BOB Contents for Family

[avking]

As you might know from my other recent posts, a family of four asked me to build them BOB's. I had a roughly $5000 budget to build a bag for each family member and a bag for a base camp. The base camp bag stays with them as long as they have transportation or as far as they can carry it.

There is a LOT on the list, so I built is as an Excel spreadsheet. Each item has a small description and link to detailed information on the internet. It also includes an average price (not the best available, just an average) and I also included the weight of the item. Following each members inventory, I added a section for optional items that would be nice to have.

I was not able to stay inside the $5,000 budget, but I got close. Once I price shop each individual item, I will probably get even close. I have attached the file. It may help someone starting from scratch. It is not a budget bag by any means. I used high quality and high end products like Sure-Fire, Brunton and Blackhawk. You could build it for less, if you went with lesser brands and quality. I stuck with the names I did from personal experience with the products and the fact that I know they will last. The SureFire headlamps are a great example. In my product testing, I was able to get over 80 hours run time from a single battery charge. You get what you pay for.

Anyway, here it is. Hope it helps. It is in Excel 2007 format. I can send it to anyone directly in other formats if they need it.

Oops. I could not attach an Excel file. I attached it as a .zip instead.

[civiliansoldier]

Awesome! thanks.

[prkchp76]

man it looks good so far keep up the good work

[Lil Bear]

Thanks for posting. This gives me some idea of what to get. My wife and I can carry a majority of the equip. needed, but my mom-in-law and my 6 yr old daughter would be very limited on weight. Thanks again.

[prkchp76]

check it out this is suppose to be for permanent right so i dont no if you have included this or not but what about seed for vegatables and fruits i think it will be guite usefull

[avking]

Thanks, hope it helps someone.

I did not include any long term survival items. They could survive for a few months in a National Forest, maybe a little longer, but not much. So no seed or anything like that. Remember, these bags are not for me, they have been designed as a favor for someone who does not have the thought process in place right now.

I think a BOB is a good idea, obviously. But, unless you already have a location to bug out too, then your BOB will keep you going for a short term interruption in services only. If you don't have a destination that is already prepared and stockpiled, you simply will not survive long term. Just my humble opinion. But, I do not beleive any interruption in services will last over a year, let alone decades, so seed IMO is not needed for a BOB. I sure as hell have plenty of it in my shelter, but that is another story.

A BOB does not need anything to survive more than 3 months, nor do I think you can even carry a BOB that would sustain you for longer than that.

[prkchp76]

any other word on this how well did they like it

[avking]

I spent a couple weeks going back and forth with the husband, on what they liked and did not like. In the end, we made some decent modifications to the list. He decided to go high end on some things and we bumped the budget to around $8,000. Some of the additions were 4 man 4 season tent, larger solar panels, higher end guns and a ATN Generation 2 Night Vision setup that ran $1,800 itself. I will post a final list when I finish with all the part numbers.

I will also get some pictures of the packing process and product reviews. As a result of this process, the person I am building these packs for came up with a business idea and we are going to give it a try. He owns a tech company and is going to set me up with a Blog and shopping cart, along with a programmer to put it all together. I am going to write articles and product reviews on survival topics and products. We are going to design three or four price points for a complete bug out bag. All the needed items and bag will already be organized and packed for you. I will design bags for the whole family. That way, you can just order the "Platinum package" for a family of two, three, four or whatever. One stop shopping for a professionaly organized bag.

Our least expensive bag will be around $2,000 and most expensive around $6,000. Our target audience is a wealthy couple or family that want to be prepared, but don't have the time or desire to do the research and don't want the crap from China most of the "Survival" sites are selling. Discretion and confidentiality will be our big selling point. So far, just from word of mouth, I have three families and two couples that know the costs and want to purchase bags. We think our mark up will be around 12% to 15%, so I think we can make some money off this. Who knows, but it is worth a try and I will get some free product out of it, doing the product reviews. I might as well leverage all that time I spent with the 101st and 82nd for something. We will also go after some name brands to do advertising on the Blog itself. I just need to some up with a good URL.

[SNIPERFX]

did not see toilet paper. you gonna do it the old way?:)

[avking]

TP is included in each of the MRE's. One serving of TP per meal. But you make a good point, it does need to included one way or another.

My BOB's differ from many of the members of this site. It is my opinion that a BOB is only good for one thing. To get you to a well stocked and prepared bug out location. I do not think that 99.9% of the population can survive off a BOB for anything longer than a few months. Without a well prepared place to go, you are not going to survive or at least have a life worth surviving for. Again, it is just how I feel about it.

[Diesel]

Don't see that working, sorry people will want to do their own bags and setups, and you will likely see alot of sticker shock. Furthermore, you must be a world renowned wilderness expert, instructor, or a navy seal that had a book written about them, or maybe a well known author? Because why would anyone trust you with that kind of money or that critical of a decision being a regular person off the street?

Don't invest too much time or money iun that biz, I think you'll have a rough go at it

Just my .02

[avking]

Don't see that working, sorry people will want to do their own bags and setups, and you will likely see alot of sticker shock. Furthermore, you must be a world renowned wilderness expert, instructor, or a navy seal that had a book written about them, or maybe a well known author? Because why would anyone trust you with that kind of money or that critical of a decision being a regular person off the street?

Don't invest too much time or money iun that biz, I think you'll have a rough go at it

Just my .02

The initial investment is $0. Right now I am strictly word of mouth and the only reason I am even doing it is because I was asked to by a few people that do not have the time or desire to do it themselves. So far, we have designed and purchased bags for seven families. The average family included four BOB's and a basecamp setup. Budgets have been all over the board, but I would guess it has run around $7k to $8k per family.

My most recent and ongoing project has been the most fun. This guy has no budget and respects my suggestions. He has two children and a wife. We have them all setup with Gen 3 NV, NV compatible scopes and he is currently in the process of converting a 4 seat 4 Wheeler, like the Polaris Ranger, to run on Veggie Oil. This guy is $45k into his BOB's, Base Camp and Quad. I think I have him convinced to get a Bobbed deuce, just like mine, with the multi-fuel motor. He has a 1,200 mile drive to his BOL.

While I am not famous, nor do I wish to be, I do have the qualifications, background and experience in my former military life. I will never invest any real $$$ into this project, as I do not intend for it to be a business. But it is fun, and I always get some cool stuff out of it. So far, instead of charging cash fee's or marking up the cost of items, I just do it in exchange for gear. They just buy extra of somethings, for me.

[prkchp76]

i think it's quite feasable keep doing the good job enjoy while you can.Don't let no body talk you out of something your good at and enjoy right

[rsanders]

i think it's quite feasable keep doing the good job enjoy while you can.Don't let no body talk you out of something your good at and enjoy right

Damnit! I knew I shouldn't have listened to my wife when she said I should quit drinkin, smokin and chasin them wemmen;)

[prkchp76]

tell me about it woemen huh what a waste of time...just kiddin ladies please dont bash me i promise i will be good