Carry Scenario: Outdoor Summer Music Picnic
There is a kind of magic at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home. The land is as choice a slice of property as you will find with huge trees, grassy knolls, and the gentle slopes of the Berkshires all around. I have a stressful job, but I can feel my blood pressure drop just pulling into one of the many rambling fields around the facility that act as parking. In law school I fell in love with symphonic music and that love has never waned. And while Symphony Hall is a similarly sacred space for me, two boys aren’t exactly ideal companions at the symphony. But at Tanglewood, they are perfect. Great scenery, world class music, and a chill vibe that calms the soul—nothing is quite like Tanglewood.
But there is one thing that is deadly serious at Tanglewood—people’s picnic set ups. Some of these folks have been coming since the 50s and like a river rock shaped by ever-flowing water, their gear has been polished and refined to perfection. Take a look at this guy’s set up, portable hammock and all (it calls to mind Ride with Red’s famous “When you think you are the coolest guy in the parking lot” meme):
We are no where near as experienced as some, having only been going for the past 20 years, but I thought it was a perfect setting for a Carry Scenario. Here is a quick summary of the Carry Scenario rubric.
Fear Factor: Low (surprisingly)
You’d think a lawn full of peaceful Massachusetts hippies would be about as bad as it gets for folks carrying a knife, but pretty much everyone is carrying something. Lots of folks have full fledge kitchen cleavers, so my SAK was the runt of the litter. And because this audience skewed a bit older many of them carried pocket knives as a kid. These are not the new, participation-trophy recipients of the Left. These are crusty progressives with real lived experience. They used a SAK to cut hot dogs for sharing at Woodstock.
Chaos Level: PEAK
Just before show time the lawn is packed with people and it is so disorderly that finding your spot after going to the bathroom requires real navigation skill. One guy at the performance we attended went to the can before intermission and did not find his folks for forty five minutes. As you can see above, it’s a throng. And that is with the sun out. Once it gets dark and the only illumination you have are the stars of a Western Mass sky, forget about it. You’ll be lucky to find your spot, let alone a knife that slipped out of a pocket. And then, just when it is as crowded and chaotic as it gets—everyone gets up and leaves all at the same time. This is not the place to bring a grail. If you lose it, it’s gone forever.
Clothing Impact: Very Low
Given the setting you can where whatever you want. Tanglewood’s performance season spills over into the fall just a bit, so that might dictate you wear jeans, but that’s about it. Because you can where whatever you want carry is much, much easier.
External Restrictions: Moderate
Massachusetts used to have the most restrictive auto knife law in the country. Then Canjura happened and now we can carry autos. Tanglewood has some rules in place, but given the number of people wielding chef’s knives, it’s not that restrictive. No vapes though and that is one rule that is regularly enforced.
Recommendations
If you didn’t think this list would include a SAK, I think you might be brain dead. SAKs are perfect for this and, of course, those with corkscrews are ideal. Here is my Victorinox Compact with Prometheus Designwerx scales. This combo is one of my very favorite knives ever and this is a place where you can legitimately use the corkscrew as I am doing here.
I also think that you could make an argument that the Opinel is just as fitting. I have a few Opinels and the No. 7 is my favorite. They also make a few with corkscrews in the handle. Given their size and almost no weight, they are perfect choice. And if it falls out of your pocket and you lose it forever, you are out like $18.
The Sebenza is a great choice too. It fits in with all of the fancy chef knives on the lawn. It is very good at food prep tasks and there will be a lot of that at an event like this. The TRM N2 is another great choice for food prep, but both would be sadly missed if they fell out of your pocket. If you want a more readily available knife that fits the bill, the Kershaw Bel Air is wafer thin.
The light, of course, is critical. It has to get you out of the place AND it has to illuminate your space for food prep. I recently got a Loop Flashlight SK-03 and its “lantern” mode is super useful for a tasks like this. I wouldn’t go with a super thin light, like a 1x or 2xAAA, as it would be to unstable in the grass. Any light absolutely needs to have a low mode. Few things are ruder in this setting than blasting a neighbor who has night vision. I also had a Zebralight and it was excellent too, though its UI is still not perfect. Something like the HDS Rotary or the Exceed Co. Rampant, both lights with dead simple UIs and the ability to go really low, are perfect in this role as well, but few things would be sadder than losing an HDS Rotary in a mob of Chardonnay-breathed Lexus SUV drivers.
I’d be happy with a true lantern, too. My favorite is the Fenix Light CL30R. It has three 18650s but can run on 1, 2, or 3 of them. It can also run on primaries in the form of 2, 4, or 6 CR123a batteries. The CL30R is one of the most flexible lanterns out there and if you live in a place with power outages, you need to get one. It can also work as a power bank. Honestly, just go buy one. You won’t regret it. The CL26R is no where near as good. It runs on a single 27100, which allows for much less power flexibility than the CL30R. I like the rotary knob and the USB-C port on the 26, but the battery flexibility of the 30 is too good to pass up.
One last tip—bring a collapsible wagon. Seriously, the hike from the parking fields at Tanglewood to the venue (or any outdoor concert like this) can be very long. I have included a link below to the model we have, it is quite good.
Amazon Links