EricinMaryland's BOB, formerly "Yet Another BOB by a Noobie"

Items to keep you alive in the event you must evacuate: discussions of basic Survival Kits commonly called "Bug Out Bags" or "Go Bags"

Moderators: Woods Walker, ZS Global Moderators

Re: EricinMaryland's BOB, formerly "Yet Another BOB by a Noo

Postby EricinVirginia » Wed May 30, 2012 7:33 pm

When we first moved to Virginia, we didn't realize that 2.5 hours further south there would be like 1,000,000x more ticks... black-legged, deer/lyme, lone star, and dog ticks galore. We are slowly coping. When I set up my motion-alert perimeter, I had some pliers with me to pull ticks off and mash them. After about 10 min, the pliers looked like I had mashed up a raisin or something because I had killed so many ticks. So, I have been looking and thinking.

Besides ticks, my oldest daughter had something eating her... we still don't know what it was. The doctor gave her a permethrin skin cream that we put on her just once. Next day, all the bites looked practically healed and she has never had a problem since. Permethrin kills nasties you see. It's also the main ingredient in dog flea and tick shampoo that costs like $10 for a gallon.

Connecting these two dots, I filled a spray bottle about 90% with water and then filled the other 2 oz with flea and tick shampoo. As I walked out along the perimeter, I sprayed my neck, shoes, socks, and skin from ankle to shorts. 45 minutes later, I had 2 deer ticks (moving freckles) and 1 lone star tick. The moving freckles seemed way more hungry so I helped them with the pliers. The lone star tick I watched as it climbed from my sock to my calf. It appeared to get increasingly drunk each second till about 1" above my sock it fell off.

Since this stuff has warnings to not use on humans, etc. I'm using it very dilute. The cream my daughter used was 10% permethrin. A 6 oz tube was enough to cover her 3x, so about 2 oz to cover a 10 year old. The flea and tick shampoo is 1% permethrin mixed 1:12 with water. I'll keep this updated next time I experiment but so far so good... and I don't have any odd cravings for pig ears or dentachews. :lol:
User avatar
EricinVirginia
ZS Member
ZS Member
 
Posts: 1555
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:06 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: EricinMaryland's BOB, formerly "Yet Another BOB by a Noo

Postby Murph » Thu May 31, 2012 11:54 am

I've used permethrin sprays on some of my outdoor clothes. From what I can tell, it's generally pretty effective. Although, I'd be really leery about apply even a diluted solution directly to my skin though.

I had a crazy thought, that maybe you could spray it around the property with one of those fertilizer attachments for a garden hose.

Agent Orange style. :twisted:
Does your BOB at least have: water, basic tools, fire, food, first-aid kit, and shelter?
"When planning, prepare for the most likely, and then the most catastrophic." - Guru
raptor wrote: Being a gun collector does not make you a prepper.
the_alias wrote: Murph has all the diplomacy of a North Korean warhead, but -he has- a valid point
User avatar
Murph
* * * * *
 
Posts: 5388
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:46 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Yet Another BOB by a Noobie

Postby Dogan » Thu May 31, 2012 3:37 pm

EricinVirginia wrote: Anyone know where to find the headlamps featured in The Cave, or soon next week in the movie Sanctum? Those things last forever, are waterproof to hundreds of feet, last forever, and never burn out.

Never seen those movies, but based off your description, either Pelican, Underwater Kinetics, or Princeton Tec in LED. Not many divelight makers.

Also this thread is awesome.
goofygurl wrote:Dogan – In charge of all things fucked up
www.dreamindemon.com
Your lucky number has been disconnected.
ASCII biohazard symbol: ☣
A Beautiful Place to Die: Are you ready to die, John Walker?
Dogan
* * * * *
 
Posts: 4200
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:17 am
Location: |*...*|

Re: EricinMaryland's BOB, formerly "Yet Another BOB by a Noo

Postby tookieblueeyes » Thu May 31, 2012 5:02 pm

First of all: I read and skimmed through the entire thread and see that there have already been some very viable and very helpful tips and talk about replacement of some of the gear you are already carrying, I just have a little to add because I feel that most of the issues have already been covered.

I think that everyone's BOB can't and won't ever be "perfect" because everyone has different ideas about what should, and should NOT, go into a BOB or even in an INCH bag. Besides the differing oppinions there are the differences in needs and priorities as well. There is also the issue of personal expiriences that differ from person to person, so what works and is a viable solution for one individual may not be workable for another simply because they have had a bad expirience with one particular piece of gear or another, but just because one didn't like a certain tool or piece of gear, doesn't neccessarily mean that someone else won't have better luck with it.

Personally, I feel that everyone's BOB is a reflection of the person who packed it and their specific needs and plans.

A BOB designed for someone in Virginia is not going to work for someone in Utah, and a BOB packed for Maine isn't going to go over very well in Arizona.
Just like a BOB packed for a woman is not going to always provide the same things a man would need and vice versa. Add kids and pets into the BOB planning and it takes on a whole different personality all together than a BOB planned for a single man/woman.
And here again, plans come into play. Where your BOL is needs to be accounted for as does the season. If you are heading to the mountains for a BOL, of course you have to think of different climates and different threats (bugs, bears, moose, cartel marijuana grows, moonshiners and mad mountain men :twisted: ) depending on the area you live in. If your BOL is in the deasert you have the same concerns about bugs, just different kinds of bugs, and snakes. It's all in the planning and the place.
I wouldn't worry about ticks in the grasslands, but I would in the Appilatians, so the BOB reflects these concerns and differs from person to person, place to place, BOL to BOL, circumstance to circumstance, personal preferance to preferance and situation to situation.

EricinVirginia: I think you have a great start for your BOB "by a noobie"

EricinVirginia wrote:Fire & Light:
- WW2 any liquid fuel ligther
- Butane lighter and butane refill tank
* A simple BIC carries a 10,000 light life, so you can cut weight by carrying a BIC in place of these 2 items*
- Waterproof matches
*It is always good to have a back-up by carrying waterproof matches, but consider waterproof Strike Anywhere matches*
- Flint knife/fire starter
*A "metal match" or fire steel, fire striker, ferroceum rod, is always a sure fire way of creating a spark in wind, rain and when wet. You can't go wrong with one!*
- 3 Sterno cans
*3 Sterno cans is a good start, but I agree with those who suggested you ditch the Sterno and invest in an alcohol stove. It is more efficiant when boiling water and while cooking and if you choose isopropal alcohol as the fuel for the stove then it becomes multi-use. It is good for fuel for the alcohol stove, it is good for a fire starter (of course), it cleans wounds and can somewhat purify water in a pinch.*
- 1 3 minute flare
- 2 12 hr glow sticks
- LED hat light
*I agree with the folks who suggested you go for a head lamp because of the simple fact that these lights run on a button batterie and are harder to replace and don't have the upper hand compared to batteries when it comes to lamp life*
- Surefire flashlight and extra batteries

Water:
- 100 oz camelback bladder
- Katadyn filter and 27 oz steel or nalgene water bottle
- Water purification tablets
*Personally I carry the Sea to Summit Pack Tap 4L water bladder which straps right onto the pack and can be folded up into nearly nothing when it is not in use. I personally prefer it to the camelbacks and platypus (this is where personal opinion and expirience comes into play) because I have had better luck with it and it's not so difficult to fill, repair and clean. I also carry a Nalgene because who doesn't like a good Nalgene? LOL :) AND I carry a canteen cup for boiling water in OR the Stanley Water bottle because of its multi-use capablities. You can check that out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_5IQN1obag and decide for yourself but this water bottle does work well to cook soups, coffee, tea and boil water in and it doubles as a mug and I am very happy with it myself. But I suggest you carry something that you can boil water in even though I know you made the remark that you were going to use the chili cans to do just that with once you were finished eating the contents of the can. It's just a thought :) *

IFAK is described elsewhere but aimed around preventing infection, burn/puncture wound mgmt, barter.

Shelter:
- Camo milsurp poncho/targ
- Hammock
- 0 to 30 deg sleeping bag and yoga mat (not shown)
- 3 pairs of wool x-scent boot socks
- Kevlar gloves
- mid-weight thermal xscent silk underwear
- 100' of paracord
- assortment of S and other types of carabiners
- 6 Tarp clips
- Seam repair/awl punch kit
*I noticed that some people said that you should have extra spare pairs of socks and underwear, but I noted that you mentioned in your list that you included x3 pairs of wool socks so I am a little confused why you would need more socks if you already have x3 pairs :) but I would tend to agree that you should pack at least 1 more pair of underwear. I carry just one extra pair of underwear because you can always wash um! LOL*


Food:
- Can of Chedder easy cheese
- 2 cans of chilli
- 3 Mainstay 3,600 calorie food bars
- Chocolate and honey
- 2 fishing poles, 3 auto-reels, tackle box, extra line
- Field game kit
*I noticed a lot of folks said you should ditch the poles and in a true bug out scenario where you would only need to be gone 3 days or so then I would tend to agree that there would be no need for the poles. In my bug out set up I, however, do carry a pole with me because of where I live in Colorado and where my BOL's are. I intend on relying on fishing and catching crawfish for my meals to suppliment the food I would carry with me, but there are other alternatives than carrying around a large pole.
For instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G55UeKKX6E0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je2hgExZ5wo
But a way of fishing is a must for my area and other areas as well. Unless of course you are going to carry mouse traps and eat rats :) and me personally, I am not eating rats unless I have to.*


Weaponry:
- Field and game kit
- Ka-bar machette or Annihilator Dead on
- Shotgun or rifle and ammo
- 9mm Sidearm and ammo
- Leatherman skeletool

Other Stuff:
- Wiley X Goggles
- Barksa Monocular
- Gun cleaning kits
- Wilderness Survival, Setting Traps, and First Aid for Soldiers field guides
- Route maps for area around BOLs
- Generic survival kit in waterproof bag
- Backup ID, money
- 2 way radio with NOAA/Alert scan
-Super towel


But all in all... a good kit to start out with and so far it appears that you are getting some really good pointers and opinions and help from the others.

I would love to see what you come up with as a final product as a BOB after all is said and done and you revamp your current bag to make the helpful changes that would better suit you and your needs in the long run
I am not as smart as some... But I am not as dumb as others!
http://www.youtube.com/user/tookieblueeyes
Image
No need to be a dick, it's just an opinion!
User avatar
tookieblueeyes
ZS Member
ZS Member
 
Posts: 487
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:59 pm
Location: Southeastern Colorado

Re: EricinMaryland's BOB, formerly "Yet Another BOB by a Noo

Postby bark-eater » Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:26 pm

I tried to find a picture I saw of the nasty rashes caused by wearing permethrin dog collars on your ankles to keep ticks and chiggers away, cause they where illustrative of why this is a bad idea. This stuff is my favorite poison in the war on blood suckers but I where gloves and a respirator when soaking down gear. I have used RAID permethrin ant bombs inside semi permanent tent camps to clear out spiders and to any ticks that followed me home. If they attach themselves you do not want to squeeze them as this will inject all the nastiness into you or yours. I would try that sail tape on the ticks. Put a patch of tape over the tick wait 10 minutes for the critter to get nervous and unlatch, then peel away..... you didn't really need that leg hair did you?
" The 'bricoleur' is adept at performing a large number of diverse tasks; but, unlike the engineer, he does not subordinate each of them to the availability of raw materials and tools conceived and procured for the purpose of the project." Claude Lévi-Strauss
User avatar
bark-eater
* * *
 
Posts: 366
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 9:38 pm
Location: mainely maine

Re: EricinMaryland's BOB, formerly "Yet Another BOB by a Noo

Postby EricinVirginia » Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:16 pm

Yeah, I'm not advocating wearing a flea and tick collar... but so far I have misted myself with 1:8 flea/tick shampoo to water mist and have had great success not having any ticks at all or pleasure watching them die as they crawl up my leg. In point of fact, we went kayaking on a lake yesterday for about 6 hours and both my daughters picked up a total of 9 ticks and 3 leeches. I had none. My wife had 2 ticks having decided to use 100% deet. The leeches came from walking around in the marshy grass barefoot which I didn't do.

On the BOB, my BOB has evolved soooo many times since I joined ZS. Right now, I have two spots in my house with mod packs for food, water, fire, shelter, etc. And I can grab and go based on mission and personality, though I would say "risks" instead of personality. My BOB is currently more of a day hiker pack and then I have my INCH which is more of a weekend backcounty camping pack, but add some stuff here subtract some stuff there and I'm golden. I take my BOB with me when I hike for the exercise and familiarity. The main thing that has radically evolved is my preference in blades and then my IFAKs have shrunk from field surgery to pain relieving pills like Tylenol and band aids.
User avatar
EricinVirginia
ZS Member
ZS Member
 
Posts: 1555
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:06 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: EricinMaryland's BOB, formerly "Yet Another BOB by a Noo

Postby EricinVirginia » Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:13 am

So, some general updates... the chickens are still alive. Two of them turned out to be roosters, so very soon we'll be eating one of them and I'll probably put that experience up on here. I've moved them farther back into the trees and rigged a tarp to give them additional shade... summer here is humid and often gets 100+ degrees F. In spite of my wife's assurances that she'd be taking care of them, I find I spend an inordinate amount of time on them.

Meanwhile, we've started having enough time we can do some camping (pics below)... and I'm having a solar power company come out and take a look at moving my well pump to solar/battery entirely, and having some power plugs with batteries we could power a freezer and small DC air conditioner off of in the event power goes out. The problem here in this area of Virginia isn't bad weather so much as all the trees falling and knocking power out. You may have seen the storm alerts for this area yesterday that knocked out power for some 140,000+ people... as a reference I think the population of Richmond is 700,000... so about 20% of Richmond was without power for about 18 hours. The water issue is that the pump will be just fine if we don't use water and so maintain pressure and suction. But I have two daughters and a wife who LOVE to turn water on. Anyways, I'll post about that. So far, it seems that for $1,000 I can remove the water pump system entirely off the grid. Another $2k appears to remove my garage deep freezer off, and would have enough capacity to power the kitchen refrigerator and some. We'll see. More later.

My wife hammock-hanged for the first time and LOVED it. I doubt she'll ever go in a tent again. The kids loved being in the tent by themselves.
Image

Meanwhile, my daughters had just watched Hairspray before this trip and so were singing "Good Morning Baltimore!" the entire time...
100 Mb - Funny Video of the Kids Singing and rolling around in a hammock...

The upside down fire continues to dominate our camping experiences. This one burned brightly for a good 5 hours.
Image

10 year old daughter was so proud to hit all of these targets. I found that by having her pick and set up her own targets, she ENJOYED this a lot more.
Image

My 6 year old did well too, but left to her own devices would rather play with shell casings in the dirt right now...
Image

The camping highlight for the kids is always if they can...
Image

Even the dog had enough fun he was tired...
Image

A view of the tent... car camping and the crap my family packs. Holy hell I can't wait to get to a point where we literally have BOBs for each person in the family and a small box of camping food. "Hey, lets go camping for #days at this PLACE!" and 5 minutes later we're on the road.
Image
Image



My wife played with a pocket survival stove and learned that it is hard to cook/boil water on those things without really dry and lots of small sticks handy. Otherwise, they smoke, a lot.
Image
User avatar
EricinVirginia
ZS Member
ZS Member
 
Posts: 1555
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:06 pm
Location: Virginia

Previous

Return to Bug Out Gear

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Blacksmith, Yahoo [Bot] and 14 guests