Made up a bunch of these pocket size “Get Home Kits” for my kids and their wives.
Not that I’m a prepper or paranoid but after the earth quake we had a year or so ago I realized, in the short term aftermath of a significant event, we were exposed to, well, every/anything. No lights, no cell phone, no running water, no police protection. We were down for about 12 hours and it was during the day but I’m telling you, with the after shocks and chaos going on around here it was a pretty frightening experience. The 3 of us armed up, locked down and got ready for, well anything.
These kits came from the idea that a person may be out somewhere when this kind of thing hits. It’s some pretty basic supplies meant to get one home or at least to help in the close aftermath, 12-24 hours after an event.
I also went back and took a look at my Bug Out kits and made one addition, Ammo for the firearms each of us would be carrying (Don’t know how I missed that when I put them together).
12 hour – Get Home Kit
(6ft) Para Cord
Gerber Multi-tool
(3ft) Duct Tape
(3ft) White Tape
Single edge Razor Blade with
(2) Fish hooks
(1) Sewing Needle
Fishing Line
Sewing Thread
I like it and think it’s a good idea. I wouldn’t bother with the fish hooks though. If this is a 12 to 24 hour emergency kit, would you really have the time or need to go fishing?
I made a similar one a few years ago called a BOAT (bug out altoid tin). Wrote about it here:
I have a very similar little one quart ziplock bag set up. No fish hooks and line but I add a AAA led flashlight with a lithium battery and a tiny lighter sized USB phone charger. A spare flashlight and charged phone can come in very handy for many emergencies.
I was thinking 100 one dollars bills and a few pints of Tequila and Wild Rose. Why haven’t you included bathroom tissue, drinking water, a prepaid burner phone and a firearm?
I have done more iterations of that type of kit over the years than I can remember.
I started pretty similar to that, but over time, realized “me and mine” probably aren’t going to be walking on foot through remote wilderness or rural areas where survival means hunkering down under a pine tree with limbs to keep us off the ground while collecting tinder/kindling/fuel to make a fire to survive the night or anything like that.
Obviously mission drives gear and LOCATION is a tremendously huge factor here.
So these days I’m more likely to have it as:
*Keep a seasonally appropriate coat in the car at all times (warm for winter, waterproof or poncho rainy season, SPF/fishing long sleeve shirt for sun protection in summer, etc. And also a seasonal hat (warm or sun block)
*Power bank/cord to keep phone charged (periodically check its state of charge)
Some bottles of water and a simple sling bag or backpack to carry them/other things
*Flashlight w/spare batteries (lithium primaries preferred)
*Spare magazine for your/their EDC
*Local map(s), physical paper or laminate
*Comfortable shoes/socks for those who might wear flip flops or high heals out and about
*Should have an IFAK/Trauma kit in the car already, can transfer it to Get Home Bag, or at least throw a TQ and/or ETD/Israeli bandage into the GHB as redundancy
I have found that, as the rule of 3’s indicates, food isn’t immediately pivotal, is heavy, and the stuff that can survive sitting in a car or wherever else, people don’t probably want to eat in such a short term thing. That said I do have some lifeboat ration bars here and there…’
I also keep a spare wallet in my car. Expired drivers license or state ID, maybe $30 cash, an old zoo membership card, some other whatever…and possibly a credit card with a low-er limit that I don’t usually use so that if I get caught without anything, I’m not without anything, and usually lock that in a locking center console or glovebox.
Come on folks, let’s get real here! You are on foot, 18 hours on foot to get home. Your terrain is a key factor to your needs. Situation is another key factor. World War, Zombies, natural disaster. Key elements that are required to stay alive will be needed. Choose wisely!
I probably am. I try to always anticipate the need to walk home, whether that’s two states away or back from the mailbox. At one end, that involves much complexity and encumbrance — at the other end, EDC and seasonally appropriate clothing to make a two-hour crawl with injuries. Around town I expect items on or about my person to get me back to the car, and the car to support at least 48hr of subsistence and solution-seeking.
I come out of the “10 Essentials” school, and whatever else I always have a “get by bag” to give me something to work with toward the next step of coping with general calamity. It comes in just under 3lb; sits at the bottom of backpack, or day pack, or car bag; attaches to my person when I need to step away from more cumbersome security aids. Contents are inspected and freshened as needed, but like all emergency kits are not used to meet everyday needs. Conceptually, it’s a fire extinguisher, spare tire, flare gun — for emergency use only.
I do consider food an essential, if I’m going to stay warm and be actively working my solution — rather than “surviving” listlessly while I await rescue. No duct tape, WD-40, fish hooks, or money.
It’s all about the anticipated scenario(s). 12-24 hours given in the OP probably won’t cover walking home from 2 states away in the woods, that’s probably going to take a 30-40 lb pack like I used to take when backpacking overnights, depending on water availability and current weather
True enough. I only mention long distance to set up the entire range within which my short-term bag has a function. Twelve to 24 hours doesn’t get me home from the grocery store without a motor vehicle — probably from the neighbors two doors down if uninjured (i.e.10–12 miles).
Any “get home” without transport will put me out into the environment for at least 12-24hrs. I may or may not encounter assistance along the way. Meeting those first needs is the point of my kit.
A truck blew out a tire on I-5 as we were driving home from LA. A chunk of it landed in front of us and we were hemmed in on both sides by traffic so I straddled the chunk hoping to run over it wiith no damage. That didn’t happen. The front air dam curled under and wedged againt the tires causing mischief.
Fortunatly I had a length of poly twine in the trunk left over from a past Christmas tree purchase. I was able to bend the air dam away from the tire and lash it in place with the poly twine and that got us home.
Another time we were driving home from St. George Utah and I-15 was closed indefinately past Las Vegas due to a pile up. What got us home was a good up to date map that let us make a detour through the desert. A much faster route than the app on the I phone came up with.
Sometimes field expedient junk and analog technology will be what gets you home,
A person pretty much has to buy their baling wire these days, unless they spend time on old feed grounds. But PP baling twine which replaced it is also an excellent expedient repair material — available for the picking, wherever beer bottles are thrown in livestock country.
I have “temporary” repairs with both which might outlast me, but the materials have different strengths and weaknesses. The twine won’t scratch your roof pod, but it also won’t hold your muffler on for very long. Wire will replace a hose clamp, but twine usually makes a more comfortable trouser clamp.
I approach this in a slightly different manner. I’ve been a back country hunter/camper since I was just a kid. My father was comfortable enough in my skills to drop me off on a small Alabama river and leave me alone for 2 weeks at a time when I was 13. I have the skill set to build a comfortable camp and then feed myself. With that in mind I have a large pack that contains everything I need to stay warm, dry, and full, for at least a full 4 weeks without rationing my supplies. My one firearm has changed little over the years. It has always been a .22 and today it is a 10/22 TD. I have a dedicated cabinet where I store my gear and my large pack and then a number of progressively smaller ones. With the smallest being a simple belt pack containing some cheap space blankets, a metal cup, fire starter, bullion cubes, individual instant coffee, water purifier straw, and a few medical things. Staying warm, dry, and drinking something warm, goes a long way in settling you down. I choose which pack to carry and what to carry in my boat, vehicle, or on me based on situation and season.
I was once in a deer camp and harvested a deer just before dusk. I was too far from camp to make it back before dark thirty so I just made a simple shelter and stayed the night. Back at camp some of the hunters got worried and wanted to start a search. My best friend told them hell no, even if he is hurt he’ll make camp, eat, and then go to sleep. He likely has a deer and we can go find him in the morning and help bring ir back to camp. When they “found” me I was eating the heart and drinking coffee.
My point is don’t over react, think small and safe. Plan your moves. Haste makes one not think clearly. Be calm and smart.
