Page last edited on 27 April 2003
Mark's Gear page
All the gear mentioned on this page are simply suggestions. Some I have actually
tried. Some sounded neat and I put a link on the page. Some are just links others
have given me and I know very little about the content on the page. Some gear
may not be appropriate for your needs.
Gear
I have the Black Diamond Gemini Headset and am so far pleased with it.
I wish I didn't have to cycle through the halogen bulb to get to the L.E.D.
light.
Knives
The following links and comments come from a local knife expert who I asked
for his comments.
Have fun looking thru all of that. It's enough to keep you busy for a few
days. Remember to shop around for the best prices
Military Surplus - A Great source of supplies for Search and Rescue Gear
Navigation
Outdoor links and sites
Mark's Gear Tips
Batteries, Batteries, Batteries! If you are carrying a radio, cell phone,
GPS, Flashlight, headlamp etc. Then you might want to think about battery management
One idea is to work toward compatibility, my standard is to make all of my
devices to use AA size batteries.
This way I don't have to carry multiple sizes of batteries.
Some Two-Way radios have AA packs that can be used with your two-way radio.
You may even be able to find the same for your cell phone.
Another consideration is to just buy the el cheapo batteries in bulk.
I have actually tested the cheap batteries against the most expensive name
brands and find they are as good as the capacity of the name brands at much
less the price.
I have lab data you can look at if you would like to see it.
Another thing to do is to turn off some devices until you need them.
Depending on the mission, you may turn off your cell phone and radio until
a predetermined time or interval with whoever you plan to be in contact with.
Every 15 minutes, or on the hour until 5 or 10 after the hour.
Some two-way radios have what is called a sleep mode. As long as there is
not traffic on a channel the radio will go into sleep mode and will 'wake up'
every x amount of time to see if there is any traffic on the frequency.
If you are backpacking long distances, you may just turn on the cell phone
at a prescribed time each day or if you have voicemail just check it once or
twice a day then keep the phone for emergency use only and off the rest of the
day.
GPS's usually only take no more than 1 to 5 minutes to get their bearings,
Write down your coordinates and get your bearings in a good clearing away from
overhanging trees and vegetation so you can 'see' a lot of satellites all around
you.
Mark a waypoint on the GPS at that point.
Then turn it off and move on a little further.
During short missions of a few hours, battery management may not be necessary
but you never know what you may run up against in a mission.
Mark's Personal Gear
Dayhike
For Hydration and storage I have a Camelback®
Mule hydration pack that holds 100 oz. of water. Mine is a military version
which has corduron fabric that is just a little sturdier than the civilian versions.
On the outside of my Mule I usually have my Garmin
GPSMap76® GPs in it's holder on my shoulder. I generally turn it on
and get a return to waypoint then turn it off for a while to conserve batteries
while I am navigating.
I have a lensatic compass and a whistle hanging off the front along with a
rescue signaling mirror secured to the shoulder strap.
Inside, I have quite an assortment of stuff.
I usually have a few power bars on top, easy to get to.
Some Antibacterial wipes for washing hands or cleaning wounds if needed.
A Sam splint
Rollon SPF 30 sunscreen (rollon is less likely to get busted open and squish
all out into your pack)
Lip balm
Blister treatment/Moleskin, you can actually use ductape and super glue over
a blister to protect it if needed. Just put a small bead of superglue around
the edges of the tape and it will stay in place when nothing else will. I won't
come off easily though. It IS superglue afterall. Be careful not to glue your
fingers together.
Ibuprofen Tablets
New Skin®
Triple Antibiotic First Aid and pain relief ointment
Benedryll Allergy tablets
Water treatment tablets
A pack of fresh AA alkaline batteries. I have found buying bulk off brand
is just as good as buying name brand. I try to insure all my electronics use
the same size batteries this is quite important when you may need to cannibalize
a lesser needed item for something more important.
A spare battery for my two-way radio.
A small waterproof container of Q-tips
Emergency rain poncho
Two space blankets
Duct tape, One handy idea someone gave me to save space with duct tape is
to get an old phone card or anything like an old credit card and roll your duct
tape around it so that you don't have the big round roll. Also you don't need
an extremely large amount of it. You can take your small amount from a larger
roll you keep at home or in your car.
100' of parachute zip cord wound tightly on itself.
AA battery Maglite®
EMT scissors
Safety light chem sticks
Wire saw
A few Zip-lock gallon size bags
Hemostat
Krill light that takes AA battery
Trash bags
Roller Gauze
Sewing thread, I wrapped it around a chop stick and cut it small so that it
fits into a medicine bottle where I put my needles, safety pins and some fish
hooks into.
Sewing needles
2x2, 3x3, 4x4 gauze pads
assorted band aids and butterfly closures
Alcohol prep pads
latex gloves for BSA
Popsicle sticks for finger splints
CPR microshield
6lb test fishing line
#6 fish hooks
assorted safety pins
Cigarette lighter
Firestarter stick in case you are stuck with a lot of wet wood.
Medical tape wrapped around a credit card and cut to the size of the tape.
Two caribiners which I hang off the side of my pack.
A good pair of tweezers.
A small container of superglue
AA powered FRS radio. I leave the batteries out of it since mine will turn
on from a push button on the front and being in the pack the button gets pushed
often and runs the batteries down. I also suggest a cellular phone which I always
carry and a commercial two-way radio.
Believe it or not, all of the above list except for the cell phone, two-way
radio and GPs, fits in my Mule!
