Top 5 items

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Today I've been bored and thinking: if I could take only 5 items in my backpack (not counting clothes) and try to survive as long as possible, Alone style, what would they be? Let's propose items in comments and see which ones win the vote.

For me it would be: sleeping bag, small axe, cooking pot, ferro rod and rifle / bow.

[u/fatalexe]

Dry Beans, Salt, Lard, Dutch Oven, Fero Rod

I’d prefer to take a hatchet, mora and diamond hone too but I can flint-nap stone tools if necessary. Could probably go a whole season with 50lbs of beans and 10lb of lard easy, salt just makes it far more pleasant and helps with electrolytes.

Alone makes things far more difficult than necessary by ruling out a good food stash.

An alternative is split peas and salt pork, then you get an extra item by having your salt, fat and protein as one item.

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Rifle + ammo

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Paracord

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Knife

[u/mkosmo]

Cash.

[u/desrevermi → u/mkosmo]

Five cash, please!

:D

[u/Inner-Muffin2592]

Coking pot

[u/LittleUrbanPrepper]

Knife , ferro rod, first aid kit, tent, flashlight

[u/AchhHansRun]

1. Knife

2. Tarp

3. Cooking Pot

4. Saw

5. Rifle/Ammo

[u/Thegreatsigma → u/AchhHansRun]

You're comfortable doing fire without a ferro rod? Honestly I already struggle with one in wet conditions 🥲

[u/AchhHansRun → u/Thegreatsigma]

Relatively, yeah. But I also live in an area where I can use a rock for a flint and steel fire alongside my knife.

[u/Canadianknifeguy]

-Condor ktac kukri- does hatchet and knife tasks perfectly -pot -bow -ferro rod -paracord

[u/ARAW_Youtube]

Alright! Sleeping bag Multitool Pot Fishing kit Bow

Friction fires are a must

[u/Oddshit1]

200+ years ago, the Mountain Men, Trappers and Frontiers Men took: 1) Tomahawk. 2) Knife. 3) Tinderbox. 4) Fishing kit. 5) Pot. 6) Rifle.  With these items and knowledge, they were able to live in the wilderness, not just survive. 

[u/Useful_Potato_Vibes → u/Oddshit1]

Yes, that's how it should be, proven by generations of people who actually lived this way! Though I believe that a blanket also was rather common than not.

[u/Steakfrie → u/Useful_Potato_Vibes]

So was a horse, mule or both.

[u/Otherwise-Subject127 → u/Oddshit1]

Is tinderbox really that essential?

[u/PunderscoreR → u/Otherwise-Subject127]

Yeah, because starting a fire from scratch sucks even with optimal conditions. Having a way to easily start a fire and prepare more charred material (and keep it safe/in good condition) or extend a coal and carry fire with you was vital.

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Sleeping bag

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Small axe

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Bow + arrows

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Fishing kit

[u/Inner-Muffin2592]

First Aid Kit

[u/tideshark]

Claritin

[u/backwoodsman421]

4 slim Jim’s and the grocery bag they came in

[u/Thegreatsigma]

Ferro rod

[u/Useful_Potato_Vibes → u/Thegreatsigma]

I keep thinking that our not so distant ancestors were happy with common flint. And given it can be available in the wild, I would spare the place for something else. A knife probably

[u/Intelligent_Maize591 → u/Useful_Potato_Vibes]

If flint is available, you still need charcloth or its damned near impossible. A tinderbox is essential as a calorie saver in most arboreal forest. You could of course use a bow drill until you find flint, make some charcloth in the ground, and then find a very fortuitous pocket to put your charcloth in, but i feel like that's a lot.

[u/Qwuipper]

I always learned the 5 c's. All items that are hard to produce from nature: Cutting tools (knife) Cover (Tarp, Emergency blanket, etc) Combustion (Ferro rod, lighter) Container (Cup, bottle, anything you can use to cook water) Cordage (Rope)