[TaintRight]

If Darlene drops me off on the side of a country road somewhere with nothing but my BOB, and heads to the nearest shopping mall with our MasterCard, I figure I have created a real live disaster scenario.

[JMJKD]

I think that is an awesome idea. Bring all your luxury gear with you just keep it aside. Tell someone where you will be and what time you will be returning. Make sure you have cell service and just check in once a day at your set time.

if it’s your first time play it safe. You can still test your skills but if something would to happen you are not that alone.
Just my .02.

Testing yourself what a great idea.....

[crimsoneagle2000]

Here in South Florida, shorts and tee shirt is camo. 'Realtree' spells dangerous nut to most of my neighbors that believe hunting is what you do when you need to find the car keys.

[Roadracer]

Be a Cameleon

Originally Posted by alex

Some things to consider in case of a natural disaster, martial law or war.

DON'T WEAR CAMOUFLAGE CLOTHING. Dress and act as neutral as possible and you will avoid the risk of people mistaking you for a soldier or government employee. The fewer prejudices might fit you, the better. Avoid those marine corps boots no matter how good they are or even that Rolling Stones t-shirt no matter how much you love that band. Whatever you could stand for might piss off people you can't afford to piss off then. So don't stand for anything. Be neutral. Be a ghost. Or like Bruce Lee said: Be water.

AVOID TYPICAL SURVIVAL/MILITARY GEAR. You think that Fallkniven knife or Maxpedition bag is the way to go? Think twice. The sheeple won't know the difference, but for those somewhat prepared (incl. the police, soldiers and other survivalists) you almost advertise yourself as a survivalist, soldier or at least a somewhat better prepared person. You might lose your gear or be arrested sooner than you think. Using good but unknown stuff is the way to go. Your uncle's old hunting knife or that worn non-LED Maglite that never failed you might actually be a lot more useful that the lastest fashion and high end gear we all gotten so used to. Also overthink personal preferences in favour of discretion. The less attractive your gear looks, the less attractive YOU will be for anyone else.

DON'T SHOW YOUR GEAR. That beautiful leather sheath might look nice and come handy now but it might cost your life in a real disaster zone, no matter what is in that sheath. A sheath means you have something worth protecting, something you don't want to lose. And that's almost always something someone else would want, especially in a disaster situation. Put a knife in your pocket, your (civil!) boots or wear one around your neck under the shirt. When you are walking through a dangerous area, keep one hand around the knife in your pocket. If you carry a survival kit make it fit into your pants or at least into a small housewife/tourist-looking pouch/hipbag.

I once wrote more of these but my english is a little rusty so please excuse the lousy translation. If you are intrested I can share some more later.

I'd also be intrested in your advice for discret urban survival, so post yours here too!!

btw I'm new to this board, hi everyone!

[NHCraigT]

Originally Posted by alex

Some things to consider in case of a natural disaster, martial law or war.

DON'T WEAR CAMOUFLAGE CLOTHING. Dress and act as neutral as possible and you will avoid the risk of people mistaking you for a soldier or government employee. The fewer prejudices might fit you, the better.
....btw I'm new to this board, hi everyone!

I understand the point being made, but realize that some areas are not the same as others.

In my region/ my neighborhood, especially during hunting season, camo is worn A LOT, by everyone.

I'm talking: You can walk into a local Walmart, Grocery Store, Gas Stop, Convenience Store, etc....and 5 out of 10 people are wearing camo/hunting/ or shooting clothing (Hats, shirts, coats, pants, boots, whole outfits, etc).

No one even takes a second look at that = in my parts.


Wear camo around here = and you're more likely to fit in.
_________________________________________________
Hoarding, as a human behavior, may be a response to perceived or predicted shortages of specific goods, or …..a compulsive abnormal behavior.

[TaintRight]

Where I stay at if you appear in public and are not wearing camouflage pants and an "American Wild Turkey Federation" T-shirt, somebody is apt to call 911 on you.

[areth]

In my town, we really don't care how people dress... we just don't like people who think they're better than us (and in my case those who think all heavy metal is crap, emo, about satan, etc., mostly because I'm a complete metal-head/headbanger) or insult us.

As for discrete... put stuff in the bed of your pickup and people won't question it.

[endtimeinmytime]

I don't think there is a wrong or right way to dress, in times of calamity. We are who we are. Some dress to impress, some wear black in regress. Some dress in their favorite sport, some wear baggy shorts. Some dress to be rude, some run around in the nude.

Please excuse the Dr. Zeus style montage.

Where I live and work, the DHS has a security measure that tells the sheeple what to look for, in a person, when it comes to possible security breaches.
They tell us to look for well dressed people, as they also tell us to look for the slovenly dressed, because danger can come from anyone-no matter how he/she is dressed.
For myself, the same goes for a "getting out while the gettings good" situation. It doesn't matter how one dresses, so long as those whom take notice of you, every day, don't also take notice of one's strange dress measures. For as Hannibal conveyed to Clarice, "We covet what we see every day."
--Modification may be what sets you apart and draws the attention which is not desired. JMO

[mscureman]

Originally Posted by TaintRight

If Darlene drops me off on the side of a country road somewhere with nothing but my BOB, and heads to the nearest shopping mall with our MasterCard, I figure I have created a real live disaster scenario.

You crack me up, Taint.

To the point, though, I think testing yourself and your gear is a great idea. If it were me, I'd have to do it in baby steps. You know, first time out, maybe drive my truck with all my crap in it and just see what pieces of my gear are the most/least useful and which are just "what the heck was I thinking when I bought that?!?" Do that a time or two until I felt that I had a pretty good handle on what I had and what I needed to provided for myself. Next trip I'd remove the safety net of the truck and get dropped of. I like JMJKD's suggestion of a daily cell phone check-in. Then go for longer periods of time and try to find ways to bring less stuff with you. Just keep honing and practicing. Then try different locations/conditions. Different seasons, different weather conditions...sounds kinda fun, actually.

[TaintRight]

I agree maybe that's the thing to do. Baby steps.

I've added a few molle pouches to my bag as I've gone along. Every time I have done it, I have rearranged my stuff. In the process I have weeded out a lot of gear that made sense when I put it in, but the logic later escaped me. I took a lot out. I also discovered a few duplicates. In fact I put together a miniBOB for Darlene from the extra stuff I had.

By the way, I dialed into You Tube yesterday. Looked at a few videos of people putting together Altoid kits and a few 72 hr BOB. One kid started off with a neat Leatherman Wave. And in the very next breath pulled out a box of metric wrenches and sockets. Yes the tool box was small and compact, but of no survival value unless he came across an abandoned BMW in the woods and needed to tune it up and change the oil before driving it out to safety. My point? Why carry a can opener or screw driver set if the Leatherman or Swiss Army knife already has them?

Another problem people seemed to have was volume. One kid had included entire spools of white, black, navy and red thread in his sewing kit. I bet he had 12 needles too. For emergencies I would think "a length" of thread of any color and a couple of needles would do fine. Same with fishing line and hooks. Why carry enough line to respool a deep sea reel?

At least for me, cutting out this kind of extra stuff has been a struggle.