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John, a “retired doorkicker” from the free state of Indiana, offers his “Get Home Essentials” stuff.  Courtesy of the good folks at Everyday Carry.

He writes this:

Not seen in my get home bag are my first aid kit, survival food bars (4-day supply), survival straw & spare water bottle, sanitary dude wipes (unscented), additional ammo for survival or barter, leatherman tool, and spare personal medication. The get-home-bag goes with me anytime I leave home.

And I thought I was prepared (JBoch’s 10-Pounds of EDC Goodness: Everyday Carry Pocket Dump of the Day)!

He carries a Springfield XD-M in a Fobus OWB holster.  Along with the (Springfield Armory) factory dual mag pouches.

Now I know a lot of cops who carry, including some old school guys.  This is the first I know who carries in a Fobus OWB for anything but range work.  And even then, most cops I know carry their duty rig to build familiarity with the retention system release.

By the way, he has all that stuff and no flashlight/tactical light?

He does carry an extra box of Hornady Critical Defense Ammo.

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36 COMMENTS

  1. I guess I’ve never been much of a gear queer to need to carry that much stuff. What little I do carry everyday will get me by 99.99% of the time and the other 0.01% I probably wasn’t paying attention or I knew I needed more before I left the house and planned for it.

    • I supose you don’t have to carry a bunch of stuff if you can quickly and easily get to your gear, I.e. the emergency kit at your desk, the BOB in your car, a hidden SHTF cache?
      Sometimes your EDC item just sits in you pockets till there’s an emergency. Wasn’t it MacGyver(from the 80’s TV show) that used to EDC at least a Swiss army knife?

    • Some places just burn tires. So carry an extra tire (not the one on your gut) in case the smoke fails. Don’t forget the IR stuff too, in case the bird can’t see smoke, or you need to be discreet with your NVG’s and use the IR function to paint targets. Man, tons of stuff this guy is forgetting… Rookie. POG. /sarc

  2. His reloads are facing each other. Looks cool, but.. Bullets should be facing forward. Index finger laid along the front of the reload. For every reload. Guide the mag into the mag well. Really, who wants to turn a magazine around in the middle of a reload? Advice from a former door knocker.

    • Good eye on the spare mag orientation. There’s a lot of things odd and incomplete here for a get “home essentials”. Bullets for bartering is a horrible idea. The chosen holster and mag carrier seem like odd choices. The SA dual mag carrier, I have it and it’s not a good design, both mags should be canted at the same angle or both vertical. 4 days worth of survival bars. Does that mean it takes up to 4 days to get home? Maybe didnt want to list all his get home essentials; the backpack appears filled up with stuff. What contingencies is he planning for?

      • “Bullets for bartering is a horrible idea.”

        Depends on what you mean by “barter” and how often you plan to “barter”. If by barter he means “You give me that and I let you keep your life” and he plans on doing that a lot… then maybe it works lol.

        As for the spare mags, I’ve always found the V carriers awkward but some people must like them. Personally I like horizontal carry for a spare pistol mag but that’s just me.

        Mag orientation OTOH is entirely personal and based on where you carry them and how your body works. I know a few people who spent a fair amount of time doing dangerous and sketchy shit professionally who change their mag orientation based on their reach for the mag because it works better with their personal biomechanics. Usually it’s on rifle mag pouches were the farthest reach across their body has the mags orientated “backwards” because at that angle and distance it works for them and their wrist. Other people don’t like it.

  3. Don’t barter with ammo. Don’t barter with something that can be so easily used against you. I suggest a flask or plastic bottle of liquor. Liquor is a fantastic bartering item.

  4. Additional ammo for barter TO GET HOME. So, on the way home, society ends, and your cash is worthless just like that. Plus, if something like that could actually happen, you’re going to want to keep your ammo.

    • I will give you six bullots for a hit off that pipe, man. Sometimes bullots are better then money

  5. I can understand the GHB concept. Working 25 miles from home I have a GHB and a dedicated car with seasonal gear in it to help if I have to end up on foot to get back home. Included would be a fair amount of cash in small bills. I think no matter what occurs people will grab at money if you offer it for service or for some needed items, at least in the short term until they find out that it is not much better than TP.

    • Perfect size to cover up that gloryhole when he’s done being blown by a fellow pensioner on the other side.

      Yea, I had a bad day. Calling bullshit on this carry. I’d be surprised if he could tie more than his shoes with that paracord. Anyone who says they would barter ammo has no idea how to survive in a scenario where bartering would be a necessity. No insulation from the elements, which is crucial even in something like a light drizzle when you have to walk for 10 miles, and that bag can fit a poncho and a lightweight emergency shelter. The difference can be 30 degrees on a cold night. I’d carry water purifiers also. A survival style knife, not just a folder. Map, compass, MEDICAL KIT. A fucking torch, or even a Bic lighter. Spare batteries. Spare socks. DON’T FORGET THE SPARE SOCKS! A map?!?! Tons of gear missed because they are trying to be lightweight in a situation where 10 miles can take days if the scenario is dangerous enough. They are for scenarios where panic controls people. Not just an “oh shit, I am locked out of my truck, lemme walk home” bag. A get home bag should be the bag to get you home to your stored supplies, and if need be, your inch bag that will get you out of the situation entirely and that bag is only grabbed when you know you won’t be coming back home, possibly ever.

      This is not a get home bag, it’s the start of one by someone who has no idea what getting home can mean or how hard it can be in the scenario you will need one. No wonder it would get featured here by the man who carries 2x 3lb keychains.

      • My GHB has everything you mentioned, down to the spare socks (and undershirt, and underwear, and toothbrush/paste, and etc., etc.)

        Oh, and if you have a “trunk gun” as well, make sure your GHB’s straps (shoulder, waist cinch, whatever) will not interfere with your choice of belt, holster, mag holder, etc. Or maybe your light chest rig with all the tacticool MOLLE loops. If you have all this stuff and truly do need it one day to walk those 10 or maybe 100 miles to your home/destination, you don’t want to find out too late that all your gear won’t fit together because the straps overlap and interfere with each other..

      • I would add a second compass. I’ve seen a fair number of people freak out that the compass “doesn’t work”. Hand them a second one and show that they both show the same thing and people tend to calm down and start reading the map correctly (assuming they know how in the first place, obviously). Also an emergency bivvy that fits in one of those tiny little bags. But that’s just me.

        Realistically, IMO, most of the people (not all but most) who put together bags like this are wasting their time. They have this bag that’s meant for a long walk home on foot if SHTF but they’re in nowhere near the kind of shape they need to be do actually do that. They’ve got 20+ miles or more to go due to their daily commute but they can’t hike three miles with 30lbs on them without needing a longish rest. So they sure as fuck are not, even with a light survival bag, going to make it the kind of distance they say they will carrying a decently outfitted bag.

        • I get it, but not sure how you can prove the majority are those types of people. Only one real way to find out.

  6. John a “retired doorkicker”,. TTAG all up in that cool aid now huh. ? Patting the door kickers are we now. Next up a Swat Team Confiscation members EDC, . . .. More police officers like Gadsden Flag please, he misread that as “door knocker” . My hat’s off to you GF.

    • Possum, don’t know what I said to deserve the compliment, but thanks. I swore to defend the Constitution twice. Meant it both times. Unfortunately, I read where a former coworker was arrested by the FBI today. Read the affidavit. He’s alleged to have been tipping off/assisting drug dealers for a couple of years now. Always sad when I see this kind of thing. Said it before though, LEOs are just people. Some are bad. We don’t catch everyone every time, but we catch everyone eventually. Even our own.

  7. I dont think he carries this on him….but WITH him. Like in his truck.

    I have a little bag like this in my truck…..In addition to the stuff I carry on me.

    But I dont have sausages. I have jerky, peanut butter, and trail mix.

    I guess I could barter jerky and bottled water…….but I’m keeping my bullits.

  8. I could never post my pocket dump because I don’t carry a high-end designer knife, an explosion proof tactical watch, or gazillion lumen flashlight. Without those things you open yourself up to ridicule by the tacticool crowd.

    Seriously, some guys on here are like Hollywood fashion critics. Wtf?

    • Yes, but this type of Carry is not what it’s designed for, and when you label yourself as a retired door kicker, be prepared to prove it. Especially if what you’re carrying doesn’t look like you have any sense.

      Cheap. Expensive. Doesn’t really matter to me. Functional and appropriate is what matters.

  9. An extra large space blanket is on the bottom of my sling pack GHB along with extra socks, leather gloves, a balaclava in winter, and oilcloth crusher hat. A few clothing/shelter items can mean the difference between making it home or not, here in Michigan at least with our wild weather, especially in the cooler 9 or 10 months. But if I am in either of our vehicles there are more options available for both my wife and I. One important thing carried in each car is a pair of waterproof side zip desert boots for each of us. With socks appropriate to the season so we can swap out of less appropriate footwear. If we end up on foot.

    The handgun stored in the GHB is not available for barter, but you can have a bullet or two if you really really insist…

  10. Uh, color me stupid. WTF is a “door kicker”? I know what a cow kick is, but not a door kicker.
    Help!?

  11. I can see extra ammo but to say its also for “Barter” in a get home bag? B.S. Flag. This makes the rest suspect. Real or props pulled from pawn shop shelves. At least get text that has tangible info.

  12. I uploaded this EDC, and I included in the item notes that while the holster seen is the XD Gear paddle that comes with the pistol, I use a Blackhawk Serpa CQC holster for my EDC. Sorry that wasn’t pictured.

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