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Equipment List Discussion for Pathfinder Basics

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Tags: Dave Canterbury,Survival,Bushcraft,Archery,Pathfinder,The Pathfinder School LLC,The Pathfinder Store

Video Transcription

morning guys I'm Dave Canterbury the Pathfinder school what I wanted to do today was I wanted to have a discussion about the items that you bring to a basic survival class at the Pathfinder school we have a lot of requests for information on this what should I bring what should I not bring what do I need what am I not going to need and we have a list out there available on our website and the classes stay pretty full both the basic and the advanced survival classes but what I want to show you was a list of equipment or a set of equipment that I think will do the most good or give you the most enjoyment out of your class and why I think these items are the best for you and why I think they're the most versatile and what I've done is I've assembled all of this into a military but pack and a woodland camouflage military day pack type situation and you can just this right here you can get pretty cheap at an army surplus store gun show something like that you can obtain these items pretty inexpensively and they'll give you a good heavy-duty backpacking system that you can use for one two three days maybe a little longer than that even but they will sustain you very well and give you all the versatility you need to be able to add pouches if you want to not add pouches put things in different pockets they've got a couple different open buckets in them that you can use so you can arrange your gear the way you want to it's easily accessible to you but I think if the material these are made out of being a US military spec type material they're going to last a long time for the money that you're going to spend you can generally find these but packs for about $10 at a gun show you can generally find this assault pack I believe it's called for about $35 and then any exterior pouches that you buy will cost you a little extra there's like a first-aid type pouch here that I've got backline in it's about ten bucks probably

and then another canteen pouch on the outside that probably would have cost another somewhere between ten dollars five to ten dollars and then I've got a grenade pouch that I use for my compass on the outside over here that probably cost about three dollars so you're going to have a little bit of money wrapped up in your carrying system but when you're done with it it should be modular it should be versatile and you should be able to arrange your gear in it so it's very easy for you to get two on the fly when you need to or eat in the dark without a headlight and that's the important thing about smaller packs and things that don't have a lot of pockets on the compartment says there's only so many places that your things can be and if you arrange them correctly you'll be able to find them easily even in the dark okay so first let's talk about obviously our number one priority which is our cutting tools in the spring and summertime even in the fall you're going to get away without having an axe easy enough you don't need one if you've got a decent folding saw and by decent I mean a bahco laplander the only folding saw I would trust 25 26 bucks money well spent for sure a decent multi-tool like a Leatherman super tool 300 is going to give you a lot of tools on it you'll be able to use it's got smaller saw some smaller knives screwdrivers pliers things like that you'll be able to use at the clasp to help you to perform functions quickly and easily the knife now I would prefer to see you carrying a full tang knife obviously like the Pathfinder Scout or something that has got a full tang on but I would rather see you have a knife that was not full tang like the bushcraft black that at least met the other criteria that needs to meet that has a 90-degree spine on it for striking feral rods and it's also made of high carbon steel throw that so that with flint it will actually throw sparks if it will do that it's going to do everything you need to do you're not going to beat on this knife at the basic class you're going to use your saw the process wood you're not going to need a knife for that we're going to break a lot of sticks so if you have these three cutting tools you'll be in good shape all three of these are available at the Pathfinder school store okay let's talk about combustion for a minute you're going to want to bring a ferrocerium rod most ferrocerium rods are pretty much created equal other than handles the handles fall off the cheaper ones because the epoxy is not very good no matter what kind you buy I've had them fall off the $5 ones off our website I've had them fall off the $20 light my fires it doesn't matter the handles probably going to come off you're better off just taking that handle off the bat and rolling duct tape around it that little saw blade that they give you with that thing does not throw sparks worth a darn it'll throw a little big sparks but it won't throw major-league Sparks and take material off of this thing it's going to give you molten magnesium to help you start a stubborn fire what's important is that you have a good striking device and your knife like we talked about has that good 90-degree edge on it like this more of bushcraft black you're going to be able to get all kinds of sparks off of this thing to start fire with the striker is more important than the Ferro rod most parrots are about the same so you're going to want a decent pair of rod you wrap duct tape around it you just made it multifunctional because now it will help you extend your fire by using a duct tape you're going to want some steel wool you're going to want a piece of Flint as I demonstrate striking the back of that more bushcraft black you can also use a sharp piece of Flint for striking your fair ride in an emergency we'll talk about that as well in class you're going to want to magnifying glass of some kind and if you get the right compass you can forego the magnifying glass because your compass will start fire and we'll talk about that later on as well I've done a video on that recently and then some type of surefire device I would recommend mini inferno as your surefire device because you will be able to use this on the last day and we will use it for smoke generators and things like that you're going to make fire in a variety of ways in a variety of weather conditions out here at the Pathfinder school but if you have these basic items for starting your fire a ferrocerium rod a magnifying glass or the one on your compass that will work a pound of steel wool a good piece of Flint and some mini inferno a micro inferno you're going to be in good shape or combusted

okay so let's talk about your cover element really quick you're going to want some type of emergency reusable space blanket the grabber or the solo2 we saw on our website those are the two that worked the best they're orange on one side reflective mylar any other so they can double as a signaling device as well as providing a microclimate for you you also need a couple three mil 55-gallon drum liners just a straight military wool blanket will do a queen-size is better for the basic class one military wool blanket in a military fashion will work for the intermediate class are going to need two of these sewn together to make a queen size or a queen size wool blanket then as far as your ground mat goes you can use any type of exercise mat roll-up military might of any kind or something like this blow-up mattress or air mattress that's made called the trekker compact by multi mat any of those will work for you for what you're going to use them for as far as keeping your body from suffering from conduction in the base of class to set up an emergency shelter okay let's talk about your container really quick you're going to use your container for a lot of things at the Pathfinder basic class we're going to show you the multi functionality of your container so you're going to need a good metal water bottle doesn't matter whether you have a metal water bottle or metal canteen either one of them will work they need to be stainless steel if possible so they can be put into the fire without worries of seams melting or anything like that if they're willing together like aluminum because you're going to make char cloth in these bottles as well so they're going to be directly in the fire with no liquid in them they have to be strong and robust either the Pathfinder 32 ounce water bottle or the stainless steel canteen ward for that as well as any clean canteen but you want it to be at least 32 ounces out of minimum now you're going to want two things with that you're going to want a a nesting cup and again it doesn't matter if you bring the canteens up but if you've got a canteen cup you're still going to need a metal canteen or metal water bottle a stove stand will give you a big advantage when it comes to pulling your water because it's going to allow you to get that thing raised above the flame now you're getting a little sneak peak here at the Pathfinder pack stove for your water bottle it's not released yet we should have them in stock soon but I'm giving you the sneak peak my dad will probably kill me for that but this is the prototype that we use for testing it fits on the bottom and that's right on the bottom of the Pathfinder cup water bottle sits right inside of it for one unit just like the Canton cutting stem system work together in unison as well so either one of these systems I would recommend for everything that you're going to need at the Pathfinder school

the thing is that you want to understand is this is a testing ground for the gear that you have obviously but at the same time if you have the right gear and you can easily accomplish tasks when they're given to you it will make your experience much more enjoyable and if you get the right stuff to begin with you'll figure out what the versatility these items are and why we recommend these items so that will take care of your container issue as far as any container type things that you would need to pass or to participate in the Pathfinder school basic class ok cordage you're going to need a couple of different types of cords at the Pathfinder school paracord will come in real handy for making ridge lines and stringing up tarps for emergency shelters and things like that your tarde Mariners bank line will come in handy for everything else from bindings to lashings to the other knots that you're going to tie with your paracord on your ridgeline like your pro 6 and things like that a combination of 5,200 feet of paracord and a 1 pound roll number 36 back line will definitely get you through everything that you need the TIE fighters cool when you have plenty left when you leave here for your kit ok so let's talk about the last five seas that you're going to use in the class

and what you should get as far as that goes now as far as your cotton cloth goes your cotton bandana I don't care if you've got six square feet of cotton material of any color shape or form but the thicker that material is the better off you're going to be this is just like bed sheet material heavy duty thread count bed sheet material this is just like a drive-on rack piece of a drive-on rag and there's another piece of a military like drive-on rack or cravat any of that stuff will work and you don't have to have a ton of it you just have to have a little of it once you got about three to six square feet you should have plenty for what you're going to need for this class that gives you your hygiene it also gives you ways that you will be able to make char cloth bandages and things that nature if needed so nothing special there let's talk about cargo tape I've got two rolls of one inch duct tape here this is gorilla brand

I recommend nothing else by gorilla brand duct tape period don't bring anything else you're wasting your time I recommend it to install and a one inch roll but a minimum of two one inch rolls and that much squeeze you by just squeeze you by you're going to need a lot of duct tape in this class we do a lot of things with duct tape we do some major league projects with duct tape and you're going to find out what the versatility of duct tape is a why I always recommend carrying that in your survival kit okay your candling device you're going to want a headlight that is at least 70 looms that's nice and bright so you can see what you're doing that will flash to signal for rescue and it's waterproof this is the Princeton tech that we carry on our website 70 looms takes three double A batteries or I'm sorry three Triple A batteries double A batteries are played battery same voltage they will all start fires as long as you have at least two of them that gives you another purpose for carrying a headlight it's got batteries in it becomes another fire-starting device but it also is good for signaling and get for just seeing your way around the dark during ninety nine negation exercise of the things like that so make sure it's waterproof okay last but not least on the ten ceaseless let's talk about compasses your compass is going to be very important to you we are navigation heavy at the Pathfinder school because I believe that at a minimum you need to be able to understand how to leave your camp to go find resources and get back very easily in Eastern oil is to get turned around just walk in 100 200 yards you can get lost so understanding how to use a compass is very important and we concentrate on that quite a bit the Pathfinder school along the fire the suto mc2 and the kar Alpine are the two compasses I would recommend they both have a moveable bezel ring that you can plug degree readings into they both have a luminous luminescent bezel ring that glows in the dark they both have a mirror the only advantage the knr has over the suit oh is that the magnifying glass on the kar will start a fire it is a five power magnifying glass the suit though is not so there's not much difference in monetary spending there a couple three bucks probably I take the one with the magnifying glass for personal preference so I get the most versatility out of that compass because it becomes a signalling device a first-aid device a navigation device and a fire-starting device that point so I've got four distinct things that I can cover just by carrying this small compass you will not need pacing beads at the TIE fighter school basic class you will for the intermediate and advanced classes so either one of those compasses and again we sell them both our website will do just fine okay a couple extra things that you're going to want that will make your life a whole lot easier dry bag at least one that is five to ten liters ten liters preferably up to 30 liters you're going to use this to keep a lot of things dry is constantly wet at the pathline school even when it doesn't rain the dew point makes it very very wet in the mornings out here and you're going to get things soaking wet very quickly including your clothes so I would wear some good waterproof boots if you can especially in the spring summer months and then a good waterproof bag this is the one we saw on our website this is a sea line either one will do just fine but you want a good heavy wall waterproof bag not one of the he was like you buy at Walmart that's really thin you want the kind of stand up by themselves very easily because they're made out of heavy-duty rigid material all right that's something else that you're going to want beyond that you're really not going to anything with you to be able to participate in this class everything else will be extras that you'll bring to make your life more comfortable in camp but there's not going to be that much time spending camp to worry about okay so that's a pretty quick rundown of the items that you're going to want to bring with you for a path on your basics class it's not a whole lot of items but it has a whole lot of function and that is the whole essence behind the Pathfinder system is multi functionality of the kit items that we have that we're carrying with us if the things that we have are multifunctional and we'll do a lot of stuff for us then we can carry less and that's what's really important and I've developed those 10 C's with that mentality in mind and I've tested them and tested them to trial them and trial them to make sure that truly that's all you need for a short-term survival scenario are those 10 C's if you have those items covered you have the right items and I say again you have the right items that makes a difference because I could have a cheap cheesy compass as one of my 10 C's and if it doesn't do all the things that that compass needs to do it's not going to be multifunctional enough to be relied on in that situation everything has to be used for at least three things or it's not worth carrying okay guys so I'm going to help put back together now like I said this is really all you need you can get away for extended period of time with this just by adding a couple redundancies that there's plenty of room in these packs to hold without a doubt but this will definitely get you buying a basic class beyond a shadow of a doubt you really wouldn't need to bring anything else unless you just wanted to bring some type of shelter and some type of food other than that these items will take care of you I'm Dave Canberra in the Pathfinder school I appreciate everything you do for me for my school for my family for all my instructors my sponsors are my affiliates I'll adopt another video as soon as I can thanks guys

you

About the Author

wildernessoutfitters

wildernessoutfitters

From the lore of bushcraft to all things related to self-sustainability, the Pathfinder vision is to pass on the knowledge of outdoor self-reliance. Providing basic to advanced self-reliance training and survival gear, our goal is to offer both practical knowledge and survival gear that will stand the test of time. From emergency preparedness to sustainability, the Pathfinder way is to share and educate.

Here you can explore the world of survival knives, survival kits and simple tips on outdoor self-reliance. We are always learning and enjoy passing on the knowledge we acquire.

There is no substitute for having a plan in the event of the unexpected.

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