Bug Out Bag Mistakes..You Might Have Made

It's still beautiful. I would hug it and pet it and stroke it and kiss it, and I would name it George.

The lack of natural water around here would mean that pretty blue tarp would draw attention like a naked woman in church. One man's ideal BOB is another one's backside bullseye.

 

Don't overload yourself with water when a filter will give you hundreds of gallons or tabs will purify many. Keep it simple but thoughtful---then go out and use it to make sure. W/O practice you are just hoping and will assuredly make mistakes. Mistakes in the wrong place/time may cost you more than you can afford.

 

The ALICE kit looks almost identical to mine and I feel like it could be trimmed down due to encroaching feebleness upon this old vessel. On the other hand, when I was young, dumb and full of .....I could have gotten along with much less just due to the level of fitness and general vigor I had. The only lesson I can derive from that is ..........there ain't no justice.

 

LOL
Alaska has lots of 'wild' water. Some of it is even safe to drink - unfiltered.

This is a local lake that we camp and fish at in the summer.

 

We have our BOB's that are packed in case we need to leave. My eldest has been hiking alone (small day hikes) and I asked him what he carries besides water. Well, last night we pulled out the BOB and I asked him, "If you fell and broke your leg what would you need till help came." It was interesting to watch him sort through and put together a day trip BOB.

 

This is the local lake we used to camp and fish at in the summer. Or at least, that's how it looked in 2010, when it was still at 1% capacity. Now it's just a few puddles.


Needless to say, water purification tablets and keys to area water towers are in our BOBs.

 

Sorry, this may be a regional thing: "keys to ... water towers"?

William Warren

 

I'm a state licensed water operator and have worked for several of the area municipal water systems, as well as in local government. I have keys to everything... including over a million gallons of potable water and the wells that supply it.

 

I used to carry iodine tabs for water treatment, then I found this
Source

The ability to control water-borne diseases is critical for soldiers, hikers, and others who may need to drink directly from an outdoor source. Water-borne protozoan parasites that are specifically of concern are Giardia and Cryptosporidium because of their resistance to halogen disinfection.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of iodine tablets against Giardia and Cryptosporidium under general- and worst-case water conditions that might be found in the field. Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts were exposed to iodine according to manufacturer's instructions (two tablets/L = 13-18 mg/L for 20 minutes). This dose inactivated 3-log10 of Giardia in general-case water and pH 9. In worst-case water, however, only about 35% of cysts were inactivated at pH 5. Fifty minutes were required to achieve a 3-log10 reduction at pH 5. Cryptosporidium oocysts were more difficult to inactivate.
Only 10% were inactivated after a 20-minute exposure to iodine according to manufacturer's instructions; even after 240 minutes of exposure to iodine only 66-81% oocysts were inactivated. These data strongly suggest that iodine disinfection is not effective in inactivating Cryptosporidium oocysts in water.
Because this organism is common in all surface waters, it is recommended that another method of treatment be used before ingestion.

Iodine has been banned in the EU for water treatment as well.

The USDA take on this for the US Army.

I normally boil water, where possible and use chlorine dioxide for treatment when the stove isn't possible. Here in Alaska, Crypto is a real issue, it may not be in all areas, but it worth looking at for the area you will be taking surface water.

 

sawyer has a very good choice of lightweight filter systems that can be back flushed to clean. Now rated for a MILLION gallons of water.
Sawyer® Products - Water Filtration, Insect Repellent, Sunscreens and More


the $25 price is better than most filters replacement elements.
it is threaded for the common 2 litter soda/larger water bottles so you can use the filter only for gravity feed from one to another.

I have used the MSR mini water works ex for years and it is a $90 very good filter, about 300 gallons for a $40 filter element.

 

FWIW - the soda bottles are a 'standard' 22mm, found in more than just soda bottles.

I also rock the Sawyer, both kinds.