VE6AB Technical
Bug Out Bag
Looking at all the survival items that I have stored in various locations both in my home,and in my mobile, I realized that I needed to have a more specialized BOB (Bug Out Bag) for the more important items that I wanted to keep in one pack handy to the door when I might need to leave home in a hurry, or possibly might not have my mobile to fall back on with the EPK (Emergency Preparedness Kit) stored in the cargo bay.
Now having said that, I cannot say that I'm not prepared when it comes to any disaster's that may befall me, whether it be while I'm at home, or going down the road in my mobile and some kind of an emergency situation come up, as I have surrounded myself with everything that I feel would keep myself or my family safe if required.
Still, I felt that I could group together all the pertinent survival items, as it was more about putting together a specialized BOB with what I felt were the first line necessities that I couldn't leave home without on a minutes notice.
Out of the various packs that I own, I did not have one that was big enough to hold all the items that I wished to place in it. I didn't really want a huge backpack, as you need to be able to carry it after your done filling it.
Now when it comes to packs, the skies the limit when it comes to the price your going to pay for good backpack. Good backpacks can easily cost $500 to a $1000.00, and I did not plan on going there, so I went shopping.
After taking the time over a week or so looking at the various options out there, and still not finding what I wanted in a pack for a reasonable price, I then had a eureka moment that I should have thought of a week earlier.
Being I spend time in army surplus outlets, why not a surplus military pack.
In Calgary we have several army surplus outlets that I visited to check out the availability of a surplus backpack, and it was while visiting "Things Military" that I found the perfect bag for my needs, in the form of a surplus "Military ALICE Pack".
If your not aware of what an ALICE pack (All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment) is, it is a load bearing system, first adopted as United States Army Standard A on 17 January 1973 to replace the M-1956 Load-Carrying Equipment (LCE) and M-1967 Modernized Load-Carrying Equipment (MLCE).
Although since superseded by MOLLE, ALICE gear is still in some limited use in the U.S. Army in National Guard and training units, as well as by Navy and Air Force ground units. The U.S. Marine Corps currently uses ALICE gear in training only.
Things Military here in Calgary had lots of surplus medium sized ALICE packs for me to chose from, and being used surplus, they were not all in the same condition, so I picked through them selecting the one seen here.
There are a number of options available, one option being a ridged external frame that I passed on, although a ridged frame would make a heavily loaded pack easier to carry for some distance.
I did chose a set of new shoulder straps to attach to the pack I chose, as in my mind, a pack is not a backpack without shoulder straps.
Now keep in mind that choosing a backpack is a very personal choice, and I wouldn't order one on line unless you know for certain it will do what you want once you receive it.
I do have other packs that I could use in place of the ALICE seen here, including a ridged frame that I have owned for some time, that the ALICE could be adapted to if necessary.
Bottom line is I now have a BOB that I can keep loaded with everything that I feel is crucial to my wellbeing, and my BOB is kept in a discreet location by the door, where if the situation requires that I have to leave home in a hurry, its good to go.
What's in my BOB is the subject for another time.....stay tuned.
Click on the photo for a closer look......
