Get Home Bag

[19mace92]

Everyone's bags are going to look different and they should. You want to always consider the environment you will be navigating. I'll spare you the massive list of items, but I commute from Rehoboth Beach to Milford on a regular basis. 22 miles (or so). My bug-in plan (no vehicle) consists of items for self-defense (handgun, extra mags, knife, trauma kit, etc.) and utility (lights, battery backup, universal charging cable, multitool, ham radio, etc.). I throw all of this into a sturdy pack (Vertx Gamut 2.0) with a type IIIA armor panel inside. This is a fairly straight-forward trip for me so navigation/survival items are not in my bug-in bag.

I have no intention of staying on the road in a scenario where I don't have my vehicle. People are probably going to be the biggest problem in any SHTF emergency. I'm a young, healthy guy, so I plan for a 2-day hike through fields and wood lines. Once I'm home with the family, I plan to stay until it is absolutely necessary to leave. For that, I have a 4-person survival bag with sustainable gear for wilderness survival. This bag relies solely on the environment and no person or structure. I built it for a 4-person family group that considers children.

A couple of recommendations for a survival bag:
Consider a P.A.C.E. plan; Primary, Alternate, Contigency, Emergency. Your goal should never be to live in the woods forever. Your goal should be to get to a primary bug in location where you can sustain your life as efficiently as possible. If that primary location is not feasible go to an alternate location but always consider contingencies along the way (for me: water covered roadways, fires, high looting areas, open farmland, fences and locked gates, etc.). An emergency would constitute something that is immediately life-threatening such as an attack or sustained injury.

I subscribe to The Gray Bearded Green Beret on YouTube. I watched all of his videos and built my bags off that. He'll discuss the PACE plan in several of his videos. He describes how to use just about everything you would need in a survival bag and demonstrates practical uses of everything.

 

[OldBrokenGrunt]

Just a few things off the top of my head. I know some have been said before but I will use my personal reasoning after each item or items.

1. Something that is usually forgotten is hiking boots for those who work in a more “professional” environment.
2. Wool sweater (wool will help keep you warm even if wet)
3. Socks are important (always want extra socks)
4. Compass and laminated Topographic Maps with map markers (you can know your direction of travel, you don’t want to try climbing a cliff and you want to be able to mark on the map if needed)
P.S. know the GM angle for your location. (MD is roughly -11 degrees)
5. Mace (sometimes you just need a deterrent that isn’t deadly)
6. 550 cord (you always need 550 cord)
7. 100 MPH tape ( you always need tape)
8. NVG ( if you have them you will love them for night time travel)
9. Protein bars (easy snack while moving)
10. Toilet paper (you really wanna wipe you butt with leaves?)

 

[Jimgoespewpew]

I don't want to walk any more than fifty feet without powder for my nuts.

 

[OldBrokenGrunt]

I don't want to walk any more than fifty feet without powder for my nuts.

++++

 

[JohnnyE]

Who cares. You can have duct tape, plastic sheeting and shovels.

If LEO is looking in your trunk, something has gone horribly awry already.

I think it's the bag of lime that will be the problem.

 

[E.Shell]

...3. Socks are important (always want extra socks)

Definitely a grunt, LOL.

 

[[Kev308]]

I second this. When SHTF people are probably going to be your biggest problem. I would consider a 2-day trip away from main roads.

If I ate lunch that day, it may become a 3 day trip.

 

[OldBrokenGrunt]

E.shell,

One thing about a grunt, we always have socks and moleskin. Well, once we get some miles on our LPC’s.

 

[ToolAA]

I keep emergency food, water, clothes, medical kits, and a bunch of other stuff in my 4Runner at all times. I hope to never need any of it.

View attachment 370643

I like that hanging setup. Sure frees up the cargo area. I've got my stuff tucked behind my middle seats out of view, but would take a few extra seconds to retrieve if I was in a hurry. Are you worried that some idiot might decide to do a smash and grab?

 

[E.Shell]

E.shell,

One thing about a grunt, we always have socks and moleskin. Well, once we get some miles on our LPC’s.

Haha, true that. I can barely lift my pack anymore, but it still has socks and moleskin in it.

 

[Burt Hammersmith]

I keep a go home bag. Also I have my radio ( ham) I can key up from my truck at work and my family can pick up my call at my home base station.

Work in canton, live in Pasadena. I would have to cross the ptap or go thru the city. I would probably end up somewhere down in edgemere and make my way across from there. Chances are I would commandeer a vessel of some sort and paddle across, or motor if available. I have grown up on the water so not a big deal.

I have been training while fasting and doing things in a fasted state for a few years. Food can take a back burner to water. I can lean out for 3 days on limited calorie intake and run light, 5w radio, 2 smart water bottles, filter, first aid kit, fire steal, cat can (stove) and small amount of fuel in my titanium pot cup. Peanut butter, olive oil, bag of rice, sardines etc. Things I normally eat and cycle thru to keep it fresh.

It’s all urban so I can sleep under trucks and what not for a shelter.

Socks , mole skins, always in my bag.

 

[rouchna]

I like that hanging setup. Sure frees up the cargo area. I've got my stuff tucked behind my middle seats out of view, but would take a few extra seconds to retrieve if I was in a hurry. Are you worried that some idiot might decide to do a smash and grab?

Thanks. My rear windows are pretty dark, so it would make it very hard for anyone to see any of the items. I’m also fortunate that I rarely drive into areas that would make me a “smash & grab” target. I drive to my corporate office outside of Charlotte, NC once a month. I carry my gun on me with 4 extra mags in my backpack when I make the drive. I just like knowing I have what I need to make the trek home if needed. For obvious reasons, I never, ever, keep a firearm in the vehicle unless it is on my body.

 

[[Kev308]]

I stuffed my bag and food into this Husky metal tool box. It sits in the back of my van and keeps things from getting crushed and dirty. It’s pretty big.

I have a second one I use for transporting ammo to the range because I can slide a cable lock through it.

 

[trailman]

Here's my advice. Ignore the prepper list stuff for the moment and just do it once. One of the youngest guys in our group late 20s firefighter, totally fit, works out, trains, rucks. Did the deed a 22 mile one way home from the firestation, Fairfax county. Had a map, basic BOB and went direct as possible and it took him 16 hours. He posted updates along the way and said it was murderous and that's in a permissive environment. WE joked that he was the only one young enough fit enough and stupid enough to try it.

 

[Larry999]

Always have a Trama first aid kit , fire starter , and a water filter in your get home bag. A a silcot key too . Need a get home bag in all vehicles.

 

[Bullfrog]

Always have a Trama first aid kit , fire starter , and a water filter in your get home bag. A a silcot key too . Need a get home bag in all vehicles.

sillcock key

Not trying to nitpick spelling, just so people know what you're talking about and can find it in a store or google search.

sillcock key at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[[Kev308]]

sillcock key

Not trying to nitpick spelling, just so people know what you're talking about and can find it in a store or google search.

sillcock key at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

Probably one of the more useless tools in every get home bag. More likely to chuck it at somebodies head than actually get water from it.

 

[19mace92]

Probably one of the more useless tools in every get home bag. More likely to chuck it at somebodies head than actually get water from it.

Always love hearing problems without solutions. That's how progress gets made. Thanks for the post!

 

[cantstop]

Wally World has the 11 piece camping hatchet and knife set for $15. I saw this over at slickdeals and thought someone subscribed to this thread might be interested.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/740013039

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

E.shell,

One thing about a grunt, we always have socks and moleskin. Well, once we get some miles on our LPC’s.

Hahaha. A good pair of broken in boots, extra socks, moleskin, Motrin and water and I can handle anything.