2011 give away WE HAVE A WINNER

gradall5200

gradall5200

Joined
Mar 12, 2006
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WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!! CUTS LIKE A KRIS GET A HOLD OF ME PM OR EMAIL jdsandeno@yahoo.com

First happy new year to all here! Let me start by saying Ive gotten more good ideas and great advice here than anywhere or from any one person in my life. So as a thank you I want to give away a knife.

No real rules this just cant be your first post in the wss form.

To get into the contest, TIPS OR TRICKS! you have to give some sort of a home made idea for survival kit contents, some neat trick you have for out in the woods, Some way to improvise anything ,or really any inexpensive WSS type of thing or just something you think is a good idea. you dont have to have invented it or even have one or anything like this just good ideas. So its really pretty open, you can post more than once Im just going to throw all the names in a hat and have my 4 year old pick one out, NOT according to your idea or anything so regardless of your tip or trick your in the contest. It will end next Sunday at Noon or so and I will pick a winner!!

the knife- nothing fancy a condor neck knife think its called a bush buddy? and probablly be an extra trinket or two in the package as well. Good luck everyone- Joel


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I will get the ball rolling with one of my favorite tips- The torch striker emergency fire steel. You can get a pack of 5 for only a couple of dollars$$ and although they are small they throw a really good spark in an emergency. I saw this idea in outdoor life or something like that and tried it and it worked awesome- Joel

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Well, I don't have photos but, many individuals like to carry PJ impregnated cotton balls for fire making. I found that for me 100% cotton facial pads are a little more efficient and last longer. Facial pads are denser and very compact so they give you a long burn time and take a lot less space even fully impregnate with PJ, but being denser they may seem to be more difficult to ignite. Well, they are made of two cotton layers. Just separate the layers and use one. Separating the layers exposes the center and prepares the surface of the layer to take a spark. If you don't need a long burn time, you can break the layer into smaller sections.
 
If you are older or have sensitive knees, carrying one lightweight gardener's kneepad adds quite a bit of comfort when you are frequently kneeling on gravel or twigs to cook over a campfire.

DancesWithKnives
 
Once on a hike that involved a pretty steep trail up, and a return trip down that same trail, I started to get brutal cramps in my quads. I used some kerlix(gauze) and duct tape to hold one of those instant hand warmer packets to each of my legs, right where they were cramping. After a couple minutes to let them heat up, the warmth from the hand warmers loosened my muscles considerably, and pretty much stopped the cramping. If it wasn't for doing this, I wouldn't have been able to continue without waiting for the cramping to stop, which probably wouldve had me hiking down in the dark.
 
Neatest trick in the book...take your cotton ball (PJ soaked or not) and fluff it out on a handy leaf or bark..shred whatever you are using as tinder onto it (cattail fluff,punky wood,fatwood shavings ect)..The cotton will snag it so that not even high winds will take it off.
 
Great giveaway and thanks for the chance.
No fancy tip here, just one word. Twine.
It's great for cordage (Obviously), light and when roughed up it takes a spark nicely for fire lighting. I used to always carry paracord only, but because it's a tad expensive, I'd loathe cutting it up and making mistakes. Twine can be picked up in great big rolls for a dollar.
 
Thanks for the giveaway! You mentioned cheap and although it's not as cool as starting a fire with a bow drill or something I absolutely love my pop-can stoves. Super light-weight, can boil water pretty darn quickly, cost was next to nothing and they are a great project to make with my Boy Scouts.

Don't get me wrong, we do plenty of campouts where matches, lighters, etc... are not allowed ;)
 
I put string on everything and keep it attatched to me or my pack so I cant lose it. I also keep my knife on a pistol leash so I can use it but if I drop it the knife wont go far. I like to bring 2 coloes of "marking" tape orange and lime green to mark things or paths to places from camp so I dont worry about getting lost just untie it and bring it out with you when you leave. A code to live buy when selecting and packing gear for a trip " two is one, one is none" always have a backup item for when the first one fails!
 
if you're camping in the cold, or need to keep your boots on when you're sleeping, turn you sleeping bag stuff sack inside out, put your feet (boots on!) in it and get in your sleeping bag, it'll keep you warmer and the boots will be warm when you wake up.
Thanks for the opportunity
 
Great contest! Not my original tip but cotton piping from the sewing section at Wally world makes a great way to carry and use just the right amount of tinder. If you keep the tip charred, it will catch even a traditional flint and steel spark.
 
Thanks for the contest! For a cool way to carry a lot of surprisingly strong cord in a small kit (like an Altoids PSK) buy a package of dental tape (it's thicker than dental floss) and crack open the container. The spool inside is nice and compact and the thread is incredibly strong!
 
Thanks for the chance. Apair of gloves and about 50 feet of modern quality rope are worth the weight when you need them and can be used in several ways ie glove make a good pot holder and rope can be used for lashing if needed or rescue.
 
I use a tarp as shelter instead of a tent. I keep four 50 foot lengths of paracord on the plastic "H" shaped holder that they came on. I never cut them. I wrap around the tree then over the line both directions. I never, didn't have enough to pitch my tent and when you break camp you don't have to deal with knots.
 
I like to carry a large carpenters Pencil sharpener in my kit.it makes it easy to get dry easly ignited tinder from twigs, even in the wettest weather
 
thanks for the give-away
coming up on 1000 posts and looking forward to giving back to this group

have a 4' x 2' piece of water proof canvas
scrap left over when a friend recovered her patio furniture
hemmed at the ends for making a camp chair outta big sticks n twine
now its always in my pack
folds flat, weighs little
being waterproof if sat on in snow or damp conditions just shake and its clean/dry
nothing sticks to it
great for putting down under knees when starting a fire, or filling water bag
cover a stump or rock or whatever when making a snack
strung up with some cord to shield wind from stove or fire
and yeah, sometime i make a chair outta it
 
thanks for the chances :)

straws- I use regular straws, heat one end and crimp w/ a pair of pliers- stuff pjcb's into the end w/ a match stick, when I get the right length- heat the other end and crimp it and voila a firestraw :)

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coffee stirrers- same concept, but I put in a heavy needle or two, seal and the wrap w/ spiderwire (or other Spectra fishing line) for a compact repair kit

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I always bring a neon orange hat into the bush.
Several years ago I found it washed up on the beach, a little wet and sandy, but it was free.
It's uses are limitless:
Keep your head warm.
Use it to handle hot pots.
Use it to signal for help.
Pull some lint off of it and you have got tinder.
By sowing pockets into the inside, I have another place to store small gear i.e. needle and thread.
I can tear it into individual thread and then braid these into rope.
I have cuffed it and stuck sticks into the cuff to create a visor and save my eyes in a pinch.
By far, this piece of gear has saved my life more times than anything else.
It was actually retired several months ago, I ended up getting separated from my pack after flipping in a kayak going down white water on a kayak trip. The only thing on me was the hat and my knife and fire steel. I was able to hike down the river and find my boat and pack snagged by a tree, but on the opposite side of the rushing, 42 degree stream. I broke my hat down into thread and wove a rope, and then used a stick for a grappling hook. I caught my kayak with it on the fifth try and pulled it to me.
I was torn that day, this hat had been through more than anything else I owned.
About a week later, I was given ten safety orange hats from a close friend who knew what the hat meant to me.
To this day, these hats mean life or death to me, they either make or break a trip, and I never leave my house without one.
Thanks for the opportunity!
 
Thanks for the chance .A dollar store shower curtain makes an awesome lightweight emergency shelter and is much more sturdier than a garbage bag.
 
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