What Gear is Essential

[walkerchris77]

He he

[Warin]

Personal/ First Aid needs some work.
Include- A space blanket... you know, just in case. And well, if you are even contemplating not taking a sleeping bag you may just need it! Also, a triangular bandage (multitude of uses for first aid)

A shirt or tshirt can be fashioned into a quite effective 'triangular bandage' and they usually already have it on. You will need at least one safety pin.

, some crepe bandages

Nup. Compression bandages for snake bites etc. You want more than one to cover a leg.

, tape, scissors, tape, bushmans/ airogaurd

Insect repellent is not first aid .. it is a comfort aid.

, hydration tablets, some water purification tabs as a back up to your straw (which you may get rather frustrated with, kind of like drinking heavy ice cream through a straw at McD's!). You will need some band aids

Band aids are unlikely to save a life short term, consider them to be comfort aid.

, and some gauze

Non stick.

, disposable gloves, and possibly some antiseptic creme

I prefer a powder - tends to stop the bleeding, making bandage application easier. In th etropics you want a powder not a cream nor a liquid.

and some alcohol wipes (can be used to help start a fire if you need in an emergency as well as the usual), Panadol

Panadol = comfort aid.

, aspirin (aspirin can be used in first aid to help anyone with a suspected heart attack, and well, you are in that age category, take some.) String can be handy too.

Strings is avalible from tent guys, laundry line, shoe laces.

First aid gear is a priority not an after thought.

First aid gear should be preceded by a first aid course. Preferably one that caters for your circumstance. Most courses assume your going to get help within 30 minutes, if your going remote at all it could be much longer than that and you'll want a much longer course.

Tip- use their first aid or any other gear of theirs for treatment - they are going to leave so their gear is not required. Your going to stay so your gear is required - including your first aid kit.

[rcaffin]

Compression bandages for snake bites etc. You want more than one to cover a leg.

Not, mind you, that many experienced walkers have ever been bitten: we know to avoid. Excess weight.

Insect repellent is not first aid .. it is a comfort aid.

Yeah, right.

Band aids are unlikely to save a life short term, consider them to be comfort aid.

Funny - they are the thing that gets used all the time. I suppose it is' comforting' to not be dripping blood all over my clothing.

Aspirin

Just remember that some people are allergic to any NSAID (eg aspirin) and can easily die. The ambos have to deal with it all the time.

It may be worth remembering that First Aid is just that. It is not ER in a major hospital.

But I agree with the string, torn up clothing and safety pins. Rarely needed in practice, but negligible weight.

Cheers
Roger

[peregrinator]

Compression bandages for snake bites etc. You want more than one to cover a leg.

Not, mind you, that many experienced walkers have ever been bitten: we know to avoid. Excess weight.

Roger

If you’re prepared to die for the sake of carrying 61 grams (just weighed mine), then . . . I’m lost for words.

Other than to ask, should I also ditch the PLB that weighs a massive 194 grams?

[Lamont]

This is so, so easy- this little number
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Glantop-Alu ... wLbgT-fqJA
weighs about 130 grams (this is the slightly lighter aluminium but I have about 300-400 uses up and it is still like new), put your coffee inside and it is tiny. Got one for my daypack and one for my big rucksack. Sat on the beach at Point Addis this morning, 12ks into a 22km walk, drinking coffee from this- Perfetto!
If anyone wants the dimensions just ask. Ciao ciao.

[Zapruda]

This is so, so easy- this little number
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Glantop-Alu ... wLbgT-fqJA
weighs about 130 grams (this is the slightly lighter aluminium but I have about 300-400 uses up and it is still like new), put your coffee inside and it is tiny. Got one for my daypack and one for my big rucksack. Sat on the beach at Point Addis this morning, 12ks into a 22km walk, drinking coffee from this- Perfetto!
If anyone wants the dimensions just ask. Ciao ciao.

Brilliant idea! And 130 grams is definitely worth it. Nothing like the smell of a Moka pot steaming away in the bush.

[Lamont]

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=8883&start=120
there is a picture of the little devil at the above link FYI

[slparker]

This is so, so easy- this little number
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Glantop-Alu ... wLbgT-fqJA
weighs about 130 grams (this is the slightly lighter aluminium but I have about 300-400 uses up and it is still like new), put your coffee inside and it is tiny. Got one for my daypack and one for my big rucksack. Sat on the beach at Point Addis this morning, 12ks into a 22km walk, drinking coffee from this- Perfetto!
If anyone wants the dimensions just ask. Ciao ciao.

Brilliant idea! And 130 grams is definitely worth it. Nothing like the smell of a Moka pot steaming away in the bush.

Just ordered one myself. Lighter than my aeropress...

[Lamont]

G'day Splarker,
apparently there is some variability in the weight according to crollsurf (his is a wee bit heavier-but he agrees with me it seems on the quality which is tops)so it may be a tad heavier but the size should be identical.
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=8883&start=120

G

[crollsurf]

Yeah, very happy with the Moka 1

My mobile phone is now essential, especially since I bought the new fandangle Galaxy S9+. These new phones, iPhone X and Pixel 2 included, are so good in so many ways. S9 is dust-proof and water-proof to 1 metre, so care free.

Navigation: If the map is downloaded, the response is immediate. The screen resolution is amazing. Accuracy is more than good enough.

Entertainment: The sound out of this phone is reasonable, even better sitting in a pot. A pair of buds, tuned to your hearing and they are excellent. Image quality is well above expectations if you want to watch a Netflix download in your tent at night.

Camera: Probably the best thing about these flagship 2017/2018 phones. They squeeze a lot out of a 12MP Camera, optical image stabilization and a whole lot of software working in the background. The screen works very well when lining up a shot, even in direct sunlight. Yes, with direct sunlight on the screen! Thats a little bit special when hiking. The S9+ has a 2x zoom, even better.
I would still take my 24MP compact for the money shots but it sits in my pack now, if I take it at all. For macro, around camp and happy snaps of views along the way, they give a quality good enough for your laptop or the average computer screen.

Other than a PLB, my phone is second on the list of essential gear. It wont stop you freezing at night though!

[Lamont]

Your camera shoots RAW too! Shoot one RAW+Jpeg. I like the RAW version slightly auto tuned using Snapseed on the S7 it is a bit bit less "refined."
Download Snapseed if you haven't already it is just perfect! -quick edit of the raw image and hey presto.
Camera still required ?...... maybe. For me, not any more.
I have printed A3 from the phone and the images from my S7 are good (which I have) and yours is quite a step up!

[crollsurf]

Your camera shoots RAW too! Shoot one RAW+Jpeg. I like the RAW version slightly auto tuned using Snapseed on the S7 it is a bit bit less "refined."
Download Snapseed if you haven't already it is just perfect! -quick edit of the raw image and hey presto.
Camera still required ?...... maybe. For me, not any more.
I have printed A3 from the phone and the images from my S7 are good (which I have) and yours is quite a step up!

Thanks Lamont. A quick search on RAW only returned apps that cost $$ or $$$. I'll give Snapseed a look.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

[Lamont]

Forgot to say, Snapseed is free! Their RAW facility is quite new, it always edited Jpegs
It is really intuitive and so simple to use. Have a play. With a bit of mucking around you can put it on your pc. Cheers.

[Brent_D]

Personal/ First Aid needs some work.

First aid gear should be preceded by a first aid course. Preferably one that caters for your circumstance. Most courses assume your going to get help within 30 minutes, if your going remote at all it could be much longer than that and you'll want a much longer course.

They do exist, but most places will expect your to have done and have good basic knowledge first. At work we get paid to do a 3 day remote “first aid” course every 3 years.

It goes a fair way beyond what most people would consider practical and most of the injuries/illnesses wouldn’t come up hiking. If you’ve got a plb there is only a handful of places that are actually that remote (outside of weather related delays) in Aus. Outside Aus is different story.

[potato]

Yes, I do remote area first aid as a requirement of my work. Not cheap, but worth doing especially if you can get work to pay for it.

[Gadgetgeek]

Its shocking how fast a place that is "accessible" goes to not the moment you need an evac, PLB or not. I know its a bit preaching to the choir here, but anyone on the fence about a wilderness course, if you can afford decent gear, you can afford the course, and you'll learn a lot!
As for wilderness first aid, the curriculum is getting better. and the more people who take it, the course providers will only get better at it. I do wish that there was less of a "professionals only" attitude, but maybe that's just my exposure.

Experience doesn't buy luck, and all of the wilderness pros I know have had a snakebite or near miss either personally or in the group they were with. At some stage there does get to be some "member measuring" about who carries most or least, but either way, I think that if your ego is making gear choices, its probably gone wrong.

Current essential gear is my Garmin inReach mini. Mostly for the messaging, its likely that if I did have to SOS, I'll need to also let home know if its for me or someone else, and given my medical history the tracking makes it a better choice than just a plb. The subscription may be a turn off for many, and I'll be honest, not done as much solo as I'd have liked since I got it (isn't that a common tune) but its the freedom that it represents for me that is important.

I also want to point out that while it may be obvious, any gear has to fit any patterns/habits/tactics/training that the person has. On another forum someone asked about the suitability of a certain survival strategy for getting caught out in a blizzard that they had read about. They rightly pointed out all the ways it would not work for them or their location. However for the context of the person in the story, it made perfect sense to me, having also been taught how to respond to a similar situation at a similar age to the person in the story. Point is, the internet is full of people who's skills and gear fit them so well that it would be foolish to follow them, and yet since they are "experts" its tempting to ignore our own experience, skills, and capabilities.

[CBee]

For me personally, Neurofen tablets are an essential piece of gear. Not for my hiking buddies though, so they never carry painkillers. And it's all good because they just keep using mines.
But it's impossible to write a definitive list of essential gear as I have carried snake bite bandage for many years and never came near a snake attack, but I know someone who was bitten in the City while walking in a busy park.

[farefam]

After my last walk, where I left it behind to save weight, I really missed having my beanie in the evening. So that has moved into my "essential" category.

[Moondog55]

After my last walk, where I left it behind to save weight, I really missed having my beanie in the evening. So that has moved into my "essential" category.

The more head hair I lose the more "essential" mine is