The most useful tool in my kit is the 2 oz. bottle of Purell Hand Sanitizer.

10 from 2:

1.  Sanitizing of hands after taking care of business a good ways off-trail  – especially if you’re the camp chef.  Folks just appreciate that attention to detail.  Also good for after handling raw meat.

2.  Quick antiseptic wash for minor cuts ‘n scrapes.

3.  Fire-starter.  (Just remember that alcohol burns clear.  Don’t go poking it with your finger to see if it caught fire.  Trust me, it did.)

4.  Sploosh a glob on some toilet-paper, grit your teeth, and clear up that bad case of Summer swamp-booty before it turns into a four-alarm firecrack.  It’ll also clear up the latter, but you better chomp down on a stick before you try it otherwise your buddies may come running to help when they hear you scream.

5.  Clean & sterilize the razor or knife-blade before popping a blister.  (Okay, I know you’re not supposed to pop them but I can’t help it.  Your first line of defense is to not get ’em in the first place, so start with that.  Me?  I have to bleed those suckers dry.)

6.  Glasses cleaner.   I usually hike in contacts, but while making camp I’ll wear my glasses.  This helps keep the lenses smudge-free.

7.  Helps knock the greasy sheen off of cooking/eating utensils when a hot water wash just didn’t cut it.

8.  When you bust the crown off your front tooth out on the trail then glue it back together with superglue, but that makes it not fit right and fly out every time you say a word that starts with /d/, then if it lands on a particularly muddy part of the horse trail you’ll be glad you have a little sanitizer before you wedge it back in your mouth.

9.  Rub a little onto a tick bite for an antiseptic after removing the tick.  Don’t put it on the tick for removal, though.  It could make the nasty little bloodsucker vomit and potentially increase the risk of infection!?!

10.  Poison Ivy.  I’ve read conflicting reports about whether or not using hand sanitizer after exposure to poison ivy helps remove the oil and prevent a reaction.  I can’t say for sure if it works or not, but I’ve never had a reaction to poison ivy . . . and I know I’ve tangled with it more than once.   Still, I need a nice 10th use to round out the list and this one works good enough.