I've carried a deck of cards with me camping for many years. I actually bought a deck of plastic cards. They can be completely soaked and will not ruin them. I often see them around the summer time.

I also always carry my SAK and have added my Leatherman Wave. Just a great little tool.

The solid plastic cards are great and can last for years. The cheaper laminate ones don't last as long, a couple of seasons, but they are cheaper. The even cheaper paper ones with open edges sometimes don't last a week if they get soaked but if protected they can still be useful.

Cards are great to fill rain days when your stuck in a tent or during the inevitable bureaucratic delays and a few games after dark can be fun. An extra deck or two could be quite a hit as a gift, trade item, or for disaster situations where people are forced to shelter together.

In a small group we used to make sure we had cards, preferably two complete decks, a half-dozen standard dice, some graph paper (ideally weatherproof survey notebooks) a couple of stubby pencils, and an easy on the paper drafting eraser. We used to play chess and many other games on the graph paper.

Another item that gets lots of use is a cheap plastic cutting board. These are made of recycled plastic are perhaps a quarter-inch thick. The most useful size has been around 9" by 12" and they are pretty light.

These units have a lot of uses. They are a cutting board, finding a flat place to cut stuff with a knife is often hard in the woods. Cleaning fish or game is a lot harder if you don't have a flat work surface to work on. These boards provide a flat place to sit the stove, and pots after cooking. They keep stuff your working on off the ground. Slipped in a pack between hard lumpy stuff and your back you get far fewer bruises. A small cutting board is a writing or work surface, handy for games and rolling dice.

My old Buck 102, my sliver grippers, and my swiss key, the version with a blade pre-TSA . They're also me EDC (the last two).

Anyone ponder where your kit came from?

My old Silva compass and Fallkniven are swedish ( o.k. it's a swedish design made in Japan)

Esbit stove and rucksack from Germany

BCB saw, Altoids tin, Lifeboat matches, future poncho, survival bag from the U.K.

Socks from Canada, Zebra cooking tin Thailand.

Lots of stuff from the US of A.

But the strangest oddessey of all must be my tins of Crown Prince

Sardines from Morocco.

I hope their fish consciousness never suffered, but it is something, to be pulled from a mediterranean afternoon swim to wind up with all this other stuff in California

I've got a few "classics" that tend to stay with my kits and gear piles over the years.

1. A stainless steel Flask.

Right now an 8oz, single walled stainless flask. I like it filled with an over-proof whisk(e)y. Right now, my favorite is Booker's Bourbon, which is ~126 proof or 63% alcohol. It easily lights on fire, it has a high enough alcohol content to be suitable for wound sterilization, and, unlike Bacardi 151, I find it to actually be borderline drinkable neat. Plus, it's made right here in America (the Bourbon, not the flask, unfortunately).

2. Simple white cotton bandanna

Not much to say about this one, other than they are about as simple and multi-purpose as an item can get.

3. 550 Paracute cord

Again, not much to say. It just works.

4. Bic lighters

I don't smoke, but I have Bics throughout my packs, jackets, vheicles, ect. They're cheap, they usually work reasonably well, and I can loan them out (or, more often, give them away) without breaking the bank.

5. Leather gloves (like suede cowhide gloves)

I've got plenty of pairs of modern polyester/neoprene/Kevlar/super fiber gloves. But, when it comes to general work gloves, I still keep finding my way back to good old leather gloves. They feel good, they don't melt with heat, they're reasonably cut/abrasion resistant, and they cost less than $10 a pair.

6. Spiderwire braided fishing line

While not really that old, I've been in love with this stuff since it came out. I use it for fishing line, sewing thread, thin string, whatever. From their current stuff I like the "Stealth 20lb moss green." It's a good combo between strength thickness, and ease of knot tying.

7. Moleskin padding

Blisters can very quickly turn a fun hike into a painful hike. Sometimes a little bit of moleskin is all I need to keep on trucking. It's simple, inexpensive, and I find it works great.

8. Fisher space pens

While not the best writing pens I've ever owned, they do tend to be very durable and they continue to write at times other pens fail.

9. Sharpie markers

Same as above, they're simple and they usually do what is intended of them. Can't really as for much for than that. On a side note, I prefer the Industrial version. The ink formula is a bit better.

10. Swiss Army Knives (preferably Victorinox)

I collect knives, in fact, at last count I was well over 200. However, even with such a large collection to choose from I've still got a few Swiss Army Knives that make their way into my pocket on occasion. I don't leave home without the Swisscard in my wallet either.

11. Other traditional American/German slipjoints/lockbacks.

Along the same line as the Swiss Knives, I've got a few other traditional slip joints and lockbacks that find their way into my pocket. These are made by companies such as the former Imperial Schrade cutlery company, Queen cutlery, Case, Buck, and Boker. I have a soft spot for these kind of knives, as they're what my father owned, my grandfather carried daily, my uncles carried daily, my great grandfather carried daily, ect. In my mind they represent the hard work and determination of bygone Americans. Their toil is what allowed me to live here today in reasonable comfort.

Leatherman Supertool.

Old (I do mean OLD) Mora knife.

Shemagh (keeps the sun of my neck, bugs out of my ears, and doubles as my security blankie (just like Linus), and my Douglas Adams hitchhiking towel....

There are just tons of classics. I love my wool and canvas creations by Filson....old time classics with history, that work.

Here is a real new classic for me...

Paul Savage Forged Narrow Bladed Hunter




I had Paul make me a knife my Dad would instantly recognize....well almost instantly that is.

Do you have the one with the star charts in the design?...

Boatman
John

Cool!

No, didn't know about that one.

Just got a gray one from Brigade Quartermasters.

Where do you get the one with the star charts?

Schwert, that knife is absolutely gorgeous. I dont think I could acually put a knife like that to use...it is too pretty!