BOB, a practical test at "gunners Pool"

[tactical razorback]

Reflections from the “Gunners Pool” BOB field test.

This is broken into several posts on the same item, due to post length restrictions on this forum not present on FALFILES.com
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This post is a follow up to an earlier one on FALFILES.com where there is an informal training camp out set up in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. My goal was to take just the existing BOB I already had packed & give it a field shake down under real world conditions.

There is another thread that is very lighthearted, and in many ways reflects the good times & great comradeship that developed during the period of 11 days where several members who had never actually met prior to the event got on & had a great time. Most of the “campfire atmosphere” is reflected in this thread, as it should be.
This is the more serious aspect of the trip & reflects just my personal views, and experiences during that time.

The intention was to give the latest incarnation of the BOB a real world work out, under semi-realistic conditions, over a period of 10~14 days.

There are pro’s & con’s to any setup & hopefully this will be a pretty unbiased catalog of the advantages & disadvantages of the rig I chose, it’s contents, and the packing method used. There is some background to show how I reached the conclusions that I did, hopefully to allow anyone interested (or bored) enough to read this.

Firstly flying on commercial aviation with an ALICE belt & suspenders, medium ALICE pack, FAL, ammunition, and the other items needed is not something I’d ever seriously consider during an actual emergency worthy of “bugging out” It was just a tool designed to get me 900 miles in time to attend. I’d planned to just skip over this part of the trip, as it was not realistic, but as it turned out there were some valuable lessons learned, and I think it’s worth sharing.

Not wanting to look too “Rambo” during the flight I decided to pack the assembled ALICE rig into an external carrier to make it less conspicuous, and a large sports tote bag was found & pressed into service for this. The pack itself, together with the attached mat & sleeping bag traveled in the open, as many campers use this type of pack & it contains nothing to make others nervous. The rifle was, of necessity in a hard sided-locked case, and the magazines & ammunition were in a separate locked pistol case that looked unremarkable.
This worked so well that I’d recommend it to anyone flying similarly equipped for whatever reason, there was not a single raised eyebrow during either the trip out, or the return trip. When the airline checked me in there was more concern over the FAL in its case than any of the other items, and when being checked by TSA there were no issues at all.
I had hard copied the airline, State, County & TSA regulations from the various websites just the day before & this was used to check off the “bullet points” as I prepared for the flight. The only comment from TSA was that they thought I came well prepared, and thanked me for the cooperation. The rifle case was not even opened at the airport, as they were convinced that I’d conformed to all the regulations required. The case & the ammo case were x-rayed, but that was it. I’d highly recommend doing just this as it shows that you have made a good faith effort to not do something dumb (whether you have or not!). I also packed ALL the magazines for the FAL in with the ammunition, not the rifle. The rifle itself was in the required hard sided case, the trigger had a “child safety trigger lock” attached & the bolt was held partly open with a yellow “empty chamber flag” I got from the local rod & gun where I’m a member for $1.00. Again a little willingness to met the regulations went a long way. From that I learned that not just grudgingly complying with the rules, but demonstrating that I had done so willingly was a good idea.

I arrived in Little Rock during a strong electrical storm with continuous lightning all along the horizon, and was glad that I’d packed the FRS/weather radio conveniently, as FIRESTARTER & I were able to monitor the changing conditions & be advised of the local tornado watches & warnings while driving to the campsite 40 miles away.

[tactical razorback]

We arrived at the camp site at about 2:00am local time & set up the tent, mostly by the lightening flashes, but it was helpful that I’d used this tent several times previously & so was able to do the whole thing with his help in about 10 minutes, including making tornado emergency plans at the same time as there were several warnings for the surrounding area. (Spending the night in the cinder block toilets was the plan for emergencies) At no time did we think of canceling the plan, not just to be daft, but to check that we actually could function fully while being ever watchful & listening to the weather radio with one ear. About 5 minutes after the planned sack out the rain started & continued heavily until about 10:00am the next day. Just that was a learning experience as the tents & our internal preparations worked well. Despite the heavy rain we remained dry, even if there was some small leakage. The addition of plastic tarps to the open mesh top of one of the tents was a definite plus, and a worthwhile tip for anyone with a similarly designed tent.

Heavy rain continued into the next morning, but eased off at about 10:30 am. Right about that time the Forest Service folks went round advising all the campers (4 of us) to leave, as there was a possibility of a tornado. They had been asked by the State Police to do this mainly because of the concerns of Sylamore Creek rising & causing flash floods. We discussed the situation, and being about 30 feet above flood stage, decided to keep going. Within an hour the rain stopped & the sky began to clear noticeably. We had successfully navigated the worst part of the trip, and done it with a good mental attitude, without panic, and with a definite group decision to persevere. This could have been a miserable start to the camp out, or a damper on spirits, but we were feeling confident that with the preparations & alternatives discussed as a group, we were ready to keep going.
Right there is another lesson learned, planning & mental attitude, together with preparedness, and good equipment made light work of a potentially serious situation & turned it around. We now knew that our equipment was up to the task & that our familiarity with it was real not imagined.

The unpacking (which would not be needed in a real emergency, or SHTF situation) was ludicrously easy, just unzipping the tote bag & pulling the ALICE from within it took all of 5 minutes. Unpacking & unlocking the rifle took another 5 minutes. Loading magazines took longer than anticipated, due to not being able to travel with stripper clips, but again it was a fairly quick task. A couple of minutes more to fill the 2 Qt. Water bottle from a convenient source & adding the purifying pills took about 30 minutes, mainly due to the wait for the pills to do the work. After that the addition of the pre-packed “Tang” made the taste far more pleasant. The ALICE pack was unpacked into the tent & we were set up. The total process took about 1 hour.

Due to high levels in the creek we decided to delay exploring the far side for a day or two to allow the levels to drop to a more reasonable level. We used the day to plan events, set up some things round the campsite & plan the week somewhat. Right about then SMOKEATER 2 arrived & we made the introductions. He’d been there earlier, but needed to leave briefly to deal with “real life” & this was my first opportunity to meet him.
I used the day to wear the ALICE rig continuously, making minor changes to the setup as problems showed up & after about 3~4 hours the setup was comfortable to use for long periods. I was also able to carry the (empty) FAL to see how it fitted in with the rig under routine conditions, and while doing normal tasks. Some good advice from SMOKEATER 2, who had far more experience with the ALICE system were a great help, as I was not familiar with the system, having been in the British military, and using the pat 58 gear in the field.
I immediately noticed that there is a huge increase in comfort with the magazine pouches containing loaded magazines, instead of empty, the weight was far more evenly distributed & the yoke no longer drags backwards. If (like me) you live in an area where you can not do this when setting up I strongly recommend “going bush” somewhere close by for a day or 2 & knocking the kinks out in the same way. The whole setup is now easy & comfortable to wear.
I suggest this even if you think you are well packed & balanced. I thought I was set up just fine, but this has made a big improvement.
I also learned something disturbing that meant a slight re-thinking of the layout of the equipment pouches on the belt/suspenders.
The FAL, when carried, as I like to do, on the left shoulder, barrel down will dis-engage the inch type, or DSA extended safety if the E-Tool is carried on the left side of the belt, but not if the water bottle & E-Tool are reversed left ~right. I’m not sure about the standard metric button type, but it’s worth checking this out prior to actually having to hump thru the bush & then risking an AD. Thank goodness I had the rifle unloaded while getting this sorted out, as the catch dis-engaged 3 times while doing routine tasks. Additionally the rifle is uncomfortable to carry for extended periods on the right shoulder, barrel up, if fitted with a bipod, as mine is, due to the pivot block grinding on the right shoulder blade.
Again a real-world field test showed up something I had never encountered with the much more familiar #4Mk1 Enfield.
Leaving the right shoulder strap free was a good idea, as was attaching some things like a compass & small FRS radio to the left strap, as these trapped the sling & prevented it slipping even in some unusual positions.
The left shoulder, muzzle down carry was a big help when passing thru brush as the extension above the shoulder is reduced, but the addition of some tape, or another muzzle covering device that can be “shot off” safely will be the next addition to the rifle, as the muzzle is much more likely to hit the dirt when carried this way, specially when climbing, or descending steep wooded slopes.

The whole idea behind the ALICE rig & pack is to allow the carrying of a lot of supplies, but with the advantage of being able to travel light, without re-packing. This worked very well. The ruck was used to set up camp, and the belt/suspenders made a good daypack & support system for the rifle.
There were, as expected some things I could have done better, or packed differently, but as a whole the system worked & I’d recommend it. Bearing in mind that I am not in the military, and do not have the logistics & supply support that a “squaddie” would expect at a minimum, there were several things I did differently from a soldier.
I carried more food, and more clothing than I would have thought of at first, but discovered that I did not need as many shirts as I took, but I did need more socks. If I were re-packing I’ll double the socks & reduce the shirts. Thanks for the spares FIRESTARTER I owe you!
This was a first time experience with BDU’s and was a learning experience for me also. I’ll be getting some more & ditching the blue jeans & T shirts in favor of the more comfortable BDU’s, with the extra pockets. Just as an example of familiarity being important, I did not know that it was possible to “lose” the “Family jewels” till I tried taking a whiz for the first time with BDU pants. Again experience!
On the subject of BDU pants I would suggest putting only bulky, but light stuff in the lower pockets, as anything heavy will rapidly drive you nuts, constantly sloshing about with every pace taken. I also have a “Safety Vest” of the International safety orange stuffed into a convenient pocket at all times. This allows you to go from lower visibility, when you want to be discreet, to highly visible, when needing to be noticed (or rescued in a real emergency). The slight weight is worth its weight in gold.

While going for a hike, after the creek dropped I discovered that socks, boots & pants take a LOT longer to dry than I’d expected. With the humidity the process took 3 days to complete, and I learnt that, if the rain had continued for a couple more days I’d have been having some serious problems. Something to think about that was brought to my attention during this trip.

[tactical razorback]

I’ll post the contents of the BOB here, just so you can get an idea what I took, and what I should have taken:
************************************************** ************************************************** *****

BOB Master list updated 7/30/2006
Item Qty Cat. Location Notes
Baseball cap 1 clothes ALICE Pack
Belt 1 clothes ALICE Pack
BDU pants 3 clothes ALICE Pack
Cap/comforter 1 clothes ALICE Pack
Gloves 1 clothes ALICE Pack Insulated leather work gloves. Works well for fire re-arranging & can be used for work, or warmth.

Poncho Liner 1 clothes ALICE Pack Also took sleeping bag as insurance. Did not need one even on cool night with wearing polypro’s & socks.

Shirt (warm & long sleeved) 1 clothes ALICE Pack
Socks - pair 8 clothes ALICE Pack
Polypro pants 1 clothes ALICE Pack
Polypro shirt 1 clothes ALICE Pack
T-shirt 5 clothes ALICE Pack
Underwear 9 clothes ALICE Pack
Plastic dropper for clorox 1 emergencies ALICE Pack Not allowed on airline (replace with 2 set pills.)

Safety vests (da-Glo) 1 emergencies ALICE Pack
Space Blanket 1 emergencies ALICE Pack Should move to belt/suspenders for emergencies away from camp.

Cable saw 1 equipment ALICE Pack
Camp stove 1 equipment ALICE Pack Fuel not allowed by airline, 70% rubbing alcohol poor substitute, but all available locally. Denatured works fine if allowed.

Cup 1 equipment ALICE Pack
Fork & Spoon 1 equipment ALICE Pack
Mess tin sets of 2 2 equipment ALICE Pack Brit pattern very good. US pattern not worth space & weight.

Night Vision Goggles 1 equipment ALICE Pack
Paracord 50' 1 equipment ALICE Pack
Spare Glasses - Chaz 1 equipment ALICE Pack
Blackened chicken w/Rice Meal 2 food ALICE Pack Good choice. Boil in bag for 20 mins. in mess tin. No mess no waste.

Bouillon Cubes 25 food ALICE Pack exp. 01/01/08
Carnation Instant Dry Milk 1 pack food ALICE Pack got 07/01/06
Cheddar Broccoli Soup Mix 1 food ALICE Pack exp. 02/14/08
Cooking Oil 1 food ALICE Pack got 07/01/06
Dirty Rice w/Pork meal 1 food ALICE Pack Good choice. Boil in bag for 20 mins. in mess tin. No mess no waste.

Instant Tea Mix 1 food ALICE Pack TSM(tea with milk & sugar) all powdered & pre-mixed to taste. Great fast pick me up. Only needs hot, not boiling water to make.

Minestrone Soup Mix 1 food ALICE Pack Add to rice for tasty, nutritious meal, or add to “camp meat” for more bulk.

Old Bay Spice mix 1 food ALICE Pack Universal seasoning. Makes anything taste good.

Pepper 1 food ALICE Pack got 07/01/06
Quaker Instant Oatmeal 6 food ALICE Pack 2 packs in a mug of water makes good breakfast

Ramen Noodles 3 food ALICE Pack exp. 11/08/07
Roasted Pork, Beans and rice meal 1 food ALICE Pack Good choice. Boil in bag for 20 mins. in mess tin. No mess no waste

Salt 1 food ALICE Pack got 07/01/06
Tang 1 food ALICE Pack To remove “swimming Pool” taste of Iodine tabs. Replacing with 2-pak pills from wallyworld.

Coffee filters - pack 1 Hygene ALICE Pack To pre-clean sediment from water

Soap (in box) 1 Hygene ALICE Pack
Toilet Paper 1 Hygene ALICE Pack
Insect Repellant 1 hygiene ALICE Pack This stuff works! I used it every day, except the last morning when packing up. I got no bites the whole week, but 3 on that morning. Don’t forget to spray wrists, ankles & neck of clothing in addition to any exposed skin.

1 gal Ziploc bags 5 supplies ALICE Pack Used to double-pack all soft packed food items.

AA batteries (for mag lites) 8 supplies ALICE Pack 2500MaH rechargeable. Lasted 10 days in full use with LED “AA” maglite.

Candles 2 supplies ALICE Pack
Cleaning kit for FAL 1 supplies ALICE Pack Needs more solvent & patches, less oil.

Clorox 1 supplies ALICE Pack Not allowed by airline. For water purification. Replacing with 2-pak pills from wallyworld.

Duck Tape 1 supplies ALICE Pack

ECWS polypro shirt & drawers. 1 ALICE pack clothing. Almost didn’t take, bad idea, they worked very well with the poncho liner on a cold night.

ECWS Gore Tex parka & pants. 1 clothing. ALICE pack. Again I almost didn’t take them, but was glad I did. They allowed me to stay dry & comfortable during torrential downpour that lasted 14 hours.

Fuel for Camp stove (alcohol) 1 supplies ALICE Pack Normally 100% isopropyl. Airline won’t allow. 70% rubbing will burn, but poorly.

Lighter flints (pack) 1 supplies ALICE Pack For Zippo type
Lighter fluid 1 supplies ALICE Pack For Zippo type. Airline won’t allow.
Money $20.00(bills) As much as possible. supplies ALICE Pack In a real situation I’d clean out the bank. $20’s are better than big bills (easier to negotiate, harder to rip off.)

Plastic bottles white 1 quart 1 supplies ALICE Pack Holds TS&M. also use for water or re-hydrating beans/peas.

Plastic screw top bottles (Large) 1 supplies ALICE Pack Filled with tang/old bay etc.

Plastic screw top bottles (Medium) 3 supplies ALICE Pack Filled with salt/pepper/ Clorox etc.

Plastic screw top bottles (small) 2 supplies ALICE Pack Filled with pills (aspirin & other meds.)

Rubber bands - pack 1 supplies ALICE Pack
.308 rounds (50's in bandolier) 3 ammunition ALICE rig Not this trip. Had to be re-packed in ammo boxes. Normal load would be 4 loaded mags in ALICE, + 3 bandoliers in butt pack. The theory behind this is that no matter how chaotic the bail out I have 150 rounds.

Mags for FAL (loaded) 5 (100 rnds) ammunition ALICE Rig +1 in rifle. Normally carried in pouches on ALICE suspenders.

Netting - large 2 clothes ALICE rig To make veil/mask for concealment of head & face & to break up outline of head & shoulders.

Netting - small 2 clothes ALICE rig To wrap barrel, forearm & bipod legs of FAL.

Poncho 1 clothes ALICE rig
Socks - pair 1 clothes ALICE rig Spare pare for day tripping in addition to those in the ALICE pack.

T-Shirt 5 clothes ALICE rig
Underwear 11 clothes ALICE rig
Fire Starting Lens 3” dia 1 emergencies ALICE rig Not too useful in very cloudy conditions

First Aid Kit 1 emergencies ALICE rig
Mirror (signaling) 1 emergencies ALICE rig
Whistle 1 emergencies ALICE rig
Compass 1 equipment ALICE rig Good navigation type (US army tritium illuminated)

Knife 1 equipment ALICE rig
Shovel 1 equipment ALICE rig e-tool. Carried on belt of ALICE belt. Catches safety of rifle when carried on left shoulder.

Glucose tablets - tube 1 food ALICE rig For emergency nutrition if stranded.

Iodine pills (water purification) 1 food ALICE rig Being replaced with the 2-pill pack with the neutralizing vitamin pill. These are TOO GOOD to miss out on.

Raisins 1 food ALICE rig For emergency nutrition if stranded.

Trail Mix Snack Bars 3 food ALICE rig For emergency nutrition if stranded.

Water bottle (full) 1 food ALICE rig 2 Qt. Type is my preference.
Mag Loader for FAL 1 weapons ALICE rig Not taken as airline wanted ammo in boxes not stripper clips.

Cell Phone car charger 1 communication Tote bag
Cell Phone 1 communication Jacket pocket
Tie wraps 3 pk supplies ALICE Pack
Mags for FAL (loaded) 3 ammunition Ammo Case Transferred to pouches on ALICE belt as soon as possible

FAL 1 weapons Hard sided case
Boots (pair) 2 clothes ALICE Pack
Sleeping bag 2 shelter ALICE Pack Strapped externally. Not needed.
Sleeping mat 2 shelter ALICE Pack Strapped externally.
Tent 1 shelter ALICE Pack
SUIT 1 weapons On FAL
Mag Light 1 equipment ALICE rig “AA” size with LED unit. Awesome. Lasted a week+ on 1 set of rechargables.

Radio Tranciever 3 communication ALICE rig FRS/GMRS weather radio. A must have

Leatherman Tool 1 equipment ALICE rig On belt
First Aid Kit 1 emergencies ALICE rig Contains full, but compact commercial first aid kit with additions for field use.

[tactical razorback]

For some unexplained reason I packed the space blanket in the ruck, not the fanny pack…oops. That’s getting swapped right away.
Food & fuel to, prepare it was adequate for the 11 days, supplemented by T-Bone steaks, courtesy of FIRESTARTER, and Venison steaks, courtesy of SMOKE EATER 2. I rationalized this by figuring out that in a real SHTF situation I could have easily obtained a good supply of meat, or fish by hunting/trapping/fishing, based on the quantity & variety of deer, and other animals, and the closeness of them to us. If I’d had too I could have lasted another 3~4 days (on slightly reduced rations, energy bars & glucose tablets that I’d packed) all without any supplementary food form the local plant life, or with a “dry spell” in the hunting department.

All in all the entire test was a success, there are a few tweaks or improvements I’ll be making, but nothing serious. Mostly I’m glad that I took the trouble to get in shape before the week, and now having started I’ll (hopefully) continue to do so. It was actually comfortable to load up with the 50+ pounds of the rig & the ruck, plus the FAL, as I’d gotten up to about 65 Lbs. during the “get fit” stage of the trip. Once the ruck was dropped at camp (as planned) the 20 Lbs of the belt/suspenders was easily carried for extended periods without excessive effort or feeling unduly over-stressed, or loaded.

General observations& Conclusions.

Fitness counts! I’d have been “draggin’” if I hadn’t gotten in shape, especially on the more vertical parts of the trails.

Good attitude & morale plus comradeship are big plusses. To have done this without any of the above would have become a real task, particularly with the starting weather, luckily I had good companions & we meshed well.

Familiarity with all your equipment can’t be beaten. I now have a much better idea of what works, what almost works & what to avoid.

Many foods at the local supermarket can be used for the BOB. I took a quantity of the “Zatarans” pre- packed rice meals & several freeze dried “Knorr” soups they worked well & were tasty. They could also be used to add to existing game supplies to extend the duration of the survival test by 3~4 days. Expiration is usually 9~12 months & as I re-pack every 6 months for summer/winter conditions this is no problem.

Being open to suggestion & change is a great thing. I was given good advice based on experience form several members at the camp out. Several of them had experience in areas where I was totally at a loss. I have added to the store of knowledge in many areas. Campfire BS sessions are a great source of information if you’re smart enough to shut up & listen, then ask questions.

“Urban Camo” (the sports duffle for the belt/suspenders) works! It’s just an extension of any other camo system, and works the same way, by blending into the surroundings.

If you have a firearm & you subject it to rough handling (such as airline baggage, or a tough ATV trip), check the zero again on arrival. I had a dead-on 300yd zero with my rifle/scope/load just before leaving. By the time we made it to the range my zero was off by almost 100yds! (Dead on at 200yds.)

Check all the functions of the gun/scope/ammo you will be using. We had a problem with some “Silver Bear” ammo that worked just fine in some FAL’s but would not feed in others.

Be fully conversant with the mechanics & functioning of your firearm (if you’re taking one). We had one bolt-action rifle present, which had a dangerously erratic safety catch, and a jammed bolt on half cock. This by itself presented a risk to all around it, instead of an asset. The owner was not even aware that there was a serious safety issue, or that in an emergency the rifle would have been inoperable.

Break in any new clothing/equipment & get familiar with it before the trip. Especially boots!!! Not being able to find “John Thomas” in different pants I’d never worn before at 2:00am in an unlit outhouse was just a silly incident, but it does remind me to try this stuff before I need it! Specially when doing a “reverse beer run” that was insistent enough to wake me up.

Share & swap information & equipment freely. We only fired on a range, but it was interesting to see, handle & fire other FAL’s. I had no idea how much things like trigger weight varied between individual “Identical” rifles.

Cleaning kits for the rifle should be well stocked & have at least a screwdriver & one of those combo tools. We had a problem that could have been solved easily if I’d had those simple items on me at the range.

There is not enough volume in a field cleaning kit for me to clean a rifle like the FAL more than twice before running out of patches & solvent. From now on I’ll be packing extra (when the fraggin airline lets me take liquids again.)

70% rubbing alcohol does work in a camping stove, but only just. Again airline restrictions would not apply in a real SHTF situation & I’d be taking 100% denatured, which works just fine.

U.S. Army mess tins are really only for eating from, where British ones are far more useful in a self-reliant situation, as you can cook & eat from them. You can also store a quick meal, fuel, a stove & a fork inside them when packed. Co incidentally they are a perfect fit in ALICE pack pouches.
Check on e-bay under “British mess tins” to find them at about $10.00 for a set, including shipping from the UK. I was able to heat the “Zatarans” dirty rice & pork meals for 3 (4 pouches) as a boil in bag meal & then use the clean boiling water to make Tea, sugar, & milk for the same 3 people. Cleanup took about 3 minutes. Highly recommended.

Hopefully I was able to do something similar with the skills I brought to the table and we all benefited, not only from the exchange of information, but from the whole thing. I think I can add to the list of folks I’d trust my life too, and that’s no small thing as I’m kind of particular in that area.

[tactical razorback]

*** From here on is a reply to some other posts that gave useful insight into what I’d written earlier. ***

The BDU’s were MilSurp summer weight that I picked up at assorted shows Etc, and another member from the files traded some that I was using. I was told by SMOKEEATER 2 that the poly/cotton was what I had, and that these were much better than the heavier weight type that are used for cooler climates. There were a couple of differences in the shirts, but basically they were the same summer issue woodland camo type. I found that in 70-degree weather they were all I needed to be comfortably warm, even with the sleeves rolled up. When it cooled in the evening I was able to just roll down the sleeves & add a leather bomber jacket that I’d used to travel in.

We did have both ponchos & rain suits. 2 of us had the same ECWS gore-tex parkas & pants & that was enough to keep us dry even during some heavy rain. I wondered about taking these as we weren’t anticipating cold weather, but was glad that I did as they were a godsend during the rain, and were not to hot to use. Gore-Tex is just the thing for all this kind of stuff & I’d highly recommend it to anyone that doesn’t have a set.

Enlighten me please about the “sock liners” I’ve never heard of them, but they sound like a great addition to the gear. Where are they available & any similar info would be appreciated. Another way to dry socks is to pin them to the upper flap of the ruck, that way they get maximum sunlight & they are with you if you need to move camp. Damp ones can also be put inside the sleeping bag overnight as well, but it’s not the best thing, due to poor ventilation.

Boots took 3~4 days to dry completely, after wading the creek they were saturated & this was longer than I’d expected, but fortunately spares & a set of sneakers kept this from being a problem. A spare set of boots seems like a bulky addition to the gear, but without them I’d have been lost. If you don’t have this in your ruck somewhere I’d ad it right away.

I found out on one night where the temp dropped to the high 30’s that the poncho liners, together with the polypro under suit for the ECWS system & wool socks were more than adequate. Again I thought about not taking cold weather gear, but taking it was the correct decision as this allowed for a far more comfortable night than I’d have had without it. One camper did not have a tent, using an awning instead, & I felt for him that night.

I did find out that when not in a real SHTF situation, your options are more limited. For example if I were really bailing out I’d have been doing laundry in the adjacent stream, but as it’s protected I was not able to do this during this exercise. That’s something to bear in mind when doing something like this. How much wet clothing would I be drying & for how long? Also if the situation were real I’d not be concerned with “Creative meat harvesting” as there would be no problem with enforcement during this kind of setup. But not being real I did not even try to hunt or trap food. I did see (within walking distance of the camp) squirrels, deer, raccoons, and other edible critters. Based on this I think I could have reasonably extended the stay there (with the additional pack) for several more days, maybe up to 3 weeks.

The BOB list is a little odd. This is because there is another component to the system. My wife, who is not a physically fit as I am has a day pack that contains bulky, but light items that, when combined with my heavier load makes for a far more complete system. As she did not come on the trip I amended the list to reflect just what I had with me. With the combined packs we could have easily done 3 weeks, as she has the rice, dried peas (neither of us likes beans) and some other items that allow the listed meals to be expanded considerably. The basic idea is to both be self sufficient for 24~48 hours, and then link up for the more extended periods. I did discover that using this system does have a few things to check out if for some reason we were unable to link up within the 48 hours.

There is a full list of the combined setup posted somewhere here in an earlier thread, I’ll see if I can find it & post a link, as it contains not just my BOB list, but a bunch of other ones as well & I learned a lot from that.

[Goldenspurholderx2]

Good read.

[Goldenspurholderx2]

Camp stove 1 equipment ALICE Pack Fuel not allowed by airline, 70% rubbing alcohol poor substitute, but all available locally. Denatured works fine if allowed.

Next time buy HEET brand dry gas at 7-11 or any gas station in the yellow bottle not the red. It'll do ya.

[tactical razorback]

"Branscombes" general store wasn't that well supplied & unfortunately they were the only game in town :(
In reality I'd be taking denatured with me, but not on a commecial flight.

[Goldenspurholderx2]

Damn, I thought WalleyWorld was EVERYWHERE!:D

[lew]

Nice little report there. Thanks.

[tactical razorback]

Apparently the thread length restriction is now gone. Please ignore my remarks about it earlier in the thread, which was posted prior to the change.
Thanx.
TR (Hey I just figured it out, that's a :cool: set of initials!)

[SmokeEater2]

Tactical razorback huh? I like it! Once again a excellent report.