aging bob 2 of 2

AGING BOB 2

Yeh, I know, Wal-Mart BOB items.  But at the time I shopped there the quality hadn’t gone to crap.  I didn’t have to worry about the food killing me, back then.  Now, I’d grocery shop elsewhere.  The bag was pretty basic.  Mostly it was full of food for three small meals a day.  Instant oatmeal, mashed potatoes, rice pilaf and the like.  I had some PowerBars, but those do NOT age well.  I just told you that story not too long ago as a note I tacked on to the article, about other Power Bars I’d gotten and stored, so I was very leery taste testing this one.  I didn’t need to swallow ( that’s what he said! ) to know it was putrid.  I spit that bastard out and then used mouthwash to sanitize.

*

And of course, who could forget Top Ramen in their food preps?  Yes, they smelled musty, almost like vegetable shortening forgotten in the back corner of the pantry for a few generations, but it was a noticeable smell rather than an offensive one, so I taste tested and they were fine.  I have a relatively sensitive stomach and I can usually get a belly flop as soon as something bad hits it ( if not, I’m sick that night.  In this case, sixteen hours on, no stomach complaints or intestinal discomfort from all the products ). 

*

So, eight Top Ramen packs, a dozen instant oatmeal packs ( with cream, so that shows you the non-food that non-dairy is ), two Rice-A-Roni’s, three mash potato and eight Pop Tarts.  The Pop Tarts were nearly rock like but if allowed to soften with saliva were actually edible and still surprisingly tasty.  I had a pack of dried pineapple that seemed to get drier as time went on, a literal freeze then dried.  Those seemed okay but would have been on the fence as to whether I wanted to eat much of.  A pound of butterscotch candies were fine.  The wrappers came right off without sticking to the candy, as so many do nowadays a year or even months after expiration.  You gotta wonder what they substituted for fake sugar in today’s candy.

*

If I had rotated the PowerBars so they were still edible, I think the whole thing would have given me an easy weeks worth of food without experiencing too much hunger or weakness.  I also included a three pack of Sterno fuel, this being prior to my Volcano Stove or Hobo Stove or Dakota Hole learning curve ( the Hobo is a coffee can used like a rocket stove ).  Besides the food, and a six pack of bottles water which didn’t leak, surprisingly after all the freezes, I had a canteen with metal cup ( for the cooking ).  I also had water purification tabs ( the bottle water was just for the initial flight to avoid dehydration ).  Again, this was way back in the day when I thought the only way to filter water was the big Katadyn stick.  Obviously, my Y2K camping filter of the same brand escaped my memory at the time.

*

For light, I had a LED pen flashlight rated at a hundred hours run time.  The two batteries that came with it and the four back-ups obviously didn’t make it through the decade.  The flashlight was fine ( the cheaper non-brand lights will sometimes somehow just age and die, even out of the weather ).  I had two Bic lighters, and those of course still worked.  A space blanket.  A back up to my fixed knife, a dollar folding knife.  And of course a cheap knife sharpener ( in the fishing section at Wally, a red colored holdable plastic piece, with two white crisscrossed small ceramic rods.  I think at the time that was maybe $2-this was a back-up to the sharpener I always carry on my keyring ). 

*

The bag all this fit in was only nine by nine inches and a foot and a half long.  The water made it a bit heavy, but nothing that would be noticeable unless I carried it all day.  The Top Ramen made it a bit bulky, but still not bad.  Everything was in Zip-Lock bags and everything looked as new as the day I bought it.  The bag and canteen with cup were trash pick items  and I already had the fix blade knife on hand, so I don’t image the contents cost over around $30.  Today, if making the bag, I’d replace the water tabs with a Sawyer filter.  I’d do without the Sterno and of course, never buy the Power Bars.  Other than that, not bad for a bag I bought and then literally forgot about. 

*

I’m frankly astounded the food did so well a decade past its expiration ( take that!, freeze dried, you overly salted overly prepared overly expensive bastards ).  I’ve never had issues with grocery store food three to five years past expiration, but one would have thought a decade in fluctuating temperatures wouldn’t have been so kind.  I imagine if I had put peanut butter away it would not have survived, but then, who knows?  It is the same nasty Forever Oil that vegetable shortening is made from.  But like all oil, there is no mistaking when it is rancid past the point of consumption ( I think most of us eat semi-rancid food all the time ).  Normal oil, you sniff and it is strong.  Rancid and you jerk your face away in disgust and almost vomit. 

*

Not to say you want to eat decade old food, just that you can.  I wouldn’t want it my exclusive diet, merely a supplement.  A one week supply of it exclusively isn’t going to kill you, either.

But to finally arrive at the takeaway, “white foods last forever, and make your BOB mostly about food”.  All these other doo-dads are fine.  But as always Food First.

END ( today's related link https://amzn.to/2JPvfd4 )

 

Please support Bison by buying through the Amazon ad graphics at the top of the page. ***You can make donations or book purchases through PayPal ( www.paypal.me/jimd303 )

*** Unless you are in extreme poverty, spend a buck a month here, by the above donation methods or buy a book. If you don't do Kindle, send me the money and I'll e-mail it to you in a PDF file.  If you donated, you may request books no charge.   My e-mail is: jimd303@reagan.com  My address is: James M Dakin, 181 W Bullion Rd #12, Elko NV 89801-4184

*** Pay your author-no one works for free.  I’m nice enough to publish for barely above Mere Book Money, so do your part.***my Bonus Material blog*** junk land under a grand *  Lord Bison* my bio & biblio*   my web site is www.bisonprepper.com *** Wal-Mart wheat***Amazon Author Page
* By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there