Essential Wilderness Camping Tools
Some food for thought about essential wilderness camping tools.
People interested in outdoor living have a great library of information, tips, and tricks to draw from. That is because, in many ways, we are doing the same activities, in mostly the same environments, as people of the past. As a result, many of the same technology and skills still apply. By looking to the past, we can learn practical ideas that still apply. An example of this is what gear we carry, and how we carry that gear, while in the outdoors.
A universal challenge outdoorsmen have always faced is how to carry all the things we need or want. It is the great balancing act of having enough to live comfortably, yet keeping things light enough to move consistently. This is one reason why outdoorsmen, particularly in the West, applied horsepower to their travel. Horses expand a person’s potential for movement and gear. In another article, I discussed how I set up my saddle for backcountry riding. In that article, I touched on the topic of what gear I bring along and how I carry it. Part of the article noted how we can look to history for answers to these questions. In one section, there was a reference to the mountain men and their possibles bag. It got me thinking about what would be in a modern-day possbiles bag.
First off, you may be wondering what a possibles bag is. The Rocky Mountain trappers, or mountain men, were active in traveling and trapping in the Rockies from roughly 1820-1840. They were nomadic and constantly riding through and exploring wild lands. This way of life offered them nearly complete freedom to move and live. However, freedom always comes in equal doses of responsibility. They were completely free. As a result, they were also completely responsible for themselves as well. Of course, they understood that they had to take care of themselves in every situation. As part of their effort to stay prepared for emergencies, they developed the “possibles bag.”
Hanging in the tree, you can clearly see a possibles bag.
A possibles bag was simply a bag, or satchel, that carried everything trappers could “possibly” need. Each trapper’s possibles differed depending on the person. However, there were usually a few things they had in common. Generally, they had a fire kit, shooting accouterments, and perhaps some other personal items. It may be worth remembering most of them carried a knife on their belt at all times in addition to a firearm. Possibles bags were not to be parted with. A trapper would be wise to have this on their body at all times. It’s important to note they didn’t keep it on the horse or mule. That’s important because a rider can be separated from the animal. The last thing a trapper wanted was to get bucked off, and then watch his fire-starting kit run over the hill with his animal. The whole idea of the possibles bag was to keep essential gear actually on your body.
When examining the possibles bag, you can easily see the common sense of the whole idea. You’re out in the wilderness and you should make a point to have the basic things you’ll need. However, I wonder how many people actually have a modern “possibles” kit. In other words, how many people have a method, routine, or setup that ensures their most essential gear never leaves their side?
In my experience, I’ve seen lots of first aid kits, survival kits, and practical gear used on camping trips. However, oftentimes this gear isn’t actually on the person. It’s in a backpack, in the saddle bags, or something like that. Perhaps, it might be a good idea to reflect on the trappers’ approach to wilderness living and ensure some of the most important equipment never leaves our side.
Essential Wilderness Camping Tools
The first part of this is deciding what is actually essential. When you first sit down to think about your essential wilderness camping tools, you might be encouraged to consider a few basic things.
Essential Gear
Sorting through all of the gear and tools that we take on a camping trip can be difficult. It can be hard to sort through what is essential, versus what we really like to have. However, there is some good advice already out there on what makes something essential. One philosophy worth considering is the C’s of survivability.
6 C’s of Survivability
The 6 C’s of Survivability is an idea that there are 6 basic components to every outdoor “survival” kit. Look around the Internet, and you’ll probably see the 5 C’s of survivability instead of 6. I’ve got 6, and I’ll make clear the one I’ve added to the list and why. However, general consensus is 5, and they are:
Cutting
Combustion
Cover
Containers
Cordage
Essentially, you always want to have something on hand that can cover all 5 of these areas. If you do that, you’ll cover some of the most important considerations of wilderness living. Let’s look at a few ways to cover all these bases.
Cutting
This is pretty easy. Bring a knife. In the realm of bushcrafters and survivalists, there is sort of an ultimate challenge. That challenge is to head to the woods with only a knife and see how long you can survive. It’s seen as a pinnacle of sorts because a very talented and knowledgeable person can do a decent job living with just this single piece of technology.
Although most of us will never pursue this challenge, we can still benefit from understanding how much is possible with a knife. It is perhaps one of the most important tools to bring along.
In my opinion, it is best to have a good fixed-blade knife. Folding blades and replacement blades are simply too flimsy to stand up to the rugged use you might demand from them. Fixed blade knives, like this Knot Wrench knife, are solid and dependable for practical and hard use.
Combustion
Along with cutting, being able to make fire is extremely important. Although there are many different approaches to this, you may consider packing a high-quality lighter. A high-quality lighter will be easy to light and can even combust damp materials. Additionally, you may also want to consider bringing a firestarter of sorts. Historically, trappers’ fire kits normally contained tinder of some sort. This was dry material they could use to get a fire started in poor conditions. Even today, we need to make sure we can start a fire in all conditions. In the past, I’ve used a lighter with a trioxane bar to get a fire going in some very bad weather situations.
Cover
Cover has to do with shelter. You do want something to keep you covered from the elements. This could be something as simple as a tarp. In fact, a tarp might be the best option you have in this department. However, one thing to consider is your clothing.
If you are dressed appropriately, you may already have enough basic shelter. If you’ve read this website much, you’ll realize our philosophy that clothing really is (and always has been) our first form of shelter. If you want to know more about our clothing philosophy, check out this article.
Containers
For long-term survival, you’d also want to have some sort of container on you. Containers are helpful to do many different tasks from drinking, to cooking, to boiling water. Useful containers should be metal so they can be placed directly on the fire.
If you don’t want to bring a metal container, you might be advised to try to keep some sort of water filtration system on hand. I like the Survivor Filter Pro for lots of reasons.
Cordage
The last of the 5 C’s of survivability is cordage. Cordage can be helpful for a variety of tasks. One of the most useful applications is to create shelter. From tying things together, to actually being a ridgepole, cordage is always handy to have along. Perhaps the easiest way to bring extra cordage is by having a length of paracord on hand.
The 6th C
As noted, I’ve added a 6th C to my kit. That 6th element is:
Communication
Communication simply refers to the ability to contact the outside world. While it is important to be able to handle yourself and take care of yourself, the reality is that the world today is different than it was for the trappers of the 1800s. One extremely beneficial advantage is the ability to contact people if you need help. Although many of us enjoy the solitude of the outdoors, it is not in our best interest to deny ourselves emergency communication. Depending on where you go, this could be a cell phone. In more remote areas, I like the DeLorme InReach. Either option can easily be brought along and there when you need it most.
At this point, it might be worth mentioning that these 6 C’s are the recommended items for extended survival. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are the essential items you need to have on you at all times. Like everything, you get to decide and think about what works for you. Depending on where you are camping, you might not find all of them necessary. Personally, where I normally camp, I don’t necessarily find the container to be essential. I’ve got sources of water available that I’m comfortable drinking from without the need to boil. Of course, I’ll still bring a container, but don’t necessarily believe it has to stay on my body.
After you’ve identified what you want to actually have on your person, the next thing is to decide how you want to carry it.
How to Carry Your Essential Camping Tools
As mentioned earlier in this article, the whole point of the possibles bag is to keep the items actually on your person. This is where things can get a little more difficult. If you stick with the possibles idea, you certainly could just carry a satchel with you. Within it, you could easily carry all of the items to cover the 6 C’s except for the tarp. You could also choose to carry them in other ways. Here are some other examples of ways to carry your essential wilderness camping tools.
Cutting
A good fixed-blade knife is handy to have, but it can be difficult to find a convenient way to carry it. However, one historical method solves this problem. Examine the paintings of Alfred Jacob Miller, and you’ll see trappers’ knives strapped on a belt but carried on their backside. This is the pancake sheaths you can see today.
Here you can clearly see the way trappers carried their knives.
Combustion
One nice thing about a lighters is that they don’t take up much room. Dropping a lighter in your pants or shirt pocket keeps them handy in all situations.
Cover
As mentioned, it’s not easy to take cover with you everywhere you go. On the other hand, if you dress appropriately, and know some basic shelter-making strategies, you can protect yourself in most situations. Fortunately, these days we have access to better clothing materials than the frontiersmen had.
Container
Here is another of the 6 C’s that can be inconvenient to carry. However, there are some ideas. One that we’ve used the most is to carry a metal canteen on a strap that goes over one shoulder. Canteens are actually a pretty convenient way to carry water that people seem to have forgotten about. Another way would be to have some sort of hip holster to carry it.
Although containers are part of the 5 C’s philosophy, I personally don’t always need one on me. As mentioned, I usually travel in areas with enough water, and the reality is that if I can communicate with the outside world, I probably don’t need to worry about cooking. Of course, I’ll take containers when I go into the woods, but they might not necessarily have to be on me at all times.
Another option is to have the Survivor Filter Pro on you. This could purify water if you are worried about drinking water even for a short duration.
Cordage
Probably the easiest way to take cordage is to have one of the paracord bracelets that used to be so popular. There are also paracord lanyards that serve the same purpose. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to combine the paracord lanyard with the next item.
Communication
Earlier, I mentioned that I personally find this one of the most important items to have on your body. That’s because, with the right communication technology, you can communicate with the rest of the world in an emergency. People carry phones and other devices in their pockets. I also carry my DeLorme InReach on a lanyard. This keeps it handy, out of the way, and always on me. Again, if you have a paracord lanyard, you can kill two birds with one stone.
In the end, each of us needs to decide what the essential wilderness camping tools are for us. Our geography, physical abilities, and individual situation will ultimately determine what we should carry. However, to some degree, the 6 C’s are universal in that they are some basic considerations. Some people may need to add or subtract items. Of course, that is each person’s responsibility. However, if you decide an item is essential, it’s not a bad idea to ensure it is on you at all times. That may take a little thinking on how to carry it conveniently. If it bothers you, you’ll be less likely to take it along. As a result, you won’t have it when you need it. By looking at history, you may be able to come up with solutions that still work for you in the modern day. In that way, like the frontiersmen of old, you’ll still have everything you possibly need when you need it.