A little excessive?

I only carry a knife on my person in the city but a bag in my truck is always ready with most of what i would need to get back to my home and family.
 
I started to get caught up in it. Had a Bob in the garage, a mini kit for the truck, blah, blah, blah.

Got to be silly.

Now I have shunned most of it. I travel light and fast. EDC is a pocket knife, widgy prybar and nano light

Hike in the woods adds a fix blade with a ferro on the sheath, compass and fire source (Usually a K&M matchcase) some water

Overnight, add more water, some food, steel cup and sleeping, maybe a tarp.

Might be a few extras here and there, but no more kits, PSKs, FAK's blah, blah, blah.

That being said, everyone has their passion and if yours is hiking and survival gadgetry, more power to ya.
 
PrimitiveMan said:
I started to get caught up in it. Had a Bob in the garage, a mini kit for the truck, blah, blah, blah.

Got to be silly.

Now I have shunned most of it. I travel light and fast. EDC is a pocket knife, widgy prybar and nano light

Hike in the woods adds a fix blade with a ferro on the sheath, compass and fire source (Usually a K&M matchcase) some water

Overnight, add more water, some food, steel cup and sleeping, maybe a tarp.

Might be a few extras here and there, but no more kits, PSKs, FAK's blah, blah, blah.

That being said, everyone has their passion and if yours is hiking and survival gadgetry, more power to ya.
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Same here, I have pretty much narrowed it down to the stuff I have actually had to use. Still carry a FAK though, I get headaches and am fairly prone to cut myself, so a few BC powders, bandaids and neosporin comes in handy. Chris
 
runningboar said:
Same here, I have pretty much narrowed it down to the stuff I have actually had to use. Still carry a FAK though, I get headaches and am fairly prone to cut myself, so a few BC powders, bandaids and neosporin comes in handy. Chris
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Same here - I've got a FAK for pretty much every bag and the situations I'll be faced with when carrying those bags (ie. woods bag, diaper bag, etc)

I've got some altoid tins set up with fire starting gear but have never used it. That being said, I haven't been able to get out much lately either.
 
Of course its excessive! Many of us are free range Americans, and by stereotype tend to be excessive. We are also expressive, and it oozes out in the details. My Keychain has a big, honkin' whistle on it, and my co-workers laughed and laughed, until the whistle blast alerted the sheeple to the aircraft careening towards them.
 
I edc a Vic Farmer in my pocket and on my keyring (1) a Leatherman Squirt S4, (2) a Fenix LoD and (3) a Suunto MicroCompass... that's it.

Now I do have a daypack in my trunk that is well stocked. :)
 
I carry multiple knives because i use multiple knives, every day, hundreds of times a day. Same with multiple flashlights, i use them hundreds of times of a day. I carry different combos (around 3 - 6 blades and 2 - 5 lights) because i like choice and because i can, and its fun to use a different blade for each cutting task or a different light for each lighting task. Fire starting & water purification are items (skills too) that take zero room in a shoulder bag or pack, and are there when i need them. Yes one might need to purify water in the city. I do live in a earthquake zone.

I carry a well thought out First Aid Kit and a Personal Protective Kit because i find no one else does or has one handy. Compass because its very useful. Spare food (powerbars and hard candy) because i'm not always able to stop and get a meal in. Bottle of water because i cannot always stop and get water.

It does sound like a lot, but in reality i can tuck it all away neatly in a should bag, briefcase, or vest. It hardly weighs anything.

as for excessive? maybe the 20+ blades i carried into the woods last weekend might seem excessive, but it was'nt to me. I was comparing them on slicing cutting, chopping and fuzzstick making :)

YMMV
 
I carry quite a bit of gear in my Jeep but if I am hiking through the woods for a short hike, I am apt to just have my EDC and fire starter kit.
 
^ no no, its a legitimate question. Some people just dont get the reason why "we carry all this stuff".

I had a friend of mine, who knows me well, be completely flabbergasted as to why i would carry a spare set of batteries for a flashlight. He just did'nt understand it, let alone carrying a flashlight.
 
Carrying a little too much sure beats not having enough. Can't tell you how many folks try to borrow a knife, flashlight, or other small tool. And that's just at the office; never mind how they'd fare under worse conditions. For a few bucks and a bit of prep, I'd rather have some supplies.
 
I do not know anyone who has been too prepared. Preparedness is usually limited to the amount of knowledge one has and uses
 
I can think of multiple unexpected circumstances in which carrying "survival" gear could be life-saving. None are likely, but all have occured to people historically. It's up to each individual to determine the relative risk of not carrying such gear. Here are a few examples off the top of my head. While driving your car to drop off the kids at school, an earthquake occurs which knocks out all power and causes the bridge back to your house to collapse, and civil unrest breaks out. Your family is now afoot since the road is impassible, the weather turns for the worst, and law enforcement and emergency personnel are swamped with calls. Another variation could be an unexpected weather event such as a tornado, hurricaine, or flood. Another situation could be you swerve to avoid hitting a deer and drive off an embankment breaking your legs. While you can hear the cars on the road above you, no one sees you and help does not arrive for several days. Each of these instances has occured to people. Each of these instances will occur again to others. Each of these instances could occur to you. What is an acceptable level of risk for your life and those of your family? Would I be paranoid or prudent in carrying basic survival gear on a daily basis? That is the question.
 
to better understand where the Q is coming from go to his phtobucket page there are pics of him with dead bulls. and it looks like he lives on one of the hawiian islands my Q is how do you process something that large build those shelters with only one knife???? those logs in some of thes pics would take a while with a saw.
 
This is a survival forum on a gear website.
 
I took a wilderness aid course and it opened my eyes about how a good FAK can make the difference between life and death. Once I developed a personalized FAK, it was just a matter of time before I developed a PSK for fire/shelter/water. The two kits pack into separate mid-sized tupperware pieces that fit perfectly in my day pack. I use the same pack for my office/urban carry as I do for day hikes.

As others have stated, you can't choose the timing of an emergency or set the parameters under which one will occur. It makes sense to have a kit that is on you at all times. Given that I'm always dipping into my kit, particularly my FAK for work, I've come to see the value of it. It is about as much hassle for me to carry my kits as is putting on socks and underwear in the morning. It stays in the bag and the bag goes where I go. Simple as that.

I don't carry that many knives, one necker in the kit and a pocket knife. In the field I will have a bigger multi-duty belt knife with me. However, on day hikes I often bring a pile of knives. This is mostly to take pictures of and post here on W&SS because that is kind of a little hobby of mine. Thus, the woods trips are actually driven by the knives and desire to take pictures of them, rather than the other way around. That is probably weird by public standards, but I know I'm not alone here :D I like photography, I like knives so this is my version of a Reces Peanut butter cup commercial. Besides, I do go camping and hiking for the sake of those activites also. Whatever gets me out there is legitimate.
 
My bag goes with me everywhere, but I strike a balance between urban and wilderness items. I've had countless occasions in the middle of winter where a huge storm will have hit while I was at work and the roads won't be plowed. Knowing that I have a good sized kit in the car in case I go off the road makes me feel a lot better. And the more urban gear I have has come in handy for the various fix-it projects that pop up around the home or workplace.

My kit is a user. :)
 
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