I'm sick of "lugging around" a heavy EDC bag/Bag of Tricks/Bag of Evil, so my mission for tomorrow is to re-think the contents/accessories to lighten the load.
Current set up.
Platform :
Maxpud Last Resort (Shoulder carried)
Attachments:-
Shoulder strap (with non-slip pad)
2 Tritium Glowrings (1 blue, 1 green on each of strap D-rings
3 Pewter skulls with GITD eyes on zippers
1 Square-knot "fob" on zipper
Morale patches (Jerzee Devil, Usual Suspect & WWJBD)
2 Solar-power LED minilights (1 on each end-pouch strap)
2 lanyarded Fauxtons INSIDE bag (to find "stuff" in the dark)
Paracord-coil lanyard INSIDE bag for keys/whatever
Contents:-
IN END POCKETS
1 Sigg oval bottle in Mug (on top of tupperware container)
1 Sigg oval bottle in insulated cover (on tupperware container)
1 sml Tupperware container w/ "Brew kit" (Tea, coffee)
1 sml Tupperware container w/ well, its Empty actually!!!! (D'oh!)
FILE POCKET
Orikaso plate
*Sawn-off Ti Spork
Velcro-loop covered plastic panel
Large garbage bag
*20ft Paracord & 3 Steel carabiners (sml, med, lge)
Empty 3litre Platypus bladder
Leather/Canvas work gloves
Small FAK in plastic box
Dirty Stop out kit (Overnight toiletries)
*Alpha Innovations Stylus Kubaton
*Gerber Diamond Pen-style sharpening steel
*Empty Tube vault (pop-bottle perform)
Space blanket
Emergency Disposable Poncho
Packet of tissues
MSM Velcro-loop panel (holds items marked *)
MAIN COMPARTMENT
Maxpud divider (holding items marked #)
#Moleskin 4" x 6" notebook
#Handsfree kit for Sony Ericsson P990 in slim plastic box
# 2 ballpoint pens
#Monocular (in Maxpud 3-clip Velcro loop)
#LM Wave in leather pouch (In 3-clip Velcro loop)
#Cybalite Elite 3 C-cell light (In 3-clip Velcro loop)
#EOD Breacher bar in Velcro-backed sheath
#Pull-string (NO battery radio with light & earphones) in pouch
Alpha Innovations Letter Opener (velcroed onto divider)
Panasonic Digital camera in pouch
Sony Ericsson P990 PDA phone in pouch
Rayban round sunglasses in pouch
A-Z Street map of Manchester & surrounding area
LONG FRONT POUCH
Car stereo faceplate & R/control in plastic box
Small plastic box of small snap-lights (fishing lures)
Small roll of Duct tape
Lip salve
1st SMALL FRONT POUCH
Pull-string charger & cable for Sony Ericsson mobile phone
2nd SMALL FRONT POUCH
Innova 24/7 light in pouch
Sparklite kit in orange box with Bic lighter & extra tinderquicks
LARGE FRONT POUCH
SAS Tin in BCB Mini-mess tin
6" Cyalume Snaplight
CCW COMPARTMENT (Contents not shown)
Large Spy capsule containing £50 cash & 1Gb pendrive
Spare car key
Cold Steel Koga SD
As you'll see, I'm carrying a fair old bit of kit, & although I've not weighed the bag, it's accurately described as "flippin' heavy!!".
The heaviest items are the breacher bar, The LM Wave, the 3 C-cell light & the metal waterbottles.
I want to keep the Multi-tool as I use it a lot &, ideally Id like to keep the light as it can serve double-duty as a short baton & is a very versatile Incan/3 LED model.
The breacher bar could be replaced by a home-modified 6" prybar &, as I only tend to fill ONE of the Sigg flasks (I drink lots of water at work & re-fill the bottle several times a day), I guess I could ditch the empty one.
I have an empty 3 litre bladder that could be filled IF I needed to carry more water, anyway.
I'm considering putting a smaller, slimmer notepad in instead of the moleskin, & maybe put the FAK into a small nylon pouch.
The radio & phone charger are both small & relatively light but could BOTH be replaced by a slightly larger but more versatile wind-up radio that has a solar panel built into it, an LED light & the capability to charge mobile phones, too. I could dump the nylon pouch (or use it for the FAK?) & just velcro the "new" radio straight to the divider.
The SAS tin is already less of a "wilderness survival kit" & more of an urban one, but I guess through some more trimming, I could fit the sparklite kit into the tin & perhaps even integrate the FAK into it.
So, far, I've actually used MOST of the kit in my EDC bag, but must admit that (so far!) I've NEVER used the Sigg mug, brew kit, radio or phone charger.
My ideas so far are:-
Replace the breacher bar with smaller (unsheathed) prybar, held in Velcro loop panel.
Dump one of the Sigg flasks & possibly the Sigg mug, too. (I could always put an aluminium food tray or small Sierra club cup – can anyone get me one, please?- in instead, I DO think that a brew kit is work carrying)
Dump the phone charger (maybe replace with small, light in-car charger?)
RELUCTANTLY replace the 3-C cell light with LED Lenser Police light or Surefire E2D (The Surefire is favourite due to obvious SD applications!) The run-time & bulb life of the Surefire is a downside, but Id just have to carry spares, wouldn't I?
Dump one or two other "bits n bobs" such as 1-2 carabiners, phone hands free kit & the empty Tupperware box, if only to reduce clutter.
Sorry for rambling on, thanks for reading, Whatdya think?
Here's what I'm carrying at present.
Current set up.
Platform :
Maxpud Last Resort (Shoulder carried)
Attachments:-
Shoulder strap (with non-slip pad)
2 Tritium Glowrings (1 blue, 1 green on each of strap D-rings
3 Pewter skulls with GITD eyes on zippers
1 Square-knot "fob" on zipper
Morale patches (Jerzee Devil, Usual Suspect & WWJBD)
2 Solar-power LED minilights (1 on each end-pouch strap)
2 lanyarded Fauxtons INSIDE bag (to find "stuff" in the dark)
Paracord-coil lanyard INSIDE bag for keys/whatever
Contents:-
IN END POCKETS
1 Sigg oval bottle in Mug (on top of tupperware container)
1 Sigg oval bottle in insulated cover (on tupperware container)
1 sml Tupperware container w/ "Brew kit" (Tea, coffee)
1 sml Tupperware container w/ well, its Empty actually!!!! (D'oh!)
FILE POCKET
Orikaso plate
*Sawn-off Ti Spork
Velcro-loop covered plastic panel
Large garbage bag
*20ft Paracord & 3 Steel carabiners (sml, med, lge)
Empty 3litre Platypus bladder
Leather/Canvas work gloves
Small FAK in plastic box
Dirty Stop out kit (Overnight toiletries)
*Alpha Innovations Stylus Kubaton
*Gerber Diamond Pen-style sharpening steel
*Empty Tube vault (pop-bottle perform)
Space blanket
Emergency Disposable Poncho
Packet of tissues
MSM Velcro-loop panel (holds items marked *)
MAIN COMPARTMENT
Maxpud divider (holding items marked #)
#Moleskin 4" x 6" notebook
#Handsfree kit for Sony Ericsson P990 in slim plastic box
# 2 ballpoint pens
#Monocular (in Maxpud 3-clip Velcro loop)
#LM Wave in leather pouch (In 3-clip Velcro loop)
#Cybalite Elite 3 C-cell light (In 3-clip Velcro loop)
#EOD Breacher bar in Velcro-backed sheath
#Pull-string (NO battery radio with light & earphones) in pouch
Alpha Innovations Letter Opener (velcroed onto divider)
Panasonic Digital camera in pouch
Sony Ericsson P990 PDA phone in pouch
Rayban round sunglasses in pouch
A-Z Street map of Manchester & surrounding area
LONG FRONT POUCH
Car stereo faceplate & R/control in plastic box
Small plastic box of small snap-lights (fishing lures)
Small roll of Duct tape
Lip salve
1st SMALL FRONT POUCH
Pull-string charger & cable for Sony Ericsson mobile phone
2nd SMALL FRONT POUCH
Innova 24/7 light in pouch
Sparklite kit in orange box with Bic lighter & extra tinderquicks
LARGE FRONT POUCH
SAS Tin in BCB Mini-mess tin
6" Cyalume Snaplight
CCW COMPARTMENT (Contents not shown)
Large Spy capsule containing £50 cash & 1Gb pendrive
Spare car key
Cold Steel Koga SD
As you'll see, I'm carrying a fair old bit of kit, & although I've not weighed the bag, it's accurately described as "flippin' heavy!!".
The heaviest items are the breacher bar, The LM Wave, the 3 C-cell light & the metal waterbottles.
I want to keep the Multi-tool as I use it a lot &, ideally Id like to keep the light as it can serve double-duty as a short baton & is a very versatile Incan/3 LED model.
The breacher bar could be replaced by a home-modified 6" prybar &, as I only tend to fill ONE of the Sigg flasks (I drink lots of water at work & re-fill the bottle several times a day), I guess I could ditch the empty one.
I have an empty 3 litre bladder that could be filled IF I needed to carry more water, anyway.
I'm considering putting a smaller, slimmer notepad in instead of the moleskin, & maybe put the FAK into a small nylon pouch.
The radio & phone charger are both small & relatively light but could BOTH be replaced by a slightly larger but more versatile wind-up radio that has a solar panel built into it, an LED light & the capability to charge mobile phones, too. I could dump the nylon pouch (or use it for the FAK?) & just velcro the "new" radio straight to the divider.
The SAS tin is already less of a "wilderness survival kit" & more of an urban one, but I guess through some more trimming, I could fit the sparklite kit into the tin & perhaps even integrate the FAK into it.
So, far, I've actually used MOST of the kit in my EDC bag, but must admit that (so far!) I've NEVER used the Sigg mug, brew kit, radio or phone charger.
My ideas so far are:-
Replace the breacher bar with smaller (unsheathed) prybar, held in Velcro loop panel.
Dump one of the Sigg flasks & possibly the Sigg mug, too. (I could always put an aluminium food tray or small Sierra club cup – can anyone get me one, please?- in instead, I DO think that a brew kit is work carrying)
Dump the phone charger (maybe replace with small, light in-car charger?)
RELUCTANTLY replace the 3-C cell light with LED Lenser Police light or Surefire E2D (The Surefire is favourite due to obvious SD applications!) The run-time & bulb life of the Surefire is a downside, but Id just have to carry spares, wouldn't I?
Dump one or two other "bits n bobs" such as 1-2 carabiners, phone hands free kit & the empty Tupperware box, if only to reduce clutter.
Sorry for rambling on, thanks for reading, Whatdya think?
Here's what I'm carrying at present.
