I unpacked my EDC backpack : Am I carrying too much?

[blacktimberwolf]

I think you may need another compass & you could do with a few more blades just in case

Your days are obviously more action packed than mine.

 

[ebt.]

Personally I ignore any kit that doesnt include chorizo. If it cant be fixed with Chorizo, its time to accept that this is possibly an extinction level event

 

[plastic-ninja]

I think you may need another compass & you could do with a few more blades just in case

Your days are obviously more action packed than mine.

Sorry , I had to ditch a couple of compasses and the fixed blades to make way for chorizo!
How could I have forgotten that? Schoolboy error!
I realised that if I counted the razor blades I would have over 20 sharps so could afford to ditch one.

John, I have a Crusader kit with coffee press and some Jamaica Blue Mountain in the jeep.I sit on a space blanket and wear hat , fleece etc all the time in winter. If I get my JBM I'll be fine for anything short of TEOTWAWKI.
Cheers , Simon

 

[Satyr]

Your kit, your choice as the saying goes. For my everyday bag I tend to focus on a set of waterproofs, a tarp to sit on/under, hat and gloves, water and snacks. If its cold a flask or honey stove depending on where I'm going and more food if I am out for the whole day.

Additional kit usually comes in the form of three kids and a dog so the food and water element of the kit gets boosted up to filling a 32l pack. Luckily they are all now fit enough for me not to have to carry them up the hills with one on my shoulders and the other two roped on in a train.

 

[oldtimer]

Not long ago I went through my kit and took out all those little items "that don't weigh anything" but might come in useful. Combined, they weighed nearly 2kg. I too was surprised at the duplication between EDC, day pack and rucksack, such as a compass in all three.

 

[Elen Sentier]

Hmmm ... I'm a beginner but I tried your list against my own and you seem to have a lot more than me! Am I missing something? I don't really get why the multiples. I always carry a small tarp as part of the "just in case" along with the space blanket, and a hat and gloves. And some high carb dry food too.

As someone else said, I wouldn't usually be carting all this along to Tesco though ... on second thoughts, perhaps I would today as we do seem to have a lot of snow again

 

[plastic-ninja]

Elen , that sack was way too duplicated!
The black neoprene emergency bag doesn't really belong there at all so is now in the Jeep permanently unless I'm in the canoe.
It is a little lighter now that I've culled slightly, but the weight never was a problem : just seemed a waste of space.
I'm going to clear the room where all my sacks etc get left , so we shall see how much multi-tooling is forthcoming.
I know for a fact I have at least three more compasses as they tend to get left in the top pocket of each sack and tied in!
If it's too embarrassing I will not post , but you may notice more Sales threads and draw your own conclusions.
Cheers , Simon

 

[ebt.]

We all do it, Ninja. If its any consolation i used to teach technical diving (decompression and stuff where you cant just surface if it all goes wrong). by the end of the course ~75% of students would have a small pile of stuff that they could no longer justify to themselves. I always felt a bit guilty, if Im honest

 

[ol smokey]

I feel a bit guilty, I have been going to the hills for years, and was in the local Mountain Rescue Team for 13years, I however pulled a fast one on my hillwalking pal, I taught him about all the extra safety equipment that one should carry, especially in winter, Ice axe, Crampons, Compass, Torch, Survival Bag, Emergency Rations, Sleeping bag, Torch,Strobe light, Walkers Rope, Helmet, Gaiters Gloves, Headgear, etc., then I lightened my load, knowing that together we were well equipped. Not very fair, but at the time, I thought that it was quite a smart move. Another lad in our group unknown to anyone had loaded his rucksack with cans of Beer, he made out half way up Ben Nevis that he was struggling a bit, and. A slightly built girl in the group offered to carry his sac, along with her own. He let her do this, and when we all got to the top , he proceeded to scoff the beer, and did not offer even the girl any. I know that alcohol is not a good idea on the hills in winter, as it can help to bring on exposure and hypothermia, but at that time we were not so knowledgable. We really do some daft things when we are young. Now unfortunately I am no longer able for the bigger hills, but I will be 77 tomorrow, and I can regularly do 7 or8 miles on the level, or hills up to about 1,300 feet, so I am very grateful for my good health, which I put down to a long term interest in being active in the outdoors.

 

[monkey boy]

If your going out and going with the flow, you've got what you need just in case.
But if you plan your trips, then only pack what you need for that trip

 

[Thoth]

No gaffa or cable-ties? However will you cope when something breaks? Half my world is patched up with gaffa and/or cableties :-D

 

[mousey]

I used to carry and EDC when I was younger, but now I work a whopping 2 minute walk away from home I don't see the point as even in the severest blizard conditions I think I'll be able to wrap up warm and struggle down to the other end of the road - even if I am the only one in!

I occasionaly take a bag with me on longer dog walks but those have become seldom these days, only then I was carrying water, a bit of fruit and some foul weather gear. I should really get out more but other commitments in life keep getting in the way

As long as your happy carrying what you want/need to then thats fair enough - and carrying a bag with a little weight in it saves on gym membership...

 

[rik_uk3]

I feel a bit guilty, I have been going to the hills for years, and was in the local Mountain Rescue Team for 13years, I however pulled a fast one on my hillwalking pal, I taught him about all the extra safety equipment that one should carry, especially in winter, Ice axe, Crampons, Compass, Torch, Survival Bag, Emergency Rations, Sleeping bag, Torch,Strobe light, Walkers Rope, Helmet, Gaiters Gloves, Headgear, etc., then I lightened my load, knowing that together we were well equipped. Not very fair, but at the time, I thought that it was quite a smart move. Another lad in our group unknown to anyone had loaded his rucksack with cans of Beer, he made out half way up Ben Nevis that he was struggling a bit, and. A slightly built girl in the group offered to carry his sac, along with her own. He let her do this, and when we all got to the top , he proceeded to scoff the beer, and did not offer even the girl any. I know that alcohol is not a good idea on the hills in winter, as it can help to bring on exposure and hypothermia, but at that time we were not so knowledgable. We really do some daft things when we are young. Now unfortunately I am no longer able for the bigger hills, but I will be 77 tomorrow, and I can regularly do 7 or8 miles on the level, or hills up to about 1,300 feet, so I am very grateful for my good health, which I put down to a long term interest in being active in the outdoors.

Happy birthday chap

 

[brambles]

Another lad in our group unknown to anyone had loaded his rucksack with cans of Beer, he made out half way up Ben Nevis that he was struggling a bit, and. A slightly built girl in the group offered to carry his sac, along with her own. He let her do this, and when we all got to the top , he proceeded to scoff the beer, and did not offer even the girl any.

If he'd done that around me he might have needed to drink them through a straw! Happy birthday for today btw.

 

[demographic]

If your emergency involves helping an orienteering party who have all lost their compasses make feathersticks and share out cocaine* before finding their way round in the dark I reckon you are totally sorted.

















*Knives and razorblades, might need a mirror to do it on.

 

[dwardo]

I would worry about getting that lot nicked out of the car. The stuff I keep in a little pack in my boot is all pretty cheap and anything of expense I keep on me. Mostly its only food and water that`s ever used or maybe the extra jacket or blanket.
If you think about it this way it might help you cut down a little. Also removing the duplicates etc.
I would lose the fixed blades and keep a decent pocket knife on me then add a small folding saw. The saw is handy for those opportune moments where a bow worthy tree just falls in the middle of the road which I then remove as a good citizen. Happens all the time to me

 

[santaman2000]

When you say 'EDC' do you actually mean 'carry'? Or do you mean it's in the car? If you're actually carrying it, then it's a bit much. On the other hand if you mean it's always in the car, then it ain't enough; Where's the shovel? The axe? The blankets/warm clothing?

 

[plastic-ninja]

When I'm out , ie not at work , I have the bag with me.
If I'm at work it tends to be in the car , so that should I get an excuse to go out and enjoy myself for a while ,it will be with me.
There is a blanket , survival bag , cold weather kit and a collapsible shovel in the back of the Jeep already along with the Tow rope
and the medical box.I do remove the shovel & cold weather kit for summer and replace with extreme wet weather kit!!
Cheers , Simon

 

[santaman2000]

That sounds like a reasonable compromise. Although personally I would leave the shovel year round (more problems with mud or sand dunes than snow for me)

 

[plastic-ninja]

If your emergency involves helping an orienteering party who have all lost their compasses make feathersticks and share out cocaine* before finding their way round in the dark I reckon you are totally sorted.

*Knives and razorblades, might need a mirror to do it on.

I will bow to your obviously greater experience with that style of bushcraft mate!
Cheers , Simon