Hi all, a really quick post about Every Day Carry. Life goes on and things happen unexpectedly. So you need a plan, i never leave the house without a carry bag of everything i need for seven days.
You need a plan to keep yourself safe, you do not need to be paranoid or neurotic but you cannot expect others to instantly be there to help should you desire assistance...
This bag is never more than 25 yards (25 meters) from my body, ever... The important thing here is the WATER; if your dehydrated you are in real trouble.
Lets have a quick look at the bag contents...
bandanna shelter scarf rag, hat, sunscreen, bug repellent, a water purification straw (1000 litres of cleaned tap water), torch, maps, that white block is six days of survival food. Not the healthiest choice and far better than hunger. Can openers, reading resources on safety survival and health care. Paracord (rope), duct tape, locks, flat multitool (aircraft legal), food mess kit, raincoat. Bandages and emergency field dressings, satellite wifi (microwave) internet. (I use satellite wifi since it is cheaper than mobile cell phone plans). Notepads and pens, coin change purse, dog tags with identify and next of kin emergency contacts. Even the gloves can be tied to the feet as protective footwear should the situation require it.
Once you remove that knife everything else is aircraft, courtroom or cruise ship legal. More about that knife soon... This kit does not scream jerk or fool nor does it overtly portray military, but it suggests some basic training lol. You want to go as low key and be the "grey man" never the first and never the last, never be obvious...
This backpack weighs 6 pounds and has everything except a water source for seven days anywhere on the planet almost. The water purification straw gives mandatory clean drinking water, the wide mouth flask bottle can be a toilet if needed. If you included FIRE making ( I live in URBAN do i do not include fire making) that plastic bottle would be a steel cooking bottle for soups etc. There is ($100 in ten dollar notes) 250 dollars worth of Silver metal, a thumb drive USB with Bitcoin internet money and ALL my identification papers including insurance policies, one day the internet is going to go down; be prepared ! ! ! This system even has an extra travel backpack...
Bottle Opener or fist fighting knuckle duster. This knife is far safer than a full sharp bladed knife ! ! !
This knife is the greatest knife ever made, The Benchmade ADAMAS 275. Some people carry a gun for protection, a knife is a lot smarter choice. Far less regulations about a knife and even if they have a baseball bat, one stick and they are gonna die even if they hit you... As far as guns go, guns are for insecure people; guns simply make a boy feel like a man. [Authors REVISION: Guns in an URBAN area are for paranoid people; but do have their place if you are likely to encounter trouble, but in the wilds a gun is almost as important as footwear]...
One day you are going to die, you may as well decide if it is truly THAT SERIOUS a matter to pull a knife it is probably better to die than go bankrupt defending your court case. Think about it would you rather die of cancer as it eats you for six painful weeks or fast ? All I am saying is plan for the worst and hope for the best...
Besides I am not afraid of dying; I am happy to die for the right reasons . . . What I am afraid of is being in pain or looking bad ! ! !
Trimming House Plants (If you have not seen the Movie GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) then you have simply missed the greatest movie EVER made ! ! ! [ the 2nd greatest movie ever made BLAST FROM THE PAST ; Alica Silverstone and Brendan Fraser + etc.]
Opening letters, dealing with junk mail and pesky door to door sales persons. I NEVER answer the door without my knife in my hand... Unlike a gun you can usually open carry a knife many more places than you can a gun . . .
Boxes, plastic shrink-wrap packaging, prying open things, shaving, cutting phone lines if you are annoyed at telemarketers . . .
Opening Tin cans , yada, yada, yada; I will stop talking since you can see if you use your eyes . . .
Around shopping centres, book shops, schools and parks the knife stays in the car, the knife is considered a concealed weapon unless it is ALWAYS 100 % VISIBLE. You do NOT want to try and defend a charge of concealed weaponry, make sure you leave the knife OUT IN THE OPEN, both on your clothing and ON DISPLAY in your CAR ! ! !
This special strap lets you secure the knife so you cannot drop it into the river or off the side of your boat if it is wet or slick from fluids (eg: fish blood) : ) The finger studs let you open the knife three different ways depending on the situation, that axis lock on the ADAMAS will not fail at under 800 pounds of force ( no, you will never break this knife ) ! ! !
This knife is strong enough to wedge into a mountainside crack and abseil rope off if you found you needed a fast retreat from a sudden dangerous storm, with a knife like this and planning why would you ever want a gun; I think I answered that above ; )
Deepest heart-felt apologies over the out of focus photos, I am old and feeble minded and never thought 2 think about how the photos would develop...
/ face-palm ; )
I agree the knife is the quintessential item for survival (a good one anyway), but why not carry both gun and knife... Don't want to fight critters like coyote and bear with a knife.
The animals where I am always at, in an URBAN environment will either not be prepared for a knife or they will simply outgun me no matter if I am carrying a knife OR a pistol : )
Simply I ALWAYS THINK of where and how I am moving in my environment; I am more likely to get propositioned by a Super Model than to be found walking in an street alley at 8.30 pm at night. Just because people have the legal right to do dumb arze things does not mean they can escape all negative consequences . . .
Besides the weight of a gun would make my sagging pants fall off my hips . . .
Do you know WHY they wear their pants around their knees ?????
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sagging
BTW, I have NEVER been in prison : )
Thanks for reading ; )
[followed]
you do not need to be paranoid or neurotic
(cough)
I make my life as easy as possible, I use the same word for enemy as I use for stranger. I assume everyone is hostile until I am PROVED correct; which is why my knife is as close to me as possible lol...
If I ever found myself in a " active shooter " situation I am thinking I will most likely have women and children to hide behind ;)
After all THEY DID DEMAND equality :-)
You should include fire provisions. The number one thing that happens in urban environments is a power outage. Replacing that reading material with a few lighters, matches, and a 100+ hr candle would be useful. You can memorise the material anyways. I'd also say replace your flashlight with a tactical one. The one you have is garbage. My last suggestion is to add Polysporin or another wound disinfectant. Get rid of the bug spray if you need to make room for it because bug spray ultimately does not work.
If you're uncomfortable using a gun then don't let anyone tell you you need one. No point in carrying something that will just get taken away from you and used against you. My 2 cents worth as an ex-soldier.
Thanks for a great article. I'm linking to it in an article I'm writing.