I'd Rather Be Lucky Than Good!

[Alaskan Survivalist]

I’D RATHER BE LUCKY THAN GOOD!

Luck as played a huge factor in my life. So much so I have even studied it scientifically far beyond the arithmetic of the odds. I apply what I have learned to my life as much as practical which brings me to the point of this thread. I am thinning out my gear and making some hard choices. It’s all great stuff and some is the best you can get but I am having trouble replacing items that have proven themselves to have good JuJu, charmed if you prefer. Which would you choose?

I have the original Mini Maglite I bought over 30 years ago. I have never lost it and it has always worked and I carry it daily. Then there is my new one that uses LED technology, is brighter, batteries last longer and generally superior. Which would you choose?

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Then there is my new Swiss Army knife and my old single blade folder that I got from a basket of knives priced at 4.95 each. Lot’s of JuJu on this knife!

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Would you choose a Nalgene Bottle that fits my MSR walter filter system over a canteen so old the leather straps are about to break and the cork falls off?

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Then there is MK-3 Knife given to me by Afghanistan vet and my Gerber pack ax that will out chop, hammer and cut the MK-3.

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I have put myself in bad situations and much of my old gear has proven itself over and over but I have newer gear that is obviously superior and field tested…Still….Can anyone else relate?

[crashdive123]

For me, those would all be false choices. I would not get rid of any of it. I'm sure you have your reasons. For me, tried and true is always a keeper. New and shiny has yet to prove itself, but it would be foolish of me to think that it would not without giving it the opportunity. Just my rambling thoughts, but remember - I'm a bit of a pack rat.

[finallyME]

Get an LED conversion bulb for the mini-mag. Now you have the same light with LED.

[Rick]

I've said over and over that luck trumps skill every time.

You are always saying look at all the options. Well, make yourself a new set of leather keepers for your bottle and a new cork.

Finallyme gave you a great option on your mag lite. I've converted one. The L.E.D. will last much longer than a bulb and will improve the life of the batteries.

The sharps are a hard call just because they are so personal. Everyone has their own opinion so you'll have to figure out which ones you want. Of course, there's no law that says you can't carry more than one.

[kyratshooter]

You are talking to the wrong guy. I do not thin out gear, I add rooms to the house.

As far as luck goes, I am the wrong one to talk too there too. If it were not for bad luck I would have no luck at all. If there is the slightest possibility that fate can screw me over it will find a way.

[Pal334]

I am a guy that stays with what has always worked. Even when it is not the absolute best currently available, I guess I am loyal even to inanimate objects. I don't envy you if you have decided that you have to make choices

[Alaskan Survivalist]

I won't actually be getting rid of the stuff it just won't be with the gear I have at the ready. Stuff I don't use finds its way to the back of a closet, the glove box of my car or floating in the bottom of my boat. It just won't be in my pack. I'll probably take FinnallyME's advice on the maglight.

Kyratshooter, I said luck has been a huge factor but it has not all been good luck which is why I have a strong attachment to things that have been lucky for me.

[BENESSE]

I always liked this old saying because I found it to be true at least in my case:
"The harder you work, the luckier you get."

[Sourdough]

I always liked this old saying because I found it to be true at least in my case:


"The harder you work, the luckier you get."

I have not found that it worked on women.

[BENESSE]

It's a common mistake some men seem to make--confusing working hard with hardly working.
Women, on the other hand, get this concept by osmosis.
I'll be more than happy to post "boots in the field" pictionary on this very topic, just to help out in any way I can.
There are a lot of WSF ladies who could make an invaluable contribution, btw.

[Sourdough]

It's a common mistake some men seem to make--confusing working hard with hardly working.
Women, on the other hand, get this concept by osmosis.
I'll be more than happy to post "boots in the field" pictionary on this very topic, just to help out in any way I can.
There are a lot of WSF ladies who could make an invaluable contribution, btw.

Photos need lots of photos...........

[your_comforting_company]

I do not like LED's. I bought 3 last year and still couldn't see the trail flags to get to my hunting stand in the dark.. you just can't tell difference in color the way you can with the standard incandescent bulb. I went back to the old tried-and-true incandescent lantern that shows color, tho it's a newer tougher version and waterproof. For me, there is no "upgrade" for that item. I'd keep the old one and junk the LED maglite.

Likewise with the knife. My favorite knives and the ones that get the most use-and-abuse are the ones you get at the counter in the "bargain baskets" for 2.99 (or the junked Old Hickory I salvaged and is now my "survival knife"). Price is relative to brand name and neither one makes the knife what it is.. it all hinges on what you use it for. If your trusty SAK is the one for you, then that's it.. keep the cheap one close by for those jobs you don't want to abuse your good ones on. At least that's what I do.

I'm with Rick on the canteen.. a few updated tweaks and old reliable will be good as new. My aunt had a wine bottle that had a rubber cork or something in it, that we wound up reusing for some homemade wine we made (it wasn't very good). A good set of straps and a new cork is all you need.

The last set of cutters... I'd probably take both.

All that being said, I would not replace tried and true gear with something supposedly superior. What works for you and has gotten you out of a pinch, or really proved itself in the field is a keeper, and I wouldn't drop any of it for something that has not. I'm not saying I would not try new things and give them a chance, just like the LED flashlights.. you live and you learn, and even if it's not the best and newest, it works. Call it Luck, or whatever you want. I call it "Field tested". It's what I keep on my side.

[Alaskan Survivalist]

The thing is it is just not that it works. What is it about a flashlight that I would not loose it in 30 years? I've had other things that just have disappeared into thin air. Do you guys have anything like that in your kit? Magic stuff?

[your_comforting_company]

Unless I actually THROW one into a place I can't find it.. those cheap knives always seem to stick around; I will lose a $100 knife within a week. Had a zippo for about 15 years now, but retired it for cheap disposable bic a few years ago (replaced the bic many times over). Got a "magic" wallet that I've lost a few times but always found it with all the money and stuff still in it. One of my favorite magic items was my grandad's old Benjamin Franklin pellet rifle. I could hit a bottle cap at 50 yds with the ironsights, but after 3 generations of use, it finally wore completely out.
If I thought about it long enough, I'd think of a couple more items that have been with me through the years. I don't know what it is about them that keeps them coming back, but I usually use the same word as you did - Good Juju!

[finallyME]

The thing is it is just not that it works. What is it about a flashlight that I would not loose it in 30 years? I've had other things that just have disappeared into thin air. Do you guys have anything like that in your kit? Magic stuff?

All the stuff I had that has disappeared isn't in my kit. It disappeared.

[hunter63]

The quest to the perfect kit!
Stuff comes, and stuff goes, sometimes doesn't seem to be a "reason", luck?

I have a lot of gear that I have had since childhood, (and a lot I don't).
I have a Gerber Touche' knife belt buckle, that I have/had worn since 1988 or maybe a little earlier.
Well, I lost the knife part, for about 2 weeks in a brush pile that I had been working on, did find it after looking hard several times, (Ju-Ju?), so I retired it, as it had served me well, and deserves it.

I now try to use newer stuff that I'm not attached to, simple to avoid the trauma of having it disappear.

I do like taking inherited gear along, sort like hunting/fishing/camping with the benefactors again.

I also have a bad habit of fixing or trying to most anything, I guess I just can't believe it would stop working, or doesn't look right, mostly at a large expense of time and effort, than some stuff is worth, LOL, just can't seem to help myself.........

Then there is "Luck"........sometime what seems like bad luck works out for the best, you just don't know it yet, or as an counrty song says, "Thank God for unanswered prayers...."

[Alaskan Survivalist]

I have a hat that does more to catch fish than any gear I have. Luck? What do you call it?

[hunter63]

I have a hat that does more to catch fish than any gear I have. Luck? What do you call it?

I would call that tried and true, Luck, I know what you mean.......
I think if it were me I would try another Lucky hat, just to break it in, to the time that "something happens" to THE lucky hat.
But that is just me.............

[crashdive123]

I have a hat that does more to catch fish than any gear I have. Luck? What do you call it?

Some hats are better suited for fishing than others.

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[Sarge47]

Luck can be good or bad, & I'm not superstitious. Anyway, I've always believed that we make our own luck most of the time. I also never get attached to inanimate objects that can be replaced for only a few bucks. I, like others on here, never throw stuff away. I would leave BOTH the flashlights at home if you can only take one light source because I never use a mag-light, but a Petzl Tikka XP Headlamp. I'd take both the knife & the axe because they've been created for different purposes. I also know 1st hand the abuse that a SAK can put up with & that would be my choice. I would retire "old reliable" to a place of honor or find somebody that can use a good knife. The fact that it was cheap would make it even more doable. As for the water carrier, well, you all should know the answer to that by now. The Nalgene bottle wins hands down for me. I have used the measurements on the side for many camp-cooking situations. just my duos centavos.