Shock cord for firesteel retention

tknife

tknife

Joined
Mar 18, 1999
Messages
9,966
Nothing too exciting, but I have been wanting to pick up some shock cord and found it at REI for a whopping 10 cents a foot. I have been using 550 cord to hold in the steels, but this works much better. Added it to all my sheaths with fire steel loops. Gonna carry some in my pack too since it's all kinds of handy for compressing gear.
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yeah.. i think that's a great idea... :thumbup: i have ben meaning to grab some thinner shock cord, the stuff i have is too thick...
 
Fire steel retention? I guess I don't understand why your fire steel needs retaining. I simply zip mine in the front pocket of my pack with all the rest of my miscellaneous survival items.
 
Very nice, Tknife! I predict this will become standard practice for people carrying their firesteels in a loop.
 
I tied it off with waxed nylon thread. Makes it almost a continuous circle and it holds like iron.

PR• I hate carrying stuff in my pockets when hiking. The most I'll have in there is a folder. Keys etc. just dig in my leg as I walk, especially up hill.
 
I like that too MDP. Could be used as a straw or slingshot too, gotta love multi purpose stuff.
 
I use shock cord for most of my firesteels in sheath loops. Excellent for retention. I do like the tubing idea!:thumbup:

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ROCK6
 
PayetteRucker said:
Fire steel retention? I guess I don't understand why your fire steel needs retaining. I simply zip mine in the front pocket of my pack with all the rest of my miscellaneous survival items.
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Ah, but what if you lost your pack? Not likely, but you know that's usually how you get into a survival situation in the first place. When something happens that no one would expect to happen.

Either way, I like having my firesteel on my sheath. That way, no matter what, I have a knife and fire on my belt. If I can't survive with that, then I didn't deserve to.
 
stingray4540 said:
Ah, but what if you lost your pack? Not likely, but you know that's usually how you get into a survival situation in the first place. When something happens that no one would expect to happen.

Either way, I like having my firesteel on my sheath. That way, no matter what, I have a knife and fire on my belt. If I can't survive with that, then I didn't deserve to.
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Stingray is right, not saying it’s for everybody, but if you're kayaking or canoeing, you're not wearing your pack; if you’re hiking (non-technical) around rocks and bouldering, you’re most likely not wearing your pack due to balance; or, if you're crossing a river or stream you should be unbuckling your pack’s waistbelt in case you do take a tumble so you can quickly get out of it before it pulls you under. Even a worse case scenario of your tent and gear catching fire (with your pack stowed in your tent)...if you can't make it out with your pants, you should have some of the basic essentials. Sure, all are highly unlikely, but have happened which is why most of us try to keep the truly bare essentials on our immediate person.

If the item is really an essential, it should be considered for redundancy and most definitely double check for security. Shock-cord (or surgical tubing;)) are excellent ways to ensure security of your firesteel.

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
Even a worse case scenario of your tent and gear catching fire (with your pack stowed in your tent)
ROCK6
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Surely there would be enough coals from that
inferno to maintain a fire for quite some time. :D
Matter of fact,the Park Rangers would have
seen it from Mt.Baldy and come to your rescue as well! :D

Just kidding,good point to keep one with the knife,
I have a small one as a zipper pull on woods jacket,
my keychain,small hiking pack I use for short hikes while camping,
lots of backups. They are cheap and offer good insurance.
 
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I just got the National Parks DVD series by Ken Burns. There is a great story of Truman Everts who was lost for 37 days with nearly no gear. He wrote his survival story "Thirty-Seven Days of Peril"

Here is a link: http://northernwaterways.com/news/?p=1789

Scroll down about half way down until you can download the PDF.

Download article (PDF): “Thirty-Seven Days of Peril” (by Truman Everts). Courtesy of Cornell University Library, Making of America Digital Collection.

Maybe if he had more gear on him....shock cord was not around but leather has been. Heaven knows...
 
Nice, I did the same thing last week. I could only find shockingly white cordage :)

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