AllOutdoor’s Last-Minute Gift Guide, 2014 Edition
AllOutdoor Staff 12.12.14
Survival and Camping
Whether you’re headed outdoors for a weekend trip or you’re bugging out long-term, we’ve got you covered with the following survival and camping gear recs.
Ruger 10/22 Takedown Rollup Case
If you’re bugging out, then we know that you’re planning to bring along your Ruger 10/22 Takedown model. (And if you don’t have a 10/122 Takedown, then don’t buy anything on this list. Just run out and get one now.) A small operation called “Flower Pot Heaters and Gun Cases” makes a great little roll-up case for the 10/22 TD that, at around $45, is the perfect bug-out companion for this gun. Go check it out, and pick one up for survival or camping purposes.
Compact Fishing Kit
Outdoorsman Josh Perlmutter has put together a great little pocket survival kit, and it’s available for $10 on his Etsy store, 1stLineSurvival. Don’t get stuck out in the woods without one.
DSA Z-Hawk
We can’t have a survival list without at least a small, ever-so-subtle nod to the zombie apocalypse. So we give you the DSA Z-Hawk, a not-necessarily-but-probably-zombie-themed tomahawk that doubles as an AR-15 armorer’s tool. For $84.95, we definitely want one.
Safeguard Stealth Body Armor
So the S has made contact with the F, and all of the sudden you find yourself on the wrong end of the “two-way range.” You’re gonna want body armor that doesn’t advertise “Hey, I’m rocking some body armor, so try to shoot me in the head and steal it!” That’s where SafeGuard’s concealable body armor comes in. If it gets bad out there, don’t leave home without it.
CRKT Woods Chogan Tomahawk
This Christmas, your outdoors-loving giftee can roll like a well-to-do mountain man with this premium $69 tomahawk from CRKT. It’s a beautiful, functional piece of North American art.
Swedish Fireknife
For the money, the Swedish Fireknife from Light My Fire is generally agreed to be one of the very best, if not the best, survival implement in the world. This $30 Mora knife, recommended by many of the world’s top survivalists, comes with a fire steel in the handle. Buy a few of them and leave them in your car, your closet, or anywhere that could be handy in the event of a disaster.
The Original Storm Kettle
This elegantly simple and bulletproof water heater and camp stove is fairly well known in Europe, but Americans are just now getting introduced to it. It’s a simple solution to a complex problem: how do you boil water quickly, even in a storm, with a minimal amount of fuel? Check out our review to learn how this marvelous little $70 British import works.
Can Cooker
Built out of food grade anodized aluminum, the Can Cooker can be filled up with hundreds of recipes and then put on a variety of heat sources. This might be a conventional electric or gas stove top, a campfire, camp grill, or propane cooker.
The contents are brought to a boil, as indicated by white steam escaping the vent on the top of the clamped cover. Once the steam starts, the Can Cooker is allowed to cook for roughly an hour, and then it’s set aside for five minutes to cool off. Ingredients can be ladled out into big bowls or onto a regular dinner plate. Add a salad, rolls, and some iced tea and the gig is on.
CRKT Parasaw Survival Bracelet
CRKT has always been innovative in delivering functional tools with a cool twist, and that’s certainly true of the Para-Saw Survival Bracelet. Very few items in a survival kit offer more utility than a length of 550 paracord. You get plenty of functionality from normal, intact paracord, and once you pull out “the guts,” all those little strands add up to a limitless list of uses.
Silky Gomboy Folding Saw
Quite often, the best answer to the timeless “hatchet vs. chopper” debate is, “a saw.” Seriously, ounce for ounce, a primo folding saw like the Silky Gomboy is probably the best wood-processing tool you can put in your pack.
Montie Gear Y Slingshot
There are survival slingshots, and then there’s the Montie Gear Y. For versatility, durability, and accuracy, this slingshot is the standard that all others are measured against.
TAD FAST Pack EDC
Triple Aught Design’s FAST Pack EDC is the world’s best large day pack, period. It ain’t cheap ($325), and it ain’t always in stock, but if this shows up under the three then someone is going to love Santa forever.
