Many of our posts are about the latest mousetrap. We review them, find problems or new features, run out to buy with the subconscious belief it will give us an edge ( like the latest knife.)

I'm going through my kit, once again finding a few unpleasant suprises like rusted needles and my Earl Grey smells like the water purification tablets the tea is supposed to make more palatable.

There are though, always a few welcome givens, stuff that still works. I thought it would be fun to start a thread
about these dependable items. So, one item per post.

Mine is the ESBIT stove. My unit is old, as in stamped Made in W-Germany. I have a nieghbor, WW2 collector who uses one made in that war.

I've had sheepherder stoves burn out right on the one 'sweet spot' that actually made coffee just as the snow came in on the north canyon rim.

But the ESBIT just keeps working. The fuel tabs are expensive, a little tough to ignite and you go on an almost Holy Grail search for a compatable cooking vessel.

But I've easilly steamed up rice, stew AND the new container of Earl Grey in mine.

OK I am going to choose the little Craftsman 4Way screwdriver.
It hides in a wallet, PSK or on a key chain. It works on both slotted and most Phillips heads. It works really well as a scraper on a firesteel. It has been around for a very long time and in unchanged.
Not as glamorous as some other items but comes in handy very often and never fails.

First I would have to say my wife, who has always been there for me . Otherwise, I would have to say my SAK.

Pete

Coleman stoves and lanterns (white gas). Too heavy for hiking but fine for car or boat camping.

Almost all my stuff is old stuff.

I've never had any real luck with my Esbit stove - found a pot that fits "perfectly", but it doesn't get hot enough to boil water - or heat it enough to even make instant coffee

If you can find a aluminum soda can before another out of work

guy grabs it, cut two squares to fit the open sides of the Esbit.

Make a small base fold @ 90 degrees. These windscreens will increase cooking efficiency and stow easilly inside.

You can also simply dig a small cathole and set the stove inside with the pot resting level with the ground.

Couldn't agree more. My pick would be the classic USMC Kabar knife. I have dozens of knives, some very high tech and some, let's say more practical for outdoor utility chores. It's just a chunk of strong, sharp, plain "primitive" carbon steel, not INFI or whatever the latest wonder alloy. But when it comes to real hardcore survival there's no knife I'd rather have in my hand than my good old Kabar because I know it will do the job.

BTW, another common mistake is that a lot of people assume all the older technology somehow gets useless once new, "improved" products enter the market. Well, the new high-tech stuff may offer a lot of benefits but it doesn't make the low-tech alternatives any less effective per se. For instance, you might not consider a black powder muzzleloading rifle a viable choice for hunting but our ancestors used them with great effect not that long ago. With all the Goretex and synthetic materials out there lots of folks still swear by traditional wool clothing, caribou hide and whatnot. If it worked a hundred years ago it will still work today - and in some cases better than the latest technology.

Mine is also the SAK. It's one of the few things that has stayed for me for years without being replaced. The plastic scales are getting a bit beaten though...

Leatherman 'old' wave. Used for anything&everything, never failed!

Yeah, I'd have to list my Coleman lantern as my #1 classic.

I bought it while still in college many many years ago.

No LED battery-driven gizmo comes remotely close to the eye-searing light that the Coleman lantern can produce.

That's a good thing ... right?