survival kit nightmare

[toilet digger]

thought i'd be a smart a**e and use a trangia mini mess tin (165 x 95 x 65mm) and extend the kit therein.
problem is i've upped on some quantities and thinking of adding items such as a foil blanket (shelter/warmth)
any opinions as to whats important and whats not?

 

[Hetzen]

The thing with survival kit, is having it on hand when you need it. So the obvious question would be, what circumstances are you building this kit for?

Bare in mind, in the UK, you're mostly 20 mins away from a road....

 

[Bigfoot]

Bare in mind, in the UK, you're mostly 20 mins away from a road....

Hmmm, don't get out much, do you?

 

[toilet digger]

The thing with survival kit, is having it on hand when you need it. So the obvious question would be, what circumstances are you building this kit for?

Bare in mind, in the UK, you're mostly 20 mins away from a road....

you have a good point. which is why i felt a foil blanket and extra first aid items was a good addition. ultimately we all play at this in the UK but i still feel its a good idea to think/carry such a collection and keep in mind what we can contribute to a situation should it arise in this locale.

i do feel that bushcraft/survivalists have a reputation for nerdyness but we can make a differance and be a moral compass.

 

[mikergj]

As said previously it all depends on what your planning and where. A night in your local woods or a trip up Ben Nevis for instance is going to mean different kit. I dont personally think there is any harm in carrying a foil blanket all the time as they are very small. Personally if I am going up a mountain I take a orange survival bag and a foil blanket. The amount of people I see going up Mountains in trainers and t-shirts and no day sack amazes me, You only need to twist your ankle and you could be stuck there for hours.

Your best bet would to be to list your kit and what you are intending on doing and I am sure you would get some good advice on what is good and not.

 

[trekkingnut]

you have a good point. which is why i felt a foil blanket and extra first aid items was a good addition. ultimately we all play at this in the UK but i still feel its a good idea to think/carry such a collection and keep in mind what we can contribute to a situation should it arise in this locale.

i do feel that bushcraft/survivalists have a reputation for nerdyness but we can make a differance and be a moral compass.

if you try and limit yourself to the size of a plce webbing pouch. this is more than enough to be honest. you can fit, field dressing, foil blanket, mess tin, cooker, knife, tinder, fire steel, compass, two candles, hexy stove and blocks, waterproof note paper and pencil into that lot EASILY. Just make sure your phone is always charged for the uk....

 

[toilet digger]

this would be carried with me whenever i have a rucksack. be it on my bike, camping or hillwalking. just a standard carry.
so bearing this in mind, navigation isn't a major issue, because i would have a map and compass with me if i was oop a mountain. but a tiny spare is a potential help etc.
also i have always wondered why its so important to have a paper and pencil.

 

[trekkingnut]

this would be carried with me whenever i have a rucksack. be it on my bike, camping or hillwalking. just a standard carry.
so bearing this in mind, navigation isn't a major issue, because i would have a map and compass with me if i was oop a mountain. but a tiny spare is a potential help etc.
also i have always wondered why its so important to have a paper and pencil.

well, when im teaching jungle survival, i advice it for the simple reason, that when you are stressed and panicked, you will NOT remember things. so you should always write down where you found water, how long its been since you opened that can of food etc etc, anything you can think of. how far you think youve walked. which direction was it blah blah blah blah blah. people panick, adrenalin kicks in and you just will not remember stuff, no matter how important it is.

 

[toilet digger]

ah i see.
although i have been carrying the previus incarnation for several years now.
it started to expand in my bag, to take into consideration of potential everyday scenarios.
just anted to condense it.

 

[unorthadox]

is this going to be a 'handy' survival kit designed to be 'useful'
or is it a 's**t hits the fan' survival kit, something you will probly never open but will be glad u had it if u did?

 

[toilet digger]

is this going to be a 'handy' survival kit designed to be 'useful'
or is it a 's**t hits the fan' survival kit, something you will probly never open but will be glad u had it if u did?

i've always strived for it to be both, hence the inclusion of calico triangular bandages.

 

[mikergj]

A whistle is not a bad idea

 

[toilet digger]

whistle/compass combo.... done.

 

[unorthadox]

i've always strived for it to be both, hence the inclusion of calico triangular bandages.

personally i would say go for a survival tin, remove the stuff you dont need such as fishing kit.. in the uk your almsot never more than a mile away from a road, you can live without food for weeks. also a survival it dosnt need 50 ways to make a flame, a couple of decent matches should do, no need for a spare lighter or firesteel.

THen i would design a survival/useful pouch using a pouch along the lines of this , bigger than a tin to include many useful things that wont fit, small enough to still be handy on the belt.

 

[johnboy]

Hi,

Here is my take on a wilderness survival kit for the majority of us. Let’s assume that were not in the military and were operating in temperate conditions in the UK.

All that behind the lines stuff and swinging a golock is great but it’s not what the majority of folk get up to is it??

For the majority of situations your survival kit is the camping / bushcraft stuff you carry with you in your Daysack or Bergen. So if your out for a weekend then you’ll likely have a: tarp, sleeping bag, fire lighting kit or stove, pots + pans, food, compass maps, FAK etc… It’s also likely that the majority of the time this kit will be with you as you carry it or you’ll not be too far away from it. So why then carry a load of extra kit in the form of a ‘survival kit’ that you’re not going to need?

If I was going backpacking I’d be leaving the foil blanket and orange survival bag at home as I’ll be carrying a Shelter of some form and a sleeping bag. If T**** then I’ll be using those to shelter with. If I’m out for a day walk then yep I’ll take a foil blanket, orange survival bag and some extra high energy food on top of my normal day walking kit. In case I get stuck. I’ll also leave clear intentions with someone and carry a phone.

I’ve never been sure what a tin full of fishing kit, condoms, button compasses, flint and steel, sewing kit, heliograph etc is going to do for me. If I’m ½ way up Great Gable, on the Southwest Coast Path or on top of Ben Nevis or heading past Cwm Idwal and I get into problems.

One argument might be “well if I get separated from my Bergen then I’ve got some kit to survive with”. I understand this point. It works if your survival kit is not in your Bergen when you get separated from it. So if you’ve got some form of enlarged kit in a pouch or mess tin then you need to sort out how to carry it. Also how likely is it in the UK that you are going to get separated from your main kit in most day to day bushcraft or hill walking activities?? I cannot think of any time in 20 years of: hill walking, climbing, ‘bushcraft’ in the UK where I was separated from my pack at all unintentionally it might have gotten left at the bottom of a route I was climbing. A particularly gnarly river crossing perhaps might separate you from your kit if you fell in. But then if you’re doing a competent river crossing assessment you might not be getting in the river in those conditions in the first place.

So what you might end up with then is a pouch of some stuff that you feel might be useful for some of the things you might do along the way or at your bushcraft location… Bits of string, paracord, a candle bar of Kendal mint cake etc….

I think making up survival kits is great fun I have one also in a Trangia Mess tin. Full of lots of cool stuff. If I ever get stuck behind the lines I’ll be sorted…. For most of what I do it’s an interesting curio and too heavy to add to a full pack of ‘survival kit’ that I’m already carrying……

 

[Hetzen]

Hmmm, don't get out much, do you?

Not as much as I would like.

That said, I do carry an 'emergency kit' everyday which fits very comfortably in my jacket. A small multitool, first aid kit and a torch. Very simple every day items.

A prime example of 'an emergency' I faced the other day. My windscreen washer ran out, and my windscreen was caked in road spray that I couldn't see whilst driving home at 7pm the other night. Granted, not a life or death experience you may say, yet I needed that litre of water I carry spare in the boot, with the torch I had in my pocket to sort it out efficiently without any danger.

People like to think of survival kit as **** scenarios and often think of the worse when designing them, when in reality, a few simple items can make a significant difference to you dealing with an inconvenient problem when it arises. Which can happen when you least expect it.

 

[rik_uk3]

Ask yourself the question "how many UK travellers/hikers have got lost and starved to death or died of thirst"? You can throw away fishing lines for a start, waste of time as your not in a true survival situation, your not going to starve; you may be lost which is little more than an inconvienience in most of the UK.

Not counting mountain areas you don't really need a survival kit in the UK, maybe a couple of foil blankets, boiled sweets, couple of tea lights, bic lighter, keyring torch. Top of the list is your mobile phone, keep it in a zip lock bag nice and dry.

Think what bits and peices you carry on you when hiking/camping, you may more or less have all you really need on you.

 

[WeThePeoplexfbm]

i keep alot on my person, fire kit, S kit, some rope, canteen, knive, torch, dehydration pack( it got alot fo salt and bring back from dehydration) maby a chocolate
but i go out wets in some place that dont see people so i need ever peice of kit i need ^^ i dumped alot of stuff middle of no where, to make it lighter

 

[Dormouse]

This is a copy of a post I made on a similar thread last summer -

"If you don't mind I'll relate a tale which illustrates the need for, if not a "survival" kit, at least a "just in case" kit and more particularly not stuffed into the bottom of a rucksack but kept separately. Even in non-extreme environments.

Caveat - can't vouch for the absolute truth of this! Bloke who told me was a bit of a Tommy Two Sheds but he does have a limp.

Chap went for a weekend walk in the Wye Valley. It was mid November but mild weather - more Autumn than Winter

The Saturday went well and he camped for the night in the Forest of Dean. He de-camped early on the Sunday as it was bucketing down with cold rain and set off through the forest. He stopped to get something from his pack and as he swung it round to put it on his back again, his foot slipped on the wet, muddy path and he went base over apex down a steep slope.

His foot caught in a tree root, twisting his leg - dislocating his knee-cap and breaking his shin. Until this point he had kept hold of his bergan's shoulder strap but he had let go of it trying to break his fall. It continued down the slope, bounced across the narrow path at the bottom and into the river (presumably the Wye).

So there's our chap stuck with a busted leg, cuts and bruises all over the place, in some considerable pain and wet and muddy with his kit in the river and out of reach.

Managing to haul himself into a sitting position, he took out his phone but it wasn't working - whether this was down to him squashing it as he fell or just not getting reception where he was I don't know, but he was unable to phone for help. Naturally he tried yelling but with no result.

Nobody came past. No forestry workers, the driving rain kept away the casual ramblers and dog walkers. He was there for almost 24 hours!
When he was found early on the Monday he was in a very bad way and he spent several days in hospital and several weeks recovering.

This was a man appropriately dressed for his activity and the weather (not one of these nutters that tries going up Ben Nevis in flip-flops) and the climate and terrain weren't even approaching extreme, but he nearly died because he lost his kit and was stuck outside while injured.

I have to say that since hearing this story I've also been giving some thought to keeping a "just in case" kit on my person, maybe alongside my FAK in a possibles pouch or similar. I can't honestly imagine a situation in the UK where I would have a use for snares/emergency fishing kit etc. but a situation like this blokes is quite conceivable. A poncho and a firemaking/brew kit would have helped fend off exposure and boosted his morale (he became very depressed and despairing as time went on) and a FAK, whilst not being any help for his leg beyond maybe painkillers, he could have treated his minor wounds which would at least have given him something to do and made him a bit more comfortable."

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Wind up mobile phone charger