whats yours

[longshot]

do you prefer a BOB or a "get home" kit to get you home to your family, group and all your stuff.


ls

[edward_4576]

I got both. I keep a kit in my car so if something happens I can get home. However I have a BOB for every member of my family at home. The idea of having to bug out goes against the grain these days. The only reason I would have to bug out for is a chem spill and then only for a short time. Heck I've been trying to figure out a way to determine if there really has been a spill. 8)

[American_Infidel]

Mine is a get me home bag.

[scoutinlife]

Get home bag!!!

[oldnndway]

I need to work on my get home bag.
Hate the idea that I would be stuck somewhere away and not have essential stuff but dang, if I load everything I might need I'm liable to have to have a trailer to haul it all.

I really need to work on it.

[RangerRick]

Got three Bob's. *An old small Alice in the garage, another old large Alice in Sweetie's van and my old military issue CFP-90 combat pack in the pick-up carbo box. *Sweetie thinks I get a bit extreme about some things but there is something to be said for being ready. *Actually, all my bags are Bob's which I see as the best option for me in any situation. *

I actually got to use a Bob years ago while stationed in Alaska. *Took Sweetie, daugthers and mother on a vacation up 200 miles of dirt road to Dawson City, Yukon and lost a wheel bearing just outside of Chicken, AK(wide spot in the dirt road w/post office). *Not a good place for anything other than a potty break. *Anyway, the Bob and my 06 got the family through 4 days until I was able to thumb a couple of hundred miles down to Glenallen and a new bearing. *While it wasn't a great experience it did make for a positive memory for all participants.

Ranger Rick

[disleksic]

so since I am inexperienced in this what exactly would you put in a get home bob kit and embarassed to say I dont have any kind of bob kit I guess I should get one. I figured having my family living all around me was good enough but I guess if they are all afected to I should get one

[Uncle_Alvah]

I have a "get home" bag. I would be a lot more likely,
personally, to "dig in" as opposed to "bug out".
The bag is not too big or complex, and is augmented by the "Git home" guns, namely a CZ .45/4 extra mags and a Phoenix Arms .22

[scoutinlife]

so since I am inexperienced in this what exactly would you put in a get home bob kit and embarassed to say I dont have any kind of bob kit I guess I should get one. I figured having my family living all around me was good enough but I guess if they are all afected to I should get one

My get home kit I keep in my truck carries a Ruger Mark ll with a bul barrel with a holster carries 1 spare clip a Cold Steel fixed blade knife , lighter and tender ,surefire flashlight w/ 2 spare batteries, ;first aid kit some pain killers,antibiotics, compass ,100.00 bucks cash!A couple granola bars and a bottle of water I use a ten cloth over shoulder bag! If needed I put the pistol and knife on my belt. Also spare clothes and boots for what ever the season is stays stored in under the back seat of the truck. ;)

[disleksic]

so far Im liking what I hear guns money I cant wait to make my bag I think if those New Orleans people had these bags they would have been alot better off what with all the crime that happend during it I definatley think having a gun when people are freaking out and doing anything for food and water is a must

[ArmySGT.]

Disleksic,
To many get fixated on weapons they think they may need.

edited* to add

The RULE of THREEs for cold weather.

Three weeks without food.
Three days without water.
Three hours without shelter.
*
Start with the basics

Food/Water
Shelter
Clothing.

Tailor the contents to fit the terrain you live in and the terrain you may have to travel through to get to your destination.

Food -- Energy bars, trailmix, MRE, hard candy, drink mix.
Water- Bottled and purification system to get more whether it is tablets, chlorine drops, Boiling, or a pump type purifier.

You may add thing to procure more food, Edible plants guide, trowel, garden snips, fishing tackle, game snares. maybe a clean sponge to collect dew of plants in the morning.

Shelter- Carry it like a small tent, and lightweight sleeping bag, or a tarp and some wool blankets. Maybe a hatchet to improvise better or a bow saw. Depends on what your comfortable with. means to make fire like lifeboat matches sealed in a tube and a lighter in a plastic bag.

Clothing- Suitable for the season. So you have something to change into if you were traveling in say a business suit. You would have boots, wool socks, wool pants, under shirt, etc etc.

aim for a weight of 25 pounds or less with water. Water weighs 7 lbs to the gallon.

[longshot]

I'll agree with sarge here when you get the basics taken care of then consider weapons, unless your plan is to have the gun and take someone elses supplies ala "gunkid"

ls

[wy0mn]

3 lbs @ 1500cubic centimeters with unlimited data storage for starters (human brain).
I've loaded mine with 46 years worth of hunting, fishing, trapping, navigation, primitive skills & military training.
Tools & gadgets are nice but, think neolithic. :)

[kcman]

Start with a small tin - Altoids or Whitman's sampler. It's amazing what you can fit in one of these. Then take it out and try to use it. Find out what works, what doesn't.
Rethink, Repack, Retry, Repeat.
After a few rounds you'll have a pretty good idea of what you can do with it. As you learn new skills, your kit will change.
Then carry it - always.
Next try a bigger kit to supplement the Tin - belt kit, camera bag, calculator case, whatever. Something you'll always have close - car, work, school. Duplicate critical items in thelarger kit - fire, water treatment, first aid.
Try it out.
Rethink, Repack, Retry, Repeat.

Add a larger kit - backpack. Supplement and enhance the other kits. Limit the weight to 30 pounds. Try it out.
Rethink, Repack, Retry, Repeat.

Experience is worth more than any kit you'll ever create. Knowing what you can do pays off in confidence. Increasing knowledge decreases the dependence on 'stuff'.

KC

[wy0mn]

I agree KC. Testing a kit is crucial.
We used to stuff a coil of fishing line & small hooks inside plastic drinking straws, seal the ends by melting, & stuff them inside our hat-band. Matches recieved the same treatment, along with a small Xacto blade. This stuff worked in 'bama when I was a kid.
Just imagine the kit made from an old moneybelt? Snares, magnetized sewing needle, etc.

We are only limited by our imaginations.

The kit I'm re-stocking now will have 15 steel traps of various sizes chosen based on the local fauna. A trenching tool with both sharpened & serrated edges, a magnesium fire-starter, space blanket with a solar still & GI canteen with cup. It probably won't vary much from this in its final permutation.
Lex
On the Wyoming prairie

[JakeLeg]

at work i keep a "Get Home Kit" which is based on personal experience as to what's most likely to happen at work. flooding or snowstorm. i live about 20 miles from work and on a good hiking day walk about 3 mph. worst case scenario given weather might be 1 mph. and that's only if i have to walk, that is if a bridge over the Susquehanna gives out or something, which we ALMOST saw this past june.

at home, the primary thing is to hunker down in a storm or other situation. last and worst case scenario is to bug out, but is doable on short notice.

[disleksic]

I like all the info now you guys have got my juices flowin after wrestling season is over I will plan a survival weekend out with my son to try out our skills it should be fun and a good learning experience I think

[KAW77]

mine has been relegated to a BOB due to this:
a startling new trend targeting pickup owners for theft from vehicles. I have read this in the news and on other forums where thieves are breaking into pickups looking for what we woudl consider to be get home bags , BOB's or weapons> maybe a vehicle type of profiling? Anyway I am loathe to put my hard earned collected BOB in the back seat of my pickup, for fear of loosing it...lest you think me paranoid> my truck was broken into 2 months ago taking sunglasses, CD's etc...thank God I had nothing of TRUE value or importance in there at the time. OH and they took paperwork with my home address - unfortunately I had pistol targets in the back seat, a dead giveaway what I have at home.

[BrentL]

I am gonna totaly back KC here. *start small build on it, or augment. evenlyaly you have your bug out motor home but you started with a tin that you learned how to make char in and had packed with your small essentials. *

my "get home kit" is in my truck. the main plan is to bug in if at all possible. *bug out resources are in a closet in the office. smallest is a fanny pack, grows to a nice backwoods pack, augmented by 5 gallon buckes. more time adds food storeage from the basement. more time adds the 17x14 montana canvas internal frame tent with wood stove. *more time adds bikes to bike racks. exct..

also in the closet is the water/fire safe with emergency cash and vital documents and a large first aid kit... if grabing and going would make sence for it, thats where its stored.

also adding to the truck is

http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd.asp?chrProductSKU=979980&chrSuperSKU=&MC =YJ

with some added stuff, i got this in the mail couple days ago. like courtsy of AS from PREs site.

[Farmer]

Layer your clothes and layer your emergency stuff.

I carry an Altoids tin and miscellaneous stuff all the time. Winter is good, because I have more pockets to carry things. I could get by fairly well with just the stuff in my pockets if I had to.

In the trunk I keep what you would call a "get home" kit in a tactical vest. Makes the coat a bit bulky, but it's a decent method since my hands and back are free for walking. In the vest are medical supplies, a couple MRE main dishes, an 8'x10' Siltarp, a folding saw (sturdier than the wire saw in the Altoids tin), more firestarting stuff, more fishing stuff, wild food and survival guides, etc.

I also have a harness/belt with canteen, K-Bar, shovel, etc that I can wear under the vest. By the time I get all that on I start to look like the Michelin man, but the total weight for all the goodies is only about 25lbs.

And then there's a backpack with long johns, wool socks, small camp stove and a bunch of other goodies. In a pinch I could carry it, but it's really there to provide the storage. If I get caught out, I'll probably just put on the long johns and socks and fit the important parts of the rest of the stuff in my pockets.

[dannanchieftain]

I never thought of it before but criminals profiling truck owners does kinda make sense. If you think about what the average outdoorsmans truck looks like. You could say theres probably a greater than 50% chance theres a gun in there.

My wife carries a Bob in her truck but we can't put a gun in there because she works for the Government on a Federal installation and we don't need that kind of trouble. Just some food,a first aid kit,Blanket,water and one of those faraday "forever" self powered flashlights.

[TNDadx4]

Mine is a "get home" bag. I figure that in a worse case scenario, my home is the safest place. It's from there that I am most prepared.

I know that no place is 100% safe, but I've done some research and feel that I am in a good location to either ride it out or do whateveris neccesary.

[huntershaven]

I'm still working on mine, though I will say that it is based on two of the articles in the first three years of Backwoods Home Magazine from the anthologies I purchased.

Generally, for local driving what I wear on my person is a minimum kit with clothing suitable for the seasonal weather conditions and at least three bladed tools that fit in my pockets or on my belt and basic food and water supplies.

If I drive beyond my local area sometimes I add in extra clothing for cool to cold weather. My car trunk has more than enough vehicle fluids in reserve to refill my radiator, car's oil system and automatic tranny to the brim from empty in case I have a major problem someplace far from humanity. If I think there is a reason to do so, I throw in one or two full gas cans for reserve, but always keep my tank no less than half full even when driving on the interstate highway system.

As for firearms, if I carry one, I never leave it in the car. If I exit the vehicle for more than a couple of minutes, it goes with me. However, sometimes I carry it even for those few minutes I am outside of it, depending on the situation. What I don't do is leave it unattended for more than a few minutes outside of a secure, to me, area.

Regarding certain vehicles being targeted for theft of BOBs and such, make sure your vehicle doesn't fit the profile as much. Make sure your vehicle is as non-descript and uninteresting as it can be. My car screams low-income wage earner or housewife, not homesteader or survivalist. If I had a pickup truck I would make sure the image it projects is of anything but being a self-reliant person.

[RockinGlock]

Ah my first post.

I have a BOB and pretty much use it for my GHB also. It goes everywhere with me. Right now it is a CFP90. I have used others but I like the sack style backpack.

I see there is a new BOB type person or people on here that is in the making of a BOB. The best thing to do is after you build your BOB take it and it only on in the woods and camp atleast 1 night and use most of the stuff in it so you are familiar with what works and doesnt for you. 2 nights would be good.

Look for more info by searching google, type in "how to make a bug out bag"

[Nickathome]

"Get home kit" for me. I ain't bugging out. If it hits the fan, then I want to be home when Mr. and Mrs Havenot come to pay us a social call. We'll greet them at the door with a nice handout of cold steel and hot lead!!!!

[Archangel]

I have two get home things in our vechiles. One is the basic survival stuff. Water proof matches, micro flashlignt, a couple of fishhooks, fishing line, bandaids. There was a good article floating around this site on putting a very basic kit in a candy tin.

In the other are two changes of clothes, pair of walking shoes, sleepingbag, one burner stove, water and 3 days food. Both my lady and I work in places were we not get to leave.

Spills have away keep you from getting home and I that can be a problem.
Just my 2-cents, Michael

[wax]

wy0mn- I've loaded mine with 46 years worth of hunting, fishing, trapping, navigation, primitive skills & military training. Tools & gadgets are nice but, think neolithic.

Wax- great answer... you must have known my old man!
I guess I'll need to post my story.