i.e Huh, that’s new…
That flashlight you train with, can it handle a drop? Does your left headlight happen to be aimed at, and almost exactly overlap, the same area as your right one does? How long does it take for your battery to die? Is your waterproof case able to take a dunk without sharing the deluge with the contents within?
There are not things you want to find out, when it actually matters.
To more confidently travel, fight, or navigate your way through life, some testing is required.
There’s a term for that philosophy, well several, but… in the overlanding community one goes on a shakedown run.
Wherein you load up your vehicle with that fancy new bit of kit, pack as you would on an actual outing, and stress test how it all holds up under sustained and hard use.
For those of us fortunate enough to live in or pass through Portland, one needn’t go far, the roads can be rough enough for a good rumble.
But, I have a history of stumbling across, long-established and more easily accessible, lessons the hard-way.
As a teenager, I learned that Zippo lighters, though super satisfying to open and summon a flame with via one quick flip, have a habit of rapid fuel evaporation. A fact which a younger mortified-me would have loved to know a few moments before offering a light to that cute artist on a warehouse roof.
Turns out, trying and then checking on something ahead of time really can save you some awkward or even threatening scenarios.
It’s an approach I still need to be more intentional and diligent about. A fact, I’m regularly reminded of under sub-optimal conditions.
Recent(ish) examples of oops, that would have been nice to know or… I should have thought of that on my end.
Two years ago or so: That fancy German jerry can’s retention pin, will pop right out when you take a turn over-fast, and it, not properly secured, falls at just the right angle. Enjoy the smell of fuel and eons spent excising the fumes from your upholstery.
Last weekend, on a wine-country and coast run: The spare tire does, in fact, still squeak. That rear passenger window seal sure makes a lot of noise at speed. The missing microphone (and stereo) I didn’t think was a priority, after the December theft of my Jeep, to replace would have made capturing an opulent idea for a Yamhill Valley BBQ or reworked next steps for an upcoming project, much less taxing than relying on my easily overwritten memory.
It also took me over-long to gather the necessary, but shamefully scattered gear from different bins (and rooms) to get out the door. That squandered, valuable, time could have better spent harvesting from and cooking delicacies on the coast, had it been an emergency or race to claim a coveted camp spot, the cost of countering that chaos… might have been more than a mere annoyance.
Ahead of the actual expeditions you want to embark on, the adventures you want to be ready for, take a shorter trip –or ten– and give things a go.
It’s in these quick, less risky outings, where one can expose and close the unanticipated failings in our setups and selves. Before it really counts.
As for me..?
One or two durable cases with my most important gear are now readily within reach, that assuming I‘m willing to feign restraint in regards to meals, can be grabbed and get me out the door, and into nature, in a minute.
I should probably ask myself, can you affix and tighten that fancy tourniquet in a pinch? Or, how far of a range can you get with that little handheld HAM radio?
Many a test, under adverse conditions, are still to come.