Examining Bob’s Big Bug Out Bag
Ready Made Resources lives up to its name in more than one way as a collection and outlet of some of the best prepping equipment and supplies. In total, it represents a substantial body of knowledge and experience, wrapped and stuffed onto a single website. Given that fact, no wonder customers are in awe of the variety and depth, and some consider Robert Griswald “King Prepper”. No doubt about it, as evidenced on the Internet, there must exist such a place hidden in the hills and hollers of Tennessee a veritable prepper’s dream warehouse. We press the buy button and the truck magically delivers. There is simply no other place like it, and their customer service is also first class.
As there is a treasure trove of good gear there, the hardcore survivalist would love to back up the pickup, or rather an 18-wheel truck. No wasting of time, we would make several trips and piles. Shopping until we drop, or like a dog in butcher shop, always looking for a bigger bone or better cut. It can be fun, but also exhausting.
Bob’s website is a great place to look, even if one doesn’t have the bucks, since we can indeed learn what is out there, and possibly what is the best. If one has the money, then do not hesitate as all the comparison shopping has already been done, and the bargain is in the time and sweat spared searching for the best. When it comes to a BOB, especially Bob’s Big BOB, we should remind ourselves that the more we know, the less we need to carry, and the older we get, the less we can carry. Instead of working harder, we gotta work smarter. So then, what is in the bag?
Let’s loom inside and see if we find substitute items, or perhaps take a different approach to solving the problems that we are likely to encounter and challenge us in our local terrain and climate. We can throw out items to reduce cost and weight, and substitute items that reduce cost, but that might add weight. Either way, it is not an easy balancing act to juggle the basics needed, and one’s budget, and come out with a better and lighter BOB. But we are allowed to cheat and not actually carry it, yet have it when we need it by improvising. Let us begin.
Can I build a better one, and beat out Bob’s Biggest and Best Bug out BOB (BBBBBB?) Perhaps. You decide. It comes with an impressive price tag and the weight is not listed, so I suppose that we’ll have to guess. As it is, the price per pound is prohibitive for my budget, so I’ll lower the price and reduce the pounds if I can. That is the goal, yet I know this is only a mental exercise — a gedankenexperiment — and we will learn something in the process.
So here is their product offering: READY MADE RESOURCES Ultimate Bug Out/Home Bag ULTE6: $1,370.04 (Or with the option of a less expensive backpack, for $1,180.04, as of November 28, 2022.)
I have copied and pasted directly from the Ready Made Resources webpage.
Note: My comments are interspersed in the lines that begin with the pound sign (#).
ITEMS INCLUDED:
01. A MAXPEDITION BACKPACK/DUFFLE BAG DOPPELDUFFEL™ Adventure Bag $180.00 ROOM TO SPARE
#1)Substitute: A rugged USMC Digital MARPAT ILBE Main Pack, Complete…………………………………$299.95
02. A SEVEN DAY MOUNTAIN HOUSE FOOD SUPPLY READY TO EAT JUST ADD WATER $127.00
#2 Mountain House foods are good stuff, so I am doing the same…………………………………………$127.00
03. TWO SAWYER MINI WATER FILTERS $50.00, WITH MANUFACTURER GUARANTEE TO FILTER 100,000 GALLONS OF WATER. TIP ALWAYS CARRY COFFEE FILTERS AND RUBBER BAND TO PUT OVER PREFILTER THIS WILL KEEP CRUD FROM CLOGGING UP WATER FILTER.
#3)Substitute: Katadyn Vario hand-operated water filter………………………….$93.00
04.1 ONE BOX OF ASSORTED CHEM-LITE STICKS $25.00
#4) Extra weight and expense. Delete……………………………………………………………..$0
05 THE ULTIMATE SURVIVAL EMERGENCY KIT- HAND CHAIN SAW, BLAST MATCH FIRE STARTER, SIGNAL MIRROR, WET TINDER FIRE STARTER, EMERGENCY BLAST WHISTLE $89.95
#5) Substitute: A folding hand saw, 3 Bic Lighters, standard whistle, one Ferro rod, and signal mirror that is a part of my compass, vaseline, and cotton balls, and a candle for drying out tinder………………………..$60.00.
06. A REAL USA MADE KA-BAR, SURVIVAL KNIFE WITH CARRY SHEATH. $95.95
#6)Substitute: 1 Mora knife, and a spare knife, a folding pocket knife, and a sharpening stone…………..$50.00
07. PROFORCE SNUGPAK SLEEPING BAG $109.95
08. PROFORCE IONOSPHERE BIVY TENT $264.95
#7/8) Substitute both 07. and 08. with a used Military Sleep System with Gortex bivy bag………………..$349.95
In addition, I’ll add as a tarp for the MSS a German military wet weather Poncho……………………….$39.95
09. INTERNAL BLADDER CANTEEN WITH DRINKING HOSE. FITS INTO BACKPACK INTERNALLY. $39.95
#9)One USGI canteen, with cup as a mess kit………………………………………………………..$23.93
And two 2 quart collapsible canteens with carrying cases………………………………………….$66.00
10. STAY ALERT CHEWING GUM 1 PACK $5.95
#10) Or substitute with one bottle of energy drink…………………………………………………..$5.95
11. ALL PURPOSE HEADLAMP $39.95
#11) Substitute a Mini-Maglite ……………………………………………$20.00
12. 1 BOX POTASSIUM IODATE $8.95
#12) Delete for those over the age of 50, as the risks outweigh the benefits…………………………………$0
13. MURS/GRMS/HAM/NOAA RADIO $125.00
#13) One Baofeng UV5R with one 1800Mah spare battery. The radio also has a flashlight function…….$30.00
14. BRUNTON NAVIGATION COMPASS $29.95
#14) Good stuff…………………………………………………………………………………$29.95
15. GERBER TRENCHING/SHOVEL TOOL AND CARRY CASE $39.95
#15) Delete. Good only if you can handle extra weight……………………………………………….$0
16. QUIK CLOT EMERGENCY BLOOD STOPPER $24.95
#15) Optional. Compression techniques work 95% of the time on healthy persons………………………….$0
17. ELITE FORCE TACTICAL MEDIC BAG WITH CELOX $69.95 CAN BE CARRIED SEPARATELY.
#17) Good stuff…………………………………………………………………………………$69.95
18. 21 WATT WATERPROOF FOLDABLE SOLAR PANEL WITH USB PORTS $109.95
#18) Delete. Spare batteries are a better solution for a short-term bugout……………………………………..$0
19. ADVENTURE MEDICAL REHYDRATION SALTS 3 PACK $12.95
#19) Good stuff…………………………………………………………………………………$12.95
20. 4OZ PEPPER SPRAY $16.95
#20) Replace with 9oz of bear spray……………………………………………………………….$35.00
21. 100 feet 550 PARACORD. $8.95
#21) Good stuff…………………………………………………………………………………$8.95
The Bottom line
Here is the bottom line: Bob’s Big BOB, $1,379.04 minus the cost of My BOB build, $1,337.48, yields a savings of only $41.56.
[JWR Adds: Readers must ask themselves if it is worth their time to place 20+ separate orders, versus one order. Effectively, time is money.]
Yet did my BOB beat out Bob’s BOB? Is mine a better BOB for you? The bottom line is that I could not save a significant amount of money using good quality items purchased elsewhere on the Internet. But in my opinion, I was able to improve the contents of the gear and adapt my BOB to the cold weather conditions that are present for six months of the year here in Montana. You may live in a more mild climate like Bob Griswald and would not benefit from the substitute items, and possible extra weight — since I wasn’t able to reduce the weight much, if at all, and may have actually increased the weight. However, I would consider the additional weight, if any, to be advantageous as this weight would increase versatility, and increase the capability of this BOB suitable for a wider variety of environments. For example, in summertime, the Military Sleep System sleeping bag can be stripped of its outer layers, and only the ‘patrol bag’ used along with the military poncho that acts as a tarp. This would reduce the bulk and weight by about 8 pounds. And the gear substitutes can be organized on the outside of the BOB in such a way that, if need be, the BOB can be dropped and hidden, time permitting, and the essential gear detached quickly, should rapid maneuver be necessary.
It is outside the scope of this short article to detail any additional items, and to justify the gear used to substitute. I am using this as an exercise, and certain examples that are believed to be the same or similar, and possibly better. I am using substitute gear that I am most familiar with and trust. As this was an attempt to substitute like-kind for like-kind in capability, I did not include peripherals that are essential in northern climates, such as an insulating ground pad that is not included in Bob’s BOB. Nor did I discuss the risk of using military gear in a nonpermissive environment. The more we know, the less we need as we can improvise, yet if we lacked experience and knowledge, Bob’s Big BOB is indeed quite adequate. It appears to be tailored to those with a basic level of knowledge, and it is priced to perfection.
To reduce costs we must understand why and how to use each item so that we can find substitutes. For example, a Ka-Bar is 5-inch to 7- inch fighting knife. If a Ka-Bar would be used as an outdoor survival knife, then choose the 5-inch version as it can better do the tasks needed in a survival situation. It is not a knife, however, that can tolerate much splitting of wood when we are desperately looking for dry tinder and kindling after a rain, but it is also a fighting knife. Most survival knives are not fighting knives, and the Ka-Bar can be used in an emergency.
For The Super Frugal
To greatly reduce the cost of any BOB, we could haunt the thrift stores on a regular basis, and slowly acquire similar gear. For example, I recently picked up a barely used full-sized backpack that is of good quality for only $25. And over the years I’ve acquired all of the important items at thrift stores to build many BOBs that are capable of sustaining human life in most weather conditions, and at a cost of less than $200 for each BOB. These BOBs can be used as primary BOBs for family and friends, and alternative BOBs, or BOBs as a part of a contingency plan, and part of a system of caches.
Some Potential Substitutions
For line #1, substitute these items that are near equivalents:
USMC Digital MARPAT ILBE Main Pack, Complete………………………$299.95
https://colemans.com/usmc-digital-marpat-ilbe-main-pack-complete
For line #3, substitute this item that is near equivalent:
Katadyn Vario Review
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/backpacking-water-filter/katadyn-vario
For line #9, substitute these items that are near equivalents:
2 Qt Collaspable Canteen
https://colemans.com/canteen-plastic-2-qt-u-s-g-i………………….$12.95
2 qt. canteen cover……………………………………………$9.95
https://colemans.com/u-s-g-i-issue-canteen-cover-unused
and,
Canteen, Plastic 1 Qt., 2 Canteen Deal……………………………$14.95
https://colemans.com/canteen-plastic-1-qt-2-canteen-deal
U.S. G.I. Canteen Cup, Used, 2 pack………………………………$19.95
https://colemans.com/u-s-g-i-canteen-cup-used-2-pack
U.S. G.I. Canteen Cover
https://colemans.com/canteen-cover-1-quart-us-gi…………………..$12.95
For lines #7 and 8, substitute these near-equivalents:
US GI Modular Sleep System MSS………………………………….$349.95
https://colemans.com/us-gi-modular-sleep-system-mss
German Military Wet Weather Poncho……………………………….$39.95
https://colemans.com/german-military-wet-weather-poncho
For those who would like to shop for good gear that is field tested by a Marine, shop here and elsewhere. All the items substituted in line #5 can be found at Corporal’s Corner. (All available on his YouTube channel.)
#5) Substitute: A folding hand saw, 3 Bic Lighters, whistle, one ferro rod, and signal mirror that is a part of my compass, vaseline, and cotton balls, and a candle for drying out tinder…………………………………………..$60.00.
JWR Adds: I also recommend the READY MADE RESOURCES Ultimate Bug Out/Home Bag. For most SurvivalBlog readers, it is a one-click solution to a fairly complex problem. Granted, you could do a bit better by tailoring your own bag and perhaps save a bit of money. But to do so, you must willing to invest the time in locating and ordering all of those items from multiple suppliers. And, of course, then there is also the risk of any of those 20+ individual orders getting lost, stolen, or damaged in shipment. I’d much rather face the risk of losing just one insured and tracked UPS shipment that will arrive in just a couple of boxes that are shipped together.