Browsing through some old threads some time ago I started to think about people's kits; PSKs, "10 Essentials", BOBs, etc.
What I saw was that a lot of people tend to favor the redundancy school of thought that, "If it's important enough to have, it's important enough to have two(or more)".
Now, in some instances I tend to agree with this. Other times, I wonder though if it isn't just a little paranoia on the part of some of us and compensating for skills we aren't as strong in.
Every area will dictate the need for one or two priorities above all else. In the desert for instance, shelter and water are pretty much the main concerns. In the northern forests-shelter and fire. At sea-water and navigation You get the point I think. So, naturally it would be prudent to have some form of back up for the one or two major needs for the area you are in.
Doubling up on those things that aren't as important, seems to me to be adding extra weight and bulk. In some cases I have to wonder if the extra weight is even worth the quality of the back up.
An example of what I mean is this; If your navigational skills aren't your strong suit and you think that a compass is important enough to carry duplicates-primary, and one in the PSK let's say. Then why not carry two of your primary compasses rather than say a Cammenga lensatic and then a 20mm button compass? Or carry one quality compass and check it against other methods; Polaris, shadow stick, etc.
Let's say shelter is one of your primary goals. If you aren't adept at building or finding natural shelter, and so you carry some contractor's bags in addition to your tent/tarp/hammock/bag etc. Why not just carry a quality bivvy bag instead? Or learn one or two shelters that are best suited for your environment, and perfect them.
Now, maybe this is just me, and I could be completely wrong here. I think that if you need something that badly, that naturally you're going to take every precaution to safeguard it and probably won't need a spare to begin with. It'll be tethered to you, or secured in a zippered pocket, or constantly in use, etc.
I also think that if it's so important to you that you DO decide to carry a spare they should both be of the same quality, ideally the same piece.
I mean, why carry Connibears and lock-cam snares in your pack, but only picture wire in your PSK? Or a compass that you use for all your orienteering and have become familiar with in your pack or person, and then a cheaper or lesser version in your PSK that isn't second nature to you. The list goes on, but you get the idea.
I tend to use my knowledge and gear to avoid bad situations in the first place and look after the gear I have fervently. That said, if I ever AM put in a situation that requires me to use my gear for self-rescue, I have to depend on it to keep me alive, or I've lost my pack etc.; I don't want a "back-up" or a "PSK version" that's "good enough" or and improvised version of what I need/my primary. I want it to be as good or better than the gear I was using at the time I got into said situation.
With that line of thought, I took another look at my kit and anything that wasn't absolutely necessary to duplicate(i.e. I could rely on a method rather than gear, or the chances of losing it were slim to none) I pulled. My PSK got a good working over and it either has the same gear as my main pack now, or better. Afterall, that's what's more likely to be on me in any event or should I lose my pack.
This did two things, increased the size of my PSK slightly(which now rides in a FAK pouch) and reduced the weight/volume of my main pack greatly, which gives me more space for water. A more substantial PSK without much extra size/weight penalty, and a vastly pared down pack is kind of a win-win situation in my opinion. I just thought I'd share my little brain storming session with everyone here. Maybe some folks will take a good look at why they carry what they do, and decide that they really don't need eight ways to start a fire or five signalling devices.
Who knows, maybe you'll shave off a pound or two of gear after taking a closer look at your kit. Or maybe you'll throw in a couple duplicates, you know...Just for redundancy
Gautier
What I saw was that a lot of people tend to favor the redundancy school of thought that, "If it's important enough to have, it's important enough to have two(or more)".
Now, in some instances I tend to agree with this. Other times, I wonder though if it isn't just a little paranoia on the part of some of us and compensating for skills we aren't as strong in.
Every area will dictate the need for one or two priorities above all else. In the desert for instance, shelter and water are pretty much the main concerns. In the northern forests-shelter and fire. At sea-water and navigation You get the point I think. So, naturally it would be prudent to have some form of back up for the one or two major needs for the area you are in.
Doubling up on those things that aren't as important, seems to me to be adding extra weight and bulk. In some cases I have to wonder if the extra weight is even worth the quality of the back up.
An example of what I mean is this; If your navigational skills aren't your strong suit and you think that a compass is important enough to carry duplicates-primary, and one in the PSK let's say. Then why not carry two of your primary compasses rather than say a Cammenga lensatic and then a 20mm button compass? Or carry one quality compass and check it against other methods; Polaris, shadow stick, etc.
Let's say shelter is one of your primary goals. If you aren't adept at building or finding natural shelter, and so you carry some contractor's bags in addition to your tent/tarp/hammock/bag etc. Why not just carry a quality bivvy bag instead? Or learn one or two shelters that are best suited for your environment, and perfect them.
Now, maybe this is just me, and I could be completely wrong here. I think that if you need something that badly, that naturally you're going to take every precaution to safeguard it and probably won't need a spare to begin with. It'll be tethered to you, or secured in a zippered pocket, or constantly in use, etc.
I also think that if it's so important to you that you DO decide to carry a spare they should both be of the same quality, ideally the same piece.
I mean, why carry Connibears and lock-cam snares in your pack, but only picture wire in your PSK? Or a compass that you use for all your orienteering and have become familiar with in your pack or person, and then a cheaper or lesser version in your PSK that isn't second nature to you. The list goes on, but you get the idea.
I tend to use my knowledge and gear to avoid bad situations in the first place and look after the gear I have fervently. That said, if I ever AM put in a situation that requires me to use my gear for self-rescue, I have to depend on it to keep me alive, or I've lost my pack etc.; I don't want a "back-up" or a "PSK version" that's "good enough" or and improvised version of what I need/my primary. I want it to be as good or better than the gear I was using at the time I got into said situation.
With that line of thought, I took another look at my kit and anything that wasn't absolutely necessary to duplicate(i.e. I could rely on a method rather than gear, or the chances of losing it were slim to none) I pulled. My PSK got a good working over and it either has the same gear as my main pack now, or better. Afterall, that's what's more likely to be on me in any event or should I lose my pack.
This did two things, increased the size of my PSK slightly(which now rides in a FAK pouch) and reduced the weight/volume of my main pack greatly, which gives me more space for water. A more substantial PSK without much extra size/weight penalty, and a vastly pared down pack is kind of a win-win situation in my opinion. I just thought I'd share my little brain storming session with everyone here. Maybe some folks will take a good look at why they carry what they do, and decide that they really don't need eight ways to start a fire or five signalling devices.
Who knows, maybe you'll shave off a pound or two of gear after taking a closer look at your kit. Or maybe you'll throw in a couple duplicates, you know...Just for redundancy
Gautier
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I know a lot of people only carry one compass, or worse, none. 
I know it was helpful to me to be redundant in this area.
