Good adds/changes. I usually carry a Glock 22, occasionally a Taurus 445. If I am on expedition, it is a Ruger Super Redhawk.

I love threads like this. It is a great refresher for my thinking.

With the tongue depressor, the idea was to have duct tape (or gorilla tape) on one end, the Dacron line in the middle, and the electrical tape on the other end. Sometimes Gorilla tape is too much of a good thing. Having both gives me more options. Using a regular bic lighter with cold hands in windy environment proved more difficult than the turbo ones. I upgraded my edc this winter due to that problem up on slope. The regular bic just wasn't working for me. YMMV.

Many of the things I use my Leatherman Wave for work in any scenario. A larger, stouter fixed blade will work for some of the harder cutting chores of a wilderness environment. Ultimately, I would like to have both. If I had to pick one over the other, I would still take the Leatherman. Just my experience.