Perhaps I'm overthinking things

Not a trip report...

I've been thinking about the emergency gear I bring on my hikes. I recently purchased yet another day pack because the one I've been using can barely hold all of the gear I bring. I don't know if it's my Boy Scout background (Be Prepared) or my borderline OCD, but I carry a lot of stuff that rarely gets used.

For example, on a recent day hike, I carried 2 liters of water, a somewhat excessive emergency kit that goes on every day hike (details below), a head net, a silk shirt and skull cap (overnight clothing), a neck gaiter (Buff), a head lamp, a water filter, a solar power cell & charging cable for my phone, trail maps, and an FRS radio. Also, a bagel, an apple, and two packets of fruit gummies. 

Out of all of that, I drank perhaps half a liter of the water and that's it. The food wasn't eaten until I was done with the hike and back in my car, and nothing else in the pack was touched. The only time I opened the pack was to stow a long sleeve shirt. I could have done the hike just carrying a Nalgene with water.

All of that gear means I'm prepared in case I'm injured or have to spend the night in the woods. Good to have for solo hikes in remote areas, but not really needed for this hike (a short, easy hike with lots of other folks around). The emergency kit does have the advantage of being something I don't have to think about for each trip...I just toss it in the backpack and know I'm covered for most situations. But it's a fair amount of weight & bulk.

I have two emergency kits, one for day hikes and one for overnights. Most of the stuff is the same in both (mostly first aid), but the day hike kit is geared toward getting me home if things go wrong (the day hike turning into an overnight, for example), while the overnight kit leans more to repairs (since I'll have a tent, food, clothing for staying out). Here's the day hike kit:


It weighs 20.6 ounces. Note the emergency bivy and poncho. 

And the overnight kit:


As I said, very similar. It includes some fabric repair tape and a Leatherman (vs. just a knife), and omits the poncho & bivy (though it does have an emergency blanket), but that's the main difference. It weighs 22.0 ounces. 

Some of the contents of the overnight kit are things I'll definitely use - toothbrush, lighter, pain meds, compressed wipe tablets. The kit's just a convenient way to carry them. The dayhike kit's a different matter though. It rarely gets touched at all. It's more of a security blanket, giving me (and my wife) a certain amount of comfort knowing it's there. And perhaps it might be useful if someone else needs assistance.

Given the weight of the kits, I'd like to streamline them, with a focus on the day hike kit. A few less ounces in the overnight kit won't make much of a difference in the overall weight of an overnight backpack, but reducing the weight (and bulk) of the day hike kit would be valuable. I posted a question about emergency gear to a hiking forum, but didn't get much helpful feedback (one person responded about always packing a pistol and the thread turned into a gun discussion before the moderator locked it down).

I genuinely don't know what I can do. I dislike carrying stuff I'll likely not use, but I'd hate to leave it out and be in a situation where I need something. Is it just fear that I couldn't cope with the situation without the stuff in the kit? Fear that, despite the overwhelming majority of my experience, something will go wrong on the hike? 

Here's a thought: Have I crossed a line that, perhaps, I could step back across? I mean, I could argue that I should carry a full overnight backpack on my day hikes. Because, you know, if something went wrong, it would be handy to have a tent, and a stove, and food, and a jacket, and a sleeping bag & pad, and... But c'mon. Thinking back on my most recent hike, even if I'd had to stay out, I could have survived without the silk shirt, skull cap, water filter, FRS radio, and head net (I had a bug repellent wipe). And the power cell. Maybe the headlamp too, since the possibility of a night walk out was very remote and I did have alternative light sources (phone light, glow stick, matches).

I think I'll continue to bring the emergency kit, despite the weight. Better safe than sorry, and all that. Instead I'll focus on the other stuff I'm carrying (the stuff I just listed above).

One final note: It's not just my backpack. In the trunk of my car I have a duffle of clothes and a carrier full of...stuff. The duffle has shorts, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, rain pants, shoes, gloves, hats...well, you get the idea.  The carrier has an air compressor, jumper cables, windshield washer fluid, duct tape, plastic bags, a blanket, a frisbee, a ball glove, and much, much more.  Be prepared!

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