Hmmm. Someone on here mentioned that you'll have to carry it all once and that has had me thinking. And now this discussion. The days are hot and the roads are almost dry. Think I'll get all my bug out stuff and see how feasible now that I;m old and getting feeble. Lol. Maybe tomorrow.

Different environments have different needs. Up until recently I worked more than 30 miles from home on the 18th floor of a high-rise. If something happened to interrupt my normal commute I was prepared to either shelter-in-place at the office, evacuate to a nearby alternate shelter location (established by my employer), or worst-case, potentially walk the 30 miles.

The office kit I built at that time reflected those possibilities:



The kit was designed to deal with day-to-day inconveniences, shelter-in-place for a couple of days, or get to my vehicle where a more complete GHB is maintained. Not shown is the foam pad, blanket, small tool kit and a 14" wrecking bar.

Today I work less than 8 miles from home on the top floor of a 3-story building (when I'm not working from home). When we moved I brought the kit with me and have it on-hand in case I get stuck due to bad weather. I don't think its overkill. Except maybe the wrecking bar: the new office is mostly open-space design, so there would be no need to break through walls to find an exit.

On 9/11, quite a lot of people walked many miles home from work - in DC and NYC. A number of my friends walked 7-8 miles from downtown DC to their homes in northern Virginia or Maryland. A swift walking pace is 3 mph so it did not take them terribly long to get home but that experience taught my friends to in the future keep comfortable walking shoes in their offices or cars. I live in the city and was struck by the stream of pedestrians that morning who were evacuating on foot to their homes miles away in Maryland - and between here and there were some not-nice neighborhoods.

Those walking were fortunate that 9/11 was a beautiful day - literally not a cloud in the sky and temps in the high-70s. And the attacks were in the morning so people weren't walking in the dark.

Terrorist attack, snow storm (doesn't take much to paralyze this area), power outages or any event that snarls traffic region-wide will be cause for many to walk home from work.

For the past two decades I've lived within one mile of work so haven't been terribly concerned with keeping a BOB in my office. But my vehicle is well-equipped with gear, including a comfortable backpack, Gore-tex hiking boots (socks and extra laces stuffed in each boot), Gore-tex jacket, Gore-tex hats, water bottles, energy bars, headlamp, radio, hiking poles, etc. etc.

The jackets and clothes are adjusted for the season but I've been an outdoors enthusiast long enough to know that an afternoon thunderstorm can turn a hot summer day into a chilly situation.

If I lived several miles or more from my office, I would certainly keep a BOB and hiking boots/socks there and adjust the contents seasonally (always including a Gore-Tex jacket w/hood).

By the way, in confirming the temperature on 9/11/01, I ran across this archive of the CBS morning show that day. A reminder of how quickly a routine day can become a very bad day:

http://archive.org/details/cbs200109110831-0912

Agreed. Living just outside of NYC during 9/11, I've seen first hand that it's a pretty good idea to have some kind of 'get home bag/office emergency kit.' A lot of people, especially those who took the train or buses into the city that morning, ended up either being stuck in the city for a few days or being forced to walk home. Cell phones didn't work either, so calling for a ride once you got across the bridge/tunnel was near impossible. Many were forced to walk nearly all the way from NYC to their home in NJ.

It doesn't even have to be some crazy complex and expensive kit either. Some sturdy and comfortable weather-appropriate clothing, water, and simple food items can go a long way. Make sure to toss in some cash in mixed small bills too, especially if you are one of those people who rarely carries/uses cash.

I have two such kits, a small one in my laptop bag and a rather larger and bulkier one in a file drawer at the office in case I have to spend the night.

I'm sure that there are readers out there where their workplace is the better place to be, so not all kits that we keep at work are necessarily "get home bags" and could be more "stay where you are" kits.

Maybe it's just the sheer distance or terrain in between work and home. Maybe your house is in a flood zone and work is not. Maybe your work has a well or its own big propane tank or a more reliable connection to the grid. Maybe some industrial accident or terrorism incident forces you to shelter-in-place at work for an extended time. Maybe you have a job where you feel the need to stay, like some of those guys who operated the pumping stations in New Orleans during Katrina. Those guys probably never imagined having to spends days there with really no outside assistance, but it happened. Or you're a teacher or school bus driver or work at a hospital or nursing home where you would not abandon the people in your charge. The possibilities are endless.

However, I agree, our natural instinct is to head home when calamity strikes, though, especially when there's someone waiting for us.

I've had a GHB ever since the East Coast Blackout of 2003, when hubby took hours in the heat to walk home . I just figure it's something that's likely to happen again and my walk home is considerably longer now than his was then. This stuff could also work for bugging-in.

In addition to my get home stuff n the Jeep, I also keep a bug-in kit at work. There's a chance I might not have my vehicle when the poop hits the propeller blade. Not sure I wouldn't risk a trip outside to grab the stuff from the Jeep if the nuclear plant sirens went off. (They did some unexpected testing the other day, and even though it caught us all off guard, I'm proud to say that my coworkers now know what it means and what to do if they hear it.)

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=236011&page=1



Chaos has an office kit too!
http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=237314&page=1

I don't really have a GHB per se. However, I do have stuff in my car. I could alway rearrange the supplies to make a GHB. I work typically about 35 miles from home, so I anticipate a 2 day walk if needed. Of course, I'm not sure why I wouldn't be able to drive home (I'm not a believer in EMP theories). My biggest barriers are a BUNCh of rivers and marshes locally. If I had to hoof it off-road, it'd probably be closer to 4-5 days, if not more, simply b/c I live in basically a monster wetland.

Normally I don't keep anything permanently where I'm working, but I almost always have a backpack with me - something to carry my lunch, water, notebook, etc. to & from work.

So rather than a specific get-home-bag, I usually have some contingency gear in my day-to-day backpack. Currently this includes:

• wind-proof gloves & toque
• water-resistant wind jacket
• small FAK
• altoids sized emergency kit
• emergency blanket
• altoids sized repair kit
• toilet paper
• AAA flashlight
• small sharpener
• lighter
• a PowerBar

This changes from time to time depending on what I've been doing (e.g., did I put my emergency kit in a different backpack for camping and not put it back come Monday?), but generally speaking this is the type of stuff I'd have.

The addition of these things doesn't eat up much space in my bag, my lunch, notebook, and water take up most of the used space, but they are nice extras in case something does go south while I'm out at work.

Something I also try to plan for is the possibility that a building evacuation could be needed when I'm not at my desk. For this reason I try to ensure that I won't be stranded with only what I have on my person. For example, I always carry my vehicle keys with me and I try to always keep a couple transit tickets in my wallet.

For me, it is far better to make my own kits rather than purchase pre-packaged items and for two main reasons:

1) Most people are so price-conscious these days that companies are forced to skimp on quality in order to stay in business. So I buy high-quality individual items and combine them for my own kits.

2) I've never seen a kit that contains what I need for my particular environment and lifestyle