This blog is intended for those of us who chose to take the overgrown path, just for the wonder and curiosity of it. Focusing on bushcraft and adventure travel, this blog will compose of gear reviews, kit philosophy, naturalist skills, and enjoyment of travel and adventure (with the occasional beer review), kick back and enjoy.
“Why would I do something I already know I can do?”
— Alastair Humphreys
Wow, what am I doing? Lately I’ve been thinking of new, exciting things to do and one thing that really made me think was to start a blog. I’ve always thought of it as a cool idea, sharing thoughts and techniques and stories with the world through text.
Being my first post, I will keep it short. As the quote above says, I’m not sure if I’m going to be any good at this, and I’m not sure if I can capture anyones fascination or interest in what I have to say. Those two uncertainties are the exact reason why I am beginning this blog. Life is about challenges, no matter how small.
If you do decide to follow this rollercoaster ride of articles, as I’m sure it’s going to turn out to be, then please introduce yourself in the comments section. Thanks much for any support or advice anyone has for me. Let the adventure begin!
I’d been in the state of Washington for over a month before school started. Coming from Wisconsin and having no specific date to arrive in Washington, I spent a few weeks on the road visiting various national parks, state parks, and random dirt roads.
Day one at Alderleaf Wilderness College; excitement, nervousness, determination and observation. These are the big four that were going through me. Excited to meet new people, yet nervous that maybe I wouldn’t fit in with anyone. Determined to do what was required and beyond, yet also observant of those within the class. I needed to know who I was in cohort with.
The wild part about that first day was the fact that it didn’t involve any of those big four. It was a realignment with someone I’d never met before.
She and I had made eye contact from across the fire and of course gave a smile each other’s way. With subtle glances throughout the initial meet-and-greet, I knew I recognized this person from somewhere.
The hours passed, I met some other classmates that I would be with for the year. However, she and I would continue to make eye contact. Out of respect for her privacy, I’ll say her name was Beth.
There was no introduction, there was none needed for some strange reason. Beth walked up and we instantly knew each other. Spending the better part of two hours, we sat by the fire trying to figure out how we knew each other.
“Where you in Snohomish on this day and that?” she would ask.
“No, I wasn’t. Any chance you were in Montello on this day of that year?” I’d ask.
The response would be no. Every single place we thought we knew each other from was followed by the same response. Beth and I had finally made a conclusion. That first day of school, after two hours of trying to piece this roadmap together. With a smile and a subtle glint in her eye, she looked at me and said, “It’s really nice to see you again.”
That was it. Take it for what you believe, but we had met in a previous life. Two lines in the universe finally crossing paths once again. It made complete sense why we were so confused initially.
Throughout the year we talked, trying to figure out exactly when we first met, what life before this one? We never did figure it out, but I’m so glad I ran into an old friend, if only for a moment. Until next time pal, maybe on the first day of college next lifetime.
Legacy is a funny one for me. The idea of leaving something behind for those after you to remember your existence have been intriguing. As I get older, I’m starting to ask myself “what’s the point”?
As an American, I attended public school where preparing for college and working until retirement is the way of life. Naturally, being an outsider, I haven’t had any desire to do either of those things. Instead, I enlisted in the Navy out of highschool. After that, I attended Alderleaf Wilderness College. Alderleaf is a recognized school, but the subject matter is much more of self reliance than it is getting a 9 to 5 office job or becoming a doctor.
Since then, I’ve lived out of a tent for three summers, moved five times, and have had more turncoats than four years should allow. I’ve reached the point where legacy doesn’t mean anything to me. Much like the idea of retirement, I may just enjoy working and living at the same time as opposed to working for 40 years and enjoy living for 10 if I’m lucky.
Needless to say, I’m also the last one to carry the family name. However, if I’m comfortable and happy with the way I’m living, isn’t that the best way to end a family name? And if that is the case, you yourself are the end of a legacy. So why not just enjoy the ride, instead of slaving away just to greet death with tired eyes and a heavy heart?
It’s strange some of the places you can be at peace. The usual locations of a peaceful place are home, the wilderness, or on a lake. I want to talk about the weird places and circumstances that you suddenly find yourself at peace.
The summer of ’23 became chaotic, challenging, and eventually showed an end to a relationship and three friendships. Long story short, everything that could’ve broke, did.
After months of figuring out a new living situation, job, and my emotional health dealing with the breakup, I think I’ve made progress. Of course, there are days that could be better. However, that’s exactly where I find myself tonight.
I sit here in my friend’s apartment. Relaxing, having a few drinks, just doing our own thing. The past couple of days have been both up and down, but suddenly, as I watched him just playing a video game, the air became lighter.
I don’t know how to describe it, but it quickly became easier to breathe, my head cleared and any nervousness I had been feeling over the course of the week dissipated. Feet kicked up upon the coffee table with the computer in my lap, I finally felt inspired to write of the occasion. Regardless of whether it seems like a journal entry or a proper blog article depends on you.
So I ask, if you’ve gone through a time where you suddenly fell at ease, I’d love to hear it. Possibly more on the summer of ’23 to follow in the future. Stay safe.
The 13′ diameter belle tent by Elk Mountain Tents set up on site at Bach’s Wildwood Campground, Eagle River, Wisconsin. Photo credit: Joshua Kelekovich
In late May I took the photo above shortly after setting up, establishing my small 13 foot circle on a piece of property that would evolve to accommodate over 300 people throughout the summer of 2021. What happened before then, I believe, is where this story needs to start.
Mid September, 2020: I first set foot onto the property. Having been living in Eagle River for only a few weeks, I snagged the first job I could get. This job happened to be a tourist service, talking to people about canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards (SUP’s), and taking them to and from the Wisconsin river. But there was another project happening behind the scenes, a campground.
A campground that I had heard about in the initial interview, however I was unaware just how soon I would start working to build it. The first time I showed up, it had looked like something out of a Vietnam War movie, trees in massive burn piles (we had all legal burn permits), the smoke so thick we used our masks not for the virus, but to slow the smoke coming into our lungs. The roads where nonexistent, unless you consider a slightly less bumpy path a road. When I heard we were going to open for the upcoming summer, I didn’t believe it. However, the boss had a vision, and stuck to it. Every day, we would make a little bit of progress, and that little bit turned to a good bit, and that good bit turned into significant progress. Burning more piles, running wire, plumbing, setting in posts to attach the pedestals for campers to plug into, truck after truck of gravel and sand. Throughout the winter, almost into January, we worked that property every single day (excluding maybe 4 days), until we were finally snowed and frozen out of the property.
We hit it again in late March, doing roughly the same thing. More wire, more plumbing, more 6X6 6 foot long posts to be put into the ground, more pedestals, and more gravel. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 picnic tables were put together, fire rings and tables were set up at each of the 90 established sites and all of a sudden, our first guest.
Seeing a camper pull in for the very first time, and watching them just calmly set up was so strange. They were on vacation, seemingly unaware at how much sweat went into just building their individual site.
Of course they were unaware. They didn’t know what it took, and watching them set up as they cracked the first beer was the first time the feeling of reward had hit me in this entire project. There is a stranger relaxing and enjoying their time on this property that, only months before, was almost unrecognizable to what we were seeing now.
A few weeks after our first visitor, I moved to my site to set up this tent. It was in this tent that I slept, read, waited out storms, fought through power outages, and prepped for 2 jobs throughout the summer.
For the first few weeks I was sleeping on a piece of my old memory foam mattress from the old house. I was comfortable and I was well insulated from the ground, however the direct contact with the floor would trap moisture, and it wasn’t long before I noticed the moisture on the floor. Lifting the memory foam up to inspect what was going on, I discovered the bottom of the foam was freckled with the strange red mold. To this day, I am unsure of the species of mold, however I hope it wasn’t something too unhealthy to sleep on.
Upon the discovery of the mold, I decided it was time to purchase a cot. This decision was a good one for two reasons, I wasn’t in direct contact with the floor anymore, with gave me the ability to store things underneath the cot. The second reason, now that I was a bit higher off the ground, I was no longer waking up looking underneath my coffee table I had in the tent.
I have pictures of the inside of the tent, and will explain everything in each picture. I believe this is a good time for a photo tour.
The first thing you see entering the tent. Photo Credit: Joshua Kelekovich
As stated before, I worked 2 jobs throughout the summer in a tourist town, so keeping an organized space was difficult. Also, being that a single 26 year old guy was living in the tent, I figured the tent should look the part.
First thing seen in the photo is my haversack hanging from a loop on the center support pole of the tent. This haversack only contains some go-to gear that I constantly use when in the woods whether it be trapping, tracking, or simply enjoying some much needed time doing some woodcraft or bushcraft projects.
The cot you see is slightly taller than the center coffee table. During my time on the memory foam, I would wake up with my sightline below the table, so being a bit higher up was nice. On the cot is a Snugpak Softie Elite 2 sleeping bag, a bag I purchased before my first deployment during my time in the Navy. I also have a backpack that usually transports books when I’m in the canoe or going for a walk through the woods.
You can see the massive fan stored underneath the cot which came into good use more than once that summer. And the coffee table I bought for $1.00 during my time attending Alderleaf Wilderness College in Washington. I was stubborn enough to transport it back to Wisconsin, and when setting up the tent, I had an idea to drill out a 1.5 inch hole in the center and send the support pole right up the middle to have a center table that works as extra support for the pole.
The bookshelf. Photo credit: Joshua Kelekovich
After entering the tent, if you pan to the left, you will see the bookshelf. Also barely in the photo on the left is the corner of the gear bin. This is a bin that I keep most of my gear, including cooking equipment, dry bags, knives, water filters and bottles, upon other miscellaneous items. The bookshelf on the very top is a display of different things; pieces of obsidian, a knife I knapped from mahogany obsidian, a snowshoe hare pelt, flakes of basalt, quartz, petrified wood of different ages, among other things. The second shelf is primarily field guides, and the bottom consists mostly of actual books to read as leisure.
The beer fridge. Photo credit: Joshua Kelekovich
Looking to your right from the entrance, the obvious beer fridge to help relax after hectic days of river trips, construction, and anything else that may present its self. The green box is essentially my closet, a foot locker. Along with my only light source on top of the fridge, this was my 13 foot diameter circle that I called home for the summer of ’21.
I have since moved out, spending the winter in a cabin a few miles away from the campground. It is still slightly bittersweet, although the stress of any rain or storm coming in has now passed. If next year presents the possibility to do this again, I would love to do a weekly posting with pictures and updates on the progress of the tent, making it more organized, and basically a “journal entry” for a lack of better words. Until next time, thank you.
This article is one of a few I wrote in my personal pages a couple years ago. I let my dog out late at night, maybe 2 in the morning, and for some reason, a feeling overtook me and told me to just lay down in the grass. I let my dog in, went back outside, and decided to just lay there for a bit and look at the crystal clear skies. When I came back inside, I had to write about the feelings and experience I had in just a short time.
Goodnight. That’s the standard thing to say when the sun goes down, when life settles for a few hours. Everyone loves watching sunsets, maybe the sunrise, people love going bird watching and hiking during the day. The issue with daylight is that it is so contaminated with other worldly noise.
At five in the morning, the human starts to stir, and begins its day by traveling to work. By six, the air is contaminated with the noise of vehicles, the smell of semis going down the highway. By nine in the morning, you hear cranes, dump trucks, horns and conversation. In the day, the world is spoiled with human action. in the night is when you really see the natural world come to life.
Spending much time outside at night, whether sitting by a fire, or simply taking the dog out, or even just going out for a breath of fresh air, one can stop and pause at the magnificence of the night sky. How the stars sit and twinkle, dancing to a tune that only they can hear, and we can only imagine. How the moon illuminates the forest and the fields. How the acorns drop from the mighty oaks, plummeting down through the canopy, colliding with leaves and branches before reaching its final destination on the forest floor.
Your attention then turns to a flutter in the sky, the beating wings of the elusive bat species, out fending off the buzzing mosquitoes that consistently give you an almost pleasurable amount of pain when they bite the flesh. A snapping twig that you would normally not hear suddenly attracts a massive amount of attention, coming to the realization that a majestic white tailed deer is walking through the woods just a few yards away. You slowly walk closer to get a better look,, and as you approach, the creature’s head turns in your direction, and the ears perk up, and you engage in eye-to-eye contact. A stare down that seems to last for an hour, but you are actually oblivious to how long you examine each other.
A family of raccoons wearing their black masks walk to your left, the mother leading her squad of young, on the everlasting search for food and shelter to sleep when the sun comes up. As you turn to look, the deer sprints off into the darkness. An opossum meanders to the former location of the deer, always picking at the leftovers of whatever another animal was eating prior to the discovery.
Off in the far distance, you hear the ancient sound of a band of coyotes. At first, you may only hear one or two, but as the seconds pass, the number of howls multiply into a great mass, almost resembling a distant, reminiscent sound of the Native Americans that used to roam these lands long ago. Suddenly, the whooping and howling stop, leading to the possible conclusion that the pack had gotten a lame deer, and are able to eat for one more night.
One more night.
A stiff breeze blows past your face, and your sense of smell becomes overwhelmed with the scent of the pines, the lake, and the fresh air. You take a deep breath in, to fill the lungs with nature herself, purifying the body, mind, and soul.
A splash is heard, and as you look to your right, the ripples disrupt the glimmering moonlight upon the lake. Again, a splash, but this time you see it. You can tell that a small mouth bass is jumping at its meal. As you shine a light upon the lake, you see the distinct glowing eye of a walleye turn and quickly swim away.
You turn your head, to peer over your shoulder, being thankful for everything you have seen and have heard. Coming to terms with your place in the world, knowing that you are not above or below the things you have seen, smelled, or heard, but that you are among them. You wrap up in your blanket, and gently fall asleep. As you fall into the realm of unconsciousness, your last thought is that of inclusion, peace, and happiness. With a smile on your face and a flutter in your stomach, you drift off into the deepest, happiest sleep that many of us may never find.
When setting out the other day, I grabbed my pack, strapped on my snowshoes, and set out not really knowing what I was going out to look for. In all honesty, after a night of reuniting with some friends via Discord and having more than my share of beers, a set plan was not happening.
Instead, I decided to get some fresh air and some exercise while taking in the views and sounds of the Northwoods.
Walking in, I note at how quiet everything was. There were no fresh tracks, no noises, nothing. Pure stillness.
As I continue, I came across a downed white pine, pencil size branches up in the air made me realize that they were dry, and decided to gather some just in case I wanted to build a fire later. The unmistakeable “snap” of the branches indicated what I thought would be true, the perfect kindling. I decided then and there that today was to be a day of resource gathering, keeping an eye out for any potential tinder sources, chaga, or anything else. Maybe if I got lucky, the carcass of a deer that I could take some bones from.
Heading off trail, I quickly come across a row of trees with yellow paint on the trunks. I don’t really know if this is a property line, or if the trees are marked to be taken down later in the year. There was a snowmobile trail coming out of the trees, but it didn’t look very well worn. There’s potential this was a private trail to the main trail systems. I decided to just follow the trees west back toward the public trail.
I stopped due to a grove of birch trees (Betula papyrifera) to pull out my haversack from my pack and gather some tinder. Gathering not too much from any 1 tree, I obtained a healthy tinder bundle.
Walking back to the main trail, I looked at my map and wanted to make it to the small river that ran through this piece of public property. It seemed less than a mile straight ahead of me, and was very easy to get to. I noticed the sudden drop of the landscape ahead of me and had a feeling that’s where the river would be.
Of course I was right, the trickling river bordered by ice was a very peaceful sight, and I found a great little spot on a bluff overlooking a small section of the river. Pulling my tinder and kindling out of my haversack, I decided this would make an excellent spot for a quick fire to warm my hands up.
There was some dead branches near by that I broke into short pieces to use as a platform for the fire to protect it from the snow. I then laid my birch bark on the platform, and my kindling on top of the bark. I quickly gathered a few dry thumb size sticks to use for my fuel, and with a couple strikes of my ferro rod, I had obtained a nice, small hand warming fire.
As I sat there doing a bit of filming and flipping through a few books, I felt as if something was watching me. I looked up and scanned the land, only to find nothing. The feeling sustained itself, and I was wondering if the source was in the trees. As I look above my head, not 10 feet away from me was a young Pileated Woodpecker bouncing around the trunk of the white pine, just checking me out. He went from branch to branch, tree to tree, just to get a different angle of me, just as I was doing with the filming. Everything likes to find different angles, it can make your assumption of a situation into a solid understanding of what’s happening.
We continued to watch each other for the next few minutes until he flew off and my fire began to die out. I considered building the fire back up and quickly boiling some water from the river to resupply my bottle, but decided I was good on water levels.
Walking east from this spot, I found another snowshoers trail, and figured it would be fun to see where someone else walked. This trail zigged and zagged between trees, up and down hills, and across a frozen swamp.
Returning to my cabin, I felt fulfilled. I didn’t do anything super special or difficult, I just went for a walk. This is a powerful lesson though. An outing into the woods doesn’t always need to have a purpose, you simply just need to get out there. Sometimes, you need to let the adventure find you, even if that adventure is only watching a woodpecker for 15 minutes. People underestimate the power of simply existing for a couple hours, no focus on anything except what’s directly in front of you. In today’s age, I hope more people can discover this hidden truth.
Yes, you read correctly. We’re talking about answering the call of nature in this one. Now, right off the bat, it can be a comical, slightly uncomfortable topic for some people, but it is important to understand proper ethics when dealing with waste in the outdoors.
First, lets quick cover a few reasons why this is important. First of all, human feces take roughly a year to biodegrade. That is a very long time for something gross to be on the landscape. If done improperly (close to water), throughout the year, waste may seep into the water source, and contaminating it with giardia. Also known as Beaver Fever, this is one of the diseases that can only be killed by boiling your water, no filter can catch it. It is best to do your business at least 200 feet away from any water source, this distance has been determined safe to prevent contamination with water.
Also, by introducing the leftovers of whatever your past few meals have consisted of, you may be introducing new chemicals to a landscape that has never seen them before, which has potential to drastically effect the plant life in the area of the drop zone. It may seem obvious, but I’ll say it anyway, the best way to dispose of waste in the woods is to pack it out with you and dispose of it properly once out of the woods. Many national parks in the United States have designated garbage cans along the trails for human waste only. You can also carry what is called a “poop tube” made out of 4 inch PVC, about 1 foot long with a cap at one end and a screw top on the other.
As far as a drop zone goes, I’ve always preferred a hole, 6 to 8 inches deep. If you can find a log to help support you as you squat, go for it, but it’s absolutely not necessary. I find pants all the way off is the most worry free way to go about this business, although this technique can be interesting during the winter months. If you wanted, or if you had multiple people, a trench could be used, however digging a hole is much easier to disperse waste over a landscape as opposed to one concentrated area. My advice, everybody digs a hole, and no body goes in the same place twice.
Seeing as this blog isn’t focusing on backpacking, but more with existing in the woods, packing out may not be an option depending on how long your stay will be, or not necessary since it would be only you every now and then relieving yourself, unlike the few hundred people a week in a national park. What can we carry with us, be clean, and still take up minimal room in our pack?
I’ve gotten this idea from Paul Kirtley, an English bushcraft instructor who owns a school called Frontier Bushcraft in England. He takes all credit, I just tweaked it for my needs and ideas. Of course, we need toilet paper. I guess we don’t really NEED it, but since I called this a crucial luxury item, toilet paper is included. Use what ever you like really. Of course, biodegradable, unscented paper is optimal, that would be absolute best. What ever is comfortable for you, go for it. I wrap mine around a section of river cane, held in place with para-cord and a chord lock.
How I carry toilet paper in the woods.
What about cleaning your hands? Many of us may carry hand sanitizer, and that’s what I have. Biodegradable, eco-friendly soap is also an option, but hand sanitizer just makes things more simple and takes up less space.
For disposal of the toilet paper, I also carry a lighter to burn it. However, caution must be taken when doing this. Make sure you do your business in an area that is clear of any easily flammable debris, and keep some water on hand just in case something happens. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOUR AREA IS UNDER A FIRE BAN. Although fires are a natural cycle that, in the long run, are good for ecosystems to maintain healthy biodiversity and keep a control of invasive species, let nature do this. That’s the way it’s been going for a very long time, and losing control of a fire can be devastating to local developed areas, wildlife, and a hefty fine. Be smart, and use common sense. Burn in the hole you left your business in as well to contain the flame. After all, it is just toilet paper, it won’t take long to burn up. Once finished, fill the hole in with the dirt you removed when digging the hole out, and place a heavy rock over the top to prevent animals from digging the waste up.
Some people decide to carry a lightweight digging trowel, but as this is bushcraft, it doesn’t take long to make a digging stick. If you really want to use this to its full potential, the digging stick can be used as a baton for splitting wood, and if large enough, can also be used as a rabbit stick and a bow-drill fire bow, all in one. Preference is yours to decide.
Of course cleaning with wet toilet paper is never a fun experience, there for everything is contained in a small dry bag that is clearly identified as the “shit kit”. This way, if anyone in your group needs to use it, you can just tell them where it is in your pack, and they can easily find it.
Clearly labeled to avoid confusion.
Like I said, this is a bit off the wall, but everyone poops, and us as bush crafters need to understand how to ethically take care of that necessity. Holding it in until the end of the trip is discouraged, that can lead to an uncomfortable trip, as well as unhealthy for the body. Any lingering questions can be left in the comments section, and I will do my best to answer those fully and to the best of my knowledge.
Take care out there, get a shit kit of your own made up, and make sure you don’t leave anything out that you may want on your next trip. Stay safe.
Aahhh, the famed pocket dump that every bushcraft gear junkie loves. It’s very interesting how people who want to learn more about nature through bushcraft and naturalism have this obsession with gear. But, nonetheless, you can’t deny that gear is awesome, and we all love it. And if gear testing is what gets some of us out into the woods, then I believe it’s a good thing.
Every woodsman, hunter, fisherman, trapper, or naturalist always has those few critical items that they never leave the house or cabin without. This realization gave birth to “Every Day Carry”. It’s a great way to learn about different equipment that can literally fit in your pocket, and if someone carries it every day, it doesn’t take long to figure out if an item is quality or a total piece of shit.
TBS Boar from The Bushcraft Store.
Number one, since everyone is always curious on what knife someone carries, this is the TBS Boar from The Bushcraft Store, located in Enfield, Middlesex, England. I really enjoy the classic European style bushcraft blades with a Scandinavian grind, and a few years ago I found this knife online and felt like it was the one. Four years later, it’s still riding on my hip, loyal as ever. It has traveled across the United States with me, and has done many tasks, including fire prep, field dressing animals, tube skinning animals, shelter making, fire starting, and other bushcraft projects.
TBS Boar from The Bushcraft Store.
The blade measures 4 and 3/8 inches long (11.1 centimeters), and 1/8 inch thick (0.4 centimeters). The scales of the knife are of Turkish Walnut, secured in place with 2 pins and a lanyard hole. It also, as seen above, features a Scandi grind.
The sheath is full grain leather with a very secure snap button closure, and can be carried vertically, or you can use the included velcro straps to carry it horizontally (not pictured). If anyone wants to know more, leave in the comments if you would like a separate review.
Item number 2, a ferro rod. As I’m sure most of us know, a ferro rod is one of the most reliable devices due to the fact that whether it’s cold, hot, or wet, it will still produce sparks. Knowing that, you still need to have proper tinder and kindling, but making sure I have a ferro rod is reassuring to me knowing that if anything happens, under most conditions I will be able to have a fire.
Note that I have it tied off to myself. This is attached directly to my belt with paracord, and I also have a quick release attaching the ferro rod to the paracord to easily have it in my hand, start the fire, and quickly get it connected to myself again and in my pocket. If I take a fall or end up waist deep in a river for some reason, I don’t need to worry too much about losing that piece of kit.
“Kamp King” by Imperial Knife Company
Item number 3 is a pocket knife. This one specifically is a Kamp King by Imperial, made in the United States. I found this knife at an antique store and bought it for $5.00, and since then, I’ve seen these knives at other antique stores literally all across the country. The big feature of this knife was the large lanyard ring allowing me to also attach it to a carabiner which is on my belt. This provides me with security of my pocket knife, while also making it easy available to access and use. As with the ferro rod, having it attached to me prevents loss during a fall or river crossing.
Kamp King with all tools exposed.
With the Kamp King, you get a main blade, measuring in at 2 3/8 inches long (6 centimeters), a very functional can opener, a bottle opener with a tip that functions as a flathead screwdriver or a delicate pry bar, and an awl. It is constructed of carbon steel, although I am unsure of the exact type of steel. I have gotten sparks by using a piece of quartz and striking the spine of the blade while closed, so it will work for flint and steel technology. The knife overall measures 3 3/4 inches (9.5 centimeters).
Kamp King by Imperial. Made in the USA. Paracord (orange), and a strand of bank line (black)
In my left pocket, the same pocket the pocket knife rides in, I carry 6 feet (2 meters) of both paracord and bankline. Pictured happens to be 1 of the 3 strands that bank line is twisted from, and this makes a usable, yet heavy duty, sewing thread. Six feet of cordage is a very universal measurement to carry in your pocket for a multitude of temporary tasks, from suspending a pot over the fire, hanging up your gear to get it off of the ground, or as an emergency shoelace incase one blows out during a scout. I carry more cordage in my pack, but on my person, these 2 pieces of 6 foot long cordage are my go-to for temporary jobs that need to be done. Doing this also conserves the cordage in my pack since I don’t need to cut a certain length from my main supply.
Fire kit on the left, UCO stormproof matches on the right.
Usually one or the other, sometimes both. I do have a ferro rod on me, but I might as well secure myself with more than one way to make fire. To the left, a fire kit which I have already written an article on that can be found here. On the right, UCO Stormproof Matches, another product I have an article on.
These, whether I’m carrying one or the other or both, will ride in my cargo pockets. Large, roomy, and securely closed makes sure I don’t lose these items either.
The cuts kit.
Since I am carrying a couple knives, it should be pretty obvious that the final item is the cuts kit. No matter your skill level, accidents happen to the best of us. The difference in experience level starts not with the number of scars you have, but your preparation for when an accident happens.
I have a heavy bleeding kit as well, but that usually rides in my pack. This is all contained in a standard compass pouch and fits easily in a cargo pocket or on a belt. I will make a separate article on this, but the contents are for basic cuts. A variety of band-aids, burn cream, triple antibiotic ointment, Neosporin, Witch Hazel spray for disinfecting, some iodine swabs, and alcohol wipes for sterilization if I need to use a needle to stitch myself back together.
With that, I hope you’ve enjoyed viewing my woodsman every day carry. Feel free to make suggestions or even let me know what you carry in the comments. Everyone has those go-to items, and with that comes great experience and great ideas that maybe the next person hasn’t thought about, so sharing what we carry, I believe, is important. Have a great day, and if you liked this content, please follow, and hell, maybe even sign up for an email to be sent whenever I post something new. Thanks again.
I will admit, I’m not a huge match guy. However, I do enjoy the idea and traditionalism of carrying matches, even if I don’t intend to use them. It is also a very good idea to be familiar and successful with different ways of starting fires, and these matches caught my eye about a month or two ago, so I decided to try them out.
The case pictured above is a watertight, ABS plastic case with a relatively nice O-ring, a slot for the striker, and, of course, it’s brightly colored orange for difficulty of losing if placed on the ground. This case comes with 25 of UCO’s stormproof matches, and one of the best parts, it costs under six dollars at any Wal-Mart. If you use up the 25 matches in the case, they also sell refills of 25 in a box, for under two dollars. Whether you like matches or not, this product is simply too inexpensive to not carry in my opinion.
UCO Stormproof match safe (pictured right, $5.75), and replacement matches in box (pictured left, $1.72)
If you decide you don’t want to spend that six dollars on quite possibly the best match safe on the market, you can get by with just the box of matches as it does have a striker on either side, just like a regular box of matches.
The full size of these matches measures just under three inches long, and the actual match head measures just below 1.5 inches long, giving these matches a 15 second burn time with a light blue to white flame, as seen below.
Let’s focus on the case for a moment. There are a few things I really like about it that I believe makes this product well worth the money. That said, there are really only two things I don’t like about the case, but those are really personal preference.
I have always been a believer in hearing the bad news first, so let’s get that out of the way. The first downfall of the case is the size. I would like it to be small enough that I could keep it in my pocket, although it would definitely fit into the cargo pocket of a pair of cargo pants or a jacket pocket. The second downfall, there is no ring to attach a lanyard to secure it to my pants. I like having my ferro rod and pocket knife tied off to my belt, which will be in another blog which will be linked here.
Now for the positives. Being colored blaze orange (hunter’s orange), it makes losing the container amongst the leaves, grass and dirt very difficult. The rubber O-ring gives a very nice watertight seal, and with this not only prevents water from entering, but also prevents air from escaping, which causes the container to float if dropped in the water. The only way to submerge it is if it was held down by something, in your rucksack, in your pocket or something of the like. On its own, the container floats, which could possibly be used as a bobber or strike indicator for fishing if absolutely necessary.
UCO Stormproof match safe free floating in a small pond. Depth is about 6 feet (2ish meters)
Let’s go back to the containers size for a second. It is a bit larger than I prefer, as I said before. A benefit of being as large as it is makes it much easier to to grip and open the container during cold weather when you might be wearing thick gloves or mittens, so the size has some benefit and some disadvantage depending on your preference.
After igniting the match, I dunked it in water to see if it would reignite once I removed it from the water. It did reignite. Success.
On to the matches themselves. The overall match stick measures around 2.75 inches, and the match head alone measures in at about 1.5 inches, giving these matches about 15 seconds of burn time and a very high temperature. Due to whatever chemicals are used to make these matches, it makes the match capable of igniting less than dry kindling.
As seen in the 2 photos above, I wanted to test the match and see if it would reignite when dunked in water. I struck the match which ignited it, and then submerged the burning match in the water. Once I pulled it out, it reignited within 1 second. Of course by doing this, the flame will not be as hot because it is drying off the match, dropping the temperature of the flame. This will still light kindling, and the idea is that it will remain lit while it’s raining, full submersion of the match was an extreme test that passed with flying colors.
Wind resistance also marks high on these matches, good luck blowing them out. In my mind, unless you’re trying to start a fire in a hurricane or a tornado, wind will not be able to blow these matches out for the simple reason that when you are building a fire, you probably already have a wind break built to protect the vulnerable early stages of the fire anyway.
I highly recommend these matches to anybody, whether you like using them or not. They are a reliable source of fire, and once I got these matches I really wanted to test them, and the result is that I will be using these more in the future. Anybody that has $6 to blow will not go wrong purchasing this product.
I hope you are are doing well, and enjoy the outdoors, stay safe.
A common fire kit that is inexpensive yet extensive in ignition sources and tinder.
A main skill that all bush crafters, and frankly, most people should all know how to do, is create fire. It is a very beautiful thing and a romantic idea to say,” yeah whatever, I’ll just start every fire with a bow drill, that’s real bushcraft.”
Well, while the bow drill may be an “iconic” bushcraft skill, this is by no means something to rely on exclusively due to the amount of factors that goes into it. From moisture in the wood, in the birds nest, humidity, species of wood, personal experience, and personal fitness level, these are just a few factors off of the top of my head. When a real emergency presents itself, you don’t want to be caught looking for material to construct a bow drill set when you could have simply taken a couple hours to find or purchase a few items and throw them in a tin, carried in a pocket, ready for you whenever needed.
Now that that small rant is over, pictured above is my most often carried fire kit. Relatively small and compact, it can be carried in almost any pocket you find on a pair of pants, jacket, and of course, a pack.
The tin on the left is the fire kit held together with two ranger bands and a hole punctured in the lid. The ranger bands are just a bicycle inner tube cut into sections and used as a much stronger rubber band. The hole above is to allow this tin itself to make tinder in the form of charred material such as cloth, cattail, or punk wood. Here is the size comparison to a standard altoid’s tin. Slightly larger gives us a bit more room to carry tinder or extra ignition sources.
The extra space of a slightly larger tin can allow a bit more organization which I personally am a big fan of, and it also allows for me to be able to take things out and put them back in without needing to cram everything in so tight that the tin is near impossible to keep closed. That is a common issue I have found with the Altoids tin fire kit.
Three of my ignition sources, right off the bat. Pictured above is a full size Bic lighter, coming in at under three dollars. Many of us may even find one laying around the house somewhere, or maybe you smoke, so maybe you have an extra lighter to throw in the kit. Instant gratification of flame leaves us able to use substandard tinder or kindling to start a fire, due to the fact that there is no delicate spark that needs to ignite something into flame, the flame is already there, all we need to do are make the feather sticks or take the flame to a fine kindling. I recommend a bright colored lighter, just incase you drop it, it will be easy to find.
The next item to the right is a piece of quartz. I carry a high carbon steel pocket knife, and when struck with the quartz on the SPINE OF THE CLOSED KNIFE, microscopic pieces of carbon are shaved off and combust, creating sparks that can be captured with char cloth. I do not use this method very much, mostly due to the potential damage of the knife, but it is also a good skill to practice incase of an extreme emergency.
The final item on the right is a small ferro rod by UST (Ultimate Survival Technologies). With it being orange, it is highly visible and difficult to lose, and a striker is built into the casing which protects the actual rod from being damaged, plus it packs well in my tin. I use a ferro rod most often, however, this specific rod is for if I find myself without my primary ferro rod. Since I almost always have my primary rod on me, the one pictured has not been used much.
My fourth ignition source uses the sun. My second most common way to start a fire is with a magnifying glass. This particular one I took out of a busted up pair of cheap binoculars and it works great. The best part of solar ignition is that there is zero material being used other than the tinder, which is found everywhere.
I mainly use this to ignite a piece of char cloth, and take that to a birds nest and blow into a flame. There are some compasses with magnifying lenses build into them that will work for this, but not all. A fresnel lens, which is about the size of a credit card, also works and can be carried in a wallet. Any lens with a magnification of 5x will definitely work. It’s also a great way to amaze kids and adults alike.
This looks like a bunch of stringy bark. That’s exactly what this is. The bark from a Western Red Cedar that I harvested while out in Washington state was found on a dead tree, and I gathered a big bag full of it. As Dave Canterbury says, “possum mentality” tells us to gather good material when we see it and take it with us, not expect it to be everywhere just because you saw it in one spot. Gather that stuff when it’s available. This is only a small pinch from the tinder bag.
Two other tinders that can catch a spark from a ferro rod other than the bark are char cloth (pictured on the left), and #0000 steel wool (with bits of char cloth). The cloth in the steel wool was not intentional, but as far as I’m concerned, it can’t hurt any. The char cloth also is my primary for igniting with the magnifying lens. These are two slow burning tinders that, with practice, will ignite a birds nest with relative ease. Not pictured are strips of rubber to be ignited with the lighter in rather wet weather when you need that extended slow burning flame to get wet kindling dried and ignited.
Aside from the tin, this is my primary ferro rod, pictured next to a regular sized Bic lighter for reference. This ferro rod is five inches long by half an inch thick, made for many thousands of strikes. The handle is gorilla tape with also ignites with a good shower of sparks from a ferro rod if needed. This usually rides in my pocket tied off to my belt, NOT THE BELT LOOP. I am also experimenting with UCO stormproof matches, which will be a followup post.
To end this post, your kit doesn’t need to look exactly like this, or like anyone’s you see on YouTube. What’s important to take away is the overall size of the final kit, make it easy to pack. Consider the types of combustion, such as instant flame, spark, and solar ignition. Consider to carry a few types of tinder, including one bullet proof combination for wet weather when sparks just won’t cut it. Consider the container itself, and make it multi-use. It’s a blast to experiment with different ways to start fire and different ways to carry it on you. I hope you have enjoyed and have learned something from these words. Have fun, and stay safe.
RojoOutdoors 