Appearance

By far, the most important thing to consider, especially post pole shift, is to avoid "standing out from the crowd". By that, I mean that nothing about you or what you are carrying should look like you have in your possession something that someone else might want. The reason is obvious. At best, it's the quickest way to loose what you have, and at worst, the quickest way to get killed.

• That translates into a few specifics that help you to appear of no particular value. Avoid anything that looks new and fancy including your clothes and backpack:
• Wear a wool business suit if a man or woman (pants suit). The color should be dark and it should be dirty. This also gives the impression that you are not the outdoorsman/woman and probably have nothing in your possession but another suit and shoes.
• Wear surplus army boots, man or woman, which should be in as good a shape as possible but make a point of taking the shine off by both lightly abrading them, stepping in mud so they are dirty, and covering the top part with your pant legs.
• Use a "mountaineering back pack". It should be of the highest quality you can buy, but make it look old by dirtying it. In this context it has the added advantage that its small carrying capacity will not look appealing because people will be considering the largest capacity backpack to be what is most valuable.
• If you choose to carry a firearm, made sure that it cannot be seen. Walk with a heavy "staff" and learn to use it. It is one of the most effective weapons for "close in" fighting that exists in capable hands and is effective against any other "close in" weapon except a firearm.

Offered by Ron.