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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   3317 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 19, 2026

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Car key, a separate bundle of keys for everything else, wallet, phone. It all fits well enough into cargo pants pockets. When I wear other kinds of legwear, I usually take only what I intend to actually use.

But then again, I carry a backpack to work and to hikes. I drive a car pretty much everywhere. And the backpack and car contain a host of other items. Which of those containers it is depends on plans, but the following items are usually within reach:

  • Swiss pocket knife, beverage opener edition.
  • Leatherman multitool.
  • Hunting knife (no I don't hunt, hunting licenses are too expensive, the knife is a heirloom).
  • Hat.
  • Mud pants.
  • Hygiene kit, including toilet paper, trash bags, a few diapers and toothbrush and toothpaste.
  • A book. Regularly switch that one out.
  • Backup shoes.
  • A hoodie in summer, a thick jacket or blanket in winter.
  • Binoculars.

Of course, this being Germany, I go unarmed. The big knife is buried deep in the glovebox, where nobody grabs it by accident and no policeman sees it when I reach for the car's papers, and is practically inaccessible without a flashlight and the grim determination to go spelunking so deep one might as well start in the engine block. But grandpa used to have it in the car, and I'll be doing the same.

I just don't go anywhere where I would think myself well-advised to be armed. Just about the best I can do in this country, and thankfully still somewhat easy to do here in the countryside. Otherwise I might need to step up my martial arts game.

The items you listed sound sort of close to what you'd call a "bug-out bag" a.k.a. a "three day survival kit" if you stocked just a few other items. Nice.

True, but I doubt I'll be bugging out anytime soon. Hell, around here, I wouldn't even know where to bug out to. You can't just go innawoods; the entire region is covered with a dense network of towns, villages and hamlets, and any woods here aren't wilderness either, and are highly frequented by hikers, bikers, dogwalkers and whatnot.

Those items are really just my "Car breaks down in the middle of the night and the phone battery is empty" kit.

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