Off world colony equipment

[C-Bass]

Scenario:

We are now at a point in the future where humans are colonizing planets. You have volunteered to be part of a 10,000 strong colony founding group shipping out to an E.L.P (earth like planet) cleared for human settlement. The colonization officials have permitted each member to bring the following;

2 projectile weapons; includes but not limited to guns, bows and slings.
1 melee weapon; any hand to hand weapon permitted, though officials recommend one that works as a utility device as well e.g. machete.
1 extra piece of equipment. It can't be bigger than an average size back pack or weigh more than 10kg (~20 pounds).  

What do you pick and why?

My answer;

Spoiler:

[eselle28]

How do you define "equipment"? Must it be a single mechanical thing, or could it be a similar sized container full of non-necessities?

[C-Bass]

How do you define "equipment"? Must it be a single mechanical thing, or could it be a similar sized container full of non-necessities?

Let's say a single mechanical thing.

[eselle28]

How do you define "equipment"? Must it be a single mechanical thing, or could it be a similar sized container full of non-necessities?

Let's say a single mechanical thing.

Bah. There go my plans of being an intergalactic drug dealer. (My guess is for earthlings needing a good bit of comfort to get used to light years of separation from home, and if we're recruiting folks who live in the countries where forum members tend to live for this project, to having to do far more manual labor and do with far fewer comforts than they ever have.)

That being said, I'll take a .30-30 rifle, a .45 handgun, a Swiss Army knife and...a small moonshine still (which I suppose is more keeping in line with family tradition anyway) on the theory that anything Earthlike will have suitable plant life. My strategy is to take the only two weapons I have any experience at all in using, something that I can't use for defense but can use for other purposes (presumably the community is being given general building and farming supplies; otherwise it's a suicide mission), and something that I can use to trade to others in return for other goods and general tolerance in the community. 10,000 people is the size of my hometown before the oil boom hit, and that's a big enough community for not everyone to be a hunter-gatherer or a farmer.

[C-Bass]

I like the moonshine still idea; as well as the advantages you listed you could use the ethanol for anti-septic purposes. That would be pretty important on a planet with bacteria we didn't understand, and given that the original supplies would eventually run out.

[eselle28]

I like the moonshine still idea; as well as the advantages you listed you could use the ethanol for anti-septic purposes. That would be pretty important on a planet with bacteria we didn't understand, and given that the original supplies would eventually run out.

Oh, that one hadn't even occurred to me, but fully tilts it in favor of the still regardless of the limits.

I had been thinking either opiates or alcohol, primarily for the purposes that people typically use them for, but also because it may be unrealistic on a colony world with a population of 10,000 to administer general anesthetics for minor operations - or at all - and that local anesthetics would be limited in supply. Realistically speaking, I couldn't charge for this beyond things people perceived as being for cost, but providing it in a generous way would make my liquor sales and general ineptitude at physical labor a lot more likable in a small town.

[nearly_takuan]

I agree with the 12-gauge (though it'd take me a long time to get comfortable actually using it) but I wouldn't want my second weapon to be equally dependent on gunpowder and machine-made materials (ammunition, but also maintenance parts I might not always have access to). I'd pick a recurve; not sure what exact model 'cause that's more research than I'm willing to do right now, but the main requirement is that I can replace or repair most of the parts by myself without using complex tools. Heck, I might just build one myself after researching what I need.

I admit there's a certain amount of arbitrary coolness-factor influencing my decision, but I kind of want my melee weapon to be a kama (pair of hand-sickles). I doubt I'd do well in combat against a human opponent regardless, but kama are usable for reaping crops and clearing undergrowth, and I wouldn't be totally helpless if I did need to hurt a living creature with them.

As for remaining equipment, I shall err on the side of being too impractical and bring a compact sound system; amplifying sounds (e.g. foreman's orders, general announcements/alerts) actually could be useful, but also I figure people will miss their entertainment and may be glad for speakers + mic + etc. even if it's not of great quality.

[PKB]

The two most versatile projectile weapons I could bring would be a 12-ga shotgun (probably with a 20"-22" barrel and a cylinder or improved cylinder choke) and a .22 rifle (glass would be nice, but I'd probably go with good peep sights for ruggedness). I'd want a combination of slugs, buckshot, and birdshot for the shotgun and decent-quality high-velocity hollowpoints for the rifle. Between the two I can hunt anything from pygmy shrews to elk.

I'm really tempted to go with a kukri for a melee weapon, but I'd get a lot more utility out of a Leatherman Wave. I use it everyday. If I'm not using it, chances are someone else needs to use it. Combine it with a bit kit and you've covered 95% of your tool needs.

For my device, a quasi-unlimited supply of 550 cord. Good for nearly everything.

[reboot]

I would go for an 22 rifle and a Kalashnikov because the main thing you'd probably have to defend yourself against is other colonists if things go south.

An ax because it is multifunctional.

20 kg of oral rehydration salts to help with the inevitable outbreaks of diahrreal diseases spread by close quarters and lack of infrastructure.

[Enail]

I don't actually have my answer - I know little about weapons and would just have to do my research - but I have to say, I am troubled by the fact that the powers-that-be have determined that every colonist should bring three weapons and only one non-weapon item. That suggests that either they are creating the sort of society that makes weapons the most useful tools, or that they have reason to believe the planet has existing, hostile life (either sentient beings who we expect to antagonize rather than make peace with or creatures far more aggressive and dangerous than we might encounter in an Earth wilderness). Otherwise, I think the balance would weigh far more heavily towards building, agriculture, hunting and health -focused items.

[nearly_takuan]

Huh, my interpretation had been that building and agriculture materials would be standard enough that most people probably wouldn't have a personal preference for a specific tool and those sorts of things would just be supplied as standard objects. (Even if people did have their preferences, those might not mesh well with the common supplies.) I assumed the weapons would be mostly for hunting meat-foods and clearing brush, and the non-weapon thing would be to help you carve out your niche of choice once the colony reaches a sustainable state and you're not raising barns every day.

[Gentleman Johnny]

Projectile weapons or distance weapons? Because I wouldn't mind having a 3-watt laser. It can't really hurt people past blinding them but it has plenty of utility uses.

[Wondering]

I don't have an answer, either, but I am curious to know what's on eselle's pocketknife. Does it have a magnifying glass?

[eselle28]

I don't have an answer, either, but I am curious to know what's on eselle's pocketknife. Does it have a magnifying glass?

The one I have at home does, so yes! Also a couple different screwdrivers, pliers, a nail file, scissors, a can opener, and a ruler, off the top of my head. I suspect those thingies will get as much use as the knives, especially if whoever's sending us to this planet is as focused on weaponry as enail worries and we're not all issued the usual home repair kit.

[reboot]

See, I am just going to be getting all of my settler gear by trading ORT (oral rehydration therapy) during outbreaks

[username_6916]

1) Probably an M1 Garand. While the intermediate-cartriage weapons of the second half of the twentith century are tempting, chances are I will not be engaged in pitched infantery combat in close quarters. The greater range and power of the .30-06 cartrage is more useful than the higher effective fire rates of other weapons.

2) Some-odd 9mm handgun. Probably a Glock or SigSauer. For everything that the Garand is not. A close-range self-defense weapon with relatively light ammuition. Unlike the Garand, it can be concealed on the person for self defense in populated areas. And I'm not sure I'd want to be carrying two long guns around.

3) A Kukri[/i]. Seems like a good balence between combat and utility streignths. It's heavy enough to be used as a hacet while still having the advantage of being a kinfe.

4) An [url=http://www.meetearl.com/]EARL, with solar charging system of some sort. It's an electronic swiss army knife. It runs Linux/Android so that I can store and serve files off of it, it's got an e-ink display to display maps and a vast archive of reading material, and it's got an SDR so that I can talk to just about any radio system in the VHF/UHF range that anyone bothers to bring.

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