Linoge, of Walls of the City offers the contents of his get-home-from-work bag.
What’s in your get-home bag? Or do you not need one?
Linoge, of Walls of the City offers the contents of his get-home-from-work bag.
What’s in your get-home bag? Or do you not need one?
Every time I read about one of those really well-done bags, I get an inferiority complex. I have various piles of stuff around here, but it’s woefully disorganized.
I’m rarely more than 2 miles from home, so don’t bother with a GHB as such. There are things that never leave the Jeep, but they’re more stuff to make sure the Jeep gets home. Rope, water, a patch kit and compressor.
As for personal gear, I’ve pretty much settled on the bat-belt approach and don’t usually carry a bag.
Thanks for the link, Claire!
And, honestly Jed, that bag was the product of a year’s worth of various piles finally getting consolidated and trimmed down into one, unified thing. It took about an hour for the final assembly, and then about another 30 minutes to figure out how to load the backpack so it would not suck to carry.
Trust me, if a schmuck like me can manage that much, anyone can :).
I work three road miles, two foot miles from home. My Ghb is a flashlight and walking stick. Can walk it in less than an hour. When I travel for work my GHB is a bit more extravagant.
My “Bug Out Bag” is also my GHB, and resides in my vehicle at all times (unless I am on a trip with someone else, in which case I usually take it with me). It has too much in it and weighs too much, but my “plan” is to ditch/cache stuff I won’t need, depending on the weather/circumstances. But, if something happens when I am separated from my BOB, I carry enough stuff on my person to always be the one anyone comes to when they need just about anything. There’s rarely any contingency I’m totally unprepared for.
Dangit. Now I’m looking at day packs. Quite tempted by some decent closeout prices at REI. 40 liters internal frame — yeah, that’s bigger than Linoge’s, and with it the temptation to put more stuff in it, with the attendant increase in weight. 30 liters internal frame, in any color you like as long as it’s black — ugh!
Kelty 28 liter frameless, with no waist strap, half price. I sort of think the waist strap is a good thing to have, so this is less attractive. But Kelty makes good stuff.
I should go look around at the Surplus Store I suppose.
Of course, an excuse to buy a Maxpedition Lunada would be fine, but it’s probably too small.
OTOH, how would I know what size I really need, unless I get my stuff squared away? (What? I have do DO something?)
I’ve had many iterations of GHBs, contents changing with work or travel location and season. Some of Linoge’s stuff is a constant in mine, some of it replaced by my EDC pocket litter. The one big constant is the container, of which there have been several over the years – a high quality but simple and non-descript bag with the right size pockets in the right places.
Carry what you need and remain flexible enough to find the remainder.
Thanks for this link Claire, it inspires me to get cracking to improve the half-assed collection I have now.
I think the by far largest risk is “other people”. Even if the primary threat is natural, humans get a little crazy when the lid comes off for whatever reason. So to me the most important thing is guns and ammo. I’d even go so far as carrying a rifle such as a compact lever-action, e.g.
http://www.rossiusa.com/product-details.cfm?id=162&category=8&toggle=&breadcrumbseries=
(they sometimes can be found with 16″ barrels, even better). Get it in .357 with sufficient 158gr JSP or JHP in your trunk and you have an all-around defense gun that can even credibly penetrate car bodies if needed. I’d prefer it over a shotgun due to the weight of shotgun shells.
Of course carrying a rifle has good and bad aspects. It depends on the situation with cops and your location (might not work in New York City but smaller western towns would be little problem). Cops might be home “caring for their own” as in Katrina; anyway if the primary threat is bad enough they won’t be responding to “man with a gun” calls. If walking with a rifle looks iffy, you can always leave the gun in the vehicle and rely on your pistol. Smallish long guns also can be concealed with some creativity.
The reason I like long guns over pistols in this scenario is the much better hit potential and extra power. We are talking about (mostly) being outside, after all.
The author touched on the “no guns at work” problem. A detail is that the gun might be left in the car, and the car parked off the company property. Or, you could simply ignore the prohibition and take your chances. As a rule I think people should stick with their contractual obligations but I have a hard time with that particular prohibition. Is it moral to ignore it? Keep in mind where morals came from: survival. Thus arguably, a prohibition on being armed can be ignored without violating any morals. Some things are “none of their damn business,” too. Anyway if they would throw you out for violating a petty prohibition, your position in the company was not very secure in the first place. You should be looking for a more reasonable working environment as it is.
One other thing, I’d wrap any electronics in foil and put it in a metal tin, just to help with the EMP problem.
One of my biggest obstacles is mileage. 27, to be exact. Through a metro that has close to a million people in it. If it is just a weather event, no worries. But for a major SHTF with roadblocks, an EMP, or something that eliminates using my vehicle, I have hours of travel in front of me. Have often wondered if a bike might make sense to keep in the car.
ewb
I’d quickly tire of hauling a bike around (I’ve already tried it). There are some folding bikes such as sold by camping world but they are little better, and usually expensive but low quality. Might make more sense to keep some silver rounds and FRNs in your car to buy a bike if you need it!
“Hours of travel” are not fun, but it is still doable. Make sure you have a map…
Ah the eternal question of ‘what’s in your bag?” Well, first off I have had a get home bag in the back of the car ever since I moved as far away from work as I have. For me to walk home would, at 80 miles, be a long one. BTW I put 35,000 miles on my car each year. My 2009 Corolla now has 210,000 miles on it from new. Add to the the possibilities of SHTF, WROL, TEOTWAWKI etc, then the challenge becomes… interesting. I based the contents upon bush crafting which is the way I camp when I do solos once or twice a year.
Here is the list of items that are in my old, serviceable army surplus pack. Note these items have been whittled down from when I started bush crafting years ago. Plus you can add to this the stuff I carry as part of my EDC.
Shelter – A 9′ x 12’ tarp, steel pegs plus a poncho (to use as a ground sheet when not being warn as rain protection) and bug net for the front in summer.
Axe – In the warmer months a small axe. In colder weather when the snow starts to fall a full size axe and bucksaw
Fire Starter – Two Bic lighters, 2 fire steels and 2 pencil sharpeners to make wood shavings. one each on person and one in the pack for back up.
Bedding – Warm Temperatures, a poncho liner (Wiggy’s). Cold temperatures a good warm sleeping bag (Wiggy’s). An air mattress.
Knife – Rampless Bravo 1 Bark River 4.25 blade. Swiss army Farmer knife
Cooking & Drinking– A 14 cm Zebra pot. A cup, leather gloves, fork & spoon stored inside the pot. Two 32 oz water bottles & a water filter.
Compass – Silva Ranger plus current topographic maps and pacing beads.
Rope – 100 feet of para cord in 25 foor lengths.
First Aid Kit (for body and gear)
* For me – First aid kit with tape, gauze, iodine, butterfly stitches, & twisters are some of the basic medical supplies.
* For my gear – a sharpening stone, sewing kit, extra 550 cord and a multi tool.
Extra Clothing – Two extra pair of wool socks & foot powder, a pair of gators, a heavy flannel shirt, hat/touque, long underwear.
Food – 3 MRE’s plus a Ruger 1022 TD .22 rifle, 4 boxes of .22 and a small fishing kit.
Personal Hygine – Tooth brush, tooth past & dental floss. A bar of soap & wash cloth in a plastic bag. A sponge in a plastic bag to clean up after evacuating the lower tract.
Not much provision for first aid there, beyond the coban. Can’t read the labels on any of the other stuff.
Just pack your own kit, since the ones you buy run to mostly bandaids. You need something to stop bleeding, and that can be anything from packaged wound dressings to women’s sanitary napkins. They are clean and cheap. Most anything else could wait until you get home or to another safe place with more supplies. Don’t worry so much about this stuff being “sterile.” Few packages can guarantee sterility in such a situation anyway, and it’s not that important. Don’t bother pouring on disinfectants of any kind unless the wound is grossly contaminated with feces. Most natural “dirt” won’t be a problem right then. Washing with water is usually all that is needed.
An ACE bandage or three, and something to use for a sling would be important additions. A sprained ankle might make that few miles home almost impossible to walk. The sling would be important to reduce movement and pain in the event of an injured arm.
Wow. I don’t carry nearly so much as some folks do, but then I’m sort of a ‘minimalist’, or so I’ve been told. I’m 25 miles from home when at work – but it’s nearly all country. The work end is ‘small urban’ with a big river to cross to go the short way, no problem to go the longer way (about 30 miles) without crossing the river. Just not quite as ‘secure’ because its more exposed.
My emergency / first aid kit is in an old (and small) 2 pouch camera bag with belt loops. Superglue for closing a bad gash, a 2 oz. ‘nip’ of 100 proof vodka for sterilization / pain. Couple bandaids, mini tube of something like Neosporin. Fire steel, tiny signal mirror from a disassembled printer, butane lighter, and a few other things. All in a pack the size of a partially flattened orange.
After that I have a pocket/utility knife always, and my car has a tomahawk, big knife (combat size), tarp and a 5′ piece of re-bar for a walking stick. I can get home on that much, and in pretty much good shape too. I’d have to hide from shooters (if there were any), but once I cross the river I’m in the woods after a half mile, and can stay hidden almost all the way to my hometown.
I’m not too worried about appropriate clothing. I always have clothing in my car for walking in case I break down, so that always fits the ‘bad weather’ possibilities of the season. I pass 3 small lakes and several good streams and even springs going that way so water is not a big problem either.
Footwear is always ‘good’ because I too have issues with my feet – and because having broken an ankle WAY out in the woods once and needing to walk out, I tend to like boots, especially those that lace up and are tall like military boots. So if I hurt my foot or ankle, I still have lots of support which is even ‘adjustable’ in terms of compression.
Off the top of my head, I can think of only a few things I don’t have, and some of those might not be considered necessities. QuickKlot, Israeli bandages, poncho liner (or moral equivalent), bivy sack, thermal underwear, and compact rations. Erin and the Maine Prepper can dis those “$10 cookie” Daytrex and Mainstay rations, but I have the Mainstay brand, and no I don’t expect it be complete nutrition, but on a get through a day or two basis, I won’t die from malnutrition if that’s all I have to eat. Something with protein to supplement that would be a good thing though. When I think of food to stick in a GHB, I’m mostly wondering what sort of stuff can just get left in the car and forgotten about.
And a walking stick. I have one, but it’s really too heavy.
Also, don’t forget your towel.
I was just thinking the same thing, and was even thinking about the Hitchhiker’s Guide. How useful a towel is! I also like to carry a washcloth. That is the height of tacticool.
According to Amazon, there are towels and washcloths available in camouflage — not much, mostly beach towels, and some stuff with camo accents. Probably easier to just go with the ninja black; I’ll bet you could find that at Wal-Mart.
The whole pack question gets more complicated the more I think about it. I decided to go to REI, just to see what these various sized things looked like. More then 30 liters seems too big. And does the waist strap interfere with your IWB holster, and other stuff you might keep on your belt? A cheap Alice ruck comes to mind, but Alice gear gets mixed reviews. And you need a frame to go with the ruck. Sigh.
I had a whole different approach to the get-home-from-work bag, especially after a long day of going blind and sterile in front of the computer. My bag would include a good supply of Crown Royal and maybe some mixers and peanuts.
Although I am a forester and my real office is my pickup truck. I usually have enough tucked behind the seats and the box to ride out 3 days to a week without resupply. Ever have to cut your way out of the woods just to get back to a paved road. Try that at 1 AM on a windy night.
Well, I decided to get one of the REI day packs, on mark-down. Not the cheapest thing I could find, but good reviews, and looks to have a good system for airflow on the back. One big complaint I’ve had with packs in the past is dampness from sweat. The one I’m getting is 30 liter, which is a bit on the large size for the purpose, but it’s hard to find smaller packs with decent waist belts — most of them, if they have a waist belt at all, it’s just a thin nylon strap. I also looked at whether it appears the zippers are somewhat rain resistant. I looked very hard at the North Face “Jester” pack, which looks to have good zipper coverage for shedding rain, but has only a nylon strap at the waist.
Will see how the REI Traverse 30 works pretty soon.
Bleh. Buggered the URL.