I like the sword

Preacher wrote on Apr 8^th, 2011 at 1:51pm:

You make an excellent point and one that, in part, got me started down this road.  

In the process to inspecting the pockets of my PFD where my former ditch items were stored, I discovered that my mylar sleeping bag had delaminated.  While it might have been useful for carrying water (after a rinse), it would not have served much other purpose.

So, whatever you might choose to include in a pocket, pack or PFD should you loose access to your normal gear needs to be inspected at least annually, if not as part of a pre-trip ritual.  (What's the last time you flicked that BIC?)

dd

Quote:

Another option would be a wine cork, cut down a bit.  Keeps single hooks safe & could double as a bobber, just drill out a 1/8" hole.  Use a stick to hold the line in the hole.
Smart using braided line.  That stuff lasts a few years.

mastertangler wrote on Apr 10^th, 2011 at 1:27am:

I'm thinking of using the wetfire more for getting a fire started when other methods fail.  I don't plan to use more of the cube than required to achieve that end.  I figure I can get 3-4 fires from one cube by shaving off only what is needed rather than using a complete cube.

I'd also recommend that you confirm that you can ignite a fire with a striker (if that is your plan).  Thinking you can do it and knowing that you can are two different things.  You need to have the confidence that DOING provides.  This will help to mediate your frustration when it doesn't happen exactly like you expect.  (BTW:  Getting wetfire to ignite with a fire steel IS as easy as it looks.)

That is precisely why I spent some time working on making fire with a bow drill.  It looks easy enough, but there is a little technique to it.

Bottom like: if you have room for more, by all means take more.

dd

That whole top row is fire starting stuff from the duct tape on! I get the ... just dumped ... want a fire to avoid hypothermia idea (mostly). After that, what's the big deal? Fuel, air and heat. Not that hard. The hard part would be finding a decent place to start a fire on an unforgiving shoreline. I simply assume the cotton ball container fits and would be convenient with the firesteel.

I had mentioned earlier that I liked the addition of the aluminum foil. The reason for that is starting and sustaining a fire quickly, no matter what. Starting a fire is easy. Sustaining one with wet sticks in the rain is another matter. Foil provides quick separation from cold, wet ground. It also reflects heat towards you and can also keep the cooling rain off your fire. Basically, foil could help with the heat part of the fire triangle.

Once emergent conditions have passed and you don't have a saw or hatchet, I'm sort of thinking one of those lame coil saws with the two rings for your fingers might be a nice addition. If you want a fire to last w/o feeding it every few minutes you need larger fuel.

I still hold the belief that, for me, gathering wood would warm me faster than an instant fire and when I imagine all the different sorts of places I might drift/swim to, there's not a lot of great places to build a fire to begin with. Once stranded w/o all the things that normally provide comfort, a fire would be nice to sit by in the dark at some sheltered location.

Still hoping you never need it for real DD. Maybe fold the foil to fit the box instead of rolling? Foil would be a plus IMHO.