All worthy items for a survival situation though some of those items would absolutely not make my top ten list. It could partly be a matter of viewpoint: me coming at it from wilderness survival where I go, and you coming at it from urban survival in your area.
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MCS 10 Essential Pieces of Gear
- Thread starter mercop
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
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- 4,940
I test a lot of gear from a lot of people, sometimes I pay for it sometimes they comp it. The things that I listed from Goinggear.com are listed as such. Kind of makes sense to listed a trusted source for trusted gear. I don't care what gear anyone carries or where they get it.
Except for the fire starter I used everything in the article the last 3 days while teaching high threat driving to military personnel. There were no situations to "survive" but plenty to be prepared for.
Most peoples days are spent where they live, where they work, and in transit. That is simply not true for me these days. In this three week time frame I am staying in two hotels, a week in the woods, teaching in the woods, teaching high threat driving in a huge parking lot, and personal protection stuff in a classroom. I know based on experience and probability what I need, so I carry it.- George
Except for the fire starter I used everything in the article the last 3 days while teaching high threat driving to military personnel. There were no situations to "survive" but plenty to be prepared for.
Most peoples days are spent where they live, where they work, and in transit. That is simply not true for me these days. In this three week time frame I am staying in two hotels, a week in the woods, teaching in the woods, teaching high threat driving in a huge parking lot, and personal protection stuff in a classroom. I know based on experience and probability what I need, so I carry it.- George
To me it seems some of you get very literal and overly specific in your views.
Not trying to start a rift but to me Mercops list is similar to what I usually refer to as essentials. Not survival per say, but stuff i try to always keep handy. I want to know how you can keep this list within arms reach when traveling on aircraft.
To me this is a good example of layering. EDC items might differ slightly just due in part to geography and climate. What one considers EDC (pocket junk), another might have in a "kit", yet still another may only carry such items in what they consider a bailout bag. One persons survival may be another's essentials.
I like to keep a few things on me from a very minimalist standpoint. I have a bit more equipment in a "kit", and still more as essential carry items when knowingly venturing out.
Not trying to start a rift but to me Mercops list is similar to what I usually refer to as essentials. Not survival per say, but stuff i try to always keep handy. I want to know how you can keep this list within arms reach when traveling on aircraft.
To me this is a good example of layering. EDC items might differ slightly just due in part to geography and climate. What one considers EDC (pocket junk), another might have in a "kit", yet still another may only carry such items in what they consider a bailout bag. One persons survival may be another's essentials.
I like to keep a few things on me from a very minimalist standpoint. I have a bit more equipment in a "kit", and still more as essential carry items when knowingly venturing out.
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2007
- Messages
- 1,607
Hah, I barely have a financial interest, and I'm the owner.
I send stuff to prominent bloggers and video reviewers if they ask for it. I ask for nothing in return. They can do a series of reviews on one thing or do nothing. It's their choice. I've seen positive and negative reviews of gear that I have sent out for free, so it goes both ways.
Do you make a habit of throwing around unfounded speculation about the motives and intentions of people you don't know? With 46 posts here you don't have the gravitas to call anyone's integrity into question. Read more, post less.
Storl;
I meant you no disrespect or ill wishes... What I meant to imply is that the link that was posted was to a blog that was uninteresting, superficial, and read like an advertisment for your business (i.e. lacked the appearance of being unbiased and therefore lacked credibility to a large degree). I know little or nothing about your business however I have little need for superficial plugs by nebulous bloggers. The blog wasn't even well thought out or well written... He should have said "here's some stuff sent to me by vendors that I like". WRT gear reviews, be they positive or negative, they don't reflect on you unless you produced the gear in question (I admit to not knowing if or what gear you may or may not produce although I assume your business is more that of a vendor than a manufacturer).
I wish you well sir... Via con Dios...
P.S.: Sorry for the late reply - I left for 10 days in Italy the day before your post... I just noticed it today...
Smash5;
Just for the sake of clarity - Is ones "gravitas" or lack thereof determined by the number of posts he has here in this little corner of the internet?.. or perhaps by something else?
Can you honestly tell me that you found the blog in question to be any of the following - interesting, very informative, well thought out, well written, not resembling a paid advertisement, unbiased, i.e. having its own "gravitas"???
I admit that I was wrong about the blogger... he has no financial interest in gg.com - he's just likes "returning the favor" to vendors that send him free stuff... just the type of guy I want to take advice from... We should do our best to promote more links to these types of blogs... I'll try to be less critical of such stuff in the future...
There are only a few items from goinggear.com. When ordering items online it is best to find the store that has most of the items you want in one place so as to save on shipping.
I buy a lot of my gear from MEC because that is the largest hiking store in my area.
Also, if a poster likes an item a lot and finds it perfect for his needs then of course they aren't going to post a lot of negatives about it. Mercop (or any of us) wouldn't carry gear that we were only 10% happy with.
I buy a lot of my gear from MEC because that is the largest hiking store in my area.
Also, if a poster likes an item a lot and finds it perfect for his needs then of course they aren't going to post a lot of negatives about it. Mercop (or any of us) wouldn't carry gear that we were only 10% happy with.
- Joined
- May 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,755
The gloves thing is interesting...I understand why some people don't see them as important.
I had manual labor job once where I could go through a pair of work gloves in a week. I eventually stopped wearing them because while they got torn up, my hands didn't really fare that badly. They seemed sorta pointless. ...However in other contexts...
My current job is in a kitchen.
The dish washer blasts things with 190 degree F water. When stuff comes out of it you either need gloves, or you need to wait for it to cool. Picking up a ceramic plate at that temp bare handed is enough to make most people quickly set it down and spend the next minute or two cursing. ...and that's a fairly trivial amount of heat.
If I had to say...pull someone from a burning automobile you can be darned sure that I would want gloves.
It isn't even just about damage to your hands, pain will make it psychologically difficult to do things, or just be REALLY distracting.
I had manual labor job once where I could go through a pair of work gloves in a week. I eventually stopped wearing them because while they got torn up, my hands didn't really fare that badly. They seemed sorta pointless. ...However in other contexts...
My current job is in a kitchen.
The dish washer blasts things with 190 degree F water. When stuff comes out of it you either need gloves, or you need to wait for it to cool. Picking up a ceramic plate at that temp bare handed is enough to make most people quickly set it down and spend the next minute or two cursing. ...and that's a fairly trivial amount of heat.
If I had to say...pull someone from a burning automobile you can be darned sure that I would want gloves.
It isn't even just about damage to your hands, pain will make it psychologically difficult to do things, or just be REALLY distracting.
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2004
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- 4,172
Reorx, I don't think it's so much as being critical, just the way it comes across. There are few professional writers here, just some great people that share the love of blades, outdoors gear, ideas, trips and skills. Mercop (George) and Storl are both stand up guys and contributors to these (and other) forums. Questioning and providing constructive criticism is always healthy; however, tact should be considered for responses. A lot of forgiveness is necessary as the Internet doesn't do so well at conveying responses, thoughts or even jests.
Every vendor and maker here are very open to feedback, constructive criticism and different ideas. "Deal spotting" is always considered faux pas on most forums, however I would much rather support vendors and makers that are active members here over others.
You do have a valid point though on the post. If somebody (with less "gravitas"
), made a similar post and didn't have the background or reputation, it might look more like a commercial than personal thoughts of their personal EDC. I do appreciate those that post links to specific gear/knives that are tested, reviewed, or used...it helps to further my own research and comparisons. Regardless, welcome aboard and spend a little time getting to know those here. Like I said, it's one of a few excellent forums where the members are very helpful at sharing ideas, skills and reviews. :thumbup:
ROCK6
Rock6;Reorx, I don't think it's so much as being critical, just the way it comes across. There are few professional writers here, just some great people that share the love of blades, outdoors gear, ideas, trips and skills. Mercop (George) and Storl are both stand up guys and contributors to these (and other) forums. Questioning and providing constructive criticism is always healthy; however, tact should be considered for responses. A lot of forgiveness is necessary as the Internet doesn't do so well at conveying responses, thoughts or even jests.
Every vendor and maker here are very open to feedback, constructive criticism and different ideas. "Deal spotting" is always considered faux pas on most forums, however I would much rather support vendors and makers that are active members here over others.
You do have a valid point though on the post. If somebody (with less "gravitas"
Regardless, welcome aboard and spend a little time getting to know those here. Like I said, it's one of a few excellent forums where the members are very helpful at sharing ideas, skills and reviews. :thumbup:
ROCK6
Thanx for the reply and the insight... Sorry if I stepped on any toes...
Is Mercop the author of the blog? It isn't signed and I have no way to know (I assume that he is not the author). If I had known that he was the author, I would have just STFU and moved on - I have no need to stick my unvarnished opinion in someones (the author's) face - it's not my style (I avoid drama - don't have time to waste on it).
Thanx again!
- Michael -
Thanx George - Sorry for being unvarnished (and without gravitas to boot)... I am sure that some find it useful. I'll STFU now...
P.S.: Do you know where I can get some industrial strength dental floss? I need to get the pieces of my Wolverines out from between my teeth...
Gloves are kind of an in between item, not something that most people use everyday so they don't include it for EDC, and something that many people can go camping with but never need. However, I see them as a very good item for urban survival where you may have to clear your path of broken glass, burning wood, wood with nails, steel beams, basically anything that could fall in your path due to an earthquake or explosion.
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2007
- Messages
- 1,607
Thanx George - Sorry for being unvarnished (and without gravitas to boot)... I am sure that some find it useful. I'll STFU now...
P.S.: Do you know where I can get some industrial strength dental floss? I need to get the pieces of my Wolverines out from between my teeth...
County Comm sells Kevlar thread on spools.
