Most useless survival tool

Condoms? They take more abuse when used as a canteen than you would believe. Filling them is a bit of a problem, but so is filling a canteen if the water isn't deep.

Wire saws- agree with what others have said.

Fishing kits and snares- no need IMO. I'm not going to be stranded on a desert island. If I'm mobile at all, I'll walk out in a day or two. If I'm not mobile, I'm probably not going to be sitting on the shore of a lake or edge fo a stream when I happen to fall. I still have both because a small kit doesn't take much space.

Whistle, mirror? I can improvise a better signal than either. I still carry both usually. They are kinda opposite of the fishing kit. If I'm immobile, I probably NEED this stuff more. Improvising aerial signals and making a large signal fire is less of an option.

BTW, since a broken leg is a pretty common concern, I do focus some concern at alleviating the danger, heat tabs/candle etc in case I'm not mobile.
 
Actually, that toothpick is mighty handy to pick stringy, tough-ass squirrel out of your teeth. :D

On the other hand, the SAK tweezers are totally overshadowed by tweezers like The Sliver Gripper which is about the size of a P-38 can opener and worth the few bucks they cost. The one thing I have found the SAK tweezers are good for is picking tinder out of tightly packed tubes. I have used plastic muzzleloader tubes and other containers and it makes a dandy impovised turning tool for locks as well. :D

Like someone else mentioned earlier, I don't really have a use for a SAK's corkscrew, but I keep the mini-straight blade screwdriver from my Swiss Champ in the corkscrew of my SAK Hunter. To me the corkscrew is an expedient, last-ditch push pick...you can't really call it a push dagger, after all but I would rather have something more valuable in its place. I wish we could design a SAK on the Hunter frame and we could get the magnifying glass from the Champ into the spot that stupid serrated gut "hook" is in.
 
:jerkit:CONDOMS ! Unless you plan on getting "Lucky" on the trail they are pretty much useless. Those that 'tout them for water collection/storage have likely never tried to use them. If you have fast enough moving water you can fill them but, try and tie them closed in such away as to be able re-open them. Much less try and fill them with a signifigant amount from a static soure.
 
SurviveAl said:
:jerkit:CONDOMS ! Unless you plan on getting "Lucky" on the trail they are pretty much useless. Those that 'tout them for water collection/storage have likely never tried to use them. If you have fast enough moving water you can fill them but, try and tie them closed in such away as to be able re-open them. Much less try and fill them with a signifigant amount from a static soure.
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Agreed. Condoms are silly in a small PSK. Plus, they seem to make the water taste like spermacide:D. Just kidding. Never the less, I do keep a good stock of the LARGE size on hand just in case...(just in case I get lucky :D). There is something to be said for these fold flat Oven Roasting Bags (made by Reynolds IIRC). They take up very little space and they are durable. Put one in your tin if you have room. I think that,if I needed too, I could force water into a prophylactic from a static source but I would be seriously concerned about carriage in such a container. Even with a sock or whatever. -DT
 
LittleHairyApe said:
I can see your point about two-handed use, but by the same token you could bang rock on something or hit a stick against a hollow log with one hand. Also a whistle is almost certainly going to be drowned out by the noise of any sort of vehicle the searchers might be using. So unless they start making whistles out of fatwood, I am going to consider it a single use, limited range, replaceable-by-foraging type of item. And I respect your reasons to doing otherwise.:)
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Hey LittleHairyApe,
How's it going bro? Consider this, it's winter, you're an old geezer and you're out for a hike. You have a propensity for going off trail, maybe following some tracks, saw something curious, or whatever. You slip and you break something. That whistle is going to come in damn handy to get people's attention, long after you're hoarse from yelling for help. :D

The whistle isn't going to be drowned out by search vehicles, because nobody is searching for you!


Another thing, there was a post about the uselessness of fishing kits, well, who said hooks can only be for fish? and that braided line or mono can only be used for fishing line? One of the most important concepts of survival is adaptability and improvisation. We have to think past the 'branded' use of any item. Kind of like Kevin or Rotte was saying.

Doc
 
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Mentor said:
After reading Cody Lundin's 98.6 Degrees, I added a large, unlubricated condom to my PSK, for use as an improvised water container. I have yet to use it, and have my suspicions that it might prove more trouble than it's worth. Since I always have a steel canteen (and almost always, a water bladder) on my person when I'm in the woods, I have more reliable water containers on hand. So, I officially dub the "Cody Lundin Condom" the most useless survival tool in my PSK.

Though it has been known to start some interesting conversations during an outing.

All the best,

- Mike
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Well the condom could be used to make fire like a lense, burn as rubber, use for spring with a snare. I wouldn't carry one because I'm married.
 
k_estela said:
Primitive man,

While I never needed my signal mirror for flashing down planes, I have used it to get nasties out of my eyes like mosquitos or debris. I'll say it is my least used of my 10 essentials but not my most useless piece of gear.

As far as my most useless piece of gear, I can't think of anything as everything you have can be of some benefit than going at it "naked".
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It's good for checking for ticks on under or backside. If it is metal you could sharpen an edge. If deer hunting you sure could position it to watch your backside and get prepared for a shot. In combat, you could look around a corner.
 
Well there is a grey area for some items that on one hand appear to be very awkward to use and bring little benefit but on the other hand weight almost nothing and take very little space, that include wire saws, condoms, those thin space blanckets...
Honestly they are probably acceptable, but rather than drag an eclectic collection of multi use gizmos, I'd rather catch a bunch with a plan in mind eg: bring some wire, a space blancket and a decent knife (mora...), so I can tie some twigs together to make a frame, and then put the mylar on it as a waterprooflayer.

Better to have a collection of plans than a collection of gear.
Agreed plans can't cover every possible situations but could be used as milestones: take some archetypical situations and see how your gear fits.

Examples of typical situation:
* having to take a night out in winter (but being able to prepare for it)
* Falling into water
* loosing mobility (broken ankle...)
* getting lost at night
* a friend of yours gets injured
* having your vehicule immobilized in winter
...

Those of course depends on the environnement your heading into, search teams will get you quicker in your local woods than in the middle of alaska (but yes you can freeze to death in your own backyard if things go wrong and no one's looking after you)
 
I'm noticing that some people are feeling a bit defensive about the survival applications of condoms. Fair enough, and, if you find them to be useful, I certainly won't discourage you from packing them. After all, they weigh next to nothing and take up almost no room, as Ravaillac mentions.

But, in my experience, they have proven to be the least useful survival item in my kits. Could be a location thing. Most of my hiking takes place in areas near brooks and streams, and much of my camping takes place during canoe trips. This time of year, all of my time outdoors is spent trudging through snow. These are all situations where, thankfully, fresh water is usually abundant. Of all the potential survival scenarios that come to mind, being forced to improvise a storage container for large quantities of water - while possible - just doesn't seem likely to happen (to me).

Now, if I was down south a ways, hiking through desert, I would no doubt think differently.

All the best,

- Mike
 
T. Erdelyi said:
Those cheap $10 Survival Knives that came out after the Rambo movie, there wasn't a single redeeming value to any aspect of that knife, you were better off in the woods without one.

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I had that exact knife when I was a kid during the 1980's. Except mine had a camoflage handle.
 
No one has mentioned Bear Grylls yet. He's kind of a tool. :p

Sorry. I just had to.

Personally I haven't found much use for those mini pry bars that are only 3" or so. I'm sure they might come in handy at some point so I won't discount them completely. I think a good ol' church key would be more usefull, weigh less and cost about 1/10 the price.
 
Mike,

That's a well-reasoned response and there is nothing wrong with it at all!

I think the problem is, a lot of people have not tried things and they think about it and just say, "Ahhh, that's bullshit, that's never going to work!" How else do you explain the reasoning behind thinking the top of an acorn or a blade of grass is going to be a reasonable substitute for something like a FOX-40 whistle? I mean, I don't want to single him (LHA) out, but damn. Likewise, a credit card sized signal mirror that is about four or five times the thickness of a regular credit card, that is something unreasonable? Sure, a Kool-Aid Jammer or Capri Sun drink bag has been used, along with CD-ROMs as an improvised/expedient mirror, but the little AMK signal mirror weighs nothing and it takes up no space at all.

Sometimes I think people just don't like an idea and they come up with various reasons to shoot it down.
 
Rupestris said:
Personally I haven't found much use for those mini pry bars that are only 3" or so. I'm sure they might come in handy at some point so I won't discount them completely. I think a good ol' church key would be more usefull, weigh less and cost about 1/10 the price.
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I think that is more in the realm of urban survival gear although I guess there could be some wilderness applications as well.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
Those cheap $10 Survival Knives that came out after the Rambo movie, there wasn't a single redeeming value to any aspect of that knife, you were better off in the woods without one.

TSK_zoom.jpg
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I dunno ... I definitely wouldn't buy one ... but if I were in a true survival situation and the choice was a "gimmicky" all in one Rambo knife or NOTHING I would rather have the Rambo and take my chances ... now that's a knife :D
 
Most useless piece of kit?.....My brain!

I can't think of anything. If you're talking about a "minimalist' Altoids tin style kit, mine is partially made up from the AMK kit with extras that I added. Admittedly I've never used it in a survival scenario, but I've used quite a few pieces in every day camping situations.
I think they all have uses, just some are used more often than others.

It's easy to poo-poo an idea when you've never been in a situation where it was your only option. I'm lost and in trouble and the only 2 things on me are a signal mirror and a pack of "Ribbed for her pleasure", I'll be glad I have them rather than nothing.
 
Just a thought: perhaps one of the reasons that signalling / attention-grabbing items - whistles and mirrors - are on some peoples' list of useless items is the difficulty associated with using these items in a practice environment. I can't say that I have ever attempted to signal a passing aircraft with my mirror. Nor have I ever been forced to use my whistle to attract attention. Heck, most of the time, the whole purpose of my outing is to get away from people and avoid attention!

When we see threads that deal with PSK testing and survival skills, they tend to emphasize the self-sufficiency side of the survival spectrum - fire-making, shelter-making, trap-making, etc (I love these threads, btw). Rarely do we see threads that compare several different attention-getting tools or techniques - and for good reason: such scenarios would be difficult to set up, and would require the participation of a group.

The net result is that many of us have experimented with 30 ways to make fire using twigs and bits of metal, and we have established some preferences that are reflected in our gear choices. At the same time, we lug around mirrors, whistles, and sometimes flares, but our knowledge of how these items are used in a survival situation is largely theoretical.

In a real survival situation, when the goal is to be found, I'm sure we would all be glad that we made room in our PSKs for those mirrors and whistles that have never seen use before.

Just my $0.02 CDN.

By the way, for those who are worried that a whistle might take up too much room in a PSK, may I suggest the Nexus Airlock Whistle? It is cleverly incorporated into a buckle that can replace any 20mm buckle on your pack.

All the best,

- Mike
 
There are lots of interesting posts in this thread... some very informative and some downright shocking!!

I don't think that something useless would ever make the "cut" when choosing my kit. Like Kevin, Doc, Don and many others have stated... everything can have alternate uses.

"When you're pushed.... improvising is as easy as breathing."

That said... I have seen some useless/troublesome pieces of kit pass my way... to mention a few... (this is purely my opinion based on my experiences)

-Wire saws (the cheap, non-braided kind that work harden and snap in 20 secs.)
-high end butane "torch-type" lighters. (never had one that didn't fail me)
-Zippo lighters... I know I'll catch flack for this one. (put one up against a bic and see)
-pocket handwarmers in serious cold.
-chemical lightsticks
.... there are more but I'll stop here.

Some highly useful items that I rarely use are...

-compass
-gps
-first aid kit (medical portion)

Some multi-use kits I carry....

-My fishing kit IS my repair kit IS my trapping kit.
-My first aid kit IS my wash kit, IS my purification kit IS my spice kit.


Its all about OPTIONS.
Rick
 
Magnussen, I carry chemlights for signal tools or marking my lines when camping so I dont trip over them at night. If you tie a length of cordage to one and swing it in circles like those damn ravers do, it makes a very quick and easily visable signal at night.
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-My fishing kit IS my repair kit IS my trapping kit.
-My first aid kit IS my wash kit, IS my purification kit IS my spice kit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Very well said bro!
 
KuRUpTD said:
I guess an argument can be made for or against pretty much any one item.
A whistle , for me , is an essential piece in my PSK ... I mean what if you're hurt such as broken fingers or hand could you still fashion a whistle with a bottle cap, a strip of grass, a slice of aluminum can, or an acorn top ?
The whistle is hopefully around your neck and WILL be heard for a distance can you say the same about a "bottle cap" whistle ... would you wanna bet your life on it ?

just my 2 cents
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i'm pro-whistle too - lots of people have been trapped while felling trees. i guess you could hope there's an acorn cap or a blade of grass within arm's reach - but I'll stick with the Fox-40 I already have on me. :thumbup:
 
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