Winter and nomex flight gloves.

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I recently completed a wilderness survival course and one of the things I concluded was that having a set of thin nomes flight gloves around went a long way to taking the sting off manipulating the coals of a dying fire or any other fine manipulations I had to do. I wore them almost the entire course, slipping them in and out of my cold weather mitts and keeping them handy between my sleeping bag pieces while managing the fire.

Looking back it was one of my most use pieces of kit. Just an everyday surplus set of nomex gloves. I'm wondering with all the experience on the board:

A) what is your number one must have for a survival scenario.
B) can you think of a downside to my flight gloves and being used almost as second skin the whole course? I just found and infinite amount of uses for them. My hands were always good- my cold weather mitts for the coldest periods, a mid range glove for chopping wood, and the nomad gloves as a second skin for everything else.

 

[Zoomie]

A) what is your number one must have for a survival scenario.

My VISA and the closest Holiday Inn: Express

B) can you think of a downside to my flight gloves and being used almost as second skin the whole course? 

Their durability is crap - they are not meant for serious handling.

 

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That's true on their durability. But they did last the four days and saved my hands- they cost me 11 bucks. I would have been choked if I had spent 50. I'm going to stitch the finger that had a blow out and see if I can't get another few hard days out of them.

I just found that sleeping outside sans tent/ shelter etc in extreme temps that everything had a bite to it. The gloves took away that bite. I imagine as air crew you would have several courses in this stuff.

I can't imagine the damage to mortar gloves or Cadpat leathers would have been.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

A) what is your number one must have for a survival scenario.

Hopefully, a semi-intact airplane and a full crew with no life threatening injuries, waiting for our SAR folks coming down bearing on our 243, wet ditch or crash (lots of kit and groceries).

For a land survival solo event, I hope I make it out with my Mora Bushmaster Survival knife.  The issued folding PRT doesn't cut it.

 

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Hopefully, a semi-intact airplane and a full crew with no life threatening injuries, waiting for our SAR folks coming down bearing on our 243, wet ditch or crash (lots of kit and groceries).

For a land survival solo event, I hope I make it out with my Mora Bushmaster Survival knife.  The issued folding PRT doesn't cut it.

I'm going to read some reviews on that knife. The ranger s were really pushing the woodsmans pal....but the reviews are mixed.

 

[MAJONES]

I can't imagine the damage to mortar gloves or Cadpat leathers would have been.

I used the CADPAT combat gloves in the same way you did on the same course.  They came through it without a scratch. 

 

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Beauty. And you didn't spend 11 bucks on them.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I'm going to read some reviews on that knife. The ranger s were really pushing the woodsmans pal....but the reviews are mixed.

Here's a video of someone actually using (batoning, etc) the Bushmaster's smaller cousin, the Mora Clipper 840.  I was impressed with it, and bought one as a neck knife for hiking etc for about $13 USD on Ebay.  There is also a Swedish Fireknife which is Clipper size with a firesteel in the handle.  I wanted something a little more robust so got the Bushmaster for my helmet bag.  Good knives IMO, hold their edge, easy to sharpen (scandi-grind out of the box), and tough. Good bang for the buck.