Distilled Gear.

A member requested a detailed list of the gear here, so here it is.



First, background. I live in a remote area and spent my life in the mountains, all weather, all seasons, all the time. Over the years I've played with a lot of stuff, gear designed to do this or that, and eventually over time have come to cary what I consider the essentials, hardly the best, I'm sure, but what has worked for me under all sorts of conditions and experiences, whether setting and checking traps and snares, scouting, workouts or just days afield. I confess, others may have superior gear but mine gets used hard and I'm comfortable with it.

I have sets more or less for every season, but here is a typical winter set laid out on my anorak which is the basic load-bearing article for much of it.

This is a set I carry if I am carrying a rifle. Pistol-only set varies a little. Sort of starting from the top-down, left-right, here goes...

1} Madshus trailbreaking skis. I ski hundreds of miles, but have, to date, never skiied a groomed track in my life. These help. Poles have cork grips {my favorite} robbed from another pair of poles that I broke.

2} Rifle with double sling I made, with side mounts. I use a "biathlon"-type rig for all my rifles and made a leather ring for standard QD mounts some years ago I use with bolt action commercial rifles. There is absolutely no way I could carry a rifle long distance over the terrain I cover without evenly distributed weight that a double sling provides.

3} Ziplock bag of fire starter. Firestarter being pieces of rubber with fringe edges {old inner tubes}. Waterproof and starts in the rain. Strike-Anywhere Matches in a medicine bottle. A few sheets of newspaper soaked in wax to-boot.

4} Zeiss Compact binocs, carried whenever I do not have a scope on the rifle.

5} German Army folding knife.

6} Belt, holster, pouches, scabbard, all leather gear I made. The holster doubles as a center chest holster or under shoulder holster {I guess that's "triples..."}. Has ultra positive closure with easy open stud also. Pistol G19 Glock, normally just the one mag. All leather totally silicone permeated and finished in Hibberd's boot grease and Sno-Seal.

7} Vice-Grips Multitool. Now discontinued, I have one precious one and my son has one. Best multitool ever made. Actually cust doublestrand fence wire.

8} Loop and D ring. Rope shown clipped to it goes to a sled I haul if I have other gear or to haul out carcasses, etc.

9} Cable cutters {for snares}

10} Parang knife. I make pretty much all my fixed knives and this one was made from a millsaw, annealed, shaped and ground, hardened and tempered here on the ranch. Grips cherry wood. Left hand chisel ground. Knives vary depending on the work to be done. I have quite a number specialized for different jobs, or general purpose survival types like this light parang. Cuting efficiency of such a knife must be seen to be believed. I can and have built very toasty and tidy shelters with them. Very fast and superior to an axe for such purposes.

11} Ear-warmer, neck gaitor, spare gloves {I'm a glove freak...I've been stuck with iced hands...no thank you...}, headlamp {it's dark in the winter}, electrical tape for muzzle and emergency medical uses, bandage tape ditto, bandana for multi use {towel, bandage, TP}. Spare 20-round magazine {signalling if I go down injured} and ski wax, more important than you might think.

Missing; Tubbs snowshoes, hat, clothes, ski boots, gaiters, rags, food {two tins of fish and a couple small chocolate bars} waterbottles, metal cup and whiskey flask.

Well, there it is.

And here it is;

'

Excellent post. I really enjoy seeing the type of gear used by guys who actually use it. I noticed you use a lot of leather gear. How often do you have to re-treat the leather (or do you?) after the initial treatment?

I also noted that you seem to only carry what you believe will be necessary...lightweight and less cumbersome seems to be the rule. Many people recommend carrying way more gear than would seem practical.

Thanks for the post.

Thanks, and in answer, almost never.

For example, on a holster, when I make it, I'll use the best part of a whole can of silicone on it and then the top coat. My stuff gets soaked and iced constantly. Frankly, I really don't monkey with it much. I'll wash it off if it gets muddy, and maybe...rarely...rub some more Hibberd's into it, but it doesn't need a lot of TLC.

Yes, I go as light as I can.

Realistically, ifI go down with a broken leg or something I probably won't last the night anyhow. I'm soaked to the bone and the chill happens fast, paraphrasing Amundsen, it's not the cold that kills you its the frozen sweat that kills.

As far as clothing goes, do you like natural fibers like wool or synthetics...or a mixture?

Both.

Synthetic undershirt, wool shirt or sweater, then a syn vest or wool coat and then anorak on top. A button up under coat is nice to allow air in under the anorak.

Merion wool longjohns, then light wool pants. If really cold, I layer more {sweats, sometimes two}.

Thank you, sir. If I may, how long have you been using this gear, or similar gear?

You seem like you know what you're doing, and I appreciate people who maintain a breadth of knowledge on on topics such as this.

If the likelihood of this happening is great, you might consider a PLB. The smaller ones like this ResQLink from ACR Electronics is smaller than a pack of smokes and can be used one-handed. There are a couple good, inexpensive (~$250) ones on the market. If you're out alone it's pretty cheap insurance in case something does happen.

Well, I wouldn't go that far...I may not know what I'm doing, I Just Do It!

Anyway, somewhere around ten years for the ski kit.

Since about 1975 for the general purpose stuff.

Thanks for that.

I'm aware of that echnology as many of the search and rescue and others recommend it and or use it.

I just don't. I admit this technological stuff is a darn good idea, but for some reason I can't buy it. I do have a plan and let my wife know the general areas I'll be in, and we agree on times and such when I'll be home. When I carried a Tokarev pistol I had several 7.62x51 tracer rounds loaded into the Tok cases and they were superb locators. I can't find 9x19 tracer, have 7.62 tracer for my .308 but need to get some for my AR's.

Here's a round;



And here's what it does, yaw in flight obvious;

Thanks, that was kind of my thinking based upon my limited experience and what I've read. I'm a big fan of wool for outer clothing. It's good to hear from someone who puts this kind of stuff into practice regularly.

To add; I always wear light white camo overpants. Just keeping the snow from physical contact with the wool helps minimize watersoaking and keeps mud and dirt off them, too.

Downside to wool is it is heavy, and REALLY heavy when soaked. However, I've never found anything I like better for our conditions. My son is a resource forester with a timber company and he wears a mixture of wool annd synthetics, too, as do most I know.

EVR, what is your location?

I admit, I know nothing about the type of clothing it takes to stay warm in the conditions out there in AK or wherever you are, but have you tried some of the newer materials? I really like the Massif stuff, Arcteryx and drifire, peckham, and few others make some cool stuff too. Massif makes really great base layer and outer layer stuff though. FR, sweat wicking, and is pretty breathable, might be worth looking into.

Great post, thanks for sharing.

There are lots of improved fabrics these days. Certainly. But my stuff gets ripped, darned, patched and otherwise damaged on fencewire, brush, etc that the cost gets prohibitive, at least for me. Example, I wait for sales on surplus wool pants and can pick up 3, 4, maybe 5 pair for 20 or 30 bucks. That will last me a while.

I can't say I always believe the marketing pertaining to some of the new synthetics, either. I have certainly not done exhaustive testing at all {would like to} but some are really no better than wool and for top clothing, are stiff and loud and I don't like the "feel" of it. That doesn't matter for some applications but does for others. I do have a super rain jacket, synthetic {I forget the material} that is both quiet and light and waterproof, tho I am careful with it.

Location; How about "lille Norge i nord Idaho".

Wear, tear, belt abrasion when towing a sled all damages clothing and the price of alot of it would have to come out of the ammo allowance!

I hear you on that, and I have a similar philosophy I suppose though I tend to gravitate towards the newer surplus and obviously dont have to contend with such harsh conditions. Base layers I think are my exception though, I can't stand the feel of wool and cotton is less than perfect. There are deals to be had out there though, even on the newer "designer" outdoor wear especially if its surplus.


Is that and LMT AR in the pic? Hard to tell.

Ah, the beauty of a free-market system...CHOICE! Let's remember that in November!!

Rifle is a Smith M&P15;

Here ya go;

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_118/569943_Range_Day__Plate_and_Bait_Shooting___.html

Maybe I missed it but what are you using for weapon lube in those conditions? LAW? Motor oil?

Good info on what you are using, thanks for sharing.

I have only a short experience with the AR's, but in other guns, and now with the AR's, I use Triflow or G96 Gun Treatment in the action and good ole' Hoppe's N0. 9 in the bore. I swab the bore, then brush the disassembled parts with #9, then hose the parts off with WD40 or whatever, then dry them with a rag, then hose everything but the bore down with Triflow or G96 then reassemble and away I go. Gun is left wet with the spray lubes.

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