I think we're all guilty of enjoying contemplating, discussing, searching for, buying, and testing survival gear. The resultant effect is a pile of gear that is usually more robust than it needs to be. As you all probably know, I'm exceedingly guilty of accumulating extremely excessive amounts of gear. Ironically, I've started to shift away from the philosophy of "triple redundancy" and toward "utility redundancy".

An example of "UR" is can be explained by discussing a USGI Poncho. The USGI poncho is very durable and has many functions: poncho , lean-to shelter roof, emergency litter (drag / carry an injured person), rain collector (if you string them out upside down they'll collect water in the head hole), ground cover, and more.

By selecting gear that has multiple functions you can reduce the amount of gear you have to carry. You can further reduce your load by increasing your knowledge and experience. Novices often don't know what they'll ACTUALLY NEED and either carry too little or too much. The latter is the focus of this thread.

My philosophy has shifted toward being light and moving quickly / silently / more efficiently. This philosophy requires a degree of trade: "run light and freeze at night" and/or "30 pound ruck equals have to shoot more bucks". Both common sentiments means: the less you carry the more you're likely to suffer.

Having made the above statement, I want to follow up by saying: those who plan on running out of their homes at the first sign of trouble will likely end up dead. Staying in your home (food, water, shelter, defense, medical, etc) as long as possible is paramount. HOWEVER, if you have to leave on foot I have come to believe your chances IMPROVE with DECREASED bulk. You'll need to couple ingenuity with woodlore skill, but the results will surprise you.

As time permits, I'll add additional information to this thread (such as gear choices, etc).