preparedness “get home kits”

By Thomas E On August 10, 2015 · Add Comment

Everyday preparedness kits/bags!

Depending on your area of the country, you may call these kits a “winter kit”, get home kit, get home bag, 72 kit, car kit.

Whatever you call them, you SHOULD have them in EVERY vehicle!

I’m surprised how often I get into my kits in everyday use. Usually its a bandaid or cash. I ALWAYS REPLACE THE ITEMS!

UPDATE: A friend and I compared kits, and I learned a very valuable lesson! A get home bag, should be a get home FAST bag. If its 50+ LBS, its going to slow you down and you may need to get home before it gets worse.

So, I re-purposed a “book” bag for a smaller/agile Get Home Bag (GHB). My friend basically has 3 types of kits. Get home bags (everything is small/micro), evacuate on foot bags, and evacuate in car TUBS.

Why not have ALL OF THE ABOVE!?! GHB AND the 72 kit in the car? that way, depending on the event, I can choose. MORE OPTIONS THE BETTER.

I have several “preparedness kits/bags” in each of my vehicle.
1) get-home-fast-bag

2) extended larger get-home-not-so-fast bag

3) combined medical/mechanical box. I combined both into a 30 mm ammo can. Hey, containers are priceless!

The following is an article I posted on my old blog, that has not been modified in over 3 years!

GHB

I guess the survival knife isn’t exactly DISCRETE ;), BUT even on a light weight kit its worth it to me to have a pry bar, chopper, big piece of steel. This knife can be put on a

spear shaft for longer reach 🙂

I like the stainless steel water bottles because you can boil things in them for safe water. Just don’t over fill them if you are in danger of FREEZING, as they’ll split after awhile.

Baseball hat is important! I’d rather have a boonie hat, but that doesn’t fit into “I’m a normal dude, just trying to get home”

Left to Right: GHB, evac on foot kit/AKA 72 kit, OD shooting bag with all my stuff I like to take shooting…just in case.

GHB CONTENTS:

coke

Gatorade bottle FULL OF HONEY! (Someone suggested this, so I did it. PROS: lasts FOREVER, good source of energy, sugar…I guess you could attract some animals with it too 😉

zip ties (shelter, tack stuff on, secure “things”

granular bars

cliff bars

LA Police nagene battle

water bottle WITH filter inside

2 stainless steel bottles

paracord/550 cord

Medical kit with quickclot and “magic skin thats better than stitches, and super glue.

compass

n95 mask – ash, dirty air, etc

wet wipes, more flex than TP and has other uses.

2 cans of salmon

notebook to leave notes, log book, observations

ear protection

Fire starting kit: water proof matches, normal matches, flint and vasoline cotton balls, candle, lighter (I’m Pretty sure I can start a fire with this stuff ;)…in ANY Condition. I’ve started fire with just flint and steel and DRY grass).

MONEY CLIP: credit card I don’t use, but has lots of balence :), money clip is ALSO a razor blade, $50 cash in small bills

two small/cheap ponchos

garbage bags, shelter, carrying stuff, barriers, sleeping pad, man u name it garbage bags are AWESOME!

Gorilla dutch tape (awesome stuff! so much better than normal dutch tape.

jerky

Gatorade 2x

cap light (smaller than head lamp)

90 lums somewhat tactical flash light…batteries removed and lots of spare batteries in a ziplock bag.

multi tool – midsized, worth the weight if you ask me!

sausage that has a half life of 50 years (JK, expires in about 10 months from now)

hand warmers

XD 9MM with 3 mags full, plus 50 round box of ammo. discrete fanny pack option or holster option.

hard candy (lasts a long long time)

two quality rain flys/poncho (military poncho and poncho liners are on my wishlist for my evac pack).

gloves – light enough I can still run my guns with.

EVAC BAG AKA Bug Out Bag (on foot)

So, I went to a DHS/FEMA presentation on a 8.0 earth quake in northern Utah.

It got me very serious about preparing to make it home from work in the event I can’t drive home, so here is a list of things you may consider putting in your car kit.

one grab and go pack. Mine is a non-tactical pack on purpose!
My pack is large enough to put a underfolder (kel tec su 16c (2 mags, 200 rounds of ammo) in a tarp. Tarp can be used for just about anything (NONE BRIGHT COLORS!)
winter coat with hood – thick canvas outer shell
external survival knife – gerber LMF (outside the pack and reachable while wearing the pack). I can use it for defense, pressed into a hatchet if needed)
military winter sleeping bag
$60 worth of jerky, cliff bars, granola bars.
MREs, various canned goods (with easy open lids)
water filter, water purification tablets, 4 water bottles (1 stainless steal, 1 nalgene, several cheap water bottles)
fire log (small)
Nate’s awesome wood-gas stove and pot. http://www.woodcanstove.com/
multi-tool, various other tools
minor -first aid kit
200 feet of paracord
$50 in cash…small bills.
hygiene kit
spork/eating utensils
2 flash lights (1 is none, 2 is one)

I also have a very large toolbox with first aid stuff in there. I have two bags in there I plan to grab and go too.
- One is a zip lock bag with various things(gloves, major-first aid items) and
- a discrete fanny pack with a 9mm (this can be worn with the back pack, and be “handy” if needed to deploy 9mm (again 200 rounds). Everything looks discrete and “normal” (hey, this guy just keeps in 72 kit in his car…nothing tactical and nothing that says, hey this guy is a survivalist. Rather, this guy kept his 72 kit in his car, and now is trying to make it home with a couple of coworkers that live by him.

I also have another large toolbox, with various tools inside.
buddy bag – its got several ponchos, rope, climbing gear, various small items that’d be handy

GRAB AND GO

1) major medical kit

2) discrete fanny pack with 9mm

3) ham radio in emp proof bag (also inside an ammo can)

NEED TO ADD:

energy drink (do NOT take on empty stomach), two bottles of coke
spare holster
smell proof gas bottle to help others with.
ear protection
binocs
mace
bug mask /bug spray
mole skin
maps of area and map out bike shops, ammo re-supply.
sun glasses
n95 mask
honey
bike at work
head lamp
notepad/pencil
chap stick
candle
rubber gloves
zip ties/bailing wire
lighter
advill
sunscreen
wool socks

OD coat covering 72 hr kit. Notice black “buddy bag”, two tool boxes. one for medical and one for mechanical.

OD coat removed, fits NICE 🙂

acu camo jacket, used to cover me or pack or whatever.

water bottle filter!

30,000 gallon water filter (black bag)

CAFFINE and 2 FULL water bottles

200 feet of OD paracord

SAS survival guide book

gerber LMF and gerber multitool

first aid kit, 2 ponchos (notice LARGE green tarp.

shovel (anything can be a weapon)

hygene kit

FOOD: a shload of granola bars, jerky, a shload of cliff bars

Book Of Mormon (mini)

kel tec su16 with under folder and 2 mags (shload of 62 gr Green tip )

2 compasses, two flashlights. I bet I have no less than 5 flash lights in this one car.

military winter sleeping bag (its in the white garbage bag (somewhat water proof)

fire starting kit, including cotton balls with vasoline, massive matches (I ALWAYS have flint and steel with me…which loves to start cotton balls on fire).

large black garbage bags

canned salmon (oh, its so good, you just pop it open and devour it!)

TP and wet wipes

duct tape

sierra cup with “hobo knife and spork

various MREs

ham radio in ammo can, inside foam, inside EMP proof zip lock bag (car charger, freq list, AA battery pack in case lithium fails). 2 meter and 440, and every emergency freq known to man

notice “discrete” fanny pack with 4″ 9mm, 3 mags. Recall handguns are for unexpected events and rifles are for expected events. Ponder this for your travel home.

kel tec su 16c (takes standard ar15 mags, FOLDS, and is PISTON. weights about 4.7 lbs, costs about $400, so its not going to break the bank if it gets rusty.

NATES AWESOME WOOD-GAS stove!!! stove fits INSIDE pot! requires almost no wood to boil water (safe drinking, warm body, cook dehydrated foods)

I can reach my knife with the pack on, and draw it too. Putting it back in the sheath with the pack on is challenging and likely cut something I don’t want to cut 🙂

Normal hat (non-boonie, none-military).

BOOTS! fresh socks!! (notice paracord for laces in the boots? I do this with ALL my boots, I could use that for rope in a pinch).

mechanical. Notice the wrench keeper, my mom made this for me when I was a teenager (so I could be like my dad (he has one just like it). I LOVE this wrench keeper!!!

quick ties are awesome for badguys, tac’n gear on etc. etc. dutch tape, bailing wire and quick ties… GOOD STUFF. I helped a coworker get into his locked vehicle the other day with a hanger wire 🙂

tire repair kit (plugs) and fix-a-flat (awesome stuff), OIL! sockets, misc other tools.

OTHER RESOURCES:

http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/bugging-out/vehicle-every-day-carry-items-vedc/

http://www.survivaltopics.com/forums/vehicles/21030-mountain-bike-survival-vehicle.html

You might want to check out this thread about making a bugout bike. I’ve been an avid cyclist for years and I think cycling will be the number one mode of transportation after an EMP hits. Bikes are much more efficient than even horses. Chromoly steel framed bikes are the best ( any 1980’s- early 90’s bike is probably steel). Aluminum framed bikes are lighter and OK to use too, but steel is stronger and can take abuse whereas aluminum fatigues over time and can fail unexpectedly, crack, etc. You might want to consider having a bike with racks so you can mount your 72 hr kit to the bike. If space is tight in your car trunk, there are folding bikes with smaller wheels that are much more compact that would work just as well as a regular bike ( although they look a little goofy). Also, i think your car evac-pak/ 72 hr kit should ideally be minimal because you just need enough supplies to get home as fast as possible. You dont want to be burdened down with unnecessary weight. Really you only need water, food, proper clothing, self protection arms, and a few other things incase you get delayed unexpectedly ( like the wood can stove, a good knife, etc). Just some ideas.

http://tenttrash.blogspot.com/2010/01/tent-trash-72-hour-kit.html