Cordage in a Bottle: Container and Cordage Options for Your EDC Kit

Last week we started talking about EDC Kits, what they are, what they should be comprised of, the problems with bad EDC kits and how to avoid them, and good EDC kits and how to get one. I also talked about three characteristics your EDC kit should have. Last week we talked about the first characteristic, familiarity. I then added some gear to the kit and valued it with the current gear to be about $25. I would also like to reiterate from last week’s blog how important it is NOT TTO BUY FIOR YOUR EDC KIT. You are better off building your kit out gear you already have. Buying new gear takes away from the familiarity of your tools. If you were to recreate the kit that I am using, then yes, you will be out about $50, but I cannot stress enough what a bad idea this is. You likely have similar cutting and combustion option of your own to use that you are more familiar with. This is also effective for keeping costs down.

This week we will be adding another characteristic and two more items to our already growing EDC Kit, The next characteristic we are going to talk about is compactibility, which will give us two distinct advantages over non compactible gear. Number one is the obvious: compactible gear takes up less space. The Camillus Seize in my EDC kit is about half the size of the Camillus Bushcrafter in my full size pack, likewise my combustion kit is about a sixth of the size of the one in my bag. Having lightweight and smaller gear is going to make it easier for you to pack it, as well as make it easier for you to take with you every day.

The second advantage is that most compact gear or at least true compact gear will be just as good as a larger counterpart. My Camillus Seize can do a lot of the same things my Camillus Bushcrafter can do. It can baton wood a bit, strike a ferro rod and carve wood. The same goes for my combustion kit. I can set sure fire, spark fire, and solar fire. I’m sure you are wondering now what the point is in having a bigger option if the compactible gear can do all of the same things. Well the answer is that you have more options with the bigger gear. While my Seize can baton, carve and strike a ferro rod, my Bushcrafter can baton more efficiently, is made of better steel so it casts sparks easier, and it has a bigger belly for carving and even skinning. The same goes for my combustion kit. My larger fire kit can create sure fire, spark fire, and solar fire, the difference is that I have more options and more ways to start a fire. It has two lighters, a large ferro rod, and a very powerful magnifying glass. When you are putting together your EDC kit you will likely notice that the bigger and better gear is harder to pack and you will have to use the compact option. This is okay! Remember, our goal is not to go camping with this gear, but to have it in case of an emergency.

This week’s gear is going to be a container and some cordage. Our container is a 17 oz. stainless steel water bottle. I like this bottle because it is metal, it is single walled, and the plastic cap can be completely removed so the bottle is completely metal at the time we are going to boil it. Being a metal bottle means that I can boil my water. If you can’t boil water in your bottle, you don’t need it. Boiling water is the most simple and easy way of purifying your drinking water. Chemicals can be used to purify water, however, you need precise measurements and any variation can result in unsafe drinking water. I prefer to place the bottle of water into the fire, wait for it to boil, boil for two minutes, and my drinking water is now safe. Some people prefer to go with plastic bottles. I think that is a horrible idea. You might be able to boil water in it, but it is extremely difficult and I wouldn’t recommend it. Chemicals may also break down part of the plastic in the bottle and it will end up in your drinking water which is simply no good. The only problem I have with this water bottle I that it is only 17 oz. My larger water bottle is 32 oz. which is closer to the recommended 64 oz. that it is recommended that we drink daily. I believe this is debatable because we outdoorsmen should probably be drinking more than that. At any rate, to get that 64 oz. of water I will have to make more trips and boil more water to achieve this. It is the sacrifice I have made for a lighter and more compact water bottle. You may not want to do this, it is your own personal preference.

My next gear item is 60 ft, of bank line. I am choosing to use
bank line because it can set up just as well as paracord, and you can make a net with it. This type of cord can store easily, but I will be saving even more space by storing it in my water bottle. Now bank line is not my only option so I thought I would talk about some other choices that are worth a mention. You could wear an 8 in. paracord bracelet. I believe the rule of thumb is that there is 1 ft. of paracord for every inch of bracelet which equals out to about 8 ft. of paracord. This is plenty enough to construct a shelter and with bright colors, you could even signal with it. If you would like an option with more paracord, I’ve made a one ring belt out of 6 strands of paracord that are each 16 ft. The single ring belt is super easy to wear, and yes, the colors I used are very flamboyant, but you can use browns or blacks to make it more discreet.

If you want to make your own paracord belt, you will need a 2 ½” metal ring, 6 sections of 16 ft. of paracord, four strands being the same color, and two being a different color. You will also need a knife to cut paracord to determined length and a lighter to melt the mantle so the cordage will not unravel. Next, you will want to place your ring on something at chest level or higher so that you can work. You will first begin by draping one piece of paracord over the ring with a lark’s head knot. You will want to do this for all 6 strands of paracord. I recommend for beginners a single color, followed by four of the primary color, and the last strand being the color you started with. Now to begin the weaving. Begin by taking the far left piece of cordage, and weave it in front of or behind the cordage directly to its right. You will then alternate weaving over and under until you reach the end and there is nothing else for you to weave against. It is at this point where it is recommended for you to place your line that you have weaved all the way through somewhere to rest so that you can begin weaving the next line. It’s brother line will follow the opposite path that the first line took all the way to the end, for example, if you started weaving over with the first line, then you will start weaving under with the second line. The resting line will then be treated as the last line being weaved and will either come over or under depending on how you are weaving your current line. You will continue this way until you get to the end of the project; you will know you are at the end when you do not have enough cordage to weave through again. I recommend tying them off in pairs so it will all stay together; tying it in any way possible so that it doesn’t come loose, or cannot be undone until  you want it to.

Now let’s talk cost. The paracord bracelet should you choose to pack it is about $5. The paracord belt ran me about $15 to make. These two items are not going to factor into the value of my kit. Y water bottle I bought for $10, but you could easily find it on sale for less. The bank line came from a spool of about 120 ft. that I purchased for $20. I used about half the spool so I will value what is in my kit at about $5. This brings the value of my EDC kit to $40, the equivalent of two of the plastic survival water bottle kits.

Next week we will be discussing the last characteristic, our cover option, and what we will be packing our gear in and why I made these decisions. As always feel free to comment, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.