2 is 1... 1 is none

[SurviveAl]

I think 2 Rolex's are a bit much,so I'll be happy to carry your spare for you !

 

[Cpl Punishment]

I thought the body armor and the rest of that was a joke.

I thought it was too. Given as an example of hyperbole that even preppers don't carry duplicates of everything, so what is important? That kind of thing.

Either that, or he's Gunkid, out of prison early, and we'll soon hear about how he wears Level IV armor, two guns and his boots to bed, and carries everything in an assault wheel barrow.

If this goes to whine and cheese, I apologize, I just couldn't help myself.

 

[Rockywolf]

I take 2-3 knives, many ways to make fire, and at least a couple ways to store water. Working on my carry permit so as to have rifle/shotgun AND a pistol backup.

 

[dougo83]

No offense, but this is... odd. Why would you carry more than one watch? Why would you carry more than one Iphone? 2-3 guns? I guess I dont get what you're driving at. Why are you wearing body armor?

I guess you missed the part where the OP said "how far do you take it?"

 

[dougo83]

What about other things? Of course my Iphone and credit cards will probably go in the fire. What about body armor and guns/ammo?

I don't see extra body armor as practical. Of course, I won't wear mine unless I am working anyway. It is too cumbersome and, in a survival scenario (TEOTWAWKI), I wouldn't want to be humping a vest and my other gear, so it would probably be ditched early.

Extra body armor? Do you live in binladen cave or something? Why on earth would you wear body armor on a regular basis. No offense bro, but I think your being paranoid and not in a good way.

I think an extra knife is good when out in the woods and such. But on a day to day basis I just carry one of everything I need. Life is too short to always carry around a 100 lbs of gear. If this happens to make my life a little shorter due to really bad luck, so be it. Im sure id have a better chance of getting cancer from the 3 iphones i would be carrying otherwise. Or overheating from my 3 layers of body armour. You get my point

Apparently you have never heard of the word "hyperbole," so I'll help you out:

hy⋅per⋅bo⋅le  /haɪˈpɜrbəli/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [hahy-pur-buh-lee] Show IPA
–noun Rhetoric. 1. obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”

CM...I carry redundant fire, shelter, nav, knives, and water when I am out and about. This is usually split between my person (Zippo, Water bottle, Compass, jacket, EDC) and my truck (tent, lighters and matches, tarp, purification tablets, etc). I don't know what is needed, especially after watching movies like The Book of Eli. If such a situation comes to fruition, it appears that Wet-Naps are better to carry.

 

[grunt soldier]

i am by no means as paranoid as c/m but i carry extra of important shit and have even more since my 3 tours to iraq and afghanistan (infantry boy). i carry 2 pistols one strong side and one weak side in the pocket. i carry 2-3 knives daily. one fixed blade weak side that can easily be accessed while holding a subj off or away from my strong side pistol. then i also carry a folder that is used for edc tasks ect. also i carry a case pocket knife that i use to dress game cause you never know when your going to run across a couple yotes and or hit a deer driving. i also carry multiple ways to start fires. i don't carry or use body armor anymore and think for the average person its never going to be needed. as far as going over i think alot of ppl do with alot of stuff but i am semi the same way i mean really who many different bushcraft knives do you need and how many do you take out camping and to play with.

either way after dealing with not having what i needed when in the army i now make sure i always have what i need and a back up incase something happens to the original because i am a firm believer in murphy's law. if something can go wrong with your kit it probably will and unfortunately it will happen when you need it the most so i definitely think you need to have a back up for sure. just my thoughts though and ppl still say i am off my rocker lol. so take it as you will

 

[Rick Marchand]

This post has helped me realize the needless redundancy I currently have in my kit. Time to shed some of it, I think.



Rick

 

[Bushman5]

This post has helped me realize the needless redundancy I currently have in my kit. Time to shed some of it, I think.



Rick

 

[ROCK6]

Redundancy has a lot to do with the person. My wife wears contacts and will carry and extra set along with prescription glasses when we backpack.

Redundancy is for the items most important to you and what you deem as essential.

For me, I enjoy knives, so I do have a "few". Depending on what I'm doing and where I'm going, I may carry a backup gun (I carried both an M4 and M9 in Iraq and Afghanistan).

Fire is pretty important and I always have a couple methods.

Water is important, so I try to have both a bottle/bladder and a means to purify/filter and even boil depending on my activities.

Compasses are light and when I'm out, I usually have a decent base-compass and a more compact wrist compass.

Flashlights have always been handy for me. I usually have a single battery LED for my belt, a compact AAA LED in my pocket or Leatherman sheath and a single battery Zebra headlamp in my pack.

I EDC a few braids of 550-cord and keep another 30-50 feet in my work pack or backpack.

I EDC my Marathon GSAR, but I carry a G-Shock on my pack.

There is a balance and you can really add unnecessary weight if you're not careful. If the items give you comfort or utility then it’s useful redundancy.

ROCK6

 

[Charlie Mike]

Either that, or he's Gunkid, out of prison early, and we'll soon hear about how he wears Level IV armor, two guns and his boots to bed, and carries everything in an assault wheel barrow.

Who/what is Gunkid? Is he like Gecko45?

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Just do a Google search on Gunkid. You can amuse yourself for hours. He's like Gecko45, or Mabu Khan, but less coherent.

 

[ROCK6]

Who/what is Gunkid? Is he like Gecko45?

OMG! Gunkid was an incredible on-line presence that was a wealth of idiocy! BLUF: Everything can be handled by a "canned" AR and carried with an assault wheelbarrow That was all I could decipher with his abhorrent grammar and nearly incoherent ramblings!

ROCK6

 

[harpers ferry]

if your stuff is quality gear, well taken care of and you prep your stuff accordingly,why have any redundancy at all?

automatic watch or fresh battery ( if it's that critical)
fresh battery for flashlight and a spare battery
fully charged cell phone. Not used unless there is an emergency or telling someone you have arrived at your destination or are about to leave.

Make a list and check condition before going out. Replace if in doubt.
Leave an itinerary.

I only do day hikes on the AT and walk-in fishing trips.

I take spare socks, kleenex, hanky, water, flashlight, knife, snack in my shoulder bag. If I plan to fish near/after sunset, I back track closer to the car.

I keep water,snack,spare fishing rod,cell phone, money and change of clothes/ rain gear in the car so the trip can't be totally ruined by a gear or weather SNAFU. Here is my redundancy.


I know this isn't heavy duty survival stuff......

 

[Quirt]

All critical gear should have a back up. Either an identical replacement or spare parts. My wife and I carry identical or very similar gear as a redundancy. I've gotten away from highly customized/specialized gear that is specific to me...cuz my spouse may need to use it and if it isn't designed for her, she doesn't need an excuse to fail but rather a reason to win. So, we both carry stock gear that both of us are equally competent with.

Critical "essential" gear are those items identified by each person based upon their specific mission profile. Everyone's profile is different. So it is up to you to ID which gear should be replicated. If you'll recall your previous military career each time you were deployed the conditions changed and so did the gear to match the circumstances.

Also we should have a redundancy of skills...meaning be able to start a fire with modern technology and also at least one or two primative methods so if one runs out of jelly soaked cotton balls one can still use the natural tinder the Lord provided for us. I'm certain Mountain Men and Native American's didn't freak out when their jelly soaked cotton balls ran out!

I've chosen a long time ago to move away from crutches like jelly soaked cotton balls. Every fire I start even in my home wood stove is one of the various primative methods so I can build up a reliable set of muscle memory. I don't always start the fire in my wood stove with seasoned dry wood either. What better place than to practice less than idea conditions than at home.

 

[Gadgetaholic]

Every fire I start even in my home wood stove is one of the various primative methods so I can build up a reliable set of muscle memory. I don't always start the fire in my wood stove with seasoned dry wood either. What better place than to practice less than idea conditions than at home.

That reminds me of the Survivorman episode when he went into the Canadian woods, he tried to get a fire going using a method he had seen but never tried - it didn't work and he said "I guess I should have practiced this one at home first". Then he made a fire bow and got a fire started - he has used that technique before so he knew what he was doing.

Even something easy like a firesteel + PJCB I tested at home - the PJCB lit up from the first spark from my firesteel and burnt for a couple of minutes. Then I tested the firesteel + some tissue - I got it to burn but it took a lot more tries, better to find that out at home then in the bush!

So yeah, I agree 100% with the idea of increasing your skills so you can utilize other tools (including what you find around you) to do what you need to do. This definitely gives you some redundancy which you may well need one day. Someone mentioned on these forums that he knew how to make a usable cutting tool from rocks banged together until they split - handy if needing to gut an animal when lost in the wilderness and separated from your gear. I know I have a lot of shortfalls in my skills, but of course that is just a reason to learn new skills and then test them out in practice - in the mean time I'll do my best to keep the gear I need at hand so that I don't need the skills I don't yet have.

 

[thebladerunr]

CM , if you have the want , room , etc. and it makes you feel better / safer carry it if you want. Only you can "pacify" you. hell when I got back in '03 my truck looked like the inside of a humvee (concealed) smoke , ammo , food , water , weapons , for like the first three months. Then I started to settle back into the world.

I still have my "safety blanket" mentality on some things.

If it makes you feel better/safer roll with it !

 

[Charlie Mike]

If it makes you feel better/safer roll with it !

:thumbup:
It does, so I will.

 

[flipe8]

This post has helped me realize the needless redundancy I currently have in my kit. Time to shed some of it, I think.



Rick

My thoughts exactly:thumbup: If you want to try to come up with a way to deal with every possible "what if?", you'd likely never make it out of the house.

 

[Kiah]

Just do a Google search on Gunkid. You can amuse yourself for hours. He's like Gecko45, or Mabu Khan, but less coherent.

Reading this thread, the first thing that popped into my head was

What scares me is that, although I can fit an extra trauma plate in the front, I cannot fit a second one in back. As of late I have taken to duct-taping a second trauma plate to the area of my back where the heart and vital organs are located. Then I put my vest on.

Here is the questions. The ducttape solution, although tactically sound, is hot and painful to remove. I would like to go to the single-plate solution in back. What I am worried about is repeated hits to that area with .308 ammunition. I have a high-risk security job and I fear that I would be the target for repeated long-distance shots to my back.

Are any of you aware of a thicker plate that could stop, say, .338 Lapua or something like that? Is there a better way to do the second plate?

If Plan A is to take multiple .338 shots to the back, you really need to come up with a Plan B.

As far as the rest is concerned, I'm with Rick. If your main question on wilderness preparedness is whether or not to bring a second Rolex, you're a) filled with so much knowledge you can do everything without tools and now you're just trying to impress the squirrels with bling, b) need to reevaluate your wilderness needs, or c) just starting another thread to let everyone know you have a Rolex.

 

[dougo83]

As far as the rest is concerned, I'm with Rick. If your main question on wilderness preparedness is whether or not to bring a second Rolex, you're a) filled with so much knowledge you can do everything without tools and now you're just trying to impress the squirrels with bling, b) need to reevaluate your wilderness needs, or c) just starting another thread to let everyone know you have a Rolex.

I didn't see any indication that CM was referring to wilderness application. It appears he is more speaking to a SHTF-type event and the Rolex/I-phone was used strictly as hyperbole. Unless, of course, I completely missed something.