2 is 1... 1 is none

[beef]

HA! Primary Penguin. I love it.

Penguin redundancy is the new black

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Reasonable people can disagree about what constitutes redundancy, where to draw the line between preparedness and paranoia, and so on. There's no need to get heated about it.

Most of us plan a degree of redundancy into our wilderness preparations, in terms of gear and in terms of skills. One rarely sees a PSK or woods kit with only one cutting edge or a single means of fire-starting, for example.

In terms of where to draw the line, I think that everyone is different, and that planning needs to take into account skills, knowledge of the area in which one is travelling, and what one considers to be the threshold between packing responsibly and carrying too much gear. Your mileage may vary.

For me, I like to think about redundancy in terms of tasks, as opposed to gear. This means having more than one way to make fire, cut wood, build a shelter, light the way, handle an injury, navigate, and so on. In some cases, this translates into carrying backup gear (a PSK and a diversified fire kit, for example). In other cases, I'm content to keep my gear to a minimum.

As for mindsets, again, to each his own. For me, the wilderness is a place to be enjoyed and respected, and while I take steps to be what I would call reasonably prepared, I do not view every excursion as a potential SHTF situation. Nor am I particularly concerned about self defence and protection when I'm in the bush. If that's your thing, then bully for you.

All the best,

- Mike

Hey Mike,

You always come off as the voice of reason. This is no exception. :thumbup:

Doc

 

[akennedy73]

some people don't choose to live in that kind of mindset, some people end up with that kind of mindset because of what they have experienced, lived or survived through. it is not a choice, it is the way it is for some people, and you just have to do what you can to keep from ripping out of your skin. sometimes doing what you can, may seem 'odd', or 'foolish' to people but that is because they just don't understand.

yep, that's true - lots of cases of starvation survivors hoarding food for the rest of their lives. heck, my grandparents always had a stocked pantry of canned foods - as soon as a single can was taken from the pantry, it would be replaced within a day or two. they lived through the depression and it made them feel better.

perfectly natural and ordinary to take what one learns from one environment and carry into to other environments where it's no longer as useful - probably a trait passed on from our ancestors who didn't have to live in several different environments in a single lifetime.

as far as redundancy goes, do what makes you feel comfortable but always continually reassess and readjust to make a better fit with your circumstances. there isn't a point where you're ever going to get it fixed for all time - and you shouldn't be looking to get it fixed and decided once and for all. just always keep making adjustments and fine-tuning.

 

[Gadgetaholic]

Ok so two is one. But what if your backup breaks or is inoperable and you don't know it until your primary fails? Then what?

I check my equipment before hand, but if my primary knife gets damaged or lost and so does my backup and so does my multitool & my SAK then . . . well then I will just have to do my best to make do without a knife and hope that I get out of the situation alive.

If I am making my way through the bush back to my vehicle on a dark moonless night and my primary flashlight fails and my secondary and the couple of others - then I guess I hunker down until morning and if I am still alive I head out once I can see again.

In some situations if the primary fails and the secondary fails then you die - that's all there is to it. This usually applies with parachutes in particular.

But really Johnny_Z I am not 100% sure what it is you are trying to say, what is your point? Are you suggesting that a backup flashlight is pointless because if your primary flashlight fails you might find that your backup has also failed? You made your point in an amusing way, I just don't get what your point actually is.

 

[dougo83]

If you have seen many of CM post, you would understand why I dont take it as an exaggeration....

I have read plenty. I am also capable enough to realize the value of the thread without focusing on CM's...eccentricities.

a tinfoil hat can be a tremedously useful tool. if you have to travel through crowds and you would like to be left alone, or just to have people stay away, throw on a good ole' tinfoil hat(mine is a pirate hat). it is like moses walking up to the sea, a paths appears where there once was none. calling someone a nutjob, plz correct me if i am wrong(i looked through the rules i could find) belongs in w&c.

Thank you for that. I will get you some tissues. I will also try to find you a book or something on recognizing sarcasm.

Ok so two is one. But what if your backup breaks or is inoperable and you don't know it until your primary fails? Then what? Because of that you should carry a thousand of everything. The likelyhood of all one thousand of your whatevers breaking all at once is very small. Also, one never knows when you'll need a spare penguin. Or door. Or canoe. What would you do if you found your primary penguin had died? I'm sure you don't want to find out. So just to be safe, to be PREPARED, one should carry a thousand of EVERYTHING ON EARTH.

Just

In

Case.

:jerkit:

What an ignorant and useless post. Thanks. :thumbup:

 

[k_estela]

No personal attacks allowed here guys. Infractions given to responsible parties. This post is over in my opinion. Choose your words carefully.

 

[dougo83]

No personal attacks allowed here guys. Infractions given to responsible parties. This post is over in my opinion. Choose your words carefully.

I apologize...it appears my sarcasm, in my tinfoil comment, was not as clear on here as it was in my head. It was a joke.

 

[Shrouded_Sherpa]

I think you're stuck in "look at me" mode.

Hahahahaha!

 

[PayetteRucker]

I layer redundency with technology, so if something fails i have a reusable, time-tested tool that will last a long time if it has to-I carry a zippo, and parafin dipped matches, and a magnesium starter. I also have 550 chord to make a bow drill if all other methods fail. I carry a GPS, a waterproof map pouch and a compass. If the GPS runs out of juice or fails, I have the compass and a map. I tend to have a backup for anything electrical when it comes to packing for backcountry trips-pen flares in case my Spot fails etc etc etc.