What is a BOB, GHB or EDC? What goes in one? And why the heck would I want one anyway?

[Kong Soo Do]

Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

Been talking with a lot of folks lately interested in getting into some sensible prepping. So I started the above linked thread on the SEP board for them to reference. It is a work in progress and I will add content as the time permits. Figured I'd post it here for anyone that may be interested in the topic or discussion.

Appreciate it

 

[tshadowchaser]

Nice site. Some good advice being given there

 

[Kong Soo Do]

Nice site. Some good advice being given there

Thank you very much. It's something I'm passionate about. Like I mentioned, a work in progress.

 

[PhotonGuy]

A BOB is a Bug Out Bag, a GHB is a Get Home Bag and a EDC is an Every Day Carry survival kit. They're all quite similar, they contain stuff you would need to survive in a crisis situation, non perishable food, water purification, first aid, fire making kits, signaling devices, ect. I've got a BOB and I just recently tested it out in Yellowstone Park.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

That's the best thing you can do ahead of time. Many folks put together a BOB/GHB/EDC but never test the gear out in a situation/setting that is somewhat reality based. Several of us on the SEP forum get together throughout the year and do primitive camping out in the deep woods. This gives us an excellent opportunity to test the gear under real world conditions. It's allowed me to change or tweak the contents based upon that experience.

:wavey:

 

[donnaTKD]

love your website and the knowledge that's contained within it

where do you get your gear from ?????

 

[Buka]

That's a great resource, thank you.

I am not prepared in any way, shape or form. (what a dumb ***) It's high time I got on this.

 

[Instructor]

I'm ready for anything!

 

[Kong Soo Do]

love your website and the knowledge that's contained within it

where do you get your gear from ?????

Thank you.

I'm chea...er, I mean frugal :boing2:

So I get my gear where I can get the best deal possible. I love Amazon and Ebay, but Walmart and the Dollar Store see a lot of my business. As an example, here is a review thread on the SEP forum:

Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

You'll see my Maxpedition Lunada sling bag. Now it's a great bag that is well made and durable. Got it for a great price from someone on Ebay, less than what it would have cost me elsewhere. However, you'll also see a UTG Messenger bag that I bought (also on Ebay) and some clones of the same bag, one of which I also bought off Ebay. The UTG is a clone of Maxpedition's Versipack or Fatboy or whatever. But the UTG ended up costing me like $15 and the other clone was about the same. The Maxi version is near $100. Quality wise, if the Maxi is a 10 (and it is) then these clones are a 9 for about a fourth of the price!

Same on things like flashlights. I'm a member of Budgetlightforum because I really like a quality CREE LED and a price that's too good to pass up.

Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

The first post in the above link has an Amazon link for the Sipik and clones. For $3.54 (and free S&H) you can get a Sipik or clone that uses a CREE LED. Those CREE's are rated at lasting for 100,000 hours before burning out! It works off a AA or a 14500 battery. That's a good deal and I've been using them for years now, both on and off duty. Taken them camping into the deep woods and for a small, hand-held light they are BRIGHT!
:wavey:

 

[Kong Soo Do]

I'm starting a series of discussion on the SEP forum designed to look at various scenarios and ways to address, mitigate or even prevent (if possible) certain situations. Some scenarios are specific, some more wide open. They range from light and fluffy to worse case situations. The purpose is for folks to detail how they view the scenario and what they've done to address/mitigate/prevent the situation. Different people have different priorities based upon location, local weather, experience, skill sets, health and physical abilities etc. For example, if I say something like, "you've twisted an ankle, fallen and broke your arm or cut your arm", someone may immediately think about being out in the woods camping or hunting. Someone else may immediately think about being out biking and someone else being at work or in a parking lot. All are valuable settings to draw upon. In this way these scenarios/situations can be looked at from many view points and perhaps bring something to light someone else hasn't thought about or planned for. We can often learn from other's experiences. Feel free to view, participate in, pass around etc.

Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

I'll be adding scenarios. Great way to see and compare gear different people have. I've jotted down a few items that have come to mind just posting the scenarios!

 

[Kong Soo Do]

That's a great resource, thank you.

I am not prepared in any way, shape or form. (what a dumb ***) It's high time I got on this.

These may help:

Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

 

[Carol]

That's the best thing you can do ahead of time. Many folks put together a BOB/GHB/EDC but never test the gear out in a situation/setting that is somewhat reality based. Several of us on the SEP forum get together throughout the year and do primitive camping out in the deep woods. This gives us an excellent opportunity to test the gear under real world conditions. It's allowed me to change or tweak the contents based upon that experience.

:wavey:

My bags have been tweaked a lot based on my camping experience. Some items that I thought would be used infrequently, I've actually used a lot. I bought a $25 battery/solar/hand-crank power lamp/AM/FM/NOAA radio. I thought that would be a just-in-case item, but I've gotten a ton of use out of it! Other things I thought would be useful, but haven't been. I brought a couple of logic puzzles (Block by Block) to keep my mind occupied when I had down time. I haven't had that kind of downtime at camp all year.

And there were other items that presented some challenges that I didn't initially expect.

Moisture is EVERYWHERE when you stay outside (at least here in the Northeast). Bug out BAG? Nope. More like Bug out BOX(es). Hard sided plastic boxes that offer some protection from the elements.

Strike anywhere matches? Not as easy to light as you might think. Or at least, not as easy to light as I had thought. (I actually might do a youtube video on matches and/or firestarting ...LOL)

Can openers? Good to have more than one, even if your backup is a Leatherman. I went to camp once to find the metal on my dollar store can opener was so degraded that it couldn't open anything.

Basic first aid? Unless you are backpacking and weight/space is critical, bring regular size bottles of Advil, boxes of bandaids, tubes of Neosporin, etc. When you are in a new environment, unexpected things happen, and that can lead to more ouches and owies than usual.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

The OP link has been updated with additional information. I thought perhaps it would be useful to someone to toss in various links from time to time. The ability to make fire, even in unfavorable conditions is extremely important. Fire helps thermo-regulate core body temperature, disinfect water, signal for rescue, cook food and psychological comfort. I like to have multiple options available i.e. Bic-style lighter, ferro rod, mag bar etc. In addition it is important to have good tinder available to get the fire started. Here are some DIY options that work very well:

DIY fire-starter wafer
Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

DIY fire-straw
Survival and Emergency Preparedness - excoboard.com

I use both in my EDC and GHB. They work fantastic!

 

[Kong Soo Do]

Over 2000 views so far, not bad. Working on doing a seminar for our church on this topic.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Very cool Kong Soo Do!

 

[PhotonGuy]

BOB is Bug Out Bag, GHB is Get Home Bag, and EDC is Every Day Carry. Now, why would you want any of these? So you can be prepared and be ready for stuff that should happen. "Be Prepared," that's the Scout's motto.