Ancillary Equipment

Gila Hayes, of Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network, stops by to discuss the tools we often forget about until we need them most. Article appeared originally HERE. Visit ACLDN to learn more about your defensive options.

I like tools. My family laughs at me because while I have friends who can transform quality ingredients into great meals with just a good chef’s knife and a gas stove, I like food processors, electric mixers and all the gadgets to help clean up afterwards.

Like I said, I like tools, so it is natural that in addition to guns and ammo, I am not really at ease until I have a couple of knives clipped to pockets, some supplies to patch up punctures, along with some non-lethal options like a TuffWriter pen and/or a Kubaton and a flashlight for starters. What are pockets for if not to fill?

Still, a lady’s pockets should not bulge too much, especially pants pockets. For me, the cylindrical profile of even compact flashlights with a reasonable lumens output means that they’re often relegated to jacket pockets along with phones and other belongings that end up hanging with the jacket on a hook or chair back.

I’m not a big fan of having both hands full while walking around out in public. That means if it’s dark, now we should decide whether getting the car unlocked is as important as having a light in hand. What is needed most? The key fob wins. These questions result in juggling jacket pocket contents to get the flashlight into an easy to reach position.

Until today. Today, the mail carrier delivered a Surefire Sidekick keychain light sent to us by an old acquaintance. The light’s profile mimics a car key fob and is more pocket friendly than even a small, round flashlight, although my new favorite tool won’t need to go into a pocket, because I quickly installed it on my Kubaton key ring. This light has been out for a while and being the tool fool that I am, I don’t know how I missed its release. Must not have been “tactical” enough.

Well, there is a lesson! The tool in your hand is likely more valuable than the one you scramble to get into play. Even more important, I think we need to look at what we carry in our hands, pockets and pouches because there is a whole lot more to defense readiness than a gun and ammo

Let this serve as a public thank you and a toast to old acquaintances—and generous ones, to boot! ~Gila

GILA HAYES
Gila Hayes manages the day-to-day operations of the Network, in addition to serving as editor of the Network's online journal. She brings two decades of shooting and firearms training to the job. A free-lance writer, Gila is author of the books Effective Defense and Personal Defense for Women andConcealed Carry for Women, was women's editor for Gun Digest for several years and has work published in Police Magazine, Women and Guns Magazine, Handguns, NRA American Guardian and Woman's Outlook, American Handgunner, Gun Week, GUNS Magazine, Combat Handguns Annual, Glock Annual, Smith & Wesson Annual and others. Before working in the firearms industry, she was publisher of a small-town newspaper.

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