Car Kit 3 “The BOB”
By Rich “Raspy” Shawver


“BOBs, We don’t need no steenking BOBs.” [Spoken in your finest Mexican Bandito accent.] Whether you belong to the PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. and it is not the PC thing to do. Although Homeland Security is making it more acceptable, abet under a different title. Or because you are of the school that I’m bugging in come Hades or high water. Regardless let me try to convince you that a BOB is not really such a bad thing.

What’s in a name? Or as Shakespeare put it, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Some time ago someone in the preparedness community coined the term BOB or Bug Out Bag. If your philosophy is such that the name puts you off, call it something else if that makes you feel more comfortable. A get home bag, an emergency kit or whatever names that floats your boat, even no name at all. The main problem is more a matter of perception of the terminology. You can call it, “My car broke down on a lonely stretch of highway I’m going to have to hike home and want to be safe and comfortable gear”. I think typing BOB is so much easier and sure takes a whole lot less time. The original concept was minimal equipment to head for the hills in case of a disaster. As time has passed it has become accepted as part of the lexicon. But its meaning has over time been expanded to cover a much broader definition.

Many see the term BOB and react with the idea that its only use is to flee home at the first sign of trouble. The broader concept is a kit to allow a person or group to get from where they are to where they need to be. To those that say I’m bugging in but what if you are not at home? Are you going to bug in at work? Maybe at the store you are shopping at? If for some reason you can not drive home. That is where a minimum BOB can come into play. It can supply your needs to get you home. As with a car’s emergency kits, this will be dealt with as if there is only one person in the vehicle. If you routinely have more people in the vehicle on a consistent basis the contents will need to be adjusted to reflect this fact. Furthermore such a kit will need seasonal adaptation to reflect the regional climate environmental factors.

A Bug Out Plan, or better yet several, and the equipment to implement it is an option. Should it be the number one option? Maybe. What about as a final option? Again maybe. It all depends upon the situation encountered. It is merely a viable alternative. It is part of the old saw about putting all of one’s eggs in a single basket not being the most intelligent course of action. If you only have a single plan with no options Mr. Murphy says you will find yourself up that well-known creek without a means of propulsion. P.S. And odds are your boat has a leak and is sinking rapidly. The big question you have to ask is would you rather have it available and not need it or be in desperate need and not have it? Besides much of this gear can be useful for other endeavors. A good rule to follow is to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

You say that there will not be an end of the world scenario. Some disasters can be local but still have a direct effect upon you and could force you from your home. It could be weather or an earthquake. What about a tanker truck accident that contains toxic to lethal chemicals near your home? You may need to get out, at least for awhile. It could be a government forced evacuation, although there may be ways of avoiding something like that. Even if it is an ordered evacuation from on high by the PTB’s and such ultimatums may rub you the wrong way the situation may convince you of the need for temporary relocation. Would you rather provide for yourself or be sent to an interment camp, err, I mean a relief center. Where to start with the guards will steal, I mean confiscate, what takes their fancy in the name of contraband. Think of it like boarding a plane. Then to have what little you have left distributed for the good of all. “You wouldn’t want to be better off than the other cattle herded into these designated facilities, now would you?” Not me if I have any say in the matter. The only way I would go there is at gunpoint. I’d rather sleep naked in the snow than be stuck in such a place. I would consider myself better off.

What does a BOB look like? Amazingly enough, almost identical to standard camping gear. Although it shouldn’t be considered that extraordinary. As both perform the same functions of supplying basic human needs of food and shelter. What ,What, What you say? NO fire, no water among a host of other things. Well fire falls under both categories. It cooks the food and provides warmth, which is part and parcel with shelter. Water falls mainly into the food classification. It is one component, a major proportion to be sure especially in the short run, of fueling the body. If you have a good car emergency kit [See 2 out of 3 Car Kits] you have a good basis and the majority of a BOB. Parts of the BOB portion of such kits are packaged in a slightly different form than a car kit. Much isn’t added gear; it is prepackaged in a grab and go format. Because you may be limited in the amount of gear taken with you and since the duration is variable. The primary difference between camping gear and BOB gear is that you would want to include items for acquiring supplementary sources of food and water. In spite of the fact that as a good Preparer this is probably part of your normal just in case equipment when camping anyway. While under normal conditions, snares and such are illegal; if forced to use a BOB the predicament you are in is more a SNAFU rather than a pleasant hike in the woods.

If it is a short distance to a fully equipped location you will need very little. Conversely the farther it is or the less complete the facilities are the more that will be needed. This in turn generates a catch-22 when situational factors are added to the mix. If it is a simple matter of driving there you can take as much as the vehicle can carry. But is there sufficient fuel range available taking into account the possibilities of expected and even unexpected detours. There is even the potential of no viable routes being available or the vehicle becomes inoperative. Are there supply cashes along the way?

Although this is primarily a discussion about a car BOB you may chose an alternate form of transportation. This could be the clothes you are sitting here reading this. S**t happens you may not have time to do anything but run for your life. If time permits it could be with a backpack on foot, on a loaded bicycle, a motorized bike, a motorcycle, car, truck and up to a full sized RV. There is also the potential of using animals to transport you or your supplies. Traveling can be solo or in a convoy. If you have to abandon a vehicle and travel by alternate methods some or most of your gear will have to be left behind because of limitations of load. If time and circumstances permit this doesn’t necessarily mean the permanent loss of your equipment. You can cashe or hide your stuff to return after you have established yourself at a later date. [See Finding Your Cashe]

When establishing this cashe a good idea is to not put everything in a single spot. That way if it is found by someone else you don’t loss everything. This cashe can even be everything up to the vehicle that got it there. The first consideration in doing this comes well before the bug out happens. That is packaging the outfit so that it can withstand not only the storage conditions until needed but to allow for the possibility of putting it in a cashe. Sort of a reverse of a route cashe. Traditionally when one thinks of a cashe is to dig a hole and bury it. Here the biggest thing is time. You may not have it for digging and then hiding the spot. You may have to rely on an expedient cashe. That is to depend on concealment and camouflage. First you need to assess the location for where to hide your stuff. This could be as simple as sticking it under a bush and hope no one spots it. Believe me you could hide a great deal in the middle of a laurel growth or brier patch. There are also caves and abandon building that might be available. When it comes to camouflaging you have two choices. One is to make it as nearly invisible as possible or at least so that it can be bypassed without being noticed. While it probably would not stand up to a comprehensive search unless given a reason for such a search it would be unlikely to happen. Then you would only run the risk of accidental discovery. The other option is to make it as unattractive as possible. If it if found and on the surface looks like worthless junk most people would not waste their time bothering with it.

How do you go about building a BOB? First it must be contemplated as a series of layers rather than a single lump sum. The size and amount of gear in a BOB depends on conditions encountered, the expected duration of the event and the final destination environment.

The first layer or core equipment is the abandon ship package. It is designed so that if you have to bailout and depart from your vehicle setting out on foot. The experts in the field claim that a person can tote about 1/3 of body weight in a pack. This translates into a 20 something, 180 pound Studly DoRight in military conditioned with 20-mile forced march treks in full kit as a 60-pound pack. All well and good for them, but what about the rest of us? For myself as with many the 20 something’s are a distance memory. Many like me can tack on an additional 50 to 100 pounds in body mass. While theory seems to allow more pack capacity of 15 to 30 pounds it doesn’t work that way with maybe the exception of a NFL lineman. Having never remotely resembled a Greek god and not being in peak training condition as far to many of us are. This kind of load out is only a dream. Heck with my back carrying a 60 pound pack if forced by dire circumstances after about 100 yards you might find me face down in dire need of medical aid. The best bet is to shoot for 20, 25 pounds. Remember the probability of the addition of 10 or more pounds of firearms and ammunition. If you can comfortably carry more no problem remember don’t overload yourself.

This should be the prepackaged bag so you can grab and go. There may not be time to pack the pack. Additionally there is the matter of where and how to store the BOB. As the minimum setup is designed for grab and go convenience you don’t want it to be buried under the ton of extras you had time to load. You will need to either position it so that is easily accessible regardless of how much extra is loaded or reposition it when you load more. This can even be broken down into further layers. Ideally I would envision a three-piece ensemble. This way portions could be discarded if the situation dictates. What on earth would cause me to disposes myself of some of my gear? How about you just fell into water. If it is deep enough or fast moving with a full pack you may not even go under for the third time like in the old cartoons. Sploosh and gone. So the pack may need to go. You may be able to recover it at a later time but you can’t count on it. With the three-piece system you may be able to save some of it by jettisoning the heavier parts. I’m sure you can come up with a many more scenarios where this can come about

This does not exclude but rather complements what you normally carry in your pockets or on your belt on a day to day basis.

Piece one: A vest. This is an extension of the Pocket Survival Kit [PSK] only with more room. A vest distributes the weigh fairly evenly around the body. It is really amazing the amount of gear that can be stuffed into a vest. This would be where you would have things like heavy-duty contractor grade trash bags, gallon zip bags as emergency canteens, emergency space blanket and more advanced food gathering tackle. Essentially a maxi survival kit. A nice item to have in a vest is the pocket chain saw. This is an amazing device that will perform feats of cutting for such a small compact hand powered tool.

Piece two: A Butt or fanny pack. A small pack that wraps around the waist. About 300 to 500 cubic inches of space. Here you carry more and bigger stuff. Here is where you start adding things like food to the mix.

Piece three: Daypack to Rucksack size pack. 1000 to 2500 cubic inches of space. A place to carry even more and even bigger stuff. Since there is a need for a way to carry water. A hydration system can be used. From what I understand they were originally created for the long distance biking crowd as a hands free method of drinking on the go. They started out as a bladder to hold liquid with a sipping tube attached. This was put in a carry sack with pack like straps to be carried on the back. The tube is rigged to one of the shoulder straps in such a way that is readily accessible without drastic head movement. Bike riders do not want any extra weight carried in this manner as it would raise the center of gravity. They would rather stow their equipment in panniers. This lets the bike rather than the rider support the weight and keep it as low as possible.

The hikers saw this setup and thought what a great idea but. Yeah I know I always seem to come up with buts. Two sets of shoulder straps plus a pack putting the squeeze on the bladder didn’t seem to be the ideal solution. Well, never fear happy campers when situations like this come about someone has the light bulb come on. They say, “What if I build a bladder holder into a conventional pack or build a pack around the water bladder.” Thus either way the hydration system backpacks were born.

I can hear the sighs and sobs now. “I need more.” “How can a person live if things go on longer.” Sure maybe a week or ten days that might be stretched a little bit longer. That is where training, a good skills set and improvisation comes into play. Its amazing what can be fabricated from materials scrounged along the way or in the vicinity of your final destination. What you bring along merely makes it easier and quicker. True the more you start with the easier it will be but not impossible as long as the information is stored in the lightest possible container. The one stuffed between your ears. It doesn’t get any heavier no matter what it stores and without it the entire exercise is a failure from the get go.

The second layer of a car BOB is more extensive, meaning more bulk and weight but still carried in the vehicle at all times. Most of this type of gear is already part of the 2 out of 3 Car Kits. This is more gear for longer stay and to make life easier such as a simple tent. This stuff is so that if the vehicle can get through to the final destination, to be abandoned if stuck but may be available to be returned for at a later date or better yet cashed as a future source of supply. There are ways of increasing the amount of provisions transported along on foot without increasing the body burden. [See Carrying a Bigger BOB.]

The third layer is for getting out of Dodge from a base site. Primarily from the home. This equipment would be loaded in bags, boxes, buckets, cases, packs, totes or tubs ready to be tossed in the car if there is time to do so. The majority of these supplies would be classified as consumables, food and clothing. But could include extra tools and weapons. Possible an advanced shelter option.

The fourth or top level would be a trailer already loaded to be hooked up to go. Such a trailer may but need not be loaded at all time. It can be used for other purposes then loaded if the circumstances appear to be approaching a critical junction. This could be a hauling style trailer or a camper setup. [See: Deigning a BOV.]

If you are at the stage of building a BOB you are probably a preper already. That being so you have a selection of items that is part of your daily wear. EDC [Every Day Carry] gear such as a PSK [Pocket Survival Kit] plus an assortment of things like knives, multitools methods of starting fires etc. has been done by everyone so no real need to go into that here.

Fire is such a useful servant because of all the different tasks it can perform have a means of starting one is crucial. This being so a person must have several means of creating it scattered around their person. But because of its crucial nature several methods can and should be tucked in every part of the BOB. Regardless of the methods chosen to start fires knowing how to construct or lay a fire is more important. Face it a paper match will not start a 2-foot diameter soaking wet log. Learning primitive methods such as the several styles of friction or the fire piston compression are good as a last resort strategy. If fire is needed in a hurry nothing beats whipping out a lighter and with the flicking a thumb you have fire. [See The Quest for Fire]

As a knife is one of the most important basic tools having a couple of spares, particularly larger one, stashed in the BOB isn’t such a bad concept. For the portable portion a good sheath knife for heavier use than the pocketknives. Add in a small hand ax and most of your cutting chores can be accomplished. You may want to include a large bladed knife for chopping. In the rest of the BOB a good ¾ or full sized felling ax would allow building a log cabin. One good knife that can be had at little expense is the Cold Steel Bushman. The design is such that it can be easily connected to a stick, that it can cut, and make a serviceable spear. I know, I know you never throw your only knife you can loose it. A spear can be used without throwing. It gives you a much-extended reach.

Let’s start packing the 2 packs. Remember to limit the amount to a reasonable sized load.

First clothes, a minimum of one full change and a double amount of underwear and socks. Although is space and weight permit doubling this amount is even better. That way if some are damaged or destroyed you have spares. The double set would also allow one set to be worn while a second set is in the midst of being washed and dried. The third set would be available to change into if need be. The best loading would be one set in each pack. That way if one pack is lost you still retain a set. Clothing must be seasonally adjusted. What is ideal for 80’s and 90’s of mid summer are not very commendable for sub freezing weather. Long pants and long sleeved shirts are the top choice for the protection they will offer to arms and legs. A hat, it will keep in the heat when it’s cold or provide limited shade when it’s hot. Gloves are a requisite item not only for cold but to prevent damage to the hands. A couple of bandanas, they serve so many functions the list is nearly endless. A minor sampling of these uses are triangular bandage, head cover, dust mask, hot pad and wash rag. And if you need to strike out on foot you had better have shoes that are up to the job.

A cooking pot, it cooks your food and boils water for purification. It can even provide for minor digging chores. Figure a 1 to 2 quart size is about right. A pot allows making stews and soups, which saves the most nutrients from foraged material. Things can be fried in the bottom just like a frying pan. I think the best design would be a wok that holds roughly 2 quarts. Yes a pot or pan can be improvised using foil or found cans. But I would think a well-built commercial one would be a better idea.

Shelter: At a walking level this can be the knowledge on how to construct primitive or expedient shelters. Such as lean-tos and debris huts. The knowledge is weightless and the shelter is constructed from on site found materials. If traveling solo a bivy bag is the next step up. Think of a body bag. Other expedient shelters such of a Basha made from a rain poncho or the old military shelter halves. There are other ultra light weight high tech tents available from camping sources. One of the simplest take-along is a tarp to construct a shelter. Two tent designs that are little more than a slightly modified tarp are the Whelan and the Forester styles. These two can easily be sewn at home. Traditionally tarps and these tents were constructed of heavy canvas. Now days with the advent of high tech materials then can be made much lighter, far stronger and require less care. The major draw back of these materials is that they tend to be much more susceptible to fire. In fact some can go up like a bonfire. For added warmth, space blanket material can be used to line the interior of a lean-to type shelter to reflect heat from a fire into the sleeping area. If a reflector setup is also placed behind the fire this can generate a considerable amount of warmth in a shelter. But this is will be greatly defeated without adequate insulation between you and the ground.

Advanced shelter options: In general this entails an increase in size to accommodate more people and/or the inclusion of collateral amenities. Such alterations do not come without a cost. This penalty comes in the form of more weight. Hey it just proves TANSTAAFL. You don’t get something for nothing. This will require transport by mechanical methods rather than on your back. One of the first steps up the scale is the trapper or double walled tent. These provide housing form 6 to about a dozen people. Most are designed to incorporate a small wood burning stove and can be quite livable even in the harshest conditions. Pre made structures would be things like pull behind trailers, slide in campers and some of the recreational vehicles available on the market. Then there are some prefab options. These can provide a more semi-permanent dwelling. These could be brought in with you to be constructed on site or previously cashed at selected locations. One design harkens back to more primitive times. That structure is the venerable Yurt. The Mongol Hordes transported these with little trouble via horseback without the aid of modern materials. Then there is the modern equivalent of the Yurt, the Geodesic Dome. Both rely on the principal that a spherical structure encompasses the maximum volume with the minimum surface area. The most living space with the least amount of wall material resulting in the best reduction of weight. These can be used as living structures while a more permanent dwelling is manufactured from native material.

Some good quality optics: I really don’t matter whether it is a monocular, binoculars, a spotting scope, rifle scope, a telescope for viewing the stars or an old fashioned spyglass. By extending your ability to see things at a distance could become crucial. There will be others out there. If you see them first you have the ability to control any encounter more toward your advantage. You can judge their character by observation and then decide to avoid or meet them. I would select if the choice were available the spyglass. For the amount of magnification they seem to be the best compromise. They collapse into a fairly compact package for transport and are relatively lightweight compared to the other options.

Water, you are going to need it. So you will need a method of making it safe for consumption. There are 3 primary ways of cleaning your water, boiling, chemical and filtering.
Boiling the old fashioned yet still reliable way to kill the bugs growing in the water. The pros are that it is reliable, simple and requires minimal equipment. The cons are that it takes time, bad if you need to be on the move, requires fuel that may or may not be readily available and does not remove chemical contaminants. The fire produces smoke that can reveal your location. In conjunction with boiling is distillation. This is more for a fixed location rather than mobile application, as they require equipment that is large in nature. The first kind is a boiling still that operates exactly as a whiskey still. In fact such equipment could be used for both purposes. Then there is the solar still. This is a slower operation as it uses evaporation rather than forced boiling. It does have the advantage that it requires no fuel other than the shining sun. Distillation has the advantage of removing all solid material whether suspended like germs or dissolved in the water.
Chemical purifiers rely on 2 primary styles. Iodine while good can cause possible long-term health concerns with extended use. Comes in a small bottle designed to go backpacking. Purifies about 2000 gallons. Another con is that imparts a terrible flavor. The other style is chlorination. This comes in several forms. Tabs, that work well for portable applications. Chlorine bleach works well except that being a liquid has the penalty of being bulky and heavy. Then there are swimming pool chemicals to make your own bleach solution. A great stockpile item for home or retreat. After the chlorine has done its work if the water is left standing open the chlorine content, taste and smell will dissipate in about 24 hours.
Filtering, removes viral and bacterial contamination by passing the water though a medium that has holes to small for them to pass. Most commercial filters squeeze down to about a 0.2-micron level. Many are about the size of a D cell flashlight weighing around a pound. Depending on the model they can filter from a couple of hundred to several thousand gallons of water. Many of these filters either incorporate or have add-on activated charcoal filters to remove many chemical contaminates and bad odors or taste. Note all charcoal can remove these products. They only do this on the surface of the charcoal. The difference between charcoal you can make at home and activated charcoal is processing. Activated charcoal is steam heated under pressure to extremely high temperatures. This causes the structure of the charcoal to open up giving it a greatly increased surface area. That way for the same weight and volume activated charcoal can absorb much more contamination. At a permanent location you can construct a gravity sand filter that includes charcoal to filter your water for longer-term situations. These are not portable but to work need to be fairly large and slow but can handle larger volumes of water.

Food foraging in the back of beyond.
Firearms or other weapons for hunting or self-defense are a personal decision. Some are enthusiasts of the shooting sports and sadly now days far to many wouldn’t touch them if their life depended upon them. It is a decision that only you can and must make for yourself.

Part of foraging for game is snaring and trapping. If you are a Vegan this would be of no concern of yours, but when the wolf gnaws you may change your mind. But again that is personal choice. If you decide to trap you have 3 choices in your tools.

Commercial traps: The usual choice is the conibear trap. With care they will last for many years to be used over and over again. The major draw back is weight that adds up rather quickly. Not the best choice if you have to haul it on your back.

Snares: These can be commercially made snare of various sizes, component parts to make the size you need or simply a spool of wire to make them. Unfortunately snares are often damaged beyond further use by the animal’s struggles to escape. They are relatively light making them more appropriate foe backpack mode of travel.

On site snares and traps constructed from native material. From deadfalls to snares as these use found materials they are the least burdensome types. They have unlimited potential in types and numbers but require extra time to fabricate. [For more on this see BOB Weaponry and Foraging Equipment.]
A good quality plant identification book. You want one that primarily focuses on your local area but cover a sufficient range in case you either start out in a different area or end up in one. Yes the best choice is to go out with someone that knows plants and can teach you what to look for in the real world. But a book is better than nothing. Just make sure your identification is positive and not some lethal look-a-like. In addition to serving as an immediate food source native plants can also be collected completely to be domesticated and cultivated to serve as a crop food. Where do you think the ones we use today came from? This is another long-term option.

Seeds: A supply of seed will greatly improve your prospects if the situation extends indefinitely. These need to be what are termed heirloom seeds as they breed true to form unlike most hybrids.
For a more in-depth covering of weapons and foraging tools see BOB weaponry.

This should cover most of your basic need. This is primarily an outline of the general types of items rather than a specific list. What works for me where I am may not be quite right for your situation and location. The only thing left to do is build one. Customize it to fit your individual needs with the equipment of your choice.