Thread: Rebuilding a get-home-bag

Mark W's thread has prompted me to get off my duff and rebuild my get home bag. Like Mark W, I drive for a living (tow truck) and often find myself a ways away from home. One day I might be putting around town all day - the next I'm running to Seattle, Medford, Boise, or Bend or anywhere else within 400 miles.

I used to be quite good about keeping a bag packed with spare clothes, provisions for at least a day (when I spent less time farther from home, and more within 10 miles of home), and water. I kept it all in a simple plain looking commercial day pack.

But the last few months I've been lazy. I unpacked said bag a while back with the intent of redoing it, but it never got done. With the political and economic environment we're in, plus the ever present possibility of something like a 9.0 earthquake in the area, I need to get off my duff and get it rebuilt.

Right now, my pack is a simple 1-day commercial pack. It has one large compartment with a divider, a medium size zippered compartment on the lower back, with a smaller zippered compartment above that. Two small zipper compartments large enough to hold two spare G19 mags or a small portable radio are located one on each side of the pack, along with mesh netting for 1 quart nalgene style bottles. it's got a waist strap in addition to the shoulder straps. Made in china bag - so I've never put a LOT of weight in it.

I also have a fairly sturdy fanny pack that used to serve as a tackle bag when I was fishing that I could add to the setup - a single large compartment with two mesh water bottle carriers on the sides, and molle type loops on the front.

Things I used to carry:

Spare set of pants
Spare long sleeve t-shirt
Spare button up or polo shirt (depended on the weather)
Two pair spare socks
Pair of work gloves (leather)
Light weight fleece vest
A portable AA powered radio with spare batteries (TV, FM AM and Short Wave bands)
AA flash light with spare batteries
Sheath knife lashed to one shoulder strap
2x foil packed tuna
2x ramen noodle packs
2x candy bars
Package of crackers
50 gallon plastic garbage bag
Small first aid kit (bandages, sanitary pad, antibiotic ointment, alcohol wipes, tylenol, scissors, tweezers, duct tape)
Spare pistol mag for my carry gun


This isn't a bug out bag. This is an emergency kit that I can carry with if something seriously bad happens when I'm away from home, to make getting back easier.

Recommendations or omissions welcomed.

What will you drink when your water runs out?

jj

Originally Posted by Just Jim

What will you drink when your water runs out?

jj

Jim as long as he's in Oregon all he has to do is hold his cup out or look up.

From a backpacking perspective I would add...

Fire kit
Mole skin
Paracord
Beanie
Small amount of TP

A headlamp is often more useful than a flashlight IMHO.

Ditch the ramen it's calories are crap and cooking requires to much effort. Go with jerky, trail mix, and some cliff or breakfast bars. Keep it in the truck snack on it and rotate the stock that way. I might even toss an mre in the glove box, they can be handy for a non emergency but hungry with a 4 hour traffic jam in front of me.

Originally Posted by Mark W.

Jim as long as he's in Oregon all he has to do is hold his cup out or look up.

MMMM I didn't see a "cup" on his list.

Mark most of us carry bottled water and maybe two 12 oz bottles. When that runs out then you will drink what you come across in your travel home. Oregon streams are full of dysentary and water can kill as sure as a gun. Just opinion but if you don't have a way to make clean water then about three days after you start drinking bad water you will begin the process of death by dysentary.What was upstream of the water you just drank?

Now some of the guys are 400 miles from home so how many days will it take them to walk it? When I was at my best shape years ago I walked 13 miles the first day and 18 miles the day after at work. Feet had so many blisters I couldn't walk for two days after.

Perhaps a collapsible umbrella?

Peter

Originally Posted by ATCclears

Perhaps a collapsible umbrella?

Peter

Yep, in hot weather or rainy weather some sort of shelter will keep you healthy. Your health will be what travel is all about. If you keep the body strong then you can handle the task.

jj

What about a poncho for rain?

I've used these and highly recommend them, they'll save you some weight and space.

LifeStraw USA

Originally Posted by timac

I've used these and highly recommend them, they'll save you some weight and space.

LifeStraw USA

I have also used them, they are worth the price tag, i just added some to my list to purchase. Here is another item to consider Amazon.com: McNett Aquamira Clean Water Filter Bottle Filtration Technology for Travel Home Camping Hiking Traveling: Sports & Outdoors I used this or similar one (can't remember was 10 yrs ago) for two weeks on The Appalachian Trail filtering water for two people, it worked great.

Also, look at the gear list I posted on getting home

I like the mainstay and datrex bars because they are lots of energy and cooking required, can shared or eaten a little at a time to energy flow nice and steady.

And the poncho thought above, definitely, poncho can act as a poncho, shelter cover, wind break, to sleep on, extra layer while sleeping or keep cold out, carry items in and tie with cord, many, many uses for a poncho.

Me and gal heated water in the and strung up two poncho to branches and were able to stand in the wash in and have privacy and keep cold wind off of us while washing.

Excellent suggestions so far. I'm thinking it's probably time to upgrade the bag itself to one more roomy, and sturdier built, something from Maxpedition maybe.

+1 anything Maxpedition.

$100-$200 cash (in 5s,10s,20s) stored in the pack and never used for anything else. Nice to have plenty of cash when credit card terminals (and cash registers) are down for whatever reason.

Because I often work in remote areas for extended periods, I keep a 'foot locker' of get-home supplies behind my truck seat. It also makes a great place the dog to bed down when on the road

On my last 3 week shift, I camped for the entire 3 weeks and used my emergency food supplies so I could refresh them later. What I learned is that dry tortellini is NOT a good food to store for a long time. The tortellini was edible but it was like eating pasta and wooden beads! The dried cheese would not rehydrate and was too hard to even bite in half.

How about a pair of comfortable walking shoes/boots.

hard candies vacum packed like lifesavers or lollipos having no sugars at all will not be fun

I saw the max straw type product at walmart today for $10.00 and the water bottle type filter for $15.00

I am going to pickup a couple of the life straws next pay day and put them in my day pack and bug out bags, glad they were mentioned, i had forgotten about them.

Download the LDS Preparedness Manual, and look at pages 17-19. There might be some interesting ideas there.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20859980/LDS...s%20Manual.pdf

Full disclosure. I am not religious. I just came across this free manual and thought it seemed to be comprehensive.

Peter

Add some more ammo in it, plus a better first aid kit.