2025 EDC Get-Me-Home Bag

In this episode, I break down my full EDC backpack—what I call my "get-me-to-safety" bag.
Built for real-world emergencies, this isn’t about flashy gear—it’s about medical essentials, survival tools, dual-use items, and smart packing that could save your life if home is compromised.

From my Leatherman ARC and Nitecore power bank to my Grail water filter and MSR Pocket Rocket stove, I walk you through what I carry, why it matters, and how I’ve built this bag to adapt with the seasons.

🔧 Real gear. 💡 Real use. ❤️ Real tribute to a Marine who never stopped checking in.
 Don't forget to subscribe and drop a comment—what’s in your EDC bag?

#EDC #GetHomeBag #EverydayCarry #Preparedness #SurvivalGear #VeteranOwned #DrVirgaPodcast

Transcript

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in my last episode I broke down my personal everyday carry what I keep on me and why but like I said then that was just half the story today I'm going through what's in my get me to safety bag aka my EDC bag that goes with me everywhere some folks call it a get me home bag but for me the goal isn't always getting home what if home is compromised and I need to be able to get somewhere safe this bag helps me make that happen it's built for survival for medical response and for real world situations not social media it's not fantasy just what actually works when things go sideways and if you're new here I'm Jesse I'm an EMT first responder and I spent four years on a mountain search and rescue team and I'm a military veteran so let's take a look at what's inside my get me to safety bag let's start with the medical and hygiene section of this bag this is probably the most built out part of my bag and for good reasons I've got multiple sets of gloves alcohol and iodine prep pads Neosporin a few different types of masks both N95 and surgical and plenty of band aids um usually on the trail or you know just the day to day stuff I'm gonna need a band aid over anything else I even carry hydro seal blister bandages because you never know when a hot spot is gonna ruin your ability to move I've also got honey pot wipes for feminine hygiene wound closure strips lens wipes and a roll of leukotape which I actually prefer over moleskin when it comes to blister Protection there's a sterile CPR mask with an extra set of gloves and yes two cat tourniquets because one is none and two is one and I go for the orange just in case I'm in low light situation and I need to grab it out of my bag quickly and I opted for orange because orange is easier to see in low light situations now the one I carry on my person that's a little bit more visible will generally be black or a darker color just for ease of movement and if you're in any sort of stealth situation I also keep hand sanitizer two versions actually a small pump bottle and a tiny spray bottle this was not on purpose I just happened to have two of them I also have more sunscreen lotion and a Boom Boom menthol nasal stick the Boom Boom stick is basically Vicks Vaporub in a chapstick size container because my allergies are awful in some places especially in like San Diego or Northern Cali alright let's talk power I carry a USB C cable wrapped in Type 3

aka 5: 2:40

50 paracord for backup and I pair that with a Nitecore 20,000 milliamp hour carbon fiber power pack I have 2 cell phones and this thing charges them both fully charged from zero with no problem this thing is awesome I only check the charge maybe once a month and it's usually still holding strong it's compact and it just works for light and fire I've got a Black Diamond headlamp I like this one because it has different color modes and is also USB C rechargeable then there's a big lighter in a waterproof case with some No. 36 bank line wrapped around it I also have a small Altoids tin too once the mints are gone I repurpose it as a container I usually make my own little fire starter candle and as a final fire backup I have some survivor wear waterproof matches the summer in SoCal is usually no burn so a lot of this stuff is phased out in the summer but for now I'm keeping all of this stuff in here as I slowly transition from my winter setup to my summer setup now on to the toolkit I keep things compact but capable my Leatherman Arc is in there with the extension and bit set I also carry a small pry bar two Kanipex pliers and a set of tweezers and a foldable titanium utensil set from a brand called Navaris I'll leave links to everything in the description this utensil set is great by the way it's super light and easy to clean wrapped around a couple business cards I've got duct tape electrical tape and some more cordage moving on from that I like to keep writing gear in its own pouch so I have a couple of black pens a Sharpie a red pen a pencil post its and of course another write in the rain pen because you can never have too many of those in here I also carry a set of Ranger pace beads those come with me on every hike it's really important to me to really lock in my gate so I can keep count of how many of my steps equal certain distances especially at varying elevations this just improves accuracy should I need to triangulate my position or you know determine how long it will take me to say get to a water source and if I'll be there in time for dark for example I usually also keep a Flint and steel in here as I am transitioning from my winter to summer set I've taken some of those things out then I pair all of this with my Suntou Compass which has a signal mirror I also have a laminated topo map of my area and for obvious reasons I won't show on camera it's a secret for cooking I recently switched to the MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe I used to use a jet boil which is great in the winter but it's way too heavy in the summer I already have a pretty heavy tool kit so I have to trim off some of the weight in other areas and one of those areas was my cooking set The Pocket Rocket has a regulator and an igniter built in and it fits my setup perfectly I cook everything using a titanium pot from Evolved Supply Co shout out to Darwin on the trail it's his brand this thing is light sturdy it comes with a handle so I can hang it over an open fire if needed for food I gave up on MRE sorry folks I'm not trying to punish myself out there now I carry a couple of Pinnacle Food meals my go to is the Italian sausage with a zesty tomato sauce I also pack a couple fruit tea packs for comfort and a small pill box with my daily supplements quick shout out to this company this brewing company who makes these like travel single serving teas they also make coffees which I've actually used all of them already phenomenal tons of different varieties and I'll leave a link to them in the description as well next up shelter and seasonal gear my go to bivvy is from Black Diamond it this one is yellow not ideal but you know you roll with the punches it's super lightweight it sets up in seconds and I would like to transition to a tarp especially since I carry enough paracord already so more to come on that as I slowly start that transition I'm in no way a tarp pro uh it's something I'll have to learn for sure I also keep a Sam splint in the bag right now it's the 9 inch wrist version but I usually have the larger one for leg injuries that the larger one right now is in my hiking pack at the moment since I'm preparing for a three day backpacking trip but I'll leave a link to that in the description if you guys want to check that one out also next I usually carry some sort of shmag or scarf this one is from 5 11 which works as like sun Protection a scarf a sling a blanket you name it next I also rotate dry bags depending on the season usually smaller bags in the summer and a larger bag in the winter especially in those transitional seasons like the fall and spring when it's gonna be a little bit wetter outside especially in SoCal or in the winter when you get to certain elevations there is snow on the ground so just calls for a larger dry bag now there are some things that I don't carry in this bag every single day but when I do or if I ever have to grab this bag let's say out of my car to get to safety I usually grab my Helko work hatchet too it's small effective and incredibly versatile so if my car is compromised and I'm on foot I will grab this out of my car along with the bag and that kind of brings me to just a quick caveat here little side point is while I do carry a lot of supplies on me nothing will ever beat skill set so I try to go out you know once a month twice a month and honestly as often as I can just to do some bush crafting to learn how to make a fire with just my knife to learn how to fish you know depending on where I'm at or just to live off the land a little bit to understand what's edible out there and what plants can be used for medicinal purposes so while having all of this stuff is nice there's always the absolute worst case scenario and that's it's just my person it's just me and I have to go be somewhere and survive so my get me home bag or my get me to safety bag my EDC bag all of these things are just nice to haves now for emergency self recovery especially in a vehicle scenario I take a lot of windy back roads through mountains mountain ranges and worst case scenario is god forbid something happens and I'm veered off the road and happen to survive I thought about potential self recovery situations in this vehicle scenario again the likelihood of these things happening to me in my personal situation is a little bit higher than the average person so on the outside of my bag I've got a Petzl carabiner black diamond gloves and a climbing harness I keep the harness in my car it's one of the other items I'll grab along with the hatchet now I'm not a pro climber by any means but I know the basics thanks to my time on the search and rescue team and if I need to pull myself out of a situation I've got the gear it's better to have it than not have it is kind of my mentality here mom always said it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it I even keep a Black Diamond grip strength tool in there and that's mostly for entertainment just kind of like having a fidget spinner for example I've been working on my grip strength and finally water filtration my Grayl water filtration bottle I use this every single day honestly I just pour clean water into the bottle directly but in an emergency I can filter let's say creek water or lake water through it fresh water right um and if something goes sideways with that I've got iodine tabs as backups they taste absolutely fucking awful but they get the job done it's just I just think happy canteen thoughts I'm gonna shit in your fucking canteen now before I wrap up I wanted to take a moment and explain why there wasn't an episode last week Last Monday marked the anniversary of the death of one of my closest friends Johnny Moretti and I wanted to take a second and tell you guys about him he was a Marine we met after he came home from the Marine Corps and a few years later I left for the military and he was one of the few people who never stopped checking in on me and if you served you know how rare that is it didn't matter where I was in the world Johnny always checked in on me he lost his sister around his time in the Marine Corps and after she passed he stepped up to help raise her daughter eight years ago Johnny died in a car accident and every year on May 5th I usually take the day to honor him usually by doing what we would have done together I have a beer I play his favorite song don't stop believing by journey I used to make fun of him for loving that song now I wouldn't trade it for anything so this one's for Johnny and if you've had someone like Johnny in your life someone who showed up who stayed connected who had your back I'd love to hear about them in the comments whether they're still here or not their stories matter all right that's my get me to safety bag real gear real purpose no fluff if there's a piece of gear you want a closer look at drop it in the comments and don't forget I'm starting to post gear review shorts so keep an eye on that as well next time I'll go through my full medical kit which I keep in the car this is a little bit more robust it's a lot heavier it's definitely not something that is as portable it has things like my stethoscope and my blood pressure cuff and all that other stuff to do vitals more so I would probably call it a mask haz kit uh but again I'll go through that in our next video so subscribe hit the bell and as always stay sharp stay safe and I'll see you on the flip side