These are just some of my random thoughts:
People spend a lot of time and money putting together their “perfect BOB” as survivalists/ preppers its one of the first things people think about.
The truth is many people already have the basics in and around the home, even if thats not the case you can put one together with a little thought and minimal cost.
Shelter: Tarp / Wool Blanket, nothing complicated nor expensive you don’t need a DD tarp costing £30+ a simple budget tarp will do the same job, wool blankets can be found in charity shops, freecycle or mil surplus shops.
Fire: Fire Starting, forget throwing sparks off a ferro rod, flint and steel or rubbing sticks together they’re fun and useful to know but im my honest opinion in a survival situation you want fire at your finger tips. Strike anywhere matches or you can get 4/5 lighters for £1 (from the shop with the same name).
Fire Fuel, Machete there are many who’ll snub the machete outside of the tropics but it has its merits not only is it a great wood processing tool it also serves as an excellent self defense weapon. People will argue til the cows come home, over personal preferences axe/ big knife/ axe and thats what it comes down too “Personal preference” but for the Budget BOB machete gets my vote.
Cooking: Pot it’s not complicated a simple billy can, size dependant on how many in your group, you can buy, make or improvise. A stainless steel tea caddy or biscuit barrel with set you back £3-£4 add a wire/bail handle and you’re good to go.
Knife: The knife is your number one kitchen instrument after the pot, Highend/ Mora/ Condor/ Kitchen draw the choice is your’s working on a budget and remembering the knife can/ will be used for more than just kitchen utility I’d personally put forward Condor after excellent personal experiences with 2 of the brand.
Water: Containers, Water Bottles/ Jerry Can, you can pickup a 5ltr Jerry Can for under £5 or 58pat water bottles are pretty bombproof.
Water Purification: You can by any number of filters and purifiers some work better than others, as with all things BOB (and budget) I like to keep it simple. Millbank bag and boiling simple and effective with no moving parts and low risk of breaking.
First Aid: With the ever glorious £1 shops you can put together a decent first aid kit for next to nothing, one thing I would include is soap not only is it useful for personal hygene but antibacterial soap (Dettol/ Valderma/….. ) can also be used to make a wash for wounds and burns.
Rope/ Cordage: Carry whatever you want washing line, tow rope, climbing rope, paracord, jute whatever you decide upon cordage has multiple uses when building and establishing a camp. You can quite easily (with practise) make cordage especially in an wilderness enviroment it just takes a little time and know how, some people will spout about the utility of paracord others bankline, myself personally have never been in need of anything with that strength much of the time I can get away with garden Jute (can also be used as a firestarter) it’s cheap and effective.
Food: Army ration packs/ MRE’s/ Camping food/ Take whatever you want/ like, rice is a good belly filler eventually though whatever food you take will run out, snaring/trapping and fishing are excellent survival strategies as they are/can be passive food gatherers whilst you’re about other chores such as finding/ purifying water, gathering wood, foraging wild greens if thats your thing. Hunting in my opinion is too time consuming and should be undertaken as targets of opportunity present themselves and not an activity in it’s own right.
I’m of the opinion just the basics in both equipment and skill sets will put the budding/novice survivalist/ prepper streets ahead of the competition.
Ghost 1 week, 4 days ago.