Urban Survival – the Urban/Suburban EDC/Get-Home kit list
This is nowhere near ready, but it’s the 15th anniversary of 9/11/2001, so I’m going to go ahead and post it anyway, with the expectation that it’s going to be revised and added to a LOT in the future.
This has direct bearing on the Escape from Bureaupolis scenario, and the emphasis is on what’s practical to carry every day so that it’s available when the unexpected happens.
I’m a firm believer in versatility. The more detailed the scenario, the more specific you get in trying to predict the future, the more likely you are to be wrong, so I believe in just generally enabling yourself to handle more situations as they come up. Knives, flashlights, and multi-tools are among the most versatile tools there are, and can make you a whole lot harder to kill in a “collateral damage” sense. Insulation, water carrying capacity and the ability to make fire are almost universal needs.
Some very basic, general thoughts about urban, and to a lesser degree suburban and even rural (not wilderness) survival situations:
Just as the big lesson of the 1990s may have been DON’T DRINK THE COOL-AID, In my humble opinion the big lesson from the opening of this century came from the Twin Towers on 9/11: IGNORE THE VOICE ON THE PA SYSTEM OR PHONE TELLING YOU TO GO BACK TO YOUR DESK. When in doubt, BUG OUT. NOW. FAST. Don’t hesitate, don’t wait to see if it’s serious, don’t wait for instructions or for someone else to figure it out, don’t argue, don’t explain, just go. Most (not all) urban survival scenarios are very localized, and even in times when it’s Hell on Earth in one location it may be business-as-usual just a few blocks away. Put real distance between you and the focus of the disturbance as fast as possible, the first few minutes are often critical. It’s easy to make apologies later if you over-reacted. If you didn’t, there may be nobody to apologize to.
In effect, that lesson very fundamentally has much in common with “DON’T DRINK THE KOOL-AID”; Remain skeptical, think for yourself, be ready to leave on very short notice, and leave early while it’s still possible.
Rule #1 for urban survival scenarios is mobility. When in doubt, get out!
When things start to go bad fast, the first people to leave are called “survivors”.
There’s a lot of common-sense precautions that people just forget that can make a huge difference in an emergency. Spare keys kept in various places. Keeping your gas tank at least half full. Unfortunately that means filling it twice as often, but you might be in much better shape when things start going wrong. In the winter, in large parts of the country, having a sleeping bag or two, or blankets, some sort of insulation in the vehicle can make a huge difference in your chances. In other places water is absolutely critical, you can die in just hours outside of cell-phone range. Having water in a vehicle is always a good idea, wherever you are and whatever the season.
Your first survival preparation is your clothing. Don’t dress like an idiot.
I keep a fairly comprehensive small-print PRINTED list of emergency and most-used phone numbers on my person, in case my phone is stolen, damaged, soaked, whatever. Our dependence on smart phones has become a few too many eggs in one basket.
If you need transportation in an emergency, the obvious options are what everyone goes to immediately. It takes a little longer for people to think of rental cars, so they also tend to be available a little longer. I keep the numbers of nearby car-rental places and my account numbers on my printed list. Worth keeping in mind even if you don’t drive personally, you might be with someone who does.
Also, you should have extras of any medications that you take, and if you need them spare glasses or reading glasses, and backups for the spares. They say that Teddy Roosevelt took 25 pairs of glasses up San Juan Hill, he was terrified of being caught in a battle unable to SEE. Doesn’t strike me as unreasonable.
These days, a cell phone, smart phone… the more communications options you have the better. Devices with GPS and built-in compasses are also good, but try never to stake your life on consumer-grade electronics.
In a prolonged situation, you should be as conversant as is feasible with urban and suburban resources and ready to use them. It’s amazing to me how few homeless people really understand this point. Understand the insulation value and limitations of corrugated cardboard, it could easily save your life. Know that you’ll be ten times more comfortable (and likely to survive, in real cold) on wooden pallets than on concrete. Tyvek material used for building-wraps is very good stuff for tarps and groundcloths. Many hotel or motel shower curtains or shower-curtain liners work for groundcloths as well, or a single-person tarp (though some aren’t as water-proof as they seem, and most are only 6 feet square, so be prepared to rig them diagonally). There is one style of hooks for shower curtains that works well with pebbles, acorns or whatever to fasten cord to the corners where there are no grommets or obvious ways to fasten a cord. Large contractor plastic bags and 55-gallon drum liners make good improvised rain ponchos. You can learn to make a number of alcohol stoves from aluminum cans under field conditions that are featherweight, easy to use, very quiet and don’t put off much light (which can be critical) and can burn alcohol from a drug or grocery store (preferably 91% or even 99%), “Heet” brand fuel de-icer from automotive stores (yellow bottle only), grain alcohol (EverClear or Bacardi 151 from a liquor store), or isopropyl or denatured alcohol from hardware stores, home stores, and some drug stores, even marine stove alcohol from boat stores or marinas. You can’t get liquid fuel more flexible than that, and you can make the stoves entirely with materials and tools found in a convenience or drug store. Cans can be turned into hobo stoves. Starting a fire with an empty disposable lighter is a thousand times easier than starting a fire with nothing. The shaft from a cheap disposable “stick” ball-point pen can make coaxing a spark into a real fire much, much easier. Having a silcock key can get you water in urban, suburban and rural circumstances where others have to do without.
Learn these things. No matter how prepared you try to be, you’re never going to have everything you need in an emergenc, but even in the city, in many cases you can substitute knowledge for equipment.
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Many survival “experts” cover urban survival to some degree, but in my humble opinion very few do a decent job of it.
There’s a guy I won’t name, but many with an interest in these subject will probably guess who I’m talking about, who has a TON of Youtube videos out, he covers survival subjects, knives, firearms, etc. Seems like a nice guy, I think I’d like him in person, we have a lot of thoughts in common about preparedness and I’ve learned useful stuff from his videos, but like any human he has some “blind spots”. One of those is that he discounts pretty much anything from the “primitive” side of the survival schools of thought, even when they are still useful and relevant skills. Another, the blind spot that comes to mind now, is his one-and-only (as far as I know as of this writing) Urban Survival video. It’s simply nowhere near the quality that he usually produces, as though he was just told repeatedly that he needed to do one and finally spent an hour thinking about it. Some of us call it his “crowbars and candy-bars” video, and that’s almost literal, he pulls a big pack out in front of the camera and just keeps pulling out big heavy crowbars and, candy bars. Literally, just normal consumer-grade chocolate candy bars that melt in the heat and often sour on your stomach when you’re working hard. And knives. Hell, I’m a knife freak myself, but I think this guy pulled out SIX knives. In his other videos he keeps going on and on about how important it is to him that a knife be lightweight.
OF COURSE THEY WEIGH TOO MUCH. YOU’RE CARRYING SIX OF THEM.
At the same time he omits entirely several categories that seem just by common sense to be essential.
Let’s see if we can do a little better than that, just using forethought, common sense and some practical experience.
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Not in any order, yet, and there is no attempt here to organize these into a single feasible kit, these are just candidate items:
A bag to contain it in: So much here depends on your circumstances. I’d advise to assemble the gear you want to carry, then remove the heaviest 20% to 30% of the articles, then get a bag that will carry that gear. I’d advise against buying the bag first and then filling it- you often end up with something too small, and initially there’s a temptation to fill it with items that aren’t critical just to fill it.
For urban and suburban environments I very much prefer “sling” packs, packs that rest against your back but have a single padded strap the runs over one shoulder and diagonally across your chest. This means that the pack can be rotated to your front without removing it, either to get at the contents while you’re on the move, or to be able to sit in buses, trains, whatever without taking it off. If you stand up and leave as quickly as you can, your pack will still be on you. More about all that here.
Obviously you need a pack that is versatile, since you have no idea how you might be traveling. Obviously you need one that is sturdy and reliable. Obviously it is a great advantage to be able to locate and access what you need quickly and without unpacking it. This is not an area to scrimp, everything may depend on it.
There also a non-obvious aspect I’d like to touch on here. If you’re carrying a pack you have a socially-acceptable way to carry things concealed, and that can be critical. Even just for the things that you might need to scavenge or improvise along the way, having them in a pack and out of view is vastly preferable, in populated areas, to having them in improvised containers, say scavenged bags or a grocery cart. In the former case you may be regarded as an eccentric or perhaps a tourist or traveler, but you’re likely to be given the benefit of the doubt. In the latter case you’re very likely to be regarded as homeless, a bum, or even a threat. You may very well need to scavenge and improvise resources, but there are good reasons not to scavenge or improvise what you carry them in.
What I’m calling tubedannas: One or more should be on your person at all times outside of your home, any time, any where. Seriously. Aside from survival considerations, they tend to be constantly useful.
Toilet Paper: Everyone has to go, and if you’re on the move you may not have a lot of choices. Even in normal, non-survival scenarios this can “save the day” from time to time, if there’s no paper in the stall. In a survival scenario you might be using whatever facilities are available in any conditions- or, I hate to mention, no facilities at all. What are you going to use, your bandanna? Your map? Seriously? Suddenly you’re confronting a whole new dimension of “two is one, one is none”.
For most of us, a travel/pocket sized pack of facial tissues is fine. Yes, I know that Colin Fletcher points out, rightly, that these can “explode” in a high wind, leaving you with nothing in an instant, but this is the urban/suburban kit. If there’s a chance you might be taking a dump while exposed to high winds on a bald ridge or crag out West somewhere, take a roll instead. For the rest of us, the simple small pack of folded tissues works pretty well.
An alternative may be a packet of wet wipes or baby wipes, which have other uses for sanitation as well, but are a lot heavier and bulkier and have a limited shelf life.
You do need to carry something. The need will occur, sooner or later, no matter what your circumstances, it’s silly not to anticipate it.
UPDATE: Forget the toilet paper. It took me a while, but I finally picked up on the trend of using those tablet-sized compressed cellulose “towels” that expand when moistened as toilet paper. This makes all sorts of sense, they are biodegradable, disposable, burnable, sturdy as TP alternatives go, compact, lightweight, you have to be carrying water anyway, the fact that they’re moist really helps with long-term or outdoor hygiene, and although they’re a neat innovation they’re not really good for much else. Maybe tinder. There’s a good video on this here that includes product links. This is not just great for life-threatening emergencies, ,but great for the “emergencies” of every-day life. You never know what you’re going to find, or not find, in a public restroom, and at the time of this writing the toilet paper in most federal government building restrooms is notoriously toxic, causing irritation to most people who use it (bureaucracy, I’m sure the government got a “deal” because nobody else would buy the stuff). It might even be worth finding a way to have a couple of these handy for every-day carry in the city.
The original (“Pro”) U-Dig-It folding stainless steel shovel/trowel: When you have to go, you have to go, emergency conditions are by definition improvised, and you do NOT want to be using any decent knife for digging. Not just for cat-holes, but for clearing dead underbrush for safety with fires or stoves, metal detecting, finding empty brass and unspent rounds on the firing range and dozens of other uses, most of which won’t occur to you unless it’s handy. This is THE tool if its type, there are now lots of imitators but none that I’ve seen, including the same brand’s made-in-China version, comes close to this. I used to carry plastic trowels when backpacking- maybe they work as well in the desert or someplace, but in the East the soil is generally living, tough stuff, packed very dense and full of roots and stones, and those cheap plastic trowels are dull after a just few uses and just get harder and harder to dig with. I learned to mostly use downed, half-buried, completely-rotten, moist and crumbling tree trunks for cat holes in the woods, but this tool works well enough that you don’t have to. It’s not the lightest weight or cheapest option, but it just works better. Curiously, This seems to be one of those VERY unusual items that Amazon refuses to compete on, but the “Pro” version can still be found for under $15.
UPDATE: I’ve recently become aware of more lightweight metal options on the market, “The Deuce of Spades” from www.thetentlab.com and “The Tark Trowels” from Sulak 46. I’m torn… right at the moment the titanium version of the Tark would cost me just about $40. In many ways titanium is the right material for this job, for strength, hardness, and it’s ability be made thinner for the required strength., if I were planning for long backpacking trips I’d go with it in a second… but for a bug-out bag we’re talking something that’s going to be carried a lot, but used, hopefully, never. It’s hard to justify double the price for close to no weight reduction. Mutter. I will try to update this further as I learn more.
A small, very basic, lightweight, sturdy compass: Perhaps surprisingly, I have much more often needed a small basic compass in the city than in the woods. You don’t need much of a compass, just cardinal points to get oriented quickly when coming from inside buildings or underground. Some people never need one, but you may not have the luxury to wander around reading street signs to get oriented. In the wilderness I can generally see the sky, which helps a great deal, but I still want a much better sighting compass for map-and-compass work and at least one backup, but for urban use the tiny ones are plenty. I’ve even found it very useful on a cruise ship (all the corridors and decks below look the same, whether facing fore or aft), where, on a giant steel hull in salt water, I was surprised that they worked at all.
Local Maps: I carry a couple of maps. You might not need them if you know the city well and aren’t going far, but I like to be able to figure out alternative routes, refresh my memory as to landmarks and judge my progress on the fly, and, however small the possibility… your initial destination might be gone, or in the middle of whatever is going on. The more alternative routes you can inform yourself of the better.
Water Container(s): Water is critical. This is a big subject, and another decision that varies a lot depending on your circumstances. For instance, for a really long haul it could be worthwhile to have a metal water container that’s feasible to use for boiling, to sterilize contaminated water. On the one had that doesn’t seem like much of a short-term concern, on the other had some big cities are already having serious trouble keeping the tap water safe even without an emergency… and, of course, you may have to face metal detectors, and they don’t much care for bit stainless-steel containers that are opaque to their x-ray machines.
I have a 32-ounce Nalgene (Guyot) stainless bottle that works well for boiling, but I’ve carried it very little- it’s heavy. I tend to have one bottle for every-day use, most often a typical lightweight plastic water bottle often lightweight, and one bladder-type container, usually a pack hydration bladder. It “flies beneath the radar” nicely and doesn’t weigh a lot. I also own and like Platypus flexible water containers, they collapse pretty flat and have been completely reliable so far. There are whole new generations of “smartbottles” (more then one definition of that term exists) that are durable, flexible, lightweight and integrate with filter systems.
Aquarium tubing. Don’t leave home without it. Probably more useful in the woods, but it weighs very little and has some critical uses.
Umbrella: (yes, seriously)
Cash: CASH IS KING in most urban emergency scenarios and is easily one of the most versatile resources. Friends in states that often deal with hurricane aftermaths tell me that the real shortage is SMALL bills. Businesses try to stay open but quit taking plastic AND quit offering change pretty quickly. If you have a dollar you can get a doughnut for a dollar. If all you have is a twenty, that’s effectively what that doughnut costs, sorry. Maybe one or two large bills for large situations. I once convinced a cab driver to wait for me by tearing a 100 dollar bill in two and handing him half.
Public-Transit fare cards, tokens: Whatever’s needed for however it works where you are. Even if you can buy them on the spot, you don’t want to have to take the time.
Duck/Duct/Gorilla tape. Essential.
Portable door lock: I’m going to do a write-up on this as a subject of its own. Eventually you have to sleep somewhere. If you’re lucky enough that it’s indoors, it may very well be in improvised circumstances, and you do NOT want it to be possible for others to join you un-announced while you sleep, whatever they have in mind. See also “knife”. I never sleep without one in reach.
Bivvy sack/blanket: For some years, when I wasn’t facing metal detectors and x-ray machines, I had an Adventure Medical Kits SOL (“Survive Outdoors Longer”) Escape Bivvy in the pack I commuted with. It’s about the most you can carry in a large day-pack for this sort of use. Unfortunately, it works largely by being aluminized and thus reflecting body heat, and that means that it really lights up an x-ray machine, so it wasn’t an option for years after that. I wish there were better solutions, but everything is a compromise between bulk, weight and utility, and if your kit gets to large and heavy you’re going to leave it behind in more and more circumstances and end up with nothing someday.
I wasn’t counting on it to keep me snug and warm sleeping outside, I know better, but figured it was a lot better than nothing for sleeping in improvised conditions even indoors, and outdoors, well.. at least it significantly improves your chances of living to see the dawn.
This sort of bivvy sack is a judgement call; it is more efficient in retaining heat than a “blanket” made of the same fabric, but only while sleeping, it’s not an easy thing to wrap around you in the morning cold, and that’s a real downside. Also, if I were in the West or in the mountains I’d take the blanket in a heartbeat for its ability to be rigged as a sunshade, and possibly a very small tarp in the rain.
In winter I do keep a down sleeping bag in my vehicle, along with a parka and boots and the stuff that’s in there year-round.
Flashlight: Another tool that is MUCH more critical in the city than in the wilderness. When you’re truly “out there” it’s a rare night when you can’t see pretty well outside, once your eyes adjust, and a flashlight seldom helps. Mostly they just keep you night-blind. When I’m far away from artificial light at night I usually use a flashlight only for searching in a tent or pack for something.
In urban and suburban environments they are constantly useful and sometimes critical. I won’t go into a subway system without one, and try to have two. Here’s one of my most intimate every-day carry (EDC) items, but I’ll probably write about others as well. One of my favorites to supplement the one I wear is a Fenix HL50 headlamp. I like flashlights for quick and easy use, but headlamps leave both hands free.
Lighter: This is one with far, far fewer applications in the city and suburbs than the wilderness, but being able to make fire is still a very worthwhile capability to have, and there’s no downside. I think that a FULL (not every-day use, for you smokers, that may be almost empty at any time) quality disposable lighter is fine for this sort of kit. This can make it a lot more robust.
“Pocket bellows:”: When I first ran across an early version of this it struck me as a silly gimmick. It took watching Youtube videos of it in action to convince me to give it a try.
I was wrong. This makes using and living with wood fires immensely easier under good conditions, and what makes a task easier under good conditions may be what makes it possible under really bad conditions. It weighs less than an ounce, is short enough to fit lengthwise in Altoids tin, costs less than $12 and is hugely worth it.
Knife: Edged weapons/tools were the first created and used by us, the tool-carrying species. Unfortunately, this is an area where the law and government are heavily involved, so you can only do what you can. I’ll be writing much more about this elsewhere, I expect to link to it from here.
Multi-tool: I consider one essential in urban/suburban areas. There are dozens of good ones,volumes could be written about them, but indulge your preferences, just stick to non-gimmicky and high-quality. Having pliers, screwdrivers etc. can be a huge asset in the city. Most also give you a less-alarming knife if you need to use one as a tool in meek company or near authorities. HOWEVER, as with knives, there are legal problems in many urban locations. This is a not-very-well-known option that may be the only full-sized multi-tool that is legal to carry in many urban areas.
Consider carrying a cane or walking stick: I know, I know, you have objections. You don’t need one and don’t want others to think you do. I had those objections too, until I got old enough that nobody gives me a second glance for having one anymore. What I found out is that apparently your right to carry a cane (as a “)medical device” pretty much anywhere, including on airplanes, in government buildings is not only explicitly protected by law, but you are protected against being questioned about why you need it (as always, don’t volunteer anything). This seems to apply to any stick that’s short enough to carry, long enough to reach from your hand to the ground, and does not incorporate overt weapons like hidden swords, daggers or blowguns. So, you may not legally be able to carry much of anything for your own defense, but you can carry a big stick, and if you’re not a jerk about it, nobody will even notice. A big stick is not nothing. It’s potential for saving your life is limited mostly by how much you’re willing to learn and practice.
They have other uses beyond the obvious. It’s a whole lot better than nothing when confronting uncontrolled dogs or wildlife (snakes are a reasonable concern in many areas, and even if you’re not in one of those, a friend was once attacked in the open by an apparently rabid squirrel. What do you have that would help?)
They’re also good hundreds of unexpected things, probing areas that are difficult to see, checking the ground in front of you in the dark, and for keeping a tarp off of your head to create a mini-shelter.
So… I currently run miles a few times a week. Do I need a cane?
Yes, yes I do. Now I’m sorry I waited so long.
Sewing kit (with threader): Nothing too elaborate, strong light thread and strong heavy thread wound around a cut-off piece of credit card, a few needles, a needle threader saves time, some safety pins. Having a kit can all turn several kinds of large problems into inconveniences. I had a a strap pull loose off of a newly-purchased “hiking” sandal once, miles from the car. Not too many options in the deep woods, having a needle and thread kept me from having to do the whole distance barefoot.
P-38 can opener: Okay, there are fewer cans that need an opener than ever before, I get that- but they’re still out there, especially in restaurant kitchens, and despite Youtube tricks of rubbing them on concrete anything but a specialized tool is a pain. Using a knife is dangerous and often damaging to the knife.
These things are tiny, weigh almost nothing, they’re cheap, they work, and the real ones are very sturdy. They were created for the military in the age when their rations came in STEEL cans, not flimsy aluminum, and the genuine ones are heat treated steel and can handle that. The P-38 also makes a fine striker for a ferrocerium rod, so there’s little reason to carry a striker that won’t open a can. I carry one with my keys, with perhaps a quarter-inch of heat-shrink tubing (not shrunk) to keep it closed, keep it sharp and protect other things from the point. Take some caution, there are cheap and inferior imported copies out there, though most often they copy the larger P-51, which I don’t like as much.
Work Gloves: I have three pairs of the “Original” model of Mechanix (brand) gloves in different packs, I think that highly of them, and they’re cheap. They’re not the most indestructible gloves out there, but the problem with most work gloves is that you’re constantly having to take them off or put them back on depending on the task at hand. You can just leave Mechanix gloves on for 90% of what you need to do.
Mask & goggles: You may be just blocks from safety, but you need to SEE and BREATHE to make it those blocks. Nothing bulky or elaborate, I carry one or two disposable, flat N-95 medical masks. They’re a whole lot better than nothing, and I hope never to need them for long. For dust, at least, you can consider a buff as an alternative.
It took a long time to find a deal, but I picked up some pairs of Smith Optics “Outside the Wire” ballistic goggles on sale for a small fraction of their normal price, less than $16/ pair with both tinted and clear lenses. Probably drastic over-kill for my needs, and a bit bulky, but I can’t imagine a better solution for near that price.
Nitrile gloves: These are useful, give some protection, weigh almost nothing, take up almost no space, and are very cheap. I get the black ones from Harbor Freight, they’re big enough and don’t stand out in the city like a beacon the way the bright blue ones do. Note that you can stretch them over Mechanix gloves (maybe not easily) for use in the cold and wet, or use them as a vapor barrier under work gloves for more warmth in very cold temperatures.
A pen-sized dispenser of WD-40: Many uses in an urban environment to protect and lubricate. It is a jack-of-all-trades formula and may not be optimum for many specific uses, but always a lot better than nothing.
The silcock key is so essential in so many scenarios that it gets its own page. You need one. Probably more.
Credit cards: Especially in a prolonged emergency, the cash that you’d risk carrying may not be enough. In urban and suburban environments money just solves problems, if you can get at it.
Shoes: If your job requires dress shoes, you’re going to need something else. There are several minimalist running shoes now that will do for walking, they are incredibly lightweight, but still, unfortunately, bulky to pack.
You might consider what I did for some time at a couple of places where I worked; I kept one and sometimes two pair of dress shoes in a desk drawer, commuted in lightweight running shoes, and bought a nylon draw-string bag big enough to easily hold the pair and used one of those little fake carabiner clips left over from something- I think a water bottle. When I got to work took off the running shoes, put them in the bag AND clipped them to the pack, and put on the dress shoes. Just reverse in the evening. That way if I had to bug out in a hurry during the dayI could just grab the pack and go, not having to take time either to change shoes, pack them somehow, or even grab more than one item.
Prepare so that you can go NOW, deal with details later.
I’ve done the same, without the bag or attachment to the pack, with motorcycle boots used for the commute, wearing “dress” (near-useless) shoes during the day that stay at work.
The excellent USMC “Beanie”/watch cap gets its own page.
Poncho, rain gear: As I’ve said in connection with the umbrella, emergencies don’t always happen in good weather. In much of the country for much of the year if you get soaked you’re courting hypothermia, especially if you’re soaked when you have to rest. Most of survival for the first weeks turns out to be about thermodynamics, one way or the other. I have a silicone-nylon poncho that I often carry, in addition to the umbrella in the city.
Radio: Just a small, light FM or AM/FM, with earphone or earphones helps.
I was on the streets of an unfamiliar city during riots, which at one point encompassed my hotel. I had to guess where the rioters were going by watching the helicopters circling overhead. Hard to forget. I currently carry a Kaito KA200 Pocket AM/FM Radio, which is usable with the speaker (if you want to share information) or earphones (if you don’t want anyone to hear you), is very lightweight, simple, and so cheap as to be practically disposable.
Some seemingly extreme options:
Bolt cutters: Something like THIS:
Yes, they’re a bit expensive. Easier to find, and to find discounts on, than they used to be, though. IMHO Knipex is in a class by themselves in this category. The use of compound leverage combined with very hight quality steels and very high quality heat-treating has created cutters that go through steel like no other. I’ve used other bolt cutters, but most have to be huge for this cutting power.
Why carry these? Because if you find yourself unexpectedly on foot, trying to traverse urban or suburban areas with your life depending on it (which is, let’s face it, our scenario here), you’d be amazed how often chain link fences become a problem. I’ve experienced that myself. I’ve never resorted to cutting a hole in one, and I’ve never had the proper tool when the need arose, but I learned from the experience. Clambering over a chain-link fence can be tricky, dangerous and slow under the best of conditions, even if you’re physically fit. If you’re not up to it, and don’t have the capability to cut it, you may be facing a very long and dangerous trek to get around it.
In urban areas chain link fences usually fence off something desirable, which may mean resources that you need to survive. In the suburbs they seem to magically appear to keep pedestrian traffic away from shopping areas where they want to attract cars, and not so much anyone who can’t afford a car. Those are the best-case scenarios. In a far worse situation, you may find yourself kept IN by the stuff. If you are alone when capture you’ll probably be immediately divested of anything useful, but sometimes if there are several people they need to contain them first, and there MAY be an opportunity if you move fast, before they’re expecting it, and can get through a chain-link fence before they know it’s happened.
Some basic thoughts to keep in mind: Chain link fences around property often mean that there are dogs. You wan to be very sure. Even in really bad times you don’t want people to see you cutting it, so check carefully for functioning cameras and line-of-sight. Very often in a survival situation you’ll want to make it as hard as possible to spot where it’s been cut, especially if you’re being pursued, are planning on returning the same way, or especially if you’re counting on the cut for your exit, so think that out before you start. You might be able to make a vertical cut from the bottom up right at a post, and maybe even use a length of wire or cord to tie the fence together so that it can’t be spotted from a distance.
A concrete demolition hammer: This seems borderline insane for someone who really values light weight in gear, but… one extreme option I’ve never carried but often have in the vehicle is a “bunny hammer” I have the “Jackson Pulverizer“;
Concrete? Seriously? Apparently so, there are Youtube videos of it going though cinderblock like nothing, anyway.
It’s just under 3.5 lb and 13” long, so about one-hand sledge or forging hammer specs. Three and a half pounds doesn’t sound like all that much, and it’s probably not around a construction site, but it’s WAY too much for an EDC pack. Like a brick… how long are you seriously going to carry a brick into work every day? For a true “bug out bag”, though, or a vehicle, this makes all kinds of sense. In a fantasy “I am Legend” scenario, there’s pretty much no building or vehicle in the endless suburbs that you couldn’t get either out of or into with this thing. Never having to worry about not having an exit might be worth the weight in special circumstances, or certainly when kusing motorized transport.
As promising as it is, though, in rural or wilderness I’d much rather have a hatchet. The Gransfors-Bruks Wildlife hatchet is the best I’ve ever owned, but I have several others.
Suggestions welcome! Please leave comments.