Wilds survival kit

[Doc]

Good kit Martyn.

I was interested that you use the Ritter mini kit as I have seen Graham S's and was very impressed by it. I'm not sure where to get one as the US price is $29 and the normally very competitive Outdoorcode is asking £29. There is a lot of thought gone into the Ritter kit and it is tiny - they even got the Fox whistle redesigned so it would fit.

One downside of the Ritter kit is that the only way to purify water is by boiling using the foil as an improvised container. I think they were going to add purifying tablets but didn't because of expiry dates. But I see you've already allowed for that.

 

[Martyn]

nice pics Martyn where did you get the pouch from ?

Ebay mate, can remember exactly how much I paid, about £15 I think.

 

[Martyn]

Good kit Martyn.

I was interested that you use the Ritter mini kit as I have seen Graham S's and was very impressed by it. I'm not sure where to get one as the US price is $29 and the normally very competitive Outdoorcode is asking £29. There is a lot of thought gone into the Ritter kit and it is tiny - they even got the Fox whistle redesigned so it would fit.

One downside of the Ritter kit is that the only way to purify water is by boiling using the foil as an improvised container. I think they were going to add purifying tablets but didn't because of expiry dates. But I see you've already allowed for that.

Yeah, the Ritter mini kit is excellent. Its extremely well thought out. The premise is that a survival kit is only any use if you have it with you, so the kit was designed to fit in a small pouch that could easily be carried at all times in your coat pocket - I have one that lives in my coat permanently.

There are a few deliberate omissions, the kit benefits from a photon, but this would push the price up, so add your own. A fake "fauxton" will only set you back a couple of quid. I already had real red and white photons, so I added them. The red because it has a stupidly long battery life, about 120 hours I think, the white because it's more useful. But in my pocket kit I just have one red one. Additionally, a leatherman P4 makes an excellent addition, especially useful for turning the enclosed steel wire into snares etc. You are right about water purification, it could be done by boiling in an improvised foil cup, but it's a crappy solution really - water tablets, a purifying straw or potassium permanganate are better alternatives. Doug left it up to you to pick the method your prefer and to avoid epiry dates & COSHH regs etc (KMnO4). For my pocket kit, I chose to add KMnO4 even though it's a bit brutal, mainly because of it's multi-funtion role as an oxidizer and antiseptic, water purifyer, antifungal and dye marker. For the bigger kit, I added the same plus a BCB drinking straw.

So for my pocket kit, I added a leatherman P4, a red photon and a small vial of KMnO4 crystals. You could add a lot more, but I was very mindful of not making it so big as to destroy the original, sagastic concept of permanent pocket carry.

The big pouch kit here obviously does that, but it's a different concept.

 

[scanker]

I was interested that you use the Ritter mini kit as I have seen Graham S's and was very impressed by it. I'm not sure where to get one as the US price is $29 and the normally very competitive Outdoorcode is asking £29.

If you PM Andrew you may be able to get one at the old price - see this thread for details.

 

[Doc]

If you PM Andrew you may be able to get one at the old price - see this thread for details.

Thanks for that.

Outdoorcode are well known for competitive prices and it seems that the new price of £29 for the Ritter kit has been imposed on them. They still have some at the old price of £20.95 so I will be ordering one.

No connection except as a satisfied customer.

 

[big_swede]

Well, i have a small daily kit, and a kit for the car

What shall I put in a `macro` kit for going in the wilds?

This will be a decent sized pouch, starting with my small kit tin.

Ill start with;

hi viz vest
multitool
para cord

(Ok, before you start chainsawin' my post, please remember that I'm not really used to the concept of survival kits)

Just to make sure I get this right, you have a daily survival kit? Where on earth do you live? Or maybe, what on earth are you doing for a living?

And a special kit for going in to the wild? Is that as a backup for the rest of the kit? Or do you travel extremely light? I thought you would use your ordinary kit, or don't you trust it?

My instant thoughts about this is that the normal human being can survive 3 weeks without food, under the assumption you could find & boil water. Of course shorter if one would have to transport oneself. But still the distance you could make without any food is considerable, and if one plan to travel in an area where no help or human contact could not be reached within that time/distance, maybe a Iridium Satphone and a phat heli-insurance would be of more use?

 

[bambodoggy]

(Ok, before you start chainsawin' my post, please remember that I'm not really used to the concept of survival kits)

Just to make sure I get this right, you have a daily survival kit? Where on earth do you live? Or maybe, what on earth are you doing for a living?

And a special kit for going in to the wild? Is that as a backup for the rest of the kit? Or do you travel extremely light? I thought you would use your ordinary kit, or don't you trust it?

My instant thoughts about this is that the normal human being can survive 3 weeks without food, under the assumption you could find & boil water. Of course shorter if one would have to transport oneself. But still the distance you could make without any food is considerable, and if one plan to travel in an area where no help or human contact could not be reached within that time/distance, maybe a Iridium Satphone and a phat heli-insurance would be of more use?

I think there's an awful lot of truth in what you've said there Bigman....certainly no chainsawing your post from me :You_Rock_

Cheers,

Bam.

 

[Martyn]

(Ok, before you start chainsawin' my post, please remember that I'm not really used to the concept of survival kits)

Just to make sure I get this right, you have a daily survival kit? Where on earth do you live? Or maybe, what on earth are you doing for a living?

The point behind that is a very good one. If you could reliably predict when you would need a survival kit, you could just take your full outdoor kit, rucksack and a tent and it'd be more of a holiday. But that wont happen. Survival kits are totally useless if you dont have it with you when the situation is thrust upon you. As it is absolutely impossible to predict when that will happen, the best survival kit is one that lives in your coat pocket and is never removed. The chances are you will never need it, so common sense dictates it should be pretty small, light and inconspicuous - something you can just pop into an internal pocket and forget about. That is the every-day kit.

And a special kit for going in to the wild? Is that as a backup for the rest of the kit? Or do you travel extremely light? I thought you would use your ordinary kit, or don't you trust it?

The every-day kit by it's nature will be small and limited. If you know you are going into a wild-ish or remote-ish place for a day trip, it makes sense to take something a bit more capable as your chance of needing it is increased a little. Again, common sense limits the size, but as you will probably have a daypack with you, you can afford to go a bit bigger than a pocket pouch, something along the lines of a water bottle pouch, or the medical pouch above suits me fine.

Britain isnt really wild anymore, but people do still get staranded on hills on occasion and do suffer or die because they are ill-equipped.

 

[big_swede]

The point behind that is a very good one. If you could reliably predict when you would need a survival kit, you could just take your full outdoor kit, rucksack and a tent and it'd be more of a holiday.

Ok, but how will a survival kit help you in an emergency situation in your everyday life? As you would almost certainly be in an urban/rural area, help would be right around the corner (or at least a days run). Maybe a cellphone and a band aid is enough? How would you use a fishing rig, or a meth burner?

Britain isnt really wild anymore, but people do still get staranded on hills on occasion and do suffer or die because they are ill-equipped.

Still, if stranded on a hill, I would prefer a thick parka before paracord or mess kit. But maybe that's just me. My point is that if you bring gear you trust, a 'survival' kit isn't necessary. Bringing a kit would give a false sense of security, and judging from what I've seen in over-the-counter kits, most of it is completely useless, and of poor quality. I would say that you were ill-equipped if you think a survival kit would do the difference.

 

[Martyn]

Ok, but how will a survival kit help you in an emergency situation in your everyday life? As you would almost certainly be in an urban/rural area, help would be right around the corner (or at least a days run). Maybe a cellphone and a band aid is enough? How would you use a fishing rig, or a meth burner?

I think you're missing the point, this is my every day kit...

pics of contents

..it's smaller than a packet of cigarettes. You just put it in the map pocket of your outdoor coat and forget about it. If luck is with you, you'll never, ever need it. I'm not suggesting you take one if you go for a meal in a posh city restaraunt. But there are lots of times you would wear your outdoor coat, but not anticipate needing any other equipment. You could be out for a pleasant walk some where just a little remote, slip and break your leg. You may only be 1 mile from a town, but it might as well be 100.

Still, if stranded on a hill, I would prefer a thick parka before paracord or mess kit. But maybe that's just me. My point is that if you bring gear you trust, a 'survival' kit isn't necessary. Bringing a kit would give a false sense of security, and judging from what I've seen in over-the-counter kits, most of it is completely useless, and of poor quality. I would say that you were ill-equipped if you think a survival kit would do the difference.

Perhaps you are thinking "Sweden" insead of "Britian". In which case you are probably right. Most of the time, our weather isnt nearly as severe as yours. Two hours drive from where I live and I'm well into the peak district national park. I can and do go for day trips. Most of the time, a parka is not necessary. In fact you often see folks walking in just a t-shirt and shorts. But even in summer, the weather can turn brutal in an instant. Taking a full outdoor kit everywhere you go is often overkill in Britain, but sometimes you can get caught out, turned around, lost or stuck. In Sweden, the weather is more severe, but that does make it easier to predict your needs.

 

[big_swede]

You could be out for a pleasant walk some where just a little remote, slip and break your leg. You may only be 1 mile from a town, but it might as well be 100.

So would you do with your kit then? How would your kit handle a broken leg?

Sorry for thinking a bit short, I thought that hills in england were cold, windy and damp, maybe I'm thinking of scotland ???

I'm not saying that survival kits are better or worse, I just don't see (or don't agree with) the reasoning behind it. And I still think a mora, cellphone and some matches in the bottom of a daypack is more than enough. (My personal theory is that the kit-thing comes from the military school of survival, where you would need such things if separated from your unit, on hostile ground, or where there were no civilian infrastructure.)

Maybe one day I will learn to appreciate such a kit, most probably when I really would need it,

 

[Tengu]

Fussy person that I am, I have several kits.

A small urban one (mostly first aid and SAK)

A Micro one (the timy sort you are talking about, based on the SAS survival guides)

A Car One, (First Aid, shelter, food, firelighting, the car goes pretty much anywhere)

A Macro one (incomplete in itself, a complement to the micro for wilds stuff, firelighting and shelter based, with a brew kit)

Does this help your understanding?

 

[Martyn]

So would you do with your kit then? How would your kit handle a broken leg?

I would use the whistle to signal for help, maybe start a fire to keep me warm, maybe brew up some pine needle tea, maybe use the string to splint my leg with a couple of sticks, maybe use the compass to help orientate myself, if nothing else, it would give me something to do.

Sorry for thinking a bit short, I thought that hills in england were cold, windy and damp, maybe I'm thinking of scotland ???

I'm not saying that survival kits are better or worse, I just don't see (or don't agree with) the reasoning behind it. And I still think a mora, cellphone and some matches in the bottom of a daypack is more than enough.

So you carry a daypack every time you go for a walk? I dont.

If you dont want to carry one, good for you. Dont carry one.

 

[bambodoggy]

I'm still with the big Swede on this, a pocket knife, a few plasters, a mobile phone and a box of matches are more than enough for a walk in the woods in this country.....although I'm not opposed to the idea of a little whistle too (maybe as a zipper flob for your jacket).

If you're venturing up into the mountains then you should have your proper mountain kit including dossbag, hot drink kit, shelter sheet/bag and all the other things that sencible mountain walkers carry as routine.

I can even see sence in Tengu's car kit as people do get stuck in their cars in the UK from time to time.

I think these pocket "survival kits" are indeed as Big Swede says derived and best suited to military survival.

On the other hand....if you guys are happy carrying what you carry then good for you

Cheers,

Bam.

 

[Martyn]

I'm still with the big Swede on this, a pocket knife, a few plasters, a mobile phone and a box of matches are more than enough for a walk in the woods in this country.....although I'm not opposed to the idea of a little whistle too (maybe as a zipper flob for your jacket).

So we have...

pocket knife
plasters
mobile phone
matches
whistle
string?
compass?

Hey - put it in a little bag and what have you got?

 

[bambodoggy]

Yer, I suppose so... I don't think I need the string or compass though.

The matches are coz I smoke like a trooper and the mobile is because I run my own company and have to be available for that....I might use these items in an emergency but I wouldn't call them part of my "survival kit" as I have them on me always and use them everyday....I wear boots when I'm out but don't discribe them as "All terrain mobile foot coverings" and keep them in a plastic bag for when I might really need them

I think I'm just being pedantic but I'm happy with what I do and as I said if you guys are happy with what you do then everybody is happy and who could ask for more

Bam.

 

[big_swede]

I would use the whistle to signal for help, maybe start a fire to keep me warm, maybe brew up some pine needle tea, maybe use the string to splint my leg with a couple of sticks, maybe use the compass to help orientate myself, if nothing else, it would give me something to do.

I would like to see you collecting firewood and pine needles with a broken leg.

So you carry a daypack every time you go for a walk? I dont.

Didn't say that. Just said I would put the stuff in the daypack, if I took it with me

But everyone seems happy, so everything is fine!