Bug Out Bag vs Get Home Bag

If the SHTF while I'm in a place where I can't carry my weapon, like the examples that Denver posted above, it is at least close enough that I can get it for that trip home. Georgia also has similar restrictions on where a weapon can be carried even with a CCW. Of course, my hope is that on the Get Home Trip my weapon would be unnecessary. My thoughts are that the lawlessness would come once people realized the lights weren't coming back on.

yzingerr said:

for most that goes without saying. I listed my weapon on my truck bag, but don't actually keep it in the bag inside of my truck.

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Same here. Mine is part of my EDC gear but is not actually stored in my bag.

Another item that for my GHB is cash. Face it, if the electric is out there isn't going to be any ATM or credit card machines working.

Lattice said:

Packing a well thought out bag is all well and good. But never carrying it until you have to is a very bad idea. Once you get your pack made take a weekend and see just how realistic it is for you to hump it thirty five miles. I recommended this to a friend of mine, and when he finally tried it he realized that packing a shotgun and two hundred shells was a very bad idea. He'd always figured that a shotgun was exactly what he wanted in a SHTF scenario. He changed his mind and bought a rifle, and also modified what he carried in his GHB.

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You make an excellent point. I got frustrated seeing all these BOBs online that list everything and the kitchen sink to cover every possibility. These lists NEVER account for how this will affect a carrier. I built a free tool on my site to help people understand this. It has people pick what items they want to pack, choose a type of bag, and then calculates the appox weight. It also has them enter their weight and then tells them what % of their weight the bag will be. Please check it out if you are interested and let me know what you think:

Bug Out Bag Contents Tool

I am thinking about adding additional calculations that account for travel speed over whatever type of ground is anticipated as well but if anyone has any suggestions to improve, please let me know. Thanks.

As I live right next to nyc..I have both

Chris said:

You make an excellent point. I got frustrated seeing all these BOBs online that list everything and the kitchen sink to cover every possibility. These lists NEVER account for how this will affect a carrier. I built a free tool on my site to help people understand this. It has people pick what items they want to pack, choose a type of bag, and then calculates the appox weight. It also has them enter their weight and then tells them what % of their weight the bag will be. Please check it out if you are interested and let me know what you think:

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Careful you don't come across like you're advertising, at least until you've developed a little bit more of a reputation on the forum... take myself for example; I've spent some time proving I'm an egotistical ass, so people don't mind that I have a link in my sig because they pretty much just ignore everything I say anyways.

That being said, my first bag weighed in at almost as much as I did. It was a giant weekend pack. Now it's all in a medium transport and it's almost indistinguishable from air when the ammunition is removed (given that air weighs about 35lbs).

I have a slightly different take on BOB vs. GHB. To me, the GHB is for my use only to get home and therefore is very light weight. The BOB is for everyone in my family to bug out with supplies. If your single, no GF or parents to take care of, a BOB and GHB could be the same. If you keep a BOB in the car, you could always leave un-necessary items from the BOB behind. But then again you might wish you hadn't left that one item behind when you find you really need it.

dannydefense said:

Careful you don't come across like you're advertising, at least until you've developed a little bit more of a reputation on the forum... take myself for example; I've spent some time proving I'm an egotistical ass, so people don't mind that I have a link in my sig because they pretty much just ignore everything I say anyways.

That being said, my first bag weighed in at almost as much as I did. It was a giant weekend pack. Now it's all in a medium transport and it's almost indistinguishable from air when the ammunition is removed (given that air weighs about 35lbs).

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Thanks for the tip Danny. I think what I have created is a generally useful resource (rather than a spammy CLICK HERE site) and I am interested in feedback from a like minded community. I will keep what you have said in mind for the future.