So what can be said about the “Motherlode”
that makes it worth your hard earned dollars?
First off, you can drink through this thing like you are drinking
through a fire hose. With the wide mouth
bladder, you can fill it back up just as quickly. Fill this bad boy up with 3L of your favorite
liquid. If you want to survive, I
recommend water. If you are courageous
you could try something else, but you’ll likely just end up as a dehydrated
mess of worm food and some lucky bastard will make off with the rest of your
kit. This is an awesome hydration system
built into an amazing bag. Click the
video you will find in the title link. It will
give you a great idea of what the bag looks and feels like. Unfortunately, pictures don’t really do it
justice.
Second, as a bug out bag (BOB), this
thing is 2258 cubic inches of awesome.
What else is nearly this size?
This is a medium size bag, think of a large school bag or a small
rucksack. Some examples of these:
The straps are padded excellently
on this pack and they keep you comfortable over the miles. I have not yet put more miles on this pack
than it was comfortable to carry. All
told, I’ve carried it for a grand total of somewhere around 100 miles. It survived an entire deployment and it still
hasn’t busted a seam or stitch anywhere.
If you are a fan of the waist belt packs, this pack has an integrated
waist belt. When in regular hiking mode,
I don’t use this. I find them awkward
and uncomfortable. When I purchase a
second one of these, (which I plan on, in MultiCam) and have it as my dedicated
BOB, I will leave the waist belt on. Its
usefulness in that scenario will outweigh its otherwise goofy appearance. (Seen below in manufacturer's picture.)
Now I know a lot of you are
thinking that this is really small for a BOB, but let’s be real about
this. Though your BOB is your lifeline,
you also have to carry it. Many of us
are not in any kind of physical shape to carry anymore than 30-50lbs over
extended distances. I’m a soldier and I’m
in pretty dang good shape, especially by military standards. Why does that even matter? The Army expects you to be able to carry
approximately 75 pounds of gear (this includes your weapon (@ 8-10lbs depending
on cool guy gear) and protective gear (@ about 30lbs for your helmet, ballistic
armor, ACUs and boots)) 12 miles in under four hours. If you want to be high-speed, make 12 miles
in 3 hours or less. For a select few in
the military, they can make it this entire distance in less than two
hours. Now keep in mind, to cover that
amount of ground in that amount of time you are doing a mile every ten minutes
at two hours, every 15 minutes at three and every 20 minutes at four hours.
Why do I say all of this? Learn to pack light, it will save your life,
or at the very least, make it much easier to survive. At some point you have to make a tradeoff
between survivability and mobility. This
is the same decision anyone going into combat has to make. Move quickly, but be exposed, or move slowly,
but be able to survive a tank round to the face. (NOTE: You will NEVER be able
to survive a tank round to the face, do not try.)
I, (obviously) am a fan of packing
light. Eventually, I will post an entire
layout of my BOB on here for anyone to copy if you like the idea. I’m currently in the process of building this
awesome pocket kit for every member of my family. Click this link. It will give you a great example of what you
can do with some creative thinking and not much space. So if you have a great idea of how to pack
light, or just want to share some ideas on what you would put in your BOB,
please feel free to post a comment.
As always get D.E.E.P., F.A.S.T.
and survival becomes second nature.
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