Get Home Bag List | 43 Essentials for 2024

You’re miles away from home when disaster strikes. With most of your emergency supplies waiting at home, how do you ensure your safety back? Enter the Get Home Bag (GHB)—a survivalist’s best friend for precisely these scenarios.

On average, people find themselves away from home 38% of the time due to work, travel, or errands. Disasters, indifferent to timing, won’t pause for you. My experience during an unexpected ice storm, stranded with only my GHB, underscored its value—not just for emergencies but as a daily resource.

This guide is designed to equip you with knowledge and a detailed checklist, ensuring you’re prepared to face any situation head-on, whether a dire emergency or a minor inconvenience.

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Contents (Jump to a Section)

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What is a Get Home Bag?

A get home bag is a bug out bag variant that is designed to do the opposite. Instead of evacuating your home for a bug out location, the get home bag is designed to get you back to your home and supplies.

On average, people spend 38% of their time awake away from their homes. Disaster can strike at any moment, so you don’t want to be unprepared 38% of the time!

When you are developing your emergency plan and find that you often spend time away from home, that is when you may want to determine your need for a get home bag.

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Get Home Bag List

The standard get home bag essentials with our recommended gear for each area. Grabbing the supplies listed will give you the resources to tackle emergencies, disasters, or just everyday life without notice.

After we go through the essentials, we’ll show you two more lists: the additional gear we suggest, and the gear you should consider for specific situations.

Get Home Bag:

To keep the kit together, you’ll need a bag, tote, or backpack. I like the 18-30 liter backpacks to fit the essentials, but you may opt for a larger bag if you typically have further to go to get home. In the pictures above I use a discrete tactical bag rather than a traditional survival backpack to better blend into my surroundings.

• Backpack: 5.11 LV18 2.0 Backpack (from the best gray man backpack review) – Discrete backpacks work well in this application since they can go to many places unnoticed- whether it’s the workplace or heavily populated areas. I’ve been using the 5.11 covert-style backpacks for years and they keep up.

Are you unfamiliar with the gray man concept? Our Gray Man Guide can help you blend in, which is typically important for a Get Home Bag setup.

Water:

One of the most critical parts of your bag deals with collecting and purifying water. At 8.3 pounds per gallon, water is too heavy to lug around in large amounts. A few gallons will put you into heavy backpacking territory and slow you down considerably.

Unfortunately, we need a lot of water to stay alive. This bag tackles the issue with stainless steel water bottles that are one liter or larger to make purification a breeze. Most purification tablets are pre-measured to treat a liter of water, so I’ve learned over the years that you can get the best versatility by targeting non-insulated steel bottles in the sweet spot of around 34 ounces.

• Steel Water Bottle: Nalgene Stainless 38oz (from the best survival water bottle review) – this bottle takes some knocks and will let you boil, tablet treat, and tote a good amount of water.
• Purification Tablets: Potable Aqua (from the best water purification tablet review) – there are a few options deeper in our review, but good old PA is what I use in all of my mobile kits and it’s still one of the cheapest.
• Water Filter: Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System (from the best survival water filter review) – the Sawyer vs. Lifestraw debate is legit, but the Sawyer Mini fits in my ‘water pouch’ just fine

Food:

Next in our line of needs that the bag addresses is food. Because the point of a get home bag is to get home, we’re using up calories to accomplish our goal.

Like many other survival kits and emergency food storage, we need plenty of calories to sustain us. Unlike other emergency food, we also want our food to be fast and easy. Prepackaged food really shines in streamlined mobile kits like our bag, since we can either eat while we’re moving or eat quickly in short rests.

None of the food we consider essential needs to be cooked from an external fire or stove (assuming your MREs have heaters), and will help get you home as fast as humanly possible.

• Ration Bars: Millennium Bars (from the best survival food bar review) – plenty of energy and calories to keep you moving in a convenient grab-and-go packaging. They won’t melt and taste better than traditional ration bars (but are similar otherwise).
• Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE): US Military MRE (from the best MRE review) – if getting home is just another tactical operation, pack a few of your favorite menus. I skip the veggie omelet and keep the chili mac in my bag.

Nav & Comms:

Navigation and communication devices are critical to finding your home.

You don’t want to rely on your phone too much, but if it’s working it’s great to use for navigation and communication. There isn’t any real reason to avoid using it unless you need to meter the battery so you can navigate longer distances. Further down we have phone power banks as optional gear for your bag, but we don’t consider them essential.

What we do consider essential is having a backup to your phone. If cell towers go down, you need to be able to stay informed and navigate home. Navigating with a compass and map does take a little practice and skill, so you may need some hands-on time if you haven’t navigated with them before.

The weather radio is a pure workhorse, providing a lot of tools packed into one little housing- but also keeping you updated on what is going on. It is a critical piece of gear for most kits, and this one is no exception.

• Emergency Radio/Light/Charger: NOAA Solar Crank Radio (from the best emergency weather radio review)
• Compass: Brunton TruArc (from the best survival compass review) – Stay on track and navigate with your maps.
• Local Maps: Print copies of local maps. Here’s how you download survival maps for free.
• Survival Mirror: Coghlan’s Signal Mirror (from the best signal mirror review)
• Spare Cell Phone Charger: Make sure it works with your main cell phone

Shelter:

According to the survival rule of threes, we’re arriving at this one a bit late. But, different survival kits and plans have different goals. The goal of a get home bag is to get home. That can be a little tough if you are busy glamping in a tent.

We do need to be able to shield ourselves from the elements, and you may need to pull up for some rest. None of these items are heavy or bulky, making them ideal for the bare minimum when it comes to shelter.

Depending on where you live (extreme cold areas), you may need to jump down to our extra addition lists for more robust shelter solutions.

• Survival Blanket: Arcturus Survival Blanket (from the best survival blanket review)
• Survival Bivy: Life Bivy Sleeping Bag (from the best emergency bivy review) – Sleeping bag systems are more comfortable, but a survival bivy will always get the job done with less weight and bulk.
• Waterproof Tarp: AquaQuest Defender Tarp (from the best survival tarp review) – A tarp is essential for making impromptu shelters quickly.

Clothing & PPE:

Clothing and personal protective equipment are often times considered part of ‘shelter’ since they shield you from external conditions and protect your body. For categorization reasons, we separate these out in our lists because we usually pack them separately in our bags.

Besides a spare change of clothes (I like to roll mine up in a skivvy roll), you’ll want some solid gloves and a few other PPE items to help you out. Survival is usually dirty business, so your gloves and respiratory protection will put in some work.

• Work Gloves: Mechanix Wear Covert Gloves (from the best survival gloves review)
• Socks: Darn Tough Light Hiker (from the best survival socks review)
• Long Sleeve Shirt: Carhartt Midweight Crew (from the best survival shirt review)
• Underwear: Under Armour Boxerjock (from the best survival underwear review)
• Pants: 5.11 Tactical Ridge Pants (from the best grey man pants review)
• N-95 Masks: 3M N-95 Masks (mask shortages are over, so get the real deal)
• Nitrile Gloves: TitanFlex Nitrile Gloves (from the best nitrile gloves review) – Protect your hands from contamination.

Fire:

You need a way to start a fire. Because of the two is one and one is none rule, we consider two fire sources to be essential. Sure, you could swap out the matches for a Ferro rod (found further below in our suggested gear) if you really wanted to, but the goal is to have that fast-and-easy lighter and a backup.

• Lighter: Windproof Arc Lighter (from the best survival lighter review)
• Waterproof Matches: UCO Stormproof Match Kit (from the best waterproof matches review)

First Aid:

A first aid kit should be a subcomponent of any survival kit. Survival situations always present more ways to injure yourself. Whether it’s a serious traumatic injury or a minor cut- how you deal with it can be life-altering without medical services.

Infections, dehydration, diarrhea- all of these can threaten your chances of making it home in one piece if you aren’t properly equipped to deal with them.

You’ll want to make sure you have plenty of your regular prescriptions on hand as well. Storing extras in your get home bag is essential.

• Basic First Aid Kit: Standard MyFak – A robust IFAK that gives you all the basics with room to expand.
• Prescription Medication: Jase Case (from the best emergency antibiotics review) – Don’t get caught without your meds! Get emergency prescriptions for everything you need, including antibiotics and EpiPens.

Tools & Tactical Gear:

Many new preppers building a get home bag start with the ‘cool tactical gear’. Realistically, tools and tactical gear are not the most important things to include in your bag.

That said, these specific items are more than worth their weight when you need to find a way home. The self-defense items and versatile survival tools speak for themselves, but the lights are critical in your bag so you can continue moving.

In certain situations, speed in getting home will be key, and these essential items can remove barriers between you and your home.

• Survival Knife: ESEE Izula Fixed Blade Knife (from the best survival knife review)
• Bushcraft Knife: Morakniv Companion Fixed Blade Knife (from the best bushcraft knife review)
• Handgun: Your preferred CCW that you are trained on (see ours here)
• Ammunition: For your CCW, of course
• Flashlight: GearLight S1000 LED Flashlight (from the best survival flashlight review)
• Headlamp: ThruNite TH20 Pro Headlamp (from the best survival headlamp review)
• Multitool: Leatherman Signal (from the best survival multitool review)
• Paracord: TOUGH-GRID Paracord (from the best paracord review)
• Duct Tape: Gorilla Tape 35 Yard Roll (from the best duct tape review)

Hygiene & Sanitation:

One of the most overlooked sections of any survival kit is how you will handle hygiene and sanitation. Your appearance and presentation can matter just as much as avoiding disease and sickness.

All of these items are lightweight, and the soap is versatile for not just cleaning yourself, but your gear as well. Hygiene can always boost morale, and practicing good sanitation will keep you healthy.

• Toothbrush: Travel Toothbrush
• Toothpaste: Colgate Travel Toothpaste
• Soap: Campsuds
• Feminine Supplies: Feminine hygiene supplies may make sense to store in your bag, even if you are a male.

Documents & Personal Items:

Last but not least, your get home bag needs some documents, personal items, and even some survival manuals if you choose (further down in our suggestions since they are not essential).

Identity documents, a pen and pad, some cash, and a copy of your prepping plan are ideal and don’t take up much space. I keep most of these in my admin pouch along with my maps.

If you have a family, you should strongly consider adding a recent photo. It can help you get assistance locating anyone separated, or just be good to have for morale. Not everyone has an immediate family, so we don’t list it as essential.

• Emergency Plan: Print a copy of your TruePrepper Basic Emergency Plan
• Copy of ID: Quickly prove your identity
• Cash Stash: Stash some money in your bug out bag.
• Rainproof Pen: Rite in the Rain EDC Pen (from the best survival pen review) – Take notes in any conditions.
• Rainproof Notebook: Rite in the Rain Notebook (from the best waterproof notebook review) – The best writing pad to have in your survival kit.

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Suggested Additions for Your Bag

This gear may not be essential by definition, but adding any of these to your bag will improve your kit’s versatility for even more situations.

Water:

• Canteen with Cup: Rothco Canteen
• Water: If you have weight to spare, fill water containers or bring bagged water.

Food:

• Military Can Opener: P-51 Shelby Opener (from the best can opener review)
• Camp Stove: MSR PocketRocket 2 (from the best survival stove review) – A trusty camp stove will give you yet another option to quickly prepare meals.
• Steel Pot: MalloMe Mess Kit

Nav & Comms:

• Power Bank: INUI Portable Charger (from the best phone power bank review) – Portable battery packs have come way down in cost and are very versatile.
• Signal Flares: Orion Safety Flares (from the best emergency flare review) – Individual flares are relatively light and pack a punch when you need to signal.
• Whistle:  SOL Slim Rescue Howler (from the best survival whistle review) – Whistles make getting attention easy.
• GPS Watch: Garmin Instinct 2 (from the best survival watch review) – Pick your favorite GPS watch or smartwatch.
• Ranger Beads: Matte Ranger Beads (from the best ranger beads review) – Teach yourself to pace count with ranger beads.

Clothing & PPE:

• Poncho: Arcturus Rain Poncho (from the best survival poncho review) – Staying dry is important during an emergency.
• Bandana: Colter Co. Reflective Bandana (from the best survival bandana review) – Cover your head, signal for help, or stay informed with a high-vis survival bandana.
• Boonie Hat: Rothco Boonie Hat (from the best survival hat review)
• Jacket: Helikon-Tex Pilgrim Anorak (from the best survival jacket review) – A super durable shell for a wide range of conditions (See why we recommend this in our survival jacket review).
• Boots/Shoes: 5.11 A/T 8″ Waterproof Boots (from the best survival boots review) – Sturdy hiking shoes or tactical boots work well in survival situations. Have some for wear and stow some in your pack.

Fire:

• Ferro Rod: Bayite 6″ Ferrocerium Rod (from the best ferro rod review) – You could swap matches out for this in the essential kit, or run all three.
• Tinder/Fatwood: TinderQuik (from the best survival tinder review) – Start fires easier with reliable man-made tinder or collected fatwood/char cloth.

First Aid:

• Sun Screen: Your favorite brand with high SPF.
• Bug Spray: Repel 100 (from the best mosquito spray research)
• Anti-diarrheal Tabs: Imodium Loperamide Hydrochloride (from the best anti-diarrhea tablet review)

Tools & Tactical Gear:

• Pepper Spray: Sabre 3-in-1 Pepper Spray – A great non-lethal weapon for personal protection. (see how this tested as the best pepper spray)
• Batteries: Tenergy Premium Pro Rechargeable Batteries – Stocking up on standard batteries is smart, but rechargeables are clutch for emergencies and survival. (See why these ones tested as the best rechargeable batteries for disasters and survival)
• Sewing Kit: Singer Survival Sew Kit (from the best survival sewing kit review) – Repairing textiles and other gear can extend their useful life.
• Folding Saw: Bahco Laplander (from the best survival saw review) – Cut away debris or make a wilderness shelter.
• Super Glue: Gorilla Super Glue Gel (from the best super glue review) – For when you want something to stay and never move again.
• Zip Ties: Gardner Bender HD Zip Ties (from the best zip ties review)

Hygiene & Sanitation:

• Garbage Bags: Glad FlexForcePlus (from the best trash bag review) – Use them for trash, or plenty of other survival uses with these unique double-walled flexible bags.
• Hand Sanitizer: During a pandemic, this is an essential EDC item.
• Portable Bidet: Brondell Travel Bidet (from the best portable bidet review) – Yes, we actually tested and reviewed bidets so you don’t have to. This is the best portable option for your survival kit and gives you a renewable solution, unlike toilet paper.

Documents & Personal Items:

• Copy of Birth Certificate: An important document.
• Copy of Passport: This can be more important with border access.
• Playing Cards: Wilderness Survival Cards (from the best survival playing cards review) – Don’t forget the importance of entertainment and games.

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Extra Supplies for your GHB Kit

Essentials and suggested additions have been covered, so this is the area will you will find everything else that could be useful to have when you book it home. These extra supplies will help you in very specific situations, are less versatile, and may take up a lot of space. Even still, they could be the difference makers in an emergency- so it could pay off to consider adding these.

Water:

• Electrolyte Mix: DripDrop Hydration Powder (from the best electrolyte powder review) – Stress and hard work getting through a disaster can quickly dehydrate anyone. Combat this with an electrolyte mix.
• Bleach: Use for water treatment, hygiene, sanitization, and other sterilization uses.
• Coffee: Franklin’s Finest (from the best survival coffee review) – The little routines in an emergency can help, especially if we have a developed dependency on them! The caffeine in coffee can be helpful if you need to stay awake for any reason.

Food:

• Fishing Supplies: Best Glide Survival Fishing Kit (from the best survival fishing kit review) – tackle and kit will help you stay prepared if you live relatively close to a body of water. (see why we like this survival fishing kit and other options)
• Snares: USGI Trip / Snare Wire (from the best snare wire review) – Trapping and snaring may require a license in your area. Please check locally to learn the rules and risks before you deploy snares.
• Beef Jerky: Pick your favorite brand and flavor.
• Multi-Vitamins: Make sure your diet completes all of your body’s nutrient requirements.
• Stove Fuel: Extra camp stove fuel.

Nav & Comms:

• Ham Radio: Baofeng UV-5R (from the best ham radio review) – backup communication methods that don’t rely as heavily on infrastructure can definitely come in handy.
• CB Radio: Uniden PRO401HH – Ham may get all the attention, but CB can be an alternative choice that doesn’t require a license.

Clothing & PPE:

• Long Underwear: Carhartt Thermal Pant
• Sunglasses: Survival I-Shield (from the best survival sunglasses review) – These thin-profile collapsible sunglasses fit the budget and are great for get home bags.
• Scarf/Shemaugh: Explore Land Shemagh (from the best shemagh review) – Stay covered in any environment.
• Ball Cap: Wazoo Cache Cap (from the best survival hat review) Stash some gear in one of the six pockets hidden in this inconspicuous ball cap that blends in anywhere.
• Handwarmers: HotHands

Fire:

• Magnifying Glass: Carson MagniFlip (from the best magnifying glass fire starter review) – focus energy to start a fire on a sunny day, or just use it to help you read maps.
• Fire Extinguisher: Cold Fire (from the best fire extinguisher review) – A portable fire extinguisher can come in handy.

First Aid:

• Extra OTC Medication: Over-the-counter meds should be a part of your first aid kit, but stashing extras is a good idea.
• Sting Kit: Sting-Kill (from the best sting remedy review) – Take the bite out of a sting quickly and effectively.
• Trauma Kit: Trauma IFAK – Use only if trained.
• Iodide Tablets: iOSAT Potassium Iodide Tablets (from the best iodine tablet review) – Usually found in our specialized kit for those with radiation risk, this one makes sense in a general preparedness kit with its low cost and small package. Protect your thyroid from absorbing radiation during the most terrible emergencies.

Tools & Tactical Gear:

• Pocket Sharpener: Fallkniven DC3 (from the best knife sharpener review) – Small but effective diamond sharpener.
• Ammo Pouch: Accessible ammo can be a priority depending on your situation.
• Machete: CRKT Halfachance Parang
• Axe/Hatchet: Estwing Camper’s Axe (from the best survival axe review) – This will help you get firewood and get through walls, in extreme cases.
• Prybar: Spec Ops D21BAR (from the best survival prybar review) – small and light enough for portable kits, but long enough for leverage.
• Binoculars: Bushnell Waterproof/Fogproof 10X Binoculars
• Steel Wool: So versatile and lightweight.
• Glow Sticks: Cyalume SnapLight (from the best glow stick review) – Great for low light, visibility, signaling, and marking.
• Hacksaw: Lennox Mini Hacksaw
• Zip Lock Bags: Lightweight storage is never a bad idea.
• Waterproof Bag: Earth Pak Dry Bag
• Pliers: Adjustable wrench pliers
• Rope: There are plenty of other cordage options besides paracord.
• Keychain Flashlight: Olight I3T Flashlight (from the best EDC flashlight review)

Hygiene & Sanitation:

• Compressed Towels: Lightload Towels (from the best survival towel review)
• Dish Soap: A little bit of dish soap in a small water-tight container.
• Shaving Supplies: Van Der Hagen Traditional Safety Razor (from the best survival razor review) – A straight razor will last longer than disposable packs, but a safety razor bridges the skill gap.
• Foot Powder: Gold Bond Medicated Foot Powder – Keep your feet dry when you’re on the move!
• Toilet Paper: Portawipes (from the best toilet paper tablets review) – Expanding tablets take up virtually no space and help you take care of business.
• Floss: Floss is versatile and surprisingly strong!

Documents & Personal Items:

• Get Home Bag Checklist: TruePrepper Full Get Home Bag Checklist – We’ve done all the hard work. Print the checklist. Fill it out. Keep it up to date.
• Insurance Documents: With many regional disasters, it can be a race to file insurance. Being prepared with your documents can make sure you’re at the front of the line.
• Edible Plants Guide: Edible Wild Plants (Paperback)
• First Aid Guide: Survival Medicine Guide
• Gold: Gold CombiBar (from our best gold for preppers guide) – money that you can hold is still worthwhile even when the main currency crashes.
• Silver: Silver American Eagles (from our best silver for preppers guide) – smaller denominations for better payment/barter flexibility.
• USB Drive: Verbatim 64GB ToughMAX (from the best survival USB drive review) – Load a USB drive with your favorite survival manuals and maps of the area. We have plenty of free survival manual PDFs to give you a head start.

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The Definitive Get Home Bag Checklist

A perfect get home bag loadout doesn’t exist- what is right for you depends on your situation and risk tolerance. That said, we have as close to perfect of a starting point for you: our definitive get home bag checklist.

Our checklist is available as both a pdf download and as a Google Sheet/Excel file where you can check off items yourself, and even add and subtract items from the checklist.

Get Home Bag PDF Checklist

If you are looking for the simplest way to print and use the checklist above, download our PDF version. It is one page long on 8.5″ x 11″ paper if you reduce the margins to 0.5″. This GHB PDF makes gathering and tracking your gear extremely easy. Once you open the Get Home Bag PDF checklist in your browser, you can either print it directly or save it through your browser.

Get Home Bag Excel / Google Sheets Checklist

If you are looking for a comprehensive way to track your GHB loadout, open our Excel / Google Sheets version. The sheet is sharable, and you just need to copy it to your own Google Sheets account or download it to Excel to edit it. We also keep the best-reviewed item for each category linked to simplify shopping for any equipment you may find yourself missing.

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Prebuilt Get Home Bag

We understand. Many people don’t have time to go through a list or checklist so you might be looking for the ‘fire and forget’ option.

There are plenty of companies standing by to help you out, and we’ve already reviewed them. Your standard pre-built survival kit bags will have most (if not all) of our listed get home bag essentials and come in a variety of price points.

There is enough overlap between bug out bags and get home bags that these kits will serve you well: The Best Premade Get Home Bag for Emergencies.

Still, we encourage you to return and use one of these kits as the starting point to your preparedness journey and not something you stash away and forget. Your potential survival is worth the time.

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Get Home Bag vs Bug Out Bag

Get home bags are designed to meet different goals than bug out bags and other bug out bag variants.

For starters, they are designed for a different starting point. Bug out bags are typically designed to go from point A to point B- which can be predetermined with planning. Get home bags need to be able to go from point X to point A, and you may not be certain where point X is and how far it is.

Because of this difference in planning, get home bags range in size and what you decide to include.

A get home bag usually has similar contents to a bug out bag because you may not be certain how long it would take you to get home in an emergency. If your workplace is easily walkable, your GHB will be smaller and closer to Everyday Carry. If you work several hours from your home or travel regularly, your GHB may be closer to an INCH kit. The bags are flexible based on your needs, and our gear guide below reflects our suggestions.

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Get Home Bag FAQs

Most people are unfamiliar with the get home bag concept, so it’s normal to have plenty of questions about here. Here are a few of the most common questions we’ve fielded over the years:

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The Next Step

Get home bags can help you out when you are on the road and aren’t just for getting home. The supplies you choose to keep with you can help you beat the odds when you are confronted with any situation.

They are less concerned about sustaining survival (like Bug Out Bags) but are more intentional in getting you back to your supplies in your home. Check out the differences between a Get Home Bag and Bug Out Bag, or use the navigation at the top of the page to browse other kits:

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