B.O.B. Question

[zef]

Hi, I've been thinking about making up my BOB and got to wondering.
When I was into Airsoft I acquired a number of tactical vests. There are 3 males and 1 female in our house and got to thinking of making BOB's for each of us. The beauty of tac vests is they spread the load well, don't take up a lot of room and more importantly I already have them. I also have a full set of '57 Pattern webbing.
So my question is would any or all of them make reasonable BOB's?

Oh and the types of tac vests I have are a couple of the South African Army tac vest, a Webtex classic assault vest and a Viper L A Special Forces Vest, plus the '57 webbing.

[skippy]

from a girls point of view ... make sure that the loaded vest sits clear of , or is comfortable on, the boobs as it is a right pain ... literally.. if they get squashed for a good number of hours a day.

Skippy

[TomW]

I guess it depends what your planning to carry, what scenario your planning for and how long. I imagine you could put a pretty good survival kit in to an assault vest but larger items like a tarp, waterproofs, sleeping bag it spare clothes are gonna be difficult. Not saying you have to have them, its up to you. If its what you've got then not a bad place to start and you could always add an extra bag for the less essential items. There also some string arguments against using miltary gear as it may pick you out as a threat to any remaining authority. Survivaldoc on YouTube has done some great videos that are worth a look.

[the-gnole]

Hi, I've been thinking about making up my BOB and got to wondering.
When I was into Airsoft I acquired a number of tactical vests. There are 3 males and 1 female in our house and got to thinking of making BOB's for each of us. The beauty of tac vests is they spread the load well, don't take up a lot of room and more importantly I already have them. I also have a full set of '57 Pattern webbing.
So my question is would any or all of them make reasonable BOB's?

Oh and the types of tac vests I have are a couple of the South African Army tac vest, a Webtex classic assault vest and a Viper L A Special Forces Vest, plus the '57 webbing.

Are you meaning '37 pattern webbing or '58 pattern webbing, I had a set of '58, but too heavy, I have some '58 pattern waterbottle pouches as 6 or 8 fit around a 58 belt quite well, but the yoke is not easy to attach, a set of PLCE is okay, but the pouches are a bit odd for most things, the British Army Assault vest is good, and a PLCE Bergan pouch can be fitted onto the back and a belt kit can be below if really needed, The magazine pouches have dividers in, which are pretty pointless, so I removed mine, I can fit a stove, some gas, a mug and a brew kit in some pockets, an emergency sleeping bag and space blanket, also some pouches of food from a rat-pack, All good fun mixing and matching, but my normal bug out bag is a 100ltr holdall for the travel lodge

[zef]

lol....erm oops yeah I meant the '58 pattern. Too many numbers swimming round my head at the moment...Off to a surplus store in Leeds area soon so will have a look what they've got in. Might use the tac vests for personal carry stuff and make up a bigger BOB for general things.

OT It's a shame the local surplus store shut....Mind you the guy who ran it was in his 80's when he finally called it quits.

[CromeDome]

I use Webbing aswell as a Bob, i could survive with only my webbing. the reason why i have webbing and a Bob is if you get to your bug out location there is a good chance you will put your bag down and you might go wondering around to look for things then get lost and then you end up with no gear. with webbing on me at all times if i did get lost i could still survive but i dont intend to get lost, also if there is a situation where you need to dump your bag and run for your life, you will still have supplys. the down side is in a situation people will see you got webbing, my soultion to that is i will have a poncho on so no one can see what i got under it.

[zef]

Good idea on the poncho. Didn't think of that one.....now where did I put mine....haven't seen it in years

[the-gnole]

A poncho might look good in October to March in the boonies, does look a little "odd" though in July going through the woods

[CromeDome]

I see your point in looking strange, but i would rather be the strange looking guy with a poncho than a fully kitted out guy with webbing and a BoB on. But if there was a situation where i need to bug out i honestly think no one would even notice i had a poncho on.

[the-gnole]

That's one of the reasons I went for a non-military in appearance Bergen, it's black rather than OG or DPM, but it has the detachable side pockets to fit on a yoke, so has the advantage of having "belt kit" in those pouches. An un-packed belt kit can go in the top of the Bergen ready to be packed with other possibles should the main pack need to be ditched.

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/snugpack_70l_rocketpak/

Made by Snugpak they are on offer at the moment £69.91 down from £99.76



I have tried the Bergen under a poncho in bad weather, Quasimodo comes to mind