The Modular Individual Lightweight Carrying Disaster ünd Doomsday Satchel
So I was laying there in bed one night worrying as usual about the end of the world and people coming to take my tactical bacon and had a vision:
A modular B.O.B.!!
Well, modular equipment is nothing new, the military uses it everywhere and it is starting to take off in the civilian backpacking world too. People are realizing that individual pieces of kit do specific things, and you dont need to have everything in one large pack to be effective. In fact, you can be more effective by streamlining your gear to match whatever mission or plan you are going to undertake.
This is where MILCDUDS comes in.
In my vision I imagined the five typical scenarios I have been prepping for:
- A disaster occurring when I am at work or away from home, and how to get back home to bug in
- Being able to provide security while bugged in
- Being able to move short distances with equipment, such as a 1-3 day security patrol or overnight supply run
- Moving longer distances, such as a 3-5 day scouting mission or multi-day supply run
- Bugging out in an all-out emergency and having to travel 1-2 weeks on foot
My in-place preps called for different plans and different equipment for each scenario, and that was the mindset I had when selecting and loading my gear. I had a small 24-hour Get Home Bag in the car, a very basic loadout kit that holds ammo and supplies for security, a dedicated 3DAP for longer trips, and a dedicated BOB for the full pull. All of this equipment was separate and isolated, meaning that in an all-out emergency I would be struggling with 3 backpacks and a LBV, or settling for one backpack (to match the one set of shoulders I have), repacking it, and leaving the rest of my supplies behind.
This is where my vision comes in: with the benefits of modularity being apparent, I needed a modular solution to my BOB and prepping. I started looking into various types of load bearing equipment (LBV/LBE, MOLLE, ELCWS, ILBE, etc) and while some of them were pretty sweet, none offered exactly what I was looking for. but, with the adaptability of a lot of these systems I thought I could possibly mix and match and make something work for what I needed. So, I went out and bought a few things to test some ideas, bought a few more things to build on those ideas, and finally came up with what I think is a killer solution for my disparate bag situation.
The system I "designed" (I wouldnt really call it a design, I just rigged some junk up basically) takes all of the 5 scenarios I listed above and fills each scenario's requirements independently, but allows each step to build upon the previous steps and to use the same set of gear throughout. Essentially, I was able to condense all 3 of my separate bags and my security loadout gear into one system that allows me to tailor my equipment to whatever situation I am facing, and do so quickly and easily in a MUCH lighter platform without losing space, or comfort.
I just got everything together last night for the first time and I gotta say, i impressed even myself a little bit. Pics to come tonight if I have time.
So I was laying there in bed one night worrying as usual about the end of the world and people coming to take my tactical bacon and had a vision:
A modular B.O.B.!!
Well, modular equipment is nothing new, the military uses it everywhere and it is starting to take off in the civilian backpacking world too. People are realizing that individual pieces of kit do specific things, and you dont need to have everything in one large pack to be effective. In fact, you can be more effective by streamlining your gear to match whatever mission or plan you are going to undertake.
This is where MILCDUDS comes in.
In my vision I imagined the five typical scenarios I have been prepping for:
- A disaster occurring when I am at work or away from home, and how to get back home to bug in
- Being able to provide security while bugged in
- Being able to move short distances with equipment, such as a 1-3 day security patrol or overnight supply run
- Moving longer distances, such as a 3-5 day scouting mission or multi-day supply run
- Bugging out in an all-out emergency and having to travel 1-2 weeks on foot
My in-place preps called for different plans and different equipment for each scenario, and that was the mindset I had when selecting and loading my gear. I had a small 24-hour Get Home Bag in the car, a very basic loadout kit that holds ammo and supplies for security, a dedicated 3DAP for longer trips, and a dedicated BOB for the full pull. All of this equipment was separate and isolated, meaning that in an all-out emergency I would be struggling with 3 backpacks and a LBV, or settling for one backpack (to match the one set of shoulders I have), repacking it, and leaving the rest of my supplies behind.
This is where my vision comes in: with the benefits of modularity being apparent, I needed a modular solution to my BOB and prepping. I started looking into various types of load bearing equipment (LBV/LBE, MOLLE, ELCWS, ILBE, etc) and while some of them were pretty sweet, none offered exactly what I was looking for. but, with the adaptability of a lot of these systems I thought I could possibly mix and match and make something work for what I needed. So, I went out and bought a few things to test some ideas, bought a few more things to build on those ideas, and finally came up with what I think is a killer solution for my disparate bag situation.
The system I "designed" (I wouldnt really call it a design, I just rigged some junk up basically) takes all of the 5 scenarios I listed above and fills each scenario's requirements independently, but allows each step to build upon the previous steps and to use the same set of gear throughout. Essentially, I was able to condense all 3 of my separate bags and my security loadout gear into one system that allows me to tailor my equipment to whatever situation I am facing, and do so quickly and easily in a MUCH lighter platform without losing space, or comfort.
I just got everything together last night for the first time and I gotta say, i impressed even myself a little bit. Pics to come tonight if I have time.
