Get Home Bag

[Guest bkelm18]

Been thinking about putting together a GHB. What bag/pack do you use and what do you have in it?

[Caster]

I don't have a get home bag, but I have a Home Depot hand basket in the back of my SUV that stays there, always.

*Folding shovel

*Pair of Tshirts and hoodies

*Pair of Nato Gas masks

*Small tool kit

*Receiver hitch

*Small umbrella

*Gallon jug of water sits right next to it.

I also will pack different things dependent upon where I am going. Usually very little, but if I'm going to nashville or going further than 50 miles it's a satchel with some pistol ammo, bag of candy, surefire, gerber LMT and my AR in a tactical case with five mags.

[UncleJak]

I have a used East German duffel that I paid $10 for. I have everything I need to go underground for at least 3 days. It is a bit heavy (50 lbs) but I have everything in it. Some items include: food, water, shelter, protection, and a few small luxury items to keep my sanity (or whats left of it). Nothing real fancy but definitely more than just "enough to scrape by" I also made a similar bag for my wife that is closer to 30 lbs and 2 significantly lighter bags for my kids. Everybody has a bag and each persons' bag contents match their skill level.

p.s. I wonder if Home Depot knows about Caster's basket....

[Caster]

p.s. I wonder if Home Depot knows about Caster's basket....

I found it in a Lowe's parking lot, just sitting there in a parking slot, so I felt justified in taking it. True story.

[Guest bkelm18]

I have a used East German duffel that I paid $10 for. I have everything I need to go underground for at least 3 days. It is a bit heavy (50 lbs) but I have everything in it. Some items include: food, water, shelter, protection, and a few small luxury items to keep my sanity (or whats left of it). Nothing real fancy but definitely more than just "enough to scrape by" I also made a similar bag for my wife that is closer to 30 lbs and 2 significantly lighter bags for my kids. Everybody has a bag and each persons' bag contents match their skill level.

p.s. I wonder if Home Depot knows about Caster's basket....

Is that your Bug Out Bag or your Get Home Bag? The GHB is simply a smallish kit with stuff to help you survive getting home in case the SHTF while you're out.

[TGO David]

I use a 5.11 backpack. Inside are a Surefire LED flashlight with extra batteries, a lighter, a knife, a few meal bars, mylar emergency blanket, a pair of comfortable all-terrain shoes and some socks, a pair of 5.11 pants, an instructor's belt, a Tilley hat, a poncho, an RCS holster for my Glock 19, a portable HAM radio, small med kit and a few other odds and ends. Basically it's the stuff I would need to transition from work attire into something more suitable for hoofing it home if I had to. I don't keep a firearm in that bag since I always have it with me anyway.

I have the normal few liter bottles of water, rope, straps, shovel, axe, etc. in my truck as part of typical off-roading gear.

[UncleJak]

My bag is kinda a get home or bug out bag. I only have the one bag, but it serves dual purposes. I keep it in my car trunk so it's always with me. And like David, my firearm is always with me and there is an extra box of ammo in the bag too.

Caster's story is too outrageous to be made up, so I believe it. I'da took it too!

[JAB]

I need to put together such a bag, myself, so I will be interested in the responses to this thread. I have no real interest in a full-on 'bug out' bag but a get home/basic survival kit makes sense, to me.

Because my mom has been driving down to Lookout Mountain every week to check on and help my grandfather, I put a kit together for her to keep in her car. My main concern was her becoming snow/ice bound somewhere on the mountain (during the winter, obviously) and possibly having to spend the night or even a couple of nights before help could get to her. She isn't physically capable of walking long distances but is plenty tough and tenacious when she needs to be (has a couple of artificial joints, etc.) so I was more concerned with putting together a 'survive in place' bag for her. I used a $10 small duffel bag and stocked it with supplies to address the following concerns - some redundancy of supplies was intentional:

Staying warm (some apply as much or more to heating food, as well):

A couple of space blankets

A fleece throw (bright orange so that it could also be used to draw attention for rescue)

Matches/striker in a waterproof container

A couple of cans of 'sterno' type camp fuel

A couple of packages of fire starters

Folding camp saw

To assist in catching rescuer's attention:

A couple of road flares

A can of florescent orange spray paint

A roll of florescent orange duct tape (which, of course, has many other, potential uses)

The aforementioned bright orange fleece throw

A whistle

Food/energy/emergency supplies to keep her blood sugar from getting too low (she has non-insulin dependent diabetes)

A couple of boxes of meal/energy bars

A few cans of Campbell's soup

A couple of freeze-dried camping meal pouches

A couple of multi-packs of PEZ candy, just in case

Other items

A flashlight

One of those small, backpacker camping 'lanterns' that uses a small candle

An inexpensive 'camping tool' which is sort of like a swiss army knife but comes apart into two halves and has a spoon and fork, etc.

A metal 'camping' type cup that is big enough to heat soup, etc.

A few bottles of water (on Lookout Mountain - especially as the possibility of her being stranded in snow was my major concern - finding water that can be boiled for use should be fairly easy.)

That's what I remember putting in there just off the top of my head. What do you guys think of that supply list, along with one or two changes of clothes, some type of firearm/ammo and a small fishing rod/reel/tackle kit for a get home or survive in place kit? Obviously some of the heavier items would be left in the vehicle if getting home instead of surviving in place were the goal.

Edited August 16, 2011 by JAB

[Backon4]

Bought my bag for this at the gun show this past weekend. Plan on putting some extra ammo, a few energy bars,my cold steel bushman, metal match, leatherman, maps, compass, extra socks, fleece, simple first aid kit, some sun flower seeds, and a few others in there. I always have a case of water in the trunk so water isn't a big issue. I have given this a lot of thought over the past few weeks because I travel so much and the odds of me actually being home if something happens is 2 outa 7 so I figure I had better do something. Going to work on getting it all together next weekend while I'm at home. Everything will be in vacuum sealed bags to save space and keep everything dry.

[Deerbnb]

I've got a small pack with lots of pockets my wife bought me years ago and dubbed it my "man purse" cause I carried so much stuff around with me. I have had it for about 10 years a.nd it goes from vehicle to vehicle whatever I'm in or near its got all the regular stuff that I don't want to lug around in pockets but may or may not need on any given day like an EXTRA flashlight (I carry one in my pocket always) some extra batteries, additional ammo for my EDC weapon, a roll of quarters, TP, assorted sizes of ziplock bags including one large enough to put the whole pack in (in case I have to swim my way to get home ) fire starting stuff, sharpie,whistle,multi tool,para cord, a small pry bar, gloves, emnergency blanket,poncho, small saw and an extra knife. I also have a few snacks that get rotated out regularly when I am running late getting home and have the hunger pains LOL. I also keep a 2-way radio with batteries also one in the wifes vehicle in case of no cell service but we get close enough for them to work. In the winter time I stuff in an extra beanie and a few chemical heat packs. .I also keep a few first aid supplies handy. She used to make fun of me for grabbin an armload of stuff out of my vehicle when we were going somewhere in hers, but she asks for things from my "man purse" once in a while now and has been glad I could quickly hand her a band aid or some other item on lots of occasions.

[UncleJak]

I'm gonna take a page from Jab and add Pez to my bag. Sugar is good to have, and I like Pez.