PAMB (personal anti missile battery), satellite messaging device, toothpicks.

I have a purifier water bottle that works like a French press. It is definitely a survival item. Mainly I used it in rugged South/Central American jungle areas where I didn’t trust the water source.

Rescue whistles

Best Wishes for this new venture!

Items I can think of:

Acetaminophen, children's acetaminophen, wet wipes, bandaids, thin rain ponchoes, sunglasses, bottled water-, postcards--, feminine hygiene items, insect repellent, sun screen, travel sized toiletries, bandanas, juice boxes, painted rocks, local restaurant information, scavenger hunt lists of things in the forest, ...

- or gallon sized so ppl will use/reuse their own water vessel
--I envision RDHG making her own with her amazing photos

Just curious, is this a B&M store or online?

Thank you for your list. Do you carry the bison tube and nano containers for anything hiking related, or is that for the hobby?

Satellite connection to the outside world is valuable. Thank you.

I agree and already hope to have those. Great idea.

I am not sure why someone laughed, as that is a good idea. Thank you for responding.

That is an extensive list. Thank you for putting that much thought into it.

We will be having survival and life skills classes, and also some classes simply for fun. A rock painting class could be a fun activity for the community.

Thank you for asking. It will be a physical store, and we will also have a web site.

Bisons and nanos are common geocaching containers. Sorry, I should have specified. 😊

For hiking or camping, I have often needed more fuel than expected. Both the small butane mix camp stove canisters and the 1lb propane. I expect a full 20lb propane refill station is a bit much, but would be useful!

Towels! I always seem to want "one more dry towel", or they are completely forgotten at home.
Maybe basic clothes? A rainy week in the wilderness and there would be very little I wouldn't do for a dry pair of socks and a sweatshirt!

I have spent a ton of time in the wilderness hiking and solo backpackers and I have some thoughts on this. Teach REAL survival.

Some people have romanticized backwoods survival. Bushcraft is rarely needed. If fact, I’m strongly against it. In today’s modern world, if you hike smart, you should be found long before you need food or need to be chopping down trees or vegetation.

The first and main key to survival is hiking and camping smart. That starts at the trailhead. Make sure responsible people know where you are going and when you will be back. That includes family and rangers. Check in, sign visitors logs, get permits. If you do that, and then get lost, help should find you soon.

You also don’t need to learn how to start a fire by rubbing sticks together, or any of the usual “survival skills” methods. Just toss a couple of Bic lighters in your pack. They are cheap, light and reliable.

You don’t need to learn to build survival shelters from trees and vegetation. There are several survival tents on the market. They are light and don’t take up much room in a pack. Same for emergency ponchos.

If you take a few protein bars you should be good for the duration of your lost time. Learning how to build traps, snares and the like is not needed for short term survival.

Always carry a map and a compass. A modern gps is highly recommended but even so, should something go wrong, a compass might save you - know how to use it.

The absolute best ways to avoid not getting found is to always carry a personal survival locator beacon. These are pricey but will guarantee you will be found should you get lost.

I admit I have a few survival books in my library. And there’s nothing wrong wrong with learning to start a fire with a bow drill - it’s satisfying - but don’t trust your life to these things. They are always MUCH easier to do under controlled conditions when you are warm, dry and fed.

Stickers. I know you asked for useful stuff but I collect stickers when I’m traveling.

I’ve found some non-heat clothing and gear patches that are washer and dryer safe are handy to have.

I always had to come back to aq to do that. Are you saying we can do that in the app now?

I found my grandfather's old letterhead -- on onionskin!-- from back when he had his own painting business. It looked great next to the old typewriter clack clack CHING zzzzzzzzttttt

We've done a lot of canoe camping up in the BWCA. Things we bring along include detailed maps, binoculars, good flashlights, butane lighters, fire starters, (we make our own from egg cartons, dryer lint and melted wax), rain gear, waterproof bags, lots of rope, first aid supplies, and lightweight backpacking hammocks.
A must-have luxury item for me would be my Aero Press coffee maker - it's lightweight, simple to use, and is very easy to clean.

That just took me back to typing class in high school.

If you are refering to the colored backgrounds on the clue lists for found, attempted, and planted then yes, it is still there. I was not logged in the AQ thru the app at the time. As soon as I logged back in the colors were there.

Thank you for those suggestions. No, we will not have a full, refill station, yet the other fuel ideas may work. There are more campgrounds up and down the road to Gatlinburg than I can think of.

Haha...I got you. 👍

Yes. I understand -- not only SHTF survival preparedness but also real world survival knowledge. 100%.

That you mentioned the personal locator beacon caught my attention because we just had a class about flashlights, and that was one thing the speaker discussed -- including for a canine companion.

Thank you for the thorough and thought out response.

Thank you for your ideas and suggestions. The coffee maker is an idea to consider, too. 🤔

This has been a helpful thread!

I'm not sure I saw it mentioned, but perhaps have some feminine hygiene products. Sometimes Auntie Flow sneaks up on us or you forgot to grab some pads. Also, if you have Tylenol, have Motrin too, see above, plus sometimes the concept of above the shoulders Tylenol, below, Motrin is a good one to know.

For example:
ACR ResQLink 400 - SOS Personal Locator Beacon with GPS and Global Coverage

No subscription required.

I like to follow this guy, Steve. He goes to some interesting places. In this video, he discovers what looks like to be a bear canister with a set of numbers in it. I don’t believe it’s a plant by Steve. But these days, who knows. What’s the Mystery of the Mojave!?

Link to video (skip to the 11:00 minute mark if you are impatient).
https://youtu.be/A5vp8TtGVcg?si=piFeVzKKJwzZm7r_

And here’s a screenshot:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/f3d679d6-a055-4a5d-9aaf-6d878c3a7835_l.jpg

Any ideas?

If anyone is interested, I'm selling a copy of the 1998 Smithsonian Magazine that has the "They Live and Breathe Letterboxing" article in it. As most here know, that article is widely seen as helping to usher in the hobby into the USA. The magazine is in very good condition and as they say, "It's a must have for any true letterboxing devotee.." Whoever "they" is... lol. This magazine is getting harder to come by nowadays. If you search on eBay for "Smithsonian Magazine Letterboxing" it should pop right up. If there is interest I have another copy that I may list as well. I'll be donating the proceeds to my local humane society where our last several cats have come from.

Well I sort of solved the mystery:
https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxIwrxeb07KoAKS1lArQ2vSSSvRh50Nv2t

However... why!? It's not viral marketing, not enough people see it. As one of the comments read, who ever put it there is legend!

I am not so sure that is the solution. Maybe I am looking at it wrong but if you write the letters under the numbers the numbers are 1 short and 11 seems to be an e, an r or an n

I’ve watched few of his videos. I haven’t seen that one.