- Joined
- Dec 5, 2008
- Messages
- 596
I've just been thinking about these little kits for hiking and they just don't make sense to me. Having a knife and firestarter on your person at all times should go without saying, but all the other little trinkets seem kind of silly, when I'm on a hike my gear is already pared down to whats essential, and the essentials take up 13lb.
If I were to somehow be separated from my pack, which I have a hard time imagining circumstances where that'd happen, perhaps ditching it for a bear, or in a very poorly executed river crossing or something, the best course of action hands down would be to retrieve my pack, not try to scrape out a meager existence with whats in my pocket. Making a lean-to with a pen knife? Fishing with some loose line and lures? gathering water in a condom and boiling in tinfoil? These seem like crazy things to do when I should be recovering my shelter, warm clothes, and food.
Really, for the size and weight a personal locater beacon would be a much more sensible survival tool. If you pack washed down river or if you ditched it and couldn't retrace your steps, this would enable you to find it. For me these situations aren't even feasible enough to warrant buying and toting around such a device.
If I were to somehow be separated from my pack, which I have a hard time imagining circumstances where that'd happen, perhaps ditching it for a bear, or in a very poorly executed river crossing or something, the best course of action hands down would be to retrieve my pack, not try to scrape out a meager existence with whats in my pocket. Making a lean-to with a pen knife? Fishing with some loose line and lures? gathering water in a condom and boiling in tinfoil? These seem like crazy things to do when I should be recovering my shelter, warm clothes, and food.
Really, for the size and weight a personal locater beacon would be a much more sensible survival tool. If you pack washed down river or if you ditched it and couldn't retrace your steps, this would enable you to find it. For me these situations aren't even feasible enough to warrant buying and toting around such a device.