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The ten essentials list is like Pachabel's Canon in D major: hundreds of variations on a very simple theme. I once listened to a remix of those versions played together. It was not unlike early Pink Floyd. Let me thow out a new list merging Bushcraft with ETS preparedness. 1. THE KNIFE No other single bit of kit inspires more discussion. People either carry a SAK or Excalibur with equally erroneous philosophies behind both. They're nice, have their place, but, a solid knife @ 4" in blade handles most everything well. Tape a flat diamond hone to the sheath. I don't care what wunder steel it's made of, knives go dull 2. FIRE Nothing else that is so BRIGHT and BIG in our priorities is produced with such small, often humble kit. I don't care if you use an Altlantian crystal powered by planetary convergences or handmade matches lovingly produced by scottish crofters by peat fires. If you can't carry more than one method AND a bit of kindling you deserve to freeze, which brings us to my #3. SHELTER How much space and wieght does a Basha, simple tarp or a few G.I. ponchos take up anyway? If you want to reconstruct an iron age hillfort, good on you. But for night one bring a shelter.4 WATER There are mechanical and chemical purifiers and I have both. But with # 2 we can boil the stuff. This is where ultralight hikers took their SAKs and trimmed off some grey matter along with map margins and toothbrush handles. Get a BIG old BILLY. It wieghs little, is handy for stowing everything inside that daypack and OH,gee, I can boil LOTS of water. If that water happens to be snow from a sudden blizzard I can use the thing for a SCOOP to dig a survival cave. 5. MIRROR AND WHISTLE We have #2 which is a great signal. Now we have 3. SEE #2 for redundancy . 6 COMPASS Don't wait to use it AFTER your lost. Consult the thing while your busy getting lost. Then your not lost, just misplaced. 7. TORCH now we have 4 emergency signalling devices, another potential means to make fire AND we can see where we are going ( or shouldn't) it's trite to suggest people just stay put in an emergency after nightfall. There are places in the world where high noon can be gloomier than my closet- and twice as dangerous. 8. FIRST AID NO! All these salves, plasters and potions are mechanical placebos. If your hurt, lots of #2 can clean things up. Dilution cancels pollution. A few plasters or moleskin yes, but we are not a M.A.S.H. unit. If your hurt, return to civilization ASAP. 9. Of course I'm wearing woolens! I get hammered by dress codes, fashion and convention enough in town. On my turf expect me to look like a Ringwraith in Flektarn, plaid and leather, which brings us to #10, food. That bear doesn't go hungry for fear I'll assault him, though statistically that is the real truth, poor beasties. So, why should I? this business of insulting the glory of nature with freeze dried, nutritionally balanced stuff that gets squeezed out of a tube has got to end. Real Bushcrafters and survivalists carry jerky, fruitcake, tea,coffee, cocoa and enough spices and condiments to turn a roadkill hedgehog and gathered mushrooms into cordon blue cuisine. Thats Kavanaugh's essential 10. "And if the band your in starts playing a different tune, I'll see you on the darkside of the moon."

originally posted by [color:"red"]Chris Kavanaugh [/color] at bushcraftuk.com click for link