What's in your field kit?

if you’re near your car, the floormats are good for this. Not great for carrying long distances though.

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Arthur Dent has been a good example to us all.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels.

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon*;** use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you—daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel inemergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.*

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value.

Because…

For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have “lost.” What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

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Some snacks I prefer to bring out in the field are…
*An apple! I love apples, they are energizing, healthy, and don’t come with any plastic packaging!
*Crackers, a quick, non mess snack, but not very energizing.
*Granola bars. (The chocolate chip ones are my favorite😉)

When it comes to going out in the field, snacks are very important!

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That is just hilarious!

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Great sub topic!

Apples: YES…with peanut butter on them. Ooo…good!
I would cut them up at home so they were easier to eat.

Peanuts. Dry roasted with little or no salt. Sometimes I would mix peanuts with cheddar cheese crackers and small pretzels. Salt is important in the summer when one is sweating. Raisins or other dried fruit, too. I guess that is sort of like a granola bar.

If I wanted to get out of the house as early as possible in the morning, I would make a bunch of pancakes at night and roll them up with various things. Portability. Ease of access.

I would also look for blackberries in certain spots in late summer. I would take a small plastic container to collect some. I would only take maybe a cup and leave the rest for birds. Last year I was lucky enough to find a couple of black raspberry bushes. They are silkier than the blackberries.

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Oho, I just saw this and boy does it remind me that I have plans.
As of now, I have a pencil box and notebook with me at all times, and during field outings I also bring one of those containers to observe animals and a net. My phone is also a must for taking pictures for observations (plus a flashlight/compass/etc.).
The ruler is good for measurements and doubles as a sort of prod for handling small animals like beetles and spiders.

I’m currently planning on getting petri dishes and small vials for sampling, especially since I raise insects (mostly Lepidopterans) for a hobby and for ID (derp).
Probably that means forceps and cotton buds/q-tips as well.
I probably want to invest in a blacklight as well, too, as it’s an effective way to find some arthropods (we all know scorpions)
Then there’s herping… oh dear the stuffed backpack I’ll be having, haha

This is indeed a very good topic, glad I saw it.

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Nice!

Gorp = Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts

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I’ve also lately had this Star map that shows you the location of stars at night. It’s really cool! Every now and then I’ll go out for a bit in the evening and look for constellations.

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1- My camera - https://creativepro.com/new-26x-optical-wide-angle-zoom-camera-olympus/.
2- My sunhat.
3- An apple, banana, or carrot.

Yes, a sun hat is important’

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How are you liking the zoom on that Olympus? do you know about what it weighs? I like that it looks quite small in the photo.

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I love my camera’s zoom it’s just brilliant. It weighs about 750g-1000g So not that heavy.
The leans extends quite a bit. At its tallest point it’s 8.5cm. Width (at the back) 9.5cm.
Length at the side 9cm (without the leans extended).
Length at the side 15cm (with the leans extended).
I think it’s quite an average size for a good camera without those big extensions.
I did not get it new, my grandfather gave it to me after he craked the leans in China.
However, the crack never shows up for me :joy:
It also comes with a comfy camera bag and uses your normal super heavy duty battery (4 pack) in literally 5 seconds so you need rechargeable batteries.

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Has anyone tried this?
https://www.google.com/search?q=12+X+32+mm+Binoculars+Digital+Camera+2’’+LCD+Display+1080P+High+Definition+with+Video+Photo+Recorder+Support+32G+TF+Card+USB+Observing+Wildlife+Bird+Watching+Camping+Hiking+Hunting&oq=12+X+32+mm+Binoculars+Digital+Camera+2’’+LCD+Display+1080P+High+Definition+with+Video+Photo+Recorder+Support+32G+TF+Card+USB+Observing+Wildlife+Bird+Watching+Camping+Hiking+Hunting&aqs=chrome..69i57.489j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
and if so would you recommend it.

No, but it looks really cool!

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I’m just beginning the stage of starting to collect things to bring home for analysis. For instance, I took a small twig with mite(?) galls home in my pocket yesterday, but what is a good type/size sample container to store it in to see what might happen?

As a chemist, I’m used to sample vials and tubes as places to store liquids and powders, but biology samples are a new area for me. Does anyone have a recommendation for supplier(s) I can browse, or general-purpose type(s), or handy size(s) for the kit?

I can always get by with repurposing say, scintillation vials, but maybe someone has advice on purpose-made containers? Thanks if so!

Scintillation vials sound good for microphotography. Presumably the glass is very clear and won’t distort the image.

For rearing larvae etc I use the plastic pots you get houmous and pate in, or the larger yogurt pots. The lids are tight enough to stop things escaping. You might want to make 20-30 minute holes in the lid to allow gas exchange.

If it is something that needs keeping damp, try a layer of leafy moss in the bottom and keep the moss wet. But you have to be careful you aren’t introducing any species in the moss that might be confused with what hatches out of the gall.

You can rear insects from larvae that live in flowing water (e.g. stoneflies) in such pots so long as the water is very shallow, c 0.5 cm, and they are kept cool.

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I try to take as little as possible, only the necessary minimum; As for the photographic equipment, I used to use a good digital camera with a good Sony lens, but I noticed that I take better photos with cheaper equipment : ) and now I use the camera in my LG phone and a small handheld digital camera from Sony …

I just found this cool ruler in a YouTube video on interesting Japanese office supplies. 30 cm ruler that folds down to 15 cm. This would totally come in handy out in the field.

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No kidding!