Michaël Fri, Apr 12, 10:26 PM (8 days ago)
James,
I hope you are well and enjoying the toxic miasma of Harm City. I am in the market for a new backpack and need some advice from a seasoned urban survivor.
I enjoy walking around the city with a sketchbook and a few drawing implements. I don't need that much space but wouldn't mind carrying a bigger bag.
I know that I should carry the bag with only one strap as to not provide a potential attacker control over my body should he grab it from behind. I also know that if the attacker is in front of me I should put the backpack on the ground between us so he has to walk over/around it.
Should I go for a full size military-style backpack like the one you used in your recent travels or should I go for a lighter cross-body style messenger bag? What would you say would be the pros and cons of each and which kind would you favor yourself for casual daily use?
Best regards,
- Michael the Exile
James
Michael, in your exile, the military tactical pack I carry as my mobile home, while a "tactical" pack from the vantage of men hauling machine guns, it is a strategic pack for endangered urban apes like ourselves. That tactical pack is only half the full military pack. Of course, these guys are basically packing artillery with them.
Taking a big pack like that into an active war zone like Baltimore is announcing to cops and other criminals that you are fare game, a passer-through, possibly homeless. Use such a large pack travelling long distances and leave it at your base when travelling locally. I have a smaller pack I now carry inside of the tactical pack.
The hotter the activity and the weaker you are in comparison to the enemy [in terms of numbers] the lighter your baggage needs to be. This used to be called impedimenta in old military journals.
A big pack like this should be used as a post, and also to rack accessible weapons. I have a knife and stick easily accessible from outer compartments and inner, a 14 inch hawthorn and a gutting knife, a weapon you can use to stand ground as you use your pack as your maneuver base.
The lighter pack can be used as a shield and also a sheathe for stowing weapon off your person that can be drawn in real series situations, for me usually more pens.
The general rule on packs is that they need to even out as assets against their liabilities.
The small pack is a valuable, making you a target.
The large pack is also an impediment, making you less mobile, so needs to serve you in two ways to justify carrying it.
If wearing a back pack like that, I like a cane or walking stick, which can be wielded from behind the pack once you ground it.
Will do another backpack video when I get back east to expand on this.
Thanks for keeping me sharp.
Being a Bad Man in a Worse World
Fighting Smart: Boxing, Agonistics & Survival
