I always take on a lanyard
- photon II
- whistle (never used it)
- sometimes firesteel
- sometimes classic Swiss Army kife

Some other thoughts...
My kit has gotten so small and light, I now take the following even on day hikes just to fill out my pack
- cuben quilt
- Poncho Tarp (now replaced with Hexamid and Cuben poncho/ground sheet
- Caldera Keg with esbit tabs

Regarding emergency water bag. I seam-sealed a cuben stuff sack and it holds water. I tie off the draw string to keep the top at the top of a water pocket or even in my pack. Hope I never have to use this, as I always have some sort of a water container with me. But I tested it and it works.

I have a small FAK/Personal items kit in a small cuben sack. Very easy to slip into a pants pocket if needed. I always take a Bic, a book of matches and a razor blade.


I almost got into a survival situation of sorts yesterday. Went on a 18 mile hike, with the last 12 or 13 miles a descent of over 8,000 feet elevation. After about 5,000 feet elevation drop my legs were sore, weak, and shaky. I think part of this was due the a bad case of the flu a couple weeks ago and my body has not fully recuperated. So I really slowed my pace. At 7,000 feet drop I could barely walk and my intended last mile was just too steep to hike. By now it was dark. At this point I had two options, make camp and spend the night or take an alternate route which was longer but a much more gradual drop and an easier trail. I took the later, with the intent to stop and camp if things got worse. I had everything I needed to spend the night. I used the Photon to guide me in a slow 2 mile hike that took 2 hours with no moonlight. Normally I can do this section in 45 minutes or less.

I carry pictures of my wife and kids.

I've found that one major key in making a fire with a bowdrill is to do everything within your power to reduce the friction between the spindle and the bearing block.

Think about it- laws of physics. You cannot create or destroy energy, just change it form one state to another. So, you are taking energy from you muscles (chemical energy?) and turning it into kinetic energy (reciprocating motion of the bow, rotating motion into the drill). Then you are turning that kinetic energy into heat through friction. If you have zero friction at the bearing block, all of that energy is being funneled into the concentrated area in your fireboard. As you add friction to the top of the spindle, heat starts being generated there. Where is that heat coming from? Not thin air- obviously (pesky laws of physics)... It's being taken away from the bottom of the spindle. For every btu generated at the bearing block, that's one less btu working towards making a burning ember. I cheated when I was learning and put some axle grease on the spindle. It was incredible how much faster I started generating clouds of smoke. In a survival situation, assuming you haven't showered in a while, I've read that you can rub the top end of the spindle on your face, neck, hair, etc., to lube it up some. I guess that's a situation where it would help to have oily skin. If you have killed anything recently, maybe you could rub it on some animal fat.

But yeah- there's been some great information posted in this thread! I went ahead and made some firestraws the other night. That has got the be the most sano way I've seen yet for carrying pjcb's... It's amazing how much cotton fits in a 3" section of drinking straw.

And living in the desert, carrying water has been something I've given lots of thought to. The plastic bags make great sense. I folded up a 1 gallon bag (this is the desert! can't have too much water) to about the size of my wallet. I will look into those bags specifically designed for carrying water as well. Also, if you have clear sunny skies, clear water (not murky), and a clear container, you can use sunlight to kill pathogens. UV radiation from sitting it in direct sunlight for 6hrs or so is supposed to be enough to do the job...

I have been wanting a small fixed blade knife too, like the izula or the bark river neckers.. My folder has been great and have used it to batton a lot of small wood to make kindling and fuel for my wood gas stove testing, but I know that pivot is a weak link.

I've spent some time on the survivalist forums, but those guys are go a bit overboard when it comes to edc survival carry or short camping trip gear. Of course, I'll be eating my words if the zombie apocalypse happens today...

BM

Edited by Ultra_Magnus on 10/31/2011 12:37:21 MDT.

The oils from your skin work well, even if you have dry skin (forehead and the side of your nose). And after working up a good sweat trying to make that d**m coal, you should have enough oil to work with. I did. ;^)

green grass and other vegetation makes for decent "lube" for the spindle, haven't tried but would think that sunscreen, lip balm, etc might work as well?????

I found the oil from my skin worked better than anything else. I tried vegetable oil and a few household oils. The oil from my skin worked the best, and was what would be available "in the field" anyway, so I stuck with that.

Duct tape, knife, and a lighter. Done.

Here's my solution. Stays strapped around my right thigh at all times in the woods.

It could just continue to be neck-hung but anything around my neck bothers me.



Bark River fixed blade and sheath, para cord, firesteel, snare wire, flashlight, compass, fishing line, duct tape, fishing hooks (under duct tape), beeswax-infused cotton firestarter (stuffed in hole of firesteel).
It's ridiculously light considering the amount of valuable stuff, and always stays together as a package.


But the most useful thing is probably my McMurdo FastFind PLB which stays in a zipped pants pocket.

Edited by dasbin on 10/31/2011 14:38:37 MDT.

When travelling in the Philippines by plane, boat or auto in the countryside I carry a small REI fanny pack (on my front to avoid razor-weilding theives) full of emergency gear.

This kit includes:

> headlamp (Used it in Mindanao in 2006 during a night time auto breakdown.)
> 1st aid kit
> all-latitude Silva compass
> fire-starting gear (tinder, magnesieum/striker/sparker kit, good lighter, hurricane matches)
> 3" lockblade knife
> Katadyn chlorine dioxide tabs (20)
> gallon ZipLoc freezer bag to carry water
> 50' light Spectra cord
> spare glasses
> color photo copy of my passport
> $50. US
> detailed road map of the area

All paper items are coated with Thompson's Water Seal Ultra and sealed in Ziploc bags.

I have to check to see if a SPOT beacon will work there on a "911" call.
When I return next year I will add a few things like my loud ski patrol whistle and some meds for cuts like polysporin. Cuts go south fast in that hot, damp cliomate.

Edited by Danepacker on 10/31/2011 18:38:00 MDT.

I received the water bags today. They look for for a backup and I can easily stash one in the crown pocket of my Tilley hat. With that and my "Gollum" pocket kit, I'm ready to go :)

This is a pretty sure way to have fire.

http://stores.thepathfinderschoolllc.com/-strse-218/Mini-Inferno/Detail.bok

I'm probably going to go ahead and pick up a few of those for myself. I thought I'd be all cool in the spirit of myog and cut a 1gallon bag in half lengthwise, and re seal it with an iron making a tall narrow water bag, but apparently it's not quite that easy. I made a few attempts, and was able to hold water for a few minutes (holds about a quart, but it's a very convenient one hand carry size)but the seam was very difficult to make water tight and strong. My best attempt didn't leak, but with a little pressure the seam came apart and burst open. Maybe one of those vacuum food seal iron thingies might get the job done, but that's a lot less cost effective unless I want to start vacuum sealing my food...

BM

the little water bags are actually pretty tough, I used one on a bare bones overnighter (I mean really bare bones! :)) I treated and carried about 8-10 bags full- was ~ 1/4 mile cross country from the spring I was using and my shelter

pictured leaning against the tree

That said, the more you know about bushcraft/primitive skills, the less you need to carry.

Edited by bigfoot2 on 11/08/2011 11:59:39 MST.

I also use the Survival Resources Aqua Pouch.