OBG use the whole quote. "It doesn't make sense to carry 5 lbs of gear", when there is a 99.9% chance I will never need it. I didn't say I don't carry anything. My light pack includes two lighters, knife, button compass, AMK HeatSheet, Utility Cord (20'), tinder, whistle, & emergency Meds.

Even if I break my leg in the woods a mile from home, I can stay warm, Dry, Blow on a whistle, and even take two Vicoden for the pain, until the paramedics arrive!

dweste,

Very well put!!

I backpack in Florida. To sort things out I allow redundancy but I group stuff into "Using" vs. "Survival" gear.

I limit my survival gear to a small AMK pouch that can fit in my pocket. When I'm hiking, the pouch is in my backpack, but when I set up camp, I put it in my pocket. That way, I'm never without survival gear even when I go to dig holes in the woods.

Minimal Kit 2

"Using" gear

Medical
- personal meds for duration
- glasses
- toothbrush
- floss
- toilet paper (and Wipey-Wipes)

Shelter
- hammock (Mosquito)
- 8 x 8 tarp
- poncho
- poncho liner
- 2 x 3/8 foam pads (20 x 36 inch)
- 2 x tree straps
- ridge line
- 4 x tarp ropes
- bug juice

Clothing
- boonie hat
- nylon shirt
- cotton T-shirt
- nylon pants
- underwear
- bandanna
- Teva Hurricane sandals

Fire
- BSA Hot Spark
- tinder

Signals
- cell phone
- 1 Photon LED
- 1 wristwatch and compass

Water
- 2 x 1 L pop bottles
- titanium cup

Food
- energy bars for duration

Tools
- Fallkniven F1 fixed
- SAK Trailmaster folder

"Survival kit" gear

Medical
- 2 bandaids
- 1 triple antibiotic packet
- 4 ibuprofen
- 2 benedryl
- 1 toothpick
- SAK classic
- 2 moleskin pads

Shelter
[none]

Fire
- SparkLite kit
- MiniBic

Signals
- signal mirror
- whistle

Water
- 20 x MP1 tabs
- 1 L fish bag

Food
[none]

Tools
- 2 x 10 ft extra paracord (separate)
- sewing kit (inside SparkLite box)

Looks like a great kit!

I transferred my PSK into a Zip-loc and I will take it with me. I left the wire saw out and swapped the Fenix E1 for a fauxton. Lighthound.com give these fauxtons away with orders over $20 that put out a killer amount of light.

The fauxton is great cos you can wear it round your neck and it weighs nothing. I'm gonna leave the Novatac behind as the HDS has a clip which allows me to attach it to a cap, whereas the Novatac doesn't.

I also put the dry food into zip-locks instead of tupperware containers and swapped my towel for a smaller one.

Its made a difference, for sure. I also have more space now.

Zip-Locs are great!