Camping Survival Gear

I have my trusty old and severely worn Boy Scout manual, but it's woefully behind the times. I am headed to hike around the base of Mt. Hood in September and I want to be able to prepare for the journey by acquiring all the right camping gear I possibly can. I need a resource guide for that, however, and I don't know that one really exists. Example: If I wanted to learn all about boating, I'd buy "Chapman's Guide to Piloting." Is there something like that out there that covers camping equipment, gear, technology, physical preparedness, wilderness survival techniques, etc. Thanks!

How about going to a bookstore or your local BSA and getting a current issue of the Boy Scout's Manual?

You might also want to try something like:

"How to Survive Anywhere:
A Guide for Urban, Suburban, Rural, And Wilderness Environments"
By: Christopher Nyerges
ISBN-10: 0811733041
ISBN-13: 978-0811733045

OR

Camping & Wilderness Survival:
The Ultimate Outdoors Book
By: Paul Tawrell
ISBN-10: 0974082023
ISBN-13: 978-0974082028

They sell both on Amazon.

You might want to check out some of the other books written by Christopher Nyerges too!

If you really want to get rustic, there's:

PETERSON FIELD GUIDES
Edible Wild Plants.
.

2007-03-20 10:42:29 by BlueGuitar68

A wilderness survival kit should usually contain a signal mirror, a whistle, a fire starter, a compass, fish hooks, razor blades, duct tape ...

Hi
I was looking for a book which can help me with basic survival techniques (short term)
and tips for walking mountains in cumbria lake district.

Was recommended john loftys book on SAS survival. Any opinions or suggestions.
Navigation, gear, tips etc..

Thanks - best answer to be choosen

You might need a couple of books on a few subjects.

You need to look at a few things:
Shelters
Cooking
Fires
Food
Keeping warm and dry during the day

and each of these will have good techniques which one book might cover, it might not. The ones I have read might for example teach you how to make a shelter in a beech wood but if you are in open moorland then these techniques are rubbish!!

I would identify what you are going to have to do when you are away - use the list above as a start and then figure out what you need for each part.

For example - Terrain might be a pine wood so you need to look at shelter making in a pine wood, pine cooking fires, and what kind of food is likely to be there when you are camping (no good looking for berries in March, again one book might list a load, but that is no good for you)

You can get all this information online if you look, print what you need to take with you (won't ruin a book then)



Same for walking in the lake district, there are guides for every hill and worth reading depending where you are going to stay.


Basically this all starts with deciding where to stay then work from there

2010-01-31 09:47:32 by 3Muse

according to many prophecies the world will end or change greatly. Should I start stocking up on survival items ? like ramen noodles and camping gear and weapons of course ?

You go to Las Vegas and find the most expensive suite and get it from 12/15/12 to 12/22/12. Order room service & order lots of PPV movies. Then tell them you will pay in full on the 22nd.

2007-05-20 17:53:07 by Ronald M

I'm looking for a good camping, survival, and bushcraft websites that anyone can recommend. I want sites that show you how to build kits, best tools and gear to take and what guns to use for different tasks like hunting and signaling.

I did a "survival training" search and one of the sites I found was some radical groups website and I don't want to keep stumbling on to crap like that. I hate hate groups (is that a double negative).
I'm in the VA, KY, TN area

lol no, it's not a double negative.

Most of what I've learned has come indirectly from my reading up on knives. A good survival knife is key to bushcraft, camping, and survival. I've learned a lot from http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/index. php - not only about knives, but about how to use them as well. They have a sub-forum devoted to survival tactics: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumd isplay.php?f=692

In the Wilderness & Survival Skills forum, there's information on firesteels, fire-making, knife use, tracking, etc.

Also, many of the Army field manuals are available for free on the internet - including the survival field manual. There's some really good information in it. Here's a link to the survival manual: http://www.equipped.org/fm21-76.htm There's also some good information (though most of it is more product-related) on the general Equipped to Survive Website: http://www.equipped.org/

Lastly, I'd really recommend getting the book by John Lofty Wiseman, "SAS Survival Handbook." It's a very comprehensive look at the many facets of survival in any condition/environment. From knot-tying and snares to basic campcraft and foraging, he's really done a great job on the book. I believe they just came out with a revision of the same book - the one I have has many grammar/spelling errors. The information is very sound too; it's a great book.

Hope this helps.

2009-01-22 17:53:23 by Cicero1983

My wife and I are going camping in a few weeks and would like some advice on camping with an infant. During the day the temperatures will reach 80F but at night they could (possibly) drop as low as 30F. I want to make sure my 7month old is plenty warm at night. I have found I am warmer when wearing minimal clothes in my sleeping bag than when all bundled up. Should I bundle up my baby or strip him to just minimal clothing like myself? (Baby will be sleeping in the same bag as mommy)

Also any infant camping tips you can share would be great.

Note:
We have all the proper gear for camping (not the cheap Wal-Mart stuff) and years of experience camping and even teaching wilderness survival, but the whole "family camping" thing where you can still see your truck is new to us.

Extra details: Oh, and if it does get to cold we will head home as this trip is only a 30min drive so don't worry, our baby will be warm one way or another.

I don't think you need to be worrying as much as you are, especially since you have lots of camping experience. The family camping thing is really a piece of cake.

My daughter has been camping since she was less than six months old and has grown up loving it.

As far as the nights are concerned, you are on the right track by having your baby sleeping with your wife...or both of you. On cold nights sometimes I would have my daughter in my sleeping bag...sometimes we would zip two sleeping bags together and the three of us would sleep in there with baby in between us all snuggled up. I would always cuddle her close for the body heat though. The warm sleeper pajamas are ideal..again, that is what I used. The covered feet are important.

This should be warm enough, but just in case, bring an extra blanket or comforter with you in the tent and put it in a handy spot. If your wife wakes up in the middle of the night and feels cold or feels the baby is cold she can just grab it and put it on top of the sleeping bag for a little extra warmth.

As far as keeping your baby occupied, bring a portable crib for daytime naps and containment. Whatever his favorite toys are at home are perfect to bring along for camping, of course not including the big bulky ones. If it does not get too hot in the daytime, an empty tent with a few toys makes a great playhouse. A screen house that closes, if you have one, also works well, especially if it is too warm to be in a tent during the day.

We used to have a little chair that attaches to the side of the table and sort of hangs off the table. When camping the chair worked fine with the picnic table and we used this instead of a high chair.

Have a great time....you know what to do and what to bring...you will be fine. You really shouldn't need to cut your trip short and head home in the middle of the cold night!

2008-04-16 11:28:03 by xmirage2kx