The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: The Littlest Things

3) Don’t Underestimate The Value Of Small Items And Tools.

At several points in this week’s Walking Dead, Daryl found himself in a mild bit of trouble because he forgot to get his Swiss Army Knife from Carol before they split off, with Daryl having wasted time and energy to find and kill a pair of soldier walkers to replace it.

This got me thinking about just how valuable small items, weapons, and tools can prove in a zombie apocalypse. Things like small knives or awls can prove great weapons for dealing with zombies in close quarters where a gun or a machete may not be as effective, coins (As shown in the Telltale Walking Dead game) can make for nifty flathead screwdrivers when such tools aren’t available or plausible to carry around, and, obviously, a Swiss Army Knife or multitool, while small, are, by design, incredibly versatile, and can serve a myriad number of uses in any survival situation.

The reason I bring these things up is that they’re so small, it’s easy to overlook or forget about them. You may not need them all the time, but the thing is: You never know when you might.

What if you get tackled by a zombie, and you can’t reach your weapon? What if you’re searching for food, and you need to get into a locked room you don’t have a key for? What if you discover that you need a tool you weren’t expecting?

Any of these kinds of situations could be fixed by just remembering to have a few small, light, relatively easy-to-get items with you before you go anywhere: A knife, a lighter, a flashlight, a compass, some gauze, a face mask, etc.

These aren’t complicated things, but if you were to be in a situation where you needed them and didn’t have them, you would be kicking yourself, assuming you lived long enough to get the chance.