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Three Most Important Survival Items

Cool Rksoon, don't think I ever would've thought of that.


I'll be boring and say the same as everyone else:

Fixed blade
Firesteel
Metal container/cup
 
My three are simple too:

Knife (probably the RC-4)
a Lighter (Bic)
a Pillow (if I am lost, I am gonna just make a fire and get comfy)
 
If it wasn't considered cheating, this "3 item" scenario does make a good argument for choosing a knife with a hollow handle. This would give you a compass in the buttcap and a firesteel in the handle. Then the other two choices could be a pot and a tarp.

Is there a hollow handle knife that you would pick and trust or would you not stray from your favorite fixed blade choice?
 
WILLIAM.M said:
YOU DISAGREE WITH THIS PM??
A compass is useful on overcast days, on rainy days, and at night. It will help to keep you from traveling in the wrong direction so you don't waste time and precious energy needlessly. Regardless of where you are, if you can travel consistently in one direction you should eventually reach a road that you can follow. However, without a compass the chances of your traveling in a straight line are greatly reduced.
Click to expand...

William,

In today's society I totally agree with you. However, for me a pot is much more usefull than a compass. For thousands of years men travelled the world without compasses but, one of the first tools men invented was a knife ( I would guess it was second to a hammer, it takes a hammer to break a stone to make a knife right...). For me a knife is just as good a tool for travelling a straight line as a compass.

Here is how my pawpaw taught me to navigate in the woods (without a compass), this method was backed up by USMC land navigation courses later in life.

When in the woods you pick a tree as far away as you can see and walk to it, then pick another and walk to it.

When in the woods you go around trees in a right, left, right pattern. If you keep stepping right around trees you are going in a circle.

This last step was from pawpaw's teaching but not USMC...Mark your trail, cut arrows in trees, snap small branches so they point in the direction you are going or make a line ( or arrow) of rocks or twigs etc on the ground that points the way you are going.

So personally, I'm with PM ditch the compass and give me a billy can of some sort.

David
 
Rotte said:
How many people can make a fire with a fire steel in field conditions? I love messing around with my firesteels and flint and steels, but when I'm in the bush I make sure I have a lighter with me. A ferro rod is only as useful as the tinder you have available in my experience.

The three essentials may depend on circumstances, i.e. jungle or desert, but I like Scrumpy's line of thinking:

Lighter
Metal pot/cup
Tarp

I usually have a knife, compass, and ferro rod with me at all times, but Scrumpy's list makes more sense in many ways.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I have to disagree on this one. If anyone has ever heard of him, one of Jim Beckworths most famous quotes was "As long as a man has a knife he can survive" This guy was an ex slave mountain man turned Blackfoot Indian Chief and he wouldn't try surviving without a knife. If we are talking, got lost hiking and waiting for rescue, ok the knife is not so important but we're talking stranded don't know if help is ever coming. Also, I'd like to see someone go into the woods with only a lighter and start a fire...you'd have to be awful lucky (get all the conditions just right) or spend a lot of time bashing sticks with rocks to get enough stuff small enough to get a fire going.

JMO
David
 
Echo4v said:
William,

In today's society I totally agree with you. However, for me a pot is much more usefull than a compass. For thousands of years men travelled the world without compasses but, one of the first tools men invented was a knife ( I would guess it was second to a hammer, it takes a hammer to break a stone to make a knife right...). For me a knife is just as good a tool for travelling a straight line as a compass.

Here is how my pawpaw taught me to navigate in the woods (without a compass), this method was backed up by USMC land navigation courses later in life.

When in the woods you pick a tree as far away as you can see and walk to it, then pick another and walk to it.

When in the woods you go around trees in a right, left, right pattern. If you keep stepping right around trees you are going in a circle.

This last step was from pawpaw's teaching but not USMC...Mark your trail, cut arrows in trees, snap small branches so they point in the direction you are going or make a line ( or arrow) of rocks or twigs etc on the ground that points the way you are going.

So personally, I'm with PM ditch the compass and give me a billy can of some sort.

David
Click to expand...

cool nav. trick! thanks for sharing!
 
If you have the opportunity to pick three items going into a possible survival situation, not choosing a knife of some sort as one of the three items is insane.
 
shangchi108 said:
No. If you lose your knife, you've lost everything.
Click to expand...

First of all, if you lost the knife, you wouldn't lose "everything". You would still have the pot and tarp. Second, the scenario here is that you are on the ground with your three items. At that point, if you wanted to, you could remove the firesteel from the handle and put it in your pocket.
 
you never lose "everything", until you've lost "everything" :)

I agree w/ several that have pointed out the scenario wasn't detailed on where, when, the circumstances, etc- those details would likely influence the choices of many
 
kgd said:
Man this is so easy:

PSK,
FAK,
and last but not least
BOB

:D :D
Click to expand...

haha.. i'm with Ken on this one... that's exactly what i was thinking too...:D

realistically i would go with:

-knife
-firesteel
-and some sort of metal cup or small pot...
 
An argument can be made for all the items mentioned, especially the "hot chick who puts out" choice :thumbup: :D

It seems to me that while a tarp/poncho would be very useful, it's more of a luxury item for survival as opposed to a necessity ( yes/no).
I fully understand that it's a quickie shelter and can be used to collect rain water but other than that wouldn't a metal container
for cooking, carrying and purifying water be the wiser choice ?
 
I'm not very unique either. Without hesitation I'd take:

1. Fixed Blade (probably an RC4 at this point)
2. A large firesteel (the one-handed video makes me feel better about this choice). I'm curious to try a misch metal steel at some point though.
3. A stainless Guyot or billy can.

The three major survival needs are covered here: shelter (using the knife),
fire (knife and steel), and water (bottle/pot). Besides boiling water the pot can be used for making teas.

If I had fourth item I'd take a tarp. While it isn't a necessity it would turn a survival situation into a camping trip:D.

As far as a compass, although I always hike with one (usually two or three), I don't think of them as a priority like the above items. I recently read an old article in Backpacker which chronicled the fact that in the lower 48 states it is now impossible to be more than 20 miles from a road in every direction and that spot is in a remote (SE) corner of Yellowstone. In other words if you walk in a straight line in any direction the most you'll have to travel to hit a road is 20 miles. I know the original scenario didn't envision escape, but even if it did a compass wouldn't be one of my top choices if I was in the lower 48.
 
XMP said:
in the lower 48 states it is now impossible to be more than 20 miles from a road in every direction and that spot is in a remote (SE) corner of Yellowstone. In other words if you walk in a straight line in any direction the most you'll have to travel to hit a road is 20 miles.
Click to expand...

I've never heard this before. Hard to believe, but interesting.
 
I think where I got off track was my misreading of the original post.

If I was out on a hike in my area, My 3 items still stand. But if we are talking about an extended stay or a plane crash in the wilderness, or similar event it would be these 3 items.

a) Ontario 12" convexed Machete
b) Water bottle / pot
c) Fire steel

G
 
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