Pre-made BoB or assembled?

[BDBHoover]

Okay so I've been working on putting together a bug out bag for a little while now.... gathering all the goodies needed for a 72hr pack..... I've been reading on other sites about pre-assembled BoBs and it's got me thinking.... What are your opinions on this matter? Would you recommend assembling my own pack or purchase a pre-assembled pack and add to the stuff that they don't put in it?

Also I've been looking at getting rid of my current bag but can't really decide on another one to get.... Any ideas??

 

[Interloper]

Great topic...

 

[Kedric]

My .02, but I wouldn't buy one of the pre-assembled jobs. If I am trusting my life to the gear and equipment it contains, I want to know exactly what everything is and how well made it is. I have handled a couple of the pre-assembled kits that other folks have bought, and always found the quality to be somewhat lacking.

I would say take the money of the kit and use it to buy quality gear.

 

[GREEN607]

Okay so I've been working on putting together a bug out bag for a little while now.... gathering all the goodies needed for a 72hr pack..... I've been reading on other sites about pre-assembled BoBs and it's got me thinking.... What are your opinions on this matter? Would you recommend assembling my own pack or purchase a pre-assembled pack and add to the stuff that they don't put in it?

Also I've been looking at getting rid of my current bag but can't really decide on another one to get.... Any ideas??

Like was said above...... I would completely put my own stuff together, and get the quality stuff, in case 2-3 days turns into a week or more.

Also, if you need a change of bag.... I have had one in the INGO classifieds for a week or more, priced @ $10 FTF. No one seems interested.... so if you look at the ad, and can use the bag.... send me a PM here, and I'll tell you where you can pick it up (NW side of Indy).... for FREE.

Here's the link-

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/non_firearms_related/170820-another_bug_out_bag.html

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

Alot of those kits and even something as simple as pocket survival kits are usually pretty overpriced for something that you will modify and add to anyway.

not to mention those kits are pretty generalized and by no means all purpose for everyone. my bag's total cost is probably significantly more than one of those premade kits, but I know what is in it and what purpose(s) those items will serve for me. but think of it this way if you drop the money on a premade kit and then decide that alot of the stuff you will replace, or add even more to (which you undoubtedly will do) you will probably end up spending more than if you just started from scratch.

Those kits are great ideas to look at for recommendations that may spark ideas for items for your own bag. i have done this and added quite a few items of my own.

 

[indiucky]

My .02, but I wouldn't buy one of the pre-assembled jobs. If I am trusting my life to the gear and equipment it contains, I want to know exactly what everything is and how well made it is. I have handled a couple of the pre-assembled kits that other folks have bought, and always found the quality to be somewhat lacking.

I would say take the money of the kit and use it to buy quality gear.

What he said. Also (IMHO) I try to make my BOB look like anything but a BOB. I was using a diaper bag (big) for awhile. I want to be very prepared but not appear as if I am very prepared.

 

[teddy12b]

In my simple opinion, I'd put together my own bag. Why let someone else choose the food you're going to carry or why let someone else choose your poncho. It's kind of like reloading your own ammo versus buying factory ammo. Yeah you can go out and buy factory ammo or a preassembled bag, but you'll never get the custom fit and feel that you will get when you make it yourself.

I keep a spreadsheet of everything I have in my BOB and I find myself rethinking everything in it and tweaking it's inventory every so often each year. I'm in the middle of doing it again right now and it's probably the 4th or 5th time I've made significant changes to my bag.

 

[IncendiaryGunner]

In general, you can get more for your money making your own... and you get to scrutinize the quality of every product, instead of just comparing total kits.

 

[Constructionist]

I'll second what many have said on here: use the contents list on the advertisements for pre-fab BOBs as a starter list for assembling your own, then customize as necessary.

 

[Icarry2]

I think this would have been a great post on the BOB Sticky..

Buying one is better then nothing but not tailored to your needs and skills.

I would say check the BOB Sticky for more info..

 

[Blackhawk2001]

A possible downside to survival with a "store-bought" BOB: will you understand what you have and know how to use it? Another reason you should make your own kit is so you will have worked with everything and know how to use it; a prepackaged kit won't provide that kind of information to you.