"If the Big Quake comes, it won't be much more than digital compass and flashlight, but as long as the network stays up, it is a 6oz toolbox."

I'm not sure if you're familiar with Gaia GPS ap for the iPhone or not. If so then please disregard. I recently downloaded it and so far I've been pretty impressed. I went snowshoeing this weekend and was hoping to put it through its paces but unfortunately I wasn't completely outside of cell phone coverage.

With just one bar and some tree coverage, it plotted my location and elevation almost instantaneously. Supposedly it will work with no cell phone tower coverage at all. I'm not really into GPSs so this is a good fit for me investment-wise. I'm going to use it on the Wonderland Trail this summer for a week w/o recharging to see how much I life I can milk out of this phone in airplane mode.

My iPhone is:

GPS/altimeter
Backup compass/inclinometer
E-reader
Journal (use voice memos)
I email maps to myself and save them as photos (backup)
Alarm Clock for when I want to hit the trail by sunrise/never found a watch that will wake me up
Camera
It's waterproof in its lifeproof case

I don't rely on it but it's a nice tool and backup for other gear.

>"Though a BPL utility belt in cuben fiber might be an interesting project (one step down from the "fanny" pack)."

Thank you for calling it a step down :D

I always have to laugh when I see Fanny pack mentioned as back home it means something else.

I hope you mean Great Britain, because then, I know exactly what you mean.

All sorts of linguistic differences to trip us up and/or give a wry smile. I'll never forget the first time I heard an American guy talk about his suspenders ... made of eelskin. Fresh off the boat, my reaction was "That must chafe, Mr. Cross Dresser."

On the flip side, I very quickly learned not to ask to borrow someone's rubber...

Edited by lotuseater on 02/25/2013 08:45:16 MST.

I mean Ireland but it has same meaning in the UK.

Edited by stephenm on 02/25/2013 09:00:54 MST.

Well one thing we can all agree on is that owning, wearing, using, condoning a fanny pack under any name or circumstance communicates to the world that the wearer is not interested in meeting a woman at any time in the near future.

FWIW I have some Darth Vader T-shirts and parachute pants if you want to round out your wardrobe.

EDIT I kid because I care.

Edited by IDBLOOM on 02/25/2013 09:22:14 MST.

almost always a light, knife, wallet and phone

Ian,

I embrace your comment as fact. Excuse me while I put on my neon sunglasses, as shown in my EDC list, and proceed to keep on doin' things the way I've done them for years. :D



Aww yeah!
-Max

All joking aside that is a nice set up. I'm looking at something a little different which is a Zpacks Multi Pack slightly modified for fishing like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwU3ZIC04po

My gear is pretty bland so I'm going to order a pair of the most obnoxious Dirty Girls I can find to keep everyone on their toes.

Yeah, I'm with Mike. Wallet, iPhone, small Gerber folding knife, small LED flashlight in my pockets. The important stuff goes in my "man bag" -- a couple of cameras, various lenses, Macbook Air, all the little accessories. Sometimes called a "camera bag," I suppose. Hey, gotta make a living.

"How does nobody carry a bottle opener? If you are going to be prepared for anything, it might as well include beer."

http://lifehacker.com/243642/video-demonstration--open-a-beer-bottle-with-a-piece-of-paper

I had to use this technique once, well "had to" is maybe strong language... I used this technique once to try to impress a friend when we were having a hell of a time figuring out what to open our beers with.

We later realized they were twist off.

"We later realized they were twist off."

When did you finally realize the condoms weren't?

Any hard edge will do-- hook the cap on the edge and give top a good pop with your palm. Not good for furniture.

But who drinks bottled beer in the city or hiking? Tap in town and cans away from home.

I saw a mention of using the plate on a hotel room door security lock. Genius that..... or desperation :)

But this is all what Swiss Army knives are about. You get the bottle opener and the can opener too, not to mention a corkscrew. If it really hits the fan, I want an SAK or my Leatherman Wave.

A can opener is a great urban survival tool. A week after the Big Quake comes, you will be getting good at opening chili cans.

Since Christchurch had our Big Quake, I have amended my EDC to include cash. When the power goes down, the only means of procuring goods is by cash or barter (plus the kindness of strangers and the likes of the Red Cross). I also learned that a cell phone is pretty useless in this situation for communication, as a) the lines are over-loaded, and b) the back-up power on cell towers is only a couple of hours. A landline or sat phone (ham radio/walkie talkie??) are the only things that can keep you in contact with the outside world in such a case. And trust me, being able to contact friends and family who are far away is important. You can hardly imagine how much they fret when they hear a disaster has struck your area and they don't hear from you for days.

Other than that, a flashlight has got a lot of use in the last two years. I have used it many times when the power goes off during aftershocks. I always have a dynamo-solar radio/flashlight/cell phone charger near by too, but not literally on me at all times. It is good to know in advance which radio stations emergency services use to communicate on too. Likely your local stations will be off air, so find out which stations might be used in nearby areas for updated local information. I would say that, in a real disaster situation, keeping yourself informed of things like evacuation centers, sources of food, water, medical treatment etc may be more important than having a knife or e-reader handy.

But I also live in an area of the world where the weather is unpredictable. I always have a raincoat with me! Quite handy when you have a fire alarm at work and it is pouring outside...

But hey, this has nothing to do with backpacking.

T-Funk wrote "Batman! Na na na na na na na na na Batman!"

Interesting. I have one more "na" when I sing the song in my head.























Just kidding and now everyone is singing the Batman song while counting fingers.

Before I scrolled down, I read your first line and wondered....so I started singing Batman and counting fingers. Then I scrolled down, read the last line you wrote, and almost peed my pants.

But you're both wrong, there should be one less 'na.' Really.

"Big Quake, . . . trust me, being able to contact friends and family who are far away is important."

Being a fifth-generation San Franciscan* and now living in Alaska, I get it. And have lived it - 1989 Loma Prieta quake and 1991 East-Bay Hills Fire). Here's the trick:

*California being sort of an upside-down New Zealand, climatically, geologically, and sharing myriad possible disasters.

Leave your list of contacts (who'd "need" to know) with several friends / family members far away. Then with a single message - a tweet, a Facebook post, an email or phone call - you can task someone to tell you mom, kids, whoever, that you are alright.

At least in the USA, after a natural disaster when the phone lines are tied up, they give priority to OUTGOING calls. The logic is that most people calling out with get through (and potentially activate such a calling tree) whereas people calling in repeatedly are less likely to connect (the local may not have power or be otherwise engaged).

My extended family (all Californians) understand this - the last time I used it was not for an earthquake, tsunami or fire; but when our son died. I just wasn't emotionally to make 30 phone calls to convey tragic news so I asked my cousin to help me out in that way.