I live the grey man way. I love my Highland Tactical bags, in camo, black, fde, OD, etc. But my get home bag in my truck is an old basic high school looking back pack, nothing screams tactical, or prepared. (kind of radiates homeless, leave me alone) Now at home, heck yeah, they are all tactical. Same basic load out as everyone says. I have one for my body armor. So I know where it is and can access it quickly, but also so I can grab and go.
The one advice I can give you, and most of you are on to it, is to go through your pack every month. Know it. Know where stuff is. You may need to operate in the dark. Be able to orient the bag, open, extract an item, all in a zero light environment.
Lastly, Mylar space blankets. Have 10 or more. They block thermal, and they work.
My get home bag has that duck camo so it’s not really tactical. It fits in with the area too haha that duck camo is what the hipster rednecks wear hahahhaha
Bags…
The bag I posted is 50+ miles to home setup, aka an etended range get home rig. I have other bags that wouls get me home in a 25 or less mile walk.
The hillpeoplegear kit bag aka chest rig works as a stand alone or with any pack. I’ve tested with h20 only up to 5,000ci packs. It help keeps essential items accessible without removing a backpack.
As much as I appreciate the thought of never bugging out, there are 3 possible reasons in my home location. Forest/wildland fire being the most common, yearly possibility. How many have done an area asessment? You might be suprised at what is upwind of your residence. Having one bag you can grab on thecway out the door to make your life easier makes sense.
The last big forest fire in my area displaced thousands of families. The biggest neglected item needed at area shelters was tooth brush & tooth paste. Secondary issue was relocating livestock, very awesome to see farmers & ranchers opening up their fields to livestock and families to stay. Initially no time line on getting the fire under control, some families were displaced for 4 weeks.
I do have other bags that tend to be NPE, area specific. Case in point, 1/2 my gear is a no go on a commercial airline flight. Though none in TSA batted an eye at my full trauma kit I flew with on my last trip out of the country in 2019. Trauma shears and decompression needle(s).
Some commonly overlooked items:
Local rail line transporting hazmat
Refinery or chemical company
Tire recycling facility
Structure fire or how close are you to the next building. Also apartment buildings, did the kitchen fire above or below you cause structural damage?
Forest/wildland fire
Earthquake
Nuclear power station
Dormant/active volcanic activity
As always, you mileage may vary and few have the same list of natural/man-made disasters near their residence as a possibility.
What joe said. SHTF could be anything not just boots on the ground ready to rock!
There is far more common issues that could cause a person to bug out. My goal, keep the kids comfortable and happy. That will make life bugging out much easier
yep, in my area fire, flooding and ice storms in the winter are the biggest natural shtf scenarios I figure on facing. I add to those the occasional zombie apocalypse and red dawn scenario and I’m good to go.
Not bug out related, but because Joe brought up TSA not batting an eye, in my carryon is a roll of duct tape. I’ve never had to use it and they have never said a word. But if someone needs to be restrained, like minded folks will help and duct tape will keep them restrained. And the last piece will go across their mouth.
One of the interesting features on the Eberlestock Gunslinger G2 & Operator G4 is the incorporated longun scabbard. The foot of the scabbard can be adjusted for height/pockey length.
Below foot of scabbard colapsed, standar Carbine length AR-15. Cirrent prduction model GS2 in camo.
During bouldering or climbing this offers a great way to secure you long gun. Also if you need both hands free on the trail, I tend to grab tinder for cooking fires as I move to a spot to set up an overnight.
The compression straps allow large objects to be attached. Moving a cut section of tree trunk for a cooking prep station a few hundred yards to our camping spot.
In comparison, one of my day hike packs, Hill People Gear gen 1 Connor pocket pack.
Gray mag pouch holds short lane arms sub caliber adapters for the break action 12ga and some ammo, .22lr & 9mm.
Hiking companion hydration. I tend to run 1 gallon minimum in my pack. 3L H2O bladder plus a 40oz watterbottle with cup (used mostly as a pup water dish.)
I’m too old for that stuff, and no where to go if I did. My goal would be to make it extremely costly to try and take anything from me. There has to be a way to make homemade claymores!
I survived the Great Bug Out Panic of 2005 when Hurricane Rita caused the largest evacuation in U.S. History. The evacuees ran out of gas. Hundreds of thousands were stranded in their cars between Houston and Dallas. It took weeks to clear the cars along I-45 Be prepared.
I’m old enough to have survived more than 15 major storms and multiple evacuations due to threat of flooding. You are not going to wing it. You better get a good Hurricane plan instead of the “prepping” BS the media has been selling.
I poke fun and can be a sarcastic smart butt at times but I’m not making light of those events. I’ve been through some tornadoes and some flash fooding and it’s not a good feeling. My concern living here on this mountain side is all of the idiots around me starting a fire. As dry as this summer was, it would go up in flames quick, before anyone could respond. I’m due to get a new roof in the next few years and it will be a metal roof to help with the fire risk. I also keep brush and other flammable items well clear of the house. No matter what I do, it’s still a concern.
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