GEAR WEEK....YES--NO--MAYBE

here are three items for your comments..i was going to
call this good-bad--ugly..but lets just stick to good,bad
and ?????????--



First the infamous "Do All" shovel..25 cents at a yard sale.
on the right side the AX "blade"..sort of rusty from what i
assume was the first any only attempt to chop something..
the handle is very loose with the rivets about to come out
from the first impacts..the left side a SAW..well kind of..
some file work and a tooth setter might help..also on
the left a HAMMER..which is no thicker than the metal
band that carrys the WRENCHS and BOTTLE OPENER..and of
course the main SPADE for digging deep..in the trunk of
you car it might serve to dig a trench to free up a
dug in tire and then open a bottle of beer to refresh
yourself..


OK here's something not be sneezed at-----



it's made to be barfed in..



from Tri State Hospital Supply a heavy duty,no leak
emesis bag..the use once bag is five inches across
the strong plastic ring it folds into and is just over
a foot long..note the keyhole shaped holes in the
plastic ring..they are located 90 degrees from each
other around the rim ..using the cord on the table
with large loose knots i was able to make a handle.



the bag is marked up to 40 fluid OZ or about halfway
up the side..i filled it about 3/4..or about 65 OZ
and the bag showed no signs for failure or leaks..
i hung it outside for over an hour...



and then swung it around in an attempt to see how
much strain it could take but the bag did not rip out
or the plastic ring fold..i guess it's made so the
"contents" don't leak..
would this be just the thing to use for
a smaller size BOB or lost kit..you could carry and keep
safe a lot of water..my only question is ,has the
plastic been coated with some sort of germicide or
is the plastic inert???

LAST ITEM...



a Fire Shelter...if you lived in the "piney woods"
and there was a risk of a crown fire overtaking your
car in an attempt to escape..or some other flash-over
fire would you keep this in the car or otherwise
handy???..and please no---only for trained fire
fighters---experence only--so on..i would think half
the stuff we see on this site is the sort of thing that
only experenced ADULT--people have any right to get
anywhere near...if i had a choice of staying in my
car or running or getting into this thing i would
get the thing up and hang on for dear life..
anyway----YES___NO___MAYBE-----

So you spent 25 cents for that piece of junk? Shame on you!!! hahaha

The fire shelter looks familiar, a couple of years ago we volunteered at a USFS fire tower, and they had a couple of those in a cabinet, "just in case." That was the extent of our training in the use of the tinfoil cover, but I understand that they actually save firefighters lives from time to time...

Awesome finds Canoe!

I would change the worn rivets for nuts and bolts that could be tightened in the field, and sharpen the "ax" side up. The water bag is awesome! Get it into the mini kit for a water carrier. As for the fire shelter, I am not sure how heavy it is, but I would think it could be modified into an awesome "bivy bag". I'd put all 3 in my kit.

Great Job! Thanks for sharing...

- Soarn

The Fire Shelter is an old model, being replaced last year with the new type. The back smuges in the corners of the plastic bag is aluminum dust from the coating on the fire shelter wearing off. This type of shelter is no longer allowed on fires. Geting into one needs training, but if you unfold the one you have, you will never get it folded up small enought to replace in the bag.(I know i'v tryed) The Yellow bag is good and will hold 2 MRE'S and brew kit. You can always cut up the shelter and make signal panels or a reflector for a fire.

Like big_al said that is the older style fire shelter. Here is some information on the Old style shelters.. It looks like it is a little older and is no longer sealed. While it won't portect you as well as a "like new" one, the odds that you actually need to use it for fire protection is limited. IT does have HUNDREDS of other uses (I have been playing with old style shelters at work. I will take some pics and post them up next time I am at the station. I hear they make great space blankets (from a newby who didn't pack a spaceblanket and decided to use his shelter... :shakeshead:).

They don't repack... the training ones designed to repack barely do.