generic knockoff.

http://www.surefire.com/EW-06" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Woods Walker]

I'm very picky about what I put in my pack because extra weight means extra misery. Whatever it is I'm carrying better be damn useful.

Pack weight is my most feared enemy. To carry around heavy tools for hypothetical scenarios that are dubious at best just seem like less pack room for items like water, clothing, raingear and shelter stuff. Now clearly some tools are needed but the weight to reward ratio should come into play.

[E]

I'm very picky about what I put in my pack because extra weight means extra misery. Whatever it is I'm carrying better be damn useful.

Pack weight is my most feared enemy. To carry around heavy tools for hypothetical scenarios that are dubious at best just seem like less pack room for items like water, clothing, raingear and shelter stuff. Now clearly some tools are needed but the weight to reward ratio should come into play.

true. very true.
I'd carry a pair of lineman pliers, channel lock pliers, and maybe a prybar. just my .02, but I don't see a need for a big heavy specialized tool when smaller lighter ones can be used multiple ways.