View Full Version : What Would You Bring?
TheViking
07-11-2004, 16:48
Yeah, what would would you bring of the 2?? I would like to hear everybody's answer. Explain why please! :-)
Personally I would bring the locking SAK, cause i believe the contents on this one is more sturdy than the small things in a tin. There's so much more stuff to keep in place, by choosing the tin. :wink: My opinion, let me hear yours! :biggthump
Great Pebble
07-11-2004, 17:33
I chose the tin, but then I've got a wee folder in my tin...
If the choice had been between the tin and a larger fixed blade my answer might have been different.
dito.. im not a big SAK fan.. i got a little small folder in my tin too!
I'd go for the tin too ... in there I have the basics of navigaion, food, water, cutting covered.
i'm with you guy's to i have a little folder in mine aswell and the tin give's me the means to lite a fire catch fish trap rabbits and it can be used as a cup for boiling water :wave:
TheViking
07-11-2004, 20:17
What I actually meant was if the tin didn't have a folder or other decent knife in it. A tin like the one in SAS survival guide. :wink: My mistake, should have said that from the start.
a survival tin without a blade aint going to help anyone survive!!
I don't have a clue. Each choice leaves me in a pretty bad state anyhow!
Bushmaster
07-11-2004, 20:31
It has to be the tin.The contents can provide (with prior knowledge and skill) everything you need. Protection as you have the scalpel blades and para cord to help in shelter building,along with fire starting kit,for warmth and morale.Location ,we are back to fire and the button compass.Water, you have condoms,puritabs and good old fire again for boiling.finaly for food, you have snares,fire,fishing kit and scalpel for preparing.
It is no competition.You also have a heliograph using the lid and a small container for water in the base.
Geoff :biggthump :wave:
Hmmmm, didn't think of those options. When i think of survival tins i think of Gelert second rate stuff, about as useful as a plasic knife :shock:
Little Viking you should of added a third choice of other!!
I'd be in the other catagory!! Survival tins and SAK are jacks of all trades masters of none and while either would be better than nothing given the choice o a cmmercially made kit I'd go for the RAF issue one as this is by far the best one available.
Hmmm, i thought they were all the same, hence i went for the sak....i have been educated :biggthump
TheViking
07-11-2004, 20:47
If I were to carry the tin, the contents would be:
Fireball firesteel w. striker.
Some needles and heavy thread
A button compass
Some string and fishing line
A pencil
Plasters
Wiresaw
Condom
Matches
Candle
Fish hooks and a sinker
Snare wire
Magnifying glass
and probably a SAK.
If i could get a bigger tin than the one i've got now, the SAK could fit in there. :wink:
Mattsteel
07-11-2004, 20:55
I'd go for the survival tin, because you've got the scalpal blades and wiresaw for cutting stuff, which is just about all you could do with the SAK.
I'm in the middle of collecting stuff for mine, just started it last week. Everyone in my family thinks i'm mad!
Does anyone know where can i get a wiresaw from?
TheViking
07-11-2004, 20:57
I'd go for the survival tin, because you've got the scalpal blades and wiresaw for cutting stuff, which is just about all you could do with the SAK.
I wouldn't say that. A solid grip on a SAK compared to the "grip" on a scalpel blade. I'd go for the SAK then.
Bushmaster
07-11-2004, 20:59
Hi ,take a look at this link for your kit.
Geoff :biggthump
http://www.silvermans.co.uk/Silver/docs/topframe.htm
Bushmaster
07-11-2004, 21:02
As for the grip on a scalpel blade ,I would manufacture a handle from wood.
Geoff
OK - I'll assume it's the only thing I can have - except maybe for the clothes I stand up in. You did say locking SAK/multitool so I'll have my wave, I hate SAK's. That gives me two usable blades, a saw, a proper handle and a diamond file even if I have to break it off the knife to be able to sharpen the blades.
With these and natural cordage (which I can make) I can buld a bowdrill set and make fire - even if it takes me a while. With fire I can sterilise the water I've filtered through reeds or grass and ashes from the fire.
With the knife I can make digging tools, spear, bow and arrows and traps (not forgetting the natural cord from nettles, withies, bark or whatever) I may even manage a wedge for splitting firewood with a stone. I can dress anything I can catch.
I can make a debris shelter, strip bark for a water container, carve a spoon.
I can cut a stick to make a sun compass, a quadrant for estimating latitude yada yada
With a survival tin I could.... use the PP solution to deal with athletes foot :nana:
No contest methinks :o):
(but fun thread !) Cheers
Bushmaster
07-11-2004, 21:46
I agree in principle with your argument,but all of the above involve extra work/effort, which uses up vital energy resources.With the tin etal you use less energy as all is provided.
:naughty: :nana:
Geoff
PS at the end of the day we are all correct to some degree because we all know, no matter what we have with us,what you carry in your head is much more important than what you have on your hip or in your pocket. As each post shows, knowledge aforethought and you can cope no matter what you have.
:You_Rock_
had it been a wave my answer may have been different
Squidders
07-11-2004, 21:53
I would rather take a 4 foot pink flamingo garden ornament out than a SAK... I hate them... :rant:
Does anyone know where can i get a wiresaw from?
Matt - don't waste your time. The wiresaws in survival kits are designed as escape equipment for captured military forces. They are made to cut through dry seasoned wood and clog up on the green wood you would most likely be cutting in a bushcraft /survival situation. If you want one for bushcraft, you'd need one of the two designs of pocket chainsaw made by Ultimate survival and a second company whose name I forget. These are bigger, heavier, dearer but do work well on substantial branches of green wood. Either would fill a survival tin though.
Yours is (excuse the assumption) a very common misconception that I fell into myself until someone on the forum enlightened me. Cheers.
:rolmao: i would rather take i real life flamingo.. i hear they taste gooood :wink:
not an SAK fan either
I chose the locking SAK/multitool (I'd prefer a sturdy fixed blade though ;))... but that's a summer/dry temperature choice. In winter, I'd probably go for the tin kit just for the fire. Starting a fire by friction in the middle of a rainy, foggy week is feasable, but it's hard.
Water can be found, shelter can be made from debris, food can be gathered and hunted with simple rocks or a basic spear, gross navigation can be done using the sun, the stars or many different things... but a good, tough, sharp blade is difficult to get from stone (even the best one).
Fire and a decent cutting tool. Add to that a tarp / poncho / tough plastic sheet, a metallic recipient and a bandana, and I'm a happy primate ;)
Cheers,
David
I would rather take a 4 foot pink flamingo garden ornament out than a SAK... I hate them... :rant:
Mee too :D
(was that a "me too post"? Nah... Not my style :D)
Thanks for the bandwidth.
David
If I had a survival tin I wouldn't bother with a condom. Presuming you've got it with you to collect/carry water, it's far too much hassle.
I would prefer to carry a freezer bag or something similar.
but that's a summer/dry temperature choice. In winter, I'd probably go for the tin kit just for the fire. Starting a fire by friction in the middle of a rainy, foggy week is feasable, but it's hard.
raising a good point there mate.. i know you dont normal get a choice of which survival situation your in.. but in different situations different choices might be made (at least by me)
Hey Geoff :You_Rock_ too.
You make a very good point - esp easy firelighting if you're tired / injured.
Shows an interesting thing about attitude. Someone once set me the scenario of what ten things out of a list of 30 would I take and in what priority if I were in an aircraft that crashed in the sea somewhere in the south pacific. My reply was 100% right for my scenario of having to survive and save my own ass, and 100% wrong for their (unstated) scenario that someone else actually knew where we were and all we had to do was sit tight for 48 hours and wait for the rescue party. I was also very amused at how the "examiners" unjustified and unstated assumptions really hacked me off - never realised I was pig headed :rolmao:
I don't assume that I can rely on the cavalry coming around the corner so always look for maximum utility in the long term. That's not always the right answer though. :biggthump
MagiKelly
07-11-2004, 22:35
Tin, for the instant results. If it is a real survival situation I need results in fire and water straight away. I can construct a blade of some sort if I need to in the long term.
If I had a survival tin I wouldn't bother with a condom. Presuming you've got it with you to collect/carry water, it's far too much hassle.
I would prefer to carry a freezer bag or something similar.
I wholeheartedly agree... Those condoms are great to avoid catching something odd when you least expect it, but for catching water they're almost useless... unless you have a deep and large pond you can scoop energically from. They do require some decent lot of energy to expand and hold the water. It's not impossible, but it's hard, and if you miss on the first try, you'll disturb the mud on the bottom and you'll have to wait forever for the next attempt.
Freezer bags offer the advantage of being easy to fill.
Right now I'm carrying an old platypud hydration bladder. I removed the tube and stuck a cork in the elbow-like piece where the tube attaches. It doesn't leaks at all, and it allows me to safely carry 3 liters of easily filled water in a backpack. Rolled tight, it hardly takes up more space than 2-3 gallon-sized ziplocs. It's small enough to fit in the chest pocket of a bush shirt.
Those ziplocks are great to collect water and to treat it, but they bust when you least expect it (just ask my father, the condoms are the same :rolleyes:). Having a gallon of water splashing the inside of your pack (not mentioning anything like freezing temps...) is not a funny experience. I still carry a few zippies as a backup water container set, and to gather plants, and stuff (in the bush, any container = priceless!). I also use them as a trash bag, so I can bring back the trash I and preceding humans have produced, and to waterproof most of my gear.
Cheers,
David
Bushmaster
07-11-2004, 22:44
Hey John..Lochwhinnock.I used to have family who lived there.You are a lucky man, really nice area. :super:
Bushmaster
07-11-2004, 22:46
But can you make a slingshot out of a freezer bag?
:naughty:
Geoff
MagiKelly
07-11-2004, 22:56
Hey John..Lochwhinnock.I used to have family who lived there.You are a lucky man, really nice area. :super:
Yep! but I don't like to brag :-)
Bushmaster
07-11-2004, 22:57
Ha hahahaha lol :o): :You_Rock_ :biggthump
nice one.
Geoff
PS I really need to see a pic of that.lol
Tantalus
07-11-2004, 23:03
Hey John..Lochwhinnock.
shouldn't that be Lockwhinnock?
:roll: Tant
Bushmaster
07-11-2004, 23:05
Well done cpl Jones, I see you spotted my deliberate mistake.I was wondering when some one would spot that. :shock:
Cheers Tant I will be watching you lol :o): :o): :naughty: :naughty: :biggthump :nana:
Great Pebble
08-11-2004, 15:25
Stepping back a bit to the condom/water carrier issue.
In German Army ration packs there's a plastic bag, heavy, with a reinforced top that has hand slots, like a little shopping bag. Top kit for tins etc. Much easier to use than a condom. Worth buying the rat pack just to extract a couple of them.
Can't I have the cash equivalent instead and buy my own choice of items?
But can you make a slingshot out of a freezer bag?
:naughty:
Geoff
I don't want to eat protein if I can't drink to digest them :D ;)
David