Most useless survival tool

[KuRUpTD]

I see where your coming from. a bic lighter will last far longer than a zippo. and like the zippo it will still retain the sparking capeabity after it runs out of fuel.

but the zippo lighters come into their own outside of survival kits, because they have such a cool, classic feel to them IMO.

Yes there is a coolness factor when it comes to Zippos BUT the fuel in a zippo will usually completely evaporate in about a week even with limited use.
You definitely will get more mileage out of a plain old Bic.

 

[Rick Marchand]

Agreed Phaser.... Zippo's are cooler to have... but in my experience, can't be relied upon. I'd rather just carry the fluid bottle and a ferro.... lol ... not really.

 

[Ravaillac]

I vote based on my observations, that the most useless thing that might be normally found in a survival kit is the cheap, thin "survival" mylar "blankets" ( I am not referring to the $12 Norton heavy mylar "Tarps" but the $3.99 super lite tarps that tear at the slightest touch).

Well has said earlier, those have huge limitation but they are pretty cheap and weight almost nothing. They can be useful if you aknowledge their limitation (who has tried to make a natural shelter knows how valuable any waterproof layer can be).

 

[raybadge]

You mentioned lighters. We were stuck under a tarp in the rain during a back-packing trip one year. As we became increasingly bored, we began testing our emergency gear. Bic lighters, matches, and dryer lint didn't work although they did before and after the trip. Apparently, the matches and lighters don't take well to the rain, and, if the dryer lint has any polister in it, it just shrivels up. Useless. Since then, I found a "Solo Storm Lighter" that seems to work all the time. It's also relatively inexpensive.

 

[maineboatman]

Wow, what a great thread this has proved to be, thanks to the OP for making us all put on our thinking caps. My Christmas afternoon has been enriched by all you folks.

My most useless item would be the kitchen sink. I carry everything PLUS the kitchen sink it seems! My peers think of me as the go-to guy when anyone needs something as I often have it; moleskin, adhesive & duck tapes, eye-wash, & on & on. That being said my outdoors mostly revolves around the water either in Maine or Florida, in canoes or kayaks. This makes weight nearly a non-issue, volume however is my adversary.

Mrs. Maineboatman, asked while preparing the Christmas dinner, immediately said “matches; useless unless the situation is absurdly perfect. Wet, windy, cold fingers & such make them non-fire starters. Once you get the fire going you won’t move on in an emergency, you will find & drag wood to the fire, letting it burn it’s own lengths into pieces for you.” Always thinking! It’s clear why I’m a lucky man indeed!

I want to address two issues here which I consider very important. Get rid of the “lashing holes” on all your knives. Do not “make a spear” etc. because you will break or lose your knife. Make the spear, gig, snare using the knife. Keep the knife safe at all times. I truly carry more than one knife on all trips (as well as a “little bag ax” from a forum member here, stephen5, Stephen Osborne in Canada. His "Little Bag Axe" about $150 is a MOST excellent item!).

Fishing kit; here I surely think far too much of me but here goes. Hooks & mono line, plus braided (the new stuff like Power Pro etc.) are fine. I too carry them. I also carry a mesh paint can strainer to make a dip net from. Minnows & SMALL fish of 4 inches or so are the easiest to capture and to make a broth of the whole fish, no discards as the nutrition winds up in the soup. Bigger fish will leave you hungry mostly; learn how to make “bush hooks” to continue food foraging. Small hooks & 6 – 8 pound mono for small fish fairly quickly, larger hooks with 20 – 60 pound mono for bush hooking catfish & such. Also think of a weir made from brush latticed to small openings & staked into the river, stream or shorelines. Drive small fish into the weir for your dip net on a six foot pole fashioned with the knife you didn’t lose stabbing into the water.

Keep the thoughts coming fellow BF folks, the adaptable mind will find a way to survive. I have already taken note of several good ideas in this thread & while my area of knowledge is very limited in my experience I hope I have prompted thought.
Maineboatman
maineboatman@cox.net

 

[dougo83]

My most useless piece of gear has become my binoculars. I used to carry them for...I don't even know why outside of deer hunting. (I am a college student so my one and only pack is for hiking/hunting/camping/SHTF)

I would say that my space blanket,wire saw and fishing kit get the least use out of everything in the pack. I still think the most useless piece of gear one can have is the one that was picked up at the store while en route to the adventure. All gear must be tested before use*.






*I know it's been said, but redundancy goes a long way.

 

[Limeyfellow]

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.

I have my one in a drawer right here. The liquid has evaporated from the compass, the wire saw never folds up properly and it is as easy to keep sharp as a wet paper bag is, but it is fairly well balanced and makes a good peg. My wife got it decades ago, long before I knew her.

Maineboatman makes a good point on making a spear point with your knife. If I can get a hold of flint etc I am well versed in knapping my own blades and easily can create tools that are better to loose, but the knife stays close to me.

Those wire saw blades and snare wire that you get in cheap kits are utterly useless and not worth it. Of course some better ones do a better job, but for the most part a hatchet, folding saw, thicker knife or so on do a much better cutting job. Many multi bladed knives even have better saws then the wire variety.

The fishing kits aren't all that good. I guess you could always set something up and it might work if you are very very lucky. The same would be true with snaring, but for the most part you need a good amount of time for that.

I love a whistle. Always have one in the kit, especially if out with the wife. It is great for communication.

 

[Evolute]

Get rid of the “lashing holes” on all your knives. Do not “make a spear” etc. because you will break or lose your knife

I agree with you that using your knife for a spear is usually not a good idea; but I still see lashing holes as useful. I lash knives to poles to convert them into pole axes, to vastly increase chopping power. Lashing holes are also useful for lanyards and woven d guards, to give you a more secure grip, and protect your knuckles.

My most useless piece of gear has become my binoculars. I used to carry them for...I don't even know why outside of deer hunting.

I find binoculars very useful for seeing what animals are up to. I usually use this information for doing nature photography, but this kind of information can also be useful for survival. For example, when you see seafaring birds well inland, and hunkered down... you know that they came inland because of a brutal storm over the water, heading your way. You can watch animals behavior to find where the grubs are under the tree bark, where the schools of fish are under the water, where the fresh carcasses are, where the rodent populations are exploding, where there are thermal springs, and on and on. You can tell a lot about what is going on in nature around you, lots of useful survival info, by looking through your binoculars.

 

[frank k]

The most useless I can think of is a snake bite kit (the kind with a rubber suction cups and a small blade to incise the bite). Not only are the useless, but they are dagerous/likely to cause infection.



Frank

 

[desmobob]

Not all of them are useless, but some of those wire saws snap whenever you go to sue them.

I'll snap when you try to sue me, too.


Stay sharp,
desmobob

 

[Don Rearic]

The most useless I can think of is a snake bite kit (the kind with a rubber suction cups and a small blade to incise the bite). Not only are the useless, but they are dagerous/likely to cause infection.



Frank

Infection is the least of your worries, "cut and suck" methods will expose healthy tissue to the venom and allow it to spread rapidly.