Before anyone gets the wrong idea I am one of those peoples who’s mantra is “I would rather have it and not need it than the other way around”.
In that vein I daily a backpack that has thousands of dollars in tools, electronics and survival stuff in it at all times. I’m talking I could survive a complete collapse of society for quite some time with what I keep in that bag every day kinda deal.
The one thing that concerns me is the bag getting grabbed one day. I could replace everything in there but I would prefer to avoid spending all that money and time setting it all up again. I keep it with me as much as I reasonably can, but obviously I can’t take it with me into places like concerts or events. During those times I have it stashed in a hidden compartment in my trunk so it’s unlikely it would get taken in a smash and grab, but I would feel much better if I was able to keep track of the bags location at all times.
It seems like the small gps tracker market is basically small tags like the tile or air tag and then it immediately jumps to like thousands of dollars and subscriptions.
I am aware that this mythical tracker might not exist at all, but if anyone would know of one it’s you nerds (I call yall nerds lovingly).
Trauma kit number 1. Always. Hard to survive if you bleed out from a survivable accident.
Space blankets are legit magic. They should be given out more often. They can very easily save peoples lives.
Traditionally I carried water proof matches in a little canister but the electric “windproof” plasma lighter lasts a long time on one charge (like several months of constant use in my testing). Plus the solar charging bank can refill it almost instantly. I also extensive experience starting fires without any tools or assists so if I absolutely have to I can just do that. It’s mostly just a lightweight convenience.
The wax soaking means if everything is wet I can better use a small frayed chunk of it to start a fire if nothing else is dry enough to easily start.
Yeah the bag is bulky and heavy, but I work an office job so it pretty much just rides along with me in my car to and from location most of the time. The bag I use is capable of expanding and holding enough clothing for me to reasonably hike or take most trips. Plus it’s always funny when people pick it up and are surprised I carry all that shit about every day. But they never complain when I am able to fix of solve their problems because I’m basically a portable work bench.
Yeah, I have a few of those plasma lighters around the house, and I’m amazed that they hold a charge for as long as they do, and run for as long. I’ve legit picked up a lighter I’d found in a drawer I know I hadn’t touched in 4 years, and it still arced.
That said, I’ve also had one that just… stopped working one day. Wouldn’t charge, wouldn’t arc; probably just shorted out in there, or the battery took a crap. That’s the thing: they’re amazing, but I just would trust one in a survival situation. I also worry about water. On the other hand, they’re not the biggest thing in your pack, and as long as you have a striker for back up, why not? Maybe I’ll throw one in there. I just try to minimize the electronics in my bag.
The wax soaking is a clever idea. I have a single stick of fatwood I’d shave off; it’s what I take and use backpacking. But paracord itself is incredibly useful stuff.
Mine’s more of a bug-out bag. I don’t carry out with me, I’m not a prepper, and I have a wife so I’m not going to go running off. It’s just a prepared bag so we’re not running around the house gathering stuff if a tornado takes the house down or something.
Your concerns about the lighter are valid. I probably should throw in something that is mechanical or chemical based just as a double super emergency backup.
Burning the Paracord would be pretty much a final hail mary for starting a fire if I absolutely needed one right away and I couldn’t get anything else to light. It’s obviously much more useful as a rope than anything else. Just a little extra assurance and it doesn’t remove any functionality from the Paracord so why not.
Yeah I just realized one day that if the bag is at home under my bed and the entire West coast loses power and turns into anarchy overnight I might not be able to get to my bag and at that point I would just be furious that I didn’t have it with me. I guess I could just leave it in my car as there are very few situations where I am terribly far from my personal vehicle, but even then. You never know when you’ll need the tools or the trauma kit. It hasn’t happened yet, but if someone does get injured to the point that my tourniquet is the difference between them surviving or not I’ll happily lug around the bag for the rest of time in the off-chance it saves someone’s life one day.