Lets talk about Get Home Bags

[NorthernRaider]

Let’s talk about GET HOME BAGS GHB’s
© NR 2012

Most if not all of us have studied the construct and use of BUG OUT BAGS IE bags of kit ( normally rucksacks) that are designed to sustain the individual for a minimum of 72 hours, often up to a week and for some heavy lifters two weeks..

Bug out bags are akin to lifeboats for individuals, a complete life support system to sustain you possibly for a prolonged period of time as you venture far from home seeking safety. INCH bags are even more comprehensive kits designed to sustain the individual indefinitely (INCH meaning I’m Not Coming Home) and normally include more clothes, tools, fuel and weaponry.

But in this article I would like to touch on the other option the GHB (Get Home Bag) designed to simply assist the individual get home from his / her place of work / study. I suggest that whilst BOBs are often highly comprehensive pieces of kit the GHB can in fact be in many cases far simpler.

GHB basics
It’s a bag designed to make it easier for you to get the hell out of work, school, and college and help you get home to where most of your survival supplies are kept.
It’s NOT designed to sustain you indefinitely UNLESS YOU WORK FAR FROM HOME and then the kit needs to be substantially larger.*.
In the UK most Brits work within 50 miles of home with rural community residents often facing the longest commute.
Obviously if your journey home is lengthy you need to develop the basics of the GHB to a higher level.
My own concept for a GHB is a smaller sized rucksack that contains the following

1 Pocket Knife with locking blade
2 Multi tool and pouch
3 LED Flashlight with spare batteries
4 4 x Chemical Light Sticks (white)
5 Compass and 25 Meters of Paracord
6 Notebook and pen with contact numbers, GR references, group radio freq’s etc
7 Map with routes, safe places and useful supplies listed
8 First Aid Kit (Comprehensive)**
9 Watch / Chronograph
10 Shades / Prescription Shades plus cleaning cloth
11 Dust Masks and Bandana
12 1 litre alloy water bottle plus sterilising tabs or Survival puri straw
13 Baby wipes / sterile wipes/ tiny travel bar of soap
14 SW Radio receiver plus spare batteries
15 CB Radio hand set plus spare batteries and both long and short aerials
16 Ziplock bag with Kitchen towels and cotton face cloth
17 Sharpy Permanent marker
18 Lighter and Matches
19 Soft shell water resistant fleece jacket
20 Pair of good quality broken in walking / approach shoes
21 Stout gloves and warm hat
22 PAYG Cell phone with mini solar charger

All radios and flashlights should ideally on same type battery size.

Nourishment

If your journey home is not excessive say for example no more than 15 miles you may elect to simply keep some nourishment bars and glucose sweets in your GHB.

But once your journey is over 15 miles I suggest you include at least one or two pre packed meals to sustain you for each days planned walk. If you are walking all day you will need nearly 3000 calories a day, and most of us will also be very stressed after a major event and we can go into shock if we don’t not eat properly.

Your options would be conventional tins or ration meals plus cooker, fuel, cook pot and spork, or self heating packet meals and a spork.


Hygiene and Medical
You will need to go to the loo, so you need to be able to clean yourself properly, so sterile wipes and baby wipes are a must with one of those small hotel sized bars of soap used to wash hands and faces. Chances are if it’s a major incident that happened in a town or city you may have multiple cuts and lacerations from flying glass and splintering wood so both your First Aid Kit (FAK) and Hygiene kit need to be first rate and comprehensives. Tweezers, Steri Strips, hand sterilising sprays, pain killers dressings could be vital.

DON’T FORGET A PACKET OF GELL BLISTER DRESSINGS FOR YOUR FEET.

REMEMBER that in most cases after an event it is disease and infection that claims the most victims, so hygiene is paramount.

TREAT ALL WATER SUPPLIES AS SUSPECT, Bottled water in shops etc should be OK but any open water supplies must be treated as suspect and purified before use.

Para-cord and Cable ties are also gaining favour as small but useful additions to all types of kit.

*If your journey home is likely to extend into a period of days you will need to consider adding a lightweight sleeping bag, more food and water, more extensive maps, defensive tools, more clothing, waterproofs, changes of socks and underwear etc

Remember a basic GHB is to help you reach safety and your survival supplies it’s not meant to serve the same role as a BOB or INCH. GHBs mean your not tottering home in high heel shoes or scrabbling through rubble in your business suit, nor trying to sleep without some warm clothing.

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Bugger this is what I get for not proof reading things properly, I should have included a prybar or the 12 to 18 inch length with an insulated handle to the list as very often people fleeing most modern cities may have train or tube car doors to pry open, or elivators, electronic doors or just jammed doors / windows you are trying to escape through.