Why am I carrying...........

[ZDP-189]

"Hello, I'm Dan and I'm a preparedness addict"

... and yet, I generally don't carry a survival kit. But I noticed even when wandering about town, I am rarely without a knife, a lighter, decent clothing and usually a small light.

On the hills or in the Jungle, I carry my more bulky kit in a light pack, but my small, frequently needed and important items are in my pockets. It always seems to 'surprise' me that the thing I really need at that moment is always about my person and if it fails, there is a backup of sorts. But then, I don't carry junk; I have no book to read, no music, no snacks. Just enough for a hot brew, a few slices of bacon and a cup of porridge in the morning and the sound of birdsong.

I do occasionally carry some items of 'survival' gear, but not in a sealed pack. I use it. A foil blanket makes a good sleeping cover over a bag liner if lightly draped and then a bin-bag or a poncho. By cycling my gear, I know I will have a fresh new kit that is appropriate to the terrain, and not end up with the woodsman's nightmare of opening a sealed survival pouch with frostbit hands to discover a damp book of matches, a dead torch, rusty fishooks and razor blade and a spaceblanket that has adhered to itself.

 

[ZDP-189]

PS the button compass in a tin full of metal stuff can be dangerous.

 

[Minotaur]

My SAS Survival style kit, has gone in favor of more what I carried as a scout.

The EDC style plan, with Be Prepared as the motto for everything.

My 'Wayland' experience sort of confirmed the pointlessness of the carrying it in that format. I opened it, and it was out of date, or missing bits.

On the other hand, the whole point of 'Survival Kits', and E&E stuff, was to try and imporve your chances. Yes, it might have all gone, or it might be over looked.

There is a story of a New Zealand guide, who died saving two people. They had not bothered to take prepared kit, and his was spread to thin.

Why is this I wonder?

I feel a long chat, beer in hand, around a camp fire, coming on.

 

[kato]

As we all know most PSK's are based on military Escape & Evasion kits so are usually small so they can be concealed and carried easy but I have always thought "how would you boil water with one of these kits as you could just about fit a quarter cup full in a tobacco tin"

I found a site last night with a great idea and thought y'all might like it.

http://www.woodsmonkey.com/index.ph...anteen-psk&catid=41:how-to-articles&Itemid=63

Some other good stuff on the site,reviews etc.

 

[mortalmerlin]

I just don't see the point of a "survival kit" in a tin. My real life survival kit is a knife,lighter, phone and wallet. In the woods you'll have all your bushcrafty stuff with you and probably won't be sent on an escape and evasion excersise, helpfully allowed to take a pre-prepaired tin with you. I think people take survival kits because they think they're supposed to more than because they need to.

That said we do keep a big kit ready to put in the car that can keep us all going for at least 3 days. IMO this is far more useful than a tin for all sorts of reasons and I would recommend everyone to do the same.

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Mobiles - They tend to work on summits rather than 'dips' low down. I have done over 150 munros up here and send a text from most summits. A few there was no signal, near Loch Laggan. It's the battery that dies in the cold.

A lot of folk abandon cars on english hill roads a few times a year and, as someone has posted, a few essentials in the car would help.

I got a puncture on the Lochay Hill road last November on my road bike. Took my over gloves off, blizzard started, near Ben Heasgarnach, and could not get the tube and tyre back on, numb hands. Of course you only take minimum kit on a roadbike. Luckily it was only a half hr before a car passed and offered help. This was a sunday, what if it was a tuesday. Would have been a long cold walk in road shoes for three miles to the nearest house in Glen Lyon. Luckily the chap was a biker. I embarissingly huddled in the car while he fixed it. My point ? You don't need to be in a wilderness to 'survive'.

Nick

 

[BigShot]

This is a very intresting thread, Gary's first post really gave me food for thought.

I know a lot of people approach the survival kit issue from an almost militaristic or survivalist view, and I do see how that might not be appropriate for some people.

I've started putting a lot of thought into my own PSK, and Gary's post cleared my thinking somewhat.

I think for the ordinary civilian a lot of it really isn't necessary. Maybe then the self-heating meal, survival bag and so on are enough. However I've lived in the French Alps - and spend as much time in places like that as I can. That's given me a different perspective.

In the case of a turned ankle on the Old Man of Coniston or something like that, then yes, a survival bag and a mobile with credit on it would probably be the lifesaver... However to me a PSK is more than that.

In my eyes a PSK is for what you do when it's not just a turned ankle and a mobile phone call issue.

Without the whole Zombie Apocalypse scenario there are more potential problems to face...


Let's say you're in between two small towns in the alps and a huge avalanche cuts you off from help. It's cold, the road is closed and you need to help yourself.
Let's say you're in the back country and a massive storm rolls in - you're stuck for maybe a week.
You're on a walk in the scottish highlands and have a bad fall.
For some reason you're separated from your rucksack (drop it down a cliff, buried in an avalanche or similar).

These are all situations that I do run the risk of encountering and so I expect a well designed kit would improve my chances massively if any of them were to occur.


I'm not for a moment dismissing what you've said about the usefulness of a PSK for civilians in non-end-of-the-world scenarios. But in the more likely situations I could face I can see one being very useful...

I know you didn't mention any kit specifics - but your post has seriously cleared by head of a lot of the bunker-building-survivalist-nutjob chatter one often finds when reading websites about PSKs.

Brilliant thread that's been resurrected at a perfect time.

 

[Big Geordie]

My "survival" tins have had a major overhaul in recent years once I got that E&E wasn't needed anymore.

One major problem Ive not seen discussed is our reliance on backpacks. A course I was on a few years ago with Nevada Outdoor School explained that 85% of all accidents in the field were more than 30 yards from your backpack. So a couple of belt pouches could become your real survival pack.

Does your belt pouch have enough to survive a catastrophe/ accident/fall etc? Got food/water/firekit/shelter?

Very interested to hear how you would handle being adrift from your pack. After all most of us set up camp then go for a bimble around without it.

George

 

[Walks with dogs]

A good lecture on the necessity and practicality of carrying some sort of survival kit can be found here.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2721455542891667646&hl=en

Puts the reasons behind the kit into perspective quite well, in that the purpose of the kit for most of us would be to assist in you being found, being an active participant in that process and staying alive until that happens.

 

[Wayland]

A good lecture on the necessity and practicality of carrying some sort of survival kit can be found here.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2721455542891667646&hl=en

Puts the reasons behind the kit into perspective quite well, in that the purpose of the kit for most of us would be to assist in you being found, being an active participant in that process and staying alive until that happens.

Good link.

 

[helixpteron]

On the subject of reliance on backpacks, and 'body worn' PSK's.

I attempted to raise these points on a thread which was running some time ago in response to posts about losing one's backpack and trips into woodland without carrying a PSK.

However, despite being made in the best of intentions, in hindsight, I recognise that the tone of my response may appear to have been somewhat terse, and therefore have caused unintentional offence to Ahjno. If so, I apologise to Ahjno.

I've read case studies where experienced outdoors travellers became incapacitated and/or trapped, literally within a few feet of their backpacks, and only survived due to equipment which was body worn at the time of the incidents, and their inventive use of the aspects of nature within reach which could be improvised and adapted as survival aids.

Having a prepared mindset, and with the benefit of modern, compact and lightweight equipment, it is relatively easy to have suitable personal survival gear, in sufficient quantities, which is specific to one's activity, environment (geographic and weather) and trip duration, in a body worn configuration.

Websites like the excellent Be Prepared To Survive, provide knowledge and equipment to enable the individual to create a comprehensive PSK to fulfill their specific needs.

http://www.bepreparedtosurvive.com/index.html

The site owner has written what is without doubt the best book on the subject of building survival kits: Build The Perfect Survival Kit.

http://www.bepreparedtosurvive.com/BuildThePerfectSurvivalKit.htm

To be honest, its a virtual certainty that those whom read the book will be surprised and impressed by what they've learned (and they will learn!) even experienced hikers, climbers, paddlers and ex-mil.

This book can be had for £6:61 (new & delivered) from The Book Depository and is worth every penny! (No connection other than as a happy customer and reader).

 

[DavidEnoch]

The reason for my kit is that I have a tendency to wander. Several times on business trips I have had time to kill and have taken off hiking without any preparation or kit. I have done this in neat, exciting, and dangerous places such as the desert, mountains, and swamps. Now, I try to keep some kit with me at all times and think a little before I wander. It's hard to carry much when you fly and carry your baggage on board but by thinking ahead and doing a little preparation, I can have some basic gear even if I fly.

I also often go to Colorado on vacation and hike alone most of the time since my wife doesn't like to hike. I like to get off trail there too and wander around where most people don't go. I know what this side of the mountain is like, what's on the other side???
When I am in Colorado, I have a day pack with half a gallon of water and a good deal of stuff. Besides my backpack, I wear a small shoulder bag to keep some things at hand. I keep some survival kit in this bag. If I am resting without my pack and for some reason become separated from the pack, at least some gear is still with me. I try not to take off the shoulder bag.

I have been lucky most of my life and have gotten away with nothing worse than the sole coming off of a shoe, and a large abrasion on my forehead. I just try to be more careful now.

David Enoch

 

[Sussex Man]

If you fail to prepare! - then you must prepare to fail!

I don't carry a little tin kit anymore,i think they are pointless, I don't carry a possibles ? pouch, I carry a "Sac Majeek" In this magical sack it has small platic bags, fire steel, an opinel no.08, some bailing twine, charcloth, an old mushroom (now very dry) a few fishing hooks stuck into the canvas a candle stub, some ciggy papers (i dont smoke?) and an enamelled tin cup.

I'll probably live a very uninteresting life now, no zobbies or plague carriers to shoot .

 

[forestwalker]

My first introduction to the idea of a survival kit was a small book originally from New Zeeland I believe (Brian Hildreth?). And I made them, back in my early teens. As I learnt more I stopped carrying them.

Today I have a small "possibles bag", a 3/4 litre linnen canvas belt bag with useful stuff (lockblade SAK, DC4 sharpener, folding scissors, needle and thread, ferrocerium stick, Silva 27 compass (mostly for the mirror), small vise-grip pliers, steel wire, cordage, the bit-set from a SwissTool, etc). Stuff I find use for on a daily, regular basis, it lives in the backpack I carry around every day, when I go out in the woods it gets transfered to whatever backpack I carry.

I really should have two; one "usefull daily stuff", and one bush oriented. For example. the bitset is useful when reparing scientific instruments, compuers, and IKEA furniture, none of which is very common in the woods, while a sewing awl and some nails could be useful in the woods, and the DC4 is seldom used at work.

 

[wistuart]

I like Sussex Man's term "sac majeek" as that best describes my approach. My main outdoor activities are kayak touring, cycling and walking mainly around the scottish highlands. For me the most likely survival situation is an injury that may see me laid up (for 48hrs at most) waiting to be found and rescued. I have packed a small drybag with those items that I consider will be of most benefit in such a situation as well as a few spare essentials as back-ups should my primary get lost, forgotten or broken. This bag is always the first thing I pack and I know that as long as I have it with me I can cope with most emergency situations that I can realistically expect given my activities and usual environment.

Contents:

Survival bag;
First aid kit supplemented with antihistamines, ibuprofen, lomotol and blister kit;
500ml bottle of water + couple strips puri tabs;
A few energy bars;
Waterproof matches + tinder;
Torch (spare);
Compass (spare);
Whistle (spare);
Money (spare);
Steel mirror;
Multi-tool;
Paracord;
Small roll of gaffa tape;
Insect repellant and headnet;
Sunscreen.

Main bases covered - shelter/warmth, hydration, sustenance, signaling, personal healthcare, navigation.

Total weight is around 3 or 4 pounds. I've reviewed the contents many times and there is nothing that I believe represents uneccessary weight.

 

[sandbender]

My first introduction to the idea of a survival kit was a small book originally from New Zeeland I believe (Brian Hildreth?). And I made them, back in my early teens.

My first introduction to the idea of a survival kit was the 'Fireball Survival Guide' a free gift with the 'Bullet' comic back in 1976. This was a plastic wallet featuring pullout paper 'flashcards' in which the eponymous 'Fireball' listed various survival strategies and methodologies. From memory these included constructing a tarp from a large polythene sheet and boiling up some Oxo cubes in your survival tin.

These days my day to day 'kit' comprises a Doug Ritter RSK, various lengths of cord, and a firesteel, these are either in my pockets or in my shoulder bag, the bag usually contains other odds 'n' ends too, more cord, butane lighter, plastic bags, torches, pills, band aids, slipjoint etc. etc.

 

[Long Stride]

I used to get the " Bullet " comic as well.

I still have my plastic wallet. 33 years later

I don't carry it with me. Honest

Certainly brings back memories.

Long Stride

 

[rik_uk3]

The term 'Survival Kit', is that the right expression to use for most UK based people? 'Handy Kit' may be more appropriate?

 

[sandbender]

Certainly brings back memories.

Yes it does, 33 years! I feel old now.

:You_Rock_

 

[nickg]

Excellant thread - my only contribution is to express my amazement when the discussion comes up to find people take their PSK tin OUT OF THEIR RUCKSACKS!!
If you have a rucksack you dont need a PSK.
The original intent of the military survival tin was to acknowledge the fact that the contents of your pack were martial in intent - ammo, at rounds, mortar rounds, link, flares,radios, batteries, GPS and a bit of food & a doss bag. The PSK was in your trouser pocket so that in the event of getting bounced and bug out leaving your packs etc behing you had something to work with. The comparible scenario for bushcrafters etc would be the 'lost pack' so to be useful the kit must live on you & close to the skin. Here the 'possibles pouch/tin' works better assuming that your belt and kit is on your trousers in anticipation of something like the canoe spill where you may even loose your jacket as well as everything else.
If you keep the tin or whatever anywhere else then there is little point.

Cheers
Nick