Basic Essentials is just that--the basics. It's a nice book to get started. You can easily go out and naviagate after reading this book and practicing with your map and compass. I used this book as a reference in teaching Boy Scouts how to navigate in the wilderness. I was disappointed it didn't have more about the sport of Orienteering.

This book is a good source of information for people interested in learning how to use a map and compass. It is easy to read, simple to follow, and contains accurate information. As a search and rescue instructor, I've used the concepts in this book to teach map and compass skills to hundreds of teen-aged students.

This book has usefull information and lots of opinions. There is a sense of a "know it all attidude." Still, this book has lots of good advice and great illustrations. The author's opinions regarding hull design are interesting but definately slanted toward his bias for specific brands and/or style of canoes. It is telling that there is an advertisement for one brand in the cover flap.

Camping is actually a pretty broad term anymore... People are tent campers, car campers, backpackers, canoe campers, and on and on. This leans more towards backpacking, and does a nice job squeezing in many of the most important points for beginners in a short book of 67 pages for a great price. He helps you chose your gear such as a camp stove, sleeping bag, tent, knives, clothing, boots, pack, etc. The book probabley concentrates on prparing food more than anything, and that is appropriate considering where you will be. He also helps put together a packing list, ideas for cooking and recipes, and many important safety tips.

This is a nice supplemental item for your library of books on the subject if you have one and enjoy collecting them as I do. In fact it is part of a whole series of these little books in the Basic Essential Library. ...

Having been involved in Scouting and camping since 1965 I found this book to be a great review of the basic skills I was taught as a youth. In todays world of high tech camping gadgets this book brings you back to "bucket stoves". While I realy enjoyed this book I found it to be too heavey into outdoor baking and lacking in certain areas such as outdoor sanition and how to set up a tarp without it blowing down. But I guess everything can't be covered in one book. I felt this book was well worth reading for everyone who ventures farther than their backyard on a camping trip.

Reading the other reviews submitted about this book, one would think that it is either the best or the worst book ever written about the special requirements of canoe camping in the boundary waters. Well, it is neither. I take a 14-plus day trip to the Quetico every other summer, and have travelled many of the most challenging and remote routes of the park. The value of this book is that it offers one set of ideas as to the best way to go about one's business in the wilderness. These ideas are not definitive, and I flatly ignore many of them. That said, I have also adopted some of the ideas found in the book, or at least reconsidered my tried and true methods based on some of the author's recommendations. If you're looking for a book to stimulate you to think about different ways of doing things in the woods-- this is a good choice. If you're a beginner, this isn't a bad place to start, but it would be a bad place to stop. There are as many different ways to go about travelling in canoe country as there are lakes in the Quetico. Almost all have something to offer. None are perfect. This book is worth reading as part of the exploration and learning process.

Before setting out on our first trip to the BWCA five years ago, I bought Cliff's book. I read it cover to cover and found it packed with practical information that helped make my first trip (and all my subsequent trips) completely enjoyable. I've re-read the book every year since. I've followed Cliff's tips, and he's never let me down. Yes, put the groundcloth inside your tent, and you'll never have a wet sleeping bag. Use a tumpline when portaging .... it relieves a the stress of carrying a heavy pack. Don't hang your food in a tree, unless you want a bear to to find it! Follow Cliff's tips. I've heard him speak on the subject of canoe camping several times...and he brings many years of valuable experience. I highly recommend reading this book before taking your next canoe/camping trip!

An excellent book for anyone who is interested in canoeing, camping or the B.W.C.A. Timely information for the first timer in the BWCA or for those that have made many trips. Well written and illustrated. A must for the Boundary Water traveler!

Cliff Jacobson's second edition of this book is, by and large, a very handy field guide. Most of the illustrations are easy-to-follow, but some are infuriating and frustrating. As a plus for left-handed folks, he includes how-to diagrams for them, too.

Jacobson starts out with some basic rope care guidelines, and how to select the right rope for the task. He then goes over the 10 most useful knots, and then moves on to more complex and less-often-used knots. There's a small tear-off card with a few handy knots on it that's easy to slide into a pocket or pack. The book itself is fairly small and thin, too, but probably larger than I'd want to take on a long hiking/camping trip.

By and large, it's useful; but I have a sneaking suspicion that there are better knot-tying books out there, with better diagrams (especially for beginners.) I gotta say it again; I got *really* frustrated with some of Jacobson's.

Knots for the Outdoors is a great take-along knot manual. If you are looking for useful knots and a book with clear illustrations from which to learn them, then this is a good choice. If you are as "hung up" on technical accuracy as I, then have a care. For example, learning to tie the Fisherman's Knot from this manual may be lead one to believe that they have also mastered the Water Knot. This confusion arises because Water Knot is the subtitle used on the Fisherman's Knot illustration. Of course, these are two different knots.

Generally, the illustration and the "practicality" of the manual are good. The reader should, however, take with a grain of salt some of the pronouncements about the relative merit of the various knots. It seems that many of Mr. Jacobson's opinions are based on his personal experience, which is good -- for Mr. Jacobson. Your mileage may vary. Remember that the intended purpose, the type of rope available, the skill level of the "knot-smith," weather conditions, and even one's "handedness" may affect the utility of the various knots shown. Temper acceptance of Mr. Jacobson's pronouncements with *your* personal experience.

A brief guide to the basic knots every camper should know. Left-handed illustrations are unique. Generally well illustrated with clear, step-by-step tying diagrams. Starts with a good introduction to types of rope and their care.

The author's knot and rope nomenclature is not always consistent with most authorities, and a couple of the illustrations are either incorrect or difficult to follow. One gets the impression that author and illustrator failed to communicate under deadline pressure.

Nevertheless, a handy little book that's easy to throw into your pack or glove compartment.