I just picked up and read a book called The Soldier's Load and The Mobility of a Nation. It was a fascinating read, about how modern technology had transformed logistics but that the military mind hadn't caught up and was unlikely to. It was written just after World War II and I have to say that sixty years later the words still ring true.

After reading I was sorely tempted to recite some of the insights here. However, the more I thought about it the more I realized that very little of what the author says about loading a soldier translates to how we should load ourselves in anticipation of a possible survival situation. The book says that as mechanical transport brings the frontline and the rear echelon closer together the soldier's individual load should be reduced to preserve strength for combat. This doesn't apply at all to the sort of survival we're preparing for, since by its very nature we would be cut off from any supply or support outside of what we carry on our backs.

What the book said that does apply to us is that experienced soldiers will dump any equipment they are given that doesn't immediately apply to the battle he is fighting. For us it's important to recognize our personal tolerance for carrying weight we don't intend to use. Some people are content carrying a forty pound pack and won't leave it behind the one day they actually need it. Other people find anything that bulges in their pockets to be an excessive encumbrance. Finding the limit of your tolerance for extra weight and eliminating anything in excess is key. Because while we don't intend to move around once we are in a survival situation, we will be moving around to get into that situation and our kit has to be on our backs or it simply doesn't do a single wit of good.