The simple items you carry in your seventy-two hour kit, bug out bag or get home bag (whatever you want to call it) can make a big difference. Take a simple thing like, do you carry a pen or a pencil in case you have to leave a message for someone?
Seems like either one would work, but me I am going to carry the pencil for several reasons.
- A pen can dry out, when left in your backpack.
- You can sharpen your pencil with a pocketknife.
- You can break a pencil and it still works.
- A pencil stored in a backpack is dry wood. You can use wood shaving from your pencil to help start a fire and still save the lead to scratch out a note with.
- You can use a pencil to splint a broken finger.
- It can even be a weapon to stab someone.
These ideas are only some of the things you can do with a pencil, I sure that many of you can think of more. Everything in your pack should have more than one use if possible. For instance, the military and Israeli battle dressings come in a waterproof package, the dressing can be used as dry tinder to help start a fire. If you open the package, the dressing was in carefully, what can you use it for? It could be used to help keep something dry.
Go though your bag and look for the secondary uses for the items you carry. Thinking outside the box may save your life.
Howard
As leverage when applying a tourniquet.