hypothetical question here.

dbltap45acp

dbltap45acp

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Dec 19, 2008
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If you were starting from scratch, or let's say hind sight is 20/20 and you could redo a few things, what would you buy? Let's say you are going on a trip and need all your gear and money is no real issue here. Would you buy the same stuff you already have, or would you do things different?

What wouuld you buy, make a list of what you concider the best pieces of kit for you. From head to toe, boots to packs, knives and fire steels, what gear would you choose.

I'm just bored and can't sleep, so I figured if anyone else is bored they may answer. It also may help some newbies with choosing gear. Just picture yourself having nothing and buying everything you need.

GOD I need sleep!
 
Not sure what kind of trip were talking about here, but I'll reply anyway. I should add that I am a bit of a newb, so feedback on this list is welcome and appreciated. Since this is knife site we'll start there. I currently have an esee-5, an izula, and gerber axe with a saw in the handle. Everything I currently have works great, but its excessive, and heavy. the ESEE-5 weighs a pound by itself.If i had it to do over, I would probably go with a ~4 inch camp knife and a heavy machete. I would also carry a multi tool. After that....
Eberlestock Skycrane II- two packs in one with lots of options for organization.
A.R.S. Dog Tag
ESEE E&E Kit -lots of useful stuff in there.
ESEE Fire Kit -with tinder stored inside
My Surefire E2D LED
Bic lighter
dry bag- yes they keep water out, but they can also hold water
Grand Trunk Hybrid Shelter
Cardboard candle(hobo stove)
Any footwear made by Danner and suitable for the environment.
extra socks, bandana, boonie hat
Theres more but I am also posting while tired. I will add to this list as I go.
 
Cotton Boonie
Wool watch cap
Rain Jacket with hood.
Sunglasses
Wool Sweater
Long sleeved woolen shirt
Long sleeved synthetic shirt
Short sleeved T-shirt.
Belt
Rain pants
Long pants, wool or synthetic
Gym shorts
Two pair underwear.
Long synthetic underwear
Two pair socks
Boots
Leather gloves.

Back pack, large enough for a five day treck

Trangia cook kit, stove and fuel.
Chopsticks

SAK

Water purification system, and bladder.

Hammock
Blanket.

The Ten Essentials, a signaling system and first aid kit.

Next of kin card, ICE card.
 
I'd never spend money on a Gerber, and that's probably 200 dollars right there. I wish I'd hadn't been self taught how to sharpen, and I wish I'd have known not to backstroke a file. I'd have ditched the 100 dollar tent entirely for 2 20 dollar silnylon tarps. I wouldn't have spent any money on an ESEE3 or on any of the high speed low drag but incredibly fragile ultralight stuff like my North Face Skareb 40 or Rucky Chuckies. I wish I hadn't dropped a dime on a pair of Born shoes, I haven't had a pair last more than 3 months. I wish I'd invested in a good fullsized axe and fly rod earlier. I still wish I had a good trail dog. I wish I'd known how to camp cook like I do now, and to be meticulous about not dropping/losing crap. I wouldn't have spent any money on any of the fancy designer wool socks, but instead stuck with Fox River and Wigwam (Grew up within 30 miles of both plants and my pro biathlete father always said not to waste money on anything else). Wish I would have known of the Lansky Puck earlier in the game than trying to profile machetes inch by inch down the edge. Instead of buying piles of guns I'd have invested in a telemark setup. I'd have built a nice .22 caliber benchrest trainer alot earlier. I'd have bought less tacticool crap on manventureoutpost. I wouldn't have touched polyester or synthetic insulating layers, wool only. I'd have spent more money on Eddie Bauer bush shirts while they sold them. I would not have touched TAD Gear with a 10 foot pole-between their price, quality and customer service they are the worst experience I have had with a piece of kit. I would not have bought a double action pistol. Wish I didn't waste money on a GPS system, I never use the damn thing and when I want to the batteries have been sitting unused so long they're dead anyway. I'd have been more meticulous with camera care-been through way too many.
If I had to do it all over, I'd do something like this.

Mora 840 for learning the ropes of usage and maintenance
Karesuando Boar
Becker BK7
Marbles Scout Machete
Tramontina 14 inch machete
Fiskars Woodzig Saw
Scandinavian Forest Axe
Eberlestock V69 (didn't exist back then)
Ketadyn Pro instead of burning 15 dollar Aquamira bottles (have had bad luck losing/breaking them)
A set of pro waterstones @ 800, 1200, 1500, 2000 and 6000 grit
A pair of Lowa or Garmont lightweight midheight boots
Dale of Norway Storebjorn or Toten jacket and baselayers
A nice Schofield style revolver and an octagonal levergun in .357 Mag
A nice light pair of working gloves (there is NO good reason to want to abuse your hands-they start to get old and sore real fast)
Maintained a good trail journal
I could go on for a ways...
 
from a shooting sports view...switched to the G17L then G34 when they first came out.... same with the Benelli M1 Super 90 Field....kept the M1A...
 
First things first: Unless you have a lot of extra gear or money, screw BOBs. make small, portable, practical PSKs and know how to use them.
As for knives go: I would never have bought a folding knife larger than a swiss army knife. A Case Peanut and SAK are all that i think is necessary for pocket carry. For fixed blades I shouldn't have spent so much money on junk. All I need is my Puukko. Nothing bigger, heavier, or more expensive. It's lightweight, inexpensive, and carves through wood like its nothing. Any task bigger can be handled with an axe and/or saw
The big one... fishing crap! Little did i know that ALL I would end up using is bait hooks, worm hooks, rooster tails, a little rapala or tiny torpedo or two, some twist tails, and worm and craw plastics. My go-to stuff is - live bait! I probably spent $500 bucks on lures and boxes and rods and such that I don't use.
Here's my daypack loadout for bushcraft (screwing around with a knife, axe, and fire): my puukko, pocket knife, folding saw and sometimes a hatchet, flashlight, coffee can/clothes hanger wire cooking pot, ferro rod and lighter + tinder, a good poncho or tarp, cordage, handline fishing kit, something to touch up your knives, a good first aid kit, and random small items - oh and SPAM
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY - Your $300 dollar bushcraft knife and your $200 GB axe don't mean crap if you don't know how to use them. Knowledge is first, tools are second. Just look at hobbexp on youtube. Uses a $9 Mora and can make anything he wants. Try to get books because knowledge is everything.
I wish I would have read something like this a few years ago. Would've saved me time and money
 
If I was doing it all over again, I wouldn't have bought all the knives I have, would have gotten into smaller knives sooner, and moras, the first one I had didn't make me like them, it should have. More wool, better boots, better socks. That said, while there are some pieces of gear that I own, that I don't use much, they fit their role perfectly, and I would not want to change that at all. Mostly I would get out and do more, I wasted a lot of time that I can't get back.
 
To be honest, with unlimited funds I probably would still have wanted to buy and try all of the stuff I've tried so far and even more. The big difference for me would be affording the time to go and try out all of the stuff sooner, so that I could spend more time actually using my experience and less time obsessing about how I'm going to get experience. And I'd have spent more money on classes, books, trips, education, etc.
 
This is a GREAT thread!
PayetteRucker said:
I wouldn't have spent any money on an ESEE3
Click to expand...
Just curious, what was it about the ESEE 3 you didn't like? (I had thought about getting one.)
OzarkCreekWalker, that was an excellent suggestion to watch hobbexp on youtube. ;)
-Bruce
 
I love the blade design and it's a wicked slicer. It's the handles I don't like, I've said it many times but it's an apt description-the handle is shaped like a bar of soap. you put any kind of pressure on it for doing detailed carving work and the curvy boattail grip pushes right out the front of your hand. I have bad hands and just can't sacrifice so much effort into controlling a blade for long termed detail work. A simple Mora 840's handle is much more comfortable and efficient.
 
PayetteRucker said:
I love the blade design and it's a wicked slicer. It's the handles I don't like, I've said it many times but it's an apt description-the handle is shaped like a bar of soap. you put any kind of pressure on it for doing detailed carving work and the curvy boattail grip pushes right out the front of your hand. I have bad hands and just can't sacrifice so much effort into controlling a blade for long termed detail work. A simple Mora 840's handle is much more comfortable and efficient.
Click to expand...
GOTCHA, Thanks. :)
-Bruce
 
I'm always trying new stuff but I tend to always go back to my early gear choices. Nothing exciting just the old reliable stuff too boring to list. I still prefer the same sleeping bag I bought over 20 years ago from Sears. I gave my nice new NorthFace bag to my daughter. Some items do come to mind that I really appreciate and rely on,
- suunto ranger type compass
- Vic Soldier knife
- Stylus Pro light
- Tikka headlamp
- 12" machete
- wool fingerless army gloves
- carhart vest
- canteen & case with loops sewn on to attach shoulder strap
- and my old Acme whistle
 
i wouldnt have bought all the busses that i had...not that i dont like them i just couldve used the money to go out and do things (island hopping). i have very few knives now all are dedicated to their own task...mora for woodwork, mora each of my usual bags as a backup, opinel in my sons pack esee3 for edc and scrapyard SOD for beating on (machetes and SAKs dont count). i think i have a gossman psk jr necker somewhere but its more sentimental value. im VERY cautious about gear...last bag i bought was a maxped condor2 before that my last bag was bought my JR year of HS (TNF lobster and im now in my early 30s)...still have it but its just not big enough and doesnt hold a bladder well. ive learned to never impulse buy because usually you either dont NEED it or there is something better out there (isnt there always).

i think the only recent purchase ive made that i might sell would be the esee lite machete...its a nice machete but my trams work just as well and are cheaper and i wont dont feel as bad when i hit a rock with them (lots of buffalo grass on my property).

i usually see something i think i need then really mull it over for about a week while researching to make sure its the one for me...it took me about 3months to buy a torch but with a little help from a brian andrews review i bought a 4sevens quark 123^2...love the thing.

i now have great gear and dont need to buy anything....its kinda boring :)

ETA: i bought a benchmade 551S w/ wilkinsgrip.....and i dont even really use it...total impulse buy.
 
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Instead of going head-to-toe, I’ll just throw out a random list of gear that I would seek out which has worked very well for me in the past…

Sliver Gripper tweezers
Sawyer gravity water filter systems
Polar Pure…long lasting and robust water purification
Synthetic long-sleeve shirts (Craghoppers, 5.11, Columbia, Orvis, Ex Officio)
Wool base layers (Ice Breakers, Ibex, Smartwool)
Chaco sandals
Zebra LED headlamp
Kangaroo leather gloves (thin, tough and long lasting)
Filson packer hat or Tilley for summer wear
OTB Jungle boots
Danner hiking boots
Optimus Plus multi-fuel stove
Emberlit titanium folding stove
Sea-to-Summit folding bucket
Collapsible water containers (Platypus, Nalgene, MSR Dromedary)
Bahco folding saw
Burt’s bees chap stick
Oakley Half-Jacket protective eyewear/sunglasses
Polar-Tec fleece watch cap
Buff/Recon wrap nylon neck gaiter
Fallkniven DC4 double-sided sharpening stone
JRE leather pack strop
Novatac/HDS LED multifunction flashlight
My home-made Going-Gear capsule-handled firesteels
Hill People Gear chest-mounted Kit Bag
Kifaru Woobie
Sil-Nylon tarp/fly
BCUSA tarps
Mors Bush Pots
LMF titanium spork
Warbonnet’s Blackbird hammock
Smartwool socks
Ex Officio mesh underwear
Cammenga tritium wrist compass
Nite-Ize Figure-9 cord tensioning device
NATO canteen and Crusader cup combo
Skookum Bush Tool
BHK machete
Gransfors Bruks SFA
Fallkniven WM-1
Martin Knives Bushcraft-Tactical
SAK Outrider
Victorinox Spirit Multitool
Emerson CQC-10 folder
Emmrod fishing poles
Rail Rider cargo pants
Marmot soft shell pants
Swaandri wool Ranger and Bush shirts
Kifaru packs (off-trail use)
Osprey packs (trail use)
Swiss Spice humid-proof salt and pepper shaker

ROCK6
 
IF money is not an object...

Winkler Camp Axe
Kifaru backpack, the Armor Grip or similar
Kifaru Woobie, and Doobie(colder temps)
Fenix PD31, or similar flashlight, max output with a low output setting to save battery life.
Hennessy Hammock
Guyot SS water bottles, you can boil in them!
CCW license(based on your area)
.357 Magnum with 4" barrel (can use snakeshot, .38 specials, +P's, and .357 mags(up to 200 grain hardcast) lots of choices, enough power for the S.E.(no Grizzly bears)
A machete with a better handle (Fiddleback, ESEE, BHK) if you need a machete
Merino Wool long underwear and socks, best stuff ever. Fleece sucks, a thrift store lambs wool sweater is better.
Predator Tools hercules shovel
ESEE fire kit, ferro rod+water tight compartment for PJCB.
Wolf Pack (dog backpack) it's so much better than the crap at outdoor stores.
Cammenga tritium compass (military model)
Katadyn pocket filter(metal housing)
American Kami Ti Spork, it's just cool
I like my knives to cut, I leave the harder chores to the machete or axe/hawk, I like a convex edge, comfortable large handle, and edge retention.
I prefer small stoves, unless at high elevation, then a MSR Whisperlite or similar is necessary, but really prefer a fire.
Chaco Sandels, river crossings, camp shoes, they have arc support and a boot tread, I've backpacked in them.
Leatherman multi-tool, or similar, I like the file in mine.
 
DbleTap - this could be a HUGE thread (and dangerous for financial health)

OK, as to camping/backpacking gear:
Pack - Dan McHale customized Super Critical Mass II
Tent-smaller - Integral Designs MK I XL (i have one - it's awesome)
Tent-larger - Bibler/Black Diamond Fitzroy w/Vestibule
Sleeping Bag COLD - Western Mountaineering "Puma" - Gore Wind Stopper
Sleeping Bad Warmer - Western Mountaineering "Antelope" - Gore Wind Stopper


Oh, never mind.... this could go on for pages and pages as each area of activity has it's own sub-list - and there are LOTS of area's of activity!!!
 
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