Check your gear.

[Hawkeye]

This probably goes without saying, but I figured I'd toss it up as a reminder anyway. Anytime you acquire a new piece of equipment, always check it over from top to bottom. Crap happens, even to the best manufacturers and dealers. Case in point..... I discovered a USGI poncho that I had ordered, is a defective one. I got it some time ago, and though I have always been strict about checking everything, I failed to do so on this...and I dont even remember why. Since this poncho isnt my go to rain cover, and was more of a backup/alternate use item, I didnt discover there was a problem until I was going over some things the other day. Something reminded me that I hadnt checked it when I got it, so I did. Well, its a regular OD GI Poncho, however, the back is WAY shorter than the front. Were I to wear this in inclimate weather, the back of my legs would be seriously soaked, and if I wore it over my pack and such, it would be even worse.
So, this poncho will now get tucked away as an emergency backup shelter, and not much more, as using it for actual wearing and rain protection, wont happen. I found it out now though, before I actually needed it, because I regularly take my gear out and go over it, check it, "mess" with it, etc. That saved me since I violated my first rule of always checking everything out when I first get it.

Like I said at the start, this probably goes without saying, but always check everything you get, regardless of who/where you get it from, and then take your stuff out and handle it/ check it often.

[Diz]

Good point. You ASSume your gear is good but better to check it and make sure. When I went through OCS at Quantico, I was issued this worn out looking poncho, but I figured it would work or they wouldn't have given it to me. Wrong. First evolution in the field when it was raining I was soaked and ending up with a nasty cold. Ooh-rah.

[protus]

good deal hawk on the pre event catch vs when you need it.
Many assume that its good to go. they should always check their kit, not just at purchase but during down time. I pulled out my backup kit two days ago just to double check it. I normally swap out h20,,food, batts etc. I dont like being with dead weight.......a light that dont work or a stove with out fuel is wasted energy on my end and could cost me or someone thier lives ....

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Amen Brother, check to the point of fail

[Lowdown3]

Changes in your weight also will affect your gear. Both forwards and backwards.

For those that use a pistol belt as part of their setup, the little extender deals are nice. Not just for "after the buffet" days, but for times when you might have ECW gear or NBC gear on. Just keep it doubled over on itself hooked on some part of your gear out of the way. When you need it, you'll remember it.

[Cimarron]

and the mundane gear..

Ten minutes after my wife left to work she called the house saying she had a flat and needed some help. She's on a country highway, no shoulder, snow up to her knees, and it's 6 degrees f outside.
She had broken four of the lugnuts free but couldn't get the last one. Why? Because the four-way lug nut wrench was one of those collapsible ones, where two sides swivel down and it saves on storage space in the trunk. Well, the "ring" that slides over the swivel moved and she couldn't move it back in position. It looked a little rusty and very dirty. I got the ring moved and the tire changed and she was on her way.
Had I allready left or been out of cell "service" she could have been there a lot longer.

: getting rid of that piece of junk 4-way and buying a real one.

[Lowdown3]

Had some similar happen years ago to me Cim. The place that was rotating my tires was not giving me back my factory lug nuts for all of the lug nuts.

I didn't realize that. Should have checked their work better.

So I get a flat and the lug nut wrench that came with the car, that worked fine for 150K miles (at that point) WOULDN'T FIT half the lug nuts!! I was not very happy about that.

[Knobster]

Had some similar happen years ago to me Cim. The place that was rotating my tires was not giving me back my factory lug nuts for all of the lug nuts.

I didn't realize that. Should have checked their work better.

So I get a flat and the lug nut wrench that came with the car, that worked fine for 150K miles (at that point) WOULDN'T FIT half the lug nuts!! I was not very happy about that.

Holy cow. I never thought about that... Thanks much, I'm checking all eight tires this evening!

[Hawkeye]

Just thought I'd bump this as a reminder.

We are in the middle of a pretty intense storm right now, so I decided to throw on one of my other poncho's that I put back as a spare. It was given to me as a gift recently. I have other rain gear thats my primary use wet weather gear. This one is the OPSEC poncho. Multicam isnt something thats a standard for me, so, thats one more reason that it will be in a backup role.
The storm we are having at the moment, is a pretty intense one. Very heavy large droplet rain, and some moderate wind. I put it on and spent about 25 minutes or so wandering around outside. It worked surprisingly well. Far better than the GI poncho mentioned above (defects aside), and, is lighter weight. Material did not soak through at all. The only issue I found, was that the seam around the neck where the hood is attached to the body, wasnt sealed. There was some minor seepage there, but that is an easy fix with some simple seam sealer. The only other issue, but its no fault of the poncho, is being 6'1" barefoot. Every poncho I've ever tried, usually only come to just above my knees, with an occasional one making it to my knees. Thus, my legs end up soaked from the knees down.....sigh....

So, my point of all this is, simply to re-enforce what I mentioned in the original post. Try out your gear. Everything. From the largest item to the smallest, primary, backups, and even stuff you have that you dont "plan" on using. Better to find simple issues that can be fixed, and larger issues that require something to be completely ditched/changed, now, before you actually need it.

[RobertJ]

This is kinda sorta off topic, but not quite... I purchased a gas mask at the fun show several years back. There was a vendor I never saw before but had a great price on a new in box Advantage 1000 gas mask for $150.00 almost too good to be true. He also had tyvek and chem suits for a decent price ,I cant remember price right now sorry. I bought the mask in my size and one each of the suits. I tried on the test models (masks) he had out of the box and showed me how to use it. Seemed like a good guy taking his time with me and all. He reaches under the table and gets a new in box mask, which is wraped in that plastic shrink. hand him my money and away to peruse the rest of show. Meet a few friends for dinner after the show and we start discussing what we purchased. when I told them what I paid for mask they wanted to see it, so off to the truck to retrieve it, bring back inside and comence to unwrap it. My best friend goes "wow, mine didnt come wrapped up like that" and it had a picture of it on the box.He bought it off the internet. As I open the plain white box out comes a military surpluss M-17 mask... my heart sunk. This was not even in "good condition". All of us figure well it probably was put in the box by mistake. I decide I will return on Sunday morning to replace it with what I thought I purchased, oh and as typical no receipt from the gun show cash sale.
I get there Sunday at opening walk towards his table and notice a bare table where he was. My heart sunk, behind me I hear someone cussing under their breath and he has the same white box I am carrying... I ask him if he is trying to return a M-17 that was susposed to be an advantage 1000 mask. He said yes he's returning it but instead recieved a russian mask instead of the Advantage mask. Then the dealer at the next table asked if we got taken as well, Our mouths hit the floor. Aparantly he was kicked out of the show late on Saturday by the promotor of show for scamming customers with the masks. took about 15 of us on Saturday. Guess some people checked their box's before leaving the show and a few complained, to a not satisfactory "no refunds, no more in your size, I will ship you one when I get more in."
The promotor felt bad when we also told him our tale, and asking him for gasmask mans contact info... nothing ever came of it though... ignored calls etc. but the promotor gave us free passes for the next show (thanks!??)
Moral of story check your boxes when you purchase stuff... not only to see if it works, is the correct color/size, but to make shure you get what you paid for.

[Javin]

This is kinda sorta off topic, but not quite... I purchased a gas mask at the fun show several years back. There was a vendor I never saw before but had a great price on a new in box Advantage 1000 gas mask for $150.00 almost too good to be true. He also had tyvek and chem suits for a decent price ,I cant remember price right now sorry. I bought the mask in my size and one each of the suits. I tried on the test models (masks) he had out of the box and showed me how to use it. Seemed like a good guy taking his time with me and all. He reaches under the table and gets a new in box mask, which is wraped in that plastic shrink. hand him my money and away to peruse the rest of show. Meet a few friends for dinner after the show and we start discussing what we purchased. when I told them what I paid for mask they wanted to see it, so off to the truck to retrieve it, bring back inside and comence to unwrap it. My best friend goes "wow, mine didnt come wrapped up like that" and it had a picture of it on the box.He bought it off the internet. As I open the plain white box out comes a military surpluss M-17 mask... my heart sunk. This was not even in "good condition". All of us figure well it probably was put in the box by mistake. I decide I will return on Sunday morning to replace it with what I thought I purchased, oh and as typical no receipt from the gun show cash sale.
I get there Sunday at opening walk towards his table and notice a bare table where he was. My heart sunk, behind me I hear someone cussing under their breath and he has the same white box I am carrying... I ask him if he is trying to return a M-17 that was susposed to be an advantage 1000 mask. He said yes he's returning it but instead recieved a russian mask instead of the Advantage mask. Then the dealer at the next table asked if we got taken as well, Our mouths hit the floor. Aparantly he was kicked out of the show late on Saturday by the promotor of show for scamming customers with the masks. took about 15 of us on Saturday. Guess some people checked their box's before leaving the show and a few complained, to a not satisfactory "no refunds, no more in your size, I will ship you one when I get more in."
The promotor felt bad when we also told him our tale, and asking him for gasmask mans contact info... nothing ever came of it though... ignored calls etc. but the promotor gave us free passes for the next show (thanks!??)
Moral of story check your boxes when you purchase stuff... not only to see if it works, is the correct color/size, but to make shure you get what you paid for.

O.O

Woooooow....

Speechless.