How to get seperated from your backpack

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David.from.Holland

Tenderfoot
May 29, 2008
53
0
53
Holland
Almost all of my backpacking trips take place in Scotland or Scandinavia. No serious mountaineering or difficult river crossings are involved, just covering terrain with a backpack with a couple days worth of food, my tent and sleeping bag and the usual. I can't see any way these trips would require carrying survival gear on my person. I just can't think up a scenario in which I would get separated from my pack. Any thoughts on this?
 

scanker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 15, 2005
2,326
24
52
Cardiff, South Wales
Do you never set up a camp and then go off exploring? I once went in over my wellies in a really sticky bog whilst out geocaching. I managed to get out, but I did have a moment of panic, until I remembered that amongst other things my geocaching bag had torch, phone and whistle, so I could have summoned help if required. That's what I mean by "survival gear" for the environments I'm in - I don't require emergency fishing gear and such.

Also, I find it fairly easy to be disorientated in some environments - pine forests for instance. If you'd stashed your bag and gone off exploring, there's a chance you may not find it again.

Finally, what about just falling over and breaking/spraining an ankle whilst away from camp?
 

stevesteve

Nomad
Dec 11, 2006
460
0
57
UK
I was once working in Alberta in the foothills of the Rockies when I nearly lost mine. I was collecting rock samples and had climbed ~10'-15' up the cliff on a fairly fast flowing creek when my 70L pack (complete with lunch, notes, samples, wet weather gear etc) gently rolled off the ledge at the bottom.
I pretty much dived into the creek to rescue it! The lid was closed and most of the contents was fine. That's glacial melt water though, dang that's cold.

In this case we had driven up forestry tracks in a 4x4 and parked only a couple of miles away. Had we been further out I'd have been left with a mattock, estwing geo hammer and some sample bags. Needless to say I have tried to park my kit less precariously since then.

Cheers,
Steve
 

MikeE

Full Member
Sep 12, 2005
1,057
54
66
Essex
Carry mobile (Yeh, I know!) Put cheap pager in back pack!
Guess what.....................................................................never separated for long!
Tech geek solution for losing bergen in the woods!
 

deeps

Forager
Dec 19, 2007
165
0
Monmouthshire
ski mountaineering exped to Chilean Andes. Flogged up for five hours, all stopped at the lip of the volcano and took our sacs off to take a few phots, and grab something to eat etc before skiing down when somebody accidently kicked my rucksack over the edge into the crater. Very hairy recovery exercise which required three men and a rope. Wont do that again !
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,106
2,833
66
Pembrokeshire
:lmao: The Airport thats where most people get seperated from their pack.:lmao:

That happened to me at the start of a week long trip to Morrocco!
As I had the basis in my hand luggage I was able to continue with the trek...special survival kit for all my air travel is a change of clothing, medical kit and wash kit etc plus everything else I can fit in to the hand luggage allowance. No knife though these days!
 

gregorach

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 15, 2005
3,723
28
50
Edinburgh
It's one of those things - the chances of it actually happening are pretty small, but if it does, the consequences can be huge.

Also, as scanker says, you're not always right next to your pack. I've often thought that the precise time you're most likely to injure yourself is when you've pitched camp and go off to collect firewood - now where is your FAK?
 

Pantalaimon

Forager
May 19, 2008
140
0
Utrecht, Netherlands
pff, all that special 'survival' tins. Not for me.
Maybe if you are in dangerous area's where you can indeed loose your bag in a river/mountain slope. But the most important items are your knife and a firesteel I think. If you get lost while exploring the surroundings(and leaving your camp/bags) you could always manage.
About injuring yourself: it could happen everywhere, anytime. You can carry some first aid kit on your body, maybe also a satellite telephone, oh why not a wheelchair? The more you carry, the greater are the chances of injuring.
 

shep

Maker
Mar 22, 2007
930
2
Norfolk
A few years ago I watched helpless as my pack tumbled down a snow-field only to come to rest against a rock 200m away from me and about 50m short of a much bigger drop all the way into the valley. The tiredness and coldness that had made me drop it in the first place gave way to hilarity as I tumbled down after the pack to collect it. This rapidly reverted to the former on the way back up again...
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
if you carry a penknife and matches in your pockets then you are allready carrying survival gear so next time you go out unload your pockets into the top rucksac lid pocket instead then see what you would do without your bag.

accidents happen often to others in your vicinity, a survival tin is not meant to be a last resort item but something you can delve into for firelighting or sewing kit even a plaster.

you dont have to carry a tin its designed as an item you can just pick up and chuck in the pocket of whatever you are wearing as is a throwback to world war two escape and evasion kits which were packed in tins so they were easier to issue. if you were prepared then packing your pockets is just as good.

scout, cadets, d of e groups etc.. advise kids to get the tins because if they have the tin they they have sewing kit, plasters, whistle, compass, firekit, birth control etc... in one item they can pack. the only problem is that the leaders and instructors dont know how to teach about them properly leading to general ignorance throughout the populace. the general poor quality of a lot of kits and advertising them as SAS issue all the time doesn't help matters. :)
 

deeps

Forager
Dec 19, 2007
165
0
Monmouthshire
if you carry a penknife and matches in your pockets then you are allready carrying survival gear so next time you go out unload your pockets into the top rucksac lid pocket instead then see what you would do without your bag.

accidents happen often to others in your vicinity, a survival tin is not meant to be a last resort item but something you can delve into for firelighting or sewing kit even a plaster.

you dont have to carry a tin its designed as an item you can just pick up and chuck in the pocket of whatever you are wearing as is a throwback to world war two escape and evasion kits which were packed in tins so they were easier to issue. if you were prepared then packing your pockets is just as good.

scout, cadets, d of e groups etc.. advise kids to get the tins because if they have the tin they they have sewing kit, plasters, whistle, compass, firekit, birth control etc... in one item they can pack. the only problem is that the leaders and instructors dont know how to teach about them properly leading to general ignorance throughout the populace. the general poor quality of a lot of kits and advertising them as SAS issue all the time doesn't help matters. :)

A lot of truth in what you say here. Most of the contents of military escape and evasion type tins have little relevance to us lot plodding about in the woods in the UK and can be hurled. To get you out of the kack for 24hrs you can get a long way with a box of matches/firesteel, a whistle, a small penknife, a bin bag and a packet of spangles. Thats what I keep in the pockets of my waistcoat and they are always with me when walking the dogs in the forest alone. Its my insurance against me being a silly bu99er !
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
its not just for uk woods though - I've carried one for out and about for 25 years changing its contents and using them up. comes in very handy on occasion when I want to club something to death with it. I've even carried an used hot glue sticks in mine.

ive used it to fix stuff and light fires on 4 continents and numerous islands, the main issue for many is when you tape up the tin so it becomes a chore to open. a mini mess box is much better or a baby dry bag.
 

David.from.Holland

Tenderfoot
May 29, 2008
53
0
53
Holland
Off course my knife and some means to light a fire are always in my pockets and not in the pack. And when I leave camp for a short hike I always bring warm clothing and rain gear. Guess that'll do for most situations.
 
on the subject of being prepared.
I've just come back from a 3 week camping holiday in Cornwall. I always carry a fak in my backpack and a recent addition to my fak was an instant ice pack from Netto for 99p. it has 2 in the pack and works by slapping it hard and a chemical reaction turns it into a freezing gel type pack.
I was iffing and arrring whether to include it but did in the end.
whilst walking around wadebridge with the family my 6 year old lad whilst holding my hand walked into a concrete post with a proper thud.
an egg lump started to form on his forehead, I whipped out the fak and slapped the ice pack and applied to his head and the swelling lump stopped and eventually receeded to a slight mound. he had little bruising and was right as rain shortly afterwards.

Glad I packed it. along with burn stuff,bite stuff, blister stuff, sting stuff, etc etc.

Bodge:)
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,600
232
Birmingham
Of anything you carry ice packs need a lot of checking. They have a habit of activating themselves.

I think you are not getting the point of the survival tin/possibilities bag or pouch. The question to ask is not could it happen but what to do if it does?

While hunting and fishing stuff might not be useful in the UK. If you have just watched your dry clothes, and shelter fall out of reach the ability to keep warm, navigate, and perform first aid might be the difference between life and death.

My tin started to drive me nuts, because whenever I need something it tended to be out of date, or I had forgot to restock.
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
in which case you carry consumables seperate. and out of date condom isn't likely to kill you and drugs or sweets are best befores not its dead now throw it away.

packing your trousers or jacket can yield wonders if a little thought is applied to the issue. simple things like a paracord bracelet, watch strap compass, plaster and sewing kit tucked away into your wallet can make a difference in lots of circumstances
 

Templar

Forager
Mar 14, 2006
226
1
48
Can Tho, Vietnam (Australian)
Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it... it only makes sense to carry a few small items on your person just in case...

Besides context is a wonderful thing too... anywhere in Europe you are only going to be lost or seperated for a very short period of time, as towns and villages are quite common there, but put that into persective, in North America you may be seperated / lost for a couple of days before you run into some people or a settlement of some kind, and in Australia you could be lost/seperated for weeks at a time due to the remotness of towns there... "Survival" kit is relative to the location you are in, in my experience back home in Australia, we travel for upto 4 hours by car at an average speed of 110kmph to get to the locations we consider good for camping, hiking, etc, thats a long way to go if something goes wrong or you get lost / seperated from your kit... its not hard there to walk away from your camp to explore and find yourself bushed, it happens all the time even with experienced bushmen...

Just my two cents...

Karl
 

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