What small thing has saved one of your survival runs?

[RingoA]

For me it was a bandage i had forgotten at the dam. I had no bandages ang got attacked by a wolf and got the "blood loss" affliction. I always usually have a supply of bandages on me, so not having it made me go into panic mode because i thought i at least had one 

 

What small thing that you never thought you'd need or use has saved your survival run?

[Smellyfries]

Before I had completely learned the region, I was ice fishing in costal highway, and a blizzard rolled in just as I ran out of fuel. I attempted to make my way back to the garage, but I very quickly became lost. After just running around in the blizzard, trying to find anything, I found a random piece of charcoal I left in the middle of the ice. I suddenly remembered where I had dropped this piece of charcoal, and used it to orient myself.

I have a ton of situations where 1 little item saved my bacon.

I was hunting a bear in costal highway, and got mauled by it, only to get up, bandage my wounds, and shot the bear again. I promptly got mauled again, and woke up with a pixel of health remaining and bleeding. I don't think I even had time to apply a bandage, so I immediately popped a stim, shot the bear a third time, killing it, before realizing I didn't have any bandages left, and just booked it back to base, praying that there weren't any wolves immediately between me and the garage. Good times.

It just shows how useful every single item can be. Every tool, clothing item, and medical supply has a use, and forgetting, or running out of these can quickly result in starting a new run. It's why I'm always carrying too much gear, because I "need" all of it lol. This is why I love The Long Dark.