Schwert, that thing in your pic looks neat and handy. I just ordered a set of the 7/8 inch "pillcases" with a few different options from the Sunshine Products guy in Ca. I spent a ton too much on it, but I'm single and who cares? i don't have to ask permission. I got it with the pieces to make basically a 2 or 3 compartmented match/tinder case...I can't wait to see it..

How much does that K&M case sell for, normally??

K&M cases will sell for right around $20 plus shipping.

Keith has not yet received the compasses from Finland so I am estimating cost now, but it will be close.

The new compasses he has ordered will be better than the Brunton's supplied on the last go around. These will be jeweled like the K&M cases of old.

I will be curious to see how those Sunshine cases are. I almost ordered a selection a year or so back. They look very nice and the multiple sizes should be good.

Let us know.

Randy,

Will they be liquid filled or dry?

Pete

How many will be available, is it possible to do a preorder? <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

>>I also tried Neosporin - it lights just as well and adds another use for the cotton balls. <<

This is a good point - I just forget about the vasoline altogether in my kit, and just pack a tube of triple antibiotic ointment (the generic neosporin).

It comes in convenient-sized squeezable tubes. I find a 1 oz. tube fits well in almost any FAK - it's one of the larger items, but also one of the most useful. I don't bother with the individually sealed foil packets.

It's just as flammable as vasoline, so for that purpose it works just as well. Just squeeze a dollop into a cotton ball and you're ready to go.

It can also be applied to dry skin or to provide protection from a cold wind, and works as well or better in that regard.

Chapped lips will heal and the condition of flaking skin will improve in a day or two - I find it especially useful in dealing with hangnails and messy cuticles - cleans them right up in a day or two.

And it can also be placed on superficial wounds (i.e. blisters on the feet, insect bites or small scratches) to speed healing. Even in general, I find it useful to occasionally apply to my feet; its utility will only be increased in the back country

It can also be used as a tool or machine lubricant in a pinch.

I will give a full report when I get them and figure out how I want to fill it all up. thanks for all the great ideas!

Paramedicpete,

These will be liquid filled Suunto compasses. Possibly luminescent. Keith uses these a few years ago, but the whole Silva/Johnson/Suunto/Nexus/Brunton thing seemed to have made these impossible to import. He was using Brunton compasses but each shipment of hundreds would only have a few workable compasses.....so he essentially had to stop making the cases. But he got a line on 1800 of these very good Suunto jeweled versions and is working out a deal with them to buy some.

03lab,

I am keeping a list of interested parties. You can PM me for addition to the list.

Doug has been kind enough to inform me that once Keith is once again making compasses he will provide a link for interested parties. We will not carry on the business of selling in the forum however.

Mark,

Forget the Vaseline cotton balls. Spend $3.00 and get a package of Coghlan’s Emergency Tinder. It is impregnated with wax. It is not messy. To use: take one and pull it in half and then put the halves back together with the frayed ends up. Hit it with anything like a spark and it will burn for a good 3 minutes. If you add some fatwood you have the best change of starting a fire there is.
Tinder

I reckon a feller could spend $700 on all this stuff and need a 4X4 truck to haul it all around in if he weren't being careful!

Yeah, what he said.

Think of the cotton ball as a wick and the petroleum jelly as the wax of a candle. The wax melts and provides the fuel. The wick keeps the flame.

Try a simple expierment. Light a cotton ball soaked with petroleum jelly. Then immediately light a plain cotton ball. The plain will burn itself out in about half a minute. Two or three minutes later, the other is still burning.

If you have oversized tinder or wet tinder, which is more likley to generate enough heat to ignite the tinder? The one with the longer burn time.

Both will work as tinder. The petroleum jelly improves your chances.