So true, but I would rather have the ability to throw it out than wish I had it. Many people simply don't know what they need and they pack their BOB based on their experience and knowledge, or simply what others recommend. I agree that if you have the forethought to pack such a bag one should have the forethought to know how to survive with it, but betting most won't. To another point, I think most pack a BOB not for the end of the world but for something like they got stranded (car broke down) and they need to walk the highway to help.
To help sell your point, it's a lot of fun to go out and use it and the reward of learning does a lot for your self worth.
Very true nelson, but who wants to throw good stuff away! Maybe I'm a bit old fashion, but there are places that you can get stranded in a car that will require hiking out for several miles, not too likely but it does happen. It just appears to me that a lot of folks make a game out of seeing how much cool stuff they can get in a backpack and do not consider the weight at all. I keep a plastic container in my truck with all of the stranded on the side of the road stuff in it, but still keep my backpack light.
I am 6'-3" and in pretty good shape, but packing a 60 pound backpack on an all day hike is not something I dont want to do. That is for young soldiers and people that are top physical shape, and even then it wears on them.
I just think everybody needs to consider the weight, and try it out for a day or 2!
When I put together my first backpack, I took a 1 week hiking trip through some pretty rough country, and discovered that there was a lot of things I had in my pack that I would probably never use, and I also relized how the weight wore me down after a few hours of hiking. That was when I was in my 20's and I was in perfect physical condition.
I quickly learned that I needed more food, less weight, and pretty much just the basics. I cut my first aid supplys down to bandaids, gauze, medical tape, merthiolate, and a bottle of aspirin and Pepto Bismol tablets. To this day I have only used a couple of bandaids and maybe an aspirin or 2, so those huge first aid kits are just rediculous to me!
Carrying a hatchet and a folding shovel is a lot of weight, and you can do without either one. Those fancy little stoves are cool but I just build a fire and cook on that.
The only time I pack heavy is in really cold weather and that consists of extra clothes and a low temp rated sleeping bag. Extreme cold weather merits packing heavy and there is no way around that!
Any backpack is better than being stranded with nothing so it's all good, and it is great to see so many people trying to be prepared, but everybody owes it to themselves to really use the pack and elliminate unecessary weight, and learn the skills that will always get you through with less merchandise.
