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Packing for Basic [MERGED]

Bring a swimsuit. Worse case, you won't use it.  Best case, you get to use it over the issued stuff.  When I was on course 5 years ago, the females actually won a petition to not wear their issued gear because it was uhmm...  too revealing cleavage wise.  Essentially when they jumped in the water they busted out.  So they all wore their own gear (in the pool).

Thank god they got rid of the issued banana hammocks for the males. ;)

You need two pairs of "running" or cross-training type "sports" shoes.  One for indoors, one for out.  You can't wear exterior shoes (which will for sure get grassed/muddied up during runs) in the interior gyms.  The CF used to issue a pair of shoes as well, though I only ever saw one OCdt ever use them, as they were not exactly of high value.

The clock - I had a plug-in. Wasn't an issue, and with your watch (which you must have), you should have an alarm feature for the field and backup to your bedside clock ;)

As far as toiletries go; you will use at least two sets while you are there, so there isn't really a negative to buying a second set. If you aren't allowed to use it, you just use it up once the initial inspection layout kit is dead.

BMQ/IAP/BOTP isn't rocket science.  Bring what makes sense to bring, but stay away from the gucci kit. You'll just end up wasting money on stuff you'd never use, get used to using stuff you don't need (BMQ is part about getting you out of civvy mindset), and risk looking like an -ss to your colleagues and staff.  Anything you can't use gets locked up, so dont buy anything you'd never use yourself and you're fine.




 
I learned a few kit related things on my course. 

Some instructors will check and freak out if you have "inspection" set of stuff that you never use.  Simple solution,  blow off the dust (that was not a fun one to watch, for other people)

If your soap is white, or a light colour (like most are) get a light coloured, or matching colour soap dish.  If you get a shiny black soap dish and white flaky soap... only good times will be had by those on either side of you.  With your razor,  I suggest having an inspection blade.  Ie in the Mach 3 razor case it holds a few blades underneath,  simply designate one of them as your inspection blade.  Put on in the morning for the inspection,  then change it for shaving.

I know allot of people "poo-poo" Gucci kit.  And I can see why.  I know people who spend almost 80% of their paycheque on stuff they'll likely not really use. Allot of people go crazy with the kit, and I mean completely off the wall (it is comical, they bring 8 times more stuff than and two people put together and they can't get around to using their stuff).  With that said, it is nice to have a http://www.cpgear.com/default.asp?mn=1.19.56&f=pd&pid=1 or something similar.  Fits in the pocket,  write stuff down, completely essential. (Along with a pen/pencil).  Also,  there is no such thing as to many boot bands or flags.  The flags do fall off and having a few in your pocket can save you (or someone you see) allot of trouble. The boot bands simply because there will be a rush on them and once again,  simple little things that you don't notice, until you don't have them. (Another item that just disapears in the field - have extras)

Honestly bring what it says on the list and you'll be fine.  (I think it does say two pairs of shoes) 
 
Thanks for the help Meridian, all my questions answered!!!
What PT is done outside, and indoors? Running outside, and more of a gym class indoors?
I'm trying to decide whether I should buy another running shoe for indoors, or a cross-trainer.

I know BMQ is.....Basic, very basic, but I just want to be as prepared as possible.

"Failing to Prepare....is Preparing to Fail!"

And Zell_Dietrich, sounds like a good idea with the Mach III Blades, ...good razors, aren't they? haha. I didn't know they paid that much attention to detail! guess I'm lucky I have blonde hair! Green Soap, and an OD case sounds like a plan.
 
Uhhm, its been a while since I went through, and fitness standards have changed.. or at least how the Forces addresses them have changed. So I can't confirm, but from what I've heard from friends who have recently gone through, what you are mentioning is essentially correct.

If you have an older pair of running shoes, as long as they won't mark the gym floors and you dont use em outside and you get appropriate cross-training style support, they can be used indoors.  Get a good pair of comfortable outdoor running shoes though - comfort and your feet will get you far in any army ;)

I wouldn't be able to survive without Mach III. They are expensive, but worth every penny. I can't shave with the cheap disposables, but did use one for my inspection layout.
 
I was talking to a friend about his BMQ, he mentioned it's not worth the effort/risk to keep doubles of everything. Sure if you can get away without getting caught that's awesome, but overall not worth it, cause if you DO get caught you bring a lot of neg attention to yourself and you'll get in shit.
He said he had got caught doing that with shaving cream and he kinda got let off easy, the instructor emptied half of the can into my friend's hands.
BEST part is he got his instructor back. When he does inspections he likes picking up the shoes and turning it upside down above his face and looking into it to see if he's hiding anything there, so my buddy filled the shoe up with foot power...... It went ALLLL over the instructor's face.

He got in so much shit. Funny story though.
 
Thanks Meridian. My buddy's on BMQ in St. Jean right now, but I haven't been able to get ahold of him, and fear I'll be loaded, and called up before I do. And about the feet and the army bit....I see alot of Dr. Scholl's in my future! They're "What you're riding on!".

And playing jokes on an instructor....sure, it's funny, but I wouldn't put my ass on the line like that! I'd rather see someone in another plt. do it!
 
CF_Lifer said:
And playing jokes on an instructor....sure, it's funny, but I wouldn't put my *** on the line like that! I'd rather see someone in another plt. do it!

Might as well though. One person f**ks up everybody f**ks up ;D ;D
 
Alright I know you guys are going to want to kill me because new threads are the epitome of evil. Regardless I'm sorry but after using the search function many times people seemed to have a question about one item or another but no major lists. So I'm headed to BMQ August 19th and am going super shopping this weekend. What I want to do is not waste a bunch of money and while I hear Canex has everything, I have a giant list and am wondering what I should buy and stuff in a duffel bag before I go and what I can buy there. I'm going to list it all for simplicity but I really don't want to screw this up. Thanks to those who help and for new topic nazi's I apologize. Mainly what can I avoid buying and what's an absolute necessity beforehand.

a few items here are something that you would bring for a weeklong trip to jamaica but I'm going to include them anyways.

Plastic Soap Dish:
Plastic Toothbrush Case (same colour as soap dish):
Toothpaste:
Mouth Wash:
Dental Floss:
Non disposable razor with blades:
Shaving Cream or gel:
Deodorant:
Shampoo:
Laundry Detergent:
Civilian sports clothing (Like shorts bathing suits and t-shirt, it says only bring 1 so 1 pair shorts 1 bathing suit and 1 t-shirt?):
Inexpensive watch:
Shower sandals:
Lint Brush:
Alarm Clock (We just go out and buy an alarm clock any one we want or everyone gets the same clock and such from canex?):
Facecloth, hand towel, and bath towel (dark colour):
Iron (Can I not buy this beforehand or is canex lacking):
Wide Belt:
Photo in picture frame 5x7 (What if I don't want a photo?):

Optional (this word makes sense I get this stuff)
Hair dryer
Letter paper

Civilian Clothing Men 4 days worth (Obvious it says just bring whatever you want, obviously this isn't for the military life its time off and such so just bring your 4 favourite of each item on the list).

AnnexC
(I think most of this is prob Canex)
Valise sleeping bag
Sheet Utility
Bivy Bag (I don't even know what this is)
Liner Sleeping Bag
Hood Sleeping Bag
Outer Sleeping Bag
Inner Sleeping Bag
Wash Bassin
Air mattress with Bag
Flashlight
Rucksac Complete
Water Canteen 2 litres with cover and sling
KFS
Carrier KFS
Cup Melmac
Plate Melmac
Kit Bag QTy- 2
Combat Toque
Scarf Combat
Thermos Vacuum Bottle
Balaclava White
Suspender
Insert arctic Mitt
Goggles
Belt
Hat sun (Bush cap)
Cold wet weather boots
combat boot
rain suit jacket
pants, rain suit
wind pants
belt, utility, webbing or tactical vest
bag utility
pouch webbing utility
webbing yoke with four adjustable straps
Gas Mask carrier with shoulder strap (Local canadian tire?)
Gas Mask
Water Bottle 1 litre
Pouch water canteen 1 litre
cup canteen water bottle 1 litre
helmet ground troops cover
helmet
helmet cover, white
parka, white camouflage
trouser, white camouflage
boot, muckluk
duffle socks, muckluk
combat parka
coveralls
undershirt thermal
drawers thermal (army green, air and navy white)
polar fleece
polar pants
combat coat
liner combat coat (if necessary)
combat trouser
combat shirt
combat gloves shell
combat gloves wool
belt black
necktie
CF wool toque
scarf CF
bath towel
hand towel
cap badge
military wool socks
black socks
ankle boots
running shoes
oxford shoe male and female
gloves cf man
(Now it breaks up and not all are included for army I'll only post those that are)
Beret (army green)
T shirt olive green
T shirt pt grey
Shorts athletic
Sweat shirt
sweat pants
swim trunks men
coat CF green tunic
CF trouser, green
sweater, CF wool
Raincoat CF
Shirt CF short sleeve
Shirt Cf long sleeve
Coat CF all weather

Now obviously some of the CF equipment is not available at your local walmart it's CF specific. But a lot of this is, now I'm assuming I just need the stuff in the top list, but just trying to cover my bases here. There is a ton of stuff listed and if I need to go buy all of this I can't see myself doing it without screwing up horribly and wasting a whole ton of space and money. Or maybe it's because it's 6:14am and I still haven't slept yet, but what do I do? Thanks.




 
as far as the alarm clock goes, it doesnt matter what type, i brought my own, its also good to have a battery powered one, as well, because you will most likely be unpluging it and "standardizing it" every morning

Buy Two of everything, (toothpaste, shampoo, toiletries etc) so when you go on leave and to the field, Your display set will be nice and clean for inspections when you get back

Buy the foam shaving cream instead of gel, you wont have mysterious white crap in the nozzle 20 mins after you cleaned it

You dont have to buy anything at the Canex if you dont want too, but who is gunna fly to Montreal with a bottle of tide lol, buy as much as you think will fit in your luggage

Bring Paper and Pens, FMP's (Field Message Pads) are great, I personally think the canex FMP Covers suck, id check out www.cpgear.com for a good FMP cover or watchband cover, the other gucci kit is more for when you are at your unit

If you dont want a photo, take a picture of you and your mom/significant other, frame it and place it neatly, in your room/cubicle

Watches: so far the best one out there in my opinion, has a built in flashlight/LED, mine is made by coleman, I belive

I bought my Iron at Zellers

I went out and bought a facecloth hand and bath towel, only to realize that the towels they issue us (Green and White) are the ones we use
the dark colour set of towels you Buy will most likely, (cant guarantee it) be used on leave

and buy two pairs of good, and I mean really good running shoes, like asics or something from the running room etc, the issue shoes are crap

Make sure your civilian clothes are clean and orderly, no rips etc

I did my best to answer your quetions, not in correct order lol
 
sciar said:
Alright I know you guys are going to want to kill me because new threads are the epitome of evil. Regardless I'm sorry but after using the search function many times people seemed to have a question about one item or another but no major lists. So I'm headed to BMQ August 19th and am going super shopping this weekend. What I want to do is not waste a bunch of money and while I hear Canex has everything, I have a giant list and am wondering what I should buy and stuff in a duffel bag before I go and what I can buy there. I'm going to list it all for simplicity but I really don't want to screw this up. Thanks to those who help and for new topic nazi's I apologize. Mainly what can I avoid buying and what's an absolute necessity beforehand.

a few items here are something that you would bring for a weeklong trip to jamaica but I'm going to include them anyways.
Depends, some courses want all candidates to have the same type/colour/brand of items
Plastic Soap Dish:
Plastic Toothbrush Case (same colour as soap dish):
Toothpaste:
Mouth Wash:
Dental Floss:
Non disposable razor with blades:
Shaving Cream or gel:
Deodorant:
Shampoo:
Laundry Detergent:
Civilian sports clothing (Like shorts bathing suits and t-shirt, it says only bring 1 so 1 pair shorts 1 bathing suit and 1 t-shirt?):
Inexpensive watch:
Shower sandals:
Lint Brush:
Alarm Clock (We just go out and buy an alarm clock any one we want or everyone gets the same clock and such from canex?):
Facecloth, hand towel, and bath towel (dark colour):<-- Should be getting this at your intial kitting but feel free to bring your own
Iron (Can I not buy this beforehand or is canex lacking):
Wide Belt:
Photo in picture frame 5x7 (What if I don't want a photo?):

Optional (this word makes sense I get this stuff)
Hair dryer
Letter paper

Civilian Clothing Men 4 days worth (Obvious it says just bring whatever you want, obviously this isn't for the military life its time off and such so just bring your 4 favourite of each item on the list).

These Items will be issued to you when you start your Basic Training Course
AnnexC
(I think most of this is prob Canex)
Valise sleeping bag
Sheet Utility
Bivy Bag (I don't even know what this is)
Liner Sleeping Bag
Hood Sleeping Bag
Outer Sleeping Bag
Inner Sleeping Bag
Wash Bassin
Air mattress with Bag
Flashlight
Rucksac Complete
Water Canteen 2 litres with cover and sling
KFS
Carrier KFS
Cup Melmac
Plate Melmac
Kit Bag QTy- 2
Combat Toque
Scarf Combat
Thermos Vacuum Bottle
Balaclava White
Suspender
Insert arctic Mitt
Goggles
Belt
Hat sun (Bush cap)
Cold wet weather boots
combat boot
rain suit jacket
pants, rain suit
wind pants
belt, utility, webbing or tactical vest
bag utility
pouch webbing utility
webbing yoke with four adjustable straps
Gas Mask carrier with shoulder strap (Local canadian tire?)
Gas Mask
Water Bottle 1 litre
Pouch water canteen 1 litre
cup canteen water bottle 1 litre
helmet ground troops cover
helmet
helmet cover, white
parka, white camouflage
trouser, white camouflage
boot, muckluk
duffle socks, muckluk
combat parka
coveralls
undershirt thermal
drawers thermal (army green, air and navy white)
polar fleece
polar pants
combat coat
liner combat coat (if necessary)
combat trouser
combat shirt
combat gloves shell
combat gloves wool
belt black
necktie
CF wool toque
scarf CF
bath towel
hand towel
cap badge
military wool socks
black socks
ankle boots
running shoes
oxford shoe male and female
gloves cf man
(Now it breaks up and not all are included for army I'll only post those that are)
Beret (army green)
T shirt olive green
T shirt pt grey
Shorts athletic
Sweat shirt
sweat pants
swim trunks men
coat CF green tunic
CF trouser, green
sweater, CF wool
Raincoat CF
Shirt CF short sleeve
Shirt Cf long sleeve
Coat CF all weather

Now obviously some of the CF equipment is not available at your local walmart it's CF specific. But a lot of this is, now I'm assuming I just need the stuff in the top list, but just trying to cover my bases here. There is a ton of stuff listed and if I need to go buy all of this I can't see myself doing it without screwing up horribly and wasting a whole ton of space and money. Or maybe it's because it's 6:14am and I still haven't slept yet, but what do I do? Thanks.
 
OK so I see someone is good with cut and paste right from the joining instructions read a little deeper specifically para 5a. (Equipment) where it says is that those walking in off the street bring the stuff from annex B (the stuff you pick-up at canex or wherever you choose to purchase them) and current serving mbrs (reservists, CFR's, SCP, etc) bring the stuff from annex B and annex C (issued from environmental clothing stores) Hope it provides some clarity. And in the future read the joining instructions a little more closely, they may just have a pre-course assignment in them (wink, wink)
 
Thanks to everyone and especially sapper, I thought so but I just wanted to double check. I didn't copy and paste the instructions unfortunately I read them and typed each part out.

Glad to hear I don't have to hunt down a gas mask.
 
sciar said:
Glad to hear I don't have to hunt down a gas mask.

You know, in the days before the internet, we walked over or called the CFRC with questions like these

It is a miracle we ever manage to join
 
i remember when I signed the dotted line, some Cpl handed me a plane ticket and said have fun, they'll give you everything when you get there, so there I went with a $200.00 Advance a pair of slacks, a golf shirt and a shave kit. I figure 10 years later, Worked out just fine. Of course back then we were expected to be able to read, and count to 10 with our boots on.
 
Why bother someone at the CFRC when I have so many chipper enjoyable people eager to offer their advice to the new guys here?
 
sciar said:
Why bother someone at the CFRC when I have so many chipper enjoyable people eager to offer their advice to the new guys here?

Exactly. That's what this forum's for! People complain about the Recruiting process being lengthy.....imagine if all the Recruiting questions here, were directed to the CFRC instead?
 
CF_Lifer said:
imagine if all the Recruiting questions here, were directed to the CFRC instead?

Hello, Recruiting office, please hold.....
Hello, Recruiting office, please hold.....
Hello, Recruiting office, please hold.....
Hello, Recruiting office, please hold.....

;D
 
Imagine if the people applying to the CF had some common dog.  Just imagine.
 
kincanucks said:
Imagine if the people applying to the CF had some common dog.  Just imagine.

Now lets try and be realistic in our expectations here kincanucks. 8)

Signed
"An old soldier who could count to 10 with his boots on, and joined long before there was an Internet thingy."
 
PMedMoe said:
Hello, Recruiting office, please hold.....
Hello, Recruiting office, please hold.....
Hello, Recruiting office, please hold.....
Hello, Recruiting office, please hold.....

;D
:rofl:
I wish !!!  ;)
 
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