I think we can all agree that every man needs to know how to survive. Or least pretend to know know what they are doing. Even if we never have to survive a couple days cut off from the rest of mankind we all know it would be bad ass to do so. But many die every year by being lost in the wilderness, and most are because they packed for their hike to last an afternoon or so and when things go badly they have not packed anything that will help them once the sun sets or if they got off the beaten path. Statistics show that a certain percentage have packed inadequate amounts of supplies (I have no idea what the percentage is but I am sure there is one, you can look it up). So here is a list of the most important objects for one to keep in every back pack. The list mostly consists of relatively cheap and effective items that get the job done in adverse weather conditions.
Emergency Fire Starter
Rain or shine these starters will work better than your average lighter and I would trust more than a zippo rain or shine because you do not have to worry about refilling the fuel. If you follow the directions, they are very simple and if you cannot follow them you have more important things to worry about then starting a fire, you should be warm in no time. All you have to do is shave a quarter or so size of magnesium onto the kindle (Dry grass, paper, leaves) and strike the knife onto the flint. The sparks ignite the magnesium, which burns at a high temperature, and catches the kindling on fire. To prolong the life of the flint I recommend running the knife along it instead of forcefully striking it. One should be able to start roughly 100 fires with the starter. Click on the link below to view and purchase your Emergency Fire Starters. They costly roughly $5 depending on the exact model and if they are on sale.
Emergency Fire Starter
Rain or shine these starters will work better than your average lighter and I would trust more than a zippo rain or shine because you do not have to worry about refilling the fuel. If you follow the directions, they are very simple and if you cannot follow them you have more important things to worry about then starting a fire, you should be warm in no time. All you have to do is shave a quarter or so size of magnesium onto the kindle (Dry grass, paper, leaves) and strike the knife onto the flint. The sparks ignite the magnesium, which burns at a high temperature, and catches the kindling on fire. To prolong the life of the flint I recommend running the knife along it instead of forcefully striking it. One should be able to start roughly 100 fires with the starter. Click on the link below to view and purchase your Emergency Fire Starters. They costly roughly $5 depending on the exact model and if they are on sale.
Water Purification Tablets
Water purification tablets are the single most important thing for anybody going into the wilderness, rather it is for a few hours or a week. They weigh nothing but could mean everything. There are many different kinds of tablets, chlorine and iodine are most popular and both have their advantages and disadvantages. The iodine bottle comes with 50 tablets (Can purify 50 quarts of water) and only takes 30 minutes to get your water squeaky clean. It also cost only about $5 for the bottle. The downside is there are a few contaminates it cannot kill and it has a metal-ish after taste. The Chlorine tablets cost around $8 for a bottle of 20 tablets. The advantages to chlorine is that it kills all the contaminates and leaves only an after smell but tastes fine. Also if you are allergic to iodine than the chlorine pills are the clear choice. The iodine tablets are much cheaper per pop and really do get the job done, but the choice you make comes down to personal preference. Either way these can be a life saver with almost no downside. Adding flavor packets (I prefer Cool-Aid) will help with the taste/smell.
Water purification tablets are the single most important thing for anybody going into the wilderness, rather it is for a few hours or a week. They weigh nothing but could mean everything. There are many different kinds of tablets, chlorine and iodine are most popular and both have their advantages and disadvantages. The iodine bottle comes with 50 tablets (Can purify 50 quarts of water) and only takes 30 minutes to get your water squeaky clean. It also cost only about $5 for the bottle. The downside is there are a few contaminates it cannot kill and it has a metal-ish after taste. The Chlorine tablets cost around $8 for a bottle of 20 tablets. The advantages to chlorine is that it kills all the contaminates and leaves only an after smell but tastes fine. Also if you are allergic to iodine than the chlorine pills are the clear choice. The iodine tablets are much cheaper per pop and really do get the job done, but the choice you make comes down to personal preference. Either way these can be a life saver with almost no downside. Adding flavor packets (I prefer Cool-Aid) will help with the taste/smell.
Leatherman Multi-Tool
When hiking through the wilderness you hope to be able to accomplish the most while carrying the least amount of tools and weight. Nothing exemplifies this more than the Leatherman Wingman Multi-Tool. To be honest I suggest having one not only in your backpacking gear but in your car's glove box as well. These tools can do about everything, They come with a knife, pliers, wire cutters, wire stripper, screw three different screw drivers, scissors, file, can/bottle opener, and a handy dandy pocket clip. This tool does everything and being priced cheap ($25) you cant go wrong. Needless to say, your favorite episode of Man Vs Wild would be a lot less interesting if Bear had one of these in his pocket. And another plus, they are built in America. 'Merica, Fuck yeah!
When hiking through the wilderness you hope to be able to accomplish the most while carrying the least amount of tools and weight. Nothing exemplifies this more than the Leatherman Wingman Multi-Tool. To be honest I suggest having one not only in your backpacking gear but in your car's glove box as well. These tools can do about everything, They come with a knife, pliers, wire cutters, wire stripper, screw three different screw drivers, scissors, file, can/bottle opener, and a handy dandy pocket clip. This tool does everything and being priced cheap ($25) you cant go wrong. Needless to say, your favorite episode of Man Vs Wild would be a lot less interesting if Bear had one of these in his pocket. And another plus, they are built in America. 'Merica, Fuck yeah!
"If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married." -Katharine Hepburn