Tools

Camelbak Motherload
Kabar Utility Knife*
Leatherman Wave*
Wire Saw* (Will Upgrade to Pocket Chainsaw)
Sharpening Stone
Pcoket Sharpening Steel
First Aid Kit*
550 Cord (150 ft)*
Compass*
4-Function Whistle/Compass/Thermometer/Magnifying Glass*
LED Light Sticks
LED Keychain Light*
Duct Tape*
Garbage Bags (2)*

Shelter

8’ x10’ Camo Tarp*
Poncho*
Thermolite Bivy Sack*
IMPS-Net
Spare Clothes
Sewing Kit*
Hand Warmers (3)*

Food/Water

1.25 L Pot*
1 L Canteen w/ Cover*
SS Canteen Cup*
2.5 L Platypus Bladder (empty/collapsed)*
0.5 L Platypus Bladder (empty/collapsed)*
Water Purification Tablets (50)*
Cheap Food* (Will upgrade to Mountain House Meals)
Spoon*
Fishing Kit*
Buckshot Snare Kit

Fire

Blastmatch*
Swedish Fire Steel*
Bic Lighter*
Strike-Anywhere Matches (25)*
Wetfire Tinder (6)*
Cottonball Tinder*

Sanitation

Biodegradable Toilet Paper (3 rolls)
Biodegradable Camp Soap (8 oz)*
Travel Size Dental Kit*
LightLoad Camp Towels (2)*
Handkerchief*

Entertainment/Other

Field book (Write-in-the-Rain)
Mechanical Pencil
Sudoku Puzzle Book
Deck of Playing Cards

*= already have

Hasn't changed too much but what do you think? Will post pics soon.

Here you can see my FAK, paracord, kabar, leatherman, u-dig-it, fishing kit, sewing kit, etc.



In this pic you can see my tarp, space blanket, Thermolite-Bivy, some clothes, hand warmers, and poncho.



Here is my pot, food, canteen w/ cup (which has 27 ft of paracord wrapped for space saving), platypus bladders, spoon, salt, pot scrubber, and water purification tablets.

For now the food is 2 flavored rice, 2 ramen, 4 cup-o-soup, and 3 hot chocolate.



My blastmatch, bics, matches, and tinders (cottonball tinder is in one of the match cases).



Handkercheif, camp soap, lightload towels, toothbrush and paste, and regular toilet paper.

fishing stuff!

Where does one acquire the Lightload towels? Those look useful and compact.

I would take the cardboard roll out of the toliet paper you will save a lot of space.

1: I have fishing gear. Assorted hooks, sinkers, swivels, one bobber, and about 50 ft 14lb fishing line. Picture 1.

2: I bought mine from campmor.com and only cost me $5.50 for 3. Only 1/2 oz each. Only problem is no color choice. I got orange, blue, and green.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/store ... d=12500226

3: Yeah that would save space but I will eventually switch to biodegredable camping toilet paper w/ no cardboard to start with.

My pack is fairly big but crappy. Space saving not too important yet.

I prefer LED flashlights that run on AAA or AA batteries; a much greater likelihood of being able to scavenge/barter these sizes.

I rarely see maps in BOBs, I don't know why, maybe everyone knows every road and ravine in their AO like the back of their hand, but I don't.

A couple of communication ideas:
-small battery/wind-up radio
-big marker

I don't have my perfect BOL. Right now it is my grandparents place. I know atleast 4 fairly different paths there. I have road maps in my truck which will be transfered if need be. I would love better maps to go along with a better BOL.

As far as flashlights, I can't decide whether to include a surefire or LED flashlight for my belt.

I would get some better food in the form of MREs and some protein bars. that food you have has no goodness in it.

That is my cheap food. I already stated that I will upgrade to Mountain House dehydrated meals.

I do need new energy bars. I will admit that I was lazy and instead of going to the store, I stole them from my pack.

MREs are not an option for me because my pack spends/will spend nearly all of its time in my truck. So unless I want to buy new MREs every month or less, I will steer clear.

MREs do have a shelf life no matter what anyone else tells you.

I was looking at Ninty's BOB and I liked how he numbered the picture. So since I have changed a few things since I posted this originally, I figured I would do the same.



1: Medium Alice Pack w/o Frame in OD
2: IMPS-Net wrapped in 24 ft of Paracord
3: Advanced Medical Kit Thermolite Bivy
4: Poncho
5: Paracord [100 ft]
6: Kabar Utility Knife
7: Platypus Bladder [2.5L Empty/Collapsed]
8: Molle Pouch containing: Compass, Coleman 4-Function Whistle, LED Lightsticks [3 Green], LED Keychain Light, Sewing Kit, Trash Bags [2], Advanced Medical Kit Space Blanket, Chemical Hand Warmers [3], Fishing Kit, Water Purification Tablets [50], Stainless Steel Spoon, Light-My-Fire Flint, Bic Lighters [2], Cottonball Tinder, Rite-in-the-Rain Memo Book, Mechanical Pencil, Playing Cards, Handkerchief
9: U-Dig-It Folding Trowel
10: Leatherman Wave
11: Canteen w/ Cover and Stainless Steel Cup wrapped w/ 27 ft of Paracord
12: Campmor Hiker First Aid Kit
13: Fleece Jacket [Black]
14: Sanitary Kit containing: 8 oz Camp Soap, Wet Wipes [15],Wet Naps [6], Charmin-To-Go Toilet Paper, Lightload Towels [2], Travel Toothbrush, Travel Toothpaste, Vial of Vitamins [9], and Mesh Dish Pad
15: 8 oz Nalgene Bottle containing: Wet Fire Tinder [7], another Bic Lighter, and another Lightload Towel [Unwrapped]
16: BDU Nylon Belt
17: Food containing: Mainstay 1200 Cal Rations [3], Harvest and Cliff Bars [6], Flavored Rice [2], Ramen Noodles [2], Packet of Honey Roasted Peanuts, Gatorade Drink Mix [3], Cup-a-Soup [3], Hot Chocolate [2], Cheese Spreads [3], Peanut Butter Spreads [3], Honey Packets [3], Sugar Packets [3], Jelly Packets[2], BBQ Sauce Packet, Nalgene Bottle of Salt [2 oz]
18: Watchcap [Black] and Fingerless Rag Wool Gloves
19: GI Socks [2 Pair Black] and Insulated Socks [Gray]
20: 5.11 TDUs [Khaki] and Long-sleeved T-shirt [Green]

I need to upgrade/replace some things for either quality or weight reasons along with adding some of the things in the original list.

Cheap Poncho>GI Poncho
Kabar>SOG Seal Pup
Watchcap>Lightweight Balaclava
Gloves>???
Alice Pack>Kelty 3100
Stainless Steel Spoon>TI Spork

What do you think?

Also, after repacking it, I weighed it: 21 lbs w/o water.

So, I got some more gear and changed a few things, but I mostly bored so I got out the camera and my gear and took some pictures. Enjoy.



In this picture you will see: Bottled Water ( 2-0.5L), Write-In-the-Rain Memo Book, Mechanical Pencil, Mil-Spec Poncho, Platypus Bladder (2.5L), Ka-Bar, Shake flashlight (temporary), LED lightsticks (2-Green), Keychain LED, IMPS-Net (with 24 ft Paracord), Thermolite Bivy, Canteen Cup (with 27 ft Paracord), Leatherman Wave, Bic Lighters (2), Cottonball/Vasaline Tinder (in Match case), sewing kit, stainless steel spoon, Potable Aqua (50 tabs), fire steel, Wetfire tinder (4), fishing kit, compass, mylar blanket, garbage bags (2), handwarmers (2), IFAK, Excedrin (100), and Paracord (100ft). Absent from the picture is my U-Dig-It, which is still packed, but was hiding in a pocket when I took the photos.



In this picture you will see my sanitation gear: Lightload towels (2), vitamins (9), Toilet paper, handkerchief, wet-naps (6), sealed replacement contacts, contact case, contact solution (2 oz), toothbrush, toothpaste, mesh dish pad, camp soap (8 oz), wet ones (15).



In this picture you see: Heavyweight Polypro bottoms, boxer-briefs, 5.11 TDUs, nylon belt, 5.11 Utili-T (White), long sleeve T-shirt (Green), Fleece Jacket, nylon Balaclava, Polypro glove liners, insulated socks (gray), BDU socks (2 -Black), and Coolmax socks (white).

So, I doubt there are too many more critiques but I do have a question. Do you think I have too much soap packed? 8 oz seems like a lot now. Should I cut that back to 4 oz or even 2 oz? Any other space-saving tips would be helpful. Thanks.

I don't worry too much about the food part, if you have a destination you can get to in a few days you really don't need it (just nice to have).

While I like the idea of an extra set of contacts in your bag I think a pair of glasses would be better. If you have to deal with poor conditions outside for days at a time they can cause problems. Glasses can also provide protection for your eyes when the going gets rough. I have never used contacts but I have seen soldiers in the field suffer when they didn't have to because they would not use glasses. As I understand it you shouldn't really sleep with them in and it is much easier to wake up and throw on a set of glasses and haul ass than it is to get up and put in your contacts and do the same. You are one up on me for having a spare set of prescription lenses in the bag however. I have a few sets of glasses in the car and the house but none in the bag...

The food is the same as the last time I posted.

The glasses will be the ones that I am wearing right now, as soon as, I get a new set. I have no last set, because they broke in half and cracked the lenses. I stepped on them with boots on. Glasses vs. Contacts. Both have strengths and weaknesses, but glasses are better for survival purposes. Dusty or caustic environments are not good for contacts. Looking at some Rx goggles or shooting glasses or athletic frames, but they are all expensive.

No offense to anyone in particular, but it seems that people are starting to put too much meaning in these acronyms that we use to describe our packs. Or at least more meaning than I associate with them. So, I have changed my pack's title from BOB to survival pack. I will either have to keep calling it that or find my own acronym that is relevant to my pack.

Sorry, but it was bugging me, also why I just put it on my thread.

just a thought on glasses/contacts. as soon as i could, i had PRK surgery. i wore glasses/contacts from ages 6-31. surgery was fast and easy and it's made camping a lot easier (having lost glasses and a contact in a river crossing and a canoe rollover). i had mine in '01 and the cost has come way down. for about $1.5K (same as an M1 ), no more hassle.

Something you should really change is your flashlight situation. I handled one of those shake lights yesterday and thought it was junk. I'de get an LED headlamp that runs on common batteries, then maybe a Surefire so you can have more light when you need it. My SF L4 is a great LED light if your looking for flood.

I've never used a Surefire before, but I don't like them for three reasons: Short battery life, batteries that are expensive and would be hard to scrounge/barter for or switch out to something else, and the rather extreme price.

I'm packing a shake-light in my bag because it's waterproof, inexpensive, light, and as long as you can shake your arm a little, you have light. If you pack it and it doesn't work, toss it; didn't cost you much anyway. If it does work, good investment. However, I would add a battery-powered light just in case you're not in a position where you can make noise powering your shake light.

Like I said in the description, the shake light is just temporary. I will put a Petzl headlamp in my pack with white and red filters. I have plenty of space left in my Alice pack and I have 2 backups, so for now I feel that the shake flashlight is just fine.