fire steel

My Possibles Pouch

Today I want to share with you what I keep in my possibles pouch. I use a possibles pouch made by The Hidden Woodsmen. This pouch goes with me on any outdoors trip whether I’m hiking, kayaking, camping or hunting. I also take it with me when I go away on vacation, if driving. Below is a list of everything currently in my pouch in no particular order.

Gear List:

1) Complete Fire Kit In A Tin

2) Tin with Char Cloth

3) Suunto MC-2 Compass

4) Pace Beads

5) Headlamp

6) Spare Batteries

7) Hank of 550 Paracord

8) Spool of #36 Bankline

9)Fero Rod 1/2″x6″

10) SOG Powerlock EOD Multi Tool

11) Opinel Folding Knife

12) Pocket Bellows

13) Head Bug Net

14) Waterproof Pen and Notepad

Keep an eye out for my YouTube video that will be posted later today. Just look for Armstrong Survival on YouTube. You’ll get a better and more in-depth look at everything in my possibles pouch and fire kit. What things do you carry in your possibles pouch? Do you keep everything organized in a pouch? What do you think I should/need to add in your opinion? Thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to like and or comment down below.

Fire Practice With Kids After Heavy Rainstorms

Here’s a link to a quick video I did with my three older boys. We had gotten a day of heavy rainstorms the day prior. I was out playing catch with them even though the ground was still saturated. Anyways, I decided it would make a great lesson for them to show them we could still find plenty of dry things to use to start a fire. Watch the video and see if we were successful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwbZp6KSgh8&t=153s

Fire Kit

 

Pictured are some basic fire kits I made for my older three boys, Father and brother for Christmas. I wanted to make the kit compact but encompass more than most kits do. I put everything in a metal tin (similar to an altoids tin) and included a fero rod, 6 ft of jute twine, a piece of chert and a steel striker I designed, made and heat treated.

I used 1095 steel to make the striker. I drilled an indent in each striker so that they can be used as a baring block for the bow drill, primitive friction fire starting technique. I made all the edges 90 degrees so that the edges can be used to scrape wood for fine shavings or be used to scrape a fero rod.

The tin can be used to make char cloth. They have room to add char cloth as well as add some quik tinder or other modern tinder for fire starting. Hopefully sometime soon I’ll be able to sit down and teach them all how to start a flint and steel fire. I did teach my older son, who was excited when his first try was a success. I’m sure they’ll be addicted to starting a fire in the wilderness this way, just as I am. Flint and steel is by far my favorite way to get a fire going. What’s your favorite fire-starting method? Have you ever used flint and steel or any primitive friction methods? I added some pictures of me heat treating the steel strikers in my simple forge.

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Quick Tip #18

Take whatever knife you regularly carry in the wilderness and check the spine on it. If it is rounded over or doesn’t have a good 90 degree edge on it, modify it. Of course this is only if you are willing to make adjustments to your knife. Well wearing proper eye and hand protection you can either use a file, belt sander or grinder to put I nice 90 degree angle on the spine of your knife. With the adjustment to your knife done, you’ll now be able to use a ferocerium rod more efficiently and you can now use the spine of your knife to make fuss by running the spine of your modified knife down certain types of wood. The fuss will just make it that much easier to start a fire. Hope this was informational and someone finds this helpful. Thanks for reading! What modifications have you made to your knife and why?

Quick Tip #17

Here are some simple stocking stuffer ideas for the camper, bushcrafter or outdoor enthusiast in your life.

 

Ferocerium Rod (fire starter)
Magnesium block (fire starter)
UCO stormproof matches or any matches you can find
Bandana or Survival Bandana (Survival Tips printed on it)
Cordage (550 or 850 paracord, 1000# Paramax, bank line or even Jute twine which can also be used as tinder for starting fires.
Small lengths of fat wood
Compass
Pocket knife or Hobo Pocket Knife
Emergency Fishing Kit
Pocket Chainsaw
Emergency Whistle
Carabiners
Emergency Blanket
Emergency Candles
Books (Survival, Tracking, Weather Patterns, Edible Plants, Shelter Building etc…)
Trail Maps
Pre-packaged Camp food or snacks (Jerky, Mountain House, Backpacker Pantry ect…)
Mora Knife
Flashlight or headlamp
Duct Tape
Small Pocket or small camp stove
Emergency Rain Poncho
Emergency light sticks
Hand and feet warmers
Water Filter

 

These are just a few ideas for those that are not sure what to throw in their outdoor enthusiasts Christmas stocking. There are plenty of other small useful things that will fit in a Christmas stocking but if you are not sure what to fill that stocking with feel free to use this list to help you out. What outdoor themed things are you putting in a Christmas stocking this year that may not be on this list?

Quick Tip #15

Home Depot, as well as some other stores, sells bags of Fat Wood in their fireplace sections during this time of year. Grab a large bag for around $5-$6. You can add a few pieces to your fire kits or emergency bag for quick access to some good quality dry tinder. You can even add a small bundle to any outdoor enthusiasts stocking and I’m sure they will thank you. When you’re ready to use it just shave it down and add a flame or spark from a ferocerium rod. So pick some up and give it a try!

 

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Inexpensive Quality Knives

You don’t have to spend a ton of money for a decent bushcraft or survival knife. Now I do agree in most cases that you get what you pay for but there are some exceptions to the rule. I own some expensive knives but this year I have mostly just carried my Mora companion, with attached fire kit, and an Esee Avispa folder. Both of which are fairly inexpensive, not overly heavy but are very well made knives. I also usually take a small hatchet for cutting up firewood so I’m not using my knife to baton wood (I just prefer to save my knives from this abuse if I can).

Mora makes great quality products that can take abuse but at an expense that you wont mind if you loose or damage it. I have added a fire kit to the outside of mine. The fire kit consists of a ferocerium rod, 1 piece of quik tinder (burns for 2 minutes) and is attacked with a 1 1/2″ ranger band. The Mora knife I carry is made of high carbon steel. This is a great quality for bushcraft or survival but also means the knife blade needs more care and cleaning. It is highly worth it in my mind.

The Esee Avispa is a great addition to the Mora. I carry a pocket knife on me daily because I find I use it and need it a lot. So it’s only natural for me to be carrying a folder. The blade on the Avispa is made of Aus-8 stainless steel. I like to have a stainless steel folding knife as a companion to any high carbon steel fixed blade I would be carrying because it saves me from pulling out my fixed blade knife every time I need to cut something and the stainless blade needs less care and upkeep than the high carbon steel blade needs. Also I like the fact that if I loose one knife I’ll still have one available to me instead of loosing my only knife and having nothing else to use.

These two knives together weigh less than one more expensive bushcraft or survival knife by themselves. For about $50-$70 you could have a great set up for your wilderness adventures. Before anyone complains, what about this knife or that knife, I know there are many great and expensive bushcraft and survival knives out there as well as better folders but these just happen to be what I’m carrying a lot these days and I think this is a great setup for those that can’t afford much or don’t want to spend a lot on one or two knives. These are fairly inexpensive knives but are better quality than their price portrays.

I hope this was helpful to some and an encouragement that you don’t need to spend a ton of money on gear to go out and enjoy the wilderness. Feel free to let me know what your favorite knife or knives are to carry on your wilderness adventures. As always get out there and enjoy the wilderness and maybe even relax and unwind a bit.

My 10 Survival Items I would take if I were on History channels new show “Alone”

I’ve seen the previews a couple times for this new T.V. show called “Alone” that debuted on the History channel last week. I also got to catch the end of the first episode that was rerun on Father’s Day. Ever since I saw the preview I’ve thought to myself what 10 items would I take if I were on this show and had to survive with only those ten items and the clothes I was wearing. So here are the ten items that I came up with after much thought.

1)            Gransfors Bruks 430 Scandinavian Axe: Having a good quality axe would make my chances of surviving in the wilderness much higher. I would be able to process larger amounts of wood for fires as well as build a more permanent shelter to survive in modest comfort and possibly beat my competition.

2)            SOG Powerlock EOD Multi tool: To be honest I did have a quality bushcraft knife here to begin with but the more I thought about it, it made more sense to have a good quality multi tool instead. To me the multi tool is more useful than a single knife. I already would have an axe and I could possibly fashion a primitive knife out of things in the environment, the pliers alone would be very useful.

3)            Buck Saw (Homemade): Having a saw would make processing wood quicker and easier as well as take some of the wear and tear off of the axe.

4)            Lansky “The Puck” Tool Sharpener: Why have all these quality cutting tools without an easy quick way to keep them sharp and functioning properly.

5)            Fire Steel Rod: For obvious reasons I would want an ignition source to be able to create fire.

6)            Sawyer Personal Water Bottle: As long as nothing malfunctions, this water bottle will filter 1,000,000 gallons of water (should outlast my competition). That alone would give me an advantage over my competition. By being able to purify water right away on day 1 without needing to process wood for a fire as well as spending time trying to get a fire going, I would put myself in a better position of staying well hydrated. By having an easy way to stay hydrated I would be able to use precious energy elsewhere.

7)            Stainless Steel 3qt. Kettle Cook Pot: For cooking as well as collecting and boiling water if the water filter were to fail.

8)            550 cord: I would fill my cook pot with as much 550 cord (one continuous length) as would fit. We’ll just leave it at as many uses as your imagination or skill will allow.

9)            Hennessy Hammock Shelter: Not sure if this is allowed or would be considered more than one item. If allowed, my reasons for taking this shelter system are; Quick setup time, off the ground sleeping, very comfortable, easy to stay dry and should last for a while well building a more permanent shelter to outlast the competition.  If not allowed, I would take a tarp, possibly made out of oiled canvas, ripstop nylon or Cuban fiber.

10)          -15 degree sleeping bag: Obviously the warmer I could stay and more comfortable I could be would help me possibly outlast the competition. With that being said if I couldn’t use the Hennessey Hammock Shelter I would probably go with a high quality wool blanket instead. The wool blanket would more than likely hold up much better over the long haul than the sleeping bag would.

These are the 10 items I would take if I were to be on this T.V. show. This is not the perfect list by any means but it’s the list I put together if I were going to try to survive and win the show. Making the early days and weeks as comfortable and “easy” as possible would help keep me in a better frame of mind. That was my thinking when I put this list together. By having an easy way to stay hydrated and an easy dry shelter that would also keep me warm and off the ground, would be huge on the very first night and days to follow. With a very short setup time I would be able to have a comfortable shelter and water, all without ever doing very much work. That would leave me free to set snares and process firewood.  Your list would probably look different than mine so let me know in the comments section what you would take and why. Thanks for reading and as always get out and enjoy nature.

Quick Tip #1

When using any type of fire starting rod, make sure to place the tip of the rod on or into the tinder that you are trying to start. Then run your striker down the rod, while keeping the rod still, instead of pulling back on the rod. This will keep the hottest sparks close to the tinder and give you a much better chance at getting the tinder lit. Hope this helps and go out and test your fire starting skills. As always do everything in a safe manner and at your own risk.