I was sitting around the campfire one night, when an important question came up. I was asked, “If you had no survival kit and could only carry three things what would you take?” I had to think about this very carefully.

The most important thing is to make sure you have the right clothing . You should be dressed to spend a night out and have rain gear. Did this count As an item. The answer came,” No, I wont count that as an item.” It should be a given that you dress appropriately.

The first thing I would take would be a good knife. I want a large knife the size of a k-bar. A good knife with a 5 in blade will also work. In this way I would have a tool to make other things.

Next, I would take a magnesium fire starter. With this I Could make a fire. If I couldn’t have that I would want 25’ of Para cord. This wood give me good cord to make a fire bow drill. Again to have fire. It would also give me string for a bow and arrow. I could also strip the cord and make fish line. Or I could have snare line.

I only had one item left. Would I take a saw, an Ax, a machete, a canteen or a pot? Why not a blanket? A blanket would provide comfort but I decided it was not versatile enough. A saw would help gather wood and make things. However, I could make more with an ax. A machete is very useful to make things but I think I can do more with an ax.

I have a friend who swears by his machete. He can do work with a machete as good or better than an ax.

Water is second on the list of needs. It comes right after shelter. I would like to take a canteen with a canteen cup. I could then purify water over my fire and save it in my canteen. I want both. “Sorry“, he said, “not allowed. You have to pick one” My large knife will do a lot of work. It will do many things an Ax or machete will do. I can make a canteen from bark. I can make a pot from log or bark and use hot rocks to cook in. If I really want to take it easy I’d take a pot. I would have no work involved to boil water or hold it. “What about the rope?” he asks.

I can make rope but it will take time. I can make dead falls without rope. In this way I will be able to get game. Fishing line will take more work to make. A bow string will also take time.

“So what are you going to take? The pot Or the ax,” he says. I have one question. Is this long term (several weeks) or short term (several days). If its long term I say the ax. If short term, I say the pot. Also, is it summer or winter? In winter I could use the ax to keep the fire going and gather more wood. But with the pot I could melt snow for water. Finally, what would you find the easiest to carry? The pot hands down is easier to carry.

So I make my pick. A knife (large), A magnesium fire starter and a pot.

What would you pick? E-mail me and I’ll post your responses on this page.