In my seven day survival vest, I carry many things, including 100 feet of thin strong nylon rope which I store in the back of my vest. Rope is very handy out into the bush. I have used it not only just for camping, but it has gotten me out of some very tight situations.
Out in the wilderness, you may not have a tent, or you may be unexpectedly caught in the woods overnight.
I have used a variety of compasses from time to time, but it was not until spring of 1960 that I used a compass every day as part of my job – that job being a compass man establishing boundaries in the forests of northern British Columbia. With a small, hand held compass, I had to be very accurate, starting out at one corner, traveling the perimeter of a square and arriving back at the same spot.
Anyone can walk into the wilderness and walk out again in two weeks. How you fare in those two weeks depends upon how prepared you are. The English used to go on safaris for months into the South African wilderness and would have 30-50 porters with them, and when camp was set they would have a table, white linen cloth, crystal glasses and a bottle of wine, and good meals. This is what we called “prepared”.