The first one is super nice and pretty much exactly what I want but is more than I can spend. The second one is definately in my price range and is nice, I just kinda wish is had a spot for a bedroll

I'm not sure if it's like the army assault packs or not but if it is, there should be molle o the bottom that you could strap a bed roll too. The first one is definitely one to aspire to for sure

Yea its so nice. Its just that I'm missing several pieces of gear and can't spend that much on a backpack right now

I'm in the same boat at the moment, these layoffs are killing me. Once I get to a position to where I can I'm more then willing to help people get the better stuff for sure

Yea this shit sucks. Who knew the apocalypse wouldn't be all campfires and blowing up buildings?

No joke right? Ever since I started prepping and stuff I said I would absolutely hate a bio threat, and of course here we are. The virus doesnt really bother me it's the people being fear mongered into all this panic buying and all around craziness

Yeah that's what I'm more worried about to be honest

We havent really had it to bad here in muscatine but but theres a good chance that when we start getting more cases that things will start to change pretty rapidly

@kilowatt cocktail What's your opinion on the USMC ILBE rucksack?

Hell yea that's one of the even newer ones. As long as it comes with the frame and straps that's one hell of a buy

I'm hoping it stays low cause the auction ends next friday and I really would like it

Most of the other ones on ebay are $200-$300

That's for sure but dont be surprised if it jumps quite a bit

@kilowatt cocktail Just in case the ILBE rucksack jumps in price, what are your thoughts on this rucksack?

That doesnt look bad at all. It looks like it has a pretty good amount of good reviews.

Thats my hope. It appears it's only problem is small and fixable. It comes with a reflective, high-vis, yellow rain cover. I just found a camo rain cover on amazon for $10

I wouldnt fill it all the way, just make sure that it's something that is reasonable for the distance that you would be moving to your bug out location. I would keep both around, one for none igloo situation such as training and the other for when the igloo kicks off.

Thats my thought. There might be a time when I'm just hiking and dont need to hide or I might have an emergency and need to be high-vis

Exactly, or if there is anyway to make it reversible that way it takes up less space that would be ideal. I plan on going out a couple times during this summer and camping out of my BOB and any of yall that want to join in are more then welcome

I may try to paint the other side with spray paint or maybe some more expensive paint to make it a flat green or tan color

Also that sounds great. I think it would be awesome for us to get together as a group and go camping

Spray it with flex seal first and then try to paint that way it has a good texture to stick too. That's for sure, I've been looking to create a M.A.G. that's serious and actionable for a while.

This is probably a silly question but what does M.A.G. stand for?

Mutual assistance group

Ok that makes sense. That's really important. Making actual connections and forming a close knit group would be very beneficial for an shtf scenario

It is, lone wolf's dont last. I've got some connections here in my area and they bring some good stuff to the table. I mostly bring military knowledge, weapons handling, maintenance and I'm a pretty damn good cook, not to toot my own horn but I've been told.

That's awesome! I'm not necessarily great at anything yet but I'm pretty good at cooking. Other than that I just have basic knowledge of skills

That's a good platform to have though, especially at your age. It gives the older guys a platform to teach you skills and other things

That's what I'm hoping happens with more camping. Practicing lighting fires, cooking food, making shelters, etc. will help me get better but there are still skills I don't know that I'd love to learn.

What type of tarp/poncho would you recommend? A heavy canvas one or a lighter ripstop one?

I like the light ripstop just because they dont get weighted down like canvas does when wet but one of both is good as well, that way in the winter time you have multiple layers

I think I'll start with the ripstop since it's a little cheaper and will be a little more useful this summer

That's for sure, lots of paracord is good as well

I got 100ft of black paracord from walmart today cause it was cheap

But I should get some more, mayne some real rope too

Lol did you accidentally buy the 1050 cord like I did one time? I picked up a pack of 2 nylon rope at menards 2 weeks ago for 6 bucks lol

Probably. It was $6

Lol you'll know the difference when you go to use it 🤣🤣 I went to wrap a knife handle and it was a huge