Why am I carrying........ The Sequel.

[Wayland]

A few years ago I started a thread about those little "Survival kit tins" we were once all encouraged to carry.

Today I have just unwound one of those "Paracord Bracelets" that people tell me they wear so that they have some cord in an emergency.

Really!.... It took me ten minutes to unknot about 3m of cord. How useful is that?.... Haven't I just got myself ten minutes further into the emergency?....

I was actually given this bracelet and I have a use for the buckle so now the hank of paracord, which I can unwind in seconds, is now in my rucksack where it might actually be useful.

In the decade or so since I wrote the last thread things have gone mad. I see adverts for "EDC" kit which is little more than useless and keyrings loaded with enough metalwork to drag you to the bottom of a river if you ever fell in one. Why?... Isn't it all just macho jewellery?...

Sure, I have a few things in my pocket, a small knife, a small torch, some keys, a change pouch, my wallet and a magnifying glass because I'm blind without my glasses these days.

If I'm wearing a jacket I may have a few more bits and pieces such as a hank of thin cord. ( Kochanski Survival cord actually.) my glasses and a pocket compass but that is about it.

I was once told by an old fisherman that 5% of the stuff sold in fishing shops was designed to catch fish, the other 95% was designed to catch fishermen.

How many of us have actually found a real use for any of the other stuff that is marketed to us as "EDC"?

 

[Toddy]

"I was once told by an old fisherman that 5% of the stuff sold in fishing shops was designed to catch fish, the other 95% was designed to catch fishermen."

Yep. People are hardwired to make and use gadgets though. It's part and parcel of the whole human toolkit
My own keyring would floor an ox if I were so inclined, but there's only one door key on it

The bushcraft adage about carrying less by knowing more, is very sound. If you need it, make it.

Still doesn't stop me looking at those gadgets

Paracord bracelets though…it's all in the weave. Most of them are so convoluted it does literally take ten minutes to unwind. Simple chain loop though takes seconds….and it's better to have the length so make it into a belt or strap or thread it into your jacket waist or hem instead of a poor bit of drawcord.

M

 

[Adze]

Can we add 'survival knives' to the list? If I were planning a trip where becoming lost was a real possibility, I'd prepare a sight better than a paltry quantity of fishing line with case hardened cream cheese hooks, a bit of magnesium block and an impractical knife for anything other than looking a little like the one Stallone carried.

In every other scenario (other than the "I've bought a survival knife so I'd better strip to my shorts and get good and lost so I can use it") that I can think of I wouldn't be carrying said survival knife anyway, so it would still be useless.

 

[Wayland]

Snip> The bushcraft adage about carrying less by knowing more, is very sound. If you need it, make it.

Still doesn't stop me looking at those gadgets <Snip

Anyone that knows me knows I like a good gadget as much as the next person but it is the idea that we will need this or that widget in an emergency that gets me.

I pride myself in being able to improvise my way through most situations but do I really need a tactical pen with a window breaker on me 24/7? Most people wouldn't even know how to use it let alone need it.

I see so many websites, preppers tend to be the worst, that promote this "equip yourself to be ready for anything" attitude but say nothing about just not getting yourself into trouble in the first place.

The sort of trouble you might actually get yourself into, you probably won't be equipped for anyway, so learning how to make the things you need is a pretty good idea.

I've lost count of the number of times I've picked up a couple of stones and knapped a basic cutting tool when I've needed one. I've even used glass on occasions. It usually only needs to last a couple of cuts.

I sometimes store cord or rope in a chain sinnet just to stop it tangling but that is usually hanked or wound around something.

It's not just the "paracord bracelet" thing. It's the whole macho jewellery "EDC" marketing hype that I think is ridiculous.

Carry the things you need when you actually need them. Simples...

 

[sunndog]

"Man jewellery" yep

Knife, string, torch. After that you are catching fishermen as far as ''EDC' goes

Toddy, we've got to see your keyring now

 

[sunndog]

wayland, i really really hope you havent seen the 'leatherman watch' cos if you havent you are in for a treat my friend

 

[John Fenna]

"Kochanski Survival cord actually"
Oooooh cool gear
How long before folk ask you where you can buy this rare item
I only ever really made PSKs for specific occasions/locations where their use was a real possibility - most commercial ones are fairly poor but could be used as a basis for something useful.
My pockets normally contain the really useful stuff, my waist pouch/shoulderbag/pack contain the rest...
I just checked my pockets sitting here - tissues, lighter, antibac wipes, SAK, penknife, Merino Buff, roll of Extra Strong mints, shift log (yesterdays), nicotine gum, leather belt...
Fire, 1st Aid, extra food, extra clothing and construction of shelter are all covered
Add my jacket and you have
Cordage, cash, phone, more mints, notebook and pen, keys, painkillers, Leatherman, folding knife, torch, spare batteries, whistle and my credit card!
That should get me out of any survival situation I get into twixt home and work (1 mile away...)
It might even be a bit of overkill!

 

[Wayland]

wayland, i really really hope you havent seen the 'leatherman watch' cos if you havent you are in for a treat my friend

Yep, I saw it not long after it came out. I've only just stopped laughing.

 

[Wayland]

"Kochanski Survival cord actually"
Oooooh cool gear
How long before folk ask you where you can buy this rare item
I only ever really made PSKs for specific occasions/locations where their use was a real possibility - most commercial ones are fairly poor but could be used as a basis for something useful.
My pockets normally contain the really useful stuff, my waist pouch/shoulderbag/pack contain the rest...
I just checked my pockets sitting here - tissues, lighter, antibac wipes, SAK, penknife, Merino Buff, roll of Extra Strong mints, shift log (yesterdays), nicotine gum, leather belt...
Fire, 1st Aid, extra food, extra clothing and construction of shelter are all covered
Add my jacket and you have
Cordage, cash, phone, more mints, notebook and pen, keys, painkillers, Leatherman, folding knife, torch, spare batteries, whistle and my credit card!
That should get me out of any survival situation I get into twixt home and work (1 mile away...)
It might even be a bit of overkill!

Mors gave me the bit I carry so you can tell how stingy I am with cordage.

You might remember from SWaT days that my original PSK had trick candles in it. That is going back a few years though.

Now I rely on the contents of my pockets and rucksack for most things.

 

[Squidders]

It's an easy trap to fall into. I have purchased a few things like that myself, in error in the past but only ever as a bit of fun these days.

 

[GGTBod]

I think in a way i am lucky here, i came to bushcrafting through a total loss of interest in all the commercializing of anything, in the modern world to me there are no more carrots just a big bloody stick on my back, i headed to the outdoors as part of my physiotherapy for my back and soul after getting churned up and spat out by the big marketting machine, so my main goal was to get away from marketting and everything getting branded repackaged and resold only cooler and totally less useful. I think what i am saying is by the time i started taking my outdoor fun seriously to myself i was well well sick of that type of thing in everyday life let alone any of this type of tat targetting people passionate about my new hobbies, i also find it really hard not to be cynical about 95% of it, to continue the above analogy i am only interested in the stuff made to catch the fish but i find it so hard to swim through the piles of tat trying to be sold to me that it is often not until something is well proven with a great rep from folks opinions i respect before i jump on board and then i will only do it for a total bargain like in the Ghillie Kettle group buy last year and the 10 quid i spent 4 years ago on my woodgas stove.

Does this mean i have less kit than you all? Possibly but that is probably a lot more to do with how little space i have to keep it all in than superior willpower at resisting tat sold as useful kit to us outdoors folks Currently getting myself lost in neolithic bushcrafting skills to increase my useful maker abilities

 

[John Fenna]

As a Gear Reviewer for a bunch of magazines over the years, I have seen, used and destroyed many bits of tat I learned to tell what was tat and what had promise...
I always tried to give an even handed review - but some bits got binned without a word being written as they were just too awful.
Some bits became regular items of my load and some ended up being firm favourites

 

[GGTBod]

Must be a fun position to be in John especially when you get sent surprise good gear that you end up loving, i have bought several things in the past that got gingerly put back into the original packaging after a basic inspection and returned post haste, would have been fun to use some of them to destruction and then return them giving a review of why you should be refunded , i like doing stuff like that, i once got my money refunded for a porn channel i paid for in a hotel when in Amsterdam because it was soft core censored pornography?!? In an Amsterdam hotel??? The manager thought i was hilarious when i politely explained my reasons why i thought i was sold a duck when settling my bill during checkout, it was more risque taking a walk through the red light district in broad daylight with no money wearing a blindfold and peaking, channel 4 after 9pm in the 90's was more raunchy, got my money refunded and made everyone working there have a very fun morning

 

[sunndog]

Hey those porn channels are expensive! I'd have asked for a refund too......nowadays though with smartphones we have 'EDC' porn lmao

 

[Janne]

I love the ingenuiety of those credit card sized Survival kits. Coll design, cool engineering.
Coll to pull up in s pub snd chow your friends.
Practical use? None I can think of. Maybe there is one?

 

[Janne]

Am going to stick my neck out like a Christmas turkey here.
I find those neck knives of pretty limited use. Legal aspect aside, ( not sure what is legal to carry in what country) I have had very limited use for a such short blade.
I do own a Fällkniven WoMan, I did use it a few times when picking mushrooms , but apart from the macho cuteness, I find it never being used since.
A drawer queen.

Those paracord bracelets makes you look like a tough survival guy, specially if they are grimy.
We have a few of those guys here, most are gym instructors.

Me, I carry a length of quality thin mooring line, that has already prepared loops on the end.

Why is it called paracord? The parachute lines I know are much thinner.

 

[GGTBod]

Now i could go for one of those credit card ones if it was actually also my real debit cash credit card/id card/passport, now that would be some some serious EDC

 

[wicca]

Wayland, you are witness to the dying embers of an inbuilt human instinct. Since before recorded history humans faced challenges and arising from those challenges came solutions. Fell a log to build a hut and it was easier to move it on wheels than drag it. Enemy hiding in a stone building impervious to arrows...build a catapult to throw rocks at him. Need to speak to America? Hang on Mr Marconi has a solution. And now, You want to speak to Granny in Australia? No problem, press a few buttons on the 'phone that you carry in your pocket.

Challenges now have shifted in their nature, survival is more about keeping a job, family life and perhaps affording next years holiday among other things. But they are mundane, routine, dare I say boring in many instances. Get up, go to work/school come home. Food? easy, no need to hunt/ catch it just phone the Pizza shop where the only 'challenge' is remembering their telephone number.

Somewhere in many people there is the tiny flicker on how to survive... "in an emergency or in the wild" that once fired all humans. It has now been replaced by imagined situations, fantasies, assisted by media and marketing exposure. How many times have you seen threads like..." Challenge, 5 nights out with a knife, piece of string and plastic bag?" It's the ember glowing, only to die on the 8.33 from city station tomorrow morning, because it's Monday tomorrow.

The survival tins, capsules guaranteed to contain all you need in case of a terrorist attack are little bits of kindling that shrewd people sell trying to keep alight a certain type of fire, that will be all but dead in a few decades I suspect. The challenge germ in humans won't be dead of course, it is just taking a different form. If we make this battery thinner it will be 50% lighter in the new xyz Mark 2 mobile phone.

But, the 'survival industry' does little harm, I think. It keeps people employed, others happily deluded that they will survive being lost in Hyde Park and primes them for more fantastic offers on the new kit..coming soon.

Right that's my view, I must rush off now and watch 'Special Forces Ultimate Hell Week'
Ooooh! I wonder where I can get that combat, SAS, special forces, tactical,Seal, action Jacket he's wearing in the TV show?................

 

[sunndog]

Janne, are you having a stroke mate?

 

[Wayland]

Wayland, you are witness to the dying embers of an inbuilt human instinct. Since before recorded history humans faced challenges and arising from those challenges came solutions. Fell a log to build a hut and it was easier to move it on wheels than drag it. Enemy hiding in a stone building impervious to arrows...build a catapult to throw rocks at him. Need to speak to America? Hang on Mr Marconi has a solution. And now, You want to speak to Granny in Australia? No problem, press a few buttons on the 'phone that you carry in your pocket.

Challenges now have shifted in their nature, survival is more about keeping a job, family life and perhaps affording next years holiday among other things. But they are mundane, routine, dare I say boring in many instances. Get up, go to work/school come home. Food? easy, no need to hunt/ catch it just phone the Pizza shop where the only 'challenge' is remembering their telephone number.

Somewhere in many people there is the tiny flicker on how to survive... "in an emergency or in the wild" that once fired all humans. It has now been replaced by imagined situations, fantasies, assisted by media and marketing exposure. How many times have you seen threads like..." Challenge, 5 nights out with a knife, piece of string and plastic bag?" It's the ember glowing, only to die on the 8.33 from city station tomorrow morning, because it's Monday tomorrow.

The survival tins, capsules guaranteed to contain all you need in case of a terrorist attack are little bits of kindling that shrewd people sell trying to keep alight a certain type of fire, that will be all but dead in a few decades I suspect. The challenge germ in humans won't be dead of course, it is just taking a different form. If we make this battery thinner it will be 50% lighter in the new xyz Mark 2 mobile phone.

But, the 'survival industry' does little harm, I think. It keeps people employed, others happily deluded that they will survive being lost in Hyde Park and primes them for more fantastic offers on the new kit..coming soon.

Right that's my view, I must rush off now and watch 'Special Forces Ultimate Hell Week'
Ooooh! I wonder where I can get that combat, SAS, special forces, tactical,Seal, action Jacket he's wearing in the TV show?................

That is quite poetic.

I understand that sense of detachment from the modern world perhaps better than most. I turned it into a career after all.

However, I cannot believe carrying a credit card that doubles as a spanner really helps with that. A SAK or a Leatherman I can understand but that sort of thing just seems like a sticking plaster over a great festering wound.