Things that don't work...

[gkruty]

I am adding another.

Any cigarette lighter that is supposed to be windproof...
Nothing worse then having a lighter that sucks!!

 

[Kat013]

I once took my girl friend on a weekend camping trip to the mountains.... she said she thought we were staying in a hotel......that didnt work

Her idea of a "good pack" was a suitcase. I just love shopping for a trip when you arrive, having to repack everything before hitting the trail.

There's an example of something that doesn't work - not communicating with your companions about a trip outdoors beforehand. I'm trying to fathom what sort of breakdown of communication it would take to get someone to think they were staying in a hotel when you were planning on sleeping outdoors.

Seriously. If I invite someone on a backpacking trip and I don't know what their experience level is, first thing I'm going to ask them is, 'do you own a frame pack?' And if they say 'no', second thing is, 'do you know how to find one that fits you and test it out in the store?' Not, 'well, you need a good pack,' and then never say anything about it again.

If we take people with less experience than us into the outdoors, it makes sense to make sure those people are prepared - with both gear and knowledge - before the trip ever starts. In the event of an accident, your life may depend on your companion's knowledge of first aid, navigation, etc etc. It's also an opportunity to teach, an opportunity to open someone's eyes to the wonder of the wild. Why waste it?


Back in college, I went on a 3-week (car) camping trip in May that was a course in Native civilizations of the American southwest. The prof leading the trip was kind enough to provide a basic gear list, but the list was missing a few items and he completely neglected to tell us we'd be sleeping in the mountains on several occasions.

I didn't take a sleeping pad (inexperience coupled with being told to pack light since we were cramming eleven people into a large van), and niether did several others. Most of us had one lightweight jacket and a pair of jeans as the extent of warm clothing, because the prof hadn't bothered to tell us that it gets cold in deserts at night, especially when it isn't high summer and you're at high elevations!

After about 4 days of people freezing at night, we all requested a wally world run. Many of us bought heavy jackets, sleeping pads, and blankets. When we asked the prof why he didn't warn us, he said it was because he didn't want us to take up too much space with a bunch of cold-weather clothing and gear.

All that extra stuff we bought at wally world still fit in the van.

 

[Don Rearic]

BCB and US Military Grade Wire Saws will work if you make a bow saw out of them. They're surely not meant to last forever though.

A lot of things in this thread make me chuckle.

Firestarter-Magnesium comments are always amusing, how can you think something is worthless because your expectations are too high? It's not a thermite grenade, after all.

Hollow handle knives are another thing, most are garbage, but what if you had to use one? It's an interesting game to play if you really want to be able to use anything - start thinking about what you can do with something instead of how easy you can break it on purpose. What can you build with it?

If you say, "Nothing, because it's a piece of junk." Then you're probably never going to be as effective as you think you are when it really happens to you.

 

[runningboar]

Firestarter-Magnesium comments are always amusing, how can you think something is worthless because your expectations are too high? It's not a thermite grenade, after all.

These comments give me a little laugh too. I do a lot of canoeing and the mag/flint combo is my go to firestarter. Can anyone name another firestarter that cost less than 5 dollars that you can soak in a bucket of water for a week, pull it out shake it off and start a fire?

 

[Don Rearic]

I didn't like them when I was a teenager and first used them because I was impatient and expected far too much from them. Once I learned that fire preparation is the most important thing - Doan's, et al, are real lifesavers.

The thread about Magnesium Firestarters was really good.

It doesn't really matter which excellent firestarter you choose, Doan's Mag-F.S., Sparklite, Metal Match or any other Ferro-type rod, etc., if you don't have your fire prep down, you're going to get mixed results or terrible results.

Another thing to consider is this, if you want to get the most out of a Mag-F.S., you need a small file, not a knife blade. My Leatherman Wave works just fine.

Most of the time, the Magnesium portion of the firestarter just serves as a handle for me.