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

[Wayland]

After reading through some of the articles on this forum I decided it was high time to review the contents of my personal survival kit, packed and sealed about 15 years ago. Unwinding the paracord and before peeling the tape off this chunky little tobacco tin kit, the first thing I found was a contents list.

This list had served it’s purpose perfectly. By listing the all items in the kit, it meant I did not have to unpack the whole tin to check the contents. Great, I could just rewind the paracord and forget about it for a few more years.

But then my attention went to the list again, There were some notes, written in a personal code, that reminded me that there was some kit hidden in my old combat jacket too. No less than 23 items hidden in seams, false panels and hidden pockets.

When I packed all this kit, I was part timing in a mobile reconnaissance unit of the TA. (A part of my life which was fun but convinced me I did not like following orders too much ) The kit in my jacket and tin was all about escape and evasion, very different from my requirements these days.

Now, finally, I get to the point of this thread.

My kit tin has now been repacked as an emergency kit, things to repair clothing and equipment. Extras to deal with unusual things that the normal contents of my pockets and pack cannot handle. Back up stuff for lost items and the like.

So I was wondering…..If you carry such a personal emergency kit, for what purposes have you really designed it?

 

[Gary]

Wayland, when I was a squaddy I carried a similar get up to what you describe - well I did until two pertinant points where brought to light by a mate of mine while we were in Bosnia.

Firstly - in combat (real war) your clothing is field laundered and as such you dont necessarily get back what you give.
Secondly - upon capture the enemy will do to you exactly what we would do to them (if the bleeding heart liberals of this world will actually let soldiers fight wars without interfering) and that is strip search you for an intelligence - meaning unless you swallowed it before capture you'd lost it anyway.

Now for a civilian an emergency kit is only of limited use - better to carry a flask, a self heating meal and a spare blanket in your car than a personal survival kit in your pocket on a long journey IMO.

But lets say the inevitable happens in our life time and the world goes to hell in a hand basket - would a little pocket survival kit be of muh use? Roiting, louting, civil war, some 28 days later type plague whatever would see how housing estates, supermarkets even cities deserted - in that scenerio I think even the biggest armchair bushcraft would mange to eek out a living if any of the later causes didnt get them first.

So for the real world, a hill walker say who gets lost or busts a leg, again I ask would they need a survival kit? Wouldnt they be better off carrying a orange survial bag and a tallow candle or two - that and a mobile phone will likely be of more use to them than some walter Mitty survival kit.

Ultimately if you have nothing else then a survial kit, crash bag ect is better than nothing but remember the 5 P's and if you prepare for your journey or whatever properly you'll have all that you need on you.

Apart form downed pilots who dont have room for anything more a survival kit (tabocco tin type ect) is only of limited use and the space it takes up would be better filled with a tinder pouch and reliable fire lighting system - of course this is just my humble opinion.

 

[Slimey]

This may be a daft question, but what are the 5 P's?

 

[Not Bob]

But lets say the inevitable happens in our life time and the world goes to hell in a hand basket

Do you mean its inevitable in our lifetime or its inevitable at some time?

Actually my main reason for posting this is to say thanks for posting one of the most cogent discussions of the uses of survival kits I've read in quite some time.

 

[Not Bob]

Preperation prevents wee poor performance
or
Prior preparation prevents poor performance

Personally I think the second version is a bit naff; surely preperation has to be 'prior' by definition.

 

[Gary]

Do you mean its inevitable in our lifetime or its inevitable at some time?

Actually my main reason for posting this is to say thanks for posting one of the most cogent discussions of the uses of survival kits I've read in quite some time.

Your welcome Not Bob - and as for the inevitability, who knows mate.

I hope not in our life time, I hope my chrildren and grand child can live out there lives in peaceful harmony but it comforts me to know if it did happen while I still draw breath my family would at least have a fighting chance.

But that aside I also believe that sooner or later it will happen be it plague or war or famine or weather, its all part of the natural cycle of life, growth and death -be it a flower, an empire or a species they all come and go!

 

[Martyn]

I thought it was propper, not prior?

I dont suppose it matters much as the gist is the same whatever.

 

[Not Bob]

Yes, proper does make rather more sense. Well that's three versions I've heard now (as well as the 6 Ps)

 

[Gary]

6 p's arent allowed on a family site though notbob!!

 

[jamesdevine]

I bought one of the commercial kits sometime ago to make up the change on voucher I had been given.

I has sat in the draw since the day i bought it and I have never needed it. I will us some of the items in trip I'm planning in a week or two the rest will remain in the draw.

Gary has hit the nail on the head. With the basic knowlodge and some for thought in your packing before you leave (make sure mobiles charged, someone knowns your plans) what is the point in carring the extra weight.

Just my thoughts.
James

 

[SteveUK]

My own take on the pocket kit has gone through some changes as I have learned more and my circumstances changed.
when I was in uniform, tin based E&E kit this changed to a civilian based kit when out hiking/camping, it changed again when I realised I spent more time in an urban environment.
my kit is now sewing kit ( Ripped suit, bust zip etc), meds, (asprin,immodium, plasters etc), cash (parking machines), mints, spare shoe laces, lighter, pencil and paper, small swiss army knife (executive). this all fits in a small wallet in my back trouser pocket. When I am out practicing bushcraft I try to carry less and rely less on kit and more on me.

 

[crofter]

I agree with everything that Gary says but still have to admit that thinking about and making survival kits is just great fun. It is a great way to get kids involved in thinking about preparedness. They don't just make up a kit, they think about what they will need and how they will use it. This, I feel, makes them more practically aware of the risks of what they are doing and how to avoid them.
I used to cobble together odd kits as a child and now as an adult I make much more sophisticated and "useful" kits. But you can always guarantee that when I need it, it was left at home and I always end up relying on my son's kit , however unsophisticated it is, as he always carries it.
There is a lesson to be learned there, somewhere.
Ade

 

[Wayland]

Gary, James and Steve: I think we are all knocking around the same point. I still like the Tobacco tin format as it is a useful size but my “emergency”kit now contains things like sewing kit, repair tape for torn waterproofs/bivi/basha etc. Button compass as a back up, string, cord, safety pins, spare lighter flints, batteries, plasters stuff like that.

This ceases to be a survival kit as such but is useful in all sorts of every day places as well as on a hillside when your bergen strap decides to tear loose. This is carried in addition to whatever kit is deliberately taken on a trip.

When out walking it is only sensible to carry specific walking safety gear such as a poly bag and whistle just like a life preserver is required on the water. (Mobile phones are notoriously bad at getting a signal in the mountains but still worth having with you)

Food and water are a basic part of a pack as far as I’m concerned. My vehicle is always stocked for a stopover of a few days as a matter of course (Three flakes of snow or a bunch of angry farmers and this country just grinds to a halt.)

I have a natural tendency to carry stuff that might come in handy, my pockets usually contain a variety of useful bits of kit such as a SAK, torch and windproof lighter and if I’m working I’ve got a whole variety of ancient tools to use too.

I think the disaster scenario so beloved of “survivalists” is a red herring really. An excuse to arm themselves with all sorts of heavy duty stuff waiting for a doomsday that will probably catch them out as much as anyone else. The Vikings had an attitude which roughly translates as “It’s better to be lucky than rich.” and I think this could be said just as much about equipment as money.

 

[Gary]

Make you right there Wayland - a lucky beginner with no training or kit can survival anything just as well as an unlucky so called expert kitted out with the finest brands of kit going!

As the saxons used to say - death finds us all in the end, but only a true man will great it was a smile on his face!

Heres to Luck!

 

[NickBristol]

Having been down the E&E route with my first few kits, my tobacco tin kits have diversified from one small generic kit to a few small specialist kits. I do keep a tin for the typical emergency stuff but it's so wrapped up in duct tape to keep it as a last resort I've never had to open it in anger.

I'm not mentally relying on it ever as I know from experience of going through a selection once that you may think you're going fully kitted out on an E&E but then finding yourself stripped and handed a pair of Dunlop Green Flash , a trenchcoat and a knife (as in knife, fork and spoon!) and told to scarper is an eye-opener in not relying on kit....

Nowadays I carry separate tobacco tins for firelighting (full of tinder mostly), a repair kit for clothing, bergans, boots etc, first aid (as a supplement to the main kit in my pack) and not all on my person at any one time. I completely agree with Wayland that they've ceased to become a PSK but are now small collections of very useful items for everyday use.

 

[Not Bob]

For an alternative take on survival kit:

http://www.mapsgroup.org/survival_on_the_run.htm

Maybe a bit off topic but I thought it was interesting

 

[Gary]

Nowadays I carry separate tobacco tins for firelighting (full of tinder mostly), a repair kit for clothing, bergans, boots etc, first aid (as a supplement to the main kit in my pack) and not all on my person at any one time..

Just as well Nick or you'd either rattle when you walk or go rusty in the rain!!

 

[ssj]

Great discussion, gents. Probably the most true to life discussion on the topic I have seen. The only need for a "survival kit" that I have seen is an unexpected night or two in the mountains resulting from conditions or a mishap during a day hike. Even then, you will most likely bring the gear you need on a routine basis. You could call that your "tool " kit. What you don't have, you do without or improvise. If it's a longer hike, you will have the gear you need to get along.
Steve

 

[Gary]

For an alternative take on survival kit:

http://www.mapsgroup.org/survival_on_the_run.htm

Maybe a bit off topic but I thought it was interesting

Now were getting on to possibles bags and pouches Bob!!

One last thought on survival kits - when I used to carry one I was always of the mind set I couldnt use it as it wasnt an emergency and I am convinced in a real emergency I probably still wouldnt have opened it as I carried every thing I needed on my as well as the kit! But a possibles bag/pouch is more like a working survival kit in as much as the items in it are used daily and yet are always there is needed - to my mind this makes more sense than some wannabe SAS kit full of gizmo's made in china (thats the off the shelt jobbies not ones designed by yourself - at least I hope not).

 

[NickBristol]

Just as well Nick or you'd either rattle when you walk or go rusty in the rain!!

I never rattle... I'm very sneaky