Since I am a city boy and a bit soft, I also looked for qualities that would satisfy my friend and former colleague at Adventure, the hardy Paul Rouse. Rouse joined me for two afternoons of testing/troublemaking and provided sage commentary of the sort one would expect from a man who has thought more about survival than most and whose neighbor owns a semi so he can, in Rouse's words, "head West when it all goes down."

Great timing! I'm halfway through The Road and wondering what would go in my cart.

-janelane