I have once again reviewed my get home bag as i do a number of times a year to get optimal performance out of the bags contents as I learn new techniques and discover new ways of doing things
For one my original bag is over-stocked with medication and ammo, and could probably have sustained me almost indefinitely,
but it weighted in at over 12 kg’s, and was a pain to carry (even though it was kept in the boot of my car I would still need to carry it if SHTF.)
My new approach was to thin it down … but that could mean dropping some comforts and not having everything I need.
I needed to compromise.
and this is how a did it …
I took out the toilet paper and put in a small pack of baby wipes
I took out the Nato Parker ( fleece lined) and got a large polar fleece hooded poncho and sprayed it with water proofing compound on the outside.
I had 2 pairs of socks and underwear .. dropped it to one of each …
had 2 full days of food … dropped it to 1 ( can survive without food for a while, I’m a bit porky anyway …)
Took out the water purification tablets ( that had expired anyway ) and kept the potassium permanganate for the purpose of cleaning water.
halved the pain medication and swapped the band aids for tape and cotton
traded the paracord (its bulky) for steel wire ( its stronger and doesn’t need to be knotted .. can also be made into lots of stuff )
put in extra foil ….
took out the head lamp torch and put in a mini butane lighter with a torch
added 2 dust masks
took out the bandana — left in a shemagh
I wish I could get a prescription for anti-biotic’s but they are not so easy to get here unless you need them and then you need to use them …
so now my kit list is pretty simple:
Dust masks x2 ( I just put these in, but maybe I dont need them, they are medical grade incase of an outbreak and better than nothing ?)
Axe with hammer and Pri-bar — yeah Franke its staying 😉 i know what you gonna say but hey…its my kit
Fixed blade knife, fake ka-bar (just as good) ( trading it for a smaller muti-tool)
stainless steel cup, ( for boiling water and eating out of)
oat bars, enough for 1 day ( traded up for 10 days full rations home made MRE’s )
garbage bag, 28 micron – staying
Shemagh – staying ….
sling shot ( staying … have killed many birds with it.. good to add to the pot – not much meet on a sparrow but its better than freeze dried… everything)
9mm AMMO x 50 rounds ( staying .. probably overkill …)
baby wipes, pack of 24 ( staying)
wire, 20 gauge, 40 m ( dropped it down yo 10 m /4 the weight )
gloves, socks and hat (staying)
tea light candle
disposable lighter and torch combo ( lighter no brainer … torch just in case you need to find something at night in your pack)
waterproof blanket poncho with hood
baby bum cream (zinc oxide, multi use antiseptic)
large bottle, potassium permanganate, 70 grams ( purify water disinfect small wounds )
Stainless steel water bottle 1.2 L ( to store cleaned water)
and an emergency space blanket ( to suppliment the poncho if it gets really cold)
going to make some fuel tablets tonight with wax and cotton …thanks Franke (we cant buy them here almost no demand )
(Altoids type kit in the bag)
sealed tin kit with
small lighter
heavy-duty foil 30 cm x 30 cm
strong fishing gut 5 m
6 small fishing hooks
hair net, for fishing and trapping birds
small folding knife
glow-in-the-dark paint inside tin
6 large sharpened nails for arrow heads etc
pvc tape 1m
plastic bag for water storage
Vaseline in tigerbalm tin
4 anti-histamine (alergix are tiny)
4 Aspirin powdered (GRANDPA HEADACHE POWDERS)
Magnetized large sewing needle + 3m floss
and then my EDC –
Pistol with 1 mag and 1 spare mag (31 rounds)
Folding knife, swiss army issue with tin opener etc
Lighter
Wallet
Cellphone
Packed lunch and snacks
nitestick glow stick
total weight without water 7.2 kg’s — not bad .. thats about 15 lb’s —
——EDIT———-after chatting to Franke — I upped the food to 10 days at full ration. Simply cause I may need it if i get injured or side-tracked… and i can always share some with others to make friends or trade for other things with others things I may need…
CivilizationsEnd.com 
I felt compelled to reply to this post.
FIRST: the BOB is not a live indefinitely in the woods bag. It’s to allow you to escape.
Having Just 2 days worth of food is a death wish.
Your main problem is that you don’t have anyplace to bug out to. Safe area..
Get rid of all the junk. Replace with food. Your nit gonna be chipping and chopping wood, building shelters— your gonna be running.
Hers the link to my latest bug out bag book.
I’m told its good.
Click to access THE_BUG_OUT_BOOK-WITH_FRONT_COVER.pdf
What are the trigger events that will force you to bug out?
Where are you bugging out to?
How long will it take you to get there
Do you have a supply cache waiting for you?
How do you deal with predators–the two legged variety.
How long can you sustain yourself without a campfire.
These are the questions that should have been part of your survival planning in the first place. It Serbs that you didn’t plan, you just built a bug out bag.
I’ll help you after you read me book. It’s free!!
Take care–
Franke Schein
http://www.alaskawatchmen.com
Facebook: Alaska watchmen
——EDIT———-after chatting to Franke — I upped the food to 10 days at full ration. Simply cause I may need it if i get injured or side-tracked… and i can always share some with others to make friends or trade for other things with others things I may need
Hi Franke …
thanks for the input …
Its not a BOB, its a get home bag .
I need to walk the 35 odd km’s home should the highway get jammed in a SHTF.
I never said I don’t have a place to goto …
I need a pribar … thats what the axe/pribar/hammer is for… getting through locks, etc that may hinder me.
the fire is for assisting in purifying water from the putrid river I would follow home …
I Need a pistol — there are MANY 2 legged predators in Africa .. and quite a few 4 legged ones
the line for fishing etc, is cause its light anyway and I may get stuck avoiding some 2 legged’s mentioned above …
The Vaseline is for use with tinder .. make your own tinder-quick – really quick . lol
sling shot is for fun mostly ,and scaring off stray dogs and maybe even bagging a bird or two.. I’m a crack shot.
baby wipes make great toilet paper … and nice to cleanup at the end of a day …
gloves are cause it gets cold at night and there is lots of barbwire on my route
hat, cause sunburn is a pain …
sock and undies are a luxury but 3 to 4 days in 1 pair would be just ew … anyway they are military socks that insulate well against cold, and help with blisters, i have to walk in my formal leather work shoes ;( …
poncho is in case it rains … and like I said it get cold at night.
baby bum cream is for sunburn .. wind burn and general use on feet etc…
potassium permanganate I deal with elsewhere in my blog … mainly water purification
the altoids tin ( well not really, altoids are not available here)
is cause it has the basic broad stuff you might need… and its so small, why not …
the food is not such a big deal .. I have gone for days without it before ..
anyway – I always carry some with me (food cost lots at the work canteen, so I bring my own)
the 3 knives are cause I like to always have 3 knives… one fixed in the bag, one folder with multiple blades and one tiny folder for delicate work..
maybe the wire is overkill …
and maybe I wouldn’t bother with a shelter .. really depends on what goes down but I like options …
anti-histamine and aspirin are the bare essentials really … aspirin for heart attacks, pain and fever … inti-his for bites, stings and poison oak…
great info and a great book btw …. just not for me — im planning on moving through the edges of the most dangerous city in the world .. and getting home where my wife and childern will be waiting for me .. the plan beyond that is actually to bug in .. but thats another plan altogether …
35 kilometers = 22 miles
Average unhindered walking speed is 3 miles per hour on level pavement.
It would take 8 hours of steady walking to reach the destination.
BUT:
Everything just went down the crapper.
The countryside is crawling with other people bugging out.
Military checkpoints everywhere.
Trespasser are shot on sight.
It’s getting dark and starting to rain.
There’s a massive civil uprising ahead of you. People with machetes and guns are everywhere.
Your situation just took a serious left turn…
CHOICES:
Bunker down
Go around
Continue forward
Good luck friend …
The countryside is crawling with other people bugging out. ==== most turn into roving gangs, the real threat is to not be in the right place at the right time … or the wrong place at the wrong time 😉
Military checkpoints everywhere. ======not here … lol they couldn’t organize that if they had 3 month notice …
Trespasser are shot on sight. ======= thats pretty much the case normally … lol
It’s getting dark and starting to rain. ====== yeah — > poncho ; )
There’s a massive civil uprising ahead of you. People with machetes and guns are everywhere.
=======again thats a norm here … ; )
all valid points. I feel you mate …
35 km is a long hike friend.
Food, water, shelter,and protection. These are the basics. Everything else is a waste of time.
Best advice. Take your get home bag and actually go out and do what it is you plan to do. Then consider how often you will use all those tools and under what circumstances.
By the way while you’re doing the fuck out try not to let anyone see you
Sorry for the typo. Damned iPhone.
Apologies friend
no problem about language.. my spelling isn’t great .. I have gotten lazy with spell check … you are right I do need to practice it … but i doubt it will change my kit list much … for me these are pretty much bare bones .. for the record the new bag weighs in at 5kg … which is loads less …
^^^thats the pribar btw
Had a look at the book …. Might review the food … You could have a point
Hi there, i wanted to say something intelligent, but the above emails are just pretty dam funny. Totally agree with the comment about the military check points it would be interesting to see anything like that organised out here 🙂 . I have recently started prepping