Seems like your pack might be already pretty heavy... The Otterbox itself is kinda heavy for what you will be doing, I would just place my PSK items in a freezer Ziploc bag.

I don't think two flashlight are required either, or at least, make one of those a headlamp so you can work or hike hands-free after the sun goes down.

Have fun!

My pack is too heavy! I filled most of it last night and I had the fear when I lifted.

Tonight I plan to strip it to the bone. Zip-Loc bags will be used wherever possible to reduce weight. Got a few other ideas as well for reducing the load.

I just wish I had the cash right now to get some non-cotton base layer items, as cotton weighs a ton and of course is the worst thing for moisture retention, etc

The problem is the bag itself is quite heavy. Its a good bag, but not designed for ultralight hiking.

My sleeping bag is also not the lightest one around...

Now that is a place that has thought things through! What a simple and great idea.

Glad to see that you are very prepared for this!

How much water are you carrying, if any? I would fear how heavy it would be if you needed to carry all of your water in.

What type of food are you packing in?

Start with the heaviest stuff and see what you can strip down.

Bear Scare in my experience is slang for bear deterrent products like bear bangers or bear spray. These days it's almost always used to refer to bear spray.

I have a 1 litre aluminium water bottle, as well as a 1L Nalgene which is currently filled with energy bars and other food items.

However, I think I'm going to ditch the nalgene to save weight and pack the bars in a zip-loc.

Food is nuts, energy bars, chocolate, jerky, tea/coffee, couple of hard-boiled eggs, wheat crackers, liver spread, apples, and a couple of high carb pre-cooked meals that I will heat up.

That is what I would guess too...

I have run into your concerns of redundancey before with my own Survival kits. So I have changed my way of thinking when it comes to gearing up. I like to Hunt, I like to Hike, and I like to camp, but NO ONE Kit is just right for all three (for me anyway) Now I have a couple drawers full of "survival gear" out in my shed. I have a Go-lite Rush that I hike & scout with that has it's own small amount of gear in, and a hunting bag that has it's own amount of base gear. Then I add or subtract gear as needed to tailor my pack for what I am doing.
I started feeling really stupid carrying around 4-5 pound of gear to go scouting less than a mile from my house. It just doesn't make sense. But other times I may be camping 2-3 miles from Anything, and want more capability in my set up. The other point is, if you are trying to go light, you don't want to carry 3 knives, 5 different ways to make a freaking fire, 4 compasses, etc, (lol ) Thats what I do, just a though.

"... less than a mile from my house. It just doesn't make sense..."

Actually, it might. Depending on the terrain, and possibly other factors. Accidents can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. You might not need to build a fire, shelter, boil water, etc, but you might very well become injured, and not be able to walk home. So you could need to summon aid/make yourself visible/be located. At least a whistle and mirror could come in handy. Plus of course a small first aid kit...

I agree with OBG. If you have done all the weight-saving tricks, then 4 or 5 pound of the right gear may not be too much, weigh it against the likely risks and how you wish to be able to respond to the "unexpected."

Going light or keeping it minimal is one goal. I suppose the ultimate is to walk naked into the world. If all goes well and lucky for you, you do not need a thing but your winning smile. I think I see the outdoor equivalent of this approach occasionally in some of the ultralight backpacking and trail-running discussions.

Being prepared for everything, everywhere, all the time is another goal. I suppose the ultimate is to live “escaping and evading” when you go on foraging runs and spending most of your time hunkered down in a remote, secret, self-contained bunker hidden from the world surrounded by mazes of overlapping defense screens of explosive devices and weapons. If the world never detects you again, I suppose you “win.” I think I see the outdoor equivalent of this approach occasionally in some of the survivalist discussions.

I think most of us find out comfort zone somewhere between those extremes based on our work and family circumstances, our budgets, and our risk tolerance. From this we express our sense of what is appropriate. It is no wonder there is a lot of variation in what particular stuff we think we should bring along to keep it “minimal” in any particular situation.

Perhaps there is a layered approach of preparedness. Perhaps as real world requirements increased, more layers could be added in response. Each layer might be a module.

If we generally agree on what a categories should be addressed in decent urban EDC, for example, then perhaps we could agree that this is the irreducible minimum - you shouldn’t leave home without it. Maybe this is module 1. Perhaps we could agree this stuff should be comfortably tucked away in your normal attire so that it is both unobtrusive and always with you.

Perhaps we could agree on what categories should be added or upgraded to turn your urban EDC into a decent outdoor EDC. Don’t leave camp without it. Maybe this is module 2. Perhaps we could agree this stuff should be as unobtrusive as is comfortable to you and should leave you “hands free.”

Then perhaps we could discuss the appropriate kit for ventures of varying duration, in varying seasons or conditions, and those with goals different than just covering territory on foot, such as fishing or photography, etc. For each there could be a discussion of a reasonably minimal amount of gear.