That sort of money is probably better spent elsewhere. Like moving somewhere where such an expensive BOB is unneeded.
Please, tell me where this place is and I will move there immediately. The Earth is a dynamic, everchanging place and nowhere on it is immune from one sort of natural disaster or another. Of course, the chances of a natural disaster occuring at any given place during a person's lifetime are extremely remote but some locales have a higher probability of disasters (i.e. California= earthquakes, Florida=hurricanes, etc.) than others. Then you have to figure in man-made disasters (nuclear meltdowns, train derailments involving toxic chemicals, etc.). It's no wonder that prepping is becoming more and more mainstream every day.
I do agree that $4000 is a bit excessive for a BOB. This is due to the brands that the OP chose, not the actual items themselves. Has anyone priced the Surefire lights he has listed or the Benchmade 162 Bushcraft knife? You could assemble a well-stocked BOB for the cost of these items alone. I have built several extensive BOBs and my most expensive one is around $1300 and that includes a GPS, Iridium satphone, and phone card. I already had most of the items needed, though, because you tend to accumulate a lot of gear after 26 years in the Army and 35 years of backpacking, canoeing, and other outdoor pursuits. Just remember, you don't have to choose expensive brands for your BOB, buy what you can afford. Just make sure that it is reliable and durable. Pre-assembled BOBs can be had for less than $100. Of course the quality and completeness of such a bag might not be up to snuff, but it would sure beat nothing.
OP, I have several suggestions for your BOB that you might wish to consider. These come from a lifetime of military and outdoor experience. Of course you might incur the wrath of even more people if you implement them because they will increase the cost of your bag, unless you sell the Surefires to finance the changes.
Random Thoughts on RobRed's BOB
1) Ditch the jeans and get a pair of technical outdoor pants such as those made by Outdoor Research. Cotton is heavy, dries slowly, and is useless as an insulator when wet. The new technical garments are light, dry quickly, and are available with varying degrees of insulation. Some are even available with zip-off legs for summer use. Merino wool pants would also be another good option. The same goes for socks and t-shirts, no cotton. Wool is best for socks and technical synthetics for t-shirts. Darn Tough and Smartwool are good choices for socks and Patagonia Capilene t-shirts are awesome.
2) I see that you have first aid items scattered throughout your pack. Consolidate them into one container so that you will not have to dig through the whole pack during an emergency medical situation.
3) Get rid of the Coleman poncho as it does not breathe and doesn't offer complete coverage. Replace it with a set of propper rainwear such as those made by The North Face, Marmot, or Patagonia. Get the packable kind, not the expedition type stuff. My preference is for the Marmot Precip jacket and pants. They pack small and are breathable and light.
4) Ditch the Cyalume light shield, you don't need it. If you need to conceal the light for some reason, stick it in your pocket. I bought one when I was in the Army and threw it away after my first time out with it. I never throw away anything if that tells you anything.
5) I see that you have a cookset but nothing to cook on. Look at the Emberlit wood burning stove. It uses small twigs and sticks for fuel, folds absolutely flat, and weighs almost nothing, especially the titanium version. They also work much better than you might think.
http://www.emberlit.com/en/
6) Speaking of your cookset, ditch it. Get a stainless GSI Glacier cup or a Snow Peak titanium cup. You don't need a whole cookset as this is a survival situation not a weekend camping trip. Don't forget a plastic or titanium spork.
7) The cup will nest on a 32 oz. Nalgene bottle and I suggest that you get one. Then get a MOLLE carrier that the bottle and cup will both fit in and attatch it to your pack. Maxpedition, Condor, and 5.11 Tactical all make such carriers but the fit will be snug with the cup.
8) A few energy bars aren't going to get you very far. Go out and get some freeze dried backpacking meals by Mountain House or Backpacker's Panty. If you feel that water to hydrate the meals might be hard to come by or you don't mind the extra weight, add some field stripped MREs to your pack. Powdered Gatoraide is also something good to have.
9) You need some way to supplement the food that you carry. An emergency fishing kit (
http://www.bestglide.com/survival_fishing_kit.html) and snares (
http://www.thompsonsnares.com/Replacement) will help you do this. *You have to scroll down the page on the snare site to get to the survival snares.* Also, get a good book on edible wild plants in your area and get out in the wild and learn them or put the book in a ziplock bag in your pack.
10) I don't know what your emergency bivy consists of, but a good, lightweight tarp is indespensible. Get a good quality one such as Kelty's Noah's Tarp or, my favorite, a BCUSA Multicam tarp from Bushcraft Outfitters (
http://www.bushcraftoutfitters.com/BCUSA-Tarps_c.23.htm). You already have 550 cord but don't forget to add some tent pegs. MSR titanium are the best.
11) Get a small bottle of Purell hand sanitizer. You never know what kind of germs and viruses you might run into during a survival situation. If you want to stay with the tactical look that you have established, get the military version in the foliage green bottle. Also get a small bottle of Campsuds or a similar concentrated camp soap.
12) I see that you have maps but no navigational aids. First, road maps are fine but get yourself some USGS topographical maps of your area and the adjacent areas and get yourself a good compass. Suunto and Silva are good choices. Second, learn how to use them properly. I don't know how many times over the years that I've seen people on the trail carrying a compass that have absolutely no idea how to use it. A good resource is the book
Be Expert with Map & Compass by Bjorn Kjellstrom. You can help protect your maps and make them more durable by treating them with Map Proof made by NikWax. You can also carry a GPS if you wish (I use a Garmin Oregon 600) but never rely exclusively on technology.
Sorry. I re-read your list and saw that you have a Suunto compass listed. I missed it the first time.
13) A synthetic base layer is a good idea to carry. You can vary the weight by season but they should always be available. Patagonia's Capilene base layers are highly recommended.
14) A USGI VS-17/GVX signal panel is another good option to carry. As you have gone for the tactical look, you might be hard to see in a S&R situation. The panel can be attached to you pack while you walk or laid out on the ground to make you more visible from the air. A smaller, lighter version of the military signal panel is available from Battle Systems LLC (
http://www.battlesystemsllc.com/Marker_Panel,_Individual,_LW.html).
15) You have fire starting gear but nothing to aid you in geting it started. You can't always assume that dry tinder will be available. You know what they say about the word "assume." Adventure Medical's SOL brand, Zippo Outdoors, and Ultimate Survival Technologies (UST) all offer prepackaged tinder. Coghlan's makes a fire starting paste that comes in a tube and they also make fire starting sticks. You can make your own tinder by saturating cotton balls with petroleum jelly and keeping them in an empty pill bottle. These work very well and burn a long time. A plain old Bic lighter is also extremely useful. Lastly, get out and practice making a fire in various conditions and by various methods. It's easy to make a fire in your back yard on a sunny, dry day but another thing to make one when you are cold and everything is wet in a life-or-death situation.
16) Ditch your chainsaw and get a Bahco Laplander saw (
http://www.amazon.com/Bahco-396-LAP-Laplander-Folding-9-Inch/dp/B0001IX7OW). In my experience, they are much easier to use, especially on smaller branches, because they don't require both hands. The Swedish made Bahco is the top-of-the-line when it comes to this type of saw. MOLLE pouches are also available for it from SORD USA (
http://www.sordusa.com/Laplander-Saw-Pouch.html).
17) Get yourself some backpacker's toilet tissue like the kind offered by Coghlan's.
18) Get a small diamond or ceramic knife sharpener. A combination of the two would be best. Smith's and Lansky both have combination models available.
19) You don't need two pairs of gloves. Carry the Mechanix in the warmer months and the others when it's cold.
20) Make sure that you have a well-broken-in, comfortable pair of waterproof/breathable hiking boots available.
21) This point will be the most controversial to you but...ditch the Surefires. Surefire makes excellent lights, possibly the best in the world. I have owned or been issued many Surefire lights over the years and can find no fault with them but all of your other electronics evidently take AA batteries. There are many great lights out there that also take AAs, with the Fenix E20 (
http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-Edition-Camping-Upgarde-3-mode/dp/B00R06NRZ2 and HL30 (
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/3326858966/fenix-hl30-headlamp-led-with-batteries-2-aa-alkaline-aluminum-polymer-plastic) coming to mind. That way, you won't end up having to carry two types of batteries and all of your batteries will be interchangable. Also, AA batteries will be much easier to come across in a scavenging situation than CR123s will. Heck, CR123s are hard enough to find anyway. Every home, convenience store, drug store, variety store, and grocery store in America have AA batteries in them. How many locations do you think have CR123s in them?
Those are some of my initial impressions of your kit. Overall, I'd say that you did an excellent job and it's obvious that a lot of thought went into it. Remember too that survival is not just about having the things needed to survive, it is also about knowledge. You need to develop a mindset that you are going to make it, no matter what. Knowing how to properly use the items in your BOB is also extremely important. Get yourself some good surival books and read and study them. Whenever you are in the woods, try to put as many things from the books as you can into practice so that you wll be familiar with them. If you have no medical training (do you know how to properly use your Halo chest seal?), contact your local Red Cross to see when they will be giving courses. Depending on where you live, courses in wilderness survival may be available in your area. Check out the instructor's qualifications and take the course if he checks out.
Like you, I intentionally didn't include firearms because of their controversy in some circles. I personally am armed everytime I leave the house (I have a CCW permit) and my BOBs do contain arms and ammunition. I hope that some of this helps. I've spent many years aquiring my survival skills and knowledge but I too still have much to learn.
The documents are a good point. I carry mine on 2 CF cards in a small crush proof/water proof case. The data on these cards is encrypted with a strong cipher.
