What simple trick?

[Wayne]

I just completed my WEMT refresher course and during it there were several tips that made me want to slap myself for not knowing or thinking of it before.

For example using a piece of string to assist in removing a barbed hook from an arm.

What simple trick have you learned or discovered that you wish you had known years ago?

 

[bearbait]

To remember to keep changing frequently the crumpled-up newspaper I'm using to dry the inside of my boots.

 

[Janne]

Sorry as it sounds disgusting: to lubricate with throat phlegm (liberally) the end of fishing line when you start tightening the knot.
Less effort, better and tidier knot, less surface damage.

 

[mousey]

Using toggles to attach guylines to tarp loops, as you can easily and quickly take extra ones off /on and keeps the tarp neater to pack without lots of guyline bundles hanging off it.

 

[Ascobis]

Make the toggles from sticks lying around your pitch.

 

[forrestdweller]

For example using a piece of string to assist in removing a barbed hook from an arm.

how does that work?!

one simple trick i found for myself: i hold tinder bundles above my head when blowing an ember into flame -- this way the smoke drifts not into your face. another little trick i learned in Japan: take a piece of bamboo (ca.1" diameter) with two nodes- remove the inner wall of one node and poke a small hole in the other: makes a decent blower (if my memory is correct it's called "fukiya" in japanese)

 

[Buckshot]

Another trick I use is when setting up camp always use quick release knots
It's far easier and quicker to break camp especially if the knot has been loaded, it's thin cord or is wet

 

[MartiniDave]

Gutting paracord and only using the outer kermantle when making semi permanent or permanent lashings.

 

[Ascobis]

Another trick I use is when setting up camp always use quick release knots
It's far easier and quicker to break camp especially if the knot has been loaded, it's thin cord or is wet

Agreed. However. Real knots and bends are always the best choice. A properly chosen, tied, and worked knot or bend will not jam or be slow to untie if it has been loaded or wet. Properly chosen cordage for the job will complement the knots.

<ramble>...Those who go to the sea in ships...and return... Folks have been tying knots since about five minutes after cordage was invented. Folks have been untying knots since about five minutes after that. Dollars to donuts your quick release knot has been tried at least once before. The folks who used it wished they had read the Ashley Book of Knots as their boat sank.</ramble>

That said, I do like to leave a loop in my Ensign/taut-line hitches if the weather looks foul. The tag end serves as a drip line.

 

[Ascobis]

how does that work?!

one simple trick i found for myself: i hold tinder bundles above my head when blowing an ember into flame -- this way the smoke drifts not into your face. another little trick i learned in Japan: take a piece of bamboo (ca.1" diameter) with two nodes- remove the inner wall of one node and poke a small hole in the other: makes a decent blower (if my memory is correct it's called "fukiya" in japanese)

Broken arrows provide a source of tubes, if bamboo doesn't grow in the vicinity. It is so pleasant to be a half-meter from the fire when blowing on it.

 

[Alan De Enfield]

Broken arrows provide a source of tubes, if bamboo doesn't grow in the vicinity. It is so pleasant to be a half-meter from the fire when blowing on it.

Or, if in the UK and you cannot locate any bamboo and there are no broken arrows lying around you can use the old (last years) stems of common hogweed (but avoid the 'Giant Hogweed' as the sap can / does 'burn').

Common Hogweed is also a 'very edible' food source.

 

[Erbswurst]

I started a few years ago to use lines of only 2 mm diameter and exclusively quick release knots.

Here I prefere the orange ones from Decathlon, because I can see them in grass and snow.

They break at 80 kg, so they are stronger than all the thicker ropes from nature fibres i had learned with.

That saves a lot of weight in the rucksack.

For the Pegs i let today in both ends of the lines permanent loops in the ends. So I can set up my camp faster. Because the modern thin lines are so much lighter than old material it is no problem to carry an extra line with me for other uses.

 

[Hammock_man]

Small bits of wood burn, big bits of wood MAY burn. If you want to light a fire "once", have twice as much little bits as you think you need.

 

[Ascobis]

Small bits of wood burn, big bits of wood MAY burn. If you want to light a fire "once", have twice as much little bits as you think you need.

3x. Just sayin'.

 

[Paul_B]

Using toggles to attach guylines to tarp loops, as you can easily and quickly take extra ones off /on and keeps the tarp neater to pack without lots of guyline bundles hanging off it.

I just use a loop at the attachment end. Wrap it around the tarp attachment point then pull the rest through the loop and it's attached. No added weight of toggles and no way a fully tensioned guyline can come free of the tarp. If course if your pegs pull out and you have a flapping end you could be searching quite an area for the missing peg and the guyline could come undone. Carry spares.

Seriously this way then allows you to create guylines to the required length using mini lineloks. Then if you need a longer guy just use the same loop method to join two or more guylines together as necessary. Using 1mm, 1.5mm or 2mm dynema you've got easy to use guylines.

 

[Paul_B]

My ultimate trick is simple. Find your organisation and stick to it. Very simple concept but wide reaching.

For example, find the best way to pack your rucksack with your kit. If you find the most efficient pack and keep it then even in the dark you'll go straight to anything you need, when you need it. This extends to camp time. Arrange everything the same way to the efficient organization you have worked out (trial and error sorts this).

It can go wider to your car and even home should you wish. The main thing is efficiency and consistency in your organisation.

This is not OCD! It is just good practice.

If you're woken and need to bug out because of the weather it'll be then that this efficiency comes into its own. Your shelter being the last item to get packed off course. Even in good weather in often spending my time chilling out with a brew on while my mates are busy packing up. Then last minute I pack up in 5 minutes straight and stand there waiting for the last guy to finish.

Same when pitching up. If nice I get a brew on then get the tarp up and back to my brew with the job done. A little tweaking of kit perhaps after the brew.

It never ceases to amaze me how long ppl take to pitch their shelter or strike camp in the hills.

 

[Bishop]

Never bed down with a smart-phone in your pocket or glasses on, use a proper watertight hardcase or tupperware sandwich box to protect them when not in use.

Heavy pack given you neck ache? Stuff the top half of your boots with whatever and use them as a neck cradle at night. This also has fringe benefit of keeping them warm for the morning and free of creepy crawlies.

For ground pounders that cover some distance on foot as part of their bushcraft adventure sooner or later you will encounter Hiker's Diarrhea. If you haven't then keep going because you will. A small smear of vasaline between the bottom cheeks before it strikes drastically reduces the amount of time, effort and tissue required to clean up.

 

[Alan De Enfield]

This is not OCD! It is just good practice.

.

I think I must be CDO (its like OCD but better as all the letters are in the correct order)

 

[bearbait]

Get all your admin done before dark: cook, eat, wash up, stow gear away. It makes life much easier. Don't leave stuff lying around in camp, day or night: A place for everything and everything in its place.

As Paul_B says above "Find your organisation and stick to it."

 

[Paul_B]

It is your organization not anyone else's. We all think differently so our organisation will be different too. Makes sense to me.

Plain peanuts are a good snack before you go to sleep. High in protein and fat which are good for recovery and for providing energy to keep warm. Exercise a little then turn in while you're warm. Then eat peanuts in your sleeping bags. On cold camps it's a good thing to keep warm while you fall asleep.

In your sleeping bag be careful you don't put too many layers on during a cold night. The insulation in the bag will often be more efficient than the insulation you wear. If you compress the down by wearing too many thicker insulation layers you'll lose effective insulation. Better to wear less and let the down properly loft up. There's the same effect by putting a warm layer over the top of the sleeping bag. It can be counter productive.

Best tip is to learn how to get the best out of your existing kit. That knowledge will pay off if you upgrade because you'll know what you really need.