Re: Your mission: Indy gear for 2000!

Posted by Abner from user-2ive8ao.dialup.mindspring.com on September 29, 1999 at 18:31:15:

In Reply to: Your mission: Indy gear for 2000! posted by Tim Elliott on September 29, 1999 at 15:00:13:

: Here's an exercise for the crowd, particularly the real archeologists and adventurers out there. How would YOU outfit an Indy for 2000 and beyond? A leather jacket, a canvas shoulder bag and a .45 were probably good choices in the 1930s and 40s, but have they been surpassed by new materials and technology?

: For the sake of discussion, let's assume travel in varied climates; weapons in checked baggage for air travel but a cavalier attitude toward pesky local firearms ordinances; and a respect for traveling light. Feel free to recommend new headgear (at your own peril!), Gore-Tex clothing, lightweight, concealable weapons, boots and suggested gear for whatever sort of shoulder bag you see fit, that sort of thing. Would today's Indy carry a Palm Pilot instead of a lined notebook? A GPS tracker rather than a compass? An Irridium phone instead of Western Union flimsies? Would he (or she, given Lara Croft's rise to fame) still take advantage of the abundant military surplus options out there today?

: Looking forward to a lively discussion.

: Cheers!

: Tim

Well let's see...It's sad to say but the advances in clothing material would make much of Indy's outfit obsolete. While the jacket is actually very practical, instead of a leather jacket he'd have a Gore-Tex windbreaker with a zip-out fleece liner- while not very stylish, it's lighter and warmer and more versatile. The cotton shirt is only appropriate for warm climates, for when cotton gets wet, you freeze, so I would recommend a lightweight synthetic, and add some wool or fleece layers to carry in a nylon civilian or military backpack of some kind like an A.L.I.C.E pack. Nylon is nowhere near as nice as cotton, but it dries out faster and is tougher. The wool pants are actually very practical in cool climates, but he might want a polyester pair to cheat the wind and dry out quick. The shoes would be replaced by modern hiking boots- something tough enough for heavy backpacking. If he was smart he'd still carry a compass as well as GPS, since you can't depend on GPS all the time. A sattelite phone or radio might be handy, but if packing light leave it behind. Also, he'd probably have one of those outdoor-use laptops that are very tough. A Nikon F-100 camera could be useful. The web belt would be nylon instead of cotton and the leather belt would be replaced by a modern nylon military pistol belt, with holster and ammo. About the gun Michaelson is right, everything is 9mm these days and you can get that ammo anywhere in the world, although I'd personally rather have 10mm, .40 S&W or .45 (I love the big fat .45!) for more stopping power. I'm guessing the most likely choice for the gun would be a Glock Model 17, 19, or 23. (If things got rough in one of these 3rd world dumps he'd want to have a Steyr AUG assault rifle or even an AK-47 by his side, too.) The whip, while very cool, is largely unneccesary if you have some rock climbing gear with you. Zippo lighters and Leather gloves are always useful but some Gore-Tex gloves would be nice too. And finally...the hat. Sadly a crushable gore-tex safari hat would be waterproof and easier to stow. Indy would look much like the modern mountain climber or eco-tourist- (but with guns!).

The basic formula for changing old outdoor clothes to modern is this: Everything cotton replaced by nylon, rayon, or polyester, etc. Leather replaced by Gore-Tex, nylon. Wood replaced by plastic. Fur replaced by synthetic fleece. Wool is still great. Practicality over style.

If you can't tell I'm a bit biased from my own experience travelling in cooler climates so allow for some variation in the above list depending on the destination.

Cheers,
Abner

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: : Here's an exercise for the crowd, particularly the real archeologists and adventurers out there. How would YOU outfit an Indy for 2000 and beyond? A leather jacket, a canvas shoulder bag and a .45 were probably good choices in the 1930s and 40s, but have they been surpassed by new materials and technology?

: : For the sake of discussion, let's assume travel in varied climates; weapons in checked baggage for air travel but a cavalier attitude toward pesky local firearms ordinances; and a respect for traveling light. Feel free to recommend new headgear (at your own peril!), Gore-Tex clothing, lightweight, concealable weapons, boots and suggested gear for whatever sort of shoulder bag you see fit, that sort of thing. Would today's Indy carry a Palm Pilot instead of a lined notebook? A GPS tracker rather than a compass? An Irridium phone instead of Western Union flimsies? Would he (or she, given Lara Croft's rise to fame) still take advantage of the abundant military surplus options out there today?

: : Looking forward to a lively discussion.

: : Cheers!

: : Tim

: Well let's see...It's sad to say but the advances in clothing material would make much of Indy's outfit obsolete. While the jacket is actually very practical, instead of a leather jacket he'd have a Gore-Tex windbreaker with a zip-out fleece liner- while not very stylish, it's lighter and warmer and more versatile. The cotton shirt is only appropriate for warm climates, for when cotton gets wet, you freeze, so I would recommend a lightweight synthetic, and add some wool or fleece layers to carry in a nylon civilian or military backpack of some kind like an A.L.I.C.E pack. Nylon is nowhere near as nice as cotton, but it dries out faster and is tougher. The wool pants are actually very practical in cool climates, but he might want a polyester pair to cheat the wind and dry out quick.  The shoes would be replaced by modern hiking boots- something tough enough for heavy backpacking. If he was smart he'd still carry a compass as well as GPS, since you can't depend on GPS all the time.  A sattelite phone or radio might be handy, but if packing light leave it behind. Also, he'd probably have one of those outdoor-use laptops that are very tough.  A Nikon F-100 camera could be useful. The web belt would be nylon instead of cotton and the leather belt would be replaced by a modern nylon military pistol belt, with holster and ammo.  About the gun Michaelson is right, everything is 9mm these days and you can get that ammo anywhere in the world, although I'd personally rather have 10mm, .40 S&W or .45 (I love the big fat .45!) for more stopping power.  I'm guessing the most likely choice for the gun would be a Glock Model 17, 19, or 23. (If things got rough in one of these 3rd world dumps he'd want to have a Steyr AUG assault rifle or even an AK-47 by his side, too.) The whip, while very cool, is largely  unneccesary if you have some rock climbing gear with you. Zippo lighters and Leather gloves are always useful but some Gore-Tex gloves would be nice too.  And finally...the hat.  Sadly a crushable gore-tex safari hat would be waterproof and easier to stow. Indy would look much like the modern mountain climber or eco-tourist- (but with guns!).

: The basic formula for changing old outdoor clothes to modern is this:  Everything cotton replaced by nylon, rayon, or polyester, etc. Leather replaced by Gore-Tex, nylon. Wood replaced by plastic. Fur replaced by synthetic fleece.  Wool is still great. Practicality over style.

: If you can't tell I'm a bit biased from my own experience travelling in cooler climates so allow for some variation in the above list depending on the destination.

: Cheers,
: Abner

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