Survival Kit

[Gatofeo]

Pack your survival basics (matches, fire starter, tea bags, sugar, etc.) into a tuna can with a plastic lid snapped on top.
Plastic lids that fit tightly are found in the pet food aisle.
This way, you can use the can to brew tea if you're lost.
Most people make the mistake of creating survival kits that are large and cumbersome. As a consequence, the kit gets left behind because after a while, "It's too much of a bother, I'm just going over the next hill."
This kind of apathy can get you killed.
It's best to have a survival kit that slips into a coat pocket. That way, you'll always have it. If you need more, distribute the items throughout your coat pockets in water-resistant plastic bags.
Other useful items include:
20 feet of parachute shroud
A bright handkerchief for signalling and other mundane uses.
A small flashlight and spare batteries and bulb.
Space Blanket
First aid kit (elastic bandage, triangular bandage, Band-Aids, aspirin and any medications you may require for three days).
Whistle (plastic won't freeze to your lips in cold weather. Whistles carry farther than the human voice and don't exhaust you as much as shouting).
Extra matches and firestarter
Butane lighter or two
Small compass (but be warned, a compass is only good if you know where you are, how to use it, and how to get where you want).
Disposable poncho
NO one should venture into the outdoors without the basics. These few items, totalling less than $20, can save your life and the lives of others in your group.
Before you leave home, ensure that people know where you are going. If you change plans, let home know. Many searches have been initiated a hundred miles away from where the person actually was, merely because he'd changed his mind. Include the type, color, make and license plate of the vehicle you'll be in.
Before leaving your vehicle to hunt, write a note concerning where you'll be and leave it on the dash. Don't ever depend upon someone's memory to aid searchers, have it written down.
And when you get back, check in and let the person know you're back safely.
I was in a Search & Rescue group in the early 1970s in the Pacific Northwest. We searched for a guy for three days without luck. The search was canceled due to bad weather that became dangerous (deep snow). One group of searchers later found the guy --- 50 miles away in a bar! He'd forgotten to check in. His family, worried sick when he didn't call, assumed the worst.
His negligence put the lives of SAR members at risk. We weren't too happy with him, as you can imagine.
Friends and other hunters may laugh at you for your precautions, or consider you a Greenhorn. Let them. THEY are the greenhorns, for going into the field ill-prepared and not letting someone know where they are and when they'll return.
A survival kit and be cautious is a cheap life insurance policy.

[Power]

Great advice. I think I'll place a topo map with the area I'm hunting in marked inside my truck. That way if I don't return and they search my truck they should have an idea where to look for me.

[MOGorilla]

A friend of mine takes a butane lighter and wraps 1 foot lengths of duct tape (split to be ~1" wide). He adds about 50' of nylon string (the kind that melts) in between the 2 strips of tape.  When through, he probably has 100' of tape and string around the lighter.  He wraps that in wire and then one last covering of the duct tape.  All told, it makes the butane lighter a little more than 2 inches in diameter, but it has a wealth of uses.  I keep one in my truck and carry it with me when ever I am out and about in the woods.  I nearly took the end of my finger off about three years ago and used my handkerchief (an item my father taught me to never leave home without) and a piece of duct tape to bandage it while I went to the hospital.  It took eight stiches, but I still have the end of my finger.

[Ed Harris]

I have .pdf article on assembling a 24-hour pack for search & rescue, community emergency response teams and radio amateur civil emergency services I can send to anyone interested.  Lots of good info.

File size is 1MB.  

Whoever requested it sent to a Hotmail account needs to give me another email address, as your provider won;t accept the file and bounced it.

[Power]

I have .pdf article on assembling a 24-hour pack for search & rescue, community emergency response teams and radio amateur civil emergency services I can send to anyone interested.  Lots of good info.

File size is 1MB.  

Send it to me and I'll host it on my web site for anyone to download.

power@nw-tel.net

[Ed Harris]

Ten Essentials Check List

 Carry these Ten Essentials all the time in your waist pack or gear vest

1 Map:Minimum - Official state DOT road map
Recommended  - USGS 7.5 minute series of your assigned CERT
sectorand also have either AAA, ADC or Delorme Regional Atlas in your vehicle.  

2Compass: Minimum – Marbles pocket-type or match safe-whistle-compass survival combo
Recommended – orienteering map compass on dummy cord, Silva or Brunton http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme%20gear/compasses%20main/compasses_main.htm

3 Flashlight: Minimum - Photon Microlight II on your zipper pull or key ring beats nothing.
Recommended – either Inova X1 or CMG Infinity Ultra Task Lite plus a spare AA. Better – INOVA X5 LED http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme%20gear/flashlights.htm

4 Food :    Minimum - snacks for 12 hours, hard candy + energy bars.  
Recommended – 1 MRE or ; Carb-fruit group: 4 oz. trail mix, dried fruit / raisins + 2 oz. granola or crackers; Fat-protein group:  8 oz. peanut butter tube, or 4 oz. Jerky; Beverage group: soup mix or bouillon + instant coffee, tea bags or cocoa.

5 Fire / Fuel: Minimum - matchsafe in the survival combo
Recommended -  also a windproof lighter + hand sanitizer, doubles as fire starter

6 First aid:Minimum - pocket first aid kit such as Adventure Medical UltraLight-WaterTight https://www.travmed.com/scripts/catalog.epl?product_id=98&category_id=25&moveit=10
Recommended - customize your own, refer to these suggested contents: http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/anglerboater/1999/julaug99/frstaidd.htm
 
If trained in CPR also include CPR Microshield and barrier protective kit
http://www.cprmicroshield.com/products.html

7 Water:    Minimum - two pint cargo-pocket flasks or water bottles, carry with you always
Recommended -  hydration bladder of minimum 70 oz. capacity

8 Shelter:    Minimum -   Space Blanket or garbage bag in pockets
Recommended – stuffable Gore Tex windbreaker + fleece vest as warming layer

9 Signal:    Minimum -   whistle combined in the matchsafe
Recommended – Fox 40 whistle +  US Mil type signal mirror,  http://www.onestopknifeshop.com/store/ultimate-survival-star-flash-mirror.html

10 Knife:    Minimum - Mil-K-818, Swiss Army or Boy Scout type pocket knife. Recommended - Leatherman multi-tool, + sheath knife or lockblade folder
 
Also consider: Eyeglasses, dental floss, insect repellant,/sun screen, baby wipes, personal meds for a day, bandanna, canteen cup+warming stand, 3 trioxane fuel bars, extra matches, spoon, water purification tabs or filter bottle, sunglasses, extra wool socks, foot powder, moleskin.  

Communications: cell phone + extra charged battery pack, pencil, pocket note pad.  If you are licensed, amateur 2-meter or dual-band VHF/UHF portable transceiver, charged battery pack + AA case, two sets of spare batteries, telescoping gain antenna+counterpoise, hand mic with earphone.

[Power]

Thanks again Ed for emailing those to me. I've uploaded them to my site so others can download them.

http://www.powerandfury.net/files/lightpack.doc

http://www.powerandfury.net/files/24hrpack.pdf - Jan. 2003

http://www.powerandfury.net/files/24hrpack.doc - Apr.2003

[Siskiyou]

Great subject.  I am glad there are folks out there that can take care of themselves.  Even as a kids my brothers and I carried some basic gear with us when out hunting.  Dad would look over our shoulders and did not have much to say.  But he was there for us with those big chocolate bars, peanuts, fruit and sandwichs.  We added a canteen or two, the Boy Scout survival kit we had made up and a few other items we found at the old military surplus store.  We carried our gear on a surplus canteen belt.  There were times we even had a map.  The kit contain waterproof matchs, a candle, first aid stuff, mirror, and compass.  It all fit in a small pouch.

We all had a snake bit kit.  We would kill two or three rattlesnakes every year.  I think we fear the razor in the snake bit kit more then the snake.

We were lucky in our Scout leaders.  They were outdoorsmen in a logging-ranching community who taught us how to read a map, and use a compass.  

We would get dropped off at the top of a mountain and would not come out on a road until we got a deer or it turned dark.  Monday night we would read in the local paper about the lost hunters in the woods.  Most of them had come up from the "City."

Just as import as our personnel gear was the group gear in the back of dad's pickup.  A big wood box with can food, a coleman stove, gas lamp, matchs, GI cook kits, first aid gear, extra blankets rope, chains, axe, handyman jack and saw.  The gallon water jug along with the ten gallon milk can full of water.  A large canvas tarp to protect us.  This gear stayed in the pickup for the season.  If the season lasted for 30 days or more we were out there after school or on weekends.  Sunshine, rain, or snow we were out there.

Only once did we almost spent a unplanned night in the woods when Dad's pickup sunk down in volcanic sand.  We might have been uncomfortable in the freezing tempatures, but we would not have been in danger.  

Over the years I have picked up a lot of hunters along logging roads.  A common request is for water.  I have encounter hunters bringing bucks off a ridge and they ask for water.  The toughest of hunters require water.  Carry water.    Now days there are a lot of great items on the market that you can carry, but nobody has improved on good fresh water.

Now days my survival kit requires a day pack.  All those electronic items on top of the old boy scout items.  An extra water bottle for the dog, along with a couple of dog bones.  My most serious first aid emergency in recent years involved my dog.  He got in a Yellowjacket nest, and suffered a bunch of stings.  We fled the area but the dog went down in a couple of hundred yards.  I was wearing gloves because of the cold and started pulling yellowjackets out of his hair.   We then beat feet for a short distance but he was having problems.  I gave him a couple of pills for bee sting and he came around.  I think he was on a high for the rest of the day.

Depending on the hunt I carry my survival items in three different setups, military web gear with canteens, and butt pack; in a foresters cruisers vest I picked up at a sporting goods store, or a day pack.  I like the web gear in hot weather, the daypack in cold weather when I might have to put on or take off a rain coat or other items, and the cruisers vest for cold mornings but warm days when I need to stuff a vest in the back when it warms up.

[maddmaxx]

OTC benadryl for stings or allergies is a handy thing to have along. Siskiyou, you mentioned giving the dog medicine. Last year on a camping trip I came down with a bad case of hives and if it hadn't been for the DOG'S medicine, I would have been miserable!

[Siskiyou]

The pills I gave the dog were bee sting meds for humans, but he was going down and I like him better then many humans.

AS a little footnote I was cleaning fish the other day and a bunch of yellowjackets showed-up.  I thought the dog and I was going to get it again, but they soon went away.  I thought they might stay around the same as having a deer down.  But I got lucky and they went away.  I carry a good first aid kit, MRE's, space blanket and a flashlight in the boat.  I guess I should count my had held gps, and the fishfinder/gps.

[45454]

When you go to KFC,Taco Bell,or nearly any other fast foods,get the salt and pepper packets.And the sugar and sugar substitute packets.
Put in M+M's plastic tubes; about 50/50 for the salt and pepper packets.
Mark the tubes with "S+P" with a magic/permanent marker.Use Scotch
tape around where the "S+P" are, and will not rub off.
And M+M tubes are useful;can carry a light first aid kit. Find where the
antibacterial packets are, and put them in the M+M's tubes also.
And your steel wool can stay dry.
You also can make a survival fishing kit with the M+M's tubes also.

[45454]

Hi Y'all,
In addition to what has been discussed, there are also 2 websites I like:
http://equipped.com
and
http://members.1stconnect.com/anozira
Each are good.And will provide the pros and cons of survival kits/packs.
I noticed in several TV shows,about hunting, that the hunter don't seem to have a survival kit or pack.
See you later.

[corbanzo]

Where I'm from theres lots of fish and water... So i take some small hooks and dental floss with me also.  The dental floss has other uses besides fishing also, it is fairly strong for tying up things.  My survival kit is in a metal nut can, which you can use for a cooking pot if necessary, and I wrap duct tape around it for use.  Of course you would need to make changes for the cooking part...

[BloomGrad]

 I placed this idea elswhere so if you read it again Sorry.

If you are concerned of any small infection on a small cut while in the wilderness just put on a dab of ... toothpaste.  A lot of people forget that teeth get dirty by bacteria in your mouth and toothpaste is designed to fight this.  Bacterias cause infections.  The small .99 cent trial size toothpastes that contains TRICLOSAN are perfect to carry in any day pack for emergency.  If you will see that many liquid hand cleaners contain TRICLOSAN, although in higher concentrations.  I haven't used this in freezing weather yet.

My grandfather used Crest may years ago when he cut his leg doing work alone on his cabin/house.  From then on he would drive grandmother crazy, and I mean ballistic, by running for the toothpaste every time one of us kids scraped a knee.  Boy did she give him earfulls of grief and he was just trying to help.  Only after they both past on did both my dentist, and also my  pharmacist, say it was a perfect O'l Injun trick.  I really wish she had been around so I could give her the good news Granddaddy wasn't nuts after all.

Plus If you want to feel minty fresh breath for that big buck your hunting, just use your finger to brush teeth.

[wolfsong]

The advice on what to pack and carry in a survival\first aid kit is vast. All I will add is, once you've put one together, go out and use it on a trial run. Not your first id stuff, I'm not suggesting that you break an ankle or cut yourself purposely, but try out a couple of different fire starting methods. Try it in the dark, in the wind, and in the rain, if posssible. Try making a couple of shelters. See how comfortable and warm you can be in a space blanket. Eat your survival food, for dinner and breakfast. I'm sure you get the idea of what I'm saying. Take an evening and a morning during your pre-season scouting trip, and set up an emergency camp 100 yards away from your real camp. Spend the night in it. One night checking it out just might save your life later down the road. And you might just discover that you are better at roughing it than you thought, and can leave some of that gear that you just "had to have" at home. If I could have the money back on all the gear that I just knew was necessary, I could buy more stuff that I'll probably never use! Like 4 pairs of handheld radios, two GPSs, countless hunting knives, etc. Peace and God bless, Wolfsong.