What I'm Carrying

I know the question all the guys have been asking is, "what about your gear?" So here it is.

Rucksack, MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment)

Bedroom 

Top - Stuff sack containing:
1) Tent, Individual Combat Shelter in Army parlance, commercial name Catoma Stealth,
2) Army issue Thermarest self-inflating sleeping pad
Bottom - Army Modular Sleep System in stuff sack
Left - Rain cover for rucksack

Kitchen

Clockwise - Water filter (Katadyn Base Camp), Canteen cup with cooking rest, Canteens, Optimus Svea stove with fuel bottle, funnel, primer pump, and three kinds of matches (regular, strike-anywhere, and hurricane), Army issue mess kit, US Army knife (like a Swiss Army knife, but...), Collapsible sink/bucket and dish soap/scrubber.

 Orienteering

Staff (yes, good old fashioned wood, with a metal spike at the end, and a rubber grommet to cover it on pavement), Compass, Ranger beads (for pace counting), and a waterproof bag with maps, and trail book.

 Emergency

First Aid and Survival kits. I put these together myself: the commercial ones never have the right stuff.

Survival Kit contents: space blanket, signal mirror, whistle, duct tape, 550 cord, magnesium firestarter, fishing/trapping kit with two weights of line, hooks, sinkers, floats, and snare wire, mini compass/thermometer, and, outside, a red bandana for signaling, slinging, or filtering water.

First Aid Kit contents: Carlysle bandage (Army-issue compression bandage), Celox/Quicklot, snake bite kit, self-adhesive stretch tape, various sizes of gauze pads, nonstick pads, and bandaids, medical tape, nitrile gloves, hand sanitizer wipes, alcohol pads, betadine swabs, scissors, syringe (for wound irrigation), Neosporin, Benadryl cream, Crazy Glue (for wound closure), Steri-strips, Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Immodium, Visine

 Hygiene

Shaving kit with toiletries, TP, wipes, hand sanitizer, towel and washcloth, moleskin, vaseline (for chafing), foot powder, DEET, Stingkill, sunblock, Carmex

Maintenence 

Sharpener, solar battery charger with batteries, padded case, and waterproof Loksaks, 550 cord (or paracord), duct tape, sewing/repair kit, boot care kit (take care of your boots and they'll take care of your feet).

Leisure 

Notebook and pencil for writing, "The Grey Wolf" by George MacDonald, my pipe, with case, tobacco, tamper tool, and matches, ipod, waterproof/shockproof carrying case for my phone (which was being used to take the picture), and, er...for medicinal purposes.

Tools 

Glock entrenching tool (that's a shovel to you civilians), Gerber Gator machete (for brush, undergrowth, and perhaps gators or bears), Gerber LMF Infantry knife, Maglite LED (brighter than the old three-D-cell maglites, but not as good for a weapon), Leatherman

The Infamous CPAP machine, solar charger, and battery

Foul Weather Gear 

Army-issue fleece jacket, boonie hat, poncho, goretex gaiters, lightweight leather gloves and liners, cold-weather cap.

  Clothes

Clockwise - Moccassins (for camp), camp clothes (something dry to change into at the end of the day, and to sleep in if it's cool: plus an extra layer in case it gets really cold), extra t-shirt and boxers, silk long johns, extra bandana, handkerchief (never run out the door without a pocket-handkerchief), and an Army triangle bandage, which makes a great headscarf, neckerchief, or general-purpose rag, extra walking socks (Smartwool trekking socks, and silk liners: two layers prevents blisters), and a waterproof stuff sack to keep my clothes dry.

Cargo Vest

For convenience and weight-distribution. Plus wallet, watch, sunglasses, and a couple of the things that will go in the pockets.

 Food

Chicken and beef in foil packs, instant potato, noodle, and rice entrees, instant oatmeal, peanut butter (goes in the oatmeal to add fat and protein to breakfast), Cliff Bars, tea, beef jerky, raisins and peanuts, waterproof/odorproof OPsaks (to keep the critters from smelling my food), and a (reputedly) bear-proof Ursack to put it all in.

Drugs

My portable mini-pharmacy to keep me functioning despite my ailments. I carefully peeled the labels off the bottles and attached them to the mini-ziplocks with box tape. So that I get no hassles from nosy officials about carrying unlabled prescription drugs, some of which are quite liable to recreational use.

And here it is all packed up and ready to go, except for what will be worn or carried in the vest or on the belt. It's definitely not an ultra-light load (about 50 pounds), and I expect I'll get comments from obsessive ultra-lighters who weigh their matchsticks and saw the handles off their toothbrushes, But I like Army gear: I trust it, it's tested and proven, and surplus is significantly cheaper than brand-new commercial gear.