I think I have said it somewhere here. Maybe not but I advocate it to my friends all the time.
I WILL NOT leave the house without a 12 gauge. I may not have it in my hands but leaving the wire without a 12 in someones hands will not happen. Luckily my dad just picked up a BM1 and loves the gauge just as much as I do. So He's going to carry it. Plus his eyes aren't as good as they used to be. So it just works out.