The Importance of a Flashlight in Your EDC

 My EDC gear. My usual light is the Fenix LD12, pictured far left.

 EDC, or Every Day Carry, is the practice of carrying on one's person items and tools of common usefulness. There are endless variations of tools to include in one's EDC based on personal preference and need; however, one of the most basic and most useful tool is the flashlight.

A flashlight's main purpose is obvious: to provide light when needed. Although this isn't the only task a flashlight can perform, it is the most common and most useful. For those who begin to carry a flashlight on a daily basis, the need to have one at all times becomes quickly apparent.

Of course the most frequent time to use a flashlight is at night. The uses are almost endless dependent on environment. In a city setting, a source of light can be a tool of safety, illuminating dangers that may be easily hidden in the urban landscape. In a more rural setting, one may find a flashlight even more valuable in the absence of streetlights and other sources of artificial light. They can be used from the simplest task of keeping one's footing in the dark to looking for something dropped in the night.

But the obvious usefulness of a flashlight at night shouldn't overshadow it's other functions. In the day it can be used in low lighting indoors: locating items under furniture or navigating basements, attics or other unlit rooms.

One final thing to note about flashlights is that in some models, providing light isn't the only function. Various features can include strobe, laser pointers, UV, SOS and more, making a flashlight a vital everyday tool to keep on one's person.


By: Nicole Halterman

My Unexpectedly Brief Trip to Forbes State Forest

     Howdy Ya'll!

     I just wanted to share my recent trip to Forbes State Forest. Forbes is separated into 15 tracts of land, with the one I explored being in Southwest Pennsylvania. It offers lots of opportunities: hunting, fishing, trapping, primitive camping, and fires are allowed during appropriate times.

     I had planned on arriving around 7:45 am and hiking for 2 hours or so, before setting up camp to lounge for a few hours. The forecast called for a 20 percent chance of rain, so I assumed I had a good shot at several hours of woods time.

     This is what greeted me when I arrived. Coal used to be huge in this area, and there are old iron furnaces like this scattered around. They're quite large and double as an emergency rain shelter, which is an important fact later in our adventure.



     

     An old sign at the start of the "trail." This shows how historical this area is. Also, by trail, I mean a slight opening in the trees that lasted for 10 yards. After that, it turned into a jungle.




    

     After about 45 minutes of bush whacking, I found a suitable place to lay my pack, and set up my lounging area for the next few hours. 


     

     Basic fire prep. I prepared my match sized, pencil sized, thumb sized kindling and some fuel wood. My Mora Companion made short work of the dead wood. In short order, I had my fire going, ready to have a well deserved cup of coffee. I took out my phone to snap a photo of the fire... and thunder. 
     Ok, no big deal. I am always prepared. I knew I could get my tarp shelter set up and be fine. In the 5 seconds it took me to figure out where to set up, it started drizzling. Within the 2 minutes it took me to take out my poncho and decide if I should stay or go, the rain started pouring. 

     The 45 minute hike in turned into a miserable hour long, soaking wet hike out. I stopped at the furnace for about 15 minutes to dry off before heading to my car. I drove home, wet, chilly and with no shoes because the were soaked. But I loved it. You just gotta get out, brother.

Thanks for reading guys! And if you enjoyed my writing, check out my new book:

Budget Bushcraft & Camping







    

DIY Nesting Crawfish Traps

DIY Nesting Crawfish Traps

            There are two things that I can say for certain. Live minnows make great bait, and crawfish are delicious. Trapping either of the two is quite simple, and I can’t understand why it’s not a more popular hobby. Most people have seen the homemade traps made out of plastic soda bottles. These traps work quite well, but to trap a lot of crawfish, you must use a lot of traps. Carrying a lot of loose bottle traps can be cumbersome and annoying. These easy to make traps nest inside each other allowing you to carry three traps, along with the necessary bait and tackle, in a package the size of a two liter bottle.

 Materials Needed:           

 2 Liter Soda Bottle

1.25 Liter Soda Bottle

20 Ounce Soda Bottle

Knife

Small amount of wire, I used paperclips

Bait: Small cans of cat food work well.

Line: Bank line, Paracord, etc

Pliers or Wire Cutters

Marker

First, start by cutting off the top portion of each soda bottle. Start the cut near where the bottle starts to taper. Try to make the cut as straight as possible. Scissors may help. Next, place the top half of the bottle inside the bottom half as shown in the picture.

Make two small marks about an inch apart on each side of each half of the bottle. The top and bottom half should each have 4 marks total.

Next use your knife, or hole punch or drill if you prefer, to drill out a small hole where each mark is. Cut the wire into sections a few inches long. You will need two pieces of wire per bottle, so six pieces total. Now, make sure the holes one the bottle halves line up properly, and wire the halves together using the holes you drilled. That’s it! The traps are finished.

To transport easily, just place the bank line, bait, etc. into the smallest bottle. Then just nest the bottles inside of each other. Use the wire ties to hold the largest bottle together, and you now have 3 traps that pack into a small package.  

Part two of this article is coming soon, showing the best ways to use these traps, the best baits to select, etc.

                                     

Thanks for reading guys! And if you enjoyed my writing, check out my new books:

Budget Bushcraft & Camping
 

            By: Tyler Clay

Some of my Customized Knives

     Howdy ya'll. I just wanted to show off some of my customized knives. I have tried my hand at knife making, but also enjoy customizing factory knives.

     From top to bottom. 

MTech Brand folder that I turned into a small fixed blade. The sheath is homemade from poor man's kydex. Between the knife and sheath, there is around 20 ft of paracord. 

SanRenMu 710, with black carbon fiber overlays on the scales..

Sarge Brand folder, with blue and pink carbon fiber overlays on the scales. I added a braided paracord lanyard, along with pink beads. This took the most work, because the camo paint was very difficult to remove.

        More Pics

Close up of the fixed blade.

     I hope ya'll enjoyed the pics. If you have any questions about any of the knives, feel free to comment and ask.

Musings From The Country Holler

     Howdy Ya'll, My goal for this blog is to basically showcase the things that interest me, and hopefully others. 

     Things such as hunting, fishing, trapping, survival, bushcraft, etc. So hang your pack for a bit and relax if you'd like. I hope you enjoy you visit! Thanks!