I just did an archery safety class and a hunter safety class in the last couple weeks. I do the survival part and show everyone what I carry. A guy came up to me after the last class and asked if I was an Eagle Scout. I told him I made it to Life, than I ran out of time. He said it figured judging from all the crap I bring out with me. I'd rather have it and not need it than not have it and need it. I have a small day pack. I bring a lost in the woods kit, packed in a Primus titanium cook pot. Matches, lighter, blast match, fire starters, poncho, space blanket, folding knife, compass, whistle, mirror... I also bring a first aid kit with a Sawyer Extractor (box filled with pills), a Quick Clot trauma pack, band aids, disinfectant wash... That goes everywhere, in the outside pocket of my pack. Anything else goes inside.
I know it has gotten a lot of discussion, but I never carried an ax. A small knife and a Sven saw were (is) all I carry. You can hurt yourself with an ax and bleed out before you can do anything about it. It's much harder to do with a bow saw. There's not much out there I need to cut anyway. I'm snapping off and burning limb wood. I'm not felling trees. Definitely not in an emergency situation. I don't know. I'm pretty comfortable in the woods. I've spent a lot of time camping. It's not a lot different.
"I didn't get the sophisticated gene in this family. I started the sophisticated gene in this family." Willie Robertson
