I go with bright blue now, the reason being that it's so rare in nature (at least at ground level) whereas autumn leaves can easily conceal small orange objects.
Soldiers and hunters need to be invisible to their adversaries, hikers on the other hand have bright colours all over, for a reason. Bushcrafters can choose the colours for their needs, being it stealth camping, hunting, or orientaiting in the wilderness. Mors Kochanski was promoting bright colours on the gear, when there weren't much coloured gear. Also, bushcraft fashion, took it's own way, primitive skills and lifestyle reenactment fashion.
I tried bright blue at night, but only so-so visible.In daylight, yes, noticeable. They say we see the red end of light better at night. I try to get luminescent gear when possible,even though its glow rarely lasts all night unless radioactive powered.
Being 100% colour blind, if its not black or white, its a shade of gray. I have to rely on adding reflective tape or unnatural shapes to make things more visible.
Great video. I have worked in Canadian forestry for many years. It is very customary to tie a bit of orange flagging tape onto anything that you use (saws, increment borers, compasses, clinometers etc.). Flagging tape isn't tape it is more of a plastic ribbon that isn't sticky. Also, I always use an orange tarp when camping, if that rescue aircraft is looking for you, I want to be seen. ATB.
As a military veteran I tend to go towards the more tactical colors. But this make so much sense to have your sensitive items ( fire steel, lighter,knives) in a bright colors to find if they are dropped or misplaced. Excellent idea.
Agreed. I like adding bright lanyards(often retroreflective, sometimes glow-in-the-dark) to items when feasible. And can be easily removable, if you so desire. An added benefit of lanyard loops is that such items are easier to refasten securely back onto yourself or onto your kit. Retroreflective tape (found in among automotive stores) is a good thing to add to certain items. Bright blue is one of the easier colors to spot out in the wild. Blaze orange and neon green, especially when smudged, will occasionally get lost against certain natural backgrounds, especially in low light. Bright blue almost never blends in.
I have used orange cordage to make lanyards for my knife,saw and fire lighting kit, it's also got a silver reflective strand in it that glows when a torch is aimed at it, I think it's a good halfway house if you like between nothing and brightly coloured equipment. It's an interesting topic that makes you think whats the most important items you would really like to retrieve if lost.
I found orange lanyards got really mucky quickly for some reason, but I have switched to a bright blue kind with red and yellow flecks and that's helped me find a dropped Helle which had a birch handle!
Great review as always Paul. As being a student of bushcraft for over 30 years (I believe we are all students as still learning); most of my kit is drab in colour. I do however use bright lanyards on some of my expensive tools and first aid etc. There seems to be this culture, manufacturers that have black finish so called "Tactical knives". I understand that they may form a coating to suppress oxidation. But to frequently are cheap blades , stainless steel to attract youngsters. We need to educate about quality rather than so called combat knives does anyone agree.?
Preaching to the converted here- I've always thought it silly that equipment is in easily losable colors- mine is mostly a horrible orange colour. An extra dimension of viability is to use reflective paracord for lanyards, then, with a torch, you can easily find things in the dark.
Look up Brick Layers line. It comes in Yellow and Orange. While it is thin, it is great for some bushcraft macrame stuff to make a lanyard. I use a 50cm length on keys and stuff, which is a nuisance at times, but helps find dropped keys etc.. Good for whipping tag ends. I use melted bees wax on the whipped end to seal and hold, you can undo it if it sealed with wax, but you cannot undo it if it is set in super glue, and super glue goes hard.
100% agree. I still wear muted colours but crucial gear is either orange or in colours that stand out in timber, leaves, mud or grass etc. If we look at what gear indigenous people use or wear its rarely muted or discrete even for hunting. There is an element of 'boys playing soldiers' in the woods amongst particulary middle aged and older bushcrafters. Who also interestingly often choose heavy or inapropriate kit and favour larger bladed tools for example knives. We live on a crowded island, and discrete clothing is less intrusive, but anyone who has actually been out in damp dark English broad leaf woodland knows how frustrating trying to find things can be as dusk sets in. I think the most absurd things I ever see is green or camo knifes with green, camo, or matt black scales or handles, black blades, in green brown or black sheaths. OK if you are a commando but daft if you are trying to prep wood on a dark cold evening.
Since thinking orange, ive gradually started to faze out almost all of my equipment that is not orange, boots, shorts, skin toght top, backpack, hat, oiter jackets, tools, my tarp, cotton material, fire lighting, I look like odd, but i dont spend that much time looking at myself when im on an adventure, but should i ever get lost then my chances of survival are exponentially increased. It works the same, just with the bonus. Worst comes to worst people call you a can of Tango, best case it saves your life, great video, wish more people were sharing this philosophy!
I honestly look ridiculous with how illuminated in bright orange gear I am, but I live it, the amount of times I'd drop something in the woods on the floor and struggled to find it. Now it's easy. My thinking is this, its not a fashion show, it's going into an uninhabited area, and should you get lost and get the chance to call for help, when they do send the search party a bright orange beacon will attract people much easier.
Over the last couple of years I have come to the same conclusion. My newer tools are yellow, blue, red and orange. All strong & bright colors that are visible in nature. But my clothes, tarps and backpacks are brown, green and dark grey. When I go up into the mountains ( I'm in Switzerland ) I also bring a bright orange rain poncho, in case I need help and want to be found!
Brilliant...literally!! For many years, despite suffering from a severe case of 'Olive Drab Disease' and owning more green stuff than the MOD, I have always marked critical gear, (although stupidly, not my knives!) with Hi Viz orange tags, lanyards and tapes. I have also taught cadets basic shelter building for a number of years, and one of my major safety rules is when using para cord in the woods, it is ALWAYS orange. Having worked on large areas of MOD land, it is endlessly, hugely annoying and often dangerous to find large quantities of discarded olive drab or camo para cord, which you don't see until it's caught round your foot or leg and down you go! At neck or head height, it is lethal and nearly invisible and so I always teach using Orange. That way, the students can easily see and find what they need, it's visually clearer for them to understand the basic structural principles of its application, including knots etc, and fewer accidents happen in terms of 'blind teenagers' blundering into ridge lines etc. At the end of the camp, all cord is then really easily retrieved and taken away, leaving no trace and ensuring I have it all safely accounted for. I also endlessly bang on about not putting any kit down on the ground and moving away from it. The classic is the laplander....cut something, student puts the saw down for 'a moment' to use two hands to move the cut branches, gets enthusiastically distracted to continue dragging those bits to where they want them and then.... "Sir, where is my saw?" My canoe kit, again, mostly drab and olive river colours, always has blaze orange emergency items. First Aid kits are likewise all orange marked or contained in bright orange stuff bags. So sensible and practical. If out with anyone else and you need to direct them to a bit of emergency kit, it's so much faster to just say, "the bright orange stuff sack there!" than have them lost in a sea of khaki or olive drab! Great to see you cover this on UA-cam. Thanks for all your great content.😊
Hi Lawrence thanks for your comments. It sounds like your cadets have a good instructor who cares about their development, as well as looking after the places you are using for training. Bravo. Your observations about Laplander saws is spot on, as is your point about directing people to emergency kit. I'm glad you liked the video. Cheers, Paul
Just waiting for pickup after paddling from Sweden to Norway over 15 days. Nothing makes you sweat more than when you cannot find vital kit, I absolutely agree with your view, especially for actual travel in wilderness vital kit needs to be visible. My knifes , saw, SPOON, fire steel and lighters all have orange cord or covers on, and at times I could have done with elastic through my jacket joining my gloves like when I was child 😂 (having been on over a handful of Frontier Bushcrafts brilliant courses has helped naturally 😊). It gives you a fighting chance to find things and even then, in varied terrain it can challenging. Many thanks for all your excellent content. Graham
👍👍👍 .. good post. Choice of colour is also very much dependent on whether 'one wants to be seen or not' .. another subject worthy of many debates thereon. Some of my gear is Orange / Brightly-Coloured and other not .. the main body, container and/or lanyard. That said, time spent in the Military and Mining Industry taught me the Mantra; 'Order .. when there is a place for everything and everything is in it's place .. always.' Thus I am in the habit of putting something back into it's designated place after use. Yes, it often means that I spend time 'taking out / putting away' 🙄 but that is how it is and I am comfortable with it. I can also 'move on' without much fuss if I have to 😏. Even in the kitchen at home. I wash / pack away utensils used to preparing a meal as soon as I have finished with them .. meaning that when I am ready to eat, everything (mostly) is packed away and the kitchen spic and span. Yes, a subject worthy of further discussion please. Thanks for sharing .. take care ..
Hi Thomas, yes you make excellent points, with which I agree - having a place for everything and everything in its place is a key discipline. Having bright kit should certainly not be an excuse for being sloppy. I'm glad you liked this topic and would be happy to see more along these lines. Thanks for your feedback and input. It's appreciated.
For deer stalking I have bright orange mora's. They are in a bag out of sight when carried. But when you are trying to prep a carcass, usually as the light is failing, the orange really helps to keep track of your kit.
@@bertheemskerk3273I believe blaze orange camo is common in the US and on the continent. Where there may be other hunters/stalkers on the ground. I keep the knives out of sight mainly for the benefit of walkers who are occasionally around. They seem to fixate on the knife you are carrying, and almost don't notice that you are carrying a rifle over your shoulder!
Can use orange heat shrink tubing on smaller things to keep track of, without everything getting sticky. Recently experimented with stuffing a few fireplugs in heat shrink, so can carry together on the same lanyard/necklace with a ferro&striker.
Hello 👋 Paul, sincere thanks for sharing this informative video. Greetings from Northern California. I enjoy your videos. Five years ago I purchased an SOL fero rod, it has a bright orange handle and includes a magnesium cylinder along with the fero rod. Stay safe out there and continue to share your vital knowledge. 😊
Hi Ronald, thanks for your positive comments. Thanks also for sharing the detaisl of the SOL ferro rod. I think I may have seen one of these in an REI or MEC but will endavour to check one out more closely and give it a try. Warm regards, Paul
Have also been thinking about this, In the preparedness community there is alot of talk about tacticool, that usually means black or darker colours to be able to hide in a WROL situation. But if you do that and lose your knife - what good is it? Up here in the cold, we have this thing called snow and it can get rather deep, so my solution was to add a bit of orange paracord, not only because paracord is useful, but if you drop a knife in snow, the paracord will still be visible. Also you can tie the parcord to your person. Same goes for losing items on the ground during the night. If you have a flashlight that helps, but if you add a bit of reflective tape to your items it gets a lot easier to find whatever you have dropped.
Hi Paul, good to see you back on UA-cam. I have 3D-printed Glow-in-the-dark handles for my Ferro Rod. Most of my knives have orange handles because i like the color. My Agawa saw also has orange handles… Glow-in-the-dark can also be augmented with a UV flashlight for collecting all the stuff your students lost…
Great. It sounds like you have a solid set up. I like the idea of the 3D-printed handles. Thanks for your positive words about me being back on UA-cam.
@@PaulKirtleywell, my formal introduction to bushcraft were the videos of Zack Fowler @FowlersMakeryandMischief , and he‘s a fan of orange too. It‘s just something that made sense immediately.
Paul thank you for the theme of this video. Objects in an emergency should really be orange to make the work of rescuers easier. For small important item I use a lanyard to hang it around my neck while I work. A neck lanyard gives you more freedom of action, since access to pockets is not always convenient. I never put important items on the ground. I think better to make a strike one more time than to lose the flint forever. When I was a child, my teacher said: “You must tie everything that can fall down.” Orange colour is more visible but it isn’t warranty. I think right order of action and a good lanyard are more important. Thank again and I am sorry for my English from Goigle translate.
Thank you for your comments. I agree that the colour should not be a warranty - it certainly should not take the place of good habits. Also, I agree that tying everything important is a key thing to do, regardless of colour. Warm regards, Paul
Absolutely. Part of why my belt knife is a Joker Lynx in orange micarta. Likewise the Exotac ferro rod has an anodized orange handle. Nalgene water bottles are Clementine and Pomegranate (garish pink, actually) so that if I am in a stressful/fatigue-enhanced situation I am less likely to overlook it. (and staring right at something and NOT seeing it IS A THING when you are daft-thinking) Thanks for this video!
I agree 100%...I am very Snake aware here in North Carolina...Copper Heads are plentiful...I was fishing a stream and looking for the best way down a rocky side to reach the stream, at the same time looking hard for copper heads...when I was sure of my route down and had lifted my foot to take my first step I saw a large Copper Head laying right where my foot was going to be placed...I could not believe that I did not see that snake....and I would have stepped right on it and no doubt would have been bit.
Hi Paul another valuable informative video I totally agree regarding the stickiness residue with sticky tape and the like...a better alternative I find is to apply fluorescent fly tying thread...Veevus floss is the brand I like....simple wind a few layers onto the critical item....then to finish off....apply clear teflon nail varnish.. Its pretty tidy result and reliable in the long term. To finish the last knot on using thread like this I recommend a five turn whip finish. Reliable and very tidy...no loose endings. On items where there's no obvious and tidy way of getting applying fluorescent materials ...I use fluorescent plastic beads...most this have some kind of attachments...split key rings etc...thread one or two small plastic fluorescent beads on..the rings of your critical kit.
Hi, thanks for your positive words about the video. Thanks also for your additional tips, which I think are very helpful and definitely add to the list of ways people can make their gear visible. I really appreciate you adding to the conversation. Warm regards, Paul
I started moving to orange a wee while ago with my critical kit. You can even go a stage further and have orange paracord with a reflective thread in it so it even works in the dark/low light. If you have a head torch (or similar).
Yes the reflective stuff is good in short lengths. I've found in longer lengths for guylines, etc it doesn't always work so well with sliding hitches, such as the tautline hitch, as the reflective material makes the cord bind after it ages a bit. This being said, I'm sure there will be multiple manufacturers with different qualities. But to your point - it absolutely works very well for making lanyards more visible. Warm regards, Paul
I've been putting hi-viz paracord on bits of kit for years. Firestrikers, folding knives, cooking kit, tent pegs etc. It's so I can find smaller items in close proximity, yet it doesn't affect the overall subdued natural colours of my clothing and larger items of kit.
I've used patches of "glow-in-the-dark" tape on items I want to spot easily at night, and orange cord or orange duct tape on things I'm concerned I might misplace during daylight hours. The patches of Reflective tape someone else mentioned also smart.
I bought the orange moras a few years back, first one for my son when he started bushcraft, it was probably the knife he used on Essentials with Ross and Woody, and then training knives I used with Scouts. With all the concerns around misuse of bladed tools not only were there the practical reasons but helped the risk case as said they were possibly less ‘cool’ and potentially easier to keep track of.
Hello. Yes these are good points about the knife being more visible (not concealed) and easier to keep track of. Important considerations, especially in light of the perceptions of others. Thanks.
I lost a muted green mora and spent 15 minutes looking around until I finally found it. It was sitting on a log right where I put it but it blended in so well I just couldn't see it.
Been doing this for years……most things have bright orange string so it it’s dropped it can easily been seen even if it drops into deep snow or grass etc. I use vivid neon orange shoe laces. Other items are orange in colour too. Here in hunting season I use an orange tent just in case.
I think the No 1 lesson here is the cultivation of habit; of clipping, holstering & replacing the items you illustrate back in place after use and, before we do anything else and especially at twilight/night time. That this should become first, not second nature in the wilds. Other colours for cordage could include blue (a shade somewhere between sky blue & royal blue), also bright red, which are neutral colours and show up against vegetation. Personally, I would choose one type of cordage e.g. reflective cordage (similar to guylines) cord which can be seen both in the day, but with reflective strands which can also reflect in torchlight if mislaid at night etc.
I have some lengths of fluorescent paracord. Its the high vis stuff that glows in the dark for thirty minutes if you shine a flashlight on it. I just make small ties or loops out of it, which I can attach to critical gear through a belt loop or lanyard. Its not functional its just for visibility. It makes them really easy to spot during the day, and if you still cant find it, just come back at night with a high power flashlight, shine it around and then turn it off. You will see the tag glowing in the dark. Good shout though mate.
Hi Paul. Good to see you back on here. Couldn't agree more with critical/survival items being highly visible, especially if they are likely to be used when you are in a stressful situation or environment, as that is when you are likely to put something down on the ground that would normally just go straight back into your pocket/onto your belt. However... When you're just going for a Saturday afternoon play in the woods, sticking with the muted colours can just be more pleasant on the eye, and add to the relaxation side of the few hours escape when you can just take your time a little more and put things away as you go along. I have some items in various colours, and depending on where I am going, or what I am doing, I will grab a different toolkit. We have all orange Mora Companions for our Scout group, as younger minds are easily distracted, and it helps me see when someone has just left one lying around instead of placing them back in the box. I really like the idea of the orange bandana. I may have to invest in one of those. All the best. Steve.
Hi Steve, it's good to hear from you. Thanks for your comments. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and observations. And yes the orange bandanna is nice. All the best, Paul
I like to make lanyards from paracord with a reflective trace in it. Then I can usually find something I've dropped after dark with a headlamp at least...
Using orange or brightly colored ridgelines and guylines instead of black or green is a good way to avoid tripping on them in the dark and possibly hurting yourself or damaging your tarp.
Indeed! On my 4 person tent (canoe and boat trips or when car camping...) I even have reflective paracord with luminous line tensioners to help prevent that
Yes, especially on tarps that are not square cut, where the angle of the guy line can be less predictable than for a square-cut tarp. All the best, Paul
+1. i also heard that bright color attract wildlife more. is it true or it's just internet nonsense? for example, if i have fluorescent or bright colored paracord, will it attrack wildlife (ie they're curoius to check my camp out) or there's nothing to worry about?
Concerning items that are easily mislaid such as ferro rod, lighter etc: I agree entirely. In fact for some years now any replacements I have needed I've always chosen hi-viz orange where available. Other items have acquired bright orange lanyards and I've recently bought the orange handled Mora knife. I spend quite a lot of time in the woods and basically I think that kit easily seen makes life simpler.
Good Evening Paul, absolutely spot on! I remember being the coolest cadet on camp with a camo Zippo. Right till I dropped it in a field! Sorry Survival Aids isn't still around a lot of my pocket money was spent in there!
Haha those camo Zippos were cool, though. Yes, we all fondly remember Survival Aids. I remember when I managed to get my dad to drive me to the original shop in Morland..... I felt like I had reached Aladdin's cave 🙂
I like to use the 1.3 mil Z-Line High Vis Reflective Cord (like a Dyneema guy line cord) for my pocket lanyards. It stays visible longer once dirtied a bit and is ultralight, ultra strong and flexible-great to pair with lighter items. It’s another good option to heavier 550 or similar para cords. Also lanyard on your compass as another critical item 😊
Great side subject brought up on securing your gear when you are done with it whether that be putting your lanyard back on your belt loop or into your pocket or sheathe. Hanging things on trees is also viable, but leaving tools on the bare ground there is no reason for! PS Paul, all the links go to the UK amazon store which for those in the States (on my end at least) causes an error and won't allow any sort of purchase to be made. I don't know if that will mess with your affiliate links or not but I thought I'd mention it.
Good comments Darron and yes lanyards are important. Thanks for the observation on the affiliate links... I thought I had sorted out international links with Amazon but I will check it out again. Thanks for letting me know... much appreciated. Warm regards, Paul.
Thanks Paul. No I don't think its crazy to be able to see the things you really don't want to lose. I've placed orange tape on my ferro rod handle, knife handle etc. Haven't found any sickness from it so far. I have used your pocket lanyard system ever since you put out that video. I wouldn't ever change that. New important gear is usually bright coloured with a subdued carrier. I believe strike force came out with an orange version of their big ferro rod. Nate
For some people it could well be. As long as we are making informed, intentional choices, based on our context, then that's the important thing. All the best, Paul
The wrap-around-the-sheath option is a good one. A lot of people do it with green. I see it much less with orange but that will look both tidy and visible! Good point about compass lanyards too.... a very important piece of equipment.
I purchased two orange Moras a few days ago. Not because I lost a knife, but because I put the black Mora down in an unsafe place. I have previously put non-adhesive orange flag tape around various items. It threads through lanyard holes, and can be tied off. It is also removable (no residual goo), if you later need to be stealthy. That floroescent green on your whistle works well too.
Thanks for another great video, Paul. I switched out my Bic lighter to orange a few years ago for this exact reason. I think we have a mindset that Orange and red our for safety and / or emergencies. We tend to think we will never lose our gear or be in an emergency situation. A good video like this one helps remind us that things happen and we should be prepared.
Great video and advice, Mr. Kirtley. I have high visabilty gear in an emergency kit I keep in my truck, but the gear I use camping and hiking with the kids I use 99% of the time is not. Guess I've been gambling . . . Need to reconsider that process. Thanks
Hi Paul! I subscribed to your channel a year or two ago, having learnt a lot from you while at the same time thinking you most likely would never post anything again. Yet here you are. I just want to say thank you for sharing your knowledge, both now and before. This might sound a bit ridiculous, but there is truth to it: you sharing your knowledge and experience is making other people better, and in turn they might pass it on further and educate more people. Ripples in the water and all that. Too long, didn't read? Just wanted to say thank you!
I once dropped a camo glove in the fall leaves. Took 5 minutes to find it and it was no more than a foot away. I started adding orange paracord or a bit of gaffer tape (thinking about paint instead) to important items but for critical I try to get them in bright colors.
Yes, this is indeed a good idea. I always had my small and essential items in a bright orange color. But the knife? No, for me that doesn`t have to be in an artificial color, once i used the knife, it goes back into its sheath on my belt. Same for the saw. Greetings from Switzerland!
Great topics for discussion and thought! :D It seems there are several brands/types of bright colored cordage with reflective threads woven into it, in various sizes. A few years ago I found some thin enough to fit into small openings and lanyard holes, etc. which has worked great for pocket-sized flashlights, folding knives and saws, zipper pulls on IFAK, and so on. I've selected the bright orange safety whistles to attach to PFD's,/life jackets for recreation and fishing, and as pointed out in the video, a few florescent orange or florescent yellow-green items that can be pulled out to attract attention for help/rescue, are an excellent idea for all sorts of recreational and travel situations. And the bright florescent knife and tool sheaths, match cases and such, or ANY critical gear, makes SO much sense! :D Anyone that's ever dropped dark/drab colored items even in one's own yard can attest to how HARD it can be to find the item, even if you know almost exactly where it was dropped. :D Thanks!
100% agree mate. My wife has that orange Mora companion and it stands out beautifully. I like orange cord for lanyards, and/or cord that has reflective bits in it so that it shines up nicely under a head torch. I also keep my ferro rod on a cord tied to my belt so that it never gets separated from me. Love your work mate.
@@PaulKirtley I did the combined mod 1 & 2. I got to attend as my 40th birthday gift and it was brilliant. I've kept practising the skills as I get the opportunity and hope to save up and do the mod 3 at some stage. For the moment I have to settle with quality UA-cam videos!
I agree compledtely, and in fact, I've been thinking the same with my equipment. One of the things I carry that is not often mentioned is a package of blaze orange thumb tacks, which I have to create waymarkers on trees when bushwhacking.
Nice thought. I always go for the natural colors but my hubby got me a glow in the dark lighter and it got me thinking. All the points you mentioned make perfect sense. I’m on board. Especially for the small things👍🏻🧡
Best unnatural color in woods is bright blue - especially when you have to find something in the grass or on a leaves. Orange equipment in the autumn is almost invisible. Paul, it's nice to see you again on YT :) Greeting from Bieszczady mountains.
Great video on a subject that is overlooked by many. I can see the need for a more visible item and also need for camo. I noticed I tend to lean more towards tan, coyote, brown. That's just a personal preference for the area I live. There is a lot of discussion to be had along these lines. One big question is Why are you out and about? recreation, need such as evacuation, etc. What a great discussion we could have about all of this. I just sub your channel because of your original idea and not trying to put someone's maybe different idea down. I look forward to the next video.
Thanks for your positive words and for subscribing. I hope you continue to enjoy my videos. And yes you are correct, context is important as the foundation of our choices.
Great ideas. I’ve been using orange for these things for sometime. Occasionally Red handled knife. I agree with the saw I have both the orange and green. Green has a orange lanyard.
I agree with you generally but folks tend to choose orange if they choose a bright colour for things. Something that goes missing by accident in someone else's kit is just as gone as if you lost it. I try to get as much acid green things or at least something a little less used by others. The solution to the sticky tape problem is to go to a hobby shop and get either a bright fabric tape or just some bright cotton material along with some good fabric glue. Glue the bright cotton material to whatever in the way you would use the bright sticky tape. I have a protective compass box I made and did that with at least 15 years ago and it still works and is still unsticky on the outside of the box.
I rock blue as my color. Up in the mountains orange depending on season shows up. Have not seen blue on the east coast in the woods naturally. Just a thought.
A pretty good halfway option is medium blue, that's what my Eka skinning knife is and it stands out really well on the ground but more subtle on your hip.
Asthetics play a part in this too I think. I am a sucker for a walnut handled knife and am also a sucker for loosing one once 😂 Luckily I did not need it when I might have “really needed it” and learned from my mistakes like you said Paul of “getting excited” when lighting the fire 🔥 putting my tool down and never finding it again. I am now very much an advocate for using brightly coloured essential items. It’s common sense really to have those things you really may need visibly distinguishable from natural colours in the environment where you may be using them. Great to see another video from you Paul. As always, thanks for sharing your experience, knowledge and skills with us all. Someone will write a book on you one day I’m sure. 😊 All the best. 👍
While I’ve found it’s easy to add retro-reflective lanyards to tools, it would be nice if more handles also had phosphorescent components. I’ve started to add strips of glow tape and beads to things like phone cases, key chains and storage sleeves and, while never comparable to powered illumination, frequently help locate gear that much better in the dark (and avoid stepping on them when dropped!). The current generation of phosphorescent pigments is a completely different animal than the novelty stuff I had in toys growing up. At the extreme, I’ve found the one large glow block from county comm is a workable low-level reading light for the first few hours of the evening…almost a perpetual indestructible flashlight.
I couldn't agree more, Paul. If there is not a particular reason from someone to have things in tactical colours, then bright colours are a godsend for finding tools in grass, leaf litter or in twilight. In my many years in horticulture, nearly all of my small tools had red, white or orange handles. The tools I used in training workshops were also sprayed with yellow road marking paint. Made them much easier to find when someone had put them down and forgotten where they left them!
I've added bright orange lanyards to various items over the years because i found if i dropped them, or put them down (or kicked an item in the night whilst going for a leak) i had the devil's own time finding them sometimes (and as you say, some items - knives in particular - are too costly to replace). Also easier to find in pack. Ironically, i have a bright orange mora companion (exellent food prep knife, amongst other uses) and i cannot find the blessed thing! I blame it's hidden state on wombles, myself. Good piece.
Fully agree with you Paul. I would suggest including orange lanyards as a minimum on items for navigation like a compass as well as emergency coms like a SPOT.
Conspicuity is the opposite of camouflage IMHO. So think of shape, shine, silhouette etc etc but in reverse. Personally in the UK year round I think blue stands out better than orange, which is part of the reason I have a blue Finn Wolf. GITD paint can be splashed on everything too. The film aimed at bikers shows this well, "The science of being seen" by Kevin Williams if you search here and have 25mins.
Absolutely. I make knives myself and as you say they are all natural colours, however, for my Scout group we have bright orange Mora Companions and my own children have the bright blue & bright green ones. My personal choice of gear colours is black and orange, it not only differentiates from other people gear but I don't lose anything anymore either!
Nice presentation. I appreciate the mention of discipline when using and storing critical tools. I hike and backpack in NE Ohio, PA and WV. During the fall season in these areas, orange disappears quicker in the laced bed of leaves in the forest. Light blue is a great color, and I've been converting most of my small items to it actually appears less in nature than orange or red in our areas. A little reflective tape makes a huge differnce in finding an item in the dark as well.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the presentation. You live in a beautiful part of the world with lovely fall colours. Blue makes sense in the context for sure. The reflective tape always helps too. All the best, Paul
All my kit is green/brown. Mostly a fisherman for the last 40 years. The only exception is I have a bic lighter wrapped in hi vis orange gaffer tape. Easy to find if you drop it. Tape can be used as a firelighter. Makes a great marker tape. Sticks stuff together. Repairs holes or tears etc.
Makes great sense. I DO prefer earth tone gear but I’ve definitely lost things also. I did start getting orange gear, I like your idea of making emergency gear orange. Great video.
I don't want high visible gear. But I don't want to lose my gear either So what I do is I put bright colors on my gear. Orange or yellow lanyard or such. This way it is easier to see if I drop it or mislay something. But if for some reason I need to be invisible I can remove the brightly colored addition to my gear and now it's no longer high visible
If your going for being able to find then use paracord with a reflective strip in the weave. Quite commen now and then you can shine a torch as it glints in the light during day and shines during low light and night
An orange knife, fire steel and saw are winners (not making very many silent kills on my usual camping weekends strangely enough), I find this self explanitory. Clothing and rucksack for sure, can be in drab, earthy colours, no worries, but all the pouches (tent pegs, first aid kit, essentials kits etc.) should be in bright coloured bags that go inside the rucksack. Great video for those that haven't bought into the orange style. Good to see you back Paul.
I lost a brand new leatherman wave after extracting a hook from my first thornback ray, tide was on the flood. The excitement took me over. The leatherman was a gift from a mate. Gutted about that still, happened a while ago.
Great video. As a scout leader teaching youngsters firelightling etc the instances of lost firesteels etc in the woods has been high, and as a charity a costly replace, so agree use of colours (we have bright red fire steels and also get them to make fluro lanyards as part of paracord craft) great after all we are not training ninjas or the SAS. Tactical has its place but survival and the kit to preserve life far more important. Any thoughts on similar for water purification?, they all tend to be blue or clear, not great if dropped in water so maybe use of floatation keyrings on lanyards for visual impact also glow items built into paprcord as we're often firelighting at dusk/night.
Indeed important when working with groups of young people. Keeping track of gear can be tricky. And as your rightly point out, for most of us this gear is safety/survival gear. I'll have a think about the water question but an immediate reply would be for some of the smaller filtration units (which I guess are more likely to be lost), reflective and bright tape wrapped around the cylinder (thinking something like a small Saywer filter) would work quite nicely. All the best, Paul
I was on a canoe trip in Sweden early in the autumn this year and put down my axe after using it to make a long peg for soft ground. After finishing tying off the guyline I had a brief panic when I couldn't see my axe. I turned it up after a calm and careful search. My axe, saw and knife all had orange & reflective paracord lanyards fitted later that day. Someone else was not so fortunate: I found a Gransfors Bruks Hunter's Axe near one of our camps that had probably been lost the previous year. Hi-viz definitely has a place on essential kit.
I agree with your thought but I still like my neutral colors, I make sure I do not lose my key items through discipline and implementing fail safes like a long lanyard attached to my fero rod that never gets taken off, when I stand up the rod is at my ankles so if I am naughty and do not put it back in my pocket it will still come with me. Having said that I do appreciate orange is easy to see in the tropics where I live so I always carry orange I even make my own pouches and line them with orange, I constantly tell my Scouts the same even if the only thing that is orange is their underpants as long as they can use it to signal for help. You can get reflective paracord that is not bright colored, yes if you lose an item you will need to wait until it is dark before you can find it but it is a good compromise. Good to see you back on YT and I hope to get more active on your webinars again soon.
I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve been steering toward brighter colours for all my gear, for a while. I like to wander around in the dark without a light when I can and there are plenty of hunters around where I travel, so visibility helps. Even though I know better, I do also lay my things down when I’m working. Why worry about having to search for a black firesteel when it comes in a colour you‘ll never lose? I’ve also bought a big bundle of orange paracord because I’m tired of kicking up my tarp guylines…
Paul, how apt! If I could give this more one like I would. I was having this exact conversation with a good friend just the other week. I have to admit, when I began my "bushcraft"/wilderness/outdoor journey many years ago, I fell into the trap of "it's got to be green" simply because that appeared to be what many of the professionals were wearing/using. In recent years as I have rekindled my interest in the outdoors, I totally changed my view. Given that many proponents of outdoor and wilderness skills (lots of whom, like yourself, are on this platform) like to bang on about how essential certain items were, it struck me as ironic that they would be so hard to find should you misplace them - which, lets face it, we've all done at some point. Add to the fact that there's a very good chance when you REALLY need something, you will be stressed or tired, something as simple as having your items easy to locate could literally make the difference between life and death in a critical situation. A little extreme perhaps, but easy to imagine when you think about how quickly things can go south. Now much of my kit is in bright colours, and I find comfort in the fact that if I place something on the ground or hang it on a tree, I can spot it easily. For what it's worth, the UST Spark Force is one of my go to back up fire starters and lives in my belt pouch along with a bright Bic lighter and lots of emergency tinder. It's a little small, but easy to use once the outer layer is scraped off and includes a very good striker. Wrapping a Bic in bright duct tape does have the added bonus of providing you with a good emergency tinder too. Apologies for the length of this comment, I just feel you are definitely on the right track and many people could do with paying attention to this. All the best. Jon
I disagree. Mainly because my "bushcraft" gear is my "bugout" gear. Meaning, I am NOT coming home again. What I have with me will have to sustain me til I reach my bugout location. I do NOT want to be seen. I'm not going all digi-cam and ghillie suit, but I'm sure not carrying orange rope, whistles, reflecto-mirrors and bright red stuff to attract everyone's attention. Am I wrong? I will be hiking main back country roads, and trying to avoid every little roadblock set up by good ol' boys as soon as SHTF. They've been prepping, see, and it's time to put them toys to the test! If I get hurt, I'm on my own, or will have to crawl out to a road somewhere. I won't be attracting the attention of helicopters or search aircraft. So, rather than have three of everything, I just have two of everything in subdued colors. Right? Or wrong?
I go with bright blue now, the reason being that it's so rare in nature (at least at ground level) whereas autumn leaves can easily conceal small orange objects.
Soldiers and hunters need to be invisible to their adversaries, hikers on the other hand have bright colours all over, for a reason. Bushcrafters can choose the colours for their needs, being it stealth camping, hunting, or orientaiting in the wilderness. Mors Kochanski was promoting bright colours on the gear, when there weren't much coloured gear. Also, bushcraft fashion, took it's own way, primitive skills and lifestyle reenactment fashion.
I use bright or neon blues as well for the same reason.
Another advantage of the blue accents is that blue shows up much better than any of the red/orange tones at dusk.
In the foodindustry, they have blue earplugs. Easier to find, blue is not common in food.
I tried bright blue at night, but only so-so visible.In daylight, yes, noticeable. They say we see the red end of light better at night. I try to get luminescent gear when possible,even though its glow rarely lasts all night unless radioactive powered.
Being 100% colour blind, if its not black or white, its a shade of gray. I have to rely on adding reflective tape or unnatural shapes to make things more visible.
Thanks for raising the awareness of this.
Good point
Thank you. It absolutely works in dark time.
If I'm not mistaken there are some small gadgets that respond to your whistle! Having some might help you!
I’ve taken to using orange colored match safes. The dark green military kind are difficult to keep track of when I build a fire.
Great video. I have worked in Canadian forestry for many years. It is very customary to tie a bit of orange flagging tape onto anything that you use (saws, increment borers, compasses, clinometers etc.). Flagging tape isn't tape it is more of a plastic ribbon that isn't sticky. Also, I always use an orange tarp when camping, if that rescue aircraft is looking for you, I want to be seen. ATB.
I carry a small amount of orange flagging tape. Amazing stuff to carry and weighs nothing.
I carry orange flagging tape as well. It's a handy solution to make things brighter and for marking areas of a trail as well 👍🏾
As a military veteran I tend to go towards the more tactical colors. But this make so much sense to have your sensitive items ( fire steel, lighter,knives) in a bright colors to find if they are dropped or misplaced. Excellent idea.
Agreed. I like adding bright lanyards(often retroreflective, sometimes glow-in-the-dark) to items when feasible. And can be easily removable, if you so desire. An added benefit of lanyard loops is that such items are easier to refasten securely back onto yourself or onto your kit. Retroreflective tape (found in among automotive stores) is a good thing to add to certain items. Bright blue is one of the easier colors to spot out in the wild. Blaze orange and neon green, especially when smudged, will occasionally get lost against certain natural backgrounds, especially in low light. Bright blue almost never blends in.
Hi Jerry thanks for your comments and additional tips. Warm regards, Paul
I have used orange cordage to make lanyards for my knife,saw and fire lighting kit, it's also got a silver reflective strand in it that glows when a torch is aimed at it, I think it's a good halfway house if you like between nothing and brightly coloured equipment. It's an interesting topic that makes you think whats the most important items you would really like to retrieve if lost.
Yes, the reflective paracord can be very useful in the dark. Thanks for your comments!
I found orange lanyards got really mucky quickly for some reason, but I have switched to a bright blue kind with red and yellow flecks and that's helped me find a dropped Helle which had a birch handle!
From day 1
Great review as always Paul. As being a student of bushcraft for over 30 years (I believe we are all students as still learning); most of my kit is drab in colour. I do however use bright lanyards on some of my expensive tools and first aid etc. There seems to be this culture, manufacturers that have black finish so called "Tactical knives". I understand that they may form a coating to suppress oxidation. But to frequently are cheap blades , stainless steel to attract youngsters. We need to educate about quality rather than so called combat knives does anyone agree.?
Preaching to the converted here- I've always thought it silly that equipment is in easily losable colors- mine is mostly a horrible orange colour. An extra dimension of viability is to use reflective paracord for lanyards, then, with a torch, you can easily find things in the dark.
:-)
Victorinox Knives are red for a reason. The old timers knew what they were doing. Good video 😊
Indeed.... good point. I'm glad you liked the video. Thanks 🙂
Look up Brick Layers line. It comes in Yellow and Orange. While it is thin, it is great for some bushcraft macrame stuff to make a lanyard. I use a 50cm length on keys and stuff, which is a nuisance at times, but helps find dropped keys etc.. Good for whipping tag ends. I use melted bees wax on the whipped end to seal and hold, you can undo it if it sealed with wax, but you cannot undo it if it is set in super glue, and super glue goes hard.
Great additional tips. Thank you!
100% agree. I still wear muted colours but crucial gear is either orange or in colours that stand out in timber, leaves, mud or grass etc. If we look at what gear indigenous people use or wear its rarely muted or discrete even for hunting.
There is an element of 'boys playing soldiers' in the woods amongst particulary middle aged and older bushcrafters. Who also interestingly often choose heavy or inapropriate kit and favour larger bladed tools for example knives.
We live on a crowded island, and discrete clothing is less intrusive, but anyone who has actually been out in damp dark English broad leaf woodland knows how frustrating trying to find things can be as dusk sets in.
I think the most absurd things I ever see is green or camo knifes with green, camo, or matt black scales or handles, black blades, in green brown or black sheaths. OK if you are a commando but daft if you are trying to prep wood on a dark cold evening.
Indeed. Good observations 🙂
Since thinking orange, ive gradually started to faze out almost all of my equipment that is not orange, boots, shorts, skin toght top, backpack, hat, oiter jackets, tools, my tarp, cotton material, fire lighting, I look like odd, but i dont spend that much time looking at myself when im on an adventure, but should i ever get lost then my chances of survival are exponentially increased. It works the same, just with the bonus. Worst comes to worst people call you a can of Tango, best case it saves your life, great video, wish more people were sharing this philosophy!
Thank you. Glad you are taking your outdoor safety seriously. That's certainly much more important than the opinions of others 🙂
I honestly look ridiculous with how illuminated in bright orange gear I am, but I live it, the amount of times I'd drop something in the woods on the floor and struggled to find it. Now it's easy. My thinking is this, its not a fashion show, it's going into an uninhabited area, and should you get lost and get the chance to call for help, when they do send the search party a bright orange beacon will attract people much easier.
Over the last couple of years I have come to the same conclusion.
My newer tools are yellow, blue, red and orange. All strong & bright colors that are visible in nature.
But my clothes, tarps and backpacks are brown, green and dark grey.
When I go up into the mountains ( I'm in Switzerland ) I also bring a bright orange rain poncho, in case I need help and want to be found!
Thanks for your comments. This sounds like a good balance! Warm regards, Paul
I've added a bright orange oversized t-shirt that I can pull on over my clothes when needed for same reason.
Brilliant...literally!! For many years, despite suffering from a severe case of 'Olive Drab Disease' and owning more green stuff than the MOD, I have always marked critical gear, (although stupidly, not my knives!) with Hi Viz orange tags, lanyards and tapes. I have also taught cadets basic shelter building for a number of years, and one of my major safety rules is when using para cord in the woods, it is ALWAYS orange. Having worked on large areas of MOD land, it is endlessly, hugely annoying and often dangerous to find large quantities of discarded olive drab or camo para cord, which you don't see until it's caught round your foot or leg and down you go! At neck or head height, it is lethal and nearly invisible and so I always teach using Orange. That way, the students can easily see and find what they need, it's visually clearer for them to understand the basic structural principles of its application, including knots etc, and fewer accidents happen in terms of 'blind teenagers' blundering into ridge lines etc. At the end of the camp, all cord is then really easily retrieved and taken away, leaving no trace and ensuring I have it all safely accounted for. I also endlessly bang on about not putting any kit down on the ground and moving away from it. The classic is the laplander....cut something, student puts the saw down for 'a moment' to use two hands to move the cut branches, gets enthusiastically distracted to continue dragging those bits to where they want them and then.... "Sir, where is my saw?" My canoe kit, again, mostly drab and olive river colours, always has blaze orange emergency items. First Aid kits are likewise all orange marked or contained in bright orange stuff bags. So sensible and practical. If out with anyone else and you need to direct them to a bit of emergency kit, it's so much faster to just say, "the bright orange stuff sack there!" than have them lost in a sea of khaki or olive drab! Great to see you cover this on UA-cam. Thanks for all your great content.😊
Hi Lawrence thanks for your comments. It sounds like your cadets have a good instructor who cares about their development, as well as looking after the places you are using for training. Bravo. Your observations about Laplander saws is spot on, as is your point about directing people to emergency kit. I'm glad you liked the video. Cheers, Paul
Just waiting for pickup after paddling from Sweden to Norway over 15 days. Nothing makes you sweat more than when you cannot find vital kit, I absolutely agree with your view, especially for actual travel in wilderness vital kit needs to be visible. My knifes , saw, SPOON, fire steel and lighters all have orange cord or covers on, and at times I could have done with elastic through my jacket joining my gloves like when I was child 😂 (having been on over a handful of Frontier Bushcrafts brilliant courses has helped naturally 😊). It gives you a fighting chance to find things and even then, in varied terrain it can challenging. Many thanks for all your excellent content. Graham
Hi Graham, it's good to hear from you. I hope you had a good time paddling in Scandinavia. Thanks for your comments. Yes a SPOON is important too 🙂
👍👍👍 .. good post.
Choice of colour is also very much dependent on whether 'one wants to be seen or not' .. another subject worthy of many debates thereon.
Some of my gear is Orange / Brightly-Coloured and other not .. the main body, container and/or lanyard.
That said, time spent in the Military and Mining Industry taught me the Mantra; 'Order .. when there is a place for everything and everything is in it's place .. always.'
Thus I am in the habit of putting something back into it's designated place after use. Yes, it often means that I spend time 'taking out / putting away' 🙄 but that is how it is and I am comfortable with it. I can also 'move on' without much fuss if I have to 😏.
Even in the kitchen at home. I wash / pack away utensils used to preparing a meal as soon as I have finished with them .. meaning that when I am ready to eat, everything (mostly) is packed away and the kitchen spic and span.
Yes, a subject worthy of further discussion please. Thanks for sharing .. take care ..
Hi Thomas, yes you make excellent points, with which I agree - having a place for everything and everything in its place is a key discipline. Having bright kit should certainly not be an excuse for being sloppy. I'm glad you liked this topic and would be happy to see more along these lines. Thanks for your feedback and input. It's appreciated.
Nice to see you back on the tube Paul
Thanks Ricardo.
Paul, we've been providing the Orange Mora knives and sheaths for our teen camps for exactly the reason you're stating. Excellent point!
Great stuff.
For deer stalking I have bright orange mora's. They are in a bag out of sight when carried. But when you are trying to prep a carcass, usually as the light is failing, the orange really helps to keep track of your kit.
Indeed. It's always when the light is failing 🙂
Deer see orange as gray anyway 😊
@@bertheemskerk3273I believe blaze orange camo is common in the US and on the continent. Where there may be other hunters/stalkers on the ground.
I keep the knives out of sight mainly for the benefit of walkers who are occasionally around. They seem to fixate on the knife you are carrying, and almost don't notice that you are carrying a rifle over your shoulder!
Can use orange heat shrink tubing on smaller things to keep track of, without everything getting sticky.
Recently experimented with stuffing a few fireplugs in heat shrink, so can carry together on the same lanyard/necklace with a ferro&striker.
I've got fluorescent orange paracord lanyards on my fire steel, knife etc. An occasional quick clean with soapy water and it's good as new.
🙂
Hello 👋 Paul, sincere thanks for sharing this informative video. Greetings from Northern California. I enjoy your videos. Five years ago I purchased an SOL fero rod, it has a
bright orange handle and includes a magnesium cylinder along with the fero rod. Stay safe out there and continue to share your vital knowledge. 😊
Hi Ronald, thanks for your positive comments. Thanks also for sharing the detaisl of the SOL ferro rod. I think I may have seen one of these in an REI or MEC but will endavour to check one out more closely and give it a try. Warm regards, Paul
Have also been thinking about this, In the preparedness community there is alot of talk about tacticool, that usually means black or darker colours to be able to hide in a WROL situation. But if you do that and lose your knife - what good is it?
Up here in the cold, we have this thing called snow and it can get rather deep, so my solution was to add a bit of orange paracord, not only because paracord is useful, but if you drop a knife in snow, the paracord will still be visible. Also you can tie the parcord to your person.
Same goes for losing items on the ground during the night. If you have a flashlight that helps, but if you add a bit of reflective tape to your items it gets a lot easier to find whatever you have dropped.
👍
Hi Paul, good to see you back on UA-cam. I have 3D-printed Glow-in-the-dark handles for my Ferro Rod. Most of my knives have orange handles because i like the color. My Agawa saw also has orange handles… Glow-in-the-dark can also be augmented with a UV flashlight for collecting all the stuff your students lost…
Great. It sounds like you have a solid set up. I like the idea of the 3D-printed handles. Thanks for your positive words about me being back on UA-cam.
@@PaulKirtleywell, my formal introduction to bushcraft were the videos of Zack Fowler @FowlersMakeryandMischief , and he‘s a fan of orange too. It‘s just something that made sense immediately.
Paul thank you for the theme of this video. Objects in an emergency should really be orange to make the work of rescuers easier. For small important item I use a lanyard to hang it around my neck while I work. A neck lanyard gives you more freedom of action, since access to pockets is not always convenient. I never put important items on the ground. I think better to make a strike one more time than to lose the flint forever. When I was a child, my teacher said: “You must tie everything that can fall down.” Orange colour is more visible but it isn’t warranty. I think right order of action and a good lanyard are more important. Thank again and I am sorry for my English from Goigle translate.
Thank you for your comments. I agree that the colour should not be a warranty - it certainly should not take the place of good habits. Also, I agree that tying everything important is a key thing to do, regardless of colour. Warm regards, Paul
Nice to see you back on youtube
Yeahhhh!!! A new Paul kirtley video
Thanks! :-). hope you liked it.
I went bright with critical kit several years ago, good video mate.
Hi Rob. Good to hear from you mate. Hope all is well with you.
@@PaulKirtley all good thanks mate, busy making knives!
Absolutely. Part of why my belt knife is a Joker Lynx in orange micarta. Likewise the Exotac ferro rod has an anodized orange handle. Nalgene water bottles are Clementine and Pomegranate (garish pink, actually) so that if I am in a stressful/fatigue-enhanced situation I am less likely to overlook it. (and staring right at something and NOT seeing it IS A THING when you are daft-thinking) Thanks for this video!
I agree 100%...I am very Snake aware here in North Carolina...Copper Heads are plentiful...I was fishing a stream and looking for the best way down a rocky side to reach the stream, at the same time looking hard for copper heads...when I was sure of my route down and had lifted my foot to take my first step I saw a large Copper Head laying right where my foot was going to be placed...I could not believe that I did not see that snake....and I would have stepped right on it and no doubt would have been bit.
Hi Paul another valuable informative video
I totally agree regarding the stickiness residue with sticky tape and the like...a better alternative I find is to apply fluorescent fly tying thread...Veevus floss is the brand I like....simple wind a few layers onto the critical item....then to finish off....apply clear teflon nail varnish..
Its pretty tidy result and reliable in the long term.
To finish the last knot on using thread like this I recommend a five turn whip finish. Reliable and very tidy...no loose endings.
On items where there's no obvious and tidy way of getting applying fluorescent materials ...I use fluorescent plastic beads...most this have some kind of attachments...split key rings etc...thread one or two small plastic fluorescent beads on..the rings of your critical kit.
Hi, thanks for your positive words about the video. Thanks also for your additional tips, which I think are very helpful and definitely add to the list of ways people can make their gear visible. I really appreciate you adding to the conversation. Warm regards, Paul
I started moving to orange a wee while ago with my critical kit. You can even go a stage further and have orange paracord with a reflective thread in it so it even works in the dark/low light. If you have a head torch (or similar).
Yes the reflective stuff is good in short lengths. I've found in longer lengths for guylines, etc it doesn't always work so well with sliding hitches, such as the tautline hitch, as the reflective material makes the cord bind after it ages a bit. This being said, I'm sure there will be multiple manufacturers with different qualities. But to your point - it absolutely works very well for making lanyards more visible. Warm regards, Paul
I've been putting hi-viz paracord on bits of kit for years. Firestrikers, folding knives, cooking kit, tent pegs etc. It's so I can find smaller items in close proximity, yet it doesn't affect the overall subdued natural colours of my clothing and larger items of kit.
Sounds like a good, well-considered balance.
I've used patches of "glow-in-the-dark" tape on items I want to spot easily at night, and orange cord or orange duct tape on things I'm concerned I might misplace during daylight hours. The patches of Reflective tape someone else mentioned also smart.
I bought the orange moras a few years back, first one for my son when he started bushcraft, it was probably the knife he used on Essentials with Ross and Woody, and then training knives I used with Scouts. With all the concerns around misuse of bladed tools not only were there the practical reasons but helped the risk case as said they were possibly less ‘cool’ and potentially easier to keep track of.
Hello. Yes these are good points about the knife being more visible (not concealed) and easier to keep track of. Important considerations, especially in light of the perceptions of others. Thanks.
About time you posted , Good to see you back
haha indeed. Thanks. Good to be back.
I lost a muted green mora and spent 15 minutes looking around until I finally found it. It was sitting on a log right where I put it but it blended in so well I just couldn't see it.
:-). Glad you found it.
i lost a nice green frog bait when i left it in grass then forgot where i left it
Been doing this for years……most things have bright orange string so it it’s dropped it can easily been seen even if it drops into deep snow or grass etc. I use vivid neon orange shoe laces.
Other items are orange in colour too. Here in hunting season I use an orange tent just in case.
Very good 🙂
I think the No 1 lesson here is the cultivation of habit; of clipping, holstering & replacing the items you illustrate back in place after use and, before we do anything else and especially at twilight/night time. That this should become first, not second nature in the wilds. Other colours for cordage could include blue (a shade somewhere between sky blue & royal blue), also bright red, which are neutral colours and show up against vegetation. Personally, I would choose one type of cordage e.g. reflective cordage (similar to guylines) cord which can be seen both in the day, but with reflective strands which can also reflect in torchlight if mislaid at night etc.
The smartest man i've ever known taught me : "If you're done with it, put it away."
☆
I have some lengths of fluorescent paracord.
Its the high vis stuff that glows in the dark for thirty minutes if you shine a flashlight on it.
I just make small ties or loops out of it, which I can attach to critical gear through a belt loop or lanyard. Its not functional its just for visibility. It makes them really easy to spot during the day, and if you still cant find it, just come back at night with a high power flashlight, shine it around and then turn it off. You will see the tag glowing in the dark.
Good shout though mate.
Glad you liked the video. Thanks for sharing what you do too. All the best, Paul
Hi Paul.
Good to see you back on here.
Couldn't agree more with critical/survival items being highly visible, especially if they are likely to be used when you are in a stressful situation or environment, as that is when you are likely to put something down on the ground that would normally just go straight back into your pocket/onto your belt.
However...
When you're just going for a Saturday afternoon play in the woods, sticking with the muted colours can just be more pleasant on the eye, and add to the relaxation side of the few hours escape when you can just take your time a little more and put things away as you go along.
I have some items in various colours, and depending on where I am going, or what I am doing, I will grab a different toolkit.
We have all orange Mora Companions for our Scout group, as younger minds are easily distracted, and it helps me see when someone has just left one lying around instead of placing them back in the box.
I really like the idea of the orange bandana.
I may have to invest in one of those.
All the best.
Steve.
Hi Steve, it's good to hear from you. Thanks for your comments. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and observations. And yes the orange bandanna is nice. All the best, Paul
I like to make lanyards from paracord with a reflective trace in it. Then I can usually find something I've dropped after dark with a headlamp at least...
Good call.
Using orange or brightly colored ridgelines and guylines instead of black or green is a good way to avoid tripping on them in the dark and possibly hurting yourself or damaging your tarp.
Indeed!
On my 4 person tent (canoe and boat trips or when car camping...) I even have reflective paracord with luminous line tensioners to help prevent that
@@najroe Yes, it's very effective in the dark.
Yes, especially on tarps that are not square cut, where the angle of the guy line can be less predictable than for a square-cut tarp. All the best, Paul
+1. i also heard that bright color attract wildlife more. is it true or it's just internet nonsense? for example, if i have fluorescent or bright colored paracord, will it attrack wildlife (ie they're curoius to check my camp out) or there's nothing to worry about?
Concerning items that are easily mislaid such as ferro rod, lighter etc: I agree entirely. In fact for some years now any replacements I have needed I've always chosen hi-viz orange where available. Other items have acquired bright orange lanyards and I've recently bought the orange handled Mora knife. I spend quite a lot of time in the woods and basically I think that kit easily seen makes life simpler.
Well said about keeping life as simple as possible. I'm glad you are on the same page with this. All the best, Paul
Glad to see you doing well, Paul.
Thank you.
Good to see you Paul, i welcome your insight.
Thank you. I'm glad you liked this.
Good Evening Paul, absolutely spot on! I remember being the coolest cadet on camp with a camo Zippo. Right till I dropped it in a field! Sorry Survival Aids isn't still around a lot of my pocket money was spent in there!
Haha those camo Zippos were cool, though. Yes, we all fondly remember Survival Aids. I remember when I managed to get my dad to drive me to the original shop in Morland..... I felt like I had reached Aladdin's cave 🙂
I like to use the 1.3 mil Z-Line High Vis Reflective Cord (like a Dyneema guy line cord) for my pocket lanyards. It stays visible longer once dirtied a bit and is ultralight, ultra strong and flexible-great to pair with lighter items. It’s another good option to heavier 550 or similar para cords. Also lanyard on your compass as another critical item 😊
Great side subject brought up on securing your gear when you are done with it whether that be putting your lanyard back on your belt loop or into your pocket or sheathe. Hanging things on trees is also viable, but leaving tools on the bare ground there is no reason for!
PS Paul, all the links go to the UK amazon store which for those in the States (on my end at least) causes an error and won't allow any sort of purchase to be made. I don't know if that will mess with your affiliate links or not but I thought I'd mention it.
Good comments Darron and yes lanyards are important. Thanks for the observation on the affiliate links... I thought I had sorted out international links with Amazon but I will check it out again. Thanks for letting me know... much appreciated. Warm regards, Paul.
Paul! Its been so long. Always good to see any content from you!
Thanks
Thanks Paul. No I don't think its crazy to be able to see the things you really don't want to lose. I've placed orange tape on my ferro rod handle, knife handle etc. Haven't found any sickness from it so far. I have used your pocket lanyard system ever since you put out that video. I wouldn't ever change that. New important gear is usually bright coloured with a subdued carrier. I believe strike force came out with an orange version of their big ferro rod.
Nate
Good stuff Nate.
Well worth watching, will take advice.
Thanks. Glad you thought it was worthwhile.
Is the answer - green for military and evasion - orange for survival and emergency and a mixture for bushcraft? Stay safe. ATB.
For some people it could well be. As long as we are making informed, intentional choices, based on our context, then that's the important thing. All the best, Paul
I use orange paracord lanyards & wrap around the sheath. Also for my compass and whistle lanyards
The wrap-around-the-sheath option is a good one. A lot of people do it with green. I see it much less with orange but that will look both tidy and visible! Good point about compass lanyards too.... a very important piece of equipment.
I purchased two orange Moras a few days ago. Not because I lost a knife, but because I put the black Mora down in an unsafe place. I have previously put non-adhesive orange flag tape around various items. It threads through lanyard holes, and can be tied off. It is also removable (no residual goo), if you later need to be stealthy.
That floroescent green on your whistle works well too.
Agawa folding saws come orange and one of those is coming my way too
Good stuff!
Good to see you posting again!
Thank you. It's good to be back.
Thanks for another great video, Paul. I switched out my Bic lighter to orange a few years ago for this exact reason. I think we have a mindset that Orange and red our for safety and / or emergencies. We tend to think we will never lose our gear or be in an emergency situation. A good video like this one helps remind us that things happen and we should be prepared.
Great video and advice, Mr. Kirtley. I have high visabilty gear in an emergency kit I keep in my truck, but the gear I use camping and hiking with the kids I use 99% of the time is not. Guess I've been gambling . . . Need to reconsider that process. Thanks
It's always worth thinking about. Glad you liked the video.
Hi Paul! I subscribed to your channel a year or two ago, having learnt a lot from you while at the same time thinking you most likely would never post anything again. Yet here you are. I just want to say thank you for sharing your knowledge, both now and before. This might sound a bit ridiculous, but there is truth to it: you sharing your knowledge and experience is making other people better, and in turn they might pass it on further and educate more people. Ripples in the water and all that. Too long, didn't read? Just wanted to say thank you!
Hello and thank you for your comments. I did read all of it and I appreciate your positive words. It means a lot. Thank you. Warm regards, Paul
I once dropped a camo glove in the fall leaves. Took 5 minutes to find it and it was no more than a foot away.
I started adding orange paracord or a bit of gaffer tape (thinking about paint instead) to important items but for critical I try to get them in bright colors.
It's amazing how quicly small items can disappear when they blend in!
Orange Pericord is prevalent on All 😢of my “loose gear”. You make a great point…
Thanks
Great camo in an orange orchard! They'll never catch me stealing the fruit ;)
Glad to be of assistance 🙂
Yes, this is indeed a good idea. I always had my small and essential items in a bright orange color. But the knife? No, for me that doesn`t have to be in an artificial color, once i used the knife, it goes back into its sheath on my belt. Same for the saw. Greetings from Switzerland!
Yes, it's a personal choice. Putting the knife back in place is the primary discipline, absolutely. Warm regards, Paul
I use a lot of orange or flouro pink, tarp lines. The pink is much more visible all year round. good video
Glad you liked the vid.
Another beauty of orange kit, is if you are searching in the dark, a blue coloured torch light will make the kit fluoresce and even easier to find.
Good tip!
Great topics for discussion and thought! :D
It seems there are several brands/types of bright colored cordage with reflective threads woven into it, in various sizes. A few years ago I found some thin enough to fit into small openings and lanyard holes, etc. which has worked great for pocket-sized flashlights, folding knives and saws, zipper pulls on IFAK, and so on.
I've selected the bright orange safety whistles to attach to PFD's,/life jackets for recreation and fishing, and as pointed out in the video, a few florescent orange or florescent yellow-green items that can be pulled out to attract attention for help/rescue, are an excellent idea for all sorts of recreational and travel situations. And the bright florescent knife and tool sheaths, match cases and such, or ANY critical gear, makes SO much sense! :D
Anyone that's ever dropped dark/drab colored items even in one's own yard can attest to how HARD it can be to find the item, even if you know almost exactly where it was dropped. :D Thanks!
Thanks for your positive comments. I'm glad this video resonated with you. The bright cord with reflective material is indeed useful.
100% agree mate. My wife has that orange Mora companion and it stands out beautifully. I like orange cord for lanyards, and/or cord that has reflective bits in it so that it shines up nicely under a head torch. I also keep my ferro rod on a cord tied to my belt so that it never gets separated from me.
Love your work mate.
Side note, I did Gordon's course here in Aus. Those bandanas are great.
Thanks for your positive words mate.
@@MrWalko Yes, he's done a good job with them. Which course did you do? Mod 1 or the combo with Mod 2?
@@PaulKirtley I did the combined mod 1 & 2. I got to attend as my 40th birthday gift and it was brilliant. I've kept practising the skills as I get the opportunity and hope to save up and do the mod 3 at some stage. For the moment I have to settle with quality UA-cam videos!
good to see you again.....
Thank you!
I absolutely love the natural look of the green and browns. That being said, all my backup essentials are florescent.
I agree compledtely, and in fact, I've been thinking the same with my equipment. One of the things I carry that is not often mentioned is a package of blaze orange thumb tacks, which I have to create waymarkers on trees when bushwhacking.
Nice thought. I always go for the natural colors but my hubby got me a glow in the dark lighter and it got me thinking. All the points you mentioned make perfect sense. I’m on board. Especially for the small things👍🏻🧡
Best unnatural color in woods is bright blue - especially when you have to find something in the grass or on a leaves. Orange equipment in the autumn is almost invisible.
Paul, it's nice to see you again on YT :) Greeting from Bieszczady mountains.
Great video on a subject that is overlooked by many. I can see the need for a more visible item and also need for camo. I noticed I tend to lean more towards tan, coyote, brown. That's just a personal preference for the area I live. There is a lot of discussion to be had along these lines. One big question is Why are you out and about? recreation, need such as evacuation, etc. What a great discussion we could have about all of this. I just sub your channel because of your original idea and not trying to put someone's maybe different idea down. I look forward to the next video.
Thanks for your positive words and for subscribing. I hope you continue to enjoy my videos. And yes you are correct, context is important as the foundation of our choices.
Great ideas. I’ve been using orange for these things for sometime. Occasionally Red handled knife. I agree with the saw I have both the orange and green. Green has a orange lanyard.
Yes, red and orange are both good.
I agree with you generally but folks tend to choose orange if they choose a bright colour for things. Something that goes missing by accident in someone else's kit is just as gone as if you lost it. I try to get as much acid green things or at least something a little less used by others. The solution to the sticky tape problem is to go to a hobby shop and get either a bright fabric tape or just some bright cotton material along with some good fabric glue. Glue the bright cotton material to whatever in the way you would use the bright sticky tape. I have a protective compass box I made and did that with at least 15 years ago and it still works and is still unsticky on the outside of the box.
I rock blue as my color. Up in the mountains orange depending on season shows up. Have not seen blue on the east coast in the woods naturally. Just a thought.
I do love my curly birch handle. Must admit. But it is coupled with reflective blue paracord.
A pretty good halfway option is medium blue, that's what my Eka skinning knife is and it stands out really well on the ground but more subtle on your hip.
Asthetics play a part in this too I think. I am a sucker for a walnut handled knife and am also a sucker for loosing one once 😂
Luckily I did not need it when I might have “really needed it” and learned from my mistakes like you said Paul of “getting excited” when lighting the fire 🔥 putting my tool down and never finding it again.
I am now very much an advocate for using brightly coloured essential items.
It’s common sense really to have those things you really may need visibly distinguishable from natural colours in the environment where you may be using them.
Great to see another video from you Paul.
As always, thanks for sharing your experience, knowledge and skills with us all.
Someone will write a book on you one day I’m sure. 😊
All the best. 👍
While I’ve found it’s easy to add retro-reflective lanyards to tools, it would be nice if more handles also had phosphorescent components. I’ve started to add strips of glow tape and beads to things like phone cases, key chains and storage sleeves and, while never comparable to powered illumination, frequently help locate gear that much better in the dark (and avoid stepping on them when dropped!).
The current generation of phosphorescent pigments is a completely different animal than the novelty stuff I had in toys growing up. At the extreme, I’ve found the one large glow block from county comm is a workable low-level reading light for the first few hours of the evening…almost a perpetual indestructible flashlight.
I couldn't agree more, Paul. If there is not a particular reason from someone to have things in tactical colours, then bright colours are a godsend for finding tools in grass, leaf litter or in twilight. In my many years in horticulture, nearly all of my small tools had red, white or orange handles. The tools I used in training workshops were also sprayed with yellow road marking paint. Made them much easier to find when someone had put them down and forgotten where they left them!
Most of my stuff is orange, but if’s not I use orange reflective para cord as lanyards
I've added bright orange lanyards to various items over the years because i found if i dropped them, or put them down (or kicked an item in the night whilst going for a leak) i had the devil's own time finding them sometimes (and as you say, some items - knives in particular - are too costly to replace). Also easier to find in pack.
Ironically, i have a bright orange mora companion (exellent food prep knife, amongst other uses) and i cannot find the blessed thing! I blame it's hidden state on wombles, myself.
Good piece.
Glad you liked the piece. You have to watch for those wombles 🙂
Fully agree with you Paul. I would suggest including orange lanyards as a minimum on items for navigation like a compass as well as emergency coms like a SPOT.
good video i fully agree with you
Conspicuity is the opposite of camouflage IMHO.
So think of shape, shine, silhouette etc etc but in reverse.
Personally in the UK year round I think blue stands out better than orange, which is part of the reason I have a blue Finn Wolf.
GITD paint can be splashed on everything too.
The film aimed at bikers shows this well, "The science of being seen" by Kevin Williams if you search here and have 25mins.
Absolutely. I make knives myself and as you say they are all natural colours, however, for my Scout group we have bright orange Mora Companions and my own children have the bright blue & bright green ones. My personal choice of gear colours is black and orange, it not only differentiates from other people gear but I don't lose anything anymore either!
🙂
@@PaulKirtley My laplander is a black and orange edition, less orange than yours but also has a silver blade, blades are available separately.
@@SiHill80 Good to know about the silver blade.
Nice presentation. I appreciate the mention of discipline when using and storing critical tools. I hike and backpack in NE Ohio, PA and WV. During the fall season in these areas, orange disappears quicker in the laced bed of leaves in the forest. Light blue is a great color, and I've been converting most of my small items to it actually appears less in nature than orange or red in our areas. A little reflective tape makes a huge differnce in finding an item in the dark as well.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the presentation. You live in a beautiful part of the world with lovely fall colours. Blue makes sense in the context for sure. The reflective tape always helps too. All the best, Paul
All my kit is green/brown. Mostly a fisherman for the last 40 years. The only exception is I have a bic lighter wrapped in hi vis orange gaffer tape. Easy to find if you drop it. Tape can be used as a firelighter. Makes a great marker tape. Sticks stuff together. Repairs holes or tears etc.
I'm an outdoorsman, fishermen camper, hunter.
On the cheap, neon nail polish, oringe green , yellow. $2 at Walmart. Better than tape. Dries in 20 min.
That's a really good tip. I may well borrow this idea... thank you.
Makes great sense. I DO prefer earth tone gear but I’ve definitely lost things also. I did start getting orange gear, I like your idea of making emergency gear orange. Great video.
I don't want high visible gear. But I don't want to lose my gear either
So what I do is I put bright colors on my gear. Orange or yellow lanyard or such. This way it is easier to see if I drop it or mislay something. But if for some reason I need to be invisible I can remove the brightly colored addition to my gear and now it's no longer high visible
If your going for being able to find then use paracord with a reflective strip in the weave. Quite commen now and then you can shine a torch as it glints in the light during day and shines during low light and night
Indeed. It's useful stuff.
An orange knife, fire steel and saw are winners (not making very many silent kills on my usual camping weekends strangely enough), I find this self explanitory. Clothing and rucksack for sure, can be in drab, earthy colours, no worries, but all the pouches (tent pegs, first aid kit, essentials kits etc.) should be in bright coloured bags that go inside the rucksack. Great video for those that haven't bought into the orange style. Good to see you back Paul.
I lost a brand new leatherman wave after extracting a hook from my first thornback ray, tide was on the flood. The excitement took me over. The leatherman was a gift from a mate. Gutted about that still, happened a while ago.
I volunteer with the State Emergency Service in QLD, Australia. My whole uniform is orange. Long pants and long sleeved top !
:-) Perfect
Great video. As a scout leader teaching youngsters firelightling etc the instances of lost firesteels etc in the woods has been high, and as a charity a costly replace, so agree use of colours (we have bright red fire steels and also get them to make fluro lanyards as part of paracord craft) great after all we are not training ninjas or the SAS. Tactical has its place but survival and the kit to preserve life far more important. Any thoughts on similar for water purification?, they all tend to be blue or clear, not great if dropped in water so maybe use of floatation keyrings on lanyards for visual impact also glow items built into paprcord as we're often firelighting at dusk/night.
Indeed important when working with groups of young people. Keeping track of gear can be tricky. And as your rightly point out, for most of us this gear is safety/survival gear. I'll have a think about the water question but an immediate reply would be for some of the smaller filtration units (which I guess are more likely to be lost), reflective and bright tape wrapped around the cylinder (thinking something like a small Saywer filter) would work quite nicely. All the best, Paul
I was on a canoe trip in Sweden early in the autumn this year and put down my axe after using it to make a long peg for soft ground. After finishing tying off the guyline I had a brief panic when I couldn't see my axe. I turned it up after a calm and careful search. My axe, saw and knife all had orange & reflective paracord lanyards fitted later that day. Someone else was not so fortunate: I found a Gransfors Bruks Hunter's Axe near one of our camps that had probably been lost the previous year. Hi-viz definitely has a place on essential kit.
Excellent video Paul! Great to see you back!
Thanks. Good to be back!
I agree with your thought but I still like my neutral colors, I make sure I do not lose my key items through discipline and implementing fail safes like a long lanyard attached to my fero rod that never gets taken off, when I stand up the rod is at my ankles so if I am naughty and do not put it back in my pocket it will still come with me. Having said that I do appreciate orange is easy to see in the tropics where I live so I always carry orange I even make my own pouches and line them with orange, I constantly tell my Scouts the same even if the only thing that is orange is their underpants as long as they can use it to signal for help.
You can get reflective paracord that is not bright colored, yes if you lose an item you will need to wait until it is dark before you can find it but it is a good compromise.
Good to see you back on YT and I hope to get more active on your webinars again soon.
I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve been steering toward brighter colours for all my gear, for a while. I like to wander around in the dark without a light when I can and there are plenty of hunters around where I travel, so visibility helps. Even though I know better, I do also lay my things down when I’m working. Why worry about having to search for a black firesteel when it comes in a colour you‘ll never lose? I’ve also bought a big bundle of orange paracord because I’m tired of kicking up my tarp guylines…
Paul, how apt! If I could give this more one like I would. I was having this exact conversation with a good friend just the other week. I have to admit, when I began my "bushcraft"/wilderness/outdoor journey many years ago, I fell into the trap of "it's got to be green" simply because that appeared to be what many of the professionals were wearing/using. In recent years as I have rekindled my interest in the outdoors, I totally changed my view. Given that many proponents of outdoor and wilderness skills (lots of whom, like yourself, are on this platform) like to bang on about how essential certain items were, it struck me as ironic that they would be so hard to find should you misplace them - which, lets face it, we've all done at some point. Add to the fact that there's a very good chance when you REALLY need something, you will be stressed or tired, something as simple as having your items easy to locate could literally make the difference between life and death in a critical situation. A little extreme perhaps, but easy to imagine when you think about how quickly things can go south. Now much of my kit is in bright colours, and I find comfort in the fact that if I place something on the ground or hang it on a tree, I can spot it easily. For what it's worth, the UST Spark Force is one of my go to back up fire starters and lives in my belt pouch along with a bright Bic lighter and lots of emergency tinder. It's a little small, but easy to use once the outer layer is scraped off and includes a very good striker. Wrapping a Bic in bright duct tape does have the added bonus of providing you with a good emergency tinder too. Apologies for the length of this comment, I just feel you are definitely on the right track and many people could do with paying attention to this. All the best. Jon
I disagree. Mainly because my "bushcraft" gear is my "bugout" gear. Meaning, I am NOT coming home again. What I have with me will have to sustain me til I reach my bugout location. I do NOT want to be seen. I'm not going all digi-cam and ghillie suit, but I'm sure not carrying orange rope, whistles, reflecto-mirrors and bright red stuff to attract everyone's attention.
Am I wrong? I will be hiking main back country roads, and trying to avoid every little roadblock set up by good ol' boys as soon as SHTF. They've been prepping, see, and it's time to put them toys to the test! If I get hurt, I'm on my own, or will have to crawl out to a road somewhere.
I won't be attracting the attention of helicopters or search aircraft.
So, rather than have three of everything, I just have two of everything in subdued colors.
Right? Or wrong?