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The scourge of prepper mentality....how to cure pack over-redundancy?

C_Tanner

C_Tanner

Joined
Feb 21, 2011
Messages
2,139
Just inventoried my main survival pack. Damn, the thing is heavy! I thought I had stripped it down enough, but after doing the inventory I relaized I still have too much redundancy in it. 3 knives (not including what would be on my body), FOUR fire kits, 4 barrel liners, 3 Grabber all weather tarps, a Sil-Ny hammock tarp (I like tarps I guess). 2 metal containers for cooking/boiling, multiple bundles of cordage, 2 water filters....so on and so on.

The heaviest individual items, were the 36 hour Datrex bar pack, the MSR cookpot loaded with firestarts, the BK2, The wool Blanket wrapped in a tarp, and the "tool" bag with a Mora, Bahco, and a bunch of other stuff. I thik I have to really strip this down to single, multi-use items. and rely more on my brains then carrying a hardware store with which I could fabricate damn near anything I can think of. Its a great system, but if I had to wear it and walk a mile or more, I might want to die.

Anyone else have this problem? What did you do?
 
I have the same problem.
Try to bring only what you need for that trip.
Lighten load without compromising safety.
 
Well if you ask me the easiest way to cut pack weight is to go out with your gear and see what you use and don't use, next time leave the stuff at home that didn't get used.
 
Go camping with it for however long you expect to need to survive on it for, when you get back any kit you dont have to clean is kit you didnt use, leave it at home. This is a progressive system, as your skills improve your pack gets lighter, sometimes its hard to leave a cool new shiny thing at home even though you dont use it.
 
I only back 5 things.
wool blanket
knife
cordage
SS bottle
fire kit

sometimes I'll bring a pack to carry it all in.
 
Right now its a SHTF pack. If I go on a planned camping trip, I adjust accordingly. The problem is prepper mentality bleed over. I'm a natural list-maker, plus my tenancy to over prepare for every possible contingency stems from my Navy job, which is hard wired into my brain. I have plenty of dirt time under my belt. I tend to build emergency kits based on the "no resupply" idea....I just can't find a good middle ground.

The best idea would probably be walk everyday with my pack on until it feels light.
 
Sounds like you have enough gear to break it down into individual car kits, as well as having your main SHTF pack. I'm wired the same way from the military but when it comes to humping gear around I go minimal.

Nothing wrong with redundant supplies, especially Beckers, just have to spread them around a bit.
 
jwaj said:
Sounds like you have enough gear to break it down into individual car kits, as well as having your main SHTF pack. I'm wired the same way from the military but when it comes to humping gear around I go minimal.

Nothing wrong with redundant supplies, especially Beckers, just have to spread them around a bit.
Click to expand...

Oh...Both vehicles have full kits all on their own. I could rebuild a civilization with my Honda Accord.

My original idea was a concept I was playing around with called a "Force Multiplier" system. Thats kind of what my pack still is. Basically, I can divide what I have between 2-3 people so that that more people can get stuff done faster, and if one person loses something, the others have backups. Based on the idea that in any given group, I will ALWAYS be the most heavily prepped. But I can grab a couple people and suddenly have a well stocked team.
 
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Widerstand said:
Well if you ask me the easiest way to cut pack weight is to go out with your gear and see what you use and don't use, next time leave the stuff at home that didn't get used.
Click to expand...

Excellent,,,, exactly what my response would be as well, and I have done it. I would just like to add that I keep two identical packs, one in my home and one in my truck,,,that way I always have one. In case of an extreme emergency, I can throw the second pack in the truck if I am at home,,, never hurts!!
 
Another good reason I keep an empty Ribz Frontpack with my kit. It serves many purposes. First and formost, it weighs next to nothing but can carry a ton of stuff. You can drop your main pack at camp and fill your front pack with just what you need to do a scout. OR, with the force multiplier idea, it can be given to another person and filled with your redundancies. OR wear it with the backpack, and fill it with what you scavenge and collect, like a Haversack.
 
That's why I employ assistance. I'm too damn old to haul around a big pack...but she can carry it all day long. :)

Occasionally, I like to take a walk around the property line rather than ride the UTV. Usually takes two days with fence repairs and trespass painting. Ms. Sassafrass carries the supplies for me. Makes a nice weekend diversion and I never have to leave my "home."

sass1.jpg


However, city dwellers may find this solution to be a bit taxing...and I wouldn't want to try and stuff her in the trunk of a Honda.
 
I prepare for myself and my family. I'm not worrying about carrying gear for the people that don't have their own. That concept is cool, but now you see the downside, carrying an excessive amount of gear weighs you down, slows you down. You're setting up your emergency preperations with the thought that you'll find some clever, friendly folks that enjoy taking direction, and are trustworthy enough to give your hard-slung equipment to. My friends all carry survival kits, bug out bags, or just disaster kits in their cars, so I'm not worried about hooking them up with my gear. I would really try to slim down what I need to carry. When the SHTF, the last thing you want to do is haul extra weight because you were over-prepared, if your vehicles are stocked already, there's no point to carrying extra.
 
Haze240 said:
I prepare for myself and my family. I'm not worrying about carrying gear for the people that don't have their own. That concept is cool, but now you see the downside, carrying an excessive amount of gear weighs you down, slows you down. You're setting up your emergency preperations with the thought that you'll find some clever, friendly folks that enjoy taking direction, and are trustworthy enough to give your hard-slung equipment to. My friends all carry survival kits, bug out bags, or just disaster kits in their cars, so I'm not worried about hooking them up with my gear. I would really try to slim down what I need to carry. When the SHTF, the last thing you want to do is haul extra weight because you were over-prepared, if your vehicles are stocked already, there's no point to carrying extra.
Click to expand...


Agreed. I do not carry duplicates of anything except a big and small knife and firestarting. If SHTF there will be plenty of useful stuff just laying around from the millions of dead no longer using it. My pack is always ready to go, if for some reason I am out and can not get back to it then the truck has its own. If I can't get to either,,, well I carry a gun and knives so I will acquire gear somewhere. :D
 
Unfortunately, there is no perfect scenario. Or setup. Or Plan. Thats why I have stuff stashed everywhere. Oh, and the stuff in my pack is separated in dry bags, so I can pull out stuff I might not need quickly. As far as the force multiplier thing goes, I'm not talking strangers. I'm talking whoever I am with. I don't have a "survival group", but I do have a couple like minded friends. Still....I am the only real prepper I know. And since I am responsible for a wife and two kids, I gotta make do with what I can.

But still....I can lose one of the metal containers, tarps, firekits, etc. I have a couple simple backpacks, I might just throw extras in there.


While we are talking kit mentality....Let me bring up another one of my kits. My Clothes BOB. Its a 35 gal drybag (the vinyl kind Wal Mart sells) that has 3 days worth of clothes in it...most of which is new, un-worn stuff. Under Armour, Blackhawk Warrior Wear, Tru-Spec 24/7, Merino Wool socks, underwear, belt, ballcap, gloves....everything one would need. Keep it in my trunk.
 
All the underarmour type stuff I would ditch in favor of real light or mid weight merino wool clothing. Lasts far longer, works better, has anti microbial properties and doesn't stink after a day of use. Synthetics wear out to fast. Smartwool, Minus33 make good stuff.
 
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