I didn't quite know what to call the Subject of this post, but Commuter Preparedness Kit is pretty close to what I'm building. <br><br>I live in the suburbs and recently landed a temp job (YIPPEE! Believe me, after six months of unemployment, any decent job deserves a "YIPPEE!") working in a nearby city.<br><br>I really don't need a "survival" kit, as such. I'm putting together a smallish "preparedness" kit that will fit neatly into a softsided nylon briefcase. I would like one I could take into meetings without drawing attention. Right now I'm using a zippered cosmetics bag that's light gray and doesn't look like a cosmetics bag.<br><br>Thus far it contains:<br><br>standard First Aid items<br>Exedrin<br>Motrin<br>lactase tablets (I'm lactose-intolerant)<br>micro-sewing kit from Travel Solutions (www.franzus.com)<br>mini Bic lighter<br>standard size lighter<br>magnifying glass<br>4-way pocket screwdriver in the shape of a pen<br>50 feet of 550 Paracord<br>50 feet of cotton string<br>three trick birthday candles in plastic wrap<br>several different sizes of safety pins<br>several small paper clips<br>several large paper clips<br>two huge paper clips large enough to use as bookmarks<br>two clip-on shower curtain rings (I find amazing uses for them)<br>bandanna<br>Suunto "Comet" Compass/Thermometer<br>other things I may have forgotten<br><br>On my person I generally carry:<br><br>LFP: money wallet, Princeton Tec Blast, Victorinox Executive, tiny bottle of prescription pain killers.<br><br>RFP: ID wallet, a keyring containing very small REI compass; Victorinox Signature Lite II (a translucent Classic with red LED and retractable pen); Turquoise and Red Photon I lights, and Mini Fox 40 whistle; lip balm; and mini Bic lighter.<br><br>LRP: SwissTech MicroPlus (also amazingly useful)<br><br>RRP: Fisher Space Pen, Kershaw Silver Spur I or II (classy and sharp gentlemen's lockbacks).<br><br>I always take a jacket or coat (containing either a Princeton Tec 20 or 40 and a Princeton Tec Attitude or Impact) with me and leave it in the car if it's too warm to wear. I also carry a water bottle in my briefcase.<br><br>I'm always torn between carrying my Vic SwissChamp, Leatherman PST, and Leatherman Wave. The Wave is too big for my minikit, so it has to go into my shoulder kit (that's another story), which stays in the car. So I have to choose between the SwissChamp and the PST for my minikit.<br><br>Considering my enviroment, which of those tools would you recommend I carry?<br><br>Also, if you have any other ideas, fee free to throw them in the mix. The more, the merrier!

I carry a bunch of stuff for my EDC and I am not sure I need all of it. What I use daily is knife, cord and bandaids (bandaids are for the kids mostly).<br><br>For a commuter kit I would think that the contents would be determined by the mode of commute and the communities passed through on the way. I live some distance from the nearest city and often have a 1+ hour commute by car through mostly suburbs. If I were to commute on public trans through ghetto urban areas I would carry a substantially different commuter kit. My commuter preparedness kit is an attempt to prepare for road-side breakdown and the contingencies of daily life. I give but little concern to self-defense. If I were commuting through urban ghetto I would probably include a weapon of some sort or a fixed-blade or pepper spray. If you are preparing for potential disaster such as multi-car crash, train derailment, building collapse you have such a wide variety of contingencies that you might have a difficult time getting a useful arangement of tools. In a highway commute you might want to prepare for a HazMat experience with snarled traffic pinning you in close proximity to a spilled tanker. Gas-masks might be helpful but a wet bandanna is easier to carry and might work against a wide variety of materials. Building collapse might call for one of those nifty 18" titanium pry-bars or some such. ( the pry-bar would also work in the urban ghetto scenario nicely) <br><br>As always the question of how to prepare begs the question of what you are preparing for.<br><br>

If you are going to be commuting, working, etc. in a defined area, I would certainly include a variety of maps for the region, including at least one map with topographic information. The map is usually useful without the compass, while the reverse is often not.

If you draw a 70 mile radius circle around my house then you will have a good idea of the type of traveling I do without staying overnight. Yep, it sucks, but that is the nature of my line of work. Sometimes I have absolutely no idea where I will be during the course of a day. This area includes five major cities, the Cumberland plateau, the Tennessee Valley and the Appilachian mountains. I suppose that you could call me a commuter. <br><br>I have a soft-sided lunchbox that has three rather large outer compartments (and a false bottom) that I keep gear in. One pocket is dedicated to the stuff I carry at all times, but cannot carry on my person while at work. Its the standard "dont leave home without it collection". Other than that; its not possible to carry everything so I have broken it down to shelter, water, first aid and personal protection. Rations play no role in my choice of survival gear even though I carry everything in a lunchbox. The food is just to give me energy though the workday. It takes a long time to die of starvation. <br><br>The shelter choices include: two 55 gallon drum liners, a space blanket, a very small glass bottle of naptha to refill my zippo, a ranger rick style pocket lantern full of naptha.<br><br>The water choices include: a glass eye dropper bottle full of clorox, 3 small pouches of activated carbon with a mesh container (aquarium filter cartridge replacements), some coffee filters, a one cup flask<br><br>The first aid choices are simply a small first aid kit that I keep adding extra supplies and specialized supplies to. Burn supplies and eye drops are important to people who weld often. <br><br>As for personal protection....I dont think I would feel safe with a tank in some of the places I have to go. Im not going to try to fool myself by thinking that anything less than a large caliber handgun constitutes self defense. The critters in the woods dont scare me, but people sometimes do.<br><br>I carry many more "little" things along these lines in addition to these items, but you get the idea. The criteria are that it fits in my lunchbox's outter pockets and doesnt weigh it down excessively. <br><br>I keep some extra "common-sense" type stuff in my vehicles but I try not to over-do it. <br><br>I'll use this opportunity to speak on lighters since it was brought up. This opinion is common among weldors but probably doesnt really apply to everyone else. Butane lighters of any variety and welding machines (or cutting torches) are a bad combination. Steel melts at 2850 degrees F. Imagine what happens to any butane lighter when a ball of molten steel hits it. Most people carry lighters next to their heart or in a front pocket. I really dont want any explosions in either location. I'm not sure which would be worse This is why you see so many construction workers with zippo lighters instead of cheap plastic butane lighters.

Gotcha covered on the map. Day I got the job, I bought a map of the city.

I look at my Commuter preparations like concentric circles. At the center is me and my clothing, pocket contents, and knowledge. At the outer ring is my home and its contents. Each ring is more capable and provides more backup options and comfort.<br><br>I find I use money, a knife and/or multitool, flashlite and a hat (no hair!) more than anything else, so this is my bare minimum Urban EDC.<br><br>I have an On-body kit, a Daily Carry Bag, a Desk kit including Hat and jacket, and a Car Kit, all which comprise my Commuter Preparedness kit. I have taken quite a bit of time to think about and evaluate the potential reasons I would need these kits and how much redundency is desirable. Like miniMe, I think the planning for potential needs helps tailor the kit(s). <br><br>I generally drive to work, but during my only community "disaster" (Nisqually Earthquake), I could not get to my car which was stuck in a Red Tagged parking garage. Without my on-body kit including adequate clothing and shoes and daily carry bag, I would have been much worse off (OK really just less comfortable). My much improved preparations take into account many alternative means of getting to my wife's place of work (public transit, friends driving, walking), and the ability to contact her or leave messages with others. We also have an expectation of each others response in an emergency.<br><br>I think the preplanning of basic responses to emergencies along with the the tools and techniques that assist is one of the most important areas of preparation for any kit you develop.

Mine has evolved on much the same lines- I do have an Altoids-size tin that I try to slip in a pocket when away from my desk any distance for any length of time (emphasis on try). Above that there are the shoulder pouch resources, the desk resources, and, eventually, the vehicle and home resources. I have been caught outside without the pouch when I returned from lunch to find the building evacuated for a fire alarm. You never know.<br><br>Unfortunately, the current circumstances have me spending the day one very long subway ride away from home and vehicle, with most of a major metropolitan area (and a river) in between. Not exactly a warm fuzzy. A few years back a shorter subway commute turned into something of an odyssey during a major ice storm- that was a wake-up call.<br><br>Yes, I do have maps, though getting enough of them at appropriate scales to really tackle unorthodox methods of getting home would be a challenge. <br><br>I've posted the contents of my kits before, and I won't bore anyone again, but I would emphasize the value of a radio in urban situations. People with eyes in the sky are trying to tell you what's going on, if you're equipped to hear them. Seeing the helicopters and not knowing is not a good feeling.

PresumedLost,<br><br>I agree about the radio. My Daily carry bag contains both a small AM/FM/Shortwave radio and a 2 m Ham radio. My wife keeps an AM/FM/TV at her worksite. I found that the information after our earthquake via the public radio was both good and bad. Traffic reporting via helicopter was decent, damage assessments via radio varied between good and unfortunately sensational. Later viewing of TV "news" made even the worst public radio news look like exceptional journalism. My parents (in Montana) figured everyone in Seattle must be dead given the TV coverage. My wife was smart and listen to both the radio and TV coverage, and figured out that the TV was showing the same building collapse over and over. <br><br>Ham radio via our repeater systems turned out to provide excellent on-site evaluations along with some chatter. The phone patch capability far exceeded the cellphone coverage also.

I am thinking about buying a hand held Ham radio for all of my radio communications needs. <br><br>What is the difference between Citizen's Band, HAM, Marine, and Plane radios, and which do you recommend?

Frequency and legal restictions are the difference. I have had all four. Aviation doesnt require a license any more, but you had better be a pilot conducting flying related business. Marine VHF doesnt require a license, but the same goes for it as for aviation. Marine HF requires a license. ( mine needs renewing) CB, well, its about useless. <br>The most bang for your buck is HAM. It requires a license. You have to pass a written exam to get in on the ground floor. I personally feel that a handheld 2 meter radio is much more versatile than any cell phone in an emergency. I modified mine to do marine also, but its not legal to use such a modification unless you are protecting life or property.