I spent most of Labor Day watching the coverage of Gustave on TV, and Ike yesterday. I spent the last two hours watching a TV documentary about the 911 attacks in New York. Earlier today, I read Chris Kavanaugh's thread about being on the scene when the train wreck in LA happened.

All this has got me thinking about my own kits. I've got a good deal of redundancy going in the kits, and have taken advantage of the collective wisdom here to make many additions.

Knowing no kit is perfect,and you can't carry everything at all times, I still worry that what I need will not be in the kit I have at hand. It will be in the car if I'm stuck somewhere else, or in my home BOB if I'm a work.

How do you all deal with this problem?

Back when they were in style, fanny packs were great. I could carry all kinds of stuff that wouldn't fit in my pockets. But if I wear one now everyone thinks I'm gay.

Don't wonder far from your car or home?.... all kidding aside.

Be prepared as you can be w/out having a 500lb backpack or having to tow a trailer around with you. There's a fine line between being prepared and trying to gobble up everything you could ever possibly need, etc.

I had a hot neon pink one back in the day I hid my 'caps' for my cap-gun in the hidden back pouch

I have a BoB @ home and @ work. I just made a 14 hour drive to work with only my EDC since I forgot to pack my PSK.

I don't think many, if any of us, can be properly equipped 24/7. That's due to the "speed of life", if nothing else.

I would assume the OP drives his car to work, that makes the car bob pretty close at hand. I can't think of any situation hwere I'm away from my truck so a good bit of gear is waiting in the paking lot for me at all times.

I also have a good bit of gear in my suv, (no trunk--open back) spread around in the "nooks and crannies," which I supplement with whatever seasonal things I might need. I keep a collapsed back-pack hidden with the spare tire, so I can pack what I need (or everything), if I have to abandon the car.

I do not keep everything packed, as around here, one of the favorite petty crimes is to use a spring loaded punch to pop your window and then grab everything loose. This happened to a friend and they even stole his mud covered work boots from his truck. I really don't want to come back and find my BOB gone. If nothing is visible, there is less chance they will take the risk on my car when there are better targets in the parking lot.

All of my kits (E&E, vehicle kit, GHB, BoB, INCH Bag) have developed into fairly comprehensive kits over the years. The thing that I constantly try to remind myself is that the ultimate function of all these various kits is to simply keep me alive, not necessarily to keep me comfortable. Despite realizing this, a bunch of what I continue to pack still falls into the comfort category, rather than the essential category.

As I've acquired more and more little gadgets and gizmos, they inevitably end up going into one (or all) of the kits. I've recently been reconfiguring my GHB, and it dawned on me just the other day that my current GHB is actually significantly more comprehensive than my BoB of just a few years ago was.

I maintain an Excel spreadsheet listing everything that I consider to be survival related, and recently I added an additional column where I assigned a number to each item corresponding to the ten essential categories. By sorting each of my kit contents by category, I'm now better able to see where I have excessive redundancy, versus any possible shortfalls.

Jim

hidden is good. The majority of my gear is under the seats. The GHB stuffed under the front seat, various other gear under the rear seat (extended cab). Its hidden quite well since its up under the seat back even flipping the seat bottom up ou don't see it unless you look.

I forsee the majority of situations I'll encounter to not be life threatining unless somehting really went bad so comfort items are not something that I think should be removed. Sometimes you just need to keep comfortable for a while and let the situation pass.

I keep a spresdsheet of all my gear as well, organized and categorized (not excel though since I want it to be maintainable)

Hey Jim - Any chance you would share that spreadsheet with the group? I think it could be a big help for some of us.

thanks

I had a SUV for years. Sometimes hidden in plan site is best. Instead of stuffing a dozen items in different areas of the vehicles that you may or may not be able to access due to time or urgency, do what I did.

Pack up your gear into a your carry bag (backpack, duffel, etc) and then put the bag in a beat up cardboard box to sit in your cargo area. Maybe even write, 'Goodwill' or 'Books' in bold letters on the side. You should be able to get your kit into a 12x12 box.

I saw a really bad adventure/action movie in the '80s something about Remo, the adventure begins... anyway the point in his "kill all the bad guys" training was you always had a weapon. We all have the primary survival tool with us at all times & that's our brain. The more training, education and experience you have the better.

While I've got a 'get home' bag and/or BOB as the situation warrants in my truck all the time; were I not able to get to it, I can adapt what I find to help me cope with whatever situation develops. So I try to be aware of my area of operation and what is usually around that I can grab and use what is there if there is nothing else I can do and an emergency develops.

Think 'outside the box' about everyday items. Example: when I worked in a prison, my #2 pencil was a last ditch weapon if I needed it so it was always sharp and parked on my left ear - nobody ever noticed it and I could put it into a vital spot in a second if needed - old corrections officer trick. I also would be able to write with it, use it for tinder (shavings) lube locks (graphite in the 'lead') use the eraser to plug up a hole in something... you get the idea. Also, while I've been an EMT, officer, instructor and such and don't "need it" my company is going to offer CPR next month and I'll sign up to take it - it will be a great refresher for me and a chance to practice my skill set. It's mostly a head game and if you have your head on straight, you have the best chance to "win" the survival game!

Paul -

+1 on gear being secondary.

As long as you EDC some cash, flashlight, knife and lighter, I doubt lack of equipment will be your downfall.

P.S. Maybe add a gun to that...

I've been trying to practice the MacGyver stop gap method of preparedness. More and more I find myself trying to identify things in my immediate environment that I can utilize for survival needs, and plugging the holes in those requirements with a reduced level of edc.

My back has been griping at me about the load I am packing daily now, including this infernally large laptop and power supply (a late model Dell Precision Cad-quality machine). I've cut my FAK down because I have a fuller version in the pick-up and the work box is even more robust. I don't carry as much food with me because I have too many food and water sources nearby. Much of the rest I can improvise with available supplies, or I've ratholed special items on location enough that I am confident I can get to better sources if need be.

Anymore, a good multi tool, a good flashlight, and a good lighter is about it for survival gear for me.

I'll probably change my mind when I get moved permanently to Denver. Who knows.

I know how you're feeling, benjammin.

That is the point of those "I Spy From my Perch" postings that I make every once in a while.

I agree a good multi tool, flashlight and lighter is a good base of edc. I think a good whistle is one of the most under rated edc items out there, along with a bright red bandana. I heard some one once refer to their preparedness as a layering system. Your mind being the first, your edc--what you have on you and carry in your pockets the next layer. Then a more comprehensive "layer" in a BOB stored in a vehicle...etc. If you have a chance, you might check out www.edcforums.com for some good beta. Thanks for reading