Building The Ultimate Get Home Bag For Across Town Emergencies
As a prepared survivalist, you should build a get home bag and take it with you whenever you leave your house.
No excuses.
Because if you can’t get back home to your supplies and family, even the best preparedness game plan fails before it gets started.
You need survival tools and supplies to help you get back to home base safe and fast.
Even if traffic is at a permanent standstill.
So let’s cover in detail the following Get Home Bag topics:
- What Is A Get Home Bag
- Who Should Build A Get Home Bag
- The Primary Reason For Having A Get Home Bag
- The Best Get Home Bag To Start Your Build
- The 26 Essential Get Home Bag Contents
What Is A Get Home Bag?
Get home bags are more universal than building other types of survival bags.
Why? Because even if you intend to ride out a massive disaster (and not bug out), you still need tools, and supplies to make it home.
What good is stockpiling survival food, storing water and resources if you never make it home to those supplies?
The bottom line is, if you get stuck across town, you need basic survival tools and supplies to help get home fast.
As survivalists, there are several different bags we build for specific emergencies. So it’s worth taking a moment to define exactly what a get home bag is and what it’s not.
- A get home bag is a portable survival bag full of key supplies to support a dangerous trip back home during a widespread survival situation.
- A bug out bag provides supplies to travel several days to move away from a dangerous location to a secure safer location.
- A survival pack is a bag built for outdoor adventures. It includes survival supplies if you get lost or injured in the wilderness. It’s a pack to take on a hiking, fishing, climbing or hunting adventure.
- A medical first aid kit (or trauma kit) is a bag of medical supplies for quickly responding to traumatic events.
- An inch bag is an “I’m Never Coming Home” bag. It’s a bag filled with long-term survival gear. The equipment necessary for living a nomadic survival lifestyle because you’re “never coming home.”
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Who Should Build A Get Home Bag
This one’s easy; everyone!
Especially those in an urban setting who spend a significant time away from your home. Some people even call it an “urban get home bag.”
An urban get home bag is a must for:
- Adults who work outside the home.
- Students who spend many hours at school or on campus.
- Active retirees who are constantly on the go.
Honestly, the list of people who don’t need a get home bag is a shorter one. If you leave your home regularly you should build yourself a get home bag.
So the only people who shouldn’t build a get home bag are those who are homebound. If this is not you, then you should get yourself a get home bag.
Reasons For Needing A Get Home Bag
OK, so if nearly everyone should have a get home bag, there’d better be a damn good reason, right?
Yes, and there is one, a get home bag is a basic survival tool.
It’s on the same basic level of preparedness as having 2 weeks worth of survival food and filtered drinking water. And that’s why everyone should have a get home bag as well.
A get home bag helps you get home to your supplies and loved ones following a widespread disaster. Especially one that disrupts your ability to use modern transportation.
A widespread disaster where you’re forced to ditch your vehicle to hike home.
But how many scenarios are there where you can’t just drive home? Quite a few actually…
The most likely is a massive transportation lockdown.
Traffic jams happen in major city’s all the time without significant turmoil. So at the first hint of widespread panic, what do you think will happen? Long-term gridlock.
Or how about an emergency where roads are not passable? Downed bridges or destroyed roadways can become permanently unpassable. Then what?
The most likely “get home” situation is one where you (or a loved one) works at an office across town. A job where you spend nearly 25% of all your hours at.
That’s why you should build a get home bag to help you make it home safely following a widespread disaster.
Especially during a disaster where panic rules the day.
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The Best Get Home Bag To Start Your Build
We’ll get into what exactly you want to put in your get home bag shortly. But before we do, it’s critical to choose the right get home bag for you.
You need one that’s durable, rugged, portable, well designed and priced right.
No old gym bags or free cheap tie bags, please! Do this right if you want a get home bag you can depend on.
The most important aspect of a successful get home bag is its size.
Too big and it’s too cumbersome to carry and take with you every day. A full-fledged 72-hour bug out bag is too big for a get home bag.
Too small and you won’t be able to take all your critical survival items with you. Purses, fanny packs and small pouches typically too small for a get home bag.
You also want a bag that can handle real abuse. It should be made of tough materials and seams. You also want durable zippers that won’t break or jam in wet or dirty conditions.
It also helps if your get home bag is well designed with lots of compartments for different supplies and quick access to the most important tools.
Finally, you want a bag with colors that make sense for you. A camouflage get home bag may not fit in with your “professional” office setting – get a black laptop bag instead.
One bag I think makes for a perfect bug out bag, go bag, or get home bag is The Combat Bag from EVATAC.
Check out my full review of this excellent bag (in the following video review I call it a bug out bag but it’s a perfect size for an extensive get home bag as well):
Interested in this bag? Click here to see the insanely affordable price of this quality bag.
The 26 Essential Get Home Bag Contents
1 – Stainless Steel Water Bottle
You need a vessel that carries water, but it’s important to choose the right type of container.
You don’t want plastic, and you don’t want double walled. Why? Both plastic and double-walled water bottles are terrible options for boiling water.
And boiling water is one of the best ways to purify contaminated water in a pinch.
Plastic bottles will melt when direct heat is applied for boiling. And double-walled insulation makes it difficult to transfer enough heat to the water to get it to a boil.
Double-walled insulation is perfect for keeping liquids inside hot or cold longer. They are good at reducing heat transfer which is the opposite of what you want if you’re trying to boil water.
In a get home emergency, cold water or hot coffee is not the goal; the goal is survival.
Plus, there’s a chance a double-wall insulated bottle can explode under intense heat. Trapped air between the walls will increase in pressure when heated. When pressure rises to the point where the walls of the water bottle fail, well, that’s called an explosion!
So instead, get a stainless steel single wall water bottle for your get home bag. Always keep it full of freshwater, so you have H2O at the outset of an emergency event.
You’ll also want several methods to purify and filter any water you grab while on the move.
2 & 3 – Water Filter and Purification Tablets
It’s impossible to know ahead of time the number of miles you may have to travel to make it back home.
Yes, you know your typical distance from work to home but what if you have to go miles out of your way to avoid trouble?
You’ll need several days’ worth of water but water is heavy so you’ll need more than you can carry.
But drinking from rivers, lakes, ponds, or streams is risky without the right tools.
Natural water sources can be contaminated with viruses or chemicals that’ll make you sick – or worse.
So I recommend you pack a survival water filter and water purification tablets.
You should pack a Sawyer Mini Water Filter.
Sawyer Mini Water Filter
I highly recommend you get a couple sawyer mini water filters. Not only is it small to pack and lightweight, but it can also filter 100,000 gallons of water!
Sawyer Mini Added Inline To A Pack
This little water filter is ideal for both travel and a worst-case get home survival scenario.
What makes the Sawyer Mini so powerful is it’s inline design capabilities. Use it as a straw or an inline filter to remove 99.999% of harmful bacteria.
Here’s my full video review of the incredible Sawyer Mini.
Now, it cannot filter certain infused chemicals, but it filters a whole heck of a lot.
You’ll also want to pack a few water purification tablets. These tablets are small and lightweight making them a no-brainer for your get home bags.
Plus, they are simple to use, just drop them in your water bottle and wait. Let the water purification tablet do its job to purify your collected water.
The safest thing is to do both. Purify it with a tablet and then use a Sawyer Mini to filter it.
4 – Lightweight Emergency Shelter
You can’t assume you’ll make it back home in only a few hours of walking – it might take several days!
This means you must pack a lightweight shelter option (like a bivy sack) for frigid overnight temperatures.
Fortunately, this one’s easy; just add a Tact Bivvy Emergency Sleeping Bag to your get home bag.
This super lightweight shelter is made of a thin material called Mylar. Mylar is a technology originally invented by NASA.
Mylar is powerful because it’s an airtight material, allowing you to trap your body heat inside the bag.
This keeps you warm enough to survive freezing temperatures. I know of no other technology that’s as lightweight AND as good at keeping you warm in cold weather conditions.
I even tested the Tact Bivvy in my backyard.
Temps – Outside vs Inside The Bivvy
It was was a balmy 40-degree day, and within 10 minutes I was reading temperatures inside the bag in the 80s! (see the image for proof).
The Tact Bivvy is a “no-brainer” get home bag essential.
Here’s my video review of the Tact Bivvy.
5 – High-Calorie Non-Perishable Energy Bars
This may surprise some of you, but food is actually a low priority for your get home bag. Don’t get me wrong, you can stash a few calories, but you can survive several weeks with calorie depletion.
So even if it takes you several days to “get back home” you won’t die of starvation.
But, it still makes sense to have a few calories to keep your energy levels up but with two conditions.
First, calories should be a small percentage of your total get home bag’s weight.
The way you do this is to pack a couple of high-density energy bars. The higher the density of calories per ounce the better.
The other condition is the food needs to be completely nonperishable. You don’t want any food you pack to spoil or go bad if left in high temperature or high moisture conditions.
That’s why we recommend stashing these in your get home bag, and you’ll be all set.
6 – A Survival Knife
Most survivalists understand how versatile a quality survival knife is in the right set of hands.
A tool that can cut, slice, shave, and chop natural or man-made materials is a powerful survival device.
Now, my get home bag has a shoulder strap pouch and provides quick access in survival situations (see image).
I like having immediate access to my survival knife without rummaging through my get home bag.
I want to be able to get my hands on my knife fast, and this setup allows me to do just that.
7 – 550 Paracord
The sheer number of paracord survival uses are vast. So you should always make sure you have paracord with you at all times.
I wear a survival paracord bracelet every day. But if that’s not your thing, you can always just roll some up and stick it in the bottom of your get home bag.
Oh, and make sure you know how to use it. It’s not worth much if you don’t understand all the survival possibilities.
8 – Small Pocket Sized Radio
When it comes to emergency disasters, communication is key. The more information, the better. You can never have too much intel in a catastrophe!
But most radios are bulky and heavy, right?
Yes, most are, except for the Katio Pocket Radio. This radio is tiny and powerful, which is perfect for your get home bag.
The biggest challenge with outfitting your get home bag is keeping the weight down but still having all key survival tools you need.
The Katio Pocket Radio meets both these criteria to a T.
9 & 10 – Solar Charger with Batteries
Another new technology that’s worth a place in your get home bag is this Anytime Charge Power Bank. If you carry any electronics, you’ll want to plan for the continued use of those devices.
The best way to keep your radio and cell phone charged until you get back home to your family is to use the power of the sun using a portable solar charger.
The Anytime Charge Power Bank is the perfect size and design for your get home bag setup.
Add some AA USB rechargeable batteries for the perfect setup for your survival gadgets.
Did you catch that? Yes, you heard it right USB rechargeable batteries – check them out.
Steven Roberts says
Excellent idea
Steven Roberts says
These items are excellent; I idn’t think of keeping one in the car. I commute 60 miles one way to work.
AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN.
carole says
my get home bag has most of the things on your list but I also included a pocket stove, bandana, and a small stainless steel cup to boil water in.
Just In Case Jack says
All excellent items to consider adding as well. Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll add them.
Stuart H. says
Great ideas! I have two bug out bags ready to go and another for back up.
Anthony Brown says
I always tell my CERT students to have a roll of toilet paper.
dragon says
this is a very serious question: Do you instruct your CERT students in the proper use of toilet paper? Three sheets max, folded, not wadded, wipe, refold wipe refold wipe again refold wipe again, if possible, repeat. before using more paper. As distasteful of a topic as it is, it is quite important to conserve paper. Also carefully remove the core and flatten the roll to conserve space.
h says
Instead of a toilet paper role I choose to carry those travel size tissue packets that are rectangular and sealed in plastic. They pack much smaller and provide plenty of wipes.
City Dweller says
A silcock key. Open any tap in an urban environment. Water from an office building will be potable OR will have a big sign next to it saying it ain’t.
Goo Fisher says
Let’s add one thing also. If we the people don’t get in shape starting now, all these tips are useless. Saying that depends on how far you need to walk. I’m 57 and have a get home bag that is a 65L and weighs 45 pounds. I’m up to walking 5 miles as of now. When I get to 10 miles I will start with a 1/2 loaded pack. Then work my way up. They say the average person walks 10 miles in 8 hrs. I’ll be walking for 132 miles. I have planned my route for escape, checked water sources etc. l packed 13 days of food, mostly Maruchan ramen noodles and nuts and have a 2 liter water bladder to start off with. I also carry with me an aluminum foldable dolly to start off with. I figured I can use this the first few days to haul my bag. I’m not at all a pro bug out person as you can till. My situation may differ than yours. What would you do if your home is 132 miles away?
Just In Case Jack says
Just to clarify, this post was focused on get home bags, which are mainly for supplies to get you back home from across town – not 132 miles.
132 miles is quite the haul – it’s a bug out – and like you said it’s over 13 days of hiking 10 miles per day.
And a 45 lbs pack is quite heavy, you should try to shave some weight…
I would look into getting a bug out vehicle prepared to go with my bug out bag. If you worried about trying to leave a city with a vehicle due to traffic jams, you could leave the vehicle somewhere way outside the city and then bug out to the vehicle.
If we are struck by an EMP the vehicle’s electronics might be fried tho.
For that case, I’d also have a bug out bike at that location as a backup. I’d rather bike 132 miles in a few day than hike the entire thing. You can get a good bike trailer to haul all our stuff in behind your bike.
That’s the sort of options I would be considering if my bug out was 132 miles.
Plan A – Bug Out Vehicle
Plan B – Bug Out Bike
Plan C – Hiking
dragon says
You are neglecting one fact, along the east coast of the US, 132 miles is Not an unheard of commute, The rail system is heavily used for this reason alone.
Melissa says
I live in Canada and my daily commute is almost 90 miles one way. I was glad to see someone address this.
J says
Great list, I would add the following simple cheap, and useful items:
1) Heavy duty zip ties – can be used for everything from temporary repairs, to securing a problem individual.
2) Good multi-tool or small high quality vise grip
3) several gallon zip lock bags, useful for everything from gathering water to protecting your gear if you have
to cross water or flooded areas.
4) wet wipes (individually wrapped) to sanitation or as tinder
5) 24″ of folded tin foil – wide range of uses – look up
6) extra small roll of duct tape
dragon says
wet wipes dont work very well as tinder, being wet means they dont ignite very well. Especially since they are not wet with flammable liquids.
Dragon says
On the Duct tape, remove it from the factory core, wind it on a nail or pencil to reduce the size, a pencil or nail can be used as a scribing implement in addition to holding the tape. I also wind it on the sheath of a knife and other convenient places that it wont be in the way since it is so useful for repairs and as first aid tape.
Dragon says
Another point, forget about heavy bladed sheath knives, stick with medium sized hunting knives, nothing over 6 inches (blade length) no axes! you dont want the weight! go with a long handled tomahawk if you can, or a short handled “speed hawk”, you are not looking to fell trees of any size in your trek home, and a lighter head of a hawk makes for a more suitable defensive weapon due to it being double headed and more controllable. the longer handle style is easier for chopping wood, shorter for defensive use. you decide which you want but between a hawk and a 6 inch bladed hunting knife you will have more usability and less weight than a single knife suitable for chopping wood without risking the knife to damage.
JoePalooka says
1) ZIP ties are great. I have several from very small to extra long.
2) I have and/or made different sized freezer/heavy zip locking bags to containerize small items. They can be reused for other purposes if needed.
3) The wet wipes will be used for toilet paper. If used for other purposes,I tuck away used ones to dry and use for tinder later.
4) Partially used rolls of duct tape are folded flat to conserve space, even wrapped with the aluminum foil.
5) Heavy duty foil can be formed into a cup for boiling water.
6) I have saved cans from tuna fish. I coil strips of corrugated cardboard inside and fill with paraffin wax after I add a couple of wooden matches for starting these little burners. The strips width are the same as the depth of the cans or a little less.
I am working up my mountain type bike for transportation and getting my two sons to do the same.
Dragon says
remove the taser from the list! Stun guns and TRUE Tasers (Copy written trade name) are not non lethal or less than lethal weapons, they are “LESS LETHAL” weapons and are equal to carrying a firearm in most jurisdictions. This means the use of them is classified attempted homicide and carrying them concealed without a permit is a concealed weapon violation in almost every Jurisdiction in the US. Putting it in this list is recommending the commission of a crime, in some states, a felony in others a misdemeanor, but none the less a criminal act.
Just In Case Jack says
Follow this link to find a summary of the state laws concerning
the possession and use of Taser Guns and direct contact Stun Guns.
Jim says
Depending on how far you are from home you may want to consider a couple of items that will help with the long trek. The average walking speed of an adult person is roughly 3 mph. For most people a days walk will be between 10 and 20 miles depending on conditions and fitness level. If you are 30 or more miles from home when it all falls apart. Plan spending the night on the road somewhere.
If you drink caffeinated drinks on a regular basis, it would be advisable to have some form of this in your pack. Ever had a caffeine withdrawal headache? They are no fun. Just a few packets of intstant coffee or or some teabags would be a lifesaver as well as provide some comfort and an added boost of energy.
I also am of the school of thought that the better rested you are, the better you can think and the faster you can travel. I have a small insulated air mattress (the kind hikers use, not a bulky $25.00 Walmart special) that I have in my bag. While others are freezing on the ground and trying to get comfortable on a pile of leaves, this boy is going to be sleeping and recharging. If I’m going to be far enough away that it would take more than a day or two to get home, I put my hammock system in my bag, ( including mosquito net and lightweight tarp) the additional weight is far outweighed by the restful sleep up of the wet cold ground and and clear of critters.
Feet! Take care of your feet. Keep them dry. They are what will get you home. I have several pairs of socks, cotton/wool blend and pure wool. I keep them in doubled up ziplock sandwich bags to keep them dry. Have some moleskin in your first aid kit. Blisters will slow you down and take a huge toll on your morale. All the seemingly redundant lines in war movies about taking care of your feet, are spot on. A small container of foot powder is also a good idea.
Just my 2 cents
Carol R. says
Here are a few things which came to mind…
Sunglasses–either prescription or clip-on
A hat with a brim, especially in summer.
Sunscreen, all times except in winter in the Midwest
Lip balm, both for lips and as firestarter.
Prescription Medication, at least 3 days’ worth. While you might be able to get by without some of them for a few days, others have nasty fall-off side effects.
Electrolyte and/or vitamin tablets. Help with stress and loss of minerals if you’re sweating a lot.
Nathan Weaver says
Add a hammock and a tarp for a full sleeping kit. lightwieght too
Steve says
The Sawyer pocket sized filter can be useful, but note that it claims to filter UP TO 100,000 gallons of water. 500 gallons of water is UP TO 100,000 gallons of water. Also, it can’t filter water that contains chemicals which one could easily run into if traveling cross country through farm lands. Just be sure you’re prepared for less than advertised filtering capabilities if ware is extremely dirty or contains contaminates from chemicals.
LMB says
I am glad to see that someone finally mentioned SOCKS! As an avid backpacker the one thing I learned early is that you need good quality “wicking” socks, and lots of them. On my 50 mile treks up and down the sierra mountains I carried 6 sets of socks. Two sets per day, one set in the morning and one set in the afternoon. I changed socks at lunch. Each set of socks consisted of medium weight and light weight socks. Yes I always wore two pairs of socks when hiking long distance. Why? Blisters! I was prone to blisters when I was younger so I learned to avoid them with the two pairs of socks, one for absorbing the shock of walking and the other to keep my feet dry. Wash/dry one set, store one set and wear one set. – repeat.
Just In Case Jack says
I couldn’t agree more!
Mt.Treker says
Carry some money in the GHB. Money talks bs walks. May just save you time or trouble.
Tony Jay says
I pack my Peltor muffs & some spare batteries. Many of us have impaired hearing. The Peltors amplify sounds alerting you to activity you’d otherwise miss. Unless you are accustomed to unprotected handgun shooting, hearing protectors eliminate the shock most people have when first firing unprotected. Also, in winter (especially in the upper Midwest) they keep your ears warm.
Alternatively, an in-the-ear amplifier/hearing protector may be preferable.
ThatGuy says
Jim Says touched on it. But the only thing I would add as a MUST is caffeine pills like NoDoz or something similar. These should be in every type of pack. No need to stop. No need to boil water. And it acts pretty quick when you use them a chewable (not the tastiest but who cares). These really are the most essential overlooked item in every bag list I have ever seen. Small, light and godsend if you need one, no reason NOT to be in your pack.
I would also add a few construction strength garbage bags. Again, packs small and pretty light and extremely useful, no reason not be in your bag.
Because my commute includes a bridge over a body water, I keep a cheap “2 person” inflatable raft in the car (along with a pump of coure). I would take me about 1 hour to paddle my way across on a windy day. Without the raft, at best it would add at least a day and half to my journey and that would require other of the main bridges in the area to still be standing. If they are all impassable, I could be looking at adding a week in the best of circumstances.