Which survival kit item has saved most lives?
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this is very hard to answer, all people would choose different things depending on skills and ability to carry them out....
for me i know i can make fire with just a knife in the right area, ie when i find the right type of wood etc etc, i can also make shelter with a knife and find gather food..
so for me its a knife, made from carbon steel 3 inches plus but no need for more than 4 or 5 inches though and what ever shape, not a crook knife though....
chris.
for me i know i can make fire with just a knife in the right area, ie when i find the right type of wood etc etc, i can also make shelter with a knife and find gather food..
so for me its a knife, made from carbon steel 3 inches plus but no need for more than 4 or 5 inches though and what ever shape, not a crook knife though....
chris.
KNOWLEDGE
It seems to me that most of the writers on survival emphasise knowledge above all: eg Mors Kochanski, "The more you know the less you carry."
When I first started reading up on the subject in a more disciplined and rigorous way back in the early 1960s after an appetite whetted by mixing with old soldiers as teachers or friends of my father, good books on the subject were few and far between. I well remember contacting the RAF Survival School and being thrilled to be sent the pamphlets they issued to aircrew.
Since our interest has become popularised by the likes of Ray Mears and Lofty Wiseman, good quality information has been much easier to come by: so too has poor quality information, but I suspect most experienced and knowlegeable members are able to tell the difference.
So KNOWLEDGE would be my answer to the question posed in the OP. Without knowledge, none of the items suggested would, on their own, contribute much to saving life unless there is knowledge of how to use them.
As someone has already said, knowledge has saved many people from getting into what ignorance would have been a survival situation.
It seems to me that most of the writers on survival emphasise knowledge above all: eg Mors Kochanski, "The more you know the less you carry."
When I first started reading up on the subject in a more disciplined and rigorous way back in the early 1960s after an appetite whetted by mixing with old soldiers as teachers or friends of my father, good books on the subject were few and far between. I well remember contacting the RAF Survival School and being thrilled to be sent the pamphlets they issued to aircrew.
Since our interest has become popularised by the likes of Ray Mears and Lofty Wiseman, good quality information has been much easier to come by: so too has poor quality information, but I suspect most experienced and knowlegeable members are able to tell the difference.
So KNOWLEDGE would be my answer to the question posed in the OP. Without knowledge, none of the items suggested would, on their own, contribute much to saving life unless there is knowledge of how to use them.
As someone has already said, knowledge has saved many people from getting into what ignorance would have been a survival situation.
Depends on where and when, I would guess cash has saved a lot of lives over the years surviving unrest.
I was always told never to rely on common sense as common sense is the application of knowledge. Without the knowledge you don't have the sense.
I'd say the right clothing goes a long way to saving lives.
Just because it isn't on the list above and definitely deserves a mention, l alwase carry a Surefire p6 in my pack but more importantly a Gerber recon torch which has a wee Acme whistle attached in my pocket so last winter when I was a couple o hundred yards away from my pack I stepped in a hole and couldn't walk, the wee torch wasn't much good for signalling as the area was heavily forested and I was down in a ditch anyway all I could do that night was play this tune on my WHISTLE ...---... ...---... not a very catchy tune but it got my pals attention after a couple o hours.
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Perhaps I should have phrased the question the other way about and ask which item the lack of which, has been responsible for more deaths in outdoor situations the average unexperienced person may find themselves in on a weekend away. One obvious one, for any kind of waterborne activity would be a personal flotation device, though I was thinking more of land based activities such as hill walking.
I think in that case basically appropriate weatherproof clothing. l have learnt two good lessons out hillwalking with my pal's one was in August never go hillwalking without a hat and gloves even in summer the combination of wind, rain and probably atitude can lead to exposure very quickly and the other lesson I got wasup in the Cairngorms on a very sunny day in February alwase take a pair of shades, because going snow blind just isnt funny.
Sorry three lessons, taking things for granted , once out walking the Corrieyarroch pass one of my pals took it for granted that he could find water up in the hill of Scotland at any time of the year, he got dehydrated and heatstroke very quickly.
Sorry three lessons, taking things for granted , once out walking the Corrieyarroch pass one of my pals took it for granted that he could find water up in the hill of Scotland at any time of the year, he got dehydrated and heatstroke very quickly.
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Knowledge is great. But it's not what the most instructors emphasize above all. Rather they emphasize mental attitude. As redneck pointed out in post #30. positive mental attitude trumps all else.
But neither adresses the OP's intent which was "what item of kit?" For modern outdoor enthusiasts on a weekend out, I still believe it's some type of communication or signalling devise; radio, cellphone, signal flares, etc. appropriate to the area.
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