[Sol Invictus]

Originally Posted by MacGyverCanada

Carrying water: A litre of water is about a 2-hour supply if you're hiking lightly in temperate weather. 3 litres is enough to get by one 8-hour day of hiking, as long as there is a replenishing water source at your destination or along the way. A water filter is no good if there's no water to filter!

Bugging out to a location with no water? errrr..... you wouldn't really do that would you? really?

Food: Same deal. A 2-day supply of food could be a half-dozen Powerbars.

Agreed.

Rope: It's nice to keep a long length of rope for many reasons; hanging food in a tree, weaving carrying slings and rescue slings, long lashings to secure objects... I'm not saying that you should never cut the riope, but while it is easy to cut a rope, it is much more difficult to make a long rope from short pieces.

My bad, I read it as not cutting paracord, not rope. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Portable fire: Build your shelter, cook your food over the fire bowl, and before sleeping bring the bowl full of coals near your head to keep yourself a bit warmer.

A Mr B# died doing this very thing. Rolled over in the night and died of hot coal inhalation. I'll pass on that one cheers.

Fire: A book of paper matches won't last long in the hands of someone inexperienced in fire lighting. They'll likely use most of the book to light their first fire. Making a fire bow is a great skill to have for emergencies, but have you ever tried to build and use one in the rain?

Yes i have built one in the rain, and yes I have used it. I however put up my tarp first to give me an area to work under. . As a pointer though, I carry a triple redundant fire starting kit to be on the very safe side.

Deodorant: Wiping your butt isn't necessary either, but it sure is nice.

Wrong. Deoderant is a non-needed luxury. Wiping poo off your body is a cleanliness / disease issue. HUGE difference. But it did make me laugh.

Tools: Axe, saw and multiple knives are great additions. Actually, I think tools are incredibly valuable in a survival situation. They do weigh quite a lot, as you said Sol, so that's why I went with a multitool, which contains all of the following: saw, screwdrivers, knife, pliers, hex drivers, can opener, wire strippers, etc. While none are ideal tools, they'll do in a pinch.

Agreed 100%. Better a multi tool than nothing at all. Tools FTW.

Survival bag: Great idea, how much do they cost?

£4 from millets or any outdoor shop.

Snares: Definitely something I overlooked. I've never been taught how to use them so I've been reading up on some simple ones.

I did a little piece on here about snares and fish traps. Ill link it for you.



as for every thing else, I do agree with you. Education over gear is vital; an absolute total 100% must do. ignorance will kill you in half an hour on a cold snowy winday day in the out doors.