Who does not have a BOB?

[jansman]

A lot of emphasis is placed on bug out bags on preparedness/survivalist forums we all know that when 'something'hits the fan we grab this bag and run...somewhere.
I have tried building bobs according to accepted wisdom.A Royal Marine couldn't carry the average go-bag 100 yards!

And the contents would get you locked up without the key very often
So I got to the point where I simply have a bag of clothing/washbag/firstaid/cash/I.D. In case of a night time evacuation(fire/gasleak/Martian invasion)so I ain'tstanding on the pavement in me birthday suit!

The gvt.attitude to emergency is as we know is Go in,Stay in,Tune in.They do not want refugees to deal with no where to go. I am too old to go running to the woods,and NO WAYwould all the Ladies in our house!
I have two sheds full of resources,two large pantries and a plan to live in outbuildings if need be.I am NOT having a go at anyone who does have BOB gear.I just find it ,frankly,overwhelming.

Is there anyone else out there who thinks like me?

[preppingsu]

I don't have a 'camp out in the wilderness' BOB. In any emergency where I can stay at home, I will. We have everything we need here and could pretty much be self sufficient for between 1-3 months (although I need to work on sanitation).
In case of fire, etc etc we have technically overnight bags and our grap and go stuff with important papers. I do need to put together a better food kit that we could take with us so not reliant on others for feeding my family. This needs to include a smaller camp stove but finances are not such that I can do this at the moment. I would just throw the bigger on in the car.
I have thought abot doing a simple refit on my very dated ford galaxy. We no longer need the size so I could take out the back 2 seats and build a small stove unit. I could store some preps there which would make it easier to leave in an emergency.
I still think it is importnat to have the skills for all eventualities though.

[janso]

Jansman, I think the emphasis is on bugging out when you HAVE to. I dont have a BOB as such, although I do carry kit in the truck for work which equals to the same contents. I am also an advocate of 'bugging in' but a BOB is advisable to look at building up by knowing which existing kit bags need to be thrown together. The reason being you may HAVE to leave you BOL. 50m down the road from me is the tail end of a flood plain - I dont even know when it did start to catch water or indeed start filling up; it may need a tsunami to hit West Cornwall!!

But the point is, if it ever did, or if another god awful event happened that FORCED me to move, a BOB is what I need to be carrying regardless of how prepared my home is. Just a thought, but it may be wise to see what events could happen in your locale and use this as your basis.

For me, a flood plain is close by which at flood would impinge on movement from home and a major Naval air station isnt too far away; if this was attacked by any means it could change my BOL, especially if it involved nukes and the prevailing wind changed!!

[jansman]

There's an article out there somewhere called"backpack fever" by Duncan Long.Basically he came to the conclusion that every man and his dog was going to run to the hills and live off the land.He had developed a comprehensive load bearing military bug out kit,which the more he thought about it,the more it was lacking.In the end he decided he did not want a hernia!

Regarding a pre stocked BOL he also asked"what will you do if someone is already occupying it when you arrive ?"
I have another home,fully functional 100 miles from here.IF I had to move there I could,but not if everyone was becoming refugees.The traffic is bad ona good day.
Regarding local threats,well,weather damage,fire,and general Acts Of God.I don't consider all-out nuclear war/Zombie Attack/NWO to be up there on my list.Frankly,holding onto a job is more of a concern than a meteor strike right now.

Point is,is there any one of us who DOESN'T see the need for a 100 L Bergen full of camping gear,53 knives(just in case you lose one)and A gazillion ways to start a fire.I personally think that being prepared is being able to hole up for a few days when the power goes out and dealing with it,without looking for help.Or having enough grub if the shops are short or shut because of flu pandemic.

Like I said ,I am not having a go-we all have our own way of dealing with things.Ivjust don't think the UKis likethe USA,it's a small island. The yanks evacuate at the drop of a hat-in 2007 we had floods that really caused damage in this country.There were no massive evacuations,we just let the water subside,came downstairs and cleaned up.It's the British Way.The yanks just had floods and they had millions onthe road.We had similar in Sheffield and Shrewsbury but we did not see that.

[diamond lil]

Me. I haven't got anything at all, because I can't be arsed really. In an urgent split-second-to get-out-and-run emergency we'd just grab the money and go outside..... we won't flood here so that's ok. This might sound mad ( ) but look how many sailors are lost and then the "sinking" ship is found still intact ... is always better to stay put if at all possible I think.

[diamond lil]

I'm not a person who believes in hauling a load of luggage round life anyway. We always went on holiday with one small bag, and I dont bother with a handbag much. I dont like loads of possessions and I could walk away from it all at any time. I always thought those people who sell everything then buy a boat and go round the world were living life the right way!

[bulldogeagle]

have got a GHB which would double as a BOB, contains basic kit for staying out 2-3 nights and is light enough for me to carry, i'm not going to "live wild in the woods" but have a BOL about 8 miles away.

[jansman]

I'm not a person who believes in hauling a load of luggage round life anyway. We always went on holiday with one small bag, and I dont bother with a handbag much. I dont like loads of possessions and I could walk away from it all at any time. I always thought those people who sell everything then buy a boat and go round the world were living life the right way!

I KNEW I wasnt alone!

[diamond lil]

Well we're ok - its the rest of them that are out of step!

[Technik]

BOB is for just in case and it should be an extreme case. In my opinion you should only use it when all else fails. If you can stay at home with your preps then do so but when your house is on fire and you can't stop it then grab your 72h kit and bug out. After that if you can stay at a hotel or b&b then do so but if you can't then all you have is your car and your bob which will keep you alive for the next 72h. You do not need to go out into the wilderness, it can be your back garden or a nearby park where you can erect your tent and deal with your problem from there. Simples
I also would rather stay put but have 2 BOBs for just in case and also 2 GHBs, 2 respirator masks and so on... I would rather be prepared.

And that's not a go at the non-BOB keepers btw