Urbancraft Part I - Recon

The Chef said:
Mistwalker-I have concerns about those little crenulated flashlights in most instances it seems that the oppurtunity for them to snag on something when they are most needed is high. I carry an older model Inova in edc and 2D maglite with LED for the BOB. What is your experience with the SOG?
Click to expand...

I just got it but I am really liking it so far. The pouch it comes with is molle compatible so sometimes it's on my belt and sometimes it's on my shoulder strap. So far the pocket clip is the only issue...hasn't snagged any coming out but does create some resistance. I think I'll take it off, since I sometimes carry it in my jacket pocket and plan to sometimes carry it in the Janus pouch I could see it being a potential problem. The little flashlight really throws some light, even on the low setting it's enough to light up an area really well.
 
I live close to an arrowhead distributor, they typically have poor lot security, the trucks aren't emptied nightly, and come the breakdown of social order its a hell of a load of bottled and clean, easy to acquire water in large quantities.

If your urban stranded like me, find your local water distributor for future reference.
 
kkj87a said:
Its a shame. hate cidiots
Click to expand...

Huh?


snorkem said:
great thread, cool pics
Click to expand...


Thanks


ron_m80 said:
I live close to an arrowhead distributor, they typically have poor lot security, the trucks aren't emptied nightly, and come the breakdown of social order its a hell of a load of bottled and clean, easy to acquire water in large quantities.

If your urban stranded like me, find your local water distributor for future reference.
Click to expand...

A good one to make note of. We have a few around here.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Great thread/review. I'm in shanghai with fam and it is scary lol. I live in the desert and am not at all used to this many people. I hate not being able to have a fixed blade. Or my cold steel voyager, there are to many security things here to carry "reall" knives.
 
ron_m80 said:
I live close to an arrowhead distributor, they typically have poor lot security, the trucks aren't emptied nightly, and come the breakdown of social order its a hell of a load of bottled and clean, easy to acquire water in large quantities.

If your urban stranded like me, find your local water distributor for future reference.
Click to expand...



An excellent point. Never thought of this. Will do some checking.
 
Tengu Joker said:
Thanks for the post. Glad to know I'm not alone out here . . .
Click to expand...

Thanks man, glad your liking it. That's a crazy thing about this country....it's nearly impossible to actually be alone here for most people....but it's so often really easy to feel like we are.


Birdkiller said:
Great thread/review. I'm in shanghai with fam and it is scary lol. I live in the desert and am not at all used to this many people. I hate not being able to have a fixed blade. Or my cold steel voyager, there are to many security things here to carry "reall" knives.
Click to expand...


Hmmm, from reading the history books you'd think Shanghai would be full of people carrying fixed blades. Can you not even carry something like an Izula?


g23.40sw said:
An excellent point. Never thought of this. Will do some checking.
Click to expand...


I think making note of all potable water sources in an urban environment is definitely a great idea.
 
I'm comming into this conversation abit late so I am not sure if this has been brought to light yet but about eight years ago I found myself living out of the back seat of a old '79 monte carlo I had back then. I was there for about three months until I found a place that would put me up until I got back on my feet. One thing that I had and the thing that helped me most through that time was a gym membership. A place to shower and shave and I was able to keep in shape and sane. For the $15 a month it was a life saver I think. Also, a good place to build a network for finding work as many people who go to gyms are more than willing to give tips to people.
 
roughneckrob said:
I'm comming into this conversation abit late so I am not sure if this has been brought to light yet but about eight years ago I found myself living out of the back seat of a old '79 monte carlo I had back then. I was there for about three months until I found a place that would put me up until I got back on my feet. One thing that I had and the thing that helped me most through that time was a gym membership. A place to shower and shave and I was able to keep in shape and sane. For the $15 a month it was a life saver I think. Also, a good place to build a network for finding work as many people who go to gyms are more than willing to give tips to people.
Click to expand...


Cheers to you brother!! That was very resourceful thinking and I am glad to hear you back on your feet:thumbup:
 
The physical fitness part Roughneckrob mentioned is also underrrated in terms of urban emergency conditions. Going back to the NYC blackout in 2003, I wound up having to walk about 11-12 miles out of Manhattan, over the Brooklyn Bridge, through Brooklyn to an area called Bay Ridge, just so I could catch a bus back to Staten Island. At the time I was 48 yrs old, I have chronic back problems, and I sit at a desk most of the time to make my living.

The walk portion of my little jaunt took (with a couple of breaks) just about 4 hours. Suffice to say I was hurting when I woke up the next day.

And just to add insult to injury, when I got to work the next day (by bus), the power was still down, so A) I had to walk from the bus stop to work, just about a mile, and B) when I got to work, with no power available, I had to walk up to the 14th floor of the building I worked in.

If I hadn't been maintining at least a base level of fitness over the years, I would have been in some deep shit.

A lot of people think that you don't need to be in shape to survive an emergency in the big cities. Well I'm going to tell you that that's a lot of bullshit.

Once things come apart in the system in a big city, public transportation is going to stop running for the most part, so you had better be ready and able to hoof it.
 
Last edited:
roughneckrob said:
I'm comming into this conversation abit late so I am not sure if this has been brought to light yet but about eight years ago I found myself living out of the back seat of a old '79 monte carlo I had back then. I was there for about three months until I found a place that would put me up until I got back on my feet. One thing that I had and the thing that helped me most through that time was a gym membership. A place to shower and shave and I was able to keep in shape and sane. For the $15 a month it was a life saver I think. Also, a good place to build a network for finding work as many people who go to gyms are more than willing to give tips to people.
Click to expand...

Very good point, here we have YMCA memberships because of the great indoor activities available for the kids. But it is also great because it would give you a place to be out of the weather for a while each day, shower, use a phone, and contact people about work. Unlike gym memberships YMCA membership fees are income based which helps right now. I think the main YMCA downtown still has rooms available for rent too, I'll have to look into that next time I'm down there.


Stickfighter2 said:
The physical fitness part Roughneckrob mentioned ia also underrrated in terms of urban emergency conditions. Goung back to the NYC blackout in 2003, I wound up having to walk about 11-12 miles out of Manhattan, over the Brooklyn Bridge, through Brooklyn to an area called Bay ridge, just so I could catch a bus back to Staten Island. At the time I was 48 yrs old, I have chronic back problems, and I sit at a desk most of the time to make my living.

The walk portion of my little jaunt took (with acouple of breaks) just about 4 hours. Suffice to say I was hurting when I woke up the next day.

And just to add insult to injury, when I got to work the next day (by bus), the power was still down, so A) I had to walk from the bus stop to work, just about a mile, and B) when I got to work, with no power available, I had to walk up to the 14th floor of the building I worked in.

If I hadn't been maintining at least a base level of fitness over the years, I would have been in some deep shit.

A lot of people think that you don't need to be in shape to survive an emergency in the big cities. Well I'm going to tell you that that's a lot of bullshit.

Once things come apart in the system in a big city, public transportation is going to stop running for the most part, so you had better be ready and able to hoof it.
Click to expand...

Being a twenty year veteran of the commercial construction industry I already know there is a HUGE difference between working on the tenth or even fifth floor of a building that is powered and working there in one that has no power. getting the top floor of a real highrise may just take a couple of minutes by elevator but it can be a heck of a workout just getting down from there when all is blacked out.
 
I just stumbled on this thread - I've got to catch up on all 5 pages of it, but I read the first page and there is a lot good info and great pics.

I love in the suburbs and work in the city - this is a great topic for me.
 
roughneckrob said:
Or maybe the guys who own that Bum Fights website will show up and you could win yourself a sandwitch.....Sorry that was uncalled for:p
Click to expand...

Let me tell you, I could have used a sandwich during that walk. :D

Which brings up another lesson I learned that day. Years ago I used to carry a lot of cash around with me whether I was at work, going out, whatever. As Crime got worse in NYC in the 90s, this was about the same time that ATMs started becoming more common. Accordingly, I stopped carrying too much cash and whenever I needed any, I just went to the nearest ATM.

However, no electricity also meant no working ATMs. By the time I realized I had a problem, the banks had closed (no juice, so no computers) and I only had a couple of bucks on me. As a result I had to borrow some money from a co-worker, but he only had a twenty to spare.

Suffice to say that getting change anywhere was not exactly the easiest thing to do.
Since then, I always make sure I have spare cash on me in smaller denominations.
It's amazing how much the system falls apart once the electricity stops flowing these days.

As for BumFights, I spent just about seven years training with a guy named Carl Cestari.

I'd have gone home with a bag full of sandwiches!! ;)
 
Even back when I was living out of my car it never dawned on me to do even half of the things I have seen in this thread. I am actually going to go and do some of my own recon around Edmonton. I sure hope I never end up in that situation again, not now considering its not only me anymore, I have a wife and a four year old little girl now. Thanks alot mistwalker you relit a fire under my a$$.
 
myright said:
I just stumbled on this thread - I've got to catch up on all 5 pages of it, but I read the first page and there is a lot good info and great pics.

I love in the suburbs and work in the city - this is a great topic for me.
Click to expand...


Thanks, I spend most of my time in the urban areas either working or out with the family so it has been an issue for me for some time now....but lately even more so.

Also where I live now was once "out in the county", now it's inside the city limits and I am watching the urban area grow towards me.


Stickfighter2 said:
Which brings up another lesson I learned that day. Years ago I used to carry a lot of cash around with me whether I was at work, going out, whatever. As Crime got worse in NYC in the 90s, this was about the same time that ATMs started becoming more common. Accordingly, I stopped carrying too much cash and whenever I needed any, I just went to the nearest ATM.

However, no electricity also meant no working ATMs. By the time I realized I had a problem, the banks had closed (no juice, so no computers) and I only had a couple of bucks on me. As a result I had to borrow some money from a co-worker, but he only had a twenty to spare.

Suffice to say that getting change anywhere was not exactly the easiest thing to do.
Since then, I always make sure I have spare cash on me in smaller denominations.
It's amazing how much the system falls apart once the electricity stops flowing these days.
Click to expand...


Yeah, when there is a widespread power outage and everything shuts down it seems you can get more done with a dozen or so ones and a pocket full of change than you can with a hundred dollar bill or even a few twenties.



roughneckrob said:
Even back when I was living out of my car it never dawned on me to do even half of the things I have seen in this thread. I am actually going to go and do some of my own recon around Edmonton. I sure hope I never end up in that situation again, not now considering its not only me anymore, I have a wife and a four year old little girl now. Thanks alot mistwalker you relit a fire under my a$$.
Click to expand...


Glad I was able to inspire some thoughts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top