realistic get home bag

[james_kent]

Hiya

Was just interested on peoples views on realistic get home bags
Its a lot of fun to watch the maxpedition circle jerks and look at how much Gucci kit I have videos
However what is your version of a realistic get home bag?
I'm an electrician
For work I am never more than fifty miles from home
I'm either a passenger in a work van or in my own van
My own van is well kitted out as spending a lot of time on the m25 I like to be prepared
(From experience sleeping bag, water, food, torches, spare batteries, jetboil etc)

So in regards to being a passenger
I can't exactly lug a giant survival kit around but have instead gone for a realistic "grey man" approach
I go with items I have already used and regularly use on building sites
I use a Nike sports bag (doesn't stand out at all)
At least 3 litres of water
That days food
Extra cliff bars and protein bars (I'm a weightlifter and martial artist) seeing as I'm no more than fifty miles ever from home due to work I think what I have can keep me going for a two/three day walk
Baby wipes (you never wanna be on a building site with fifty guys when the toilet paper runs out)
Hand sanitiser (used every day)
Spare socks (learnt that lesson from getting my socks wet one day at work)
Boot laces (I wear some comfortable dewalt safety boots but the laces do snap sometimes, especially if I have a fifty mile hike home)
Small first aid kit (not the complete triage and heart surgery kits you see on some YouTube videos but a small general one for the normal injuries I get at work)
Gloves, hat and warm jumper
Tweezers and nail clippers (a real fundamental thing, a small splinter in your hand can mess your day up)
Sudocrem ( a general catch all ointment, applied on cuts, burns and scrapes)
Phone charger ( this one always gets me, this is always missing in get home bags, if your walking home you get the opportunity to stop somewhere with electricity, why not charge your phone the easy way rather than showing off the amazing £100 solar powered charger you got?)
Duracell aa phone charger ( handy emergency extra charger)
10 x aa batteries in a powerpax holder
Small radio with ear phones
Energy tablets (this one gets to me as well. I see people showing off those little instant energy bottles that you can buy at petrol stations in there get home bags. Have these same people ever actually tried them? Do they know the reaction it will have on there bodies? I get instant diarrhoea taking those energy drinks. You don't wanna find out you have that reaction when your trying to walk home. I have the same attitude to people who put life boat survival food in there bags. Do you have any idea how your body will react to it? I know how my body reacts to protein bars when I need all the energy I can find to walk home.
I use a fat burning tablet called grenade. I normally carry my months supply tub in my bag. I know how it reacts to my body)
Leather man rebar. Tools wise it all depends if im at work when something goes down or were driving home.
If I'm at work I'm taking a claw hammer and a hutafors knife with me that I keep in my tool box at work.
Some lighters
Spare glasses and contact lenses
Fenix torch and head torch
Pain killer and allergy tablets

In regards to being on my person
Suitable hard wearing clothing and weather appropriate
Lighter
Res q me tool
Fenix torch
A Stanley sports utility knife https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/produ ... CGsQqSswAg
An excellent little lock knife that I can justify having on my person going to and from work because of my trade

I'm sure I have forgot a few things but any feed back would be appreciated

By the way I wasn't criticising maxpedition gear, at the moment I'm actually building an urban survival kit based on there bag. I just think a lot of get home bags are just based on "look what I bought!" Rather than functionality.

[pseudonym]

Great first post.

Please do pop over to the New members area and make an introductory post.

[dangerman]

Looks good, that bag. I might take a few pictures and put my kit up here soon.

I've based mine on stuff that looks cool. But mostly it's just stuff that I could genuinely see myself needing based on past experiences. Like my solar panel. I'll need my phone and batteries for my torch etc. Others scoff.

Thanks for the heads up on the ResQme. I just bought a crappy chinese one from eBay for £1.98. Looks the part. Something like it should be kept in every car I reckon. I've seen a few people trapped in cars because their seatbelt was trapped.

[jansman]

Tell ya what, james_ kent, it makes a refreshing change to see a realistic list. With a fifty mile walk home, that would work.

[Mally]

What a great and sensible kit list. A lot of thought has gone into it. I would maybe consider adding a few water purification tablets. If you have to walk the full 50 miles on a hot day, your 3 litres may need topping up.
And because your kit is based on getting you homem (maximum 50 miles), I'd maybe trim a few of the batteries off.
I'd also stick in a survival bag as a must have item! And a whistle.

[dangerman]

Do you's think it's realistic and practical to carry all that water? I've got an ex military water bottle and about 24 purification tablets in my bag. And one 500ml bottle of mineral water. I think of it as just enough water to buy myself some thinking time.

Sounds disgusting, but I once found myself stranded in Ireland once and had absolutely nothing with me. I was lost and my ride home from Slane Castle had gone without me. I walked for miles to find some civilisation. Nuffin! These were the days before mobile phones.

I found (believe it or not) an old outhouse that must have been part of a house or barn at some point and there was still water in the cistern (disgusting, I know). It was visibly clean though, and seemed to have a supply.

Now, should I have had my small water bottle I would have been able to drink the clean mineral water and fill the bottle with the questionable stuff. That would hopefully buy me enough time to find something better. And if not - at least I had something.

Alas, I was was so thirsty I just sucked as much of it down as I could. Survived. But I'll never forget it and would like to avoid in future.

[Briggs 2.0]

@ James Kent

I try to avoid the M25 at all costs, however if I was on there regularly I'd be working out how to get off the motorway via service and non-public access roads and how I would get off by foot if I had to. If I was on foot, the tall sound deadening fence panels that edge the hard shoulder are a concern, a) they form a tunnel, b) impossible to climb and c) the pedestrian access doors are padlocked. Call me paranoid, or maybe I'm just prepared, eh? Check those out the next time you're on there and you'll see what I mean.

Maps in your bag? Maybe a compass too?
A small water filter and as Mally said, some purification tabs.
A few bin liners - keep kit dry and can keep you dry.
A few zip ties
You probably have some but missed it off your list - paracord
Fire kit? Ferro rod, cotton wool and pencil sharpener?

[james_kent]

I did have a lot of stuff like firesteels in the bag but I tried to scale it down.
Water tabs are a great shout and have been added.
I keep an a to z and a public transport map in my bag.
I think the general thinking was what do I actually use day to day on my feet nine hours a day in harsh conditions.