DF1871: I just read your survival guide and i would make a few comments from my point of view, remember..you asked for it ;)

scubamatt: LOL, no worries. The only way to get better at anything is to study the way everyone else does it, compared to the way you yourself do it. I'm not perfect, and I'm always hoping to learn from others. scubamatt: True, but that means having the penalties from Myopia until you get to the DMC and can afford the surgery. In my build, I said EE is 'Useful, but not essential'. Being able to spot the enemy from twice as far away (on the main map) and being able to spot hidden enemies (on the combat screen) is a serious advantage. I'm not willing to give it up for a minor savings in points at character creation. Especially since I don't head straight for the DMC, usually.
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Seems we have a different playstile, i prefer the longtime gain over the easier start and 5 points (3 more points during creation+eagle Eye for free ;) is quite usefull i think scubamatt: Botany gives you a food and water source that requires no fire, and costs no extra movement points to travel through the (Open) hexes, unlike having to go into woods hexes for squirrels (from trapping). A stack of berries lasts much longer than even cured meat, doesn't increase your thirst, and takes up less space in your cargo (and it can be put inside bottles). If there was any other way to get the Dogman Fur Coat, I'd never take Trapping again.

You suggested I could just go buy things at the DMC or the ATN vendor. That's 30+ squares north for ATN, and at least that far to the SE for DMC. If it makes sense to travel that far to buy Tannin Tea (and other things) just to save points on Botany, I could travel the same distance and just buy a cigarette lighter for $5. I'd save those points I spent on Trapping. Botany is *much* better than trapping, in all respects, except for the ability to skin Dogmen - which is very dangerous, even under the best of circumstances.
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We just have, again :), a different point of view. I take trapping if i play a combatbuild.
The requirement of fire feels not important for me because with trapping i can make fire without tools, skins, cured meat and dogman furs are very good trading goods and i use tannin tea only to clean medicore+ wounds.
After i reach the ant, i travel some time around the antwood, plundering, fighting and hunting...selling my bounty to them, using their support and buy some stuff i need and i travel on after i got a nice equip, some money and a filled "storage". I still lose time because i have to go "into the woods" but time isn't important because i never had problems with hunger or thirst while playing with trapping...to be honest...i never carry any food with me, expact for trading, because it's so easy to get some with trapping.

PS:I read that you can craft a dogman-fur-coat with 20 of the small blackfurs but never tested it. scubamatt: You misunderstand what I wrote. The items inside of the kit (clean bandages, whiskey, sterile water) are the things that keep you from getting infected by dirty wounds. The FAK itself is a durable container, that wears out very slowly, so having your first aid stuff inside of it, and then having it inside of a backpack (etc) means you have a spare container if things go bad and you lose/wear out another container.
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The...the first Aid-kit is dead weight :), it can't be placed at the backpackslot and if you place it at the backpack/makeshift-sack/vehicle you could place the stuff without the kit. I make things easier too keep track of everything but the kit itself is useless for a layout you describe. scubamatt: Nothing I carry is dead weight, except trade goods, and even those are valuable for what I can buy with the cash I make from them. The glass bottle does everything a plastic bottle does, plus it can be used to boil water (once), it can be used as an emergency melee weapon if I have nothing else, it can be broken down into four 100% condition Glass Shards (which means I can make four 100% Broad Spears). The disadvantage is the Glass bottle weighs more than a plastic one, so I try not to carry more than one or two at most. I usually fill one with Whiskey (to clean wounds) and one with Sterilized Water (water that is 100% free of infection and poisons). If I got really tight on weight, I'd swap the second glass bottle for a Plastic one to save the 0.53kg of weight. I went back and edited my entry for that to make it a little more clear on why I prefer glass bottles in some cases.