[comsubin61]

Originally Posted by heirmossy

With all due respect LittleBear your assessment may have some shortcomings. While you're accurate about the electric, water and law enforcement this only works while they exist. Now what if I present you with a scenario like the following. Perhaps China and Europe decides the US Dollar is too risky so they go to Euros as their primary currency. Now the repercussions in the USA are the dollar is devalued to the point that our economy resembles Germany's post WWI Weimar Republic. Everyone demands to be paid every 4 hours because the dollar is losing value by the minute. A loaf of bread is now $1000.00. No one can pay for electric anymore.
Taxes can't be collected as people won't work for worthless paper. You intend to read the paper to see how bad it is in other places but when you turn the light on, darkness remains. The grid is down at this point. You pick up the phone to ask why but the phone is dead. You know the faucets will remain dry but you turn the faucet anyway to no avail. Now your alarmed so you jump in your car to look around. There is a house on fire but no firefighters are on the way. (They don't work for free either) Look around, the looters are breaking in stores and no police anywhere. All the gas stations are closed as the pumps don't work anyway. At this point the whole economic system has crumbled. Your AR-7, a brick of .22's a canteen full of air (you need at the very least iodine to make surface water potable) and a few power bars, bandages, some rope and a few strips of tape aren't going to get you too far. It takes a lot of work to be prepared but if the SHTF you'll be happy you went a bit farther with your preparations.

My dear friend if the scenario you present were to happen, I would only need one thing to survive, a CHINESE dictionary!!!!!!

[Lindenwood]

Having read little else, I wanted to add that while many people can carry large amounts of weight for long periods of time, you would be surprised how little it takes before it starts to hinder your ability to EVADE. Marching is one thing, but bounding over car hoods, jumping through open windows, hopping over fences, rolling under semis, or just plain booking it across the street to get away from a surprise threat, are entirely new concerns.

Yeah, I could easily carry 40 or 50 pounds for quite a ways, but I intentially keep my entire loadout to under 30 pounds, and even that is on the heavy side for serious moving.