8 pieces of camping gear you'd be lost in the woods without

boing
21

A decent rare earth magnet compass, topo map, and knowledge of the declination for the area

22

At first glance, I misread that as “…a marakov for $15” which both seems live a very low price and not something I feel any need to take camping.

1 Like
23

+1 on map, compass, and knowledge! (I also add an altimeter - in the dense woods in this part of the world, sometimes altitude and aspect is all you have to go on for an approximate positional fix. It doesn’t work that badly if you haven’t forgotten which mountain you’re on!)

I’m not sure what the advantage of a rare earth magnet is supposed to be in that application. Fluid damping is useful, as is a good sight (I use a mirror-sight one). I consider adjustable declination to be an essential feature. Because I’m not at all confident that I won’t start adding rather than subtracting (or vice versa) when under stress, I leave the declinator of my compass set to 14° W, which is Close Enough for anywhere that I’m likely to be.

I looked at every single item on the list and said, ‘nope!’ to each one. (And from time to time, I’m Out There a lot - including the occasional 2-3 day bushwhack.)

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24

I tried that style of snorkel recently. I would avoid it. It gave both of us who used it severe and intense nausea. It was nice to see a larger field of vision, and it didn’t fog up as much, but wow, I’ve never felt anything like it for stomach upset. They should call it the Helm of Barfing.

4 Likes
25

Full face snorkel masks are for folks who are not comfortable in the water, and can’t manage the additional strangeness of snorkel gear on the face.

26

I think you missed the heavy sarcasm of my post. Good info on the mask anyways though, I’ll keep it in mind next time I’m actually in the market for one.

27

This list is clearly written by someone who doesn’t camp. Let’s post our own lists. Here are 8 pieces of gear I have and like. These are things I’d be willing to have in my pack for a backpacking trip.

  1. Some kind of pocket rocket stove. I forget which brand I have, but it’s fine.
  2. Leatherman Wave
  3. Petzl headlamp, or else Streamlight Microstream flashlight
  4. 5 ft. x 7 ft. Ripstop Tarp
  5. Paracord does come in handy. I get the mil-spec kind from a company that makes it with 8 core strands.
  6. Bic Lighter
  7. aLOKSAK Bags (stronger and more durable than zip-locks, and can be washed and reused many more times)
  8. Source Kangaroo 1-liter Hydration reservoir. I like this one because it fits in every pack and bag I have, and the drinking tube is offset so you can turn it on its side and still draw water. If I’m actually backpacking, I use a 3-liter reservoir, but there are a lot of good ones of those out there. Good 1-liter reservoirs are harder to fine. Their Convertube is also pretty good if you want to use a bottle with a Nalgene-style opening.

One other thing I have that I really love–a Kovea LPG adapter that lets me go back and forth between propane and butane canisters. Last November this little nugget saved my weekend. Kovea makes a little Fireball heater that I also love.

What’s on your lists?

3 Likes
28

Yes. The whole point is the minimalism. A clip would be a good option, though, to keep both parts together. But an elastic band works almost as well. A pocket/pen type clip attachment would be even better - it could mount on the battery or on both items together. But here we are designing a whole new torch when the whole point of this thing is that ‘it simply clips on a battery - end of’. Hey-ho. :wink:

2 Likes
29

Whiskey and:

B000QGF986-victorinox-XAVT-600

The SwissChamp XAVT includes the following tools:

  • Large blade

  • Small blade

  • Corkscrew

  • Can opener with

  • -small screwdriver 3 mm

  • Bottle opener with

  • -large screwdriver 6 mm

  • -wire stripper

  • Reamer

  • Key ring

  • Tweezers

  • Toothpick

  • Scissors

  • Multi-purpose hook (also parcel carrier)

  • Wood saw

  • Fishscaler with

  • -hook disgorger

  • -ruler (cm & inches)

  • Nail file with

  • -metal file

  • -nail cleaner

  • -metal saw

  • Fine screwdriver 2 mm

  • Chisel

  • Pliers with

  • -wire cutters

  • -wire crimping tool

  • Phillips screwdriver

  • Magnifying Glass

  • Ball point pen

  • -also to set DIP-Switches

  • Pin

  • Mini-screwdriver

  • Sewing eye * Wrench with

  • -5mm female Hex drive for D-SUB connectors

  • -4mm female Hex drive for the bits

  • -Bit Phillips 0 (Pozidrive)

  • -Bit Phillips 1 (Pozidrive)

  • -Bit Slotted 4 mm

  • -Bit Phillips 2

  • -Bit Hex 4 mm

  • -Bit Torx 8

  • -Bit Torx 10

  • -Bit Torx 15

  • Large blade

  • LED light, white

  • Multi-purpose hook with nailfile

  • Reamer

  • Pruning blade

  • Electrician’s blade with wire scraper

  • -wire scraper

  • Pharmaceutical spatula

  • Combination tool with cap lifter

  • -can opener

  • -screwdriver

  • -wire stripper

  • Watch opener

  • Fine screwdriver 2 mm

  • Digital clock

  • Altimeter

  • Barometer

  • Alarm

  • Countdown

  • Timer

  • Thermometer

:wink:

4 Likes
30

I bet you’re the kind of person who wishes for more wishes, aren’t you?

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31

Almost forgot:

32

That reminds me - I’m going (car) in a couple of weeks and I need to check out all my gear and make sure my stove still works. That Kovea sounds like it would come in handy.

My gear list for the upcoming trip includes;

  1. OlarHike Inflatable Queen Air Mattress
  2. Fundango Double 2 Person Sleeping Bags
  3. CORE 6 Person Instant Cabin Tent
  4. Gerber Suspension Multi-Plier
  5. KastKing Fillet Knife
  6. Vont LED Camping Lantern
  7. Eagles Nest Outfitters Double Hammock
  8. Texsport Heavy Duty Over Fire Camp Grill
2 Likes
33

Rare earth magnet compass because magnetized steel compasses have a tendency to reverse polarity ifstored near other magnets (we’re surrounded by them these days), and lose their magnetism with heat.

My car’s alternator field has killed several windshield mount compasses.

2 Likes
34

9 feet of paracord is far too little. I started keeping 50 feet of paracord in the bottom of my knapsack after a fellow hiker used his to rescue a novice who had fallen partway down a cliff. And if I ever need it, I won’t have to waste time unraveling a bracelet when seconds count.

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35

I carry 20m of paracord for bear bagging, in any case. What need for a bracelet?

Although that raises an interesting question: if I start carrying a bear canister, would the paracord still be worth its weight? I surely would no longer use it on every trip. Under what scenarios would I need cordage? What else could I improvise?

Gear is a whole system, it’s hard to evaluate pieces in isolation. But almost everything on the list in the original article, I say, “I have some article or combination of articles in my pack to perform the function of that object, better and at lighter weight.”

1 Like
36

OK, fair enough. I don’t think I’ve ever killed a handheld compass that way.

I confess that I don’t know what material my current compass (one of these) uses.

Key features were fluid damping (and a capsule that’s stayed sealed, unlike several that I’ve had from Suunto, Silva and Brunton after they all outsourced their manufacturing), clinometer, mirror sight, transparent baseplate.

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37

I have no brand preferences.

  1. a tarp, usually coated light nylon, around 10x10, with eyelets,

  2. butane stove or white gas stove (but if the weather’s dry you can cook over a small twig fire, it just makes a sooty mess on the pot)

  3. cooking pot that holds at least a quart, sturdy plastic spoon, small plastic coffee cup

  4. DEET

  5. sleeping bag (rating dependent on the season), ground mat (usually Therma-rest)

  6. pocket knife with locking blade and only a few other things like can opener, tweezers, scissors, screwdriver

  7. something to treat water, usually iodine,

  8. lighter

  9. headlamp

  10. night time mosquito net canopy.

  11. clothing depends on the season, but almost always a pair of shorts with an inner brief (like a men’s swimsuit), and a pair of nylon or gore-tex over-pants that have side-zips up to the knees (take on or off without having to remove shoes), coated nylon rain shell, polyester or 50/50 t-shirt, cap, bandana.

I think that’s it for necessities, insect stuff is also seasonal. Most of the weight ends up being food and water. I have occasionally carried a small radio and a ukulele too, but I can’t really call them necessities.

Carry a lot of wine bottles on your camping trips?

3 Likes
38

Mmmmm, that’s Glamping Trips. :wink:

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39

Sounds good. I use a sub-1-kg tent, usually, rather than a tarp. Blessed is the man who sleepeth behind bug netting, for he shall remain sane. DEET is entirely ineffective against black flies. I use a popcan alcohol stove and a smaller pot (a grease strainer). I carry flint and tinder rather than a lighter - they continue to work after being dunked in a river, which has happened. Food storage (dry bag and line) is a necessity, I hike in bear country. I presume you simply failed to mention soap, trowel, and toilet paper. I carry a bunch of other odds and ends (compass, altimeter, PLB, nylon bucket, medical kit). And a small amount of “it’s none of your business what else is in my pack.”

It sure was nice, a few years ago, getting to the end of a six-day carry. My pack weighed half what it did when I started. I’d eaten the other half.

Deep winter gear is a whole other story. In deep winter in some places, a 30 kg pack is ultralight.

For three seasons, someone who’s starting out could do a lot worse than http://blog.gossamergear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Ultracheap_Henley.pdf - I haven’t tried that specific system, but I read through it and say, “yeah, that’d work.”

1 Like
40

I used to spend a lot more time in the woods, I don’t get out very much anymore. In terms of things that I would want on me if I was going into the woods for a couple of hours but not expecting to overnight:

  1. Swiss Army Pocket Knife. I carry a smallish one, with a blade, file, can opener, bottle opener/ slot screwdriver, Punch, and Philips- head screwdriver. I don’t leave my house without this.

  2. A flashlight. Virtually every store I have been at in the last three years has had small “tactical” metal LED flashlights, normally at the checkout counter, for between $5 and $15. Grab one of the smaller ones. (Walmart has a stupid little LED headlight for $1. These are very light and very good.)

  3. Box of strike-anywhere matches. The camping ones that are waxed and waterproof are better as long as you can find them strike anywhere.

  4. Bottle of water, at least 1L. I like Ice Mountain. Keep the bottle even if you empty it.

  5. Find ways of hiding some paracord on your person that doesn’t make you look like a tool. Replace shoe strings with it, hide a hank in your pack, make a hatband, wrap some around your stave as a hand grip.

  6. Wear enough clothing for the coldest expected weather in the next two weeks or so.

I should also carry a lifestraw and a first aid kit. I normally don’t, but I know I should. They are in my truck.

1 Like