Test Your Gear and Practice Your Skills

While most people see camping as a time to get away from the everyday routine and to relax, it should also be the time when you hone and practice your survival skills. Camping is the perfect time to test that new fire starting skill that you read about, try building that survival shelter you saw on a television show, or try that new recipe to cook in the cast iron dutch oven over hot coals.

Get some new gear that sounded and looked good on the internet? Try it out and actually put it to the test now instead of finding out in an emergency that it's just junk. Sometimes we see gear that seems like the perfect prep or survival tool or seems like a great idea for carrying gear in the field. Through testing it out we find that the tool or gear is really more of a hassle than help or that idea for carrying the gear doesn't work for you or your body type. Are you glad you realized that now or would you rather have found out when your life or the lives of your loved ones depend on it? Sure you could put on that pack, load it down and walk around your back yard for a few minutes, you could go camping or also go for a hike in the woods. Anything to get away from the hustle and bustle and test that pack the correct way.

On Labor day weekend, the wife and I went to Red River Gorge here in Kentucky and I tried some gear, tried making a type of shelter and found a different technique for the campfire. I broke a hatchet, an axe and the shelter...well, let's just say it didn't work. Do I have a good hatchet? Yes. A good axe? Yes. Can I build a good survival shelter? Yes, but the ones I tried were crap. Good thing I found out at a time when it wasn't a matter of life or death.

When the time comes that an emergency hits my family, I want to know that our gear will hold up, that we know how to use that gear correctly and know that the gear is correct for our needs. Put that new gear through some rigorous testing. Don't just buy it, throw in the closet and wait until you really need it. Go camping and test that skill or gear when you can relax, have fun and try again if you don't get it right the first time.

Test Your Gear Before You Need It

Having a closet full of survival and camping gear is a great insurance policy facing the current economic collapse. I have accumulated a good supply of assorted supplies, as well as the needed items to go camping. So I decided to take a couple nights and camp out in the field behind my house to give my gear a good field test. I got the chance to test out my new tent, sleeping bag, flashlights, and a lot of stuff in my get home bag. It was a great learning experience and was a lot of fun getting to somewhat "rough it" with my pack. It's important to be familiar with your gear, including how to pack it into your ruck and how to set up and take down your tent, so if the day comes that you actually need the stuff, you will be familiar with it.

Fire:
I went out on a Friday afternoon and cut plenty of firewood with my folding Sierra Saw. These saws work great and will cut through branches like you wouldn't believe. I cut a large pile of wood with only the saw and it worked great. I started my fire with my fire steel and cotton balls soaked hand sanitizer. It quickly created a flame which lit the small branches that got the fire going.

Tent:
I went out with my pack, and set up my tent a few hours before dark so I could take my time and get familiar with how to set it up. My tent is a High Peak South Col, 4 season/3 person tent. It comes with the tent itself, and a full rain fly. It had plenty of room for 3 people to sleep in, and fit myself and my gear with no problems. I have an all purpose tarp that I put underneath the tent for extra protection from the ground It did not provide much insulation but kept the wind out and is a good quality tent.

Sleeping:
I have a High Peak Summit 0 degree sleeping bag that I used on both nights along with a foam sleeping pad underneath me. The bag kept me completely warm even when the temperature dropped into the mid 30's. It was pretty cold in my tent but my sleeping bag and the sleeping pad kept me warm and comfortable. It's important to know what the temperature is going to be when going out for a camping trip. This ensures that you bring the correct sleeping bag, and the right clothes that you need. When outside at night around the fire I had on my 3-layer Army ECWS and never got cold sitting outside.

Gadgets:
A few things I have purchased and took with me really made things a lot easier. They aren't necessary but are cheap and will really come in handy. The first item came in handy is a LED Headlamp. I purchased a 21 LED Headlamp from Meritline.com. It is extemly bright with a long battery life and makes doing things at night so much easier because you have both hands. I also got a 33 LED Tent Light from Meritline, it might seem like a waste but it really comes in handy if you wanted to read or when your doing things in the tent at night, one of those will light up the whole tent and they have extremely long battery life.

Food:
For food I took a couple MRE's with me to eat for dinner along with my cheapo Mess Kit and Hobo Utensil Tool. I cooked the meals over my Alcohol Stove with the mess kit and also was able to make coffee and tea.

All in all it was a great learning experience and I got a chance to test out my gear and everything went surprisingly well. Most would call my supplies "cheap" but if you know how to use what you have then it works just as well as the expensive gear. It's essential to know how to use your gear in the field and testing out what's in your bug out bag or your camping gear is the best way to learn. You don't want to head into the woods never having set up your tent or getting a chance to try out your supplies. Part of having the preparedness gear is actually knowing how to use the stuff you have. This will make it a lot easier to make decisions if the situation came where you had to use the supplies.