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My Views On Carrying Modern Gadgets.

Keith

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I recently posted this on another UK forum after receiving so much negative feedback/comments on my posts on equipment recommendations. I thought I would post it here to give people something to think about.
Keith.
Knapsack_market_wallet_Reduced_75_percent.jpg

My Views On Carrying Modern Gadgets.

Okay, this is my take on the carry situation, or your Bug Out bag contents for long term wilderness/country living.

People are for ever saying that they will rely of modern gear because it is easier to use & when it is used up or broken they will simply discard it. Many state that they carry multiple items for making fire. Maybe they do the same with other gear as well, I don't know.

Personally I have gone to a lot of research & experimentation to arrive at the best kit I can possibly carry that will last me a lifetime in the wilderness. This equipment is backed up with the skills needed to use this gear.

Now if I were to take advice from many people who advocate the carrying of modern gear & extras for insurance, then some of the items I already have in my pack would have to be taken out to (a) make room, & (b) lighten the load.

Putting it another way, when one has to discard a modern gadget, there is nothing to replace it unless you can make a primitive item to replace it. You were carrying this gadget at the expense of carrying something more suitable. You have compromised your safety & security by leaving important items out of your pack to make room for your gadgets. Does this make any sense to you?

Okay so you do know how to use a flint, steel & tinderbox & you carry one with you. You know all about plant & fungi tinders & where to find dry kindling in the pouring rain & snow. But you still want to carry a cigarette lighter, a ferocerium rod & magnesium block because? I can probably make fire faster with a tinderbox than many people can with a lighter, so why would I want to carry a lighter? I would sooner carry that extra weight & bulk in gunpowder, water, food, modern medical supplies. These items are far more important than carrying battery operated torches, magnesium blocks, ferocerium rods, cigarette lighters, plastic or tin plates, fold away solar panels, eating utensils, fuel stove, multi-tool, or the myriad of other modern gadgets that are on the market today.

A ferocerium rod is NOT a good substitute for a tinderbox. So why have one? Why are you not practicing with a real flint steel & tinderbox? If this is just a hobby for you, just a game or something you like to do when camping out, fine, I am not saying that is NOT a legitimate thing to do, but do NOT try to convince me or anyone else that this is what you should do if you seriously want to survive should it all hit the fan.

I have been doing this stuff since before it became known as prepping, I have been doing this for most of my life in all weathers. I have survived attacks from people & wild animals, I survived cyclone Tracey in 74. I have lived off grid in the bush for most of my life. I try to pass on my findings, my knowledge & my experience because I am an old man & the things that I know are rarely practiced these days. And yet I am for ever finding people getting upset by what I say & am immediately put on someone's hit list. Is it jealousy? Is it because these people were used to being top dog on the forum until I came along & upset their ratings? Or is it because I no longer live in the UK & therefore can't be considered a reliable source of information?

Yes I am out of touch with matters in the UK, I would imagine things are far worse there now than they were when I was living there. I saw my old forest & field haunts being cut down, leveled & built on. I was running out of room to "play". So I got out, came here & bought myself a forest that no one can destroy. But that does not mean that you can't take what is of use to you & discard the rest. Basic survival needs are still the same no matter where you are in the world. Even some of the plants here are the same as in the UK & other countries. Before climate change took a hold it was the same weather conditions here in New England NSW as it was in parts of the UK.

There is different equipment to suit the individual, & there is the WRONG equipment to carry. No matter how big & strong you are, no matter that you can carry a child plus your backpack, it still comes down to carrying the right gear & NOT compromising your safety. There will already be a need for some compromise when packing for a trip between two principles : minimum weight & maximum self-reliance.
Keith.
 
Keith, we talked about the differences in the way different kinds of steel strike a spark...you reccomended using steel taken from an old file for use with a natural flint, I gave it a try and it's true, it's infinitely better.

While a Ferocerium rod or a magnastrike is not going to last very long and can't be easily replaced post apocalypse it will work well enough off the back of a knife blade and fits into an emergency tin.

Your posts have made me look at flint again, as an edge tool as well as fire lighting. I've not lived in an area where Flint is easily available so there's is a big gap in my knowledge, its somethings I need to work on.
 
I have the same problem as ystranc in obtaining flint, the nearest flint area to me is a 100 mile round trip, okay now while I have a car but post SHTF this isn't going to be feasible..or safe!
 
Keith, we talked about the differences in the way different kinds of steel strike a spark...you reccomended using steel taken from an old file for use with a natural flint, I gave it a try and it's true, it's infinitely better.

While a Ferocerium rod or a magnastrike is not going to last very long and can't be easily replaced post apocalypse it will work well enough off the back of a knife blade and fits into an emergency tin.

Your posts have made me look at flint again, as an edge tool as well as fire lighting. I've not lived in an area where Flint is easily available so there's is a big gap in my knowledge, its somethings I need to work on.

Don't discount other siliceous rocks such as quartz, agate, chert, etc. Best way is to carry a fire steel & try any rocks that you find. Many types of rocks will still produce sparks even if they are not the best. I used to live right on the coast where country met the sea in West Sussex, so there was mountains of flint on the beach.
Keith.
 
There is a lot of quartz in the river beds locally. I've also been told in the past that you can do something similar to Flint knapping with thick lumps of foundry glass.....knowing how well I get on with glass it's probably a bad idea though.
I've an old minerals book somewhere that I'm going to dig out...I need to look into this.
 
this is granite tor country, with ball clay deposits.
Granite would probably produce sparks, it will probably break more than a siliceous rock, but it should be hard enough. We have what is known as trap rock here, pretty much useless for anything except building, though I did make a tool for fashioning the parts of a fire-bow from trap rock one time & it worked well enough. We also have quartz here.
Keith.
 
I really hadn't considered using other stones, I am planning a trip to the flint area to collect a supply of same.
its the best part of 50 miles away on top of a hill in a forested area but it means a special journey.
 
I really hadn't considered using other stones, I am planning a trip to the flint area to collect a supply of same.
its the best part of 50 miles away on top of a hill in a forested area but it means a special journey.

One of the things that stood out when I first came to Australia & something that changed the way I looked at travel, was the way Australians view distance. Australia is a transit country, people are fore ever on the move. It is said that if you stay long enough in Darwin, sooner or later you will see a lot of the people you have met in the past.

50 miles is nothing here, for us that is a quick trip to the nearest small city & back. My wife makes that trip 3 times a week for her work. The school bus makes that trip every day Monday to Friday. When one of my sons went to England he got a lift as far as Chichester arriving there at night. He walked from Chichester to Bognor Regis. My youngest son lives in Glen Innes, he often visits us for a day to cut firewood or just for pleasure.

When I was living in England I used to think that London, Lands End & South Wales were a long way to drive, driving right round Australia & into the center was an eye opener for me. Changed the way I looked at travel. If there were a bridge from Australia to the UK, I would think nothing of making the trip.
Keith.
I will try posting images, but they seem to have stopped working on this forum of late!
Roads_2.jpg

The roads just go on & on.
Roads_1.jpg

Roos_on_the_road.jpg

Watch out for the Roos (Australia's equivalent of the Deer).
 
I have done long journeys in the past, Devon to Yorkshire to collect a puppy, but the furthest we travel these days is about 100 miles from home or putting it another way a 200 mile round trip to Somerset, that way we can still sleep in our own bed at night. 50 miles is like a morning out and back home for lunch.
 
this journey just wont be possible post SHTF when petrol supplies are no more, such a journey on foot would take too long and probably be very unsafe, I will definitely have to look for alternatives.
 
this journey just wont be possible post SHTF when petrol supplies are no more, such a journey on foot would take too long and probably be very unsafe, I will definitely have to look for alternatives.
If you are referring to the trip to get flint, flint lasts for ages. I carry a musket flint in my tinderbox, been using it for years. I would not worry about running out of suitable stone/rocks, you will always find something to use somewhere, on the track or beside a creek or river bed. It is just a matter of your mind getting used to looking & seeing things of use.
Keith.
 
yes, we've been concentrating on trying to identify animal tracks on our country walks, these are mainly deer, badgers, foxes and dogs where we live, i'm still hoping to find some wild boar tracks but nothing so far.
I need to look at the geology and the stones as well.
the trip I referred to was indeed to collect flint, it washes out of the ground after heavy rain and all one has to do is pick it up, i'd like to start doing some flint napping but haven't got big enough pieces yet although I have small scrapers the wife picked up on one of her trips through the area .
 
yes, we've been concentrating on trying to identify animal tracks on our country walks, these are mainly deer, badgers, foxes and dogs where we live, i'm still hoping to find some wild boar tracks but nothing so far.
I need to look at the geology and the stones as well.
the trip I referred to was indeed to collect flint, it washes out of the ground after heavy rain and all one has to do is pick it up, i'd like to start doing some flint napping but haven't got big enough pieces yet although I have small scrapers the wife picked up on one of her trips through the area .
I love finding stuff. I am always looking for tracks, I like to know what is in the area especially if it is wild/feral dogs (dingoes I don't worry about). Anything useful I take home, although there is a limit when it comes to bird feathers, but fungi tinder I often take home if it is on the ground. If it is still on the tree I leave it there if I don't have a need.
Keith.
 
I am of the generation that finds stuff, "that could come in handy" and takes it home!!
i'm always finding feathers, a lot are crows or magpies(black and white) not enough to do a lot with, maybe the odd arrow fletching but that's about it, probably a bit small for even that.
saw a lot of evidence of slug eating this morning on our walk, probably badgers.
and one dead frog, probably an owl, we hear them in the woods early mornings.
woodpigeons, collared doves and loads of little birds come to our bird table, even got a wood pecker visiting.
 
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I am of the generation that finds stuff, "that could come in handy" and takes it home!!
i'm always finding feathers, a lot are crows or magpies(black and white) not enough to do a lot with, maybe the odd arrow fletching but that's about it, probably a bit small for even that.
saw a lot of evidence of slug eating this morning on our walk, probably badgers.
and one dead frog, probably an owl, we hear them in the woods early mornings.
woodpigeons, collared doves and loads of little birds come to our bird table, even got a wood pecker visiting.
Did you hear the birds in my "skinning & butchering game" video? Love the sounds of wildlife. Couldn't hack it in a built up area.
Keith.
 
"after receiving so much negative feedback/comments on my posts on equipment recommendations"

Don't look at it as negative feedback, its just that many people don't agree with your choice of kit, I don't like a lot of it but that's just my view, if your happy with it stick with it.
 
I definitely trust your judgement on the equipment you use Keith after all the YouTube vids of yours I have watched . As for gear ie clothing and shelter am a little bit of a kit tart lol. So I genuinely go for the modern day stuff. However I have never tried the more traditional clothes and shelters....a do plan on educating myself on this matter. And I am very interested in flint napping and fire starting the old way. At the moment I am trying to master the bow drill and then hand drill so I will definitely be doing the the flint and steel at some point.
 
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