View Full Version : possibles bag/pouch
Am i right in saying that originallymountain men/trappers,used their possibles pouch as their way of carrying all the things they needed for their muskets,ie lead balls,tools,flints etc?And now it is only these days that its turned into a sort of survival pouch?
Razorstrop
16-12-2005, 01:19
Common sense says your right Wolf, it would make an ideal pouch for lead shot etc etc, however I have no doubt that before that it was used for tinder, small sharp bones and anything else that was needed to hand on the hoof..........after all the Sporran was around well before guns were.
Mr Strop
Graham_S
16-12-2005, 01:26
lead balls would have been kept in a seperate bullet bag, then there would have been a powder horn. the possibles pouch would have had spare flints, tinderbox, etc
RovingArcher
16-12-2005, 04:50
lead balls would have been kept in a seperate bullet bag, then there would have been a powder horn. the possibles pouch would have had spare flints, tinderbox, etc
Yep, that's my understanding as well.
The possibles bag would have contained what they needed to live in the bush.
Besides materials used and the advancement of technology, the make up of an Indians primitive kit -vs- a mtn. mans possibles bag -vs- a modern *survival* kit wouldn't be that far off from each other. Except of course the terminology.
No matter when you *live*, you are going to need certain skills and tools in order to continue your life. That in my book is called survival. Or, as my Great Grandpa was fond of saying, "Boy, you can't live on the land without a good fire and a sharp knife." Nuff said! :D
thought id start decorating my possibles pouch with a few things ive collected over the years.
[]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b8/wolf_1965/poss.jpg[
ive described whats on it in the gallery section. :)
[]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b8/wolf_1965/poss.jpg[/
Have to differ here with most everybody. The possibles bag would have held everything BUT the gun makings. The bullets flints & tools anlong with the patch cloth and any made up rounds were all carried in a seperate hunting bag. The possibles pouch was as still is the final survival items when all else are lost:- tinder, flint & Steel, basic foodstuffs like parched corn, oats, barley etc, maybe seasonings, jerkey pemmican. Needle & sinew for repairs and so forth. Read any of the online accounts of Rogers Rangers, Jim Bridger, Lewis & Clarke etc. Having said all that there were NO rules about these things, you took what YOU thought you needed for the journey you planned to make, independance of thought was just about the only thing those blokes had in common with each other
Incidently razorstrop IMHO the sporran was only ever a purse. It developed from the medieval belt purse which had all but dissappeared by the time of Elizabeth I since breeches and waistcoats began to aquire pockets. But since the highland filibeg kilt never had pockets it survives as the only way to carry your fags around (actually i saw a bloke walking round london a few weeks ago wearind a camouflage DPM kilt with cargo pockets on each side - go figure){;-)>
Have to differ here with most everybody. The possibles bag would have held everything BUT the gun makings. The bullets flints & tools anlong with the patch cloth and any made up rounds were all carried in a seperate hunting bag. The possibles pouch was as still is the final survival items when all else are lost:- tinder, flint & Steel, basic foodstuffs like parched corn, oats, barley etc, maybe seasonings, jerkey pemmican. Needle & sinew for repairs and so forth. Read any of the online accounts of Rogers Rangers, Jim Bridger, Lewis & Clarke etc. Having said all that there were NO rules about these things, you took what YOU thought you needed for the journey you planned to make, independance of thought was just about the only thing those blokes had in common with each other
Incidently razorstrop IMHO the sporran was only ever a purse. It developed from the medieval belt purse which had all but dissappeared by the time of Elizabeth I since breeches and waistcoats began to aquire pockets. But since the highland filibeg kilt never had pockets it survives as the only way to carry your fags around (actually i saw a bloke walking round london a few weeks ago wearind a camouflage DPM kilt with cargo pockets on each side - go figure){;-)>
thanks for info... :) can you tell me where you can find the onine accounts you mention?cheers. :)
TheViking
16-12-2005, 19:41
www.geocities.com/anderswilderness/Possibles.html :)
RovingArcher
16-12-2005, 20:09
thought id start decorating my possibles pouch with a few things ive collected over the years.
[]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b8/wolf_1965/poss.jpg[
ive described whats on it in the gallery section. :)
[]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b8/wolf_1965/poss.jpg[/
I like your bag. I hesitate putting anything on my bag that dangles, which is why I havn't modified since it was gifted to me. The reason being, I'm likely to follow deer and hog trails and the underbrush would seriously shorten the life of any dangleys. Especially feathers, or I'd have a nice Redtailed Hawk feather attached. I do however have one stuffed in my cap. :D
hi there,i also think the same as you,but to me if you lose whats gifted to you then maybe its time with you is done,perhaps another may find it on the trail. ;)
I like your bag. I hesitate putting anything on my bag that dangles, which is why I havn't modified since it was gifted to me. The reason being, I'm likely to follow deer and hog trails and the underbrush would seriously shorten the life of any dangleys. Especially feathers, or I'd have a nice Redtailed Hawk feather attached. I do however have one stuffed in my cap. :D
may i ask what you keep in yours,i keep mostly tinder,firelighting equipment.
monkey_pork
17-12-2005, 22:07
hi there,i also think the same as you,but to me if you lose whats gifted to you then maybe its time with you is done,perhaps another may find it on the trail. ;)
This is a great thought to have too.
Some things you lose along the way, it's true.
RovingArcher
17-12-2005, 22:41
hi there,i also think the same as you,but to me if you lose whats gifted to you then maybe its time with you is done,perhaps another may find it on the trail. ;)
Very true. Thanks for the reminder! :)
RovingArcher
17-12-2005, 23:07
may i ask what you keep in yours,i keep mostly tinder,firelighting equipment.
I don't mind a bit sharing my kit.
FAK w/inhaler that I need from time to time.
water treatment and 1 gallon freezer grade ziploc bag.
Mora 2000
Package of hikers TP
1-55gallon HD industrial drum liner w/ranger band
small amount of duct tape wrapped onto my
AA maglite
tablet and pencil
100' 4ply uncoated jute twine
4 tinder nests and ferro rod.
Altoids tin of assorted hooks, flies, line, shot weight and a couple of swivels, as well as two sewing needles.
25' of 7 strand, 550# parachute shroud line.
I don't mind a bit sharing my kit.
FAK w/inhaler that I need from time to time.
water treatment and 1 gallon freezer grade ziploc bag.
Mora 2000
Package of hikers TP
1-55gallon HD industrial drum liner w/ranger band
small amount of duct tape wrapped onto my
AA maglite
tablet and pencil
100' 4ply uncoated jute twine
4 tinder nests and ferro rod.
Altoids tin of assorted hooks, flies, line, shot weight and a couple of swivels, as well as two sewing needles.
25' of 7 strand, 550# parachute shroud line.
cheers. :)
RovingArcher
18-12-2005, 18:52
I don't mind a bit sharing my kit.
FAK w/inhaler that I need from time to time.
water treatment and 1 gallon freezer grade ziploc bag.
Mora 2000
Package of hikers TP
1-55gallon HD industrial drum liner w/ranger band
small amount of duct tape wrapped onto my
AA maglite
tablet and pencil
100' 4ply uncoated jute twine
4 tinder nests and ferro rod.
Altoids tin of assorted hooks, flies, line, shot weight and a couple of swivels, as well as two sewing needles.
25' of 7 strand, 550# parachute shroud line.
I left out a few components. I carry a few quart/liter sized ziploc bags for foraging, a wand of White Sage and a leather pouch of Tobacco. :)
Longstrider
18-12-2005, 21:02
I always assumed that the Possibles pouch was a carrier of the items a man would need to cover his needs if all else failed. To cover all possible eventualities basically.
The real beauty of the things is that they are on your belt, not slung over a shoulder or held by hand. You don't put them down and lose them, you cannot really drop them accidentally. The possibles bag is there after an unexpected swim or a fall down a hillside. You could soon lose a bag if you rolled a canoe or fell in a stream, even items from your pockets might well be lost, but a well secured possibles bag held all you needed to survive in the short term even if you had lost all your other kit.
I left out a few components. I carry a few quart/liter sized ziploc bags for foraging, a wand of White Sage and a leather pouch of Tobacco. :)
any pics possible of the possible? :lmao: i presume the sage/tobacco are your sacred herbs?
i like to see craft stuff. :D
RovingArcher
18-12-2005, 23:51
Actually, the bag was a gift from a friend and was made by a Russian boar hunter when he was a young man in his homeland. He also hunted with a bow, so my friend thought it a good gift for me. I only have one photo showing the whole bag.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/Gear/bagkit002.jpg
Actually, the bag was a gift from a friend and was made by a Russian boar hunter when he was a young man in his homeland. He also hunted with a bow, so my friend thought it a good gift for me. I only have one photo showing the whole bag.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/Gear/bagkit002.jpg
that looks a fair size bag?do you carry that on your belt?
RovingArcher
19-12-2005, 22:54
that looks a fair size bag?do you carry that on your belt?
It's dimensions are 9 1/2"x 9"x 3". Even though it has the ability to be carried on a belt, I added a leather strap and carry it as a shoulder bag. It works well as a hunters bag, in conjunction with my back quiver as their straps rest on opposite shoulders, crossing my chest like an X.
From what I know and have heard the "Possibles Bag" was traditionally a bag and not a pouch and was slung haversack style over the shoulder with strap across the chest and was designed to carry all the gear required to deal with any "possibilities" or most "possibilities" as in day to day contingencies or unexpected emergencies. Isn't the belt slung Possibles "Pouch" a creation of this website? Or is there historical record of Possibles "Pouches"??
capacious
20-12-2005, 10:17
I was under the impression that a 'possibles' pouch was for the little odds and sods that make a comfortable life in the wilderness 'possible'. i.e. some matches or even a flint and steel which makes fire lighting easier, some dried meat to nibble on et cetera, et cetera... Perhaps (in those days :rolleyes: ) some kind of drug, as it was common to carry snuff or opium not that long ago.
That's what I reckon anyway - it's for little bits and pieces to make life comfortable, or to make comfort 'possible'.
Jake.
OhCanada
31-12-2005, 12:11
Yes Brits, coming from the land where these bags were used I can tell you that it was a shoulder bag and not a pouch. That does not mean of course that you can't carry a pouch, you'll just get less into it. :rolleyes:
Just like the crooked knife had a straight blade, but I'll post that in a seperate thread.
OhCanada,
Thank God someone else from the colonials come to back me up on this, as I was sort of thinking maybe that I would just be treated as a smart **** eh?
BIG-TARGET
06-01-2006, 13:10
That's what I'm making my pack rat out into!!!! :D
What has where you come from got anything to do with the answer to the thread??? :grouphug:
Having played around with various ways of carrying kit that didn't involve a bag, I reckon that a 'possibles pouch' is something that probably would have been used by a lot of people.
If you camp with your equipment wrapped in a bedroll, rather than in a bag, then stopping to get access to stuff is difficult - this is where having a small separate bag for things you need 'on the move' is important - be it either a belt-pack or a shoulder-bag. Your bedroll of course contains al the things you need to set up camp.
Small woven or leather bags, either for the shoulder or worn on a belt or rope around the waist are prevalent in Native American culture, and it is likely that these would have been picked up by travellers moving through these countries.