Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Winter Bushcrafting: stuff you need

I should have probably made the title better and asked...small hatchet vs large knife.

Seeing as that Winter is upon us and my knowledge and gear base has increased over the years, I want to add to my winter kit.

I would guess I will get Steamrolled for admitting it, but winter scares me to a degree. Or maybe I should say "I am less confidant" in my winter survival skills. I have training in winter survival but I am always fearful, possibly because I realize the potential for problems is greater than backpacking/hunting in September. Basically, even at 8,000 ft in the earlier hunts, you can say you'll just put on all of your clothes and survive(I understand this is general). But throw several feet of snow into the mix and drop the mercury to 10F and I think things get a bit more dire if forced to survive 48 hours.

I am lazy by nature. I hate to add things to my pack, when the goal is to normally take away. But after training in winter survival I can see that shelter is a major obstacle to overcome. As is fire. And I am readily accepting to add a few pounds to my kit. I am sure there are many backwoods McGuiver's who can do wonders with 50ft of 550, a Bruks Wildlife Hatchet and a 6X8 tarp. I'd like to be one of those guys.

So, for EdT, Evan, or Dan(searched for Bruks users) or others who have experience.....what would be a tools kit for deep winter backwoods?

After seeing Dan's Boo Boo with the Hatchet it has given me pause. Leaning towards a 5-6" thick bladed Scandi grind knife to baton through wood.

I should say that I am already sold on a folding saw. Pack one even into my waders for duck hunting. The type that uses SawZall blades-cheap, has been reliable, and blades are easily swapped and of multiple tooth combos.

Feel free to add any other things you wouldn't leave out of a kit. You can skip flint/steel, matches, lighter etc. Those are givens. More along the lines of shelter builder or wood/fire preparation.

Lighters and fire light kit might be "a given", but a fool proof method for lighingt fires in the cold and wet with less than dry fuel is an absolute priority..I've not tried them, but many folks swear by road flares..

As for carrying an axe, I would say it depends on your needs..if its bushcraft and extended living, I'd go for the axe..if you just want to be able to survive say a 72 hour emergency, I would rather use the weight for something else..

I have been known to carry a road flare and a gatoraid bottle of mixed saw gas in my pack. Thats the only "fool proof" way I have found to start a fire, I used it twice this year Elk hunting.

Think I would rather carry the weight of the Wildlife Hatchet and have eternal serviceablity rather than a 20 minute road flare...but I asked so I have to be open minded.

What do you do on Day 2 if you move locations and road flare is used?

I make my own fire starters, its simple and very effective. Will ingnite wet wood no problem.

What you need is some sawdust, paraffin wax, and small cucpcake tins (the paper kind). Fill cupcake tins with sawdust, melt paraffin wax and pour over your sawdust filled cupcake tins. I make a lot of them for winter camping using those small Katchup cups that you can get from Wendy's.

As for the Grasfors Bruks I like the Mini-Hatchet better then the Wildlife Hatchet. If I feel I need bigger then I step it up to the Small Forest Axe.

Have you ever tried making your own shelter as in a snow cave or igloo? It is fairly easy and rewarding sleeping in something you crafted.

Made several. Slept in none.

You should give it a go.

For the price a Cold Steel Jungle Machette is not a bad option either. I have used mine to cut and split wood. Its not going to split big rounds but small stuff is easy work for it.

Jesse,

I have found that I prefer a good stout knife for splitting wood up to 3" in diameter. Bigger than that and I will use an ax such as the GB Small Forest Ax.

I often carry a leather pouch with fatwood sticks I have split in my fire kit. Three or so inches long and between match stick size and pencil size. These will burn very hot and fairly long.

So Ed- a stout, 3/16" knife able to pry out heartwood from cedar stumps and split via baton whatever rounds were cut with folding saw would be the combo you would run?

You are in similar climate as I am. An afternoon snowmobile run, snowshoeing for grins or trap line or simply "patrolling"- that would be a better pair?

I should try out my methods. Last few winters we have not had enough snow to make snow shelters a very easy task. Seems like survival may be HARDER in those conditions, as you are constructing a shelter vs digging one? Way off?

Wise words... I pack my Small Forest a lot. But one of my favorite playlands has an old burn running along its Southern edge. The only way you're going to get firewood there is buck it and split it.

Also MCH, you should look at GB's new "outdoors" axe. You'll ditch your mini hatchet and send me a christmas card.

Can you light a fire with your wild life hatchet? You get cold and wet in sub zero conditions (maybe fall through some ice) you absolutely have to be able to start a fire *right now* as you only have minutes before hypothermia sets in..

Given you are already carrying a saw and a knife, for me an axe is a "nice to have" item and is more about being comfortable in the medium to long term in the bush..

Proper emergency fire lighting kit, along with the knowledge and experience of how to use it in the worst weather conditions is a life saver for those immediate, emergency situations...

And as others have suggested, if you feel you do need an axe, I would step up from the very small hatchets to something that will cope with more than a knife and baton will..

Regards,

Peter

I think you start with what you're wearing. Good boots and good layered clothes. I wear pack boots with liners so I can pull them out and dry them. I wear the modern poly underwear, and polar fleece base layers and wool outerwear. I have 2 sets of Columbia wool bibs and jackets I bought after one hunting season at Dicks for about $60 a piece! I always wear a hat and scarf. I also wear mittens. I love handwarmer packets! I pack a Gore Tex parka that rolls up pretty small and I always pack extra gloves and socks.

I carry a small titanium pot and pan with my "kit" in it which has strike anywhere matches, a lighter, and a fire steel. I also carry tinder. My film canister full of vaseline cotton balls. I carry 2 space blankets. The traditional kind and one the shape of a mummy bag you can crawl in. The extra little knife, compass, whistle, plastic poncho, mirror.... I also carry a sawyer extractor with a bunch of band aids and pills stuffed in the box. That and a Quick Clot trauma pack. I have carried a little Swen saw, and a little Fiskars saw. It has a plastic handle and weighs nothing. It cuts like crazy too and it probably weighs 1/10th what my Eastwing hatchet does.

You're carrying your house with you so investing in your clothing to me, is the most important thing. My biggest problem is working up a sweat and wet feet. Polypropylene and polyester underwear and base layers and wool outerwear all wick moisture away, and wool has the highest insulation value when wet. I can stop and change my wet socks. Hang my old socks on my pack and in an hour or two, they're dry. I've dried boot liners by the fire more than once. Getting wet and not being able to dry out is my #1 concern. A lingering concern for getting cut and bleeding to death is my #2. I've got a bleeding issue I found out about during minor surgery a few years ago, and it's been in the back of my head all the time. I've got a few trauma packs around. The truck. The boat. My packs... That's my philosophy anyway.

Finally got my hands on one of those mini-hatchets ,to me they are to small to be of any real use.I'd rather carry a good knife or a regular small hatchet or small axe
Tim

Jesse,

Yes, for most situations that is my preferred choice of tools.

For a saw the Sawvivor is hard to beat.




The Leuku style knife I built has an 8.5" blade and is 14" overall. It can do some serious work.



The GB Outdoorsman's Ax is a better choice then the GB Mini but still not capable of what the Small Forest Ax will do.

Here is an image of the GB Outdoorsman's and the Leuku knife.

My buddy and I made a two person snow cave in about a foot of snow last year. Takes WAY too long though, with all the shoveling and waiting for the snow to set. We both agreed that if we were already wet and cold in a sotrm we would of probably died before we were able to use it. In that instance I would just use a tarp, a emerjency blanket and lots of tree limbs. Then hopefully you also have a Serape and are able to start a fire.

The only time I would dig a snow cave for shelter is if I were above the timberline in 3+ feet of snow. I spend a lot of time in that kind of stuff backcountry skiing. If you are in that kind of terrian a shovel is a must. We have dug a lot of practice caves to hang out in, hope I never have to use one though.

I have and love the outdoor axe. The reason I didn't recommend it was because of weight.

The film canister with vaseline-soaked cotton balls is my fallback. Those things light right up with a spark from a firestick and burn for an amazingly long time. You can put four or five in a film canister, and they are simple to replace. Try it in your driveway; you will likely be as surprised as I was. Not sure what I'll do if I ever lose my last canister, though...

Not sure what I'll do if I ever lose my last canister, though...

jockc, walmart sells waterproof matches in a small orange water tight container. I just chuck the matches out and stuff it full of cottonballs. the orange is easy to find day or night.