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In this video, I take a closer look at two popular bushcraft survival fishing kits — the Kabar Kaster and the EZ Reel. Both are compact, rugged, and designed for backwoods anglers who want a reliable way to catch fish when it counts most. We’ll compare their design, usability, packability, and real-world performance to see which one deserves a spot in your survival or bushcraft kit. Whether you’re building an emergency fishing setup or just love testing out practical gear for the field, this side-by-side review will help you decide which tool best fits your style of wilderness preparedness.
If you enjoy gear reviews, bushcraft, and practical preparedness — subscribe and join the Wanderer community for more honest, field-tested insights. #Bushcraft #SurvivalFishing #PreparedWanderer #KabarKaster #EZReel #survivalgear
AMAZON LINKS
EZ REEL FISHING KIT: https://bit.ly/4ozBlBh
KABAR KASTER: https://bit.ly/3J94KD3
MAXPEDITION JUMBO: https://bit.ly/4oeox2U
Prepared Wanderer AMAZON STORE: https://bit.ly/3Jjs1iO
Prepared Wanderer Patches and Stickers: https://thepreparedwanderer.bigcartel.com
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0:00
What is going on YouTube? Prepared
0:02
wanderer back out in the woods today.
0:03
And I've uh well, it's been a long time
0:06
since I've been out and uh just, you
0:08
know, some health issues. I'm sure if
0:10
you watch the channel, you know that I
0:11
went through a hip surgery um about 3 or
0:14
4 months ago, but um I'm feeling a lot
0:17
better. This is probably the best I've
0:18
felt. And out here in Ohio, the autumn
0:22
weather has finally hit. Um, cooler
0:25
weather, the humidity is gone, nice cool
0:28
evenings, leaves are starting to turn,
0:30
and it's a perfect opportunity for me to
0:31
get out and shoot some more video. And
0:34
today we're going to be talking about
0:37
some very cool bushcraft survival
0:40
fishing gear that you can pack in your
0:42
habac. So, stick around.
1:00
So having um fishing gear in your
1:04
bushcraft in your survival kit um is
1:07
always a great idea because fishing um
1:10
actually is a great way of getting
1:12
calories and protein that you need. Um,
1:14
if you're really in a dire situation,
1:17
um, fishing can be a very easy way of
1:19
getting those those things that you
1:21
need. Um, much more easier than
1:23
trapping, at least from all my study.
1:26
Um, and there's a couple products that,
1:30
um, I've been looking at for a long
1:31
time. Been wanting to check them out
1:33
because I think they're perfect for
1:35
helping with fishing. And they they are
1:37
lightweight. They fit into a bag, a
1:39
small bag pretty easily. So, I've got my
1:42
Max Expedition Jumbo kind of loaded up
1:44
for the day. This is kind of like my day
1:46
kit. Um, and I've got a couple different
1:50
fishing
1:52
pieces that I want to show you. So, the
1:54
first one is this. This is from KBAR.
1:57
This is the caster. So, this is a hand
1:59
reel.
2:01
And it it's a very cool design because
2:03
it actually comes with this uh clip that
2:06
holds the line on so when you store it,
2:08
your line's not unraveling. But it also
2:11
has this storage compartment built into
2:13
the handle and that allows you to carry
2:16
some fishing gear with you.
2:19
And um I you know I've never used this.
2:22
Uh I ordered this I think off of eBay.
2:25
Um they sell these on Amazon. You find
2:27
them all over and it's fairly
2:28
inexpensive. This was like right around
2:30
20 bucks. Um, but what I like about this
2:34
one is you've actually really got a good
2:36
handle on this and it allows you to put
2:39
paracord through it. So, you can
2:42
actually secure your grip on this thing
2:43
and you're not going to lose it. So,
2:45
that's one item we're going to check
2:46
out. And then the other piece of gear is
2:49
this easy reel fishing kit. Um, I've
2:51
seen these on Amazon for quite a while
2:53
and I've always wanted to check them
2:54
out. So, I thought this is a perfect
2:55
opportunity. Let's get this one. Let's
2:57
get the KBAR and kind of test them out.
2:59
And this appears to be I would say 3D
3:03
printed maybe. Um but it's a plastic
3:07
case and you can tell there is some grip
3:11
to the sides of that. You unscrew that
3:15
and then you have
3:18
your handrail.
3:20
Handra reel is interesting because
3:21
you're holding it like this and then
3:23
this face is kind of uh cupped out so
3:28
the line will come off easily. You're
3:30
not casting with this hand. You're
3:32
casting with this hand, but this is what
3:33
you're holding.
3:35
But what's nice about this kit is
3:40
is that there's a little tray
3:43
that holds
3:45
just a ton of fishing gear. It's a
3:48
really nice compact method of storing
3:50
fishing gear and you know that it weighs
3:54
hardly anything. So, what I've done is I
3:56
brought these two out. We've got the
3:58
KBAR and we've got the easy rail. We're
3:59
going to test those out. Um, I threw in
4:01
this little tackle box just with some
4:03
extra bobbers. Um, I've got some fishing
4:07
gloves.
4:09
And then
4:14
something to secure my fish if I do get
4:17
any that are worth keeping. And then a
4:19
pair of pliers,
4:21
needlense.
4:25
So, I got these.
4:28
So, that'll help removing hooks. And
4:32
then good old Mora companion
4:36
on the side pocket here. And then of
4:38
course my water bottle, first aid kit.
4:39
So in this little bag, I've got pretty
4:41
much everything I need for a day of
4:44
fishing. So this is my fishing area
4:47
today. I have never fished this pond
4:49
before,
4:52
but it looks really nice. And I know
4:55
there's um a lot of people that come out
4:58
here. I've seen a lot of guys and
5:02
families and stuff out here fishing
5:03
before, so I think it might be worth it.
5:07
We'll see what we got.
5:09
It's been a really long time since I've
5:11
been fishing. Um I feel like it's been a
5:15
couple years. That's really sad. There's
5:17
no reason not to.
5:19
I mean, fishing is plentiful in this
5:22
area and I just have not um been apt to
5:27
do it. And it's something my wife and I
5:31
enjoy doing and we just for whatever
5:33
reason we haven't gotten out. So,
5:55
so I didn't go out too far. Like I don't
5:57
know 10 ft, 12 feet maybe.
6:12
I found a secret spot.
6:16
This is kind of nice. Someone's doing a
6:18
little night fishing.
6:21
Here we go. Frog.
6:24
Come on, frog.
6:29
Frog.
7:06
Basically throw it and then keep your
7:08
hands away from the line so it can spin
7:10
out.
7:12
That's not too bad. And then grab it
7:20
and just start reeling it in.
7:23
It's really windy today
7:27
and the wind is really pushing across
7:29
the top of this pond.
7:38
Not making excuses, but I kind of am.
7:40
It's like it's not quite ideal.
7:47
I don't know.
7:51
There's a little dock. Maybe I'll try
7:52
off the dock before we go. And then I
7:55
think I'll come back and we'll try it
7:56
again.
8:02
I'm kind of liking this one better than
8:04
the the KBAR. Just I find a little bit
8:07
easier to manipulate and cast.
8:13
I don't know.
8:17
It's working pretty well.
8:25
So maybe I should have been dock
8:26
fishing.
8:29
This looks really nice.
8:31
I think we got a little bit
8:34
more bobber than that. Right.
8:39
Let's adjust that out.
8:48
Bad day of fishing is better than any
8:50
day of work. Let me tell you what.
8:53
And I haven't had that much time off.
8:58
took a little time off for my surgery
9:02
and I've been recovering and just
9:04
haven't felt like doing anything.
9:06
Weather hasn't been great either.
9:10
Really hot, humid, even for fall,
9:15
so I took a little time off today from
9:17
work
9:21
to give this a shot. There we go. Nice.
9:24
Good cast. No wind. Bobber staying up.
9:28
That looks good.
9:32
Can let my
9:34
rig set.
9:45
Now I want to go get more fishing gear
9:47
and come back, which I probably will.
10:01
Oh yeah, look at that. Nice.
10:09
No weeds.
10:16
Good cast.
10:18
Wind was behind that a little bit. Took
10:20
it out there.
10:23
30 feet easily.
10:29
Now that wind's kicking up.
10:44
Another good cast.
11:31
See, now I'm liking the KBAR better now
11:33
that I'm on this dock and I have a
11:36
little bit more room around me.
11:39
And I'm kind of figuring out the cast a
11:41
little bit better.
11:46
Keep it in my right hand
11:50
because I I naturally throw with my
11:51
right anyway. So, I should be casting
11:53
with my right
11:55
and then just learn to reel with my
11:58
left.
12:40
on the reel and then I just hook the
12:43
bait to the end of it, the edge. I'm not
12:46
sure if I like the lanyard or not.
12:48
That's maybe different material. I don't
12:51
know. We're going to try some new stuff.
12:52
Definitely going to come back and do
12:54
this again. And um
12:58
try some different baits
13:01
and
13:03
maybe early in the morning or late
13:05
evening um when it's not so
13:08
windy out, maybe we'll get a better
13:11
better outcome.
14:08
All right, so this is day two with the
14:11
rig. Uh the two fishing rigs. Um went
14:14
out this morning, was not successful. Uh
14:17
didn't catch anything. Got some nibbles
14:19
with minnows on some of the uh the bait
14:22
uh dough bait that I was using. Um, but
14:24
I don't feel so bad because there was
14:25
another guy out there was actually had a
14:28
rod reel and he um he wasn't catching
14:30
anything either. Um, but the conditions
14:32
were nice. It was it's cool this
14:33
morning. Uh, not much wind, really
14:36
beautiful out. Now, as far as who wins
14:40
uh this debate, um, which one's a better
14:43
system? Um, I think they both have pros
14:45
and cons, but the KBAR wins for me
14:48
because I feel like I can really throw
14:50
this into my backpack or my bag and have
14:52
a small tackle box with it and I can
14:54
actually do some active fishing and not
14:57
have a lot of gear with me. And with a
14:59
weighted rig on the end of that KBAR,
15:02
you can actually get a pretty good cast
15:03
because you have that handle, so you can
15:05
really kind of whip it. And I think with
15:07
practice, um, you can really get that
15:10
thing going. I mean, I I I think it was
15:12
easily uh 30 to 40 ft plus out um in the
15:17
pond. The easy reel does not cast as
15:21
far. Um you have to throw it. Um I need
15:25
to practice with maybe some swinging
15:27
techniques. I know that's one way of
15:28
doing it. You swing it above your head
15:29
or swing it on the side and cast it out.
15:32
You definitely need some weight. Um I
15:35
don't like the spider wire braided line
15:38
on that rig at all. Um, I probably take
15:41
it all off and just go back to a
15:42
monofilament of some sort. Um,
15:46
it would just it was too finicky. Um, it
15:48
it sometimes you'd miss the reel and
15:50
then it would get kind of uh wound up
15:53
behind it and that causes issues of
15:56
course. Okay, so here's the KBAR. Um, I
16:00
had it set up this morning with this uh
16:03
craad with a weighted head and that we
16:07
that weedless um rig on it. Uh, it cast
16:10
pretty far because this is a pretty
16:12
heavy uh lure and uh the only thing is
16:16
you have to, you know, actively reel
16:19
this thing in to keep that moving or
16:22
you're going to get hung up in the
16:23
bottom. And um, you know, I think maybe
16:26
this is too heavy. I don't know. Maybe
16:28
I'll go to something lighter, but I'll
16:29
show you some of the other uh lures that
16:31
I have. But so that's how the KBAR was
16:34
set up. So this was set up for active
16:35
fishing this morning.
16:38
And then the easy reel, what I did is um
16:41
I just set it up with a bait hook and a
16:44
sinker and a bobber. And then what I was
16:46
doing is I was trying out this um
16:51
dough bait just to see if maybe that
16:54
would be something different. So, this
16:56
was, you know, uh, more passive fishing.
16:59
I would set this out and then I could
17:01
set this in my pocket and just walk
17:04
around and while that was out in the
17:06
pond, um, it really didn't get much with
17:09
it. I mean, there were some minnows
17:10
nibbling on the bait uh, on the dough.
17:13
U, but, you know, other than that, it
17:16
really didn't, uh, I really didn't get
17:18
any bites, but um, it's still a very
17:21
compact system. And then my tackle box.
17:25
So, this is just a little tackle box
17:26
that I had and it fits my bag pretty
17:29
well. And what I did is I put in a
17:31
variety of items. So, I have some
17:32
different size bobbers, I have some
17:35
weights,
17:37
and then for lures,
17:40
I have a whole variety of stuff. So,
17:43
there's some grubs.
17:49
There's like a little minnow with a with
17:51
a jig head on it. Here's
17:56
another minnow.
18:02
Lots of these little soft baits.
18:05
I used this one yesterday and it was I
18:07
think it's too light. There's nothing in
18:08
it. So, may have to add something to
18:11
that to give it some weight. This is a
18:14
nice one. This big guy. This is a little
18:17
bit lighter than that crawad, but um
18:20
didn't try that one yet, but I don't
18:21
have to try that. And then
18:30
another little creature with a jig head
18:37
and then a little rattle bait.
18:42
So, there's a good variety of stuff in
18:44
here. I think one thing that may be the
18:48
thing to do with uh this kind of fishing
18:51
is to actually
18:53
put a um
18:57
a little uh swivel uh clasp on the end
19:01
of this line and then have all the baits
19:05
pre-rigged with some line on them
19:06
already in a loop so you can just switch
19:09
out baits quickly. All right, that's it
19:11
for today. I hope you found this video
19:13
useful. There are links down below to
19:16
the two different fishing systems and
19:18
the MaxEdition um FAP or Jumbo if you're
19:21
interested in purchasing one of those
19:24
from my Amazon store. There's also links
19:26
to my other Amazon store that has all
19:28
the different gear that I use throughout
19:29
the year. Always updating that. So, if
19:32
there if you're looking for stuff and
19:33
you shop on Amazon, you know, check it
19:35
out. It it helps me out for sure. Um
19:38
there is also links to social media,
19:41
Instagram, Facebook, all that good
19:42
stuff. And as always, thank you so much
19:45
for watching and we'll see you next time
19:46
on the Prepared Wanderer.