You are on a deserted Island and you don't know where you are. Which of these 3 useful tools would you choose to have with you?

Is the Bible really useful in a desert island? :)

You've got a lot more than three things listed there.

There are more than three useful tools listed. Or did you mean "which 3 of these useful tools"? Where's that survey about survey qualifiers being too picky?

The book, the knife, and the matches... If instead of drinking water it had been a water purifying kit... I would have chosen that.

knife, first aid kit and matches.

A knife would be my hands-down first choice. Not only is it a really useful tool in its own right, but I could use it to make many more useful things.

If I'd been reading and memorizing scripture like I'm supposed to, I wouldn't need the bible ;).

I'll assume you meant "pick 3"...

The gun would be useless once I ran out of bullets.
I would want the knife to defend myself.
The compass wouldn't matter to me too much because I could use the sky the sky to navigate.
I could use a dingy to get off the island.
The diving equipment is useless once I run out of air.
I could purify my own water by boiling it.
I wouldn't need 1st aid kit.
I can make fire the primitive way so I don't need any matches or a lighter.
I couldn't care less about the book.
I have a lot of the Bible memorized so I'd be good to go there.
Other than that, I would want to have a well fueled helicopter with me so I could leave the island.

Oscar, I'm impressed at your confidence in making fire the primitive way. I've managed to do that only once (with a bow-drill) and it was a lot of work. I tried some with a hand-drill someone had made and just blistered my hands.

A good knife is THE all purpose tool for primitive living.

knife, dingy, and bible (good time to catch up on my reading, and I'm unlikely top read it all the way through except under duress.)

That sounds like a good bad review - 'I wouldn't read this book if I was stranded on a desert island and it was the only one I had.'

a knife, water, and the matches...that'll get me by until i can figure out what the hell happened, and what my surroundings are...

If there was no other water besides the salty ocean water, how screwed would I be? How does one desalinize ocean water? ...using primitive tools.

YES, I should have said which 3 out of the following list. Oh well, I guess it's too late to change is it, Bill?

Well, lets see...

Anything that would only last for a while is not going to be worth the effort. That eliminates the water, the gun (useless without bullets), the matches/lighter and the diving equipment. I think I'd include the first aid kit in this category as well. Of the rest, the knife is essential, so that leaves two to pick. I'd probably go for the book on how to survive, and, if this was a real desert island, I'd have the Bible with me anyway (This is a joke that probably only the Brits will understand!). So my final choice is between the dinghy and the compass - I think I'd probably go for the dinghy, as it's more useful (you can fish from it, get around the island, maybe even get to a different island, etc). But I'd like to see the island first before making that decision!

I have no idea.

It depends on how deserted this island is. Is it populated by tasty animals and vegetation? If so I would choose the knife, the book and the first aid kit. If not I would choose the dingy, the compass and the water.

I had to go back and change my vote, because yesterday I got this catalog called "U.S. Cavalry" (actually, it came for someone who used to live at my address), which is this bizarre catalog full of military paraphernalia, survival equipment, surveillance equipment, etc. So anyway, instead of the 100 matches and a lighter, I would now want to have my magnesium firestarter with me. This "official issue" (!) gadget "lights fires even under damp conditions. Scrape the tool with a knife [which I would have!] to create magnesium shavings and ignite them with the sparking rod." Only $5.88! I guess this could run out, too, but it sounds like it would last a lot longer.

the book, the first aid, the knife...rationale to come later, i'm being streaked at the moment

Bill, the typical answer would be to build a solar still. Of course, you might not consider the sheet of plastic a primitive tool.

dab - could you not use giant tropical leaves instead of sheets of plastic?

along with 400 cartons of cigarettes

Yeah, that would probably work.

the water, the fire and the diving equipment...

Out of these I'd pick the knife, water, and matches. The water and matches would at least be enough for awhile, so I think they're more useful than the other options. I'd light a fire and try to keep it going, hoping that the smoke would be seen by rescuers.

100 gallons of beer, tequila and vodka each.

Knife, deserted island book, and an astronomy textbook.

a male stripper

angy: My bassist's brother was the cover model for Playgirl magazine 2 times in a row. He's supposed to be a popular male stripper. Wanna hook-up?

water, compass and 100 matches & a lighter

suebee- warped minds think alike

magbast - No doubt.