Bug Out Bags - Preconfigured vs Built from Scratch

A good friend (and prepper buddy) recently sent me a link to an advertisement selling preconfigured bugout bags (72-hour bags) that had come across his Facebook feed and it got me thinking. Now I've always been told it's better to create your BOB from scratch, but I thought I'd discuss some pros-and-cons about both....store bought vs built from scratch.

Preconfigured, Store-Bought BOBs

I'm seeing a dramatic increase in advertisements for store-bought, preconfigured BOBs, lately, and partially hold the pandemic to blame. More people are in a preparedness mind-set these days, and even FEMA recommends having a 72-hour bag ready and at-hand.

Cons

• Quality and "Unknown" performance; If you're not familiar with what comes in your preconfig BOB, or the load-bearing capability of that equipment itself, it can lead to dangerous failures at critical times. Cheap knives, or even poor craftsmanship of the bag itself, can be inconvenient at best, dangerous at worst, and I hate to say it, but some companies skimp on the quality to increase profit.
• To get around this, test the equipment of the preconfig BOB as much as you can. Break it apart, check the knife quality, strike a few of the matches, taste a bit of the food. Learn the items and how they work, and how well they work. In a perfect world I'd recommend buying 2 of the exact same preconfig BOBs and breaking the shit out of one of them while still having another on-hand for a real event.
• Price; Shopping around for deals can save on individual BOB gear, and preconfig units tend to tow the line between quality and price. The manufacturer of a preconfig BOB may have gotten a good deal on cheap first aide supplies to chuck into the BOB at a good value, but if you build your own you may find better supplies at a better price (sales, clearance, etc...) . While dropping $400+ dollars for a preconfig unit, how much can you really break down how much each item price contributed to that over all cost?
• 
  Size; I don't look at anything smaller than 60 liters for a BOB bag (for a full grown and healthy adult) considering what I'm putting in it. A LOT of the preconfig BOBs I've seen range around the 30 - 45 liter capacity. This is grossly insufficient in my opinion. I want the ability to add clothing and shelter supplies and normally these smaller preconfig units are chock full of only what they provide (no room for additions).
  

Pros

• Preconfigured is better than nothing at all; Some folks more into preparedness may argue this one with me saying if the preconfig bag has shoddy or under-quality tools, relying on them can provide a false sense of confidence and lead to a dangerous situation as a result (think crappy matches that fail to light a fire in a dire circumstance and now no fire). However, for risk of contradicting myself about gear quality, most preconfig BOBs I've seen come with fair-quality tools that may get you by, and they come with other items such as emergency water pouches that will help in a grid-down situation if nothing else. Some of the more expensive preconfig BOBs actually have some higher quality gear. In the end if I'm facing the Zombie Apocalypse empty handed or with a $120 preconfig BOB, I'll go ahead and snag the BOB on the way out and take my chances.
• It can be a good starting point; Assuming the bag is a decent size and quality, a preconfig unit can be a great starting point for someone new to preparedness. Folks can customize or build on the BOB from there. Is the knife a POS? Toss it and buy another to add to that current kit, as an example. Add prescriptions, sleeping supplies, more food, etc....to further customize it, again IF the bag itself comes large enough.
• It's an easy quick-fix; This point can go either as a pro or a con, actually. People too lazy to care that much will buy a preconfig BOB, toss it in their trunk or closet and not give it another thought until Zombies come a-knockin'. Keeping with the "better than nothing", if the quality of the preconfig BOB is sufficient, this may give that lazy guy or gal at least something to fall back on... less the over-confidence argument.
• Price; Yeah, I'm listing Price here, too. Again, if the manufacturer has done any due-diligence in building the BOB with the right-costing gear, it can actually save you a little dollars instead of building from the ground up.

I've added a few links to sites offering higher-quality preconfigured BOBs below. I get no kick back for recommending these sites. I only do so out of respect for the quality of their gear. However, I also have to add the disclaimer that I, personally, have not used any of their gear. I'm strictly going off of reviews and a bit of (distant) Internet research. 👽

Building your own BOB

Cons

• Lots of work and research; Lots. Lots! 
• The off-set to this con is that there's already a shit-ton of lists, Youtube videos, and blog posts on the Internet. Additionally there's even more books and literature you can buy to get you in the right mind set and started on your own BOB.
• Yes, I'm going to play favorites here. The book Build the Perfect Bugout Bag by Creek Stewart was my very first preparedness book, and I highly recommend it.At the end of the book Stewart even goes to Walmart and buys nearly everything needed for a BOB (somethings were missed for necessity which he details there, too.) He spends $303.80 on the whole thing.
• Price; The cost of building your own can quickly sky-rocket, I can safely say (see above). Budgeting $30 for a knife and seeing a much better one on sale for $45 leads down that road. Where preconfig BOBs offer a one-and-done price, building your own requires lots more budget-minded discipline and shopping around.

IS it all necessary? This one's a little overboard.

Pros

• Customization and Personalization; straight off the cuff you're in control, choosing what kind of bag you want and everything that goes in it. I flubbed this bit on my first bag; I bought a cheaper model from a local retailer that looked all tactical and fancy, but when I wore it for any length of time with more than five pounds in it, the thing felt like it was breaking my back in two. Lesson-learned. Now I shop for better bags that fit me much better. Plus, you add the specific items you need, from medications to self defense tools to preferred food and so on.
• Intimate familiarity with the gear; Well, maybe not THAT kind of intimate, but, assuming you're testing all the gear before you put it in your BOB, you know exactly what's in there and what the capabilities are of that gear. Drop your favorite knife in there, matches you know won't fail you, your warmest underwear, etc... Your confidence will be high because you know what's in the bag.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of buying a preconfigured bugout bag or building one from scratch, few people into preparedness would argue the fact that everyone should have one. Throughout your preparedness plan you should improve upon your bag, even if it's preconfigured. At least twice a year I strip mine down, through a little cash into it for improvements, and pack it all back up again. This is good practice even with a store-bought one. Tear it down, review it's contents, commit them and their locations in the bag to memory, then pack it all back up again and keep it handy.

In the end I recommend building a bag on your own, but I rarely, if ever, fault someone for taking steps to be more prepared and buying a preconfigured bag is still a definitive step in the right direction.

Peace.

Some Links

Denver Survival

Stealth Angel Survival

Freeze-Dried Food Review - ReadyHour

 ReadyHour freeze dried foods are bulk foods, meaning most packages of food contain serving sizes of at least 4. If you're feeding a family of four this is fine, but if you've less than that in your group you run the risk of some of the food going to waste. Most freeze dried meals don't provide left over storage options for later re-heating.

#1 - Mac and Cheese

Summed up in one word; blech!  I purchased the Ready Hour 72 emergency food pack which is what they consider to be their sampler pack (no free options offered). I cooked up this insufficient meal and gave it a go. Disclaimer: I followed the directions specifically. This particular meal differed from the others I'd sampled so far; you didn't pre-boil the water according to ReadyHour's instructions, and you use 4.5 cups to heat. You then boil the whole thing, cook for 15-20 minutes (mine cooked for 17 at a near boil), stirring all the while, then let sit 3 to 4. I did all of these religiously.

Specifics:

• Price: $27.49 for the whole kit.
• Serving size: 4 per bag
• Calories: 310 per serving.

Cons:

• Preparation; as indicated above the prep was different than most other dehydrated meals. I was wondering, while I cooked this, why didn't I just cook up a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese instead? In fact, aside from the claim that this meal will last in proper storage for 25 years, prep is really no different than Kraft or other store-bought Mac and Cheese.
• Taste and Texture: I let this pot sit for 5 minutes and it was still cheese-flavored noodle soup. I added some shredded sharp cheddar cheese to assist with the consistency.
• To me this is worth putting on this list again; store bought Mac & Cheese tastes better in addition to the preparation comment above.

Pros:

• Shelf life: Yeah, if I had this in my storage and 12 years down the road it was between this and starving, I'm sure the box of Kraft would be long gone so ReadyHour Mac and Cheese it is.
• Noodles: The noodles cooked up well, fluffy and didn't taste too bad.

Overall Rating: 3

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Freeze-Dried Food Review - ReadyWise (Formally Wise Food)

#2 - ReadyWise Cheesy Lazagna

Sampled 5/11/2021; Pasta's pretty easy for a dehydrated meal. Most pasta-based freeze-dried meals boil down to the seasoning (pun intended). This pack came in the ReadyWise Emergency Food Supply box I got for just under $30 and it came with a water filtration bottle (SWAG!) This was just one out of four meals included in the box.

The Lasagna, like the others included, is a meal for four, so, again, if you're alone during the disruption and need to tap this particular food you may be throwing some out if you don't have the container and facilities to store the left overs.

The Specifics:

• Price: $27.99 (online) for the box.
• Serving size: 4 per bag.
• Calories: 230 per serving (920 for the bag).

 

Cons:

• Again with the water! ...sort of. Four cups of boiling water were recommended. I cut that by about an eighth and it was still pretty soupy after 15 minutes. However, after I ate my first sampling and went back about 8 minutes later for more, the sauce had thickened up quite a bit. I think ReadyWise should probably increase the wait time from 12-15 minutes to a little longer.
• Taste; when it got colder. The sauce was pretty salty and when the meal cooled down the tomatoey sauce sort of congealed a bit. This texture coupled with the colder consistency was a little on the gross side. As long as the lasagna stated hot it was still pretty good.
• Some of the pasta noodles failed to hydrate all the way so there was a little crunch here and there as I ate, despite stirring and blending thoroughly during the prep process.

Pros

• Taste; as long as it was hot the pasta was pretty well flavored. I was going to sprinkle some parmesan cheese on it, but there was enough cheesy flavor that it was unnecessary.

Bonus Points:

• Swag: A water filtration bottle was included with the boxed kit.

Overall rating: 6

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#1 - ReadyWise Adventure Meal; Early Dawn Breakfast Skillet

Sampled 05/10/2021; I'm a sucker for breakfast foods in general so breakfast meals always catch my eye. This particular meal works best for camping or single-person use with only 2.5 servings and 470 calories for this volume in the bag. 

The specifics

• Price: $5.99 (Dicks Sporting Goods)
• Serving Size: 2.5 per container.
• Calories: 190 per serving, approximately 470 for the whole bag.

Cons

• Preparation: I can never seem to get the water right in these. ReadyWise instructs to use 2 cups of boiling water to hydrate, but even after the recommended 12-15 minute wait time the meal was still very soupy. I stirred again and waited another five minutes, but there was still a LOT of water left in the bag. This is not the first time I've had this issue. In fact I normally have to drain my meals of excess water before I start chowing down. Truthfully this is an issue with a lot of the dehydrated meals I've eaten, not just the ReadyWise brand.
• The meal had peppers and onions in it which remained pretty rubbery even after 20+ minutes of sitting in the hot water.
• The sausage pieces were few and far between. 

Pros

• Value: I was relatively impressed with the price. When I snagged this particular meal, the comparable Mountain House meal was $2 more expensive.
• Taste: the seasoning and the eggs were quite delicious. Even though the onions and peppers failed to hydrate very well, over all the meal was very edible and tasty. 

Bonus Points

• Packaging: If you check the images closely enough you can see that ReadyWise dropped some jokes and Camping Hack information onto their packaging. This could serve as a happy little diversion for kids if you're making the meal during a grid-down situation. 

Overall Rating: 8

Hey You're All Prepped! Um...Now What?

 I've often wondered if there was a critical mass level involving preparedness....a point where "enough is enough" and you don't believe you need to go farther in your preps. For instance if you're prepping for a 2-week disruption for a family of four, and lets say you have all the calculated food, water, medical supplies suggested for that time frame. You also have all bases covered regarding security operations and utilities (alternative energy, water purification, etc....) for a grid-down situation, and you have four, individually configured bug-out bags all ready to go with a bug-out location targeted. The question becomes; "What now?"

The following are a few answers to that question that you should consider even after you believe your preparedness plan is fulfilled.

Sustained Maintenance

This never ends. Food and medicines have expiration dates and need replenished. Water needs cycled. Skills need practiced (firearms, first-aid) to keep them sharp. Apps like StockUp help keep track of those pesky expiration dates and even warn you when it's time to start cycling out those consumables.

Upgrades

Sure, you have everything you need, but are those 'things' good quality or sufficient for your preparation plan? Maybe you skimped a little on that generator you bought, choosing the one that would only power your refrigerator during power outages, but now it's time to save up a little and buy something bigger. Perhaps you bought the skimpiest little knife from WalMart for your bugout bag and it's time to get something a little more robust. Saving up and purchasing equipment upgrades, or signing up for classes to increase your knowledge and skill level, is another one of those "What now?" options on the 'never ends' list.

Run Drills

...and test those skills. Periodically do a mock bug-out, or cut the power and water to your house and function 100% on your preps for a bug-in weekend. These types of drills not only keep your skills sharp and allow you to identify holes in your plan, but they allow you to thoroughly test your gear in case you need to Upgrade as mentioned above. Just remember to replenish or replace those consumables you've used during your tests.

Expand Your Preps

Sometimes a disruption can last longer than those two weeks, or perhaps your family unit has grown beyond the nuclear four. Prepping for friends and forming a MAG (Mutual Assistance Group) could force the need to expand your stores of preparation supplies as well. In these cases grow your stock beyond those two weeks or four people.

Final thoughts

Many older, cranky preppers will tell you there's never a critical mass-point in your preps and you should always grow and improve. I can't argue with that, but such an attitude can lead down the path to prepper-obsession or even burn out where people stop prepping altogether. To avoid both it's critical to have a realistic preparedness plan and stick to it, then maintain, upgrade, test, and/or grow that plan as you see fit based on your finances and comfort level. 

Stay safe!

Morale Boosters

Good, positive psychology becomes critical during a disruptive or grid down event. People deal with disruption based on their own experiences, expectations, and even current mood. Fear and panic can occur even in the most hardened soldier when things go sideways quickly. Maintaining morale and keeping a positive attitude throughout a long-term event can become critical, even life-saving, very quickly. Below are some items and methods to keep you and your loved ones thinking positive during a disaster.

Food

An empty stomach can lead to being hangry (which is a real thing), cause serious lapses in judgement and reasoning, and in the later stages of advanced hunger, cause small-muscle trembling and loss of coordination needed for precise physical activities. A steaming cup of coffee or hot chocolate; a warm delicious meal; a glass of a good bourbon ... all of these things can dramatically improve mode and outlook during a disruptive event. Food = nutrition which can restore focus and increase positive decision making, but the food has to be edible and, to an extend, enjoyable. 

A lone-prepper waiting out a power outage may be fully content gagging down MREs and reminiscing about his or her military days, but an 8 year old in the same situation would likely refuse such a meal (and I wouldn't blame them.) The primary thing to consider when stocking up on food for your preparations is just that; how good and tasty is the food you're storing? It has to be something your family or group wants to eat.

Of course nutritional value is another huge factor to consider when storing your food preps. Cases of popcorn as a primary meal is not going to provide the energy needed to perform physical tasks, though a few bags of popcorn to serve as a treat would be helpful. As cliché as it sounds your food stores need to be delicious and nutritious. 

Music

Good tunage can make or break a situation. Just ask Beatles fans who went and saw Yoko Ono in concert. A weather radio should already be on your list of preps, and one that gets AM/FM frequencies can help provide mood-lightening music. If you have the power (stored batteries, generator w/ charging cord, etc...) an MP3 player and decent speaker can allow you to customize your play list and avoid counter productive commercials from the radio and allow your weather radio to remain tuned to the emergency channel while you listen to music. 

Kill me now.

The selection of music should be carefully considered. Our ex-military prepper may enjoy a little hate-thrasher melodies, but our 8 year old may not. Then again, a playlist with nothing but Barney and Kidz Bop may prove so annoying to older adults they may wish the disaster would have taken their lives so they could have some peace. Streaming services like Spotify and Pandora allow you to not just customize multiple playlists, but download them onto your device so they can be played offline. The downside to those options is there is a monthly subscription fee.

Video Games/Electronics

Again, this one's dependent on power options, but if you can swing it hooking up a console or playing games on a charged phone can provide a distraction for a few minutes. Due to the power restriction, time playing such games should be very limited. Still "kids these days" are highly dependent on electronics for continuous and random engagement. Admittedly a teenager, or even a young adult, denied access to electronics may quickly become demoralized and depressed. Allowing small periods of electronic engagement may boast their spirits for a time. 

Books or Games

This is one for us older folks; engaging books and literature can provide hours of distraction and boast morale by taking our minds off of things. Non-electronic games such as board and card games can also be good distractions until the event is over.

Conversation and Humor

Sometimes conversation amongst humans can be enlightening and engaging and help pass the time. However, sometimes not so much. Caution must be taken to keep the conversation up-beat and positive. Conversations among people with different political or religious bents should most-likely be avoided as they can lead to the extreme opposite of a higher morale....such as beating the crap out of one another.

Humor's an excellent way of keeping attitudes high and happy as well. Again it's angled toward individual tastes and audience appropriateness, but having funny cable programs or stand up comedian performances on bluray or flash drives to be placed on a computer can seriously boast outlook of an otherwise dire or boring situation.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of experience, the unexpected, such as a disaster event, can have devastating effects on morale of an individual or entire group. Anticipating this emotional-hit and compensating for it in your preparedness plan can help assuage issues called by low morale before they even start to take root.

I have an 18 year old son who's been my prepping buddy for years. One day, when he was 16, we were sitting around the house going through our bug-out bags and he was showing me all the progress he'd made. I asked him, "What about a morale booster? Have anything for that?" I fully expected the question to trip him up, but instead he looked me straight in the eye and replied, "Oh yeah, I got that covered." He promptly pulled out a picture of him and I and said with a knowing smile, "I keep this handy at all times." I gotta say, it choked me up a bit and filled me with pride, believing in his darkest moments he would pull out that picture and be strengthened emotionally and mentally.

Me with my youngest son and prepping buddy.

Peace.