"A knife" many would say. "Fire kit" is also a good one. But I'm thinking of a tool without which these are all useless: Your hands.
When you go out on a hike, you use your hands for everything: Handling tools and equipment such as a sharp knife, picking wood and sticks full of splinters, rummaging through undergrowth, handling pine needles, climbing rocks or trees, managing fire and burning coals, grabbing slippery fish with barbed fins, pulling out fishing hooks, skinning animals, etc. And any of these activities can hurt your hands bad. And wounded hands are useless hands. Even if it's just calluses it is annoying enough. But you definitely have better things to do than stopping a bleeding wound or dealing with infections just because you were inattentive for a second!
That is why I think a couple of leather gloves are one of the most important tools in your bag. Ideally you should wear them as much as possible and only remove them for doing fine work, or for hygienic reasons.
When lifting your pot off the fire without burning your fingers, or when you your knife slips but that thick layer of hide narrowly stops it from cutting into your hand, you'll thank me.
My personal choice is the Hatch FriskMaster SuperMax.
Really, any snug leather gloves will work fine, but I am really happy with my FriskMasters. The thing I like most about them is that they have a knife proof inner lining! After all, they're made for police and security personel who may come in contact with all manner of nasty people.If they're good enough for the police, they're good enough for me. They may seem quite expensive, but the quality is top grade; I've used them for over 10 years now and they're still good.
Do yourself a favor and get a pair of good leather gloves. Your most important tool - your hands - will thank you!
Original post at Fredfenneck.com
