Survival Equipment.

This covers the very basic equipment that should be carried with you when training or when camping. What is shown here I carry in a rucksack.

KNIFE.

• Karesvando Survival Knife which comes with a steel-striker and a sharpener, all of which fit around the knife-sheath. 
• This knife cost me around £80.00 and I have used it for many years now without any problem. 
• Buy the best knife you can afford since this can be a life-saver.

SAW.

This is a Silky Folding Saw made in Japan, and a good make this is; again this has been used over and over again with no problem. This is the mini-saw but they supply larger variations. I have also used Bahco Folding Saws (Swedish) and these too are excellent, and give years of service. Remember with these saws that it cuts on the pull-back and not when pushed forward. My Bahco has cut logs up to 3 - 4 inches in the past. 

AXE.

This is a Gransfors-Bruks axe made in Sweden, and has given excellent use over the years: I have a Forest Axe made by the same people. Again, these were not cheap but they have lasted years and always take a good edge, which is the main thing needed in Woodland Craft. 

SNUGPACK.

This is one of the Snugpack Response Packs that I have used in the past; as you can see it bulges out with the contents - Axe, Saw, Knife, GPS, Fire-Starting Kit, Basha and Cordage etc. Rather than the basha this could carry an mKettle and Cup on the outside. I attach carabiners to the outside for use in shelter-building or hanging up utensils or kit. 

MKETTLE.

This is the mKettle when I first got it many years ago, and it is still going to this day. The advantage over the Kelly Kettle (in this case) is that it is smaller, and it has a cover that allows it to be picked up (as shown above - NOT my painted finger-nails by the way, they were my daughters). Another advantage is that this one can be filled to travel, the bung is water-tight. 

The mKettle will make two cups of tea or coffee, or one larger mug; tinder can be carried inside the chimney of the kettle, and in the base-piece. It fits into a cover which can hold a spoon and more tinder etc. One thing I adapted this too was by using a methylated spirits burner as above; this means carrying a small bottle of meths but this takes up little room. This means a quicker cuppa than using wood-fuel. The advantage of the mKettle or Kelly Kettle over the Camping-Gas stoves is that the latter are rather hard to use when the weather is really cold because the gas-canister freezes as it is used and the gas slows down rapidly. These are alright for summer use, and, of course, quicker to boil water. 

What I did at a later stage was to carry a small poncho, small ground-sheet, lightweight aluminium pegs, and guy-ropes (cordage) in a small waterproof bag. This is used to build a very quick and easy lean-to shelter if the weather suddenly turns bad. This fits easily into the rucksack, or in the Snugpack for quick use. 

FIRE-LIGHTING KIT.

• Some cotton wool as tinder.
• A couple of small fire-lighters for emergency.
• Windproof Matches and a Lighter.
• Some wood-shavings.
• A few pieces of fat-wood. 

WATER-CONTAINER.

Some kind of small water-container should be carried; the water can be used for refilling the mKettle. This acts as an emergency to fill with water if necessary. I am not going to cover this in any detail now, because I shall cover the Milbank Bag and a means of water-filtering in another post. 

DRIED FOOD.

Carry some dried food and a bar of chocolate with you; these are light and make it easy to make up a quick and ready meal. One quick way is to use a 'Pot Noodle' but empty this into a small polythene bag to make it easier to carry. Can then be done in a cup which you carry. Make sure you are going to use it though since it will then go off quickly when opened.