"My Core Gear" by Askdamice

I would like to share with you my "Core Gear". These are the items that I take with me on extended trips, regardless of season. All that I will share with you I have learned from others more experienced than I, from good books and from miserable mistakes that I have made. I am continuously trying to improve my game and just when I think I've got it nailed... I see something new and the endless cycle begins again.
Rick



I have divided the items into four groups marked A, B, C, and D.
If there are any questions I’ll happily explain my choices.

"A" (Clockwise from top left)
- A Swedish/German mess kit containing a pot w/ lid, cooking shield, burner and bottle of fuel
- A "personals" kit containing first aid supplies, small sew kit, beeswax, pitch blend, handywipes, toothbrush/paste, deodorant crystal, zinc oxide, hand sanitizer and homemade pine tar soap.
- Cordage bag containing brass wire, decoy line and various lengths of 550 paracord.

"B" (Clockwise from top left)
- Collapsible water container
- Canteen w/ cup and iodine tablets
- “Safe Water” purification bottle and steel cup
- Bush Belt with carabiner, belt knife, fire kit and Leatherman
- 4 bandannas and a small towel

"C" (Clockwise from top left)
- Large sew kit with “E-Z Stitch”sewing awl, leather thongs, beeswax and spare buttons (made from pennies and nickels)
- Head lamp, LED torch and long burning candle
- Bags of spruce gum and pine pitch, long burning candle with tin caps for heating resin
- Sharpening kit

"D" (Starting on left)
- Brass “Spy Glass”
- Norse Hawk
- Small possible bag containing a compass, whistle, utility knife, lighter, dental floss, firesteel/striker, pad w/ pencil and a small bag with various cordage.
- Under the bag is an emergency firepouch worn around the neck

Damn Brother, Fine kit you got there. I am glad that I am not the only one here who wont mind sharing his miserable mistakes with everyone. If you are the kind of Guy who likes to spent a night outside in the dead of winter with no more than he can fit in his pockets (just to see if you can, or to test your kit)Then I will have some good chats with you.

A quick question though. How does all that leather hold up when it is wet? Does it hold water on the items inside?

welcome to the forum, quick look at the it looks good. looks alot like my travel kit but I managed yo lose my hawk, still looking for a replacement.

Welcome Newguy!

The spyglass is interesting, where in the world did you get it???

Welcome to the fire northern ETSer. Looks like some neat stuff in your kit but isn't it kind of heavy? The Swedish mess kit weighs a lot as does the brass spyglass...

-Blast

Interesting mix of old and new tech.

Welcome. Nice kit.

That is an extremely handsome kit. I think I would also describe it as 'neat'. I dig it.

Nice Kit fellow Canuck. It's very 'Nessmuky' and I like it.

Welcome new guy.

Nice looking gear, very handsome. A few things that could be lighter or more robust with more modern materials, but that's a mater of taste.

Only one concern. You mention "pitch blend". The only pitchblend I know is a uranium ore. Please tell me that you aren't carrying THAT in your gear.

I imagine he refers to pitch from a tree. Like what they use to seal ships.

How did you make the soap? That would be a fun weekend project!!!

Welcome...I love the old look of the kit. It reminds me of my mountain man days in scouting. One thing I noticed that you have that I tried and replaced was the Swedish kit. It got too heavy, especially with the separate canteen and canteen cup. I switched both to the BCB canteen kit:

http://www.bestglide.com/integral_survival_unit_info.html

Hope it helps...

I just bought the BCB Integral kit from Best Glide. I haven't had a chance to put it through it's paces yet but it seems a solid system.

The only problem I have with the system is the stove. It does not fit around the canteen cup like the old GI issue stove did. It seems you need some sort of carrier to secure the stove to the cup. BCB offers a carrier for the entire system, but I am not about to spend $40 on a nylon carrier that doesn't have adequate attachment points.

I bought the carrier...it has more than adequate attachment IMO. Shoulder strap (everything metal), on the back is 2 vertical straps with snaps and 2 horizontal straps MOLLE style.

You are right though. The stove doesn't 'fit' perfectly. I plan to modify mine so the stove can store and utilize my Vargo Triad stove.

The best luck I had was placing the handle of the stove in between the handles of the cup and then wrapping the handles of the cup around the stove.

Greetings AskDaMice and welcome to ETS,

I find your gear interesting in the amount of leather you use for pouches/scabbards. I feel the same way about trusting to leather more than synthetics for such tasks.

I also own a long glass and have neglected it for several years, leaving it behind on my camping trips.

Because of your post, I have reevaluted my long glass & have decided that it should be in my ALICE (camping) pack but I will keep my small binoculars in my BoB.

I also rely on the Swiss/German Mess kit along w/2 US Army canteen cups for cooking, but I have also been known to bring my US Army Mess kit along as well.

I still put a higher priority on using equipment that I'm familiar with versus trying to shave weight here and there.

Do you carry all of this in the leather shown? If not, I'd be interested to see how you carry that.

I love your kit!!!!!!!! I LIke how you have all the things that I like!!! The spruce gum and the beeswax!!! I wan't your KIT!!!! CAN I have it???? PLEASE!!!!!!

Man, that really is a cool looking kit...

Wow folks!
Thanks for the warm welcome and kit compliments.

Pitchblend is a mixture of pine pitch, mink oil, beeswax, and lindseedoil.... great for waterproofing leather.

My gear isn't the lightest.. but I like it. If I were to go on an extended hike I would certainly shave it down "Haversack and bedroll" style.

Here is my Winter set up...

MOST of my core gear, extra clothes, 3-4 days food, sleeping bag, two tarps and 50ft of rope.(That will last me well over a week with a little foraging)

All together with water bottles full... 43lbs... not bad for the gear choices I have made.

I used to be an ultralight backpacker with an 18lb pack, but I find this more enjoyable.

What pack is that? I don't recognize it.

Canadian issue rucksack... external frame... a bit heavy but bombproof. Most Canadian Army guys hate it because of all the marches they did with it... lol.

Rick

Anybody have a good source to pick up an authentic (or at least semi-authentic) possible bag? I like the idea of leather over what's normally available commercially.

I've used claymore bags for possibles bags. In fact, that's what I'm using for my black powder possibles bag now. I use a Bull Durham pouch (inside of a ziplock) to keep my Bic lighters in.

All of my other leather goods; medicine pouch, scabbards (leatherman, knives, swords, hatchet), are made from leather I bought, and then cut, and sewed together. I normally used "shotline" (the Coasties here know what that is) to sew my leather together but alas, I am almost out of that. I started using nylon thread (Wally World) and of course, Dental Floss to hold it together.

It takes some basic tools (Tandy Leather has kits) and a little thought to turn out some nice leather accoutrements.

I find leather working to be a disease for many of us because it is enjoyable!!!

No, I am not affiliated with any leather companies in anyway, Heck, I'm a dirty ole sailor!!!

I hadn't thought of making something myself...makes sense though and might be worth a go.

The claymore bags look very practical but far too tacticool for daily use.

Askdamice, tell me to pros and cons of the alcohol stove. What fuel do you use, how much fuel does it consume, how long does it burn, how long to boil water. It looks like a classic piece of gear. Is it very heavy? That is one excellent, durable kit you have assembled!

He's using a Swedish trangia, lots of us have experience with them here.

Simple, reliable, robust- you have to work at it to screw this thing up. They run best on ethanol, but you can run methanol (burns fine- just a little poisonous), or if you get REALLY desperate, isopropyl (burns dirty, not very hot). But like all alcohol stoves, it can be quirky a low temperatures due to the relatively high vaporization temp of the fuel compared to other systems.

Search that archives for "trangia", you'll find a few hundred posts. Since mid-summer.