My Quest: Ultralight Survival BOB

P-14

NES Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
8,133
Likes
1,532
Location
Chelsea, MA
Feedback: 28 / 0 / 0
You may have heard about ultralight camping. Here at NES, we recently read about BOBs in actual use in the Survival Forum here. They contained almost NOTHING that we typically keep in ours.

I thought to myself, “Oh, I could NEVER survive on one of those BOBs.” My BOB today is about 40 lbs. The wifey’s is about 30 lbs. I’m in reasonable shape, but I’m not getting any younger. How do I make the two of us BOBs (and a get-home-bag in the car) that are “ultralight” but still have the basics?

If you think about it, the basics are: Water, Food, Health/Hygiene, Shelter, and Fire. I need another, though: Security that includes at least one firearm, knife, basic comms, and light. And remember, 2=1 and 1=none, so I need redundant systems for all of these areas.

These six topics must fit in each day pack and be as light as possible. What to keep and what to toss - This is my quest. I will post how I am doing as I go down this road to keep the BOBs as light as possible to solve a 3rd world SHTF problem and avoid as many 1st world luxuries as possible.

What would you bring and what would you leave behind?
 
Last edited:
What I have

1 one man bivy. (http://armysurplusstore.com/camouflagebivouactent.aspx)
1 collapsible plastic bag with spigot (out of a box of wine)
1 placket water purification tablets
6 Mountain House MRI's
1 aluminum lunch kit
1 JetBeam BC10 + 2 spare batteries
1 sleeping bag (light weight)
1 Ka-Bar Tanto fixed blade and sheath (relocate to belt)
1 Ruger 624 airweight in .38+p, 50 rounds and OWB holster (relocate to belt)
1 fire striker and one bag of dryer lint
1 wire saw
1 tube toothpaste and travel toothbrush
5 hotel soap bars wrapped
2 pair wool/cotton boot socks (they make good gloves too)
2 wash cloths (one to clean with and one to wipe your butt, you can substitute leaves for the butt wiping if you must)
6 large ZIP lock bags (probably can dump these but they do come in handy)

I can do 72 without any worries on just that. The pack weighs next to nothing (10-12 lbs) after you relocate the knife and firearm.

ETA: Forgot, there is a space blanket in there too.
 
Last edited:
In the mil we have to have baby-wipes [wink]


What I have

1 one man bivy. (http://armysurplusstore.com/camouflagebivouactent.aspx)
1 collapsible plastic bag with spigot (out of a box of wine)
1 placket water purification tablets
6 Mountain House MRI's
1 aluminum lunch kit
1 JetBeam BC10 + 2 spare batteries
1 sleeping bag (light weight)
1 Ka-Bar Tanto fixed blade and sheath (relocate to belt)
1 Ruger 624 airweight in .38+p, 50 rounds and OWB holster (relocate to belt)
1 fire striker and one bag of dryer lint
1 wire saw
1 tube toothpaste and travel toothbrush
5 hotel soap bars wrapped
2 pair wool/cotton boot socks (they make good gloves too)
2 wash cloths (one to clean with and one to wipe your butt, you can substitute leaves for the butt wiping if you must)
6 large ZIP lock bags (probably can dump these but they do come in handy)

I can do 72 without any worries on just that. The pack weighs next to nothing (10-12 lbs) after you relocate the knife and firearm.

ETA: Forgot, there is a space blanket in there too.
 
really depends on location and where you are going but in the Northeast you're never really that far from a resupply unless you're planning on going deep into the northern woods, in which case that might be a separate issue.

pistol/mags/ammo
jacket, hat and gloves
1 extra socks/underwear/t-shirt
water bottle
prescription meds as needed
lighter
bandanna
cash
simple fm/am radio with batteries and ear phones to save on battery power (baofeng for the techies, which does FM too)
cell phone and charger
compass
knife
tarp, plastic sheet or heavy trash bag
basic first aid: antiseptic cleaning swabs, antibacterial cream, bandages, tweezers, needle, thread
tp/wipes
metal cup or mini pot with lid
some food
bottle/can opener
Potassium iodide pills
starbucks gold card :)

and this is just my personal need but SUSPENDERS and load belt. I can't survive TEOTWAWKI just to be constantly pulling up my pants loaded down with gear:

5c4bf366b3302a62fcb297a1ad93a588.jpg
 
You don't need to have 2 of everything, just two things that can solve the same problem. Garbage bags can be rain coats/wind breakers, can carry water, can carry other stuff, can keep your pack/sleeping bag/clothes/etc dry, can be put on the ground to keep you dry while sitting/sleeping, etc.

Also plan your pack for what you consider to be the most likely reasons you need to bug out. Fire or power outages might not require animal snares if you're just hopping in the car and driving to a hotel an hour away.
 
I think the best way to pack light is to give yourself an honest answer to the question: Under what circumstances am I going to use this?

If you avoid packing bulky, heavy stuff that *MIGHT* be good to have under *insert far-fetched circumstances here*, you'll find that you can keep it down to 10-15 pounds real easy (not counting the gun).

Personally, here's a list of what I keep in my EDC pack, which also doubles as my BOB/GHB:

~1000kcal worth of food (in the form of Clif Bars and those squeeze tubes full of apple sauce)
-27oz water bottle
-OTC Drugs: Ibuprofen, Excedrin, and Bronkaid
-Toothbrush & Paste
-Pens and notebook
-Knife
-Firesteel
-Knife sharpener
-USB battery bank
-Spare key to vehicle
-Spare clothing based on the next day or two forecast

These items will cover me in basically all of the likely scenarios.

I really can't justify adding a sleeping bag and/or tent setup.....any circumstances that put me away from my vehicle, with this bag, and in need of someplace to sleep for the night, are highly unlikely, and would certainly justify going to the lengths of asking a stranger to put me up overnight, or engaging in some B&E.
 
As Atmay pointed out what are you looking for in the actual use, is it to be kept at home and bugging out to a hotel for 3 days when you lose power? or do you have a prepped bug out location with supplies already in place you plan on bugging out to? is you plan to retreat to the wilderness and live off the land for?

For me I have layered protection, I have the everyday carry bag, that will get me to my truck and will get me home in a pinch, I carry a multi tool rain poncho, fire starting, FAK, Life Straw, bandanna, note pads, pen headlamp, couple of food bars cliff, odwalla etc...whatever is on sale, this supplements what is in my pocket knife, flashlight chap stick, spare shoes and cloths in the truck along with firearms related stuff. I have at worse a 13ish mile hike home, from there my bug out is likely to a hotel so a duffle bag that has a couple days worth of clothes, I also keep important documents as a pdf on a flash drive
 
Back
Top Bottom