LASwampRats BOB

[LASwampRat]

Good find, one thing id also add to that is a safety rope long enough to toss over the other side of the house that a person on the ground can hold on too so you don't just go rolling off the roof and hurt your self when help is already hard to come buy.

[omega_man]

LASwampRat, you have lurked well I'm lovin' your appropriate selection of Kifaru gear and lack of mall-ninjary. Good job on the food preps too, I'm sorely lacking in that department.

Thanks for sharing

[LASwampRat]

lol! Lack of mall-ninjary. Oh i have my share of "toys" too ,trust me. I just understand the simple fact that there is little chance i would ever have need for them so i decided to invest my money in solid gear where it counts and keep the mall-ninjary for when i am home alone with "The Walking Dead" playing on the tv! When it came to gear selection these two post were rather influential.

http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22427&highlight= Woods Walker’s modular BOB.

http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=41853 My BOB Post, Pic Heavy! by Mags

Mags and WoodsWalker are my role models!

[Flying Lead]

Fantastic work!

I think a MBO should be in your future.

[LASwampRat]

Iv done a few i just never took photos. i also have done a mock "bug in" a few weekends ago i got home on a Friday right after work flipped the main breaker and turned off the water outside the house and didn't turn it on till Sunday night. I also didn't plan for it. it was a spur of the moment decision. and i didn't leave the house all weekend. The heat and humidity was killer. Its actually comical how many times i found my self walking to the sink to turn on the water or flipping a switch to turn on a light even though i was the one that killed the power and water my self. You don't realize how much you take for granted till its not there. I totally suggest that everyone tries it at least once.

[2now]

nice BoB, reasonable weight, all bases covered.

Let me offer a couple of suggestions:

repair/sewing kit
copies of important docs or at least e copies on a thumb drive
Ibuprofen, sometimes the anti inflammatory is really worth while
moleskin
some kind of scope [bino, mono etc.] for gathering intel

great kit!

[LASwampRat]

nice BoB, reasonable weight, all bases covered.

Let me offer a couple of suggestions:

repair/sewing kit
copies of important docs or at least e copies on a thumb drive
Ibuprofen, sometimes the anti inflammatory is really worth while
moleskin
some kind of scope [bino, mono etc.] for gathering intel

great kit!

Thanks for the advice, a few of the sugestions i already had covered. here is a pic of my "repair Kit" that has sewing stuff and other tools to fix my tent cloths or bags on the go. the second pic is a exploded view of my FAK and in it iv got advil, (ibuprofen) mole skin and even blister treatment pads.





I am working on making digital backups of all the important stuff, my scanner is broken currently but that was a good suggestion. You are the first however to suggest something i didn't think about! i do need to have some kind of an optic i guess i have something to look into. thanks for the suggestions.

[onenineoneonemergency]

Very nice set up. I think the Kifaru Zulu is one of the best bags ever made. I have a G2 and if I had to have one bag that would be it (even over my ZXR). Though it is quite heavy for its size. I think I’m going to get some KU stays to throw in both Kifaru packs; in my mind it’s a substantial weight savings.

Why not ditch one of the Nalgenes and both 4 liter Droms and go with the MSR 10 liter Drom bag. It would yield an appreciable weight savings (two 4 liters weigh 13.8oz, the 10 liter: 10oz, and that’s not counting the weight savings associated with ditching one of the Nalgenes and the heavy uninsulated liter plus pouch). I make it a practice to not carry any more than one Nalgene bottle because they are comparatively heavy and they take up a lot of space. If you want a second small container for water in a addition to the 10 liter drom bag (and in place of the Nalgene) get a Platypus bottle. They are much lighter and fit virtually anywhere when empty. Nalgenes are good for consuming liquids other than water (Gatorade and various drink mixes), are very rugged and light you plaster them with tight-ass stickers but beyond that they don’t have that much utility (good for washing your undies in). Just trying to spare you back.

By gloves are you talking about the work style gloves pictured? Do you have any cold weather gloves? Do you have some sort liner for the work gloves so that they can be pressed into service as a cold weather glove? I just think you might be a little light on handwear if it gets quite a bit below freezing in your area. Functional cold weather gloves are practically one of the most important things that you carry. Reduced dexterity can make simple tasks inordinately harder and more frustrating, and, as you know from personal experience, you’ll have your fill of harder and more frustrating in the event something happens. Ibex, Smartwool, USGI/D3A glove liners, various offerings by Outdoor Research would serve you well, not weigh you down and take up very little space in your pack. May I suggest having at least two pairs of liners in the event they get wet or otherwise compromised. Just watched a special on the Korean War conflict and the veterans they interviewed had all their limbs and a body that seemed completely untouched by such a violent and protracted war with the exception of the fact that none of them had fingers (and I’m sure they were missing a few toes as well). That was about the time I relinquished my grip on the notion that four pairs of gloves in my bag were just too much.

I like your clothing as well. Though modern synthetics have their place and certain applications I just keep coming back to good old cotton/polycotton/NYCO for daily wear. Relatively campfire safe, dries fast enough, rugged and just plain comfortable. I also really like your reasoning when selecting what to wear. Proven trumps newfangled and flashy any day of the week.

Other than those 2 issues your gear is virtually beyond reproach.

[DarkGhost]

Nice job!

[ptAltered]

You've hit the nail solidly on the fucking head man, good job! Brilliant preps, a solid plan for bugging out and, lets be honest, some Kifaru porn. 10/10 would read again

[Gristle McThornBody]

I took it a step further then just the blue tarp, I got Gap filler, plastic sheeting, duct tape, and even silicon calk.

I don't see any method of attachment for the sheeting/tarps, other than duct tape, which in all its splendor wont hold to shingles/wet lumber/much else when you really need it in that kind of scenario.

From experience, I would recommend a hammer tacker stapler w/ a box of 1/2" staples, a hammer, some 1x2 or 2x4 and appropriate nails to pin down the edges of the plastic. Also, honestly we've had a lot more luck in my company using tarps, we'vve used the exact plastic sheeting you have and it becomes brittle in sunlight in a matter of days and shreds in the wind.
The best solution we've found is 3" or 4" wide strips of 1/2" OSB plywood, nailed down in 1' intervals around the edges of the tarp. We use a hammer tacker to position the tarp initially and also to pin down small flaps and such. The nice thing about the strips of osb is, assuming you prepared them in advance, you can break them to size easily by hitting them with the claw of the hammer; I usually rip an entire sheet or two into 3" strips (8' long, your storage needs may vary) just to keep us stocked. The gap filler is absolutely amazing, and a little goes a long way. you might want to put a cut wire hanger or two in this kit, to clean the gap filler out. One use and they are done unless you get that sucker cleaned out! Gloves are nice when using too, this stuff gets really stuck in your skin and I haven't had a lot of luck with solvents of any sort. The plastic sheeting is quite acceptable to cover blown out windows still, and affords you some light, unlike a tarp.

However, this is literally the only part of your preps on which I could offer criticism. I am inspired by how well thought out and planned it all is.

[moab]

Can I see your entire BOB loaded up? Hard to believe all that stuff fits in that pack. I'm having that problem anyway. Does your tent and sleep system go in the bag or on the outside?

don't mean to sound accusatory. Seriously would love to see how you have it all outfitted out. Great collection of gear.

[Woods Walker]

Nice BOB. Thanks for posting it.

[LASwampRat]

Really great feed back! Sorry for the slow response I had a stupid busy weekend.

Why not ditch one of the Nalgenes and both 4 liter Droms and go with the MSR 10 liter Drom bag.

By gloves are you talking about the work style gloves pictured? Do you have any cold weather gloves? Do you have some sort liner for the work gloves so that they can be pressed into service as a cold weather glove?

Other than those 2 issues your gear is virtually beyond reproach.

Redundancy is why I went with the 2 bottle 2 bladder set up. They don’t weigh much of anything empty. the bottles are more for on the go. If I had to I can fill up one with questionable water and filter later or both and filter it into a bladder if needed and then clean out the bottles easer than I can a bladder in the field.

The gloves are actually cold weather gloves, they are insulated and have a Gortex lining in between the leather and the cold weather insulation that makes them more water resistant than most. I use them for work during the cold season and they are great. On average our “cold season” stays above freezing. It’s the cold mixed with the humidity that makes it miserable.

I don't see any method of attachment for the sheeting/tarps, other than duct tape, which in all its splendor wont hold to shingles/wet lumber/much else when you really need it in that kind of scenario.

From experience, I would recommend a hammer tacker stapler w/ a box of 1/2" staples, a hammer, some 1x2 or 2x4 and appropriate nails to pin down the edges of the plastic. Also, honestly we've had a lot more luck in my company using tarps, we'vve used the exact plastic sheeting you have and it becomes brittle in sunlight in a matter of days and shreds in the wind.
The best solution we've found is 3" or 4" wide strips of 1/2" OSB plywood, nailed down in 1' intervals around the edges of the tarp. We use a hammer tacker to position the tarp initially and also to pin down small flaps and such. The nice thing about the strips of osb is, assuming you prepared them in advance, you can break them to size easily by hitting them with the claw of the hammer; I usually rip an entire sheet or two into 3" strips (8' long, your storage needs may vary) just to keep us stocked. The gap filler is absolutely amazing, and a little goes a long way. you might want to put a cut wire hanger or two in this kit, to clean the gap filler out. One use and they are done unless you get that sucker cleaned out! Gloves are nice when using too, this stuff gets really stuck in your skin and I haven't had a lot of luck with solvents of any sort. The plastic sheeting is quite acceptable to cover blown out windows still, and affords you some light, unlike a tarp.

However, this is literally the only part of your preps on which I could offer criticism. I am inspired by how well thought out and planned it all is.

This is the real world feed back I wanted. See I didn’t think of gap filler getting clogged because iv only had to use it once, and the feed back on the plastic sheeting is great. I still need to get some more tarps and the idea of the stapler is great. I do have some 1”x2”x6’ strips and a hammer and some nails in the same shed as the gas I just didn’t have it in the pic.

Can I see your entire BOB loaded up? Hard to believe all that stuff fits in that pack. I'm having that problem anyway. Does your tent and sleep system go in the bag or on the outside?

don't mean to sound accusatory. Seriously would love to see how you have it all outfitted out. Great collection of gear.

No, its a lot of gear and i totally understand your skepticism. Not all of it will fit in the inside of the pack. the pic of the bag in the top of the thread is basically it. however the snow collar of the Zulu is just long enough for the sleeping bag to go right on top. I don't store the sleep system compressed. I store it in a hanging storage bag so that i don't damage the loft of the bag. The tent gets broken down. the poles and pegs go into the outside slip pockets on the Zulu and then the tent bag with just the tent and the sleep role go on the bottom of the bag using the compression straps.

Nice BOB. Thanks for posting it.

Coming from you sir that is a complement indeed!

[LASwampRat]

Well.. That was a great Bug in. No use of a generator no power for 48 hours I found a few spots I was lacking how ever so I'll be makeing so up dates shortly.