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10 items for 1 year in the bush.
- Thread starter Liam Ryan
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2005
- Messages
- 4,527
Thanks- it made me think quite a bit. My personal fav. that I came up with is the saw- so many opportunities for invention.
Great thread for someone like me who takes everything!
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2007
- Messages
- 39
I understand I listed more then the given 10 items, but the fact is when I leave my house on any given morning I'm carrying more then 10 items.
I am never in the woods without at least my very basic kit which has: A metal cup, SAK, firesteel, Tinder, Paracord, duct tape, safety pins, a signialing mirror, water pur tabs, and a small flashlight. In addition to that, I always carry a fixed blade, and enough food for a extra day.
Discussing 'What 10 items do you want to survive' is a quite unrealistic situation. Its much more likely you will either have a reasonable amount of gear, for example whatever you take on a day hike, or a full load out. The other situation is that you would only have whatever you carry when you leave your house. Either way, I doubt I’m going to last over 2-3 weeks with what I have when I leave my house, or over 6 weeks with my day hiking kit.
To be quite honest, I would be very scared going to live in the wilderness for a year with 10 items, and being able to take 20 I feel I could go confidently that I would not only survive, I would thrive.
If a gun and ammo are 1 item, I would add the diamond sharpener to my list, and after a nights thought I think I would chance the medium ax to a medium-large axe.
I was discussing this with a friend and they came up with this list:
Multi tool
Fire steel
Large pot
Sleeping bag
3 50lb bags of rice
3 50lb bags of beans
I thought it was interesting that they opted to forgo a weapon and a blade for food, as well as not include cordage or fishing gear. His answer was simple, he said he would find a pop can and fashion hooks and get line from threading in his cloths. He stated he would build a shelter that was waterproof, so he wouldn’t need a tarp. His logic was that with 300 lbs of food he wouldn’t actually ever have to depend on hunting or finding anything, if he did, it was just an added bonus.
I am never in the woods without at least my very basic kit which has: A metal cup, SAK, firesteel, Tinder, Paracord, duct tape, safety pins, a signialing mirror, water pur tabs, and a small flashlight. In addition to that, I always carry a fixed blade, and enough food for a extra day.
Discussing 'What 10 items do you want to survive' is a quite unrealistic situation. Its much more likely you will either have a reasonable amount of gear, for example whatever you take on a day hike, or a full load out. The other situation is that you would only have whatever you carry when you leave your house. Either way, I doubt I’m going to last over 2-3 weeks with what I have when I leave my house, or over 6 weeks with my day hiking kit.
To be quite honest, I would be very scared going to live in the wilderness for a year with 10 items, and being able to take 20 I feel I could go confidently that I would not only survive, I would thrive.
If a gun and ammo are 1 item, I would add the diamond sharpener to my list, and after a nights thought I think I would chance the medium ax to a medium-large axe.
I was discussing this with a friend and they came up with this list:
Multi tool
Fire steel
Large pot
Sleeping bag
3 50lb bags of rice
3 50lb bags of beans
I thought it was interesting that they opted to forgo a weapon and a blade for food, as well as not include cordage or fishing gear. His answer was simple, he said he would find a pop can and fashion hooks and get line from threading in his cloths. He stated he would build a shelter that was waterproof, so he wouldn’t need a tarp. His logic was that with 300 lbs of food he wouldn’t actually ever have to depend on hunting or finding anything, if he did, it was just an added bonus.
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2005
- Messages
- 3,516
I should list a lot of paracord instead of the book.
Please don't worry if you are over or under, or if it should be 1 pair of socks or 2 indavidual ones, or you want to list 15 or 50.
I thought of saying 20 items but it's a slightly daunting number, I just want to know what are the most important survival items to you. I got some great answers, the chicken was a great idea.
Also I would not try this in my present location, I was hoping in one of Canada's western provinces.
Please don't worry if you are over or under, or if it should be 1 pair of socks or 2 indavidual ones, or you want to list 15 or 50.
I thought of saying 20 items but it's a slightly daunting number, I just want to know what are the most important survival items to you. I got some great answers, the chicken was a great idea.
Also I would not try this in my present location, I was hoping in one of Canada's western provinces.
nope- tried that hahaha
I think that the folks who are packing a very small metal container, instead of a very large cooking pot, are doing themselves a dis-service.
After all, you're going to have to purify drinking-water for an entire year.
And doing it one cup/bottle at a time will get old real fast....especially when doing lots of physical activity and sweating perhaps liters.
Just something to think about.
After all, you're going to have to purify drinking-water for an entire year.
And doing it one cup/bottle at a time will get old real fast....especially when doing lots of physical activity and sweating perhaps liters.
Just something to think about.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2007
- Messages
- 1,236
That's true - I don't think there's much I would take that hasn't already been mentioned so I won't write out a list if ten, but stuff I wouldn't even CONSIDER leaving behind would include:
A 3/4 or possibly full-size axe
A bow saw (min. 36")
A large stainless steel pot - say at least 1 gallon.
Of course there's lots of other stuff that would be useful but that's the stuff I wouldn't try to live without, if it could be avoided, anyway.
A 3/4 or possibly full-size axe
A bow saw (min. 36")
A large stainless steel pot - say at least 1 gallon.
Of course there's lots of other stuff that would be useful but that's the stuff I wouldn't try to live without, if it could be avoided, anyway.
Here in Hawaii I could do it pretty comfortable without much.
1)12" Ontario Machete: By far the most important item. With just this blade I could butcher animals, make a shelter of wood and leaves, carve a fishing spear and do another number of things
2)Small fixed blade: some well made 4" belt knife
3)Tarp: Beats water dripping on my head, could make a simple 3.5 sided structure using the tarp as a roof, catch runoff for clean water
4)Dog trained to bay wild hogs: He could catch a lot of his own food, supplemented with cultivated wild taro could keep a dog alive for a while.
5)20ga shotgun: with as much slugs as I can bring.Theres no small game here in Hawaii besides rats and some wild chickens, but this would be mainly for hunting wild boar.
6)Sleeping Bag: Doesn't get very cold here in the lowlands, maybe down in the high 50s on the cold nights. Could get by pretty comfortably with a fire and a warm dog
7)Large metal pot:
8)Firesteel
9)Water bottle: Could make one from bamboo, but would much rather have the real thing
10)Windup flashlight: Better than running out of batteries
With just these things I could survive pretty comfortably. I could hunt for hogs almost anywhere in Hawaii, make a spear out of bamboo for shooting prawn and fish at night using a flashlight to shine their eyes which works really well for prawna, forage the numerous fruit (4 types of guava, mango, avocado, mountain apple, lychee and probably a dozen more I am forgetting to mention, there is always some sort of fruit dropping if you know where to look). The majority of the meals would no doubt be fruits, supplemented by wild game. If I were to spend a year out there I could cultivate wild taro which will grow to maturity in about 4-6 monthes, there is dozens of edible fungi, some that taste quite good. I dont think food would be much of an issue for me, I spend my weekends foraging for food for fun anyways.
Shelter could be made in a snap with a machete a tarp and some 550 cord. Fire wouldn't be too much of a problem once I got the shelter made and could get some wood out of the rain. Always keeping a stock of wood and tinder dry would make life a lot easier.
This situation doesn't hold true in Hawaii where you can walk out of anywhere on the island in under 2 days. Would be pretty fun if you were well prepared though.
Evan
1)12" Ontario Machete: By far the most important item. With just this blade I could butcher animals, make a shelter of wood and leaves, carve a fishing spear and do another number of things
2)Small fixed blade: some well made 4" belt knife
3)Tarp: Beats water dripping on my head, could make a simple 3.5 sided structure using the tarp as a roof, catch runoff for clean water
4)Dog trained to bay wild hogs: He could catch a lot of his own food, supplemented with cultivated wild taro could keep a dog alive for a while.
5)20ga shotgun: with as much slugs as I can bring.Theres no small game here in Hawaii besides rats and some wild chickens, but this would be mainly for hunting wild boar.
6)Sleeping Bag: Doesn't get very cold here in the lowlands, maybe down in the high 50s on the cold nights. Could get by pretty comfortably with a fire and a warm dog
7)Large metal pot:
8)Firesteel
9)Water bottle: Could make one from bamboo, but would much rather have the real thing
10)Windup flashlight: Better than running out of batteries
With just these things I could survive pretty comfortably. I could hunt for hogs almost anywhere in Hawaii, make a spear out of bamboo for shooting prawn and fish at night using a flashlight to shine their eyes which works really well for prawna, forage the numerous fruit (4 types of guava, mango, avocado, mountain apple, lychee and probably a dozen more I am forgetting to mention, there is always some sort of fruit dropping if you know where to look). The majority of the meals would no doubt be fruits, supplemented by wild game. If I were to spend a year out there I could cultivate wild taro which will grow to maturity in about 4-6 monthes, there is dozens of edible fungi, some that taste quite good. I dont think food would be much of an issue for me, I spend my weekends foraging for food for fun anyways.
Shelter could be made in a snap with a machete a tarp and some 550 cord. Fire wouldn't be too much of a problem once I got the shelter made and could get some wood out of the rain. Always keeping a stock of wood and tinder dry would make life a lot easier.
This situation doesn't hold true in Hawaii where you can walk out of anywhere on the island in under 2 days. Would be pretty fun if you were well prepared though.
Evan
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2007
- Messages
- 39
I've eaten lots of rice and beans over semi-long periods of time, and never had any ill effects, but it should be mentioned I took vitamins and did have other foods.
A bottle of multivitamins would be good for you, but I think they are purely optional.
I'm not a doctor but I thought rice and beans when combined had all the essential amino acids, what they lacked where certain needed vitamins and minerals?
Found this online:
"Proteins are composed of amino acids, 12 of which are manufactured by the human body. Another 9, called essential amino acids, must he obtained from food. Most animal products, such as meat and dairy products, contain all of the essential amino acids and have been designated as containing complete proteins. Most proteins from vegetables also contain all 9 essential amino acids, but 1 or 2 may be low in a particular food compared with a protein from most animal sources. Beans, however, are rich sources of all essential amino acids."
taken from: http://www.vegsource.com/attwood/complete_protein.htm
I agree with AllenC's comments, you guys need to think "big pot", not "small cup". Same for the comments like "tarp for shelter"....a year is a long time, think camper or the materials and tools to build a small log cabin or other more semi-permanent form of shelter.
You bring more than 10 items for an overnight trip, let alone a year in the bush!
Collecter
You bring more than 10 items for an overnight trip, let alone a year in the bush!
Collecter
Beans and CORN make a perfect protein... not beans and rice. At least that's what they taught me in my nutrition course. Here's a link: http://www.csmngt.com/amino_acids.htm
Shotshells? Basically useless (I've seen a 38 from a J frame them fail to take a snake at 6 feet) and definitely useless beyond a few feet because the rifling makes a large whole appear in the middle of the "pattern". Wadcutters would be better for small game IMO but making a shot on a squirrel or rabbit is going to be difficult from a pistol.
Tracers? Why? Signalling? Why 50?
Lotsa 10/22s mentioned. They look cool and you can pretend they are assault rifles after you buy $400 worth of aftermarket crap, but I've never shot a stock 10/22 that was accurate. Now one with an aftermarket barrel (preferably made into a lightweight) makes me a little tingly.
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2007
- Messages
- 5,463
I'll stick with my Henry .22 lever action. 
I get 12 LR shots to hit my squirrel! 
I get 12 LR shots to hit my squirrel! Ooops. This one says rice and beans are a complete protein also: Plant proteins can be combined to provide all of the essential amino acids and form a complete protein. Examples of combined, complete plant proteins are rice and beans, milk and wheat cereal, and corn and beans. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002467.htm
I guess we have had different experiences....
I once killed a decent size blacksnake (about 2.5' long) with a .38 shotshell from an old Taurus revolver I once owned.
I shot the snake from about six feet away.
They will also kill mice and chipmunks and birds and such.
Good for frogs as well.
Not really, unless you're firing double-action unsupported.
But firing single-action from an arm-rest or support, it's not that difficult to pick squirrels and birds out the trees, within reasonable range.
Luckily, squirrels think they are safe even if they are just about eight feet above you in a tree.
Yep.
It certainly would not be an ideal signal, but when I was in the Gulf War I noticed that you could see the tracers from miles away....especially in the desert.
They can also start fires!
We once set the range on fire with tracers in Yakima during a FTX.
50 just seemed like the right number.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 1,449
1) Backpack
2) Sleeping bag
3) Hennessy Asym Hammock
4) Large Kleen Kanteen
5) ANOTHER Large Kleen Kanteen
6) 100' of 550 cord
7) Swamp Rat Ratweiler
8) TOPS Ranger Short stop
9) Flint Striker
10) Permanent match
2) Sleeping bag
3) Hennessy Asym Hammock
4) Large Kleen Kanteen
5) ANOTHER Large Kleen Kanteen
6) 100' of 550 cord
7) Swamp Rat Ratweiler
8) TOPS Ranger Short stop
9) Flint Striker
10) Permanent match
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2006
- Messages
- 1,196
Why not,
1 Sturdy tent or tarp
2 good sleeping bag
3 axe
4 Victorinox Ranger
5 Fire kit, army model firesteel, tender and a bic, if only one the firesteel
6 2 quart cook pot
7 plenty of cord
8 fishing kit
9 first aid kit
10 why not throw in a nice led light or lantern.
1 Sturdy tent or tarp
2 good sleeping bag
3 axe
4 Victorinox Ranger
5 Fire kit, army model firesteel, tender and a bic, if only one the firesteel
6 2 quart cook pot
7 plenty of cord
8 fishing kit
9 first aid kit
10 why not throw in a nice led light or lantern.
I suppose good clothing/boots and in my case glases don´t count, so my list of the 10 essentials items is
1. Becker B9 or Bk 10
2. Leatherman wave
3. Swedish Army Fire Steel
4. Heavy Canvas Tarp
5. Stainless cooking pot 2 quarts
6. Lots of Paracord
7. 1st aid kit including a couple needles
8. watercontainer -at least 10 Liters, preferrably bigger
9. 12 gauge shotgun with about 80 rounds birdshot and 20 slugs
10. Heavy wool blanket or sleeping bag
Diamond file of the leatherman wave doubles as sharpener for the main knife.
All can be transportet in an improvised sack using the tarp or the blanket
I would prefer a double barrel sxs shotgun with external hammers
100 rounds should be enough to gather food during 1 year, 12 gauge caliber gives protection against whatever.
If winter climate is cold substitute the tarp with an axe.
If the climate is warm or hot all year substitute the wool blanket with 5 pounds salt.
1. Becker B9 or Bk 10
2. Leatherman wave
3. Swedish Army Fire Steel
4. Heavy Canvas Tarp
5. Stainless cooking pot 2 quarts
6. Lots of Paracord
7. 1st aid kit including a couple needles
8. watercontainer -at least 10 Liters, preferrably bigger
9. 12 gauge shotgun with about 80 rounds birdshot and 20 slugs
10. Heavy wool blanket or sleeping bag
Diamond file of the leatherman wave doubles as sharpener for the main knife.
All can be transportet in an improvised sack using the tarp or the blanket
I would prefer a double barrel sxs shotgun with external hammers
100 rounds should be enough to gather food during 1 year, 12 gauge caliber gives protection against whatever.
If winter climate is cold substitute the tarp with an axe.
If the climate is warm or hot all year substitute the wool blanket with 5 pounds salt.
I saw a program on TV about a family (two adults and two teenagers) living on an island up in northern Norway. They had a boat coming in about every sixth month or so so they had to make plan properly.
They did not have to just pick ten things, they had about ten big plastic drums with gear but still, it is six month.
In theory you might make do with the ten things like knife, firesteel, blanket and so on, but to live a somewhat decent life you need a lot more.
"make a list of ten items to bring" and people add one of this and one of that and one of those and a firearm with gazillion different rounds.
A shotgun without shells is as useful as a matchbox without matches.
You are not likely to find ammo lying around like in the computer games.
Anyway. My list would be:
1. Fallkniven F1
2. LM Fuse
3. Bahco folding saw
4. Tarp
5. Woll blanket
6. Sw army firesteel
7. Swedish army billy can (actually two parts fitted together)
8. Paracord
9. Watertight notebook with a pencil.
10. First Aid kit
They did not have to just pick ten things, they had about ten big plastic drums with gear but still, it is six month.
In theory you might make do with the ten things like knife, firesteel, blanket and so on, but to live a somewhat decent life you need a lot more.
"make a list of ten items to bring" and people add one of this and one of that and one of those and a firearm with gazillion different rounds.
A shotgun without shells is as useful as a matchbox without matches.
You are not likely to find ammo lying around like in the computer games.
Anyway. My list would be:
1. Fallkniven F1
2. LM Fuse
3. Bahco folding saw
4. Tarp
5. Woll blanket
6. Sw army firesteel
7. Swedish army billy can (actually two parts fitted together)
8. Paracord
9. Watertight notebook with a pencil.
10. First Aid kit