3 Essential Pieces of Gear for an Outing

sicily02 said:
I think you have the 3 out of five things you should carry no matter what when you leave your house. The other 2 items are cord and Shelter. With those 5 items and the clothes on your back you could sure make night or two out alot easyer to deal with.

Shelter, Cutting tool, Fire maker of some type, cord and a metal container.

Bryan
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Yep. Cord, cutter, container, combustion, and cover (shelter).

I've historically done pretty good on cutter, combustion, and cover (if you count a survival blanket/tarp). Not so good on cord or container until recently.

The cutters vary, the covers, too. Combustion, not so much (firesteel, as well as a lighter if possible). Cord is now typically a decent length of 550, and either a canteen cup, or a titanium or stainless cup that nests outside a nalgene.
 
One other thing, a real useful way to emphasize to your newbie friend the need to carry this stuff is to stage, ahem, demonstrate the usefulness. Maybe you take a little hike and stop to show him how to fuzz a stick, then start a small fire to boil a tea or hot cocoa. Or maybe rig up a quicky shelter (poncho and bungies are super quick) to make some shade or quick shelter from a sudden rainstorm etc. Some people just aren't of the "be prepared" mindset but maybe you can market it as a convenience.

Of course, you still show examples of people actually needing their gear for emergencies or unexpected circumstances. Read about it. Point out clips from the news etc. If they start to buy into it, have them carry the gear on short outings in which they might think they have no need for gear by claiming you plan to take a few minutes out of the hike to "practice" using the preparedness gear.

Is your friend into fitness? Then emphasize carrying the stuff to condition their body in case they do decide to get into longer hikes .

Keep trying. Three or five items is sure better than nothing.
 
nemoaz said:
One other thing, a real useful way to emphasize to your newbie friend the need to carry this stuff is to stage, ahem, demonstrate the usefulness. Maybe you take a little hike and stop to show him how to fuzz a stick, then start a small fire to boil a tea or hot cocoa. Or maybe rig up a quicky shelter (poncho and bungies are super quick) to make some shade or quick shelter from a sudden rainstorm etc. Some people just aren't of the "be prepared" mindset but maybe you can market it as a convenience.

Of course, you still show examples of people actually needing their gear for emergencies or unexpected circumstances. Read about it. Point out clips from the news etc. If they start to buy into it, have them carry the gear on short outings in which they might think they have no need for gear by claiming you plan to take a few minutes out of the hike to "practice" using the preparedness gear.

Is your friend into fitness? Then emphasize carrying the stuff to condition their body in case they do decide to get into longer hikes .

Keep trying. Three or five items is sure better than nothing.
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My little brother is accustomed to a different type of camping, not my style. He's been out with me, and thinks what I do is magic. I'm not trying to turn his lifestyle around, he's living his own life, and I mine. There's 11yrs of age difference between us, and we have had an estranged relationship all along. Only recently, have we been brothers.

My OP was about what I thought was MY essentials, not the only gear I think I need. I take a full loadout everytime I step off the pavement. I never skimp on my gear, but my pack weighs out at 25lbs. When I laid out a list of what my little bro will need, its very similar to my load out, but, his finances won't allow for him to build an entire kit. Plus considering the amount of use it will get, he shouldn't buy much, mainly, because his older brother is a gear whore, and I usually have doubles on everything.

What my OP was about was not a survival kit, I have those, in triplicate. It was about the 3 mosted used pieces of gear that I own. I can't imagine being in the woods without my cup, knife, and firesteel.

The list I gave my little bro was a 10x10 tarp ($6), Canteen, cup, cover ($15), knife (got him covered there), food (dry pack), sleeping bag (he's got that one, amazing), Bic lighter x3 ($5), warm clothes (he's got that), good boots (he's got those too). With those items, and what I got, I get to spend 2 days in the woods, bumming around with a brother I just learned I have, BS'ing about women, booze, music, guns, boats, cars, and trucks.

If he wants to learn, I'll teach him, but we mostly go out just to hang out, and be brothers.

Moose
 
6shooter said:
Some interesting points made for sure, however, I disagree on the dangerous animal point. Grizzly, and less so black bear, cougars, moose, have all been known for pretty vicious attacks. That said, I've never carried a gun in the bush(due to legal restrictions), and as of yet, I haven't come across a situation that I'd need one, but I certainly wouldn't say BC doesn't have any dangerous animals.
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:thumbup: +1 BC has more than its fair share of dangerous animals that an outdoorsman may have to face while on an outing.

This thread reminded me off an incident that occurred in BC in August 2002. After reading about this mans encounter with a mountain lion, I'd never go into mountain lion territory without a good sized one-hand opening folder or preferably a 5-6 inch fixed blade.

Link to the story: http://www.cougarinfo.org/attacks3.htm scroll down to year 2002.

This is an incredible survival story and the 61 yr old man is one tough SOB. I remember when this incident occurred and when David Parker was in hospital recovering from his extensive wounds he stated that he wished he had a one-hand opening folding knife with him.
There are some attached (GRAPHIC) pictures which show his injuries and what appears to be a Buck 110 folder or a knockoff. He suffered his greatest injuries when he had to release the cougar's head in order to use both hands to open the folder and then slit the cougars throat.

Several knife manufacturers stepped forward and sent him one of their one-handed opening blades when this story hit the news and the survival forums. Kudos to them!!

I believe that one should learn from another persons survival situation, and I have.
Having a knife, either a good folder or fixed blade on your person while out in the wilds is an absolute necessity. It should rank as the # 1 item on any persons must have list when going out on a trip.

The odds of being killed by a cougar are pretty slim but they do occur, and I'd rather have a good knife on my person than a folding saw to fend off a wild animal attack-the weight is negligible to most as we're accustomed to carrying a knife anyway.:D

We can't carry any firearms into the bush:grumpy: (except hunting season) up here in Canada so it's bear spray-and- pray for carnivore attacks.
 
Ptaltaica762 said:
Having a knife, either a good folder or fixed blade on your person while out in the wilds is an absolute necessity. It should rank as the # 1 item on any persons must have list when going out on a trip.
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Good post. I think this part is key.

In a hypothetical situation where I can ONLY have 3 items, a knife wont be one of them. I'll be focused on the three items that will ensure my immediate survival through a night or two (poncho for shelter, firesteel for heat, and a folding saw for both). Keep in mind this is in regards to my local environment, where it rains non stop and fire is basically impossible without a huge knife, axe, or saw. I only choose the saw because it is the safest most efficient tool, and easiest to use under stress for the two specific needs mentioned before. We're talking short term survival, here. Versatility isn't as important.

However, in a REAL situation, I'll always have a knife or two on me. Hell, often times an axe as well. I will never advocate going into the woods without a blade; my first post in this thread was just meant to provoke some thought on "order of importance", I guess. Preparing for the likelihoods over the slight possibilities. Like... I'm still much more worried about hypothermia than a cougar attack. So in that hypothetical situation, bring on the folding saw!

On a related note, it's still my opinion that people tend to be more worried about animals than they should be. You always hear about the bear or cougar attack precisely because it is so rare. Rare enough to be news worthy when it happens. Buddy freezing to death on a peak or falling down a cliff, on the other hand? Happens too often for people to care about or hear about.
 
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