When I think about Bushcrafting I’ve devised a pyramid of need. The first two steps are mostly preliminary to the third, which is vital.
You need a knife. Endlessly useful in breaking down material they’re very difficult to construct in a primitive environment (not impossible). Your best bet is to have one, doesn’t have to be big and threatening.
You need a fire, not so hard to produce if you have patience and a knife.
You need Water.
No, you really, really need Water. You can go 30 days without Food, only 3 without Water (ok, 3 minutes without Oxygen but what kind of idiot goes Bushcrafting in the cold inky vacuum of Space? Elon Musk?). The reason you need the Fire silly is not to cheer you up or keep you warm but to process your Water so it doesn’t poison you to Death.
Now I have a handy dandy Filter that screws on the top of a Soda Bottle (Trash is everywhere unfortunately) and it’s good enough for most things (though I would still give my Water a good rolling boil) and it cost $20, weighs half an ounce, and I keep it in my purse.
Les on Fire and Water.