Critique my Get Home Bag

[JAG2955]

It's really more like a survival kit as opposed to a 5000 cu inch pack filled with food and clothes, like some people's GHBs are. Think of it almost as an Every Day Carry bag with some extras. I want to keep it light, because I carry it every day, though it'll stay in the truck during errands unless it's got a gun in it.

My Pockets:
Keys
Emerson Commander
Cell Phone
Wallet
I'm planning on putting a Transcend JetFlash thumb drive in my wallet containing a copy of all of my important documents (Titles, FFL, copy of IDs, etc). The data will be encrypted using TrueCrypt. I got this idea from this site: http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs ... /0006.html If you have opinions on TrueCrypt, please let me know.

Tool Group:
Gerber multi-tool
Back up folder pocketknife
Compass

Light/Signaling:
Surefire E2D Executive Defender
3LED headlight
LED Microlight

Water:
Empty 100 oz Camelbak bladder
Full 32 oz Nalgene bottle
Stainless steel camping cup that the Nalgene nests into
MIOX purifier pen

Medical:
Assorted Bandaids
Two rolls of compressed gauze
Field dressing
Pair of nitrile gloves
Two cravat bandages
Tums (damn you heartburn!)

Fire:
Sparkie
WetFire tinder

Misc:
An Equipped to Survive Pocket Kit (If the SHTF, it'll go into my pocket to avoid me being separated from it)
550 cord bracelet, which will go on me, as above
Emergency mylar blanket
Pair of insulated leather gloves
Fleece beanie
25 feet of 550 cord
Hankerchief
15 feet of duct tape, wrapped around an old plastic card

Need to Add:
Two contractor grade garbage bags for shelter
Gore-Tex hat (it's in the closet right now)
Boonie hat in the summer
Tourniquet
Basic meds like Motrin, Tylenol, Imodium, etc.
Emergency rations

This is all in a Maxpedition Sitka Gearslinger, which has loop fields for a holster and mag carriers. I bought 5.11's Back Up Belt Holster/Mag carrier because they're a lot better than Maxpedition's. Weight, no water, gun, mags, or ammo comes to about 8 pounds.

[randy]

Instead of garbage bags (or in addition if you have room), 2 military style ponchos. 2 of them kept me dry and comfortable as shelters during Survival School as well as using 1 in it's normal function.

[Erik]

Is there a reason you dont use a survival bag or something like Haglofs Bivouac for shelter? It seems as if it would be more practical and sturdy than garbage bags. Another idea is the Hilleberg Bivanorak which would double as a raincoat. The practicality of it I think would more than make up for the price and small weight increase.

I use Truecrypt myself, and I find it practical and easy to use. Got the idea from the same site.

[JAG2955]

Instead of garbage bags (or in addition if you have room), 2 military style ponchos. 2 of them kept me dry and comfortable as shelters during Survival School as well as using 1 in it's normal function.

I own one of the new ponchos, which are FAR superior to the old ones, unless you actually want to wear it. They're really more of a small tarp. I think that it's too large for EDC, that's why I was thinking of the garbage bags.

[Erik]

Oh, and a loud whistle, in case you need to make yourself heard in the immediate vicinity. Cellphones can fail, and you might want to make yourself known to people close by that you cant call.

[JAG2955]

Oh, and a loud whistle, in case you need to make yourself heard in the immediate vicinity. Cellphones can fail, and you might want to make yourself known to people close by that you cant call.

There's one in the ETS Survival Kit.

Maybe a Heatsheets Bivy?

[randy]

I own one of the new ponchos, which are FAR superior to the old ones, unless you actually want to wear it. They're really more of a small tarp. I think that it's too large for EDC, that's why I was thinking of the garbage bags.

I haven't seen the new ones. I went through Survival School in 1986, and , and have one of the old ones and a commercial copy in my truck

[workinwifdakids]

I would add a 4oz bag of hard candy to suck on (morale), replaced every six months, and Gatorade powder for morale and re-hydration. Also, I didn't see you talk about maps at all. You have a compass, but if a series of roads and highways are closed (by police, riotous goblins, or plain old fire & brimstone), you're going to need one or more maps.

I have a layered approach distance-wise from my home. I live and work in the same county. So, I have a street-level Thomas Guide of my county; it's the spiral-bound softcover. Then, I have intermediate-level state transportation maps of my state, and the several surrounding states; they're Thomas Easy-to-Fold laminated maps at $5 each. So, I have Southern California, Nevada/Utah, and Arizona. Finally, I have an off-brand transportation map of the country; because it's low-detail, it's actually smaller than the county street-level map.

I just got a GPS, so obviously that's my first line navigation aid.

[JAG2955]

Ahh, yes. Maps. I did mean to put that on the "to add" list, but I forgot. Nevertheless, a vital part of any GHB. Hard candy and an electrolyte mix are a great idea. I have suffered heat cramps twice, once in the field, and once during a marathon. It really slows my pace down to a crawl. I tend to sweat like any number of offensive similes, so I really need to get something like that in there, or even Oral Rehydration Salts, which apparently taste terrible, but that's what you'll be given by a corpsman if you drop as a heat casualty.

[Aglifter]

I'd suggest ditching the fleece beenie for a wool one. I had very bad luck wearing fleece in Belarus - I was sweaty and cold at the same time. Once I ditched it, I was much warmer. IMO, in the cold, wear wool, or silk. A gore-tex shell can be very useful, as can down for real cold. (THinsulate also seemed to work well as a liner on wool coats, gloves, etc.

If you have gloves for warmth, make sure they can fasten around your wrists.