A BOB - I never thought I would build this.

[oldman]

I've been spending some time putting together an evacuation bag. It's not finished but most of it is together and it's by the door if we have to get out of the house in a hurry. I already had one but it did not account for the changes in medication for She and there was nothing in there for her mother.

While I was putting the bag together She was very interested in what I was doing and asked lots of questions about prepping. As she understands my "risk assessment" method of doing things so She was soon helping. Normally, She does not like me spending money, if She can see the point then it's OK but She proposed spending money on a BOB!

I have always said the best option was bugging in but She wants a BOB in the event that "We have to escape from oppressive government forces with one hours warning".

Right ... first, what we need is a "grab and go" bag with a change of clothes on top (we can change clothes in the car). Second, I'm writing software to scrub all our information on the computer hard drives and I will be able to do that from any computer even remotely (our mobiles will go on the wood burner or the microwave). Third, we buy a second hand car, anything cheep as we will dump it after getting to the first BOL.

For the bag, as She is disabled it can't be more than 20Lb (9 Kilo), it's not going to be glamping! Here's the list:

• Food, I can do three days food weighing in at 2Kilo and none of that is dried.
• Water, A filter bottle and purifying tablets.
• Shelter, Some paracord and a basha, tarp and a sleeping bag.
• Fire, Wind-proof matches, lighters, a fire steel and tinder.
• Clothing, change of clothing and cold weather kit along with a cammo jacket (in the bag, we don't want to walk around in that).
• Communication, Baofengs or walkie talkies, mobile phones are out.
• Lighting, Torches, one good tactical one and some throw away ones, glow-sticks.
• Hygiene, Toilet roll, wet wipes and a towel.
• Tool Kit, Knife, multi-tool and a wire saw.
• First aid kit, Just a bobo kit. (I have a trauma kit)
• A needle.
• Sound grenades and fishing line

The extras are:

• Money, around £10,000 or more would be good (donations anyone?).
• Hair Dye, need I say more..

I've just spent £50 on fleabay and the rest of the bits will be from what we have in the house.

If anyone has any suggestions for this scenario / equipment please join in.

[featherstick]

Just interested - under what circumstances do you think you might need to escape from oppressive government forces with one hour's notice? What has your risk assessment shown that mine is missing?

[sniper 55]

Ok I'm not really getting the oppressive government forces bit (not having a go) My guess is is if that sort of stuff kicks off you/we wont get any warning, the first thing you'll know is a bang on the front door.
If it's a case of them wanting your property for military use, fair enough that has happened in wartime, but you'll usually get some warning and time to gather stuff together.
Ok back to the kit. I know weight is limited but if your doing a runner a tent is miles better that a tarp, not only warmer but as you might be hiding out for some time it's better for living in. A tarp is great for a quick set up but a tent will also freestand if your on the moors or whatever.
I'd suggest another filter system like a sawyer mini, not expensive but again for long term use the bottle filter will soon clog in dirty water, the sawyer can be backwashed.
Lastly I'd suggest a camping stove of some sort. Camp fires are smashing, but if your tactical a fire is about the worst thing you can do short of sending up flares. Not only will the smoke or flames be visible for miles but the bigger problem is smell. You can smell a camp fire miles away, and people living near woods or forests tend to worry when they smell burning and may call the local police of fire service. Just what you need is plod turning up when your OTR.

[oldman]

Just interested - under what circumstances do you think you might need to escape from oppressive government forces with one hour's notice? What has your risk assessment shown that mine is missing?

This scenario is not in my risk assessment, this was proposed by the wife. Now I'm not sure if She has been watching too much “Hunted” or She has some information I don't know about. (She could be suggesting I do this to keep me quiet so She can watch her TV program.) TBH, all the government forces would have to do to capture her is deploy spike strips and take out the tyres on her mobility scooter.

As for risk level, it has to be higher than zombies as we already have and have had plenty of oppressive governments but very few zombies.

Still, It's giving us something to talk about other than medication and hospital appointments.

[Captain Darling]

Sound grenades?

[unsure]

Sound grenades?

air soft , flash bangs i think

[Captain Darling]

Forgive me, I know exactly what they are. Or variations of what they are.

I'm questioning the need.

[oldman]

Ok I'm not really getting the oppressive government forces bit (not having a go) My guess is is if that sort of stuff kicks off you/we wont get any warning, the first thing you'll know is a bang on the front door.

I have to agree, or just picked up off the street and never seen again. I think there would have to be a lot of changes to our world for this to be an actual scenario but if She is worried about this then I should do something.

Ok back to the kit. I know weight is limited but if your doing a runner a tent is miles better that a tarp, not only warmer but as you might be hiding out for some time it's better for living in. A tarp is great for a quick set up but a tent will also freestand if your on the moors or whatever.
I'd suggest another filter system like a sawyer mini, not expensive but again for long term use the bottle filter will soon clog in dirty water, the sawyer can be backwashed.
Lastly I'd suggest a camping stove of some sort. Camp fires are smashing, but if your tactical a fire is about the worst thing you can do short of sending up flares. Not only will the smoke or flames be visible for miles but the bigger problem is smell. You can smell a camp fire miles away, and people living near woods or forests tend to worry when they smell burning and may call the local police of fire service. Just what you need is plod turning up when your OTR.

If She is going to get us into that much trouble She's not getting a blooming tent or stove.

I agree that a tent would provide more comfort but She has proposed an “escape and evade” scenario, a tarp can be thrown over you while you're huddled behind the rubbish bins down some alley. A tarp is also faster to pull down if you have to run. A tarp can be packed up small and hidden inside something else whereas a tent still looks like a tent even when packed. I'm not buying any kit I'd never use this is why I'm using a tarp rather than a tent, we already have a four man tent but as we have not been camping in about ten years I'm not about to buy another tent.

The filter bottle is from Tesco, the kind of thing any jogger would carry. A dedicated filter is very “prepper”, so, although I do intend to get a couple of filters they are not for this scenario.

For a fire She can have a coke tin. Sitting around the camp fire is out, not only, as you point out, smoke and smell but the heat signature will be a beacon to a police helicopter. A rubbish bag with an empty tin, used cotton-wool balls and other trash does not look like a stove, we're just taking our trash home with us. Also cooking well away from camp is a good idea.

The contents of the bag should not look like we are going camping, just going for a walk in the woods. A 70L bergen with a bed roll on the bottom will attract the attention of any park warden or National Trust worker as they don't like rough campers.

Everything on the list is either in her EDC or can be found in shops on the way out of dodge.

As I talk to She more I'm coming to realize that She is more interested in the bush-craft side of things. Who knows, I may get a camping trip out of this.

[oldman]

Sound grenades?

There are lots of options, some take a blank and go bang when you pull the pin but I prefer to use a "Personal Attack Alarm" as they keep making a noise until the batteries run out. She already has one. Set a trip wire at about 3ft high so dogs and rabbits don't set it off and put the alarm well away from camp. As the noise will continue I hope whoever has set it off will be distracted investigating the sound while we head in the opposite direction.

[Deeps]

Sound grenades?

There are lots of options, some take a blank and go bang when you pull the pin but I prefer to use a "Personal Attack Alarm" as they keep making a noise until the batteries run out. She already has one. Set a trip wire at about 3ft high so dogs and rabbits don't set it off and put the alarm well away from camp. As the noise will continue I hope whoever has set it off will be distracted investigating the sound while we head in to opposite direction.

In her mobility scooter ????