#259180 - 04/16/13 04:38 PM
General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
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Looking at dozens of kits, bags and lists, two things stand out for me --
1. Too many sharps. Some kits have 5 knives...A folder, a small folder, fixed blade, a multi-tool and all too often a big machete. Too much redundancy and weight.
2. Many kits still include quarters. For a pay phone.
Teacher
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#259181 - 04/16/13 04:55 PM
Re: General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
[Re: TeacherRO]
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Old Hand
Registered: 02/05/10
Posts: 776
Loc: Northern IL
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My gripes with BOBs are mostly that there is just too much stuff in them and they are just too heavy.
I think quarters are OK. Pop machines still take them.
I don't understand the mentality of having 5 pounds of knives and 20 pounds of guns and ammo in a BOB.
I also do not understand keeping MREs in a BOB.
What bothers me most though are people who have all kinds of crap so they can walk home and do not have appropriate foot wear.
_________________________
Warning - I am not an expert on anything having to do with this forum, but that won't stop me from saying what I think.  Bob
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#259182 - 04/16/13 05:29 PM
Re: General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
[Re: ILBob]
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Old Hand
Registered: 08/10/06
Posts: 882
Loc: Colorado
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What bothers me most though are people who have all kinds of crap so they can walk home and do not have appropriate foot wear.
Amen. Need to also add "Or the necessary fitness to make the trip."
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#259183 - 04/16/13 06:01 PM
Re: General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
[Re: TeacherRO]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 11/25/08
Posts: 1918
Loc: Washington, DC
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If folks hiked 10 miles with some of these bags, they'd probably get a lot lighter (the bags and the people).
9/11 was a harsh lesson in footwear for many in DC and NYC, especially women, who ended up walking home from work.
I won't judge other people's lists without seeing the actual lists and knowing the context -- anticipated mileage, climate, terrain, dependents, crisis event, etcetera. But I'm mindful of my own tendency to overpack for every trip and suspect I am not alone in being prone to go overboard in a BOB and EDC.
I've tried to address this by becoming more cognizant of the fact that I'm rarely more than a couple hours walk from my vehicle, office or home -- all of which are well stocked. So I feel less compelled these days to have everything in my purse or rucksack.
Jury duty yesterday was one occasion for this situational awareness. Knowing I'd be going through security screening at a courthouse and it is within easy walking distance of home (I can sustain a 3 mph clip for a good while), I dumped my purse out, left the leatherman and Bic lighter at home and took only a small Fenix flashlight (I've become superstitious about having a flashlight or Petzl Zipka head-wrist lamp with me at ALL times, especially in office buildings), cash, wallet, Kindle, phone, cotton bandanas.
This thread is another reminder that I need to tear my car apart. I like to do spring and fall makeovers and inventories of the contents.
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#259185 - 04/16/13 06:23 PM
Re: General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
[Re: TeacherRO]
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Carpal Tunnel
_00544-1061044638.png)
Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2986
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
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2. Many kits still include quarters. For a pay phone. The title includes EDC. Quarters are a good thing to EDC in an urban environment because there are still vending machines that do not use electricity. Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday
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#259186 - 04/16/13 06:40 PM
Re: General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
[Re: Dagny]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2986
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
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I won't judge other people's lists without seeing the actual lists and knowing the context -- anticipated mileage, climate, terrain, dependents, crisis event, etcetera. But I'm mindful of my own tendency to overpack for every trip and suspect I am not alone in being prone to go overboard in a BOB and EDC. I can’t speak for BOBs because I’m probably the only member of this forum who does not have one. But I would think a person would know they have gone overboard with their EDC when they carry it everyday. Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday
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#259193 - 04/16/13 08:05 PM
Re: General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
[Re: TeacherRO]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Quarters: Pay phones, pop machines , shopping carts. And, Oh yeah, they're also money!
Payphones: They still exist in MANY places and a little more situational awareness will probably reveal them. I realize that I'm in the minority of non-cel phone EDCers, and am probably inclined to be more aware of these things, but if haven't you ever had a cell phone that stopped working?
My cell phone stopped working when I disconnected it from the charger in my Jeep a few months ago. It just wouldn't power on anymore. There I was, six months pregnant, in the winter, on an public transit excursion to the big city hospital, while hubby was at work. There was a fire on the subway that day too, which stopped the trains for a few hours, which made we exceptionally late getting home. Thank goodness for pay phones!
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#259195 - 04/16/13 08:27 PM
Re: General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
[Re: Dagny]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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If folks hiked 10 miles with some of these bags, they'd probably get a lot lighter (the bags and the people).
9/11 was a harsh lesson in footwear for many in DC and NYC, especially women, who ended up walking home from work.
I won't judge other people's lists without seeing the actual lists and knowing the context -- anticipated mileage, climate, terrain, dependents, crisis event, etcetera. But I'm mindful of my own tendency to overpack for every trip and suspect I am not alone in being prone to go overboard in a BOB and EDC.
I've tried to address this by becoming more cognizant of the fact that I'm rarely more than a couple hours walk from my vehicle, office or home -- all of which are well stocked. So I feel less compelled these days to have everything in my purse or rucksack.
Jury duty yesterday was one occasion for this situational awareness. Knowing I'd be going through security screening at a courthouse and it is within easy walking distance of home (I can sustain a 3 mph clip for a good while), I dumped my purse out, left the leatherman and Bic lighter at home and took only a small Fenix flashlight (I've become superstitious about having a flashlight or Petzl Zipka head-wrist lamp with me at ALL times, especially in office buildings), cash, wallet, Kindle, phone, cotton bandanas.
This thread is another reminder that I need to tear my car apart. I like to do spring and fall makeovers and inventories of the contents.
. Right there with you, Dagny. I go through a kit overhaul every spring and fall, the toughest seasons in these here parts. The season always starts with an overloaded pack, with too many redundancies. I work those out in the first couple of trips, with the help of you guys, and trim down to a comfortable load pretty quickly. I do over pack compared to others, but I have to say that I don't get why that would bother anybody else, except maybe my hubby who has to work around the gear in the back of my Jeep whenever he uses it. (The sharing of marital space is a topic for another thread.)
Edited by bacpacjac (04/17/13 03:41 AM)
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#259196 - 04/16/13 08:32 PM
Re: General critique of EDC and BOB kits..
[Re: Dagny]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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I won't judge other people's lists without seeing the actual lists and knowing the context -- anticipated mileage, climate, terrain, dependents, crisis event, etcetera. But I'm mindful of my own tendency to overpack for every trip and suspect I am not alone in being prone to go overboard in a BOB and EDC.
Well said, Dagny! Everyone is unique and so, too, are our kits.
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