What on earth is a “Ditty Bag”?
The Ditty Bag is “a small bag in which a sailor keeps small tools and equipment, also personal articles” according to John Rogers in Origins of Sea Terms:
So what does it have to do with camping?
During my many years of backpacking I always carried a ditty back. The bags contents were customized for camping.
Essentially my camping ditty bag contained items that over time found a use in camping.
The bag itself was simply a homemade cloth bag like a very small pillow case but with a drawstring so it could be closed. The bag itself is not the important part, but the contents were at times golden.
Here’s what I carried in my ditty bag:
- One pair of spare boot laces.
- 20’ of good quality string.
- A can/bottle opener known as a “church key”.
- A P38 can opener. If you’ve never seen one of these take a look here:P38 Can Opener
- 6 spring clothes pins
- 6 safety pins – different sizes
- 6 fire-starters. See Camping Tip – Fire-Starters
- A water proof container of wooden safety strike kitchen matches.
- A small roll of surgical tape.
- A compass
- A knife sharpening stone
- A small jackknife (today I would replace the knife with a leatherman type multi-tool)
- A penlight flashlight (today I would get a small led light) and spare batteries.
- A small personal first aid kit. Look at the contents of a commercial personal first aid kit and gather what you need.
- A bottle of water purification tablets.
- A small sewing kit. Here’s how you can put one together for yourself: http://www.ehow.com/how_4500040_make-recycled-pill-bottle-sewing.html
- A stainless steel mirror.
Well that’s pretty much the whole contents. You may never need any of these items during your camping trips, but if you do, you’ll be glad you have them.
From my experience, I found myself going to this bag of goodies on almost a daily basis for one thing or another. I hope it helps you out.
Happy camping!
