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Wilderness Drum > Wilderness Gear > Tips and Tricks | ||
— Gary Snyder This section is for discussing gear – tips, tricks, suggestions, opinions, and rants. This section is where I describe all sorts of odds and ends, tricks, gadgets, and neat stuff from people you might not have heard of. Some of this stuff you may already know you need, but not know where to find it. Some of it you might not know you need yet, but may be inspired by the description. Some of this stuff is made by very nice people who would be grateful for your business. Here are mostly things that I have found useful, and which make up in usefulness for any weight or size they might have. Everybody has a favorite gadget or two like that, and I would love to hear about it.
You can still find Ensolite pads in some camping and surplus stores. Adventure Gear sells a 72” roll of half-inch-thick black Ensolite for $25, and a 72” roll of half-inch-thick R3 closed-cell foam for $15.85; Campmor sells a 60” Evazote pad that weights seven ounces and costs $17.97. REI sells the closed-cell foam Therm-A-Rest Ridge Rest, 72” long and weighing fourteen ounces, for $19.00; REI also sells a 56” length of old-fashioned blue Ensolite, weighing seven and a half ounces, for just $10.00. Now take one of these pads, cut it in half, and give half to a friend. Next time you are going to sleep in the wilderness, take the piece of closed-cell foam, slip it under your hips where they rest on the ground, and sleep comfortably. Put a rolled-up poncho under your feet to keep them off the ground.
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It comes again to an understanding of the subtle but critical difference of meaning between the terms nature and wild. Nature is the subject, they say, of science. Nature can be deeply probed, as in microbiology. The wild is not to be made subject or object in this manner; to be approached it must be admitted from within, as a quality intrinsic to who we are. Nature is ultimately in no way endangered; wilderness is.
Dr. Bronner’s Soap This is the all-natural, biodegradable, little-bit-goes-a-long-way soap as originally made by the incomparable Dr. E. H. Bronner, who saw his soap as the messenger of his vision of universal Full-Truth All-One-God-Faith, and filled the labels of his wonderful soaps with the inspired words of people from all walks of life, past and present, translated through his own idiosyncratic and unique genius. Typical label excerpt: “Then if you can work hard to teach each unforgiving minute the Moral ABC that unites all mankind free, come hell, hate, ban, you’ll enjoy God’s spaceship Earth and do great work within it!” If you are ever bored in the woods, you can spend hours just reading the label. And it is really good soap. One caution for women: I am told that this product is less gentle than some others on delicate female body parts. Try it at home before you take it somewhere irrevocable.
Krill Light Stick This is a small, light, battery-powered cryoluminescent stick. Twist it and you get a warm green glow that does not attract insects or affect your night vision. The light lasts over forty hours on a set of two AA batteries. The light is just about bright enough to read by, if you strain at it. But plant your walking stick in the ground by your bivy and hang this light from it, and you will have light enough to set up gear, get yourself ready for bed, frighten off bogey men, and find your way back when you wander off to pee in the middle of the night. It is tiny and weighs about two and a half ounces, so it is worth tossing into your pack.
Integral Designs Siltarp I truly love this thing. It is a tarp, in either 5’ X 8’ or 8’ X 10’ size, made of parachute ripstop nylon impregnated with silicon, strong and resilient without being bulky or heavy, with a reinforced center patch with a webbing loop and 16 webbing loop tie-outs around the outside edge for setting up. And it packs up into a really tiny ball – literally small enough to fit in your pocket. I generally dislike tents, because they cut me off from the world and keep me from seeing the stars, but I am also not crazy about getting wet. Like any tarp, it can flap annoyingly in the wind, but, apart from that, this tarp is a perfect solution. 
Big Sky Bistro Outside Magazine said that this is ”a device so elegantly functional that Frank Lloyd Wright would be envious.” It is a big thermally insulated cup that weighs 7.1 ounces. You put water in the cup, put in some ground coffee – just like cowboy coffee so far, right? – put on the lid, press down the filter attached to the plunger, and you have fresh brewed coffee without grounds. This is, in fact, just like one of those French glass coffee makers, except that this is lightweight, unbreakable, and you can drink the coffee right out of the cup. Rock & Ice Magazine wrote that "this ranks as one of the best new products of the late 20th century," and they're right. The cups are made by the very nice Mark Porter at 
Pak-Hats Maty Cates needed a hat and couldn’t find one that fit her needs, so she created the SkyLite Pak-Hat at her kitchen table, as well as a company, Lights of the Sky, Ltd., to make it. These hats, made of breathable nylon, are – even when they are wet – tough, lightweight, wind- and water-resistant, offer UV protection (30+ UPF), and can be scrunched down into a tiny ball. They are the Swiss Army Knife of hats, and come in several different weights for warmer or colder weather. I have worn mine from desert to jungle. Alas, the Lights of the Sky Web site appears to be down more or less permanently, and I have searched in vain for any alternative source. If you can find one of these, buy it.
Permethrin This stuff is a pyrethroid insecticide that you put on your clothes – either by spraying or soaking – instead of your skin. Permethrin is a contact insecticide, with the same active ingredient as that used in shampoos for head lice. When applied to clothing, the Permethrin binds to the fabric, eliminating exposure to the skin, which won’t hurt you – it is approved for use on skin by the FDA – but will deactivate the permethrin within fifteen minutes. I find that using permethrin lets me use a lot less DEET. When you spray it on your socks and pants legs, it helps to keep away ticks; sprayed on your shirt, it is an effective repellent against mosquitoes and flies. Spray applications of Permethrin can remain effective up to fourteen days of exposure to light or oxygen, or through two aggressive washings. By storing the treated clothing in black plastic bags between uses the fourteen days of protection can be extended considerably. If necessary, a heavier application, made by soaking the clothes in the solution, can remain effective even longer. When I go in the jungle, I soak my mosquito netting in this stuff, along with the cotton sleeping bag liner I use to sleep in. One day while I was out hunting plants, a column of jungle ants decided they wanted to nest in my sleeping area. Result: dead ants.
Tritium Watches It is the middle of the night, pitch black, drizzling rain, and miserably cold. You are wide awake and listening to strange snuffling and grunting noises somewhere nearby in the dark. The question is: how long until dawn? That is why I really like watches that have tritium-illuminated hands and hour markers. The little tritium capsules are really bright, glow all the time, and last for at least ten years; held next to a page, they are just about bright enough to read by. So you can tell that, if you can survive for just four more hours, you can get up and greet the sun with a cup of hot coffee. Watches with tritium hands and hour markers come in all prices, depending primarily on how fancy or sturdy the watch housing is. One note of caution: if you absolutely definitely do not want to be seen, you will have to buy a watch band that lets you cover over the watch face with a Velcro tab.
Musical instruments How about a portable guitar to take into the woods with you? Or a hammered dulcimer, autoharp, didgeridoo, penny whistle, jaw harp, bodhram, kazoo, or ocarina? 
Woodsman’s Pal Forget your machete, your big knife, and your axe. This odd-shaped tool replaces them all, whether you want to trim, prune, blaze trails, brush out lines, remove unwanted growth, or build an expedient shelter or sweat lodge. It weighs 23 ounces and is 17” long. It feels even lighter than it is, because it is so well balanced: it's no accident that its length approximates that of the human forearm from elbow to knuckle. It has a high carbon steel blade that will not crack or chip even in subzero temperatures. The Woodsman’s Pal was first designed in 1941 by Frederick Ehrsam for use by professionals in forestry, agriculture, and horticulture. It has been standard issue in the U.S. Military from the early part of World War II through Desert Storm. At the time of the Vietnam War, the Woodman's Pal was designated the ”Survival Tool, Type IV” and was issued in air crew survival kits. It was designed by Americans, it is made of American materials, and it is still crafted by hand in Pennsylvania by 
Closed cell foam sleeping pads Closed-cell foam pads, such as Ensolite or Evazote, are made out of dense foam filled with tiny closed air cells which are completely surrounded by foam and not interconnected. As a result, closed-cell foam does not compress easily, yet provides good padding, since the air cells in the foam are completely encapsulated. The trapped air cells provide excellent insulation. Closed-cell foam pads are cheap, durable, nonabsorbent, extremely insulative, and will not leak. On the other hand, they tend to be stiff, bulky, and occasionally hard to roll up. For years I slept happily in the wilderness using nothing but a two-foot-square piece of Ensolite under my hips. When my old bones started to get achy, I invested in a fancy self-inflating Therm-A-Rest, which sprung an unfindable leak on my very next trip. I am now back to the Ensolite. 
Alcohol Gel Hand Wash The single most important cause of gastrointestinal illness in the wilderness is – you should pardon the expression – oral-fecal contamination. Sure, your hands are clean, but what about that guy whose turn it is to cook dinner tonight? Alcohol gel is made by Purell, Lysol, and other manufacturers, is relatively inexpensive, and really kills viruses and bacteria on your hands. The Centers for Disease Control recently issued guidelines saying that hand washing with soap is no longer good enough for hospitals. Instead, doctors and nurses should use alcohol gel; it is more convenient than soap and water and kills more germs. A relatively small bottle lasts a long time. Use it yourself before cooking or eating and every time after urinating or defecating, and insist that everyone else use it too.
Therm-A-Rest Easy Chair I laughed at these things for years, thinking they were for sissies and wusses. Then I tried one, and, believe me, I saw the light. The Therm-A-Rest type camp chairs are designed to have a Therm-A-Rest mattress slipped inside, but – and here’s the secret – you don’t have to. They support your back just fine without one. Since this is just a frame for a mattress, it weighs only 10 ounces, compared to 1 lb. 4 oz. for a Crazy Creek Camp Chair, which has the pad built in. Take your half a closed-cell foam pad and slip it under your butt, lean back, and tell lies around the campfire in comfort.
Bandanas Bandanas are the single most useful thing you can carry with you. You can use one as a dust mask, a towel, a strainer for muddy water, a dish dryer, a pot holder, a sling for a broken arm, a bandage, an aid in hand signaling, to protect the back of your neck from sunburn, to cover the face of the dead, and, of course, as a head covering. The only problem is that regular 22” bandanas are really too small to make comfortable triangular do-rags. There are several solutions to this problem. Of course, you can cut and hem a larger piece of cloth yourself. You can use the Navy SEAL trick of making a head covering out of a 37" x 37" x 52" triangular muslin bandage. 
Tracks Sherlock Walking Staff I always use a walking stick. As wilderness survival expert Ron Hood puts it, a walking stick turns you from an unstable biped into a stable tripod. You can, of course, cut a willow stalk to serve as a walking stick, as long as there is willow around. But what do you use among the tumbled boulders in the desert of, say, Eureka Valley? I like this particular model. It has a comfortable non-slip foam grip with an adjustable nylon wrist strap, and it folds down to 34” so you can stick it handily in the side compression straps of your backpack. It has a push-button telescoping shaft which adjusts every 1 1/4'' up to 56'' long. It is a lot better than a twisted ankle in the desert.
Seattle Sombrero Scrunch this up next to your poncho for when it rains. This lightweight and packable hat, made by Outdoor Research, has a waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex and nylon crown with a moisture-wicking lining, a brim that can be turned up and secured with Velcro tabs, a chin strap, and an internal cinch-band size adjustment system. It weighs virtually nothing, can be packed down small, and has earned Gore’s "Guaranteed to Keep You Dry" rating. When the weather is hot, soak it in water and put it on your head. I wore this hat for two days floating on a hand-built raft down the Rio Blanco in the Peruvian Amazon with Gerineldo Moises Chavez, and it protected me from rain and sun.
Fire Starters Some of the best artificial flint fire starters I know come from a pleasant little company called 
Notesaf™ tablet holder It is amazing how handy this little thing is. It is a nylon packcloth cover for a 3” x 5” or 4” x 6” notepad, with places to put a pen, pencil, minicalculator, tiny flashlight, or other small item. It was originally developed to fill an Army requirement calling for a convenient tablet holder that could hold accessories and fit in a BDU cargo pocket, which is just what it does. It closes with a hook-and-pile tab. You can get it – exclusively, as far as I know – at 
Polyethylene bags Here is a source for those hard-to-find heavy-duty polyethylene bags, both small zip-lock bags and large industrial trash bags, as well as all different kinds of heavy-duty plastic sheeting for ground cloths, making shelters, and building expedient sweat lodges. 
The Sierra Stove Also called a zip stove, this neat device – a substitute for the usual butane and white gas stoves – burns twigs, bark, pine cones, and other woods readily available around a campsite, as well as charcoal and other solid fuels. The stove incorporates an adjustable speed fan, creating a forced ventilation system that provides intense heat and efficient burning. It weighs only one pound, yet, according to the manufacturer, creates up to 18,000 BTU per hour – enough heat to boil a quart of water in four minutes. A single AA battery powers the fan for six hours. What this means is that you don’t have to carry fuel; you can burn the detritus you find on the forest floor. You can also buy a Sierra Set, with a stainless steel kettle with frying pan cover, a wraparound wind screen, and a cross grate for burning long sticks; the stove packs neatly inside the kettle. You can get it from its manufacturer, 
Wilderness Fabrics So you want to make your own outdoor gear – sew up your tent, tarp, or sleeping bag, make your own fleece clothing or ultralight backpack. The problem. of course, is to find the fabric. 