Summer Packing of the "Get Home Bag"...

Now that I've found a new bag to use as my "Get Home Bag," I thought I'd go into a little detail of its contents.

My "Get Home" gear is broken down into two parts, a vest which contains my water, food, first aid kit, and survival kit. I'll get into more detail about these at a future date, but the last two kits in the vest would be best described as the sort of kits you might carry on an average day hike and would cover the simple injury and lost in the woods situation. Some people might carry these sorts of things on a belt, but I selected a vest to better distribute the weight. But more on this in a future post.

Now on to the second part of my "Get Home" gear. This is a daypack which is set up to carry everything I need in case I get caught out in adverse weather or for overnight needs. Remember, my plans are for a kit which will serve my needs should I need to shelter in place at work or make a 37 mile hike home. If adverse weather were to cause the roads to be closed I don't mind staying overnight at work, but I want to be comfortable.

If you have read my earlier posts, the bag I have selected for summer is the British Army 30 Litre Patrol Pack (nsn 8415-99-869-3875) also known as the Northern Ireland Patrol Pack. Now I thought I'd go a bit more into detail as to the contents of this warm weather version of my "get home bag."

Comparison photo showing a used patrol pack (left) and a new patrol pack (right)

The pack, fully packed weighs only 17 pounds. I may have a bit more cool weather gear, but since daily temperature swings of 30 degrees are not unusual, I have retained the cool weather gear until I have sorted out my shelter solutions. Until then the pack consists of 1 gortex jacket and trousers, a warm weather sleeping bag with compression sack, a bivvy bag, a pair of wire cutters, 1 hat, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of undershorts and a coolmax t-shirt, 1 pair of coolmax socks, 1 windproof jacket and trousers and a wool sweater. (Food, water, and first aid items are carried in a load bearing vest which will be discussed in a future blog.)

Not a bad assortment of kit for a 37 mile hike home in the warm weather months which range in temperatures from 50 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit with the heat index. This should keep me warm and dry in the cooler end of the range, as well as keeping me cool as can be hoped for in the warmer end of the range. And to be honest, the windproofs in this kit might be overkill. But I won't know until I test it out.

I hope to take it out for a carry test soon, and will also be adding to it/modifying it as I acquire new kit, such as a tarp/basha, etc...

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