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.
No comments:
Post a Comment