How to decide what Gear to Buy
It is so easy to become a “gear nut or gear head” these days with all the information available and the incredible variety on the market, but gear isn’t just things you buy.
Purpose of Gear
To determine the purpose of gear we have to define what it is. Generally speaking for our discussion it’s all the devices we utilize to be prepared. It’s pretty much everything but our physical bodies. On a Core level, gear is all the things needed to keep our bodies alive in any situation, beyond that it provides efficiency and comfort.
Since gear encompasses such a broad spectrum of devices it would be helpful to break it down a little. First of all I would say we take care of Core or essential needs. This would be things we always have on us or around us. EDC (Every Day Carry) would fall in this area. Think about what is necessary to get through three days or so, just gut level stuff.
We use three levels of gear
- CORE – This is the items needed to get by for three to seven days in most any condition you would encounter in your activities.
- EFFICIENCY – These are added to CORE, and they make things easier, more manageable, and able to sustain oneself for a longer period of time and in greater comfort.
- COMFORT – At this level you are working towards the type of lifestyle that is convenient and able to sustain life indefinitely, ultimately providing all the comfort and security of a modern society.
The decision on each piece of gear you are considering is what level are you building with this item? It is essential to build out a CORE level first as that is the minimal requirement for you to survive. If you are a knife collector that is one thing, just make sure you have in your CORE kit a knife for basic use. Don’t just buy things to buy them, unless you have an endless supply of money. Also it crucial to consider items that can be used for 2 or more functions, that equals more bang for your buck. Not all gear is purchased, some you may make yourself at home, some may be improvised on site with available natural materials.
Cooking under the Personal Survival Tarp
You can decide how basic or advanced you want to be. You can have family preparedness at a COMFORT or EFFICIENCY level, and still challenge yourself by going out in the woods at CORE level.
Here are some ideas for building out a CORE kit in the Six Essentials for Survival.
- Shelter – Knife, cordage, clothing, emergency blanket
- Fire – Doan magnesium bar, lighter, char cloth, knife, cotton balls, lamp wick
- Water – Containers for carrying and boiling water, purifying tablets, siphon tube
- Medical – First aid kit, medications required by you,
- Food – Not needed in the short term, simple broths or soups if desired
- Social/Rescue – Whistle, flare, signal mirror, radio
A few simple items to enhance CORE level very effectively. Note, this starts to build EFFICIENCY level.
We have a schedule set now where we will be covering these items in much more detail in additional blogs, videos and podcasts, so keep on watching us.
Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”