My Views On Carrying Modern Gadgets.

Something I posted on a UK survival forum recently after receiving so much negative feed back & comments. 

Keith.

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.

TEOTWAWKI Australia. Practicle Primitive Survival. Part One.

This series of articles will mainly focus on pre 19th century equipment & methods, but may include some modern gear where practicle.

Cumbungi.

1) Where best to start. Probably the best place to start is getting things clear in our minds about what we intend to do if life as we know it now changes. If the economy falls into a depression, then we will all probably be staying at home IF we can still afford to pay the rent. Home owners will still be expected to pay the local council tax/rates. IF you can’t afford to pay rent or rates, then you will have to find somewhere else to live. Hopefully, as illegal as the local council is in assuming it is in fact a local government, it will see fit to lower the cost of the tax/rates or cancel them all together until the depression is over. Either way, there will be a lot of people out of work, & these people need to have shelter, food & water. These things may still be available in the cities & towns, but these areas will increasingly become more dangerous to live in the longer the depression lasts, so we can now add a fourth need, safety.
 Keep these priorities in mind when looking for a place to settle in the bush. Water will be the most important; water will provide game & other foods. Look for a place where Cumbungi grows if possible. 

Keeping the above in mind, we will continue with material needs. If you are to leave the city or town, or if you have to hunt & forage, you will need some form of backpack. This can be a simple sack with rope straps tied to the lower corners & gathered around the top, to an inexpensive knapsack purchased at an op-shop. There are plenty of alternatives. I have made several different types of carriers from converted haversacks to 18th century market wallets & snapsacks.

Image from Diderot.

 This is what the French call a Havresac Double. It is similar to the pack known as a Rucksack, & is also much the same as the simple sack method I mentioned above with the straps attached to the lower corners & the gathered top. If you have the time & a sewing kit, you can sew cloth straps top & bottom instead of having to attach the straps at the top to the gathered neck. Now you may be thinking that this knowledge is of little use to you because you already have a good back pack, but remember, every member of your family or group may need to have a back pack each, & it is also possible that you may lose the one you have in some incident along the trail. 

This is a knapsack I made from converting an inexpensive “made in China” old school haversack. These come in a couple of different sizes.

Here is the smaller version of the above with blanket roll & oil cloth secured to the carry straps.

 Here is my own personal knapsack which is also a converted haversack that my wife made for me many years ago. I found that as a haversack it simply did not perform well on the trail carrying more than any haversack was intended to carry, so I cut the carry strap & added more length to turn it into a knapsack. This one also has a chest strap attached. As you can see my oil cloth is secured under the flap closure, & my blanket roll & spare moccasins are tied to the carry straps. Try & avoid zippers on packs, they are usually the first thing to break. If you have buttons, keep them handy so you can repair these packs when the zippers malfunction.

The Snapsack. This one is made from lined. One strap, carried on the back or by your side. The opening can be tied closed.

The Market Wallet. No straps, can be carried over the arm or shoulder. I use mine secured under the flap closure of my knapsack to carry extra light goods.

My haversack, made from a piece of old stockman's coat. Good for foraging or carrying water bottles or food.

What Do I Need To Get? Part 1.

You need to prepare for any survival situation that you can reasonably be expected to survive.

·         Dried foods and canned foods. It would be more practicle to store the foods that you normally eat, so you can use your store, then replace it. Keeping your stock turning over. However, there may be some dry foods that you do not normally eat that would be good to stock, such as rice, flour, dried peas, oats, lentils, beans, etc.
Canned fruit in juice are also good, but get them when they are on special or at a reasonable price per kilo.

·         Bottled water and soda water, unless you are on tank water.

·         A good medical kit.

·         A good selection of edible plant seeds.

·         A good selection of vitamins. Be careful purchasing Omega 3 in fish capsule form. The ocean is now polluted with radio active material, and some companies are not testing their products for radio active pollution. I recommend that you get Flax Oil capsules instead. Vitamin C is a must, and any others recommended to you by your doctor.

·         Get a decent back pack or knapsack for each member of your family. If they are not into prepping. Get them anyway and stock them yourself.

·         Get a decent butcher knife and make a leather sheath for it. Each member of your group or family should be equipped with these tools. Good second hand butcher knives can be found in second hand shops for very little expense.

·         A good clasp knife with a single blade.

·         A second smaller butcher knife to carry as a back-up, either on your person, or in your pack.

·         A tomahawk. This is to be the round or oval type eye such as is used on pick axes only smaller of course. http://www.mopokesstockandtrade.com/#!products/cq4e

·         Flint and steel kit. This is NOT the ferrocerium rod, this is the real thing. You need a piece of flint or similar hard rock. You need a steel or striker, and you need a tinderbox. These are also available from Mopoke’s stock and Trade as above. Then you need to learn how to use it.

** A quantity of food bags, either cotton, linen or leather. This is for carrying your dried foods if you have to leave home.

** Water canteen or bottles.

Tomahawk, butcher/hunting knife, clasp knife, and the author's legging knife.

A selection of different fire steels or strikers, and a selection of siliceous rocks.

A brass tinderbox.

Tinderbox with plant tinder inside and a gun flint.

A selection of food bags, a rum bottle and a bottle used for holding iodine.