Gear Choice: "Sheeple Friendly" a Factor ?

I don't think you should hide your TOOLS just because some ignorants think they may be WEAPONS. There fantasy/ imagination/ fear dose not make it my intent. I'm not wrong for being prepared and can't do anything about there over paranoia. If tools scare them they need to stay in town were only the hired help needs tools and are supervised. Thats what it comes down to for me.

We aren't talking about ruining up and down the trails in a loin cloth and war paint swinging a chainsaw over your head. Were talking about taking a camp knife/ camp axe camping. SWEET BABY JESUS, don't you see the irony in that?

If your gear rides in your pack better or thats how you like it fine. I just can't see being pressured in to it.

Should the unprepared, unskilled or less involved dictate your sport?


California wasn't that bad 25 years ago and gets worse every time I go to visit. I grew up in the Napa valley before it became the place to be. We were working folk, living a working life, using and carrying working tools. In 1980 Fayetteville, North Carolina was less blade friendly than Napa, California.
 
runningboar said:
There is a certain segment of the population that want to go to the mall or Arbys looking like the are on Presidential detail with the secret service, those are the dorks I was talking about. Chris
Click to expand...

Yeah... I think you're talking about what I call "posers". Up here, they're often known as touristy FIB's... funny Illinois boys. (well, the "I" stands for Illinois, I'll let you figure out the rest :D). Yahoo's with too much $$ and gear, not enough sense to step out of the rain. These are the kind of guys who blow their brains out pulling a loaded rifle up into their rented tree-stand. The few locals who dress/act like that are generally underage and will soon grow out of it. Not hard to spot, and about as dangerous as a kitten, usually.

Like I said before, I wear/use gear that suits my needs, and although I have my own criteria for what's "too hardcore" or Rambo-esque, I really don't give a flying leap if anyone else thinks it's either dorky or intimidating.

Some folks think I'm intimidating because of my size, the fact that I walk erect instead of slumped over, look people directly in the eye when we speak, my hair is long, or the fact that I may wear a Slayer t-shirt on any given day. I find this amusing because I'm usually one of the most courteous and amicable people you'd ever hope to meet. I've avoided or talked my way out of FAR more conflicts than I've ever been in, and I like it that way.

I decided MANY years ago, folks who judge me on appearance, can go piss up a rope. They are the same people that fall all over themselves to get a tip from me if I happen to be wearing a suit to go out to dinner. Screw 'em. Luckily, there's not so many of them in my part of the world.

If by some chance, someone should complain to a park ranger or cop about me walking the trails with a knife on my belt, I'd be perfectly comfortable answering the officer's questions because I have nothing to hide. If I DID have something to hide, you'd never know I was there.

I tell you this, the more I read threads like this about what is/isn't "PC", the more I like living where I do. I see mild-mannered, NON-Spec-Ops-wannabe people wearing camo and carrying folders on their belts EVERYDAY, just going about their business. Granted, it's 90% Real-Tree or Mossy Oak, not military-type stuff around here, but I wear a Brit DPM jacket daily and no one has ever given me guff about it or really even noticed. If you're really under that much pressure because of the clothes you wear or the hatchet strapped to your pack, maybe you need to move somewhere a bit more reality-friendly.

I do feel, "discretion is the better part of valor" when it comes to weapons. A .45 or 9-1/2" bowie on your belt is WAY different than a Sharpfinger or Leatherman, and everyone I know would spot the difference at first glance. No need to attract attention to the fact that you're armed. That's a sure sign of a total poser.

As many other posters have said, if you're deep in the boonies where you may need a big-ass knife for utility reasons, your chances of bumping into someone who's offended by it are fairly slim.
 
GibsonFan said:
I do feel, "discretion is the better part of valor" when it comes to weapons. A .45 or 9-1/2" bowie on your belt is WAY different than a Sharpfinger or Leatherman, and everyone I know would spot the difference at first glance. No need to attract attention to the fact that you're armed. That's a sure sign of a total poser.
Click to expand...


AMEN, that is all I am trying to say, but I think you might have said it better than I could. I carry a machete or hatchet on my pack and a belt knife on my belt, THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT, but the same posers that my guitar playing friend is talking about. Chris
 
When I first moved out here from Georgia, I wore my very warm, comfy camo pullover to the local Wal-Mart. On the way in in the parking lot I was walking by a woman who "gasped" aloud and looked at me as I had something very unpleasant on my face. I made a mental note to always look in the mirror before going in a public place. After getting home I saw that there was nothing wrong with my appearance, just the pullover. So I did not wear it in public in order to "fit in". But after seeing the way the people act out here, I think they do it on purpose just to get you to "conform to their views". I believe they will continue to be shocked until we look and act just like them. Which I refuse to do. Now when I go somewhere I wear what I like and never flinch.
 
I won't ever compromise my gear or preparedness on the possibility that I'd run into the PC crowd (although that possibility usually only exists within the first few miles of a parking lot/trailhead etc.). But at the same time I don't go around looking like I'm hunting for Bin Laden in the woods of Minnesota.

For instance, I hate visual pollution gear (bright orange, red, yellow, etc) and I love BDUs (I've got large muscled legs from years of weight-training, and they fit better than anything), but I choose to wear khaki or OD BDUs, not camo ones. Most of my gear is either earth tones or black, but it isn't decidedly military in appearance. Most of it comes from REI, North Face, Wintergreen, Dana Design, etc. Still, that doesn't stop me from having a 6-7" fixed blade strapped to my pack within easy reach. I probably appear more 'hardcore' than most, but I don't strike fear and paranoia into the minds of the people I meet either. I think that is a healthy compromise.

I guess I strive more for the overgrown Boy Scout look, than the Special Forces wannabe. But I'm always prepared, and I'd never leave a valuable piece of gear behind for PC reasons.
 
no i really dont care what the sheeple/pc people say/think i wear boots most days because i like them and they are comfortable i wear bdus in the woods because the wear well a large knife will be on my pack if i want it to be if ya got a problem with it dont look or walk away dont try to get me to put it in hiding or leave it at home if you really dont like it just stay at home
 
ajcz said:
no i really dont care what the sheeple/pc people say/think i wear boots most days because i like them and they are comfortable i wear bdus in the woods because the wear well a large knife will be on my pack if i want it to be if ya got a problem with it dont look or walk away dont try to get me to put it in hiding or leave it at home if you really dont like it just stay at home
Click to expand...

OK, but I am not quite sure who here would have a problem with it.

Are you in Jessup, GA?
 
Ive been known to wear BDU pants when I go into the woods, there comfy as hell, light, dry fast when I cross streams, and I like the large pockets to hold my nature mix lol, plus there cheap.I usually have on a white t-shirt, wool red sox hat, and either a pair of hiking boots or a pair of new balance tennis shoes.

I also wear them when I coach my nephews tball team, those pockets hold alot of baseballs, and if you have ever coached tball, ya know you need to carry alot of baseballs as the kids tend to say "I dont know what happen to the ball " lol. But I sure as heck dont wear them to look like Rambo, as a matter of fact didnt he wear Levis LOL.???

I dont dress in full camo and run around the woods either, Im a friendly person, and always talk to folks on the trail, actually its a habit of mine, ive met some nice folks on the trail.

Hell, here we have the "gang banger" problem during the summer, they go where the water is to go swimming etc. Getting drunk, leaving trash behind, smoking there dope.
Ive had numerous times where a lady is walking her dog on the trail say "can you walk with me, there are some bad looking people down the trail" They end up being either biker types or gang bangers.

I use whats comfortable, light etc. Have I been known to carry a large blade on my hip? you bet, when I go trecking off the trail I want to have it by my side incase I need it quickly, rather then trying to dig through my pack to find it. Also when I have carried a large blade, ive never had someone look at me strange, I was once asked about a large blade (Custom Lamey Bowie in a Kenny Rowe sheath is what I carry)The Forest Ranger liked it very much:) and asked for Matts web site, along with Kenny Rowe's.

The way I see things is this, if you are comfortable thats all that matters, im in the woods to enjoy them, im not there for a fashion show.
 
I tend to choose gear that does not draw attention to myself. I don't like attention, of any kind, at all; that means 'camoflaging' myself to blend in with whatever's local in terms of people. I do this because it's not legal to carry a firearm in most of the places I hike, camp, or backpack; as a 120lb female, I have a higher chance of being targeted for crime. So the first line of defense is to not get noticed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top