Favorite Wilderness Gadgets?

ugh gadgets.:grumpy: In this neck of the world it means the yuppie-econazi-veganpreaching-lacto-ovo extremist-MEC-fleecesporting-logoflashing-VW driving-hikers carry ipods, cell phones, coolers, expresso makers, bear bells, dog poo bag holders, camp stoves with 20 different attachments , 20 piece camp cook sets, expresso cups, wine glasses, salad spinners, folding cutting boards, sushi rolls, coffee presses, hoodads, hoedads, dingdings whatzits tonkatoys and etc etc etc etc etcbasically everything they have at home they bring with them. :rolleyes:

each to their own i suppose, but if i have to carry you out, your gadgets, whatzits geedoodads whiz bang crap is getting thrown to to the bears.:grumpy:

resist the urge to buy doodads! :grumpy: NATURE willprovide what you need, and you will be richer off for learning the basics than relying on ipods, cell phones, coolers, expresso makers, bear bells, dog poo bag holders, camp stoves with 20 different attachments , 20 piece camp cook sets, expresso cups, wine glasses, salad spinners, folding cutting boards, sushi rolls, coffee presses, hoodads, hoedads, dingdings whatzits tonkatoys and etc etc etc etc etcbasically everything they have at home they bring with them. :rolleyes:

BAH HUMBUG! LUDDITES UNITE!
 
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P-38 can opener, small and can be used to



1. Can Opener
2. Seam Ripper
3. Screwdriver
4. Clean Fingernails
5. Cut Fishing Line
6. Open Paint Cans
7. Window Scraper
8. Scrape Around Floor Corners
9. Digging
10. Clean Out Groove on Tupperware lids
11. Reach in and Clean Out Small Cracks
12. Scrape Around Edge of Boots
13. Bottle Opener
14. Gut Fish (in the field)
15. Scale Fish (in the field)
16. Test for 'Doneness' When Baking on a Camp Fire
17. Prying Items
18. Strip Wire
19. Scrape Pans in the Field
20. Lift Key on Flip Top Cans
21. Chisel
22. Barter
23. Marking Tool
24. Deflating Tires
25. Clean Sole of Boot/Shoe
26. Pick Teeth
27. Measurement
28. Striking Flint
29. Stirring Coffee
30. Puncturing Plastic Coating
31. Knocking on Doors
32. Morse Code
33. Box Cutter
34. Opening Letters
35. Write Emergency Messages
36. Scratch an Itch
37. Save as a Souvenir
38. Rip Off Rank for On-the-Spot Promotions
39. Bee sting removal tool (scrape off w/ blade)
40. Knife sharpener
41. shuck oysters
 
Hmm... Cast in reverse order of appearance. :p

The nifty little full-curve carving knife from Frosts of Sweden, which I got today, along with a Mora (thread about all this later, I promise—for now, know that I'm sold on these) is just really, well, nifty! I carved a spoon out of holly this afternoon using the Fiskar's (see below) to rough it out, the Mora (a Frosts 740) to do the fine stuff, and the full-curve blade to cut out the bowl. I'm pretty proud of the result, which is currently drying on top of the stove.

Also, the new Fiskar's 14" hatchet I got yesterday. Still have to take and post pics, along with my other new stuff. I sharpened it up to hair-popping, and it'll do most anything asked of it. Far more versatile than I'd anticipated, glad I took the general advice of the forum and bought it.

My new Barmah canvas drover I bought on vacation. This hat kicks serious rear end. It's lightweight, comfy, waterproof oiled canvas, keeps the sun out of my eyes and off my neck, (especially when combined with a bandanna) could be used for a water carrier in a pinch, and has the added benefit of making me look dashingly handsome. :D

A good hank of 550 paracord and a good book on knots to go with it is not only insanely useful, but entertaining as well. I spent a large part of a 4-hour ride recently teaching myself various knots from a book I picked up (The Handbook of Knots, by Des Pawson).

My all-time favorite remains my trusty SAK, though. The day I find anything more useful, anything I'd less want to be without, is the day my hat goes into this mouth of mine.
 
Good stuff guys! Bushman--we are in full agreement about techno-wizz gadgets. Totally unnecessary. What I mean are the components of your kit that you either find yourself reaching for on a regular basis OR take up little space and make things more convenient at odd moments even though you don't need them.

One of my faves is one of those silly plastic band-aid dispensers that I got from the Buck booth at my last SHOT show. Does a really good job of keeping them from getting crushed. A few weeks ago I was driving down to southern Maine for a job interview when I realized I'd forgotten to brush my teeth before I'd left. That just wouldn't do so I dropped in at a Wal*Mart and snagged a brush and a travel tube of paste. The back of the toothbrush package was perforated; something told me to open it with my knife but I ignored it. While struggling with the perforated backing I slipped and the edge of the plastic sliced my knuckle open badly and I started bleeding everywhere. I reached into my back and pulled out my dispenser and I was all set, if sore!

It's always the stupidest things I cut myself on: staples, cardboard, bad splinters...never knives!
 
I know just what you mean, FortyTwoBlades, I cut myself with a knife for the first time in...months, I think, today. Those plastic clamshell packages are a hazard to society, I tell you. I love those little band-aid dispensers, too, I've got one from New Graham on my fridge. :D
 
Head lamp. Don't leave home with out it. :thumbup:
 
dd61999 said:
P-38 can opener, small and can be used to



1. Can Opener
2. Seam Ripper
3. Screwdriver
4. Clean Fingernails
5. Cut Fishing Line
6. Open Paint Cans
7. Window Scraper
8. Scrape Around Floor Corners
9. Digging
10. Clean Out Groove on Tupperware lids
11. Reach in and Clean Out Small Cracks
12. Scrape Around Edge of Boots
13. Bottle Opener
14. Gut Fish (in the field)
15. Scale Fish (in the field)
16. Test for 'Doneness' When Baking on a Camp Fire
17. Prying Items
18. Strip Wire
19. Scrape Pans in the Field
20. Lift Key on Flip Top Cans
21. Chisel
22. Barter
23. Marking Tool
24. Deflating Tires
25. Clean Sole of Boot/Shoe
26. Pick Teeth
27. Measurement
28. Striking Flint
29. Stirring Coffee
30. Puncturing Plastic Coating
31. Knocking on Doors
32. Morse Code
33. Box Cutter
34. Opening Letters
35. Write Emergency Messages
36. Scratch an Itch
37. Save as a Souvenir
38. Rip Off Rank for On-the-Spot Promotions
39. Bee sting removal tool (scrape off w/ blade)
40. Knife sharpener
41. shuck oysters
Click to expand...

42. Baton wood
43. Make fuzzy sticks
44. Cut yourself because you're worthless
45. Punch voting card in Florida and create a huge national crisis with a dangling chad. (I thought this was a guy who played with the village people, who knew)
 
Kyp Degal said:
I know just what you mean, FortyTwoBlades, I cut myself with a knife for the first time in...months, I think, today. Those plastic clamshell packages are a hazard to society, I tell you. I love those little band-aid dispensers, too, I've got one from New Graham on my fridge. :D
Click to expand...

A bit OT but the road to 'true happiness' is never try to open plastic clamshell packages with anything other than EMT shears. NEVER!

Back on topic...what's wrong with backpacking with a salad spinner, Bushman?!? How do you drain your Endive and raddiccio salad? ;)

Actually, for some 'wilderness areas' EMT shears are a necessary gadget. I'm talking about the 'other 85%' of the planet, the unexplored part that is under water. I never go into that wilderness area without EMT shears along with my dive knife. There is too much metal leader material and heavy weight monofilement line lurking around the reefs just waiting to trap the careless diver and a good dive knife just isn't the right tool to deal with that stuff. I found that one out the hard way. :o

Stitchawl
 
Tough call - I use my binoculars most I think of everything I pack. I probably enjoy the firesteel most.
 
Most of my gear trends towards the anti-gadget. My knife is an Opinel, for example.

Can't go anywhere without a camera, extra film, and lenses. But since I'm still shooting old-school film with a camera model that's not even in production any longer, the "gadget" factor is minimal.

The one true gadget that I've found to be entertaining and useful, the GPS. I don't use it for navigating, but I collect waypoints at interesting locations and random intervals so I can see where I've been after I get back home. :)
 
That's a good one...even in the woods you could use it for casting lines over branches...
 
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