I'll carry around a knife if I'm going to be exploring in either a really rural or a dangerous urban area. If I'm going to the suburbs no way I'm bringing a knife or any real weapon. I don't need to give a cop more reason to bust my balls.

I used to carry a knife, as a result of three gang members flashing theirs at me while I was scouting a sketchy location. Nowadays, though, I rarely carry one. It would be harder to explain if I get caught, and I normally am much more vigilant about surrounding threats, especially as to when I should back off a location for a while.

I was going to say I carry a weapon in my pants when I'm scouting chicks, but it's just not true.

I sometimes bring a knife, when I remember. But it obviously isn't a top priority. I generally explore with a friend or two so its kinda like a safety in numbers thing.

I keep Freak in overwatch.
That's what I do.
He's good at what he does.

Posted by Freak I always bring a sniper rifle and some grenades, with a mortar crew dug in back at the parking spot just in case.

are you guys afraid of being raped in abandoned?

Posted by expensiveburgers are you guys afraid of being raped in abandoned?

No, for myself, and I would assume most others, it is a 'better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it' deal.

And as multiple people have stated, knifes in particular are great general tools, especially if it is one with attachments.

ive been busted a total of 4 times while exploring. i ALWAYS had my knife on me and not a single cop gave a shit.
it would be different if caught with a gun, but how often to the cops see you before you see them? i could hide it and come back later.
did that with weed once....except for the part where i come back. lol

No.

Cops make the choice whether to ticket you, arrest you, or let you go. They don't like people with guns, so having a gun might just make the difference between getting ticketed and not. Also, in my 15-year exploring career, I have only been at risk of being a victim on one single occasion, and that was not at a UE site, they saw us on a busy street in a reasonably good part of downtown Detroit, it had absolutely nothing to do with exploring other than the fact that we happened to be in town for exploring. Our legs and muscles got us away from that situation nooooooo problem. Didn't need a gun.

Never run into a would-be criminal in an abandoned building. I don't get the impression they go in them all that often, although they do frequent abandoned houses. Even if you do run into them, in an abandoned building they won't be prepared to mug you on the spot unless it gets an insane amount of explorer traffic like the Packard. The thing to watch out for anywhere with crime like Detroit or Gary is groups of young men. It's not the old people, and I hate to sound sexist, but it's not the women either. And the men probably won't want to mug someone in front of their girlfriends. If you see a group of young men in a dangerous neighborhood, try to avoid them if you can do so without making it obvious that you're intentionally avoiding them. Once you're sure you're out of sight, move more quickly. Chances are you're more in shape than they are so you'll be fine as long as you keep moving away from them. That said, I don't know what to think about guns. I don't get the impression many of them actually carry, but if they did, I'd probably just end up getting shot running away.

Another thing is if you have dirty clothes and a beat up car like I have and most of my fellow Midwestern explorers have, they're far less likely to bother you. If they don't think you have money, they'll pass because it's not worth the risk to get what little you do have. Although I guess people that are dumb enough to spend their money buying an unnecessarily expensive car like a Lexus would probably also be dumb enough to drive it right through Gary, and those people I have no sympathy for. I'd probably laugh and wave at the perpetrators if I saw some bitchy uppity suburbanite get their Lexus carjacked in Gary. Yes, I despise the 1%.

Slim you don't need a knife. I got cut on just all that edge in your post.

Posted by Slim Jim No. Cops make the choice whether to ticket you, arrest you, or let you go. They don't like people with guns, so having a gun might just make the difference between getting ticketed and not. Also, in my 15-year exploring career, I have only been at risk of being a victim on one single occasion, and that was not at a UE site, they saw us on a busy street in a reasonably good part of downtown Detroit, it had absolutely nothing to do with exploring other than the fact that we happened to be in town for exploring. Our legs and muscles got us away from that situation nooooooo problem. Didn't need a gun.

Care to elaborate on this story?

slimjim...
yeah so youve been to detroit and been lucky. try living here

Uh ... yeah.
If I am merely thinking about detRIOT, I swap the G19 for the G21SF, put by BUG on in an ankle holster and do a functions-check on my trunk gun.

Posted by R3d slimjim... yeah so youve been to detroit and been lucky. try living here

Folding pocket knife (Gerber or Cold Steel Rajah 2) and a Big Maglite.

Just my little multi tool on my keychain. Most of my spots are rural, so my main worry is bears and mountain lions(holy shit Dorothy!) I'd need to carry some heavy duty stuff to take them down. Screaming like a girl and running off trailing a pee stream seems to work best for those : )

When I was still living in Alaska, bear protection was actually standard exploring gear

I bet! From what I've seen on those Discovery Channel shows, Alaska seems like some kind of refrigerated version of Australia : )

Posted by azuro1125 I bet! From what I've seen on those Discovery Channel shows, Alaska seems like some kind of refrigerated version of Australia : )

Nah, I don't think so. From what I could gather from the internet, the difference between Australia and Alaska (besides the climate) is that in Alaska, only the big things want to kill you. In Australia, EVERYTHING wants to kill you.

Tasers or stun guns.

The Scariest weapon of them all, its purple too https://www.youtub...atch?v=G_zrJs2oCOo