Urban Survival: Taking the train through Philly

[MarcS]

Well, since my transfer went through it seems I'll be picking up a Septa pass and commuting daily. As a preparedness lunatic, i have assembled a kit to prepare for everything from a derailment or Madrid-style terrorist incident to having to get my Bernie Goetz on with some of the upstanding youth in our fine city. Here is the small, packable kit that will ride with my textbooks (except the Glock--that rides on me).

Not pictured is the rest of the stuff I normally carry on me, including a lighter, Nalgene, flashlight, Spyderco, OC etc.



Input and questions are welcome.

[dgg9]

I'll think of more later, but:

1. Cryalume stick is a nice touch, one most people don't think of. Surefire is great but that's only for spot illumination, not for hours.

2. Could use FOOD: a few energy bars could keep your blood sugar from cratering if you're stuck on a train for a few hours.

3. Even a little water would help. Again, imagine being stuck in a sweaty train car for hours.

4. In the winter, having a polypro shirt liner would help, and they bundle up into a small space. It would help in two ways: extra layer to retain heat, AND a wicking layer against your skin so that when you sweat you don't lose body heat.

2,3,4 would add maybe 2 lbs and cost a little space, but at a minimum, I would say have an energy bar.

[dgg9]

Btw, is this explicitly intended to be a GMHB (Get Me Home Bag)? I'll ask first before continuing.

[Azzy]

You could save space by braiding that cord into a bracelet or something.

edit - Have an associate that does those.. here's a link - http://www.mcarterbrown.com/forums/g...-bracelet.html

[brewguy]

Congrats on the move and your are Welcome. For paying for your train ticket that is..

That looks like a lot of stuff to carry, will your school allow you to bring the glock?

[MarcS]

don, as i said, nalgene isn't pictured. So i will have a liter of water with me, not to mention that I pack my own lunch, so there will be food available, and i generally keep some snickers mini's handy for a quick pick me up.

Since I walk from the train, i'm generally dressed appropriately for the weather and my base layer is generally an underarmour shirt. If i have to bunker down and stay warm, the heavy duty trash bags have been shown to insulate as well as space blankets.

[MarcS]

That looks like a lot of stuff to carry, will your school allow you to bring the glock?

A) It's not really all that much.

B) Don't care.

Azzy, i did consider daisy chaining the cord, but it's so damn time consuming with paracord.

[dgg9]

as i said, nalgene isn't pictured.

Ok, my bad...I didn't know what a "nalgene" was. Now, one Google search later, I do.

Since I walk from the train, i'm generally dressed appropriately for the weather and my base layer is generally an underarmour shirt.

Ok, that's good too. Well then, for the benefit of the the thread at large, I'll just point out that wearing warm clothes is fine in the bitter cold, as long as you're not too physically active. As someone who has done a lot of urban hiking on the cold, it can be surprising and appalling how quickly you lose core heat once you start sweating, if you're wearing cotton next to your skin and your skin stays wet.

That's why I brought up the GMHB aspect: if you expect to be able to walk home after some disaster, you need wicking clothes and you'll need shoes capable of it. Looks like you're covered, though.

[MarcS]

yeah, the underarmour is a wicking baselayer.

[dgg9]

yeah, the underarmour is a wicking baselayer.

Looks like a comprehensive urban load-out. But I'll be curious to see if it evolves over this coming year. Keep us posted.

I have a similar but weaker setup since working in PRNJ crimps my self defense options.