If you are an Army Capt, as is my suspicion, forgive me if I'm wrong then you know you can never have to much gear. When deployed I used to walk around with my 3 day assault ruck and people used to wonder why. It was because I could survive for 3 days with what was inside. Also it did me no good in my tent if the fit hit the shan and I was at the HQ or somewhere else. Being that prepared to help yourself or someone else is a good thing.

We were doind some jungle survival training in Hawaii and I caught a 13 inch trout. Don't know what type because the other guys I was with had been trying to catch this guy for nearly an hour. They kept seeing him take a nibble and take a bite and none of them could hook 'em. One compadre was really determined to get him, still half an hour later, no success. I asked to give it a try, one bite no success, second bite, snagged him. This all happened in less than five minutes, some of the guys thought it was funny...one person did not :).

The person who puts the flashlight right in your eyes when its really dark out, then you totally lose your night vision. This irks me to no end.

I like Petzl's, Black Diamond's and Mag-lite's small lights. The headlamps I like best because they are durable and hands-free. When it comes to those guys decide what model works for you and be willing to pay for it. I find with Maglite that the batteries die quickly due to the all-metal case whereas the others are plastic and somewhat insulated. The AA or AAA batteries last a lot longer and it is a good compact system and not so prone to rust.

As someone who has been teaching people to camo up for 15 years there is some great info here. Just use camo prinicples already mentioned. 1. Blend into the colors around you, whatever they may be. 2. Break up your human body outline. This idea is where the Scottish Gillies came up with their now famous suit. 3. Get rid of your scent as much as possible. I don't smoke and drink more water than coffee to rid myself of that scent and don't eat anything heavily spiced with garlic or onion as that will soak out through your pores. Use non-scented detergent and rinse your gear in plain water. Also no dryer sheets, just dry them. 4. USE NATURAL CAMO!!! You can take tan or khaki colored clothes and use mud, dirt, charcoal, sod, anything natural. Not only does it camo you up but it helps you get rid of the scents you carry. You now smell like the woods you are in. I stress this tremendously to fliers who are in a plain green or tan flight suit. I have not had any experience with the Scent Lok stuff so I can't say either way. Take care and God bless, Jamie

Yes you can eat the inner bark of certain trees. It is called the cambium layer. In Aspen trees if you eat the inner bark you get acetycylic acid, the primary ingredient in asprin. So remember, "Aspen, asprin" You can eat the cambium layer of pine trees as it does have nutritional value as well as others. I would have to get into some of my books for the specifics but I do know some tribes also took great amounts of cambium, dried it and then pound or ground it out into a flour to add to stews for the nutritional value. Hope this helps. Take care and God bless, Jamie

My metal match (always works for fire) My wife (always works to keep me warm) :) My pack (always works to keep me alive) I never leave home without it!!!

If you have a place locally, go to a custom fit shop. Here we have Whites and Nicks boots, they will custom fit and make your boots to your feet. Also find a decent tailor who will custom make your clothing for you. My wife started a bag-making business but we never got into backpacks, hunting gear bags or things of that nature and there are companies out there who will make them to YOUR specifications. Yes they do cost more but you get what you pay for.

If you have 3 or more feet of snow on the ground then like Charley said look under the base of an evergreen tree. When you have a tree well develop you can still find dry, small wood you can use to get a fire going. I have been up here in Washington, hiking in 3-6 ft of snow and I can find wood in a tree well to get a fire going. If you are going to use a dead standing tree, look for a tree about wrist size, not to rotten that you can bolt up to start a fire. At wrist size you can break off chunks with a hatchet or wedge it between two trees to get 12-18 inch long pieces. Birch works great because of the natural oil in the bark. A lot of birch bark will give you a big fire pretty quick. Birches rot from the inside out so get as much bark as you can and use other trees for fuel if the wood is no good. A good idea is to practice getting fires started under these conditions, before you HAVE TO get fires started under these conditions. :)

Look at it this way, what happens when they both go off? If the gun goes off, it only last a second and thats the end of it. If the GF goes off, there might be a long fight, days of quarreling and hassle and so on and so forth. And just think, if she goes off WITH the gun, now you have a whole nother situation :).

Brad, depending on the load you have to carry I like the Blackhawk 3 day assault ruck to carry gear on the trail. I have not used the Bugout bag. Is that an actual model and if so, what company? thanks.

From the few guys who I have heard of test gear, I believe it depends on how much you post, how knowledgable you are and what your interests are. In my application I put nothing down to test hunting gear via rifle just bowhunting so I doubt they are going to send me a gun. Also I put down deer and other game not fowl so I won't be testing duck blinds or calls or waders. I like to post and just hope for the best.

I have to agree with Cpt Brad on the Garmin Rhino. I have never used one but I know it works well as a GPS, walkie-talkie and if you have two on the same frequency when you talk to one another it will give the other person your position. I like the good old Garmin 12 unit as it is very inexpensive, not cheap. Also it is very user friendly.

A couple of things I always carry that have not been mentioned are a headlamp, keeps your hands free, and a Leatherman Wave because you can do so much with it. I am not sure if you want to go alone but bring a buddy also, two are definitely stronger than one in case anything should happen. And don't forget a camera, you have to take a pic of that big trophy fish :).