Reddit reviews Corona RS 7041 Razor Tooth Folding Saw, 7-Inch Blade

There is a lot wrong with this list, so I'm just going to work down it one by one with my thoughts on the matter.

USB flameless lighter? Why? That is going to be unreliable, at best. Throw a few BIC lighters and some stormproof matches in there and be done with it. IF you want to be fancy, get something built to be rugged, that will stand up to use in the field:

https://www.amazon.ca/Ultimate-Survival-Technologies-Floating-Lighter/dp/B00C85NBA6/ref=sr_1_2?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482173178&sr=1-2&keywords=camping+lighter

Speaking of, I didn't see any sort of firestarting material. Warmth is going to be important, and you need as few steps as possible between you and fire. Get some quality firestarters. I am trying to keep all my links relevant from amazon.ca, so some of the brands I'm most familiar with aren't there. But these work well (though there are options from Wetfire and other brands that take up less space):

https://www.amazon.ca/Ultimate-Survival-Technologies-Fire-Stix/dp/B00C6SHODK/ref=sr_1_20?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482173338&sr=1-20&keywords=emergency+fire+starter

What is with the mall-ninja "tactical" hatchet? That is a lot of weight and not a lot of utility. You'd be better served with a reliable and lightweight folding saw, and a good full-tang fixed-blade knife. Something like a 7 inch Corona saw:

https://www.amazon.ca/Corona-Cutting-Tools-RS-7041/dp/B00004R9YN/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482173467&sr=1-1&keywords=corona+folding+saw

If you insist on carrying a hatchet (and their function in a bugout situation is debatable, especially for the weight) get something quality like an Estwing:

https://www.amazon.ca/Estwing-E24A-14-Inch-Sportmans-Sheath/dp/B00BNQR4SG/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482173510&sr=1-1&keywords=estwing+hatchet

Nothing wrong with duct tape, but you'd do well to wrap just maybe 3-4 meters of it around a small core (like from doggy waste bags, or even just around itself).

The self-crank radio/flashlight/phone charger is shit. You also don't need four lights, especially if all of them are crap. Buy one good flashlight, and maybe one good headlamp.

A flashlight like a Nitecore P12 or something that runs on an 18650 and offers long runtime would be ideal. If you buy a diffuser cap for it, you can replace the lantern. Pick up some spare, high quality 18650 cells, as well. The P12 has SOS and beacon modes, which will run for days at a time, in addition to a nice throw and excellent brightness on Medium and High.

https://www.amazon.ca/Nitecore-Flashlight-Lumens-Meters-Distance/dp/B00PQE1D2E/ref=sr_1_2?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482173859&sr=1-2&keywords=nitecore+P12

As for headlamps, those don't need to be super bright. You want something with enough brightness and floodiness to work around camp. But ideally you also want a red-light or low-light mode for night time, when you don't need to destroy your night vision just because you need to take a piss or something.

https://www.amazon.ca/TACTIKKA-CONSTANT-LIGHTING-HEADLAMP-DESERT/dp/B00GCGIGHK/ref=sr_1_14?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482173989&sr=1-14&keywords=petzl+headlamp

The powerbank thing in the crank radio is crap, only 1000mah. Not enough to charge most modern smart phones even 25%. Figure that of that 1000mah, ~25% will be lost just due to inefficiency in the charging process. Get a 10,000mah or bigger high quality battery, with 2.1A ports, and be done with it:

https://www.amazon.ca/Anker-PowerCore-Portable-Ultra-Compact-High-speed-Charging-Technology/dp/B0194WDVHI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482173708&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+usb+power+bank

Combine the money you'd spend on the shitty folding knife and the shitty Gerber multitool, and buy a proper multi-tool. You don't need two folding knives.

The Leatherman Wingman is a good value, though I prefer a nicer quality one like the Charge TTi, but at four times the price it may not be worth it just for an S30V blade.

https://www.amazon.ca/Leatherman-2996-831426-Wingman-Multi-Tool/dp/B005DI0XM4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482174264&sr=8-1&keywords=leatherman+wave

Ditch the camp toilet paper, that stuff is like wiping your ass with cardboard. Get some biodegradable camp wipes from an outdoor store. You can now use these to clean your ass, and they also are useful for wiping your hands, or taking whore baths.

Same with the camp soap. Are you bugging out or camping for a week? Nothing you are going to do in a bugout situation is going to necessitate body soap. Toothbrush, floss, deodorant.

Ditch the giant first aid kit full of crap you don't need. Those things are heavy and 80 of the 85 pieces are just different sized bitch stickers. Build your own first aid kit tailored around the likely injuries you would face: sprains, cuts, burns. Maybe throw some Quik Clot Z-pack gauze or a tourniquet (CAT or similar) in there for larger trauma, if that is a concern to you. Limit the bitch stickers to 5-10. All gauze, tape, trauma pads, alcohol wipes, tincture of iodine, moleskin for blisters, tweezers, surgical shears, gloves, maybe burn cream. Small containers of medications you might need: aspirin, antihistamines like Diphenhydramine, anti-diarrheals, etc.

That survival paracord bracelet thing is garbage. You already have 100ft of paracord in your list (which you could probably cut down to 50ft). You don't need some shitty firestarter, whistle, and compass thing. Buy a real lensatic sighting compass. Not going to do you much good without a map and the ability to understand it, anyway.

https://www.amazon.ca/UST-Survival-Essentials-Lensatic-Compass/dp/B005X1YI3Q/ref=sr_1_5?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482174799&sr=1-5&keywords=compass

You have both a cookset AND a mug/pot. This is extra redundant and not needed in a bugout situation. Stick to food you don't have to prepare. Caloric density is your friend. Jerky, EPIC bars, Clif bars, etc.

If you need to boil water, use a single-wall metal canteen (NOT a thermos). Remove the plastic lid, fill with water, set in your fire. Widemouth canteens like those by Klean Kanteen are multi-purpose (multipurpose is your friend). You can sterilize water, you can cook and eat food out of it (because of the large opening), and you can fill with hot water, wrap in a sock, and warm your sleep system.

https://www.amazon.ca/Klean-Kanteen-Stainless-Bottle-27-Ounce/dp/B0027W6WHE/ref=sr_1_sc_4?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482174908&sr=1-4-spell&keywords=klean+kanteen+widemouth

You don't need a can opener if you have a good multitool.

Lifestraws suck ass. They only work as a straw, and I am going to guess you don't want to get your water by drinking out of puddles exclusively. Get a Sawyer Squeeze mini filter. This can be used in-line with a hydration bladder, can be used like a Lifestraw, or can be used to filter an fill your water storage containers/bladder:

https://www.amazon.ca/Sawyer-Products-SP128-Filtration-System/dp/B00FA2RLX2/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482175065&sr=1-1&keywords=sawyer+mini

One seriously lacking area for you is your sleep system. A tarp and a space blanket are not going to keep you functionally warm. You might survive a night, but you won't be useful the next day.

At the BARE minimum, you should get a good, reflective, breathable bivvy sack, like this one from SOL, AND a sleeping pad. A bivvy will reflect heat back onto you, helping with heat lost through convection, but no sleeping bag will help with heat lost through conduction (you touching the cold ground). That is why a sleeping pad is mandatory. I have used the Escape bivvy and the Klymit pad linked here together, and both kept me comfortably warm to about 50 degrees F. Below that, I've had to augment with base layers or jackets, and that still sucked. If you are hoping to sleep in below freezing temperatures, you'll need a properly sorted ultralight sleeping bag.

https://www.amazon.ca/Adventure-Medical-Kits-Escape-Bivvy/dp/B00EVGD0FQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482175280&sr=1-1&keywords=SOL+escape

https://www.amazon.ca/Klymit-06SVGR01C-Camping-Mattress-Green-Grey/dp/B007RFG0NM/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1482175199&sr=1-1&keywords=sleep+pad

Other recommendations of mine would be to take survival, medical and foraging guides and put them on a smartphone, along with a GPS mapping software and pre-downloaded offline topographical maps at 1:24k resolution of your main bugout areas and 1:100k resolution elsewhere. Something like Gaia GPS for iOS or Backcountry Navigator Pro for Android:

*Tl;Dr. BUY CHEAP AT FIRST!! Any Morakniv and the Gator Combo hatchet/saw will get you started with shelter building, firewood processing, and campcraft projects. Total is about $50 USD. I hate pruning saws in general, but if you must have one then the Corona is slightly cheaper than the Bahco, performs the same or better, and has more size options. If budget isn't an issue silky makes professional grade saws, but consider just getting a buck saw blade and making a frame yourself.**

 

I've collected an assortment of knives/axes/saws for trips into the woods and since there is usually 3 or 4 post per week asking about knife purchases, I thought I would share some of my experiences I have with budget/mid range cutting tools for Bushcraft.

 

Pictured:

1. Council Tools boys Axe.
   
2. Hultafors classic felling (They also make the identical husqvarna)
   
3. Bhaco Rucksack Axe on a 28" handle.
   
4. Tramontina machete with modified blade
   
5. Bhaco branded Mora in Stainless Steel
   
6. Esee 6
   
7. Esee Izula 2
   
8. Gerber Gator Combo
   
9. Bob Dustrude Quick Buck saw
   
10. Leatherman Wave
    
11. Opinel no. 8 Carbon
    
12. Esee Avispa
    
     
    
    Thoughts:
    
    
13. Council - Favorite pack axe. Perfect mix of head weight, handle length, cost, and availability. Theres also a smaller version with a 24" handle and lighter head some may prefer.
    
    
14. Hultafors/Husqvarna - Good for green/softwoods but I deal with hardwoods and don't bring it after getting the Council.
    
    
15. Bahco - came with a 19inch handle and I found it's too much compromise for the work it will do. A 28" handle with a slightly heavier head will perform circles around it. Out of the box it its designed for splitting. Takes a significant amount of grinding on the cheeks to be any good at chopping. Tries to hard to be an axe and a hatchet and fails at both IMO.
    
16. Tramontina - Cheap and effective machete. I cut the off some of the blade for better portability and working in denser brush.
    
    
17. Mora - Same thing as the companion but $5-$7 cheaper on amazon. Theres a reason everyone suggests Mora here. For bushcraft you are working primarily with wood and the scandi grind is made for it. Buy a mora first and figure out if you want something specialized later. Really anything with a Scandinavian grind will serve you well. Mora offers high carbon and stainless steel blades. Stainless wont rust but also wont throw sparks by scraping a ferro rod as effectively as carbon. Carbon steels will rust if you don't take care of them but hold an edge much longer. So if your using it for making fire and carving a lot of wood get carbon; if you want to use it for food prep and not worry about it rusting get stainless.
    
    
18. Esee 6 - Shameless McQ inspired purchase from earlier days but still my one knife/survival choice. It does everything adequately but nothing spectacularly. They're over a $100 USD and for a beginner just get a Mora. I mostly only take this car camping now or when I only want to take a knife and a canteen into the woods but it is a chore to use.
    
    
19. Esee Izula 2 - Got as a companion to the Esee 6. Its thick blade makes it poor for most finer work that its sized for. Works better as a fixed blade EDC.
    
    
20. Gerber Hatchet - Good starter hatchet for light wood processing and shelter building. The saw makes quick work of green woods up to 2" diameter and is a easily packable.
    
    
21. Buck saw - As far as packable saws go, this is the bees knees. its super lightweight, uses a standard size blade and the trapezoidal vs a triangular design you see in other pack saws allows for processing of larger diameter logs. I ditched my pruning saw as soon as I got this.
    
    
22. Leatherman Wave - Its heavy, its expensive and a poor choice for woodworking tasks. I use a multi tool every day at work but they dont really have a place for hiking/campcraft.
    
    
23. Opinel no. 8 Carbon - The blade is thin and the lock isn't very sturdy. It handles light carving in softwoods well enough for tent pegs, feather sticks, and pot hangers just not much else. Has a sharp spine for ferro rods and works well for food prep. The handle is bulky in the pocket but since its wood its easily modified. Good foragers knife.
    
    
24. Esee Avispa - Folder EDC. Not really for bushcraft but it's always on me and what I reach for to cut cord.
    
    
    Tools are a personal thing and I expect to hear about it in the comments on where others are coming from. r/bushcraft is largely an echo chamber for mora knives and for good reason. They are inexpensive, high quality, and well designed for the jobs you are likely wanting to do with a knife. Mors Kochanski goes in depth on this subject in his book Bushcraft; it's a must read for anyone starting out.