Also…
I keep the items in my survival kit waterproof by packing them in vacuum food storage bags. They work much better than zip lock bags. To keep the bags from breaking, I wrap anythig that has hard edges in a thin layer of packing foam before vacuum sealing them in the bags.
LED headlamps are awesome.
GPS and mount: I use a RAM mount with a suction cup base that I ordered from Cabela’s. It holds very securely on my woodstrip kayak.
Pedro
they also
don’t work well in cold weather
olive cleats or equivalent?
Anyone know where I could find them?
Paul
just take one in
and show it to them
Birch
Two strips or birch and a tissue has flames roaring out the top and water boiled in seconds.
You can’t cook an egg on it but for water you can’t touch it.
olive cleats: dime a dozen
here downunder.
Any marine chandlery stocks them.
If you really can’t find them, in the good old US and A, I can hook you up.
Let me know.
We ozzies (fake or “real”) look after each other… no worries mate 
Gnarlydog
Whitworths
As you found on your ggl srch, Coates in UK carry them (though I’ve never ordered from there).
In Aus, as gnarly mentioned, many chanderly shops carry them.
One popular one, with a web presence is: Whitworths:
http://www.whitworths.com.au/
When I went to the website, I couldn’t find them.
If you are going to call them, have the size of bungy you intend them for (eg: .5cm)
When I bought some, they were color coded - the pink & purple (the kind I use most) works best for 3/16" (.5cm) or so.
They also had ‘black’ ones that took slightly larger diameter.
When I bought them last - they were about $1 or $1.50 each. (Note: At the moment - the exchange rate is quite favorable for us)
found it - they call it 'shock tie’
http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?item=77404&search123=shock&intAbsolutePage=1
Extra tarp stowed on top or in ha
hatch - easily accessable…
very handy if it rains while on a trip. Allows you to pack/inpack and stay dry. Drape the tarp over you and your kayak as you load/unload.
butane pressure
I just read the comments about butane lighters not working when cold - but they don’t mention why and what you can do about it. Maybe everybody knows this already, but I thought I’d spell it out so maybe it’ll help one or two people get a fire going instead of being cold.
The problem isn’t the ambient temperature, it’s the pressure inside the lighter itself. In cold weather, the pressure inside falls off so that very little gas comes out when you press the lever. Fixing that is easy, just use your body heat. Carry the lighter in an inside pocket, and it’ll work fine. Even if a lighter seems to “run out” of butane, you can often get one or two more lights by holding it for a few minutes against your skin in a warm place, like underarm or crotch. (Note to people who need the warning labels on ladders - remove lighter from crotch before operating the lighting mechanism.)
Nonetheless, it’s a good idea to have some matches in your kit for emergency, including a few waterproof matches. It’s easy and cheap to make these yourself by taking some strike-anywhere matches (the kind with the 2-part head) and dipping the heads in wax several times. When you want to light them, peel off the wax to expose the heads and strike them.
Also, somebody mentioned how butane lighters stop working after getting wet, but eventually dry out and start working again. You can accelerate the drying process by holding down the gas-release lever and lighting the wet lighter from another source, and then letting it burn for 30-60 seconds.
Gnarlydog i just sent you an e-mail
Paul
redundancy
I have two fire starters along with lots of butane and waterproof matches. If I have redundancy in anything this is it. Takes up no space to speak of and it would be irresponsible to not have at least a couple of options.
Paul
Less stuff
My contribution of tips and tricks would be leave most of the “might be useful” thingies at home. Makes it a lot easier to load and unload, nicer to paddle and less stuff to worry about. You should always think twice before you leave any safety/medical equipment at home though.
A useful thing to bring along is an IKEA bag for carrying all your gear. Cost nothing, wears tough and takes up very little space.
Most important though, is to bring good company. No piece of equipment will ever make up for bad company, although earplugs might improve things.
agreed
whatever pile of stuff Ihave I plan to cut nearly in half before proceeding.
Paul
any more?
great stuff so far.
Paul
Ikea bag
I was just about to say that. I haven’t taken very many trips but I got attached to a big mesh bag with shoulder straps for loading all the little dry bags from the kayak to the campsite and vice versa. It doesn’t take much room and would be the last thing packed under the hatch, once open everything immediately goes in it and gets carried up in one trip. with two hands carrying bigger bags. That reduces the time the kayak is sitting half open near the water and makes it that much quicker to lifting up above the high water mark.
another tip
I use a packing diagram of where everything goes in the kayak based on a test packing at home. After a few days, it’s no longer necessary but for the first few days, it does help keep everything in the right place which helps me pack and find stuff quicker.
Same batteries
Make sure all of your electric/electronic gizmos use the same batteries (Usually AA is most common). If one kicks, you can cannibalize batteries from other items in a pinch. Plus, you only have one type of spare to carry.
Packing diagrams
That’s what I did, starting with my 1st trip in my 1st kayak. On that trip, I modified my packing placement each day, I swear. And I changed the diagram to reflect that. Then I got to alter it again when I got another kayak. Got it worked out pretty well for a while. Now I need to do a test-pack with the newest kayak and I’ll be sure to take the diagram with me on my first camping trip with it…because there might be some more changes.
I take a picture of my gear placement
– Last Updated: Dec-10-08 7:58 AM EST –
Since I have a canoe, it's easy to just take a picture then (if necessary) review it on the camera. I'm bringing the camera anyway.