What is a get home bag?
A get home bag is a survival bag designed to assist you in getting home in the case of lack of transportation during an emergency. This survival bag is mainly for a less extreme scenario that wouldn’t force you to bug out. If a nuclear attack happens while you are at work or out and about then you probably wouldn’t have the ability to make it home. Scenarios that a get home bag could be useful would be car break downs, natural disasters, social unrest, etc.
Get home bag vs EDC bag
A get home bag should be a part of your EDC tiered system. The get home bag is a near body tier that is typically kept in your vehicle as you are out and about. However, the standard EDC bag isn’t sufficient for a get home bag in my opinion.
Unless you don’t carry many non-emergency items in your EDC bag then maybe you could have enough space in your EDC to use as a get home bag. However, in my experience, I have noticed that the items that I need for my EDC bag continues to grow and my bag gets bigger.
Typically your EDC bag has a mix of items including emergency/survival, personal, convenience items, entertainment, and tools. So I would recommend having a separate bag dedicated specifically as a get home bag. Depending on how far you would have to travel to get home, you may need a lot more gear in your get home bag than what you have in your EDC bag.
Get home bag vs bug out bag
The get home bag is designed to help you return home so that you have access to shelter and survival supplies. In comparison, the bug out bag is equipped for the scenario that you plan to never return. Typically with a bug out bag, you are packing enough to help you survive up to 72 hours until you can reach your bug out location.
What to look for in a get home bag
There are different types of bags that you could use for a get home bag. There are backpacks, duffel bags, fanny packs, sling packs, and briefcases. However, in order to determine the best get home bag for you, we will discuss the pros and cons of each. First, let’s talk about the important elements when considering the best get home bag backpack.
Get home bag size
The size of your get home bag is really going to be dependent upon how long it should take you to get home. Having a get home bag doesn’t imply that you are forced to walk home the whole time. In fact, if you are smart, you should have rally points or other locations you can stop at along the way.
Maybe there is a family member’s house that you can go to you in the case of an emergency. If it is an SHTF scenario, then you will most likely want to get home immediately. That is where most of your emergency gear and supplies should be stored outside of having a bug out location.
If you have a longer travel home then you may need a bigger size bag. In comparison, if you work only a few minutes away from your home then you may need a smaller size bag. The size of the bag is also going to be dependent upon what and how much you need to pack in your bag.
Everyone’s situation is going to be different. For example, maybe one person is preparing for a nuclear attack near their location. Then that person may need different get home bag contents than someone who is preparing for social unrest.
Also, when determining the size of your get home bag you should remember not to draw attention to yourself. If looters during social unrest see you lugging a huge backpack then they are going to know that you have items that they may be interested in. So you will want a bag that is discreet and doesn’t draw a lot of attention.
As mentioned before, a get home scenario isn’t the same as a bug out scenario. In a bug out scenario, your community is probably going nuts because it will be an extreme scenario. Everyone will be freaking out and panicking. During this mass hysteria, there will be people who are looking to take advantage of the weak such as looters.
In a get home scenario, it is still a dangerous scenario. However, during this time the community will still be coming to grips with what is going on. This gives you some time to get home to your supplies or your bug out gear in the case that you need to flee.
In a bug out scenario, people will look like refugees with bag backpacks carrying supplies. However, if you are wearing that same bag during a get home scenario then you are going to stand out like a sore thumb.
In a get home scenario, you want to be the gray man. You don’t want to draw any attention to yourself that could make you a target. So when considering the best get home bag, I would encourage you to stay away from anything that looks tactical or stands out.
Just like every other survival bag, the best get home bag should provide you with a lot of utility. You want your gear and supplies to be organized. That way you can quickly grab them without having to constantly dig through your bag to find them. That is why it is helpful to have a lot of pockets.
The bag should receive even more consideration if it has secret or covert pockets to hide valuables. That way if you get robbed along your trek it will be hard for the bad guys to find them. That is if they don’t take your bag altogether.
Having secret or locked pockets is also helpful if you use your EDC bag as your get home bag. You don’t want nosey people going through your bag and “accidentally” come across private or valuable items.
Fit & comfortability
Ultimately, the best get home bag for you should fit and be comfortable to carry. Not all bags are equal. Everybody has different body shapes and sizes. So you have to test what fits you.
A get home bag should ideally have an adjustable chest, shoulder and waist straps. These straps help to pull the weight of your bag closer to your body making it easier to carry. Along the same lines, you should pick a bag with comfortable padding. You want to feel comfortable especially if your trek is a few miles. This comfortability will help to sustain your morale and motivation. The Rule of 3’s states that you can only live 3 seconds without hope.
Durability in a bag should really go without saying. However, many people are attracted to the coolest looking bags. But not all of the cooler looking bags are made of high quality.
During a get home scenario, you might be forced into some rough elements like hiking through woods or jumping over barb wired fences. These elements could cut the bag. So it shouldn’t be able to rip easily.
A good sign of a bag’s durability can be seen through its sturdiness. Some bags tend to lose sturdiness over time due to the low quality of materials and craftsmanship. You want something that is going to stand the test of time, especially if you will use your get home bag as an EDC bag.
Types of Get Home Bags
Sling bags
Sling bags consist of one shoulder strap that can be worn across your body. This makes it easy to throw the bag over your shoulder and get going. However, the downside of this is that it doesn’t fit close to your body especially if you are walking fast. You don’t want to be constantly adjusting your bag in a get home situation.
Some bags provide you with additional waist straps to help offset that problem. It improves performance but doesn’t really fix the problem. Another downside of sling bags is they are typically smaller. That leaves you limited with the amount of gear and supplies that you can carry. For those reasons, I wouldn’t consider a sling bag for the best get home bag.
Messenger bags
Messenger bags look similar to sling bags. The difference with the messenger bag is that they are typically over one shoulder. The shoulder strap is typically slimmer than the sling bags.
The main functions of messenger bags are to hold laptops and office/school related items. You aren’t provided with many pockets. So that limits you even more than the sling bag in the amount of gear and supplies that you can carry. So I wouldn’t consider a messenger bag for the best get home bag either.
Hiking Backpacks
Hiking backpacks provide you with a lot of space to carry gear and supplies. A lot of them are designed with a lot of pockets for compartmentalization. Along with that, it easy to pack and unpack hiking backpacks.
However, as I mentioned earlier, in a get home scenario you don’t want to stand out. If you are carrying a 55+ liter hiking backpack while others are freaking out trying to get home, then you will stand out. People will become curious as to what the hell you are doing.
Standard looking backpacks are by far the best option as the best get home bag. When I say standard, I’m not talking about regular backpacks that you wore going to school. I would recommend more of a tactical backpack with a covert/gray man look.
Backpacks are a lot easier to carry especially if you are walking long distances. A lot of great covert tactical backpacks provide you with waist and chest straps to keep the weight of the bag close to your body. Along with that, they tend to be designed with padding on the back and shoulder straps for extra comfort.
Best Get Home Bag Backpack
With the previous points mentioned, I want to share my recommendations for the best get home backpack. There are quite a few on the market now. However, I have compiled a list 3 that I have the most experience with.
This content was originally published here.