Originally Posted By: wildman800
About a fixed blade knife, I think I'll include a K98 Mauser Bayonet. It's heavy and is useful for many applications.


Wow, that is a big chunk of steel to carry around.

Years back my gear philosophy started leaning toward that of Peter Kummerfeldt (in addition to ETS). He leans toward packing pretty light, carrying a large bright trash bag (I like 2 of them - one over you and one under you), and making sure your gear will allow you to survive (stay alive) through a couple of nights. It doesn't need to gear you up to homestead. Of course time of year and impending local weather requires you to adjust the gear.

That said, I'd plan for the day pack to get you through a few nights too.

Good suggestions above - tinder (I like cotton & Vaseline), headlamp (as much for night signaling as anything else), signal mirror, good map and real compass with adjustable declination (not just one that points north) and knowledge to use them, ...

I'm a GPS guy. Lots of stories of survival start with getting turned around and lost. I like one that will point to my car and tell me how far away it is. Even the smallest simplest Garmin will do that. I pre-load useful waypoints.

I'm also a big fan of the PLB. Other survival stories start with an injury and the struggle to find help.