what a BOB means to me

[Bigfoot]

I once thought having a BOB was being a prepper. That was the first thing I did years ago when I started watching prepper programs. And believe it or not I had one day that I had to grab it and "almost " go. That "almost" experience taught me a lot about what I need and want for my BOB.

At 1 am I heard someone pounding on the door in my apt and I grabbed my gun and opened the door. It was my neighbor telling me if I didnt move my car it was going to be flooded. This was during hurricane harvey in houston. SO I walked downstairs to my car and at the bottom of the stairs the water was at knee level and rising. I ran back up to grab what I could "BOB" and went to the truck and luckily drove it out of the flood on to higher ground. So my BOB is in the truck and it is on high ground. I run back up stairs to grab what I could since the water was still rising and I wasnt sure how much longer I could access my home. I grabbed my guns, golf clubs(yes I said golf clubs), some clothes and loaded up my truck. Granted I am walking through waist deep water at this point to bring stuff to my truck. Im thinking once it gets to my armpits I am going to live in my truck. So I sat on the porch and watched the water level and luckily it stayed at waist deep water and no higher.

After this experience It really made me think what I would have needed if I could have only grabbed that bag and left. A fire could have the same effect. One thing to grab and that is it!!!

So now I keep : 10 mountain house freeze dried meals, socks underwear 2 or 3 different type of shirts, shorts and pants. Enough to have a change of clothes in different environments, a towel and toiletries. water purifiers, stainless water jug, money, a few tools, several heavy duty garbage bags, a few flashlights with batteries, spare glasses and contacts, small first aid pouch, rope, fishing line and hooks, Kabar knife, razor blades, rain poncho, lighters and a spork. I am missing a few things to mention but you get the idea.

In my opinion the BOB is for a grab and go situation. If the house is on fire and you have 5 minutes then everything you need to survive is in that bag. Clothes, food water shelter. That is what I now prepare my BOB for.

 

[MOS0231]

Glad to hear you did not have to leave the house.

Good lessons learned.

 

[bigpaul]

I once thought having a BOB was being a prepper. That was the first thing I did years ago when I started watching prepper programs. And believe it or not I had one day that I had to grab it and "almost " go. That "almost" experience taught me a lot about what I need and want for my BOB.

At 1 am I heard someone pounding on the door in my apt and I grabbed my gun and opened the door. It was my neighbor telling me if I didnt move my car it was going to be flooded. This was during hurricane harvey in houston. SO I walked downstairs to my car and at the bottom of the stairs the water was at knee level and rising. I ran back up to grab what I could "BOB" and went to the truck and luckily drove it out of the flood on to higher ground. So my BOB is in the truck and it is on high ground. I run back up stairs to grab what I could since the water was still rising and I wasnt sure how much longer I could access my home. I grabbed my guns, golf clubs(yes I said golf clubs), some clothes and loaded up my truck. Granted I am walking through waist deep water at this point to bring stuff to my truck. Im thinking once it gets to my armpits I am going to live in my truck. So I sat on the porch and watched the water level and luckily it stayed at waist deep water and no higher.

After this experience It really made me think what I would have needed if I could have only grabbed that bag and left. A fire could have the same effect. One thing to grab and that is it!!!

So now I keep : 10 mountain house freeze dried meals, socks underwear 2 or 3 different type of shirts, shorts and pants. Enough to have a change of clothes in different environments, a towel and toiletries. water purifiers, stainless water jug, money, a few tools, several heavy duty garbage bags, a few flashlights with batteries, spare glasses and contacts, small first aid pouch, rope, fishing line and hooks, Kabar knife, razor blades, rain poncho, lighters and a spork. I am missing a few things to mention but you get the idea.

In my opinion the BOB is for a grab and go situation. If the house is on fire and you have 5 minutes then everything you need to survive is in that bag. Clothes, food water shelter. That is what I now prepare my BOB for.

didnt you say you live on the first floor? doubtful if the water would have risen that far.

 

[Arcticdude]

My BOB is more like a grab and go bag for me. I carry it every day during winter and have used it many times. In this bag I carry some food, such as canned sardines, oysters, canned ham etc, rope, fire starter with wax/sawdust blocks, extra cold weather clothing, snares, hatchet, ammo and fixed blade knife. During winter I run a small trap line thats covers an area of approximately 20×30 miles, plus I plow 4 miles of road. Breakdowns are common and many times I've had to stop and build a warming fire while walking home. Last summer we had a large forest fire and had to evacuate for a few days.

 

[Bigfoot]

didnt you say you live on the first floor? doubtful if the water would have risen that far.

I do live on the first floor now but harvey was several years ago. I have moved since then,

 

[Schattentarn]

Bigfoot, when you were ready to bug out, where where you going?

 

[Bigfoot]

AT that time I was just going out to my truck to live in my truck on dry land. The roads were impassable at that point and nowhere to go. I just didnt want to get trapped on the 3rd floor of my apartment with no escape. I didnt have much for supplies back then. In fact I ran out of food before the stores reopened. I think I went a day without food.

 

[Schattentarn]

I think before you consider a BOB or a bug out vehicle, you should have a plan and a definite place to go. Otherwise, you join the Golden Hoard and become the bane of everyone where you randomly end up.

 

[Bigfoot]

Not everyone has the luxury of having someplace to go. But when you have to get out of your house because of fire or flood then who cares about having a place to go as long as you dont get burned or drowned. Get out and have a BOB ready just in case you do have to get out. Being alive is more important than having a place to go. There were no mass golden hoards during harvey just a lot of rain with flooded and impassable streets. Nobody was going anywhere!!!

 

[bigpaul]

having no where to go makes someone a refugee and at the mercy of anyone they think might help them, the food and water in your BOB wont last long.

 

[Bigfoot]

I could have cared less where I was going as long as I wasnt trapped in that apartment. This wasnt a SHTF event. It was a flood. You get out when there is a flood. We arent talking about a fictional zombie like scenario where I am all alone against a horde of refugees in a strange place where I dont know anyone for hundreds of miles. The scenario of becoming a refugee doesnt make sense at all.

Water was rising. Flood Bad. Leave!!!!

 

[bigpaul]

we have floods in this country too, most properties that get flooded are unihabitable for a long time, sometimes 12 months or more.
SHTF events dont have to be zombie events.

 

[Lindy]

I think it is wise to have important phone numbers on paper in case you can’t access your phone. You can make a code for people on the list example your Mom the first two letters of her street address. That way if someone finds you bag they won’t know who to call and say something that will trick them into some kind of scam. It would be good to have numbers to your insurance company in case of fire etc. They would have access to your policy. Other important papers (birth certificate, marriage license, Social Security card etc.) would need to be secure so I’m not sure how to do that but I would be open to suggestions

 

[MOS0231]

I could have cared less where I was going as long as I wasnt trapped in that apartment. This wasnt a SHTF event. It was a flood. You get out when there is a flood. We arent talking about a fictional zombie like scenario where I am all alone against a horde of refugees in a strange place where I dont know anyone for hundreds of miles. The scenario of becoming a refugee doesnt make sense at all.

Water was rising. Flood Bad. Leave!!!!

It is easy to say to have somewhere to go, when not in the moment of a crisis occurring right in front of you.
You can even have a place to go (pre-planned), but with Murphy lurking, that bridge you would of used to get to where you were going, it collapsed in the flood waters.
Or, everyone else had the same idea, and now the road leading up to the bridge is a traffic jam of flooded out cars.
Then there is the few instances where the flood waters over whelmed people in their cars, they tried to swim to safety, only to get swept away and drown.

Past few years of wildfires in CA, no one can anticipate if the place or the route you were going to take to get there is 50k sqmi of burning inferno.
Just get out of the danger zone.
A number of people of Paradise CA became refugees over night. And they are likely thankful.
The 89 people who died . . .

 

[Schattentarn]

I have been evacuated twice due to fire. The second one burned my house down, lost everything. But both times I had a place to go worked out in advance. Bigfoot was on the third floor during a flood. Actually, that sounds pretty safe to me. Flopping down and asking others to provide for you sounds both unsafe and immoral.

 

[GaRp58]

In my opinion the BOB is for a grab and go situation. If the house is on fire and you have 5 minutes then everything you need to survive is in that bag.

You are on target there but do not forget to have all your important marriage, birth, banking, savings and investment papers in a GRAB-BAG also. Trying to replace all those is another headache you can save yourself from...GP

 

[Bigfoot]

It is easy to say to have somewhere to go, when not in the moment of a crisis occurring right in front of you.
You can even have a place to go (pre-planned), but with Murphy lurking, that bridge you would of used to get to where you were going, it collapsed in the flood waters.
Or, everyone else had the same idea, and now the road leading up to the bridge is a traffic jam of flooded out cars.
Then there is the few instances where the flood waters over whelmed people in their cars, they tried to swim to safety, only to get swept away and drown.

Past few years of wildfires in CA, no one can anticipate if the place or the route you were going to take to get there is 50k sqmi of burning inferno.
Just get out of the danger zone.
A number of people of Paradise CA became refugees over night. And they are likely thankful.
The 89 people who died . . .

Thank you MOS. Just imagine 50 inches of rain in 3 days. Everybody was on small islands all over the area. Every road was impassable. I couldnt have gone anywhere even if I wanted to. Like MOS said anything can happen. My BOB wasnt ready back then but it is now. That experience taught me a lot.

 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks yall for mentioning important papers. That is something I do need to work on!!! ASAP!!! On that I am not prepared at all.

 

[Bigfoot]

I have been evacuated twice due to fire. The second one burned my house down, lost everything. But both times I had a place to go worked out in advance. Bigfoot was on the third floor during a flood. Actually, that sounds pretty safe to me. Flopping down and asking others to provide for you sounds both unsafe and immoral.

Im sorry about losing your home. That is terrible!!!

Think of it this way Schattentarn. I am trapped up in that apartment with no food or water and the waters rise where I really cant get out, Then I have to rely on rescue workers to come get me out eventually. That would be taking away much need rescue personnel and putting their lives in danger to save me. Now ask yourself again what is the right thing to do? I know it is hard to only think one dimensionally in these situations but every decision in an emergency can cost lives. Maybe not yours but someone that has to come get you could be put in danger also. It all worked out in the end. In the morning when I get home from work I will try to download some of the pics for you guys. The flooding was epic like you can not believe!!!

 

[Bigfoot]