This may be obvious to some of you but I had a bit of a revelation last night that I'd like to share with you.

Last night I was walking home from the movie theatre and had about 40 minutes to think...generally a bad situation for me I got to thinking about my jacket. It's a Columbia 3 in 1 style which I bought a couple of years ago on sale. I wondered if I'd have bought this jacket had it not been on sale and if I'd have put as much thought into jacket selection as I did other other gear...it's just as important a survival item as any other, especially in winter.

After thinking about the jacket for a while I decided that I wouldn't have. I bought it because it was a quality jacket and on sale (and wasn't ugly). This led me to start thinking about why it wasn't the ideal jacket for me and what kind of jacket would be. In my mind I ended up describing a jacket I owned all along. Tough material, waterproof, breathable, vents in the right spots, snug collar to keep the wind out, and lots of pockets in the right places. The jacket is my Teknic motorcycle jacket. It's in every way more suitable than my Columbia except for the fact that because it's made from cordura and has armor, is heavier.

THIS in turn got me to thinking why I've never worn a motorcycle jacket (and I've owned many...all of which I realized were better quality and suitability than any other jackets I owned at the time) as a regular jacket. The answer was because it was a motorcycle jacket.

I shook my head and realized how dumb this was. It wasn't a cheap buy...why can't I wear it year round and make use of an excellent product instead of putting it in the closet 7 months of the year and wearing a lesser jacket the rest of the time...I couldn't think of a single logical reason.

I think this is a very common thing to happen without us even thinking about it. If in a bushcraft situation and one could take a crappy imitation SAK or a sharp kitchen knife, I'd bet average people would take the crappy knife when the kitchen knife would be more suitable just because it's a 'kitchen' knife. I can think of a dozen examples of this and it boggles my mind that we can be so narrow in our thoughts especially when in an emergency. I'm not sure if it's because society has conditioned us (us being people in general) or if it's because we've become complacent, or if it's something else I can't even wrap my head around. All I know is that I'm never going to look at anything I own the same way again or take it for granted, or toss it in a closet just because of the label the manufacturer or society puts on it.

If you've read this far I'm sorry you'll never get those 5 minutes back but I had to get that off my chest

RE Kitchen knife.

I knew a very very good hunter (RIP) who carried a nice 4" pairing knife (an old Wustoff) in a cardboard and duct tape sheath (home made) - That knife gutted a lot of deer over the years, and cleaned many a rabbit and fish

Another hunter (again, RIP "Uncle" Frank) basiclly carried an OLD Boy Scout knife as his hunting knife. His thought - it's in my pocket anyway

DW would get very upset with me, if I took one of the kitchen knives, hung it from my belt and subjected it to abuse.

On the otherhand, I have also threatened to fire on the spot a deckhand for taking one of the knives from the galley out onto a barge to cut a line. However, I have also seen guys deck carrying what most would consider kitchen knives and praised them for it; because they had a knife and it was not from my galley.

As far as not wanting to take things out of the normal function for which they were intended, I understand not wanting to ruin the decent kitchen knives. It's good to have the blades to abuse and the blades to keep nice. I want the nice, clean knives cutting my food.

I could see the same idea with the jacket. If you invested money and time in a jacket for one function, you want it there for that function. If you drag it all over the place, abuse it and trash it, then it won't be there for the reason it was purchased. It's much easier to trash the jacket you bought because it was cheap and not too ugly.

Dan: Nobody said anything about abuse...but...on that note I don't think I'm capable of trashing that jacket. Riding on the freeway with dust, rocks, bugs, exhaust, and wind buffeting is way more abusive than anything I could to do it in the bush or in every day life. It's designed to stand up to a crash and I can't think of a single scenario in every day life (short of getting hit by a car crossing the street) where this jacket would be worse for wear.

As far as the cutlery goes, I'd be the the last person to take a kitchen knife into the bush...and that's not really what I was getting at. There were times when I was young and my folks had an RV where a knife was needed and the only one around was in the kitchen drawer. It only took a couple of times before my dad added a Mora to that drawer but still...many people might not even think of those knives where it could save their life. In my case, abuse isn't a factor...my Zwilling JA Henckels get way more abuse from the DW than I could ever do to my pocket/camping/bush knives.

In case anybody is wondering this is the jacket:

http://www.teknicgear.com/catalog.php?styleid=1&pid=75

There are technically better jackets but this happens to be the one I have in the my closet right now.

Sounds like you have a jacket that will now be an EDC item.

Hacksaw,

Great post.

As another thought, innovation is what drives the preparedness game. It follows in the vein of some of the other posts where someone poses the question "what can this thingamabob be used for?". The P-38 question comes to mind. If you watch the Food Network program "Good Eats" the host has a certain disdain for "uni-taskers" in the kitchen. The same should apply to prepapredness.

Was it you that had a crisis of conscience about having too much gear or ultralightitis? I think the priciple for all of us is to practice with the least amount of stuff and see where it gets us. Then adapt and grow as necessary.

Final note: I still love the M65 field jacket. Then again I would since I'm a retired US Air Force guy.

MoBOB

Hacksaw,

Welcome to the next level, friend. The ability to see past labels and traditions will open a whole new (and much less expensive) world to you.

-Blast

Hacksaw,

Good point. Western society has become increasingly specialized in our jobs, industry and even our stuff. We value an item or a person doing one thing very well but seem to value multiple use less and less.

One of the tenets to a survival kit is to never pack anything with a single use (unless that "use" is fundamental, e.g. water, fire). One draw back to using one item for many tasks is it might never quite fit right. It will usually get the job done but it will take more effort. A good example of this is my leatherman...it is never the "correct" tool but it is handy and available and it works (most of the time). Ironically it takes more work to simplify but the peace of mind, more money in your pockets and less weight on your back usually makes it worth it.

The DW and I are moving into a 500 sqft apartment in a week and your topic has been on my mind quite frequently as well. Consolidation for less stuff and more space. I have a commuting bike and a nice road bike...I'm going to sell the commuter and enjoy my road bike...it may get scratched but I value utility over aesthetics these days. Also, to keep my camping gear (e.g. cook-sets) I may have to start using it on a daily basis to justify its space in the closet.

Good luck on your new philosophy! It has paid off for me so far but I still have a long way to go.
~Nemo

MoBOB - Alton Brown is my personal hero.