I wonder if the difference is:
PSK for accidents
Bushcraft EDC on purpose
PSK for accidents
Bushcraft EDC on purpose
Is a psk really needed in the UK?
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There is a great overlap between EDC/Possibles/Survival Kit
if people carry EDC items that have use in wilderness survival, then they are the same and EDC=Survival Kit sometimes
If youre a businesman, EDC might = Briefcase ( + contents)
If youre a woman EDC might= Handbag. its simply then men tend not to mind having bulk on belts/pockets and handbags are so naturalised, pockets of renaisance for women had all manor of things that we would recognise in survival kits....
What i dont agree with is that all you need is phone, keys, money to cover any daily emergency.
Its like saying during covid, i dont need to stock up on food duuring lockdown, i can go out and buy it.
or I wont bother taking a water bottle/thermos when i can go in a cofee shop. and spend 1/10 of my weekly food bill on a coffee....
or not bringing food with and just buying from train station shop.
i appreciate people use their phones more for flashlights nowadays, but they are only about 100 lumens, ( there are some phones 1200 lumens and 10,000mah batteries)
most bushcrafters are happy to spend a lot of time cooking outdoors, when bought ready meals are quick but often more expensive
so why just carry money and have to buy more expensive things when you need, often duplicates of what you might already own at home.
might be my autism but i just cringe at the idea of not having some emergency kit on me.....
in case it had any mentions, just been checking through Colins survival coarse manual for SAS, i think it was printed in 60s/70s , its all typewriter written and faded pen notes, no mention of tin so far i can find, that could be a later lofty creation, but a lot of the drawings of traps seem to be the same as in Loftys SAS guide....
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Never mind PSK what about FAKs I prefer to have a seperate FAK. Does anyone remember the old Elastoplast tins? You can pack a small field dressing, a few plasters, some tape and a couple of antiseptic wipes in one of them, for anything bigger than that you have got your shemagh or bandanna haven't you or a knife to cut your trouser leg into bandages 
I was about to wade in on the side of PSK (as opposed to an FAK) on an overpopulated island where you are never more than 70 miles from the edge is probably redundant.
However were I to pursue that line of argument I could say much the same about Bushcraft in general.
Surely we who practice Bushcraft are keeping alive heritage skills. Putting together a PSK, feeling good about your choices and having it in your rucksack is surely much the same as owning and carrying that big bowie knife or your fire bow.
Of COURSE you could just go to a Premier Inn but you’re a Bushcrafter.
pee ess
People have suggested that they never use anything from the PSK - oh come on! When did you ever bring the Kendle Mint Cake home????
However were I to pursue that line of argument I could say much the same about Bushcraft in general.
Surely we who practice Bushcraft are keeping alive heritage skills. Putting together a PSK, feeling good about your choices and having it in your rucksack is surely much the same as owning and carrying that big bowie knife or your fire bow.
Of COURSE you could just go to a Premier Inn but you’re a Bushcrafter.
pee ess
People have suggested that they never use anything from the PSK - oh come on! When did you ever bring the Kendle Mint Cake home????
ive got some of those tins still, did have one as a fak and also a psk when i was younger. my belt FAK is similar but ina capsule...pills, plaster, compressed towel, needle, tampon....and shemagh on bigger pouch kit...Never mind PSK what about FAKs I prefer to have a seperate FAK. Does anyone remember the old Elastoplast tins? You can pack a small field dressing, a few plasters, some tape and a couple of antiseptic wipes in one of them, for anything bigger than that you have got your shemagh or bandanna haven't you or a knife to cut your trouser leg into bandages
nothing wrong with carrying PSK, and often the contents are backups if main items die or go missing, main thing is generally otehr non PSK items work better, so PSK only ( ratehr than raiding a PSK) is rare in UK, as we geenrally have other kit, or wait for other people to help or throw money at it. if you have a PSK that you access regeularly then its not a PSK tin, its EDC. EDC can most definitely be used for survival, its just how its used. if a PSK is tighlty packed to minimise space, to be small so its easier to transport its more difficult to get in to. if we have the core items of a PSK, just spread out easier to access but in laregr forms ( laregr ferro, larger knife/multitool, large light) then they suddenly become allowable to use on daily base but not when they are small and tightly packed seems odd. its interesting philosophically, , but to say you dont need a PSK tin, different to saying a PSK tin has no use, just for some of use, EDC is more usefull, or perhaps used far more regularly, if even containing similar core items...
Kind of sums it up for me.
I always thought of a PSK as a compact “fill and forget” container with secondary basics you always have on your person in the event you are separated from your main kit. Complementing a basic level of activity specific preparedness That would help you walk away from an emergency situation.
One example then for a UK useable PSK. (Which I think is where the OP was heading?)
if im solo kayaking the uk. I have a 8”-ish by 1” waterproof tube that stays lashed to the side of my PFD. containing some basics in case im ever in the situation whereby im bobbing around in the water watching my kayak and kit being whisked off into the sunset. I also have my phone in a waterproof pouch round my neck and tucked away and/or waterproof Radio secured to my PFD.
The PSK tube usually has:
- a foil survival blanket re-rolled to fit
- Waterproof tinder
- mini ferro rod and striker.
- 1x 90% antiseptic wipe
- Couple of sterostrip sutchers
- Couple of band-aids
- Small ziplock with a few water puri Tabs. (Use the tube to drink from)
My PFD also has a spyderco salt 1 permanently secured which covers any basic knife needs. (Standard recommended rescue carry for entanglements etc yours or someone else)
Enough to fix any minor scrapes and get me warm dry and hydrated for 24 to 48 hours pending rescue or walk-out if possible.
Never had to use it.
Hope i never will
If i was solo hiking the PSK would vary a bit.
But again the common theme - always on my person in case separated from main kit.
So IMHO. yes. PSK in uk can be relevant if kept in context.
EG the military spin I think confuses people as its is focussed on a higher level of **** situation, probably of limited use to us muggles.
People need to stop trying to stuff their PSKs (if they think they need one) with everything Rambo might have and focus on what would help them in an emergency if separated from their kit based on their specific activity and environment.
Hope that helps a bit.
Just my humble thoughts and examples
I agree PotatoHead that is what I was sort of trying to say as well.
The fishing kit is not a lot of use in the UK however other things are carried however they tend now to be part of my Bushcraft kit.
The fishing kit is not a lot of use in the UK however other things are carried however they tend now to be part of my Bushcraft kit.
I’ve never heard, nor understood this ‘being separated from your main kit business. OK, you just flipped your floatplane in Alaska
Made it out soaking wet and your mandated survival kit is still in the wreckage. Or you capsize a canoe
Get surprised by Bigfoot who steals it or walk off to relieve yourself and can’t find your Camp.
Sorry, even a haversack or daypack enter into serious basic kit.
PSK as backup? That’s sending a 22 gun frigate against the French battle line because because HMS Victory was to inconvenient to outfit in Bristol
Made it out soaking wet and your mandated survival kit is still in the wreckage. Or you capsize a canoe
Get surprised by Bigfoot who steals it or walk off to relieve yourself and can’t find your Camp.
Sorry, even a haversack or daypack enter into serious basic kit.
PSK as backup? That’s sending a 22 gun frigate against the French battle line because because HMS Victory was to inconvenient to outfit in Bristol
Any water based activity does change things as it drastically changes both chances of losing gear underwater, and becoming wet and exposure being an issue, so an emergency kit then is vital...but not everything in a PSKtin, like Minotaur said fishing kit.
Yes kind of my point.
You have to put both the need for and content of a PSK in the UK into context with your activity.
If you are undertaking something that requires you to take it seriously then it must form part of your Risk Assessment.
And to try and help @Kav ‘s understanding a little.
Would i be likely to be sepatated from my pack whilst hiking across dartmoor. No. Probably not.
Would i feel the need of a backup if out in a remote lake somewhere. No. Even if separated briefly theres only so-far my stuff could go.
Would i be likely to be separated from my pack if i went overboard in fast flowing cold scottish waters. The risk is then far greater. and if going solo would consider then carrying a backup (PSK) with bare minimum to help get warm dry and hydrated whilst awaiting rescue or proceeding to trek out of wherever i ended up.
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a small PSK tin for emergencies would be limited, a larger survival kit however obviously far more usefull
this reminds me of several scenarios involving my kits...
might have mentioend earlier in thread...while cycling across the city at uni, on way back from lecture. had small kit, think it was slightly large than a PSKtin, but it had mylar blanket, which helped an old lady that had collapsed by side of road while waiting for ambulance, weather got inclement and she was in shock, had poncho as well for extra protection from wind.
when on holiday with family in scotland, canoeing along a loch, had larger gasmask haversack kit in a drybag in canoe , remember thinking that in teh cold water, even tho 50ft from loch bank, wind blowing us out, by the time would have reached teh shore would have been freezing cold, and about 3 miles from next house, so having kit to make fire would have been neccesary, had PFD on but still, the exposure...
2 days later while mountain biking quite a distance from the car, brotehr injured his leg, so an emergency cup of tea from brew kit in pouch, we werent expecting to be out long so otehr hadnt brought anything, walking back with extra energy/tea prooved usefull..
on a reenactment training weekend, our group went teh day before to setup, me and one otehr person traveleld seperately and had kit,tent etc, the rest of group traveleld in a van with beer for the social aspect of travelling together, and all their tents in a 2nd van, 2nd van broke down so 10 people turned up late evening in feb snow covered ground with the only equipment being beer and doritos,, a 3 person tent became a sardine tin i remember.......
so even UK , some kit is always usefull, but a PSKTin, may well be too small to be very practical....
sorry if i'm going somewhat off topic, but is this treatment necessary for all kinds of wire or only brass?! it's long time ago now, but i snared rabbits and hares on a farm in New Zealand using copper and steel wire without any prior treatment... (never used brass wire) makes me wonder about all those folks on "alone" who set out with what seemed untreated wire...
It is considered to be best practice. Treating your snares to remove the scent of oil and humans and using weathered wooden pegs (not fresh cut) will increase your chances whatever wire you use.
Humane cable restraint is the current UK term for best practice snaring and it does away with twitch up snares, spring (triggered) snares and locking snares meaning that any animal caught could be released unharmed if the trapper wished to. This does mean that much more skill is needed in the siting of the snare and it needs to be checked more often, both to be effective and to remain within acceptable humane standards. Mine were visually checked an hour after dusk and an hour after dawn as an absolute minimum (Usually collected up during daylight hours to prevent unwanted attention, theft or vandalism)
The Welsh government (Senedd) is now banning snaring altogether so it is likely that Welsh farmers will return to the bad old days of inhumane snaring and simply blame it on fictional poachers.
Its been a long time. Welcome
When I first come to the uK i was interested to learn that there is no where more than half a days walk out to a road. Think that was Scotland - 11 miles? And in England even much less. If you can walk out I don't need to fish, trap game, light fires or make shelter.
Here no hunter carries a survival kit. Our survival kit is what we use - out hunting some days travel away from our cabins then my survival kit is what I hunt with. Rifle, knife and axe. Wjhen I always used sledge an dogs in winter trapping they too were my survival gear along with canvas tent and dog food. Look after dogs and they look after me - they know the way home too. Now skiddos are more used so I guess a couple of spanners and spare petrols become survival tools these days......
Most of us get cuts and so on. we just know we won't bleed out!! And we can't eat bandages or plasters...
I never quite figured out why you need compass day or night. If you know your surround landscapes then you should know which way south or north even with no sun, moon or stars. When `i was a boy all the hunters could recognise the stars and planets where they were in the sky and what direction was north or south from them.
When I was first in the UK I found finding direction not hard after time. Wind normally from West or SW, trees and so on lean away from wind, more moss on shady north side. Plenty of clues. My English friend is good at this too even at night....
What is good for one man in one country or place maybe no use to someone else.
EnjÜ Joe.
When I first come to the uK i was interested to learn that there is no where more than half a days walk out to a road. Think that was Scotland - 11 miles? And in England even much less. If you can walk out I don't need to fish, trap game, light fires or make shelter.
Here no hunter carries a survival kit. Our survival kit is what we use - out hunting some days travel away from our cabins then my survival kit is what I hunt with. Rifle, knife and axe. Wjhen I always used sledge an dogs in winter trapping they too were my survival gear along with canvas tent and dog food. Look after dogs and they look after me - they know the way home too. Now skiddos are more used so I guess a couple of spanners and spare petrols become survival tools these days......
Most of us get cuts and so on. we just know we won't bleed out!! And we can't eat bandages or plasters...
I never quite figured out why you need compass day or night. If you know your surround landscapes then you should know which way south or north even with no sun, moon or stars. When `i was a boy all the hunters could recognise the stars and planets where they were in the sky and what direction was north or south from them.
When I was first in the UK I found finding direction not hard after time. Wind normally from West or SW, trees and so on lean away from wind, more moss on shady north side. Plenty of clues. My English friend is good at this too even at night....
What is good for one man in one country or place maybe no use to someone else.
EnjÜ Joe.
Hi Joe; great to see you; welcome back
(sorry, I missed your earlier post in July)
Wow Joe loved the write up and the read and your so right we should all know these things but i am affraid time has past and people move on , when igrew up i knew deadly nighsahde wasa bad berry and so on because parants took kids to the woods to pick berrys and stuff but these days well put a kid in the wild and they would not last long even 11 miles from a village , i know what you say in the uk we are close to things but if you have ever been out on the moors at night it is very and i do mean very easy to get turned w=round people get lost all the time in the Uk , i being one of them yup holding my hands up we use to play fox and hounds in cars with cb and one time we got lost so i was the smart one and said i got it lets get out walk to the top of the hill and we will know where we are well lets say i took nearly 3 hours to find the car again and only did because it started to get light .
I think if i cma to go off road these days for any reason i want everything with me , and as i say i am a novice at herbs and wild food but i think i know enough to be able to find a meal , but see the teaching has been lost over the years and again like the travel you say damp side of the tree moss yup north and so on but unless you join the scouts most would not know it , also like if in a remote area and you find a river follow that because sooner or later you will find people living by it or some help .
I really respect the sleding i would have loved to have tried something liek that when the wife and i watch tv shows where they use the dogs i always worry more aboutthe dogs than the people , i will sya you are right the British average person has lost the ways of the old that is why i love reading these stories and able old ways you never know whats round the corner .
I think if i cma to go off road these days for any reason i want everything with me , and as i say i am a novice at herbs and wild food but i think i know enough to be able to find a meal , but see the teaching has been lost over the years and again like the travel you say damp side of the tree moss yup north and so on but unless you join the scouts most would not know it , also like if in a remote area and you find a river follow that because sooner or later you will find people living by it or some help .
I really respect the sleding i would have loved to have tried something liek that when the wife and i watch tv shows where they use the dogs i always worry more aboutthe dogs than the people , i will sya you are right the British average person has lost the ways of the old that is why i love reading these stories and able old ways you never know whats round the corner .
This is usually given as advice for people who are going up a mountain they might not be very familiar with or have never been to before in a place where upland areas tend to be featureless and very similar looking with lots of little streams leading you down into the wrong valley and where the weather tends to move in quickly and reduce visibility significantly.
If you know an area well or it’s more forgiving if you’re general estimate of direction is a little bit off, then your way if obviously perfectly fine! I don‘t use a compass for lowland walks where just keeping your eyes open for memorable features is enough to find your way back should you need to.
