The 10 things I don't go to the great outdoor's without!
Wether I am going down to the river to wet the fly line for a few hours or heading into the Sasquatch backcountry to connect with the wild outdoor's or even just to spend the night on a campout, these 10 items are always on me! I can survive the zombie apocalypse with these items and so can you!
1. Swiss Army Knife- This faithful Swiss Army knife is more trusty than man's best friend (dog). I carry this in my pants pocket every day wether I'm at church or lounging around the house. What can't a Swiss Army knife do? Just ask McGeyvor. I can't tell you how often every day this comes in handy with all of it's functions and what I especially love about it is that it easily fits in my front pant pocket and doesn't take up hardly any room. I've gutted elk with this knife, made hot dog sticks, filed my nails (you'll understand if you tie fly fishing flies), and built small kingdoms with this :)
2. Smart Phone- Who goes anywhere without their smart phone these days? Even in the mountains you'll forget to turn your phone on silent and that unexpected text notification will make you feel like a rookie when it echoes through the next draw. To it's credit though it does come in handy. One of my good friends was involved a severe atv accident 12 miles into the backcountry and without a way to call in the life flight he wouldn't be here today. Verizon service seems to work the best for me in the mountains. Plus it comes in handy for all those sweet pictures! With all kinds of apps to add now the list is endless what your phone can do as long as the battery has juice.
3. Flashlight- Your phone might have a good flashlight but it's best to save your battery use on that for when you really need it. I love these flashlights and they are only $1 at Cal-Ranch or your local dollar store. They're even glow in the dark so are easy to find in a dark tent or when you're half asleep and need to go see a man about a horse in the middle of the night.
4. Multi-tool- A good multitool will come with attached pliers good for pinching barbs down on a fish hook and bending wire, cutting wire, picking up hot dutch oven lids, etc. It's always nice to have an extra tool that can back up a swiss army knife in case a blade or tool breaks.
5. No Fail Fire Starter- I learned this one from watching too many episodes on the hunting channel. Grab some cotton balls and rub them around in Vaseline real good, then stuff them in a container. I use an old film canister (who remembers what those are) and can get about 5 vaseline soaked cotton balls in there. Wether these have been rained on or not these things will catch any sparks and each cotton ball with burn for a good couple of minutes and give you plenty of time to ignite some kindling.
6. Blast Match- I don't even carry around matches anymore and a lighter is tough to start when your fingers are frozen or the wind is blowing. Press down on the thumb piece and shove the pointy end into a vaseline ball or some dry tinder and you'll be impressed with the torch of sparks this will send out. It can get wet all it wants and it'll still work. You won't be bored anymore trying to see what stuff you can light on fire with this blast match. I like the florescent orange color so I can find it when I set it down on the ground.
7. Ziploc bag- Make sure to pack this one to keep your electronics or wallet dry if you go for a swim or get caught in a mountain thunderstorm. Among other things it can pack any mountain huckleberries to camp as well. If you forgot yours at home, check any dumpster or road side gutter and you've got a good chance of finding a spare :)
8. Belt- Among keeping your pants up this comes in handy if you forget your wading belt. It will literally save your life if you've forgot your wading belt and slip on a mossy rock up to chest high water. Wading belts will help minimize filling up your waders with water and sinking straight to the bottom. It can be used as a tourniquet, a whip for fiesty dogs, carry all kinds of dead birds on a string, and even your trusty side arm or favorite hunting knife.
9. Water bottle- The water is of course essential and I dump an electrolyte pouch in mine that has twice the electrolytes as gatorade (4 vs 2) to keep me hydrated, 1/5 the sugar as gatorade, and it tastes better than gatorade. Once the liquid is gone the bottle can be used to boil unsafe water if your careful not to melt it, transport water as a temporary solution to a radiator problem, it can be cut in half to be used as a cup, carry all kinds of other treasures and then be washed out to be used for a water bottle again.
10. Allergy pills (medication)- I can't hardly see anything once I get rubbing my eyes from allergies and I am sure to ruin any hunt if I don't take my allergy medicine with all my sneezing. The pure joy of being in the outdoors gets taken right away the second I feel a sneeze coming on. These are the exact same number of pills and formula as Claritin but I get them for about $7 less along with all my other over the counter meds at discount. Don't forget any other medications that you can't live without. It will make all the difference!
These are all just my essentials that I carry on any given day in the field. What do you carry!?
Connect with me on Facebook as well. Reel Rad and Radley Jay Buxton
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