To me, a GHB is something you keep in your vehicle at all times, that has enough supplies to get you home from distances you would likely find yourself from home on a regular basis. It should also be setup as something that in the worse case scenario, you can leave your vehicle where it sits, and make it home safely.
It should be simple, light, portable and comfortable to carry. It shouldn't be full of all the latest gadgets that will weigh you down, and likely not be of much use in your trek home. While some of those tools and such are nice to have for an extended hike, you have to be realistic. For most of us, other than home, the place you spend the most concentrated time is work, and most of us work 5+ days a week. That being said, I think the most logical distance one would likely have to use their GHB from would be work.
That being said, I only work 10 miles (as the crow flies) from home. I could easily walk that distance in just a couple of hours. For an extra added piece of mind, and to prepare for being farther away from home I have my bag setup so it could last me a potential extended stay, for a longer trek home, while still keeping the weight and size to a minimum.
Here is a pic of the outside front of the bag. The bag I decided to use is made for hunters. I picked this up at the end of the hunting season a couple of years ago at K-mart, and with all the closeout deals, and sales on hunting apparel, I ended up walking out of the store with this bag for $10.
Here is the front of the bag.
It's really nothing more than a fanny pack on steroids. It has plenty of storage space on the inside, and places to attach things. As you can see on the bottom, I have a 6'X5' micro fleece blanket, and 2 16.9oz bottles of water in the water holders on the sides. I wondered about the strength of the plastic water bottles, so I set them in the freezer, and then let them thaw, and repeated the cycle 50 or so times, and they held up just fine. The two bottles in there, have lasted through the winter without incident.
Here is the back of the bag.
You can see the nice thick padding on the back, which not only keep the bag riding comfortably, but gives the little pack a nice rigid back, and allows air to flow to keep me cool. Also, the wide padded kidney belts, keep the straps from digging in, and distribute the weight.
Here is what I keep inside.
I numbered the picture, so I can tell you what everything is.
1. 2 Mountain House entrées.
2. First aid kit put together by me.
3. 3mm contractor trash bag.
4. Mid size towel.
5. Napkins (many uses)
6. Multi-tool.
7. Emergency hooded poncho.
8. Maxwell coffee bags (like tea bags for coffee)
9. Large instant heat packs.
10. Mil-spec 550 cord 100'
11. Water purification tablets.
12. 100 rounds ammo, sealed in 50 round bags.
13. Fire starting kit, with lighter, magnesium bar, and dryer lint.
14. Duct tape. For my survival kits, I take it off the roll, and re-roll it to be compact.
15. Small instant heat packs.
16. Water bottles.
17. Empty Nalgene bottle.
18. Stainless steel camping cup (nests nicely outside the bottle)
19. Extra socks.
There are a couple of things missing from the picture, that are in the center console of my truck. Among those things are a compass, energy bars, and emergency blanket. On me always are a firearm, knife, and light. I also keep OC in the center console of my truck, that would go with me. I had to take this pack out of my truck, because I had to leave my truck to have some work done on it and brought this into the house from my loaner car, so I thought this was a good time to take some pictures.
Well there you have it, I hope I have given some of you ideas, and comments are always welcome.
It should be simple, light, portable and comfortable to carry. It shouldn't be full of all the latest gadgets that will weigh you down, and likely not be of much use in your trek home. While some of those tools and such are nice to have for an extended hike, you have to be realistic. For most of us, other than home, the place you spend the most concentrated time is work, and most of us work 5+ days a week. That being said, I think the most logical distance one would likely have to use their GHB from would be work.
That being said, I only work 10 miles (as the crow flies) from home. I could easily walk that distance in just a couple of hours. For an extra added piece of mind, and to prepare for being farther away from home I have my bag setup so it could last me a potential extended stay, for a longer trek home, while still keeping the weight and size to a minimum.
Here is a pic of the outside front of the bag. The bag I decided to use is made for hunters. I picked this up at the end of the hunting season a couple of years ago at K-mart, and with all the closeout deals, and sales on hunting apparel, I ended up walking out of the store with this bag for $10.
Here is the front of the bag.
It's really nothing more than a fanny pack on steroids. It has plenty of storage space on the inside, and places to attach things. As you can see on the bottom, I have a 6'X5' micro fleece blanket, and 2 16.9oz bottles of water in the water holders on the sides. I wondered about the strength of the plastic water bottles, so I set them in the freezer, and then let them thaw, and repeated the cycle 50 or so times, and they held up just fine. The two bottles in there, have lasted through the winter without incident.
Here is the back of the bag.
You can see the nice thick padding on the back, which not only keep the bag riding comfortably, but gives the little pack a nice rigid back, and allows air to flow to keep me cool. Also, the wide padded kidney belts, keep the straps from digging in, and distribute the weight.
Here is what I keep inside.
I numbered the picture, so I can tell you what everything is.
1. 2 Mountain House entrées.
2. First aid kit put together by me.
3. 3mm contractor trash bag.
4. Mid size towel.
5. Napkins (many uses)
6. Multi-tool.
7. Emergency hooded poncho.
8. Maxwell coffee bags (like tea bags for coffee)
9. Large instant heat packs.
10. Mil-spec 550 cord 100'
11. Water purification tablets.
12. 100 rounds ammo, sealed in 50 round bags.
13. Fire starting kit, with lighter, magnesium bar, and dryer lint.
14. Duct tape. For my survival kits, I take it off the roll, and re-roll it to be compact.
15. Small instant heat packs.
16. Water bottles.
17. Empty Nalgene bottle.
18. Stainless steel camping cup (nests nicely outside the bottle)
19. Extra socks.
There are a couple of things missing from the picture, that are in the center console of my truck. Among those things are a compass, energy bars, and emergency blanket. On me always are a firearm, knife, and light. I also keep OC in the center console of my truck, that would go with me. I had to take this pack out of my truck, because I had to leave my truck to have some work done on it and brought this into the house from my loaner car, so I thought this was a good time to take some pictures.
Well there you have it, I hope I have given some of you ideas, and comments are always welcome.