3 ms·

Hmm.. For none of those things does where I'm going on any given day really play any role in my decision of what to carry. That's the whole idea of "EDC". But

Hmm.. For none of those things does where I'm going on any given day really play any role in my decision of what to carry. That's the whole idea of "EDC". But think about it; If you drive a car (to work, say) and you live anywhere where the daytime ambient temperature in the winter gets down into even, say, the 50's, it's not hard to imagine a scenario where most of those things could be useful. Somebody runs you off the road, or you have a front tire blowout, or skid on ice, and go into some water? The glass-breaker lets you break the glass to get out of your rapidly sinking car. The knife can be used to process wood by batoning, and the firestarter lets you start a fire to keep your cold, wet, body warm until help arrives. A pistol? I'm not going get get into some big "gun control" debate here, but I'll just say that I prefer to carry a pistol more or less all the time, excepting for a small number of places where it isn't allowed. I hope like hell I never need it, but "it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." I should also add that I spend a fair amount of time in the outdoors, either fishing, hiking, or bike riding, usually by myself. As such, I like to be equipped to handle various situations that could potentially arise.

uptie 3y ago
Prepare prepare prepare. That's the name of the game.
- Incipient 3y ago
  That's not entirely the case. It's actually a matter of risk assessment. You need to consider the "cost" of being prepared based on the risk (likelihood x consequence). The effort/cost/maintenance of being prepared. Everyone has a different threshold. For example in what op carries in case his car goes off the road, what happens if you suffer a large cut in that accident? Do you carry clotting agents? What about snake bites and allergic reactions? Do you carry the appropriate medication too? At a certain point being "more prepared" is the wrong choice. For some people, in an urban environment, simply have a phone and some cash is prepared enough, and that's not necessarily wrong.
  - mindcrime 3y ago
    That's not entirely the case. It's actually a matter of risk assessment. You need to consider the "cost" of being prepared based on the risk (likelihood x consequence). The effort/cost/maintenance of being prepared. Everyone has a different threshold. 100% agree. There's always a cost/benefit analysis in play. Nobody can truly be "prepared" for every eventuality, and even if it were possible in principle to do so, some preparations would have outlandish costs that would not weigh well compared to the likelihood of that event in question ever actually happening. I self-identify as a "prepper" to a very mild degree. Eg, I don't spend half my monthly salary on stockpiling ammunition and food, and I don't have an underground bunker, yadda, yadda, yadda. I do keep a couple of extra boxes of ammo in the closet for firearms I own, and I do keep a (small) stash of certain dried and canned foods in my storage unit... but that's more a byproduct of that thinking that "I rent this storage unit anyway, why not keep a little bit of survival food in here just in case?" Not like I would rent a storage unit just to stockpile survival supplies. But ya know... some people would (and do). Some people do build complex underground bunkers and stockpile thousands of rounds of ammo, etc. To each is own, I suppose. I'd like to think I take a fairly balanced approach of spending a small amount of time and money on things that could have a big return someday, or if that doesn't ever come up, can simply be taken out of storage and used normally or whatever. At a certain point being "more prepared" is the wrong choice. For some people, in an urban environment, simply have a phone and some cash is prepared enough, and that's not necessarily wrong. Yep, yep. I lean the way I do for various reasons despite living in an urban area. Some of it is that I grew up as a "country boy" and some of those life lessons were internalized at a young age. For me, carrying a knife, carrying a pistol, etc. are very normal, routine, expected things. Add in the fact that I do spend quite a bit of time outdoors, doing solo activities, the thought of carrying a flashlight and a ferro-rod or whatever becomes just another "cheap, lightweight, non-intrusive thing I can do that might never be required, but causes no harm or undue burden and might save my life one day."

uptie 3y ago

Prepare prepare prepare. That's the name of the game.

Incipient 3y ago
That's not entirely the case. It's actually a matter of risk assessment. You need to consider the "cost" of being prepared based on the risk (likelihood x consequence). The effort/cost/maintenance of being prepared. Everyone has a different threshold. For example in what op carries in case his car goes off the road, what happens if you suffer a large cut in that accident? Do you carry clotting agents? What about snake bites and allergic reactions? Do you carry the appropriate medication too? At a certain point being "more prepared" is the wrong choice. For some people, in an urban environment, simply have a phone and some cash is prepared enough, and that's not necessarily wrong.
- mindcrime 3y ago
  That's not entirely the case. It's actually a matter of risk assessment. You need to consider the "cost" of being prepared based on the risk (likelihood x consequence). The effort/cost/maintenance of being prepared. Everyone has a different threshold. 100% agree. There's always a cost/benefit analysis in play. Nobody can truly be "prepared" for every eventuality, and even if it were possible in principle to do so, some preparations would have outlandish costs that would not weigh well compared to the likelihood of that event in question ever actually happening. I self-identify as a "prepper" to a very mild degree. Eg, I don't spend half my monthly salary on stockpiling ammunition and food, and I don't have an underground bunker, yadda, yadda, yadda. I do keep a couple of extra boxes of ammo in the closet for firearms I own, and I do keep a (small) stash of certain dried and canned foods in my storage unit... but that's more a byproduct of that thinking that "I rent this storage unit anyway, why not keep a little bit of survival food in here just in case?" Not like I would rent a storage unit just to stockpile survival supplies. But ya know... some people would (and do). Some people do build complex underground bunkers and stockpile thousands of rounds of ammo, etc. To each is own, I suppose. I'd like to think I take a fairly balanced approach of spending a small amount of time and money on things that could have a big return someday, or if that doesn't ever come up, can simply be taken out of storage and used normally or whatever. At a certain point being "more prepared" is the wrong choice. For some people, in an urban environment, simply have a phone and some cash is prepared enough, and that's not necessarily wrong. Yep, yep. I lean the way I do for various reasons despite living in an urban area. Some of it is that I grew up as a "country boy" and some of those life lessons were internalized at a young age. For me, carrying a knife, carrying a pistol, etc. are very normal, routine, expected things. Add in the fact that I do spend quite a bit of time outdoors, doing solo activities, the thought of carrying a flashlight and a ferro-rod or whatever becomes just another "cheap, lightweight, non-intrusive thing I can do that might never be required, but causes no harm or undue burden and might save my life one day."