making a get home bag for dad

My husband works about 25 miles away from home.

In the event of a regional or national disaster, it might mean that he couldn’t be home in 40 minutes as his normal routine has it. And if that regional disaster meant that no transportation was working, he’d have to walk home.

With this in mind, it is important for him to have emergency supplies so we can make sure he makes it home to us safely.

A Get Home Bag is a bag packed with specific items to help you get home. It has enough in it to help you for a day or two, and not much more. For my husband, we designed the bag to get him home from work, assuming a very conservative 8-10 hour hike.

While he should be able to get home in that time, we do plan for variables and pack a little more. This bag stays in his car at all times since he can access it easily. But, your husband might benefit from bringing it inside depending on the scenario.

Dad’s Get Home Bag

Everyday carry items

Below are the items he carries with him at all times. For this he uses a small nondescript backpack at.

• Knife
• Flashlight
• Tactical pen
• Multitool
• Lighter
• Phone
• Pistol
• Ear pods

Below we have recommendations based on distance your husband will be away from home. Keep in mind if walking is required he might be gone for 6 hours or more. Like in the case of my husband, if he had to walk home from work for some reason I would use the second bag as his get home bag.

Bag Items: 1-3 hours from home

• Sunglasses – We actually have purchased a pair of sun glass safety goggles from the local DIY store. They’re bigger than normal sunglasses, so they fit my husband better, and will be safer for a use like this. He’ll also have his regular sunglasses that he keeps in the car.
• Bucket hat – This is a collapsible hat that will cover more of his neck.
• 2 Bandanas – one for draping across the back of his neck to tuck under the hat, the other for use as a sweat rag/dust mask if needed.
• Flashlight
• Knife
• Rain Poncho – you could easily use a trash bag for this, but we’ve opted to go a full rain poncho to cover man + pack if need be.
• First aid kit – This is a relatively small kit. It’s got a variety of adhesive bandages, ace bandage, antibiotic ointment, alcohol wipes, a few rag strips, pain reliever, acid reducer, topical allergy cream, super glue (for small wounds), scissors, fishing line (plus needle), and a small roll of duct tape.
• Sunscreen & Bug Spray – Being in the South, there are only about 6 days a year when you might not need either of these.
• Cash – small denominations and a few coins
• Paracord – we keep a small length of paracord tied to the outside.
• Extra batteries – this is just for his flashlights. He carries the exact same flashlight in his EDC that he has in his Get Home Bag so that he doesn’t have to pack multiple kinds.
• Chemical Glow Stick (2) – He prefers having one handy to keep from having to carry and use his flashlight constantly. The flashlight does get hot from extended use, so this glow stick can be enough to see in front of him, and so that he can use the flashlight less sparingly.
• Head Lamp – Hands-free light!
• Magazine – An extra magazine for his pistol, plus the one he grabs from the car.

bag items: 3-12 hours from home

• Toilet paper – Because you never know when nature will strike. We keep the core full of tinder to start a fire, and keep it in a zip-top bag. He could use newspaper, leaves or grass – but it’s a comfort thing.
• Map – While he knows his route if he’s relatively close to home, if he happens to travel to a part of the area he doesn’t know well,  the map will come in handy.
• Compass – Same as above.
• Gloves – Who knows what he’ll have to do from climbing a fence or moving debris. If it’s winter, an extra pair is handy to keep warm.
• Sturdy shoes – These aren’t in his bag, but in the trunk with it. He most likely will not carry them if he’s close, but if he’s got a way to go, he’ll switch.
• Extra socks – Rainy or wet terrain calls for this.
• Lighter & Fire Starter – We duplicate here because rain may be an issue. While he may not need these because he’s close to home, he keeps them just in case. Plus the kids made him an extra fire starting pill bottle, just in case (they wanted to make sure he was well taken care of)
• Water – Emergency Water Bag (2)
• LifeStraw  – Most of the year, water will be an issue because of our temps. 2 small water bags won’t be enough, so my husband wants to cover his bases.
• Aquamira Water Bottle –This one is for both water safety and portability should he need it. It easily attaches to the outside of his pack. These can be found on Amazon here.
• Protein bars, trail mix – while most can go without food for long periods of time, for the husband, a blood sugar issue would be bad, so he carries a little extra food with him that is easier to get to.

bag items: 12-48 hours from home

• Sleeping Bag – He carries an SOL Bivvy sack. He also has a blanket he can grab if he knows the weather is going to be bad.
• Hatchet – Added protection and tool for cutting firewood if necessary. This fits into a loop on most of his pants.
• Duct Tape – a collapsed roll goes with him, just in case.
• Trash bag – 2 thick black garbage bags rolled together and can tie at the bottom if need be. They can be used as shelter, as a poncho, as ground cover, etc.

Other items we are considering adding:

• small portable radio (HAM if we can)
• pepper spray for animal control  
• collapsible hiking pole for walking and a weapon

Even though it seems there’s a lot here, the bag is fairly light weight.

NOTE: Of course, if you’re expecting weather that is going to be harsh, be sure to adjust your bag to what you’ll need in your situation! Location plays a factor too. City folk will not need some of the more outdoorsy stuff than us country folk do.

Share Your Thoughts: What do you carry in your own Get Home Bag? Have you created one, yet?