Must have gadgets - QuickTopic bulletin board

I'm also in the military (National Guard, not currently activated), and when the situation calls for bringing anti-boredom items, I will always bring a book. Printouts of classics are also great to always bring along. God bless Project Gutenberg. It doesn't matter if they're ruined, so I can fold them up, put them in my pocket, and take them into the woods or sand without worry. The last thing I read that way was Milton's Areopagitica. Photocopies work too, as well as torn up, 50 cent used books. Similarly, cassette dubs are the best for music in the woods, because it doesn't matter if they're ruined, they're cheaper, more durable (somewhat), and hold more than a CD-R. And you play them on a $5 portable radio.