REDHEAD
Well-Known Member
Swede saws are real common , found in most pack pack stores . The one I was thinking of is usually 8 to 10 inches folded. Opens like a large jack knife and generally cheap. Good point about axes, just take care. 
When Mother Nature Conspires Against You! By Darrell Holland
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ConniesBoy
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- Dec 1, 2009
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OK, I got a Campmor catalog the other day, the little black and white outdoor equipment catalog. There on page 86, left hand column, second item down, the SVEN Folding Camp Saw. $24.99 for the 15 inch model, $29.99 for the 21 inch model. Neat little saw, folds up into itself for easy transport. I've got a similar folding but larger version by another manufacturer that is always in my truck, along with my 36 inch Eswing cruiser ax.
I've had very similar list of things in my field pack, to my disappointment, the blast match has been the most upsetting piece of survival gear I've owned. It works great in your back yard and show room floor, but the plastic becomes extremely brital in the cold. When I needed mine the striker snapped off. Thank God I still had two hand to use a knife and make it work.
ConniesBoy
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- Joined
- Dec 1, 2009
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It's all well and good to have this or that in your pack but, have you tried actually using the stuff before you need it?
I was in the guiding business for over a decade and found out that some things might work as advertised, for a while, but then fail rather badly at just the wrong moment. Some stuff just never actually worked as well as one would hope or expect. Problems rarely, if ever, showed up on the first try.
Fire starting stuff is something you need to practice with, try it out before you actually have a critical situation. I've noted that over the years more hikers and hunters use some type of gas stove to heat up their meals, mostly just boil water to pour into a freeze dry meal. They don't build fires because of some "ethic" that fires are somehow "bad" or it's just quicker and more convienent to use a stove. Result, poor fire building skills. Leave the stove at home and learn to build a fire on those summer camping trips. Try starting a fire during a summer rain event, instead of a late fall ice and snow storm, if you fail, you get a bit wet, and you can keep trying until you get it right, instead of until you're dead...
I once bought a heavy weight sleeping bag for high country elk hunting, after the season was over. I pitched a tent in my yard on a winter night when the temperature was supposed to hit -25. The bag, supposedly rated to -30 was cold as hell at about -10. I went inside for hot coco and a warm bed, I returned the bag the next day. After a couple of trials I actually found a bag that was really a -30 bag. One of the manufacturers I delt with admitted that no one ever actually tested the bag at the temperature it was "rated" at. Another admitted that they had "numerous" returns on the bag from outdoor professionals because it wasn't as warm as advertised. Test drive everything before you need it.
I was in the guiding business for over a decade and found out that some things might work as advertised, for a while, but then fail rather badly at just the wrong moment. Some stuff just never actually worked as well as one would hope or expect. Problems rarely, if ever, showed up on the first try.
Fire starting stuff is something you need to practice with, try it out before you actually have a critical situation. I've noted that over the years more hikers and hunters use some type of gas stove to heat up their meals, mostly just boil water to pour into a freeze dry meal. They don't build fires because of some "ethic" that fires are somehow "bad" or it's just quicker and more convienent to use a stove. Result, poor fire building skills. Leave the stove at home and learn to build a fire on those summer camping trips. Try starting a fire during a summer rain event, instead of a late fall ice and snow storm, if you fail, you get a bit wet, and you can keep trying until you get it right, instead of until you're dead...
I once bought a heavy weight sleeping bag for high country elk hunting, after the season was over. I pitched a tent in my yard on a winter night when the temperature was supposed to hit -25. The bag, supposedly rated to -30 was cold as hell at about -10. I went inside for hot coco and a warm bed, I returned the bag the next day. After a couple of trials I actually found a bag that was really a -30 bag. One of the manufacturers I delt with admitted that no one ever actually tested the bag at the temperature it was "rated" at. Another admitted that they had "numerous" returns on the bag from outdoor professionals because it wasn't as warm as advertised. Test drive everything before you need it.
yobuck
Well-Known Member
easy fire starting takes no practice.
a building product called homosote is found in real building supply yards.
not the well known warehouse types. they will insist your talking about foam insulation, so dont even go there.
it comes in 4x8 sheets.
many ranges use it for stapleing targets onto. try to get some they are discarding after its been shot up. if not, 1 sheet will last several years.
best to cut it with a saw, or you can break it into pieces.
stack them in a 5 gal. spackle bucket with a lid.
pour on 1 gal. of kerosene to a full bucket and cover.
leave it outside for obvious reasons.
one or two of these pieces will light your woodstove or fireplace with no paper or kindling, just the dry split logs.
a roaring fire in minits, again no kindling.
put several in a zip top bag in your pack. they weigh nothing and 1 match will light your campfire.
a building product called homosote is found in real building supply yards.
not the well known warehouse types. they will insist your talking about foam insulation, so dont even go there.
it comes in 4x8 sheets.
many ranges use it for stapleing targets onto. try to get some they are discarding after its been shot up. if not, 1 sheet will last several years.
best to cut it with a saw, or you can break it into pieces.
stack them in a 5 gal. spackle bucket with a lid.
pour on 1 gal. of kerosene to a full bucket and cover.
leave it outside for obvious reasons.
one or two of these pieces will light your woodstove or fireplace with no paper or kindling, just the dry split logs.
a roaring fire in minits, again no kindling.
put several in a zip top bag in your pack. they weigh nothing and 1 match will light your campfire.
