Your opinion wanted!

[Herman30]

I have built a sort of "survival" essentials chest rigg.
So far it contains:
-Sissipuukko M95-knife (plastic sheath)
-Bahco Laplander saw
- 2x heavy duty 300 litre trashbags (for improvised shelter, when cut open one bag is about 2x3m)
- about 15m of paracord
-10 large zip ties (one use could be to attach trash bags to tree branches)
-fire making-kit (storm matches, regular matches, small bottle of fire gel, telescopic tube (for blowing air into
fire), 6 Esbit- fuel tabs, plasmalighter
-8x30 monocular
Haven´t decided if to make compass a part of this bag or to carry it separetly.

Anything you think needs to be added?

PS. Bag has still some room for a small waterbottle and som snack bars but food and water is to be carried in a back pack.

 

[Turnip]

First aid kit?

 

[bigboned]

+1 on FAK, always

 

[Mesquite]

Notepad and pencil

 

[oldtimer]

Flashlight or head torch
Water purifying tablets
Whistle, signal mirror

 

[Janne]

A back brace? Family pack of Acetaminophen ( Paracetamol) ?

Walking distances with a weight in front of your chest will put a lot of strain on your back muscles, specially the lower ones..
There is a reason a backpack has been used for many Millennia, and not a chest pack.
Even Oetzi had a backpack.

You can use a front pack if you have a backpack, that will work.
Your friends will start calling you The Donkey, but for the wrong reason....

 

[Herman30]

@Janne This is supposed to be carried with a back pack containing food and water. But this is also an essentials bag that contains the most necessary stuff that can be carried by itself = stuff you can get by with in the woods, giving shelter and fire. Finnish forrests are not huge wilderness like in Canda or USA. Here you mostly get to a road after some 10km. Finnish forrest are full of logging roads. Lapland is a bit different of course.

This set-up also take up little room when folded and packed in a pack sack which measures 15x8x6 inches. So it is easy to take along for every trip where ever I go (I do not fly, never have and never will) by bus or train. I never travel with suitcases, allways with a back pack onto wich the pack sack containing this chest rigg is easily strapped to.

What people call me, I do not care about. At this age (53) it is enough that I do what pleases myself.

 

[Mark Baigent]

FAK and SAK

 

[Mowmow]

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Janne]

@Janne This is supposed to be carried with a back pack containing food and water. But this is also an essentials bag that contains the most necessary stuff that can be carried by itself = stuff you can get by with in the woods, giving shelter and fire. Finnish forrests are not huge wilderness like in Canda or USA. Here you mostly get to a road after some 10km. Finnish forrest are full of logging roads. Lapland is a bit different of course.

This set-up also take up little room when folded and packed in a pack sack which measures 15x8x6 inches. So it is easy to take along for every trip where ever I go (I do not fly, never have and never will) by bus or train. I never travel with suitcases, allways with a back pack onto wich the pack sack containing this chest rigg is easily strapped to.

What people call me, I do not care about. At this age (53) it is enough that I do what pleases myself.

Tell us how it goes!

Of course you do what you like, but you did want our opinion.

 

[Herman30]

but you did want our opinion.

About what to put in the bag.

 

[Janne]

AH!!!

You forgot a small bottle of something Alcoholic. Coffee tastes extra nice then!

0.5 liters should be enough. In a nice metal flask.

 

[Mark Baigent]

AH!!!

You forgot a small bottle of something Alcoholic. Coffee tastes extra nice then!

0.5 liters should be enough. A nice metal flask.

Now we are talking Janne

 

[Janne]

Alcohol makes a nature stay much more pleasant. I have never been a big drinker, but consider it essential when in nature.

 

[thehillbillyhiker]

I find this to be an interesting problem for many reasons, not the least of which being that our countries share many similar environments. But the first question I would have is what is this bag intended for. Combat? In this case ammo and first aid would trump almost any other consideration.

You say survival, but you also say that you live in a generally well developed and well populated area. So cardiac event or joint injury seem to be the most likely cause for you to spend an unscheduled night in the bush. If this is true then I would think that for me a smartphone and first aid kit would edge out almost everything else.

This past Christmas I made up four survival kits for friends and family. I asked myself that regardless of circumstances, and excluding other resources, what would I want in my survival kit if I had to spend a night in a hole. I looked at my own gear, and modeled their kits after mine. The environment is urban to wilderness, Their ages range from 12 to 55 years old, and the skill levels are from novice to expert. This is what I came up with to meet my needs, this is what I have used for years, this is what I supplied to loved ones, and this is what I recommend to others.

1 large soft molle admin pouch with 1 45 gallon drum liner, 1 Mylar survival blanket, 25 feet 550 paracord, 12 feet nylon mason twine, 6 feet -30 degree duct tape, 1 roll 1 inch white hockey tape (there's a lot of first aid in a roll of hockey tape) 1 4 inch Israeli bandage, 1 4oz lifeboat water pouch, 1 Clif bar. There is also 1 6 inch by 4 inch by 2 inch aluminum box with lid containing: 1 Ziploc sandwich bag with 1 sheet A4 paper and 1 4 inch HB (#2) pencil, 2 squares paper towel, 1 self adhesive elbow/knee bandage, 3 30mm x 3.5cm self-adhesive bandages, 2 benzalkonium chloride wipes and 6 easy-swallow extra strength Tylenol, a small Ziploc snack bag with 1 bullion envelope, 1 tea bag, 1 complete serving pack of instant French vanilla cappuccino, 2 envelopes of sugar, 2 envelopes of salt, and 2 tootsie rolls, also there is 1 oven roasting bag suitable for a medium chicken, 2 water purification tablets, 1 box waterproof matches, 1 tea candle, 1 snap light, 1 3 inch single-hand opening locking knife, 1/8 sheet fine emery paper, 3 1 inch safety pins 2 large sewing needles, 1 bobbin 30lb braided spider line, 6 small hooks, 3 large hooks, 1 lure with treble hook, 1 5 gram weight, 1 wine cork bobber, 1 8 inch artificial worm, 2 2 1/2 inch galvanized spiral nails, 1 3 1/2 inch galvanized spiral nail, 1 single use tube of super glue, 6 feet of 20 gauge brass wire, 1 small signal mirror, 1 compact Fox 40 whistle, and one button compass. I also recommended that the recipients include 40 dollars in assorted small bills and change (not much good in the woods, but awesome if you walk out and come across a store).

Again, this is what I use, supply and recommend. I see that we share some similarities, but I also see that we have some significant differences. I am really impressed with your choice of knife, and the inclusion of Esbit tabs. But you are seriously light on first aid. I assume your first aid kit is in your main bag, but if you wander off from camp and twist a knee you will want to have stuff on you. Believe it.

Happy Trails!

 

[thehillbillyhiker]

Tell us how it goes!

Of course you do what you like, but you did want our opinion.

Yes, you are right, he did solicit our opinions. But criticism can be constructive. When sitting in a vehicle backpacks and fanny packs can be very inconvenient. And sling bags compete for space with knapsacks. So chest rigs have their place. Most especially when personal mobility is limited.

I appreciate what you are trying to say. I just wish you found another way to say it.

 

[Herman30]

For now I have nothing in form of FAK. That is apparently one thing where improvement must be done.
I have an idea in my head that this is to be a kit for a normal day out int the woods and also give me some shelter if for some freak incident I will not make it home for the night.
Storm matches and Esbit tabs and fuel gel are all to make it more probable that a fire can be lit.
Cellphone is of course a must. It is such an everyday item that I did not think of mentioning it.

 

[Janne]

Unless already proficient, do some Red Cross courses.
Then practice on yourself, the bandaging, splining and so on. Very tricky. I had to splint my knee once. Took me close to a day.

 

[Janne]

Yes, you are right, he did solicit our opinions. But criticism can be constructive. When sitting in a vehicle backpacks and fanny packs can be very inconvenient. And sling bags compete for space with knapsacks. So chest rigs have their place. Most especially when personal mobility is limited.

I appreciate what you are trying to say. I just wish you found another way to say it.

I will try to write this in a constructive and polite way.
You should not have any packs on you body when sitting in a car, due to the airbags and seat belt design. If the airbag goes off when you have a chest pack on, the risk for fracture of your rib cage is quite high. Plus the seat belt, even if long enough, will sit wrongly, possibly sliding up un your neck, and either strangling you or crushing your windpipe.

Putting a weight on your chest is anatomically wrong. To counterbalance it, you need to activate your back muscles a little bit more than designed for. Large risk for (shortterm) damage.

Some decades go, in Sweden, it became very popular amongs the long bearded, sandal wearing male population, to carry their child in a Baby Bjorn. it was designed there, so the father could carry shopping bags and such ( free hands) and also 'feel close' to the child. So many guys got back problems, that the Government issued recommendations that guys should not use them.

Look around you worldwide. No culture carries any weight on the chest. Back, shoulders, hip, head yes. Chest - no.

The only chest carrying has been done by soldiers, with ammo pouches, plus grenades, and a long gun hanging off the neck/shoulders on a sling.
Modern systems have very flat pouches as close to the weight midline as possible.
But, with a backpack, you can get away with a couple of kilos on the chest. The weight can balance the back load a bit. BUT, the weight will put extra pressure on the shoulders and upper back.
as you surely know, ideally, a backpack should be packed so the heavy stuff is at the top, close to the center line, and maybe 80% of the weight hanging off the hips.

Yes, I am aware of the short distances the OP intends to use his chest pack on. It will be all good!

 

[Janne]

A FAK is essential. Compression bandage, Steri wipes, plasters. Anti histamines can be very useful.

I am sure the Finnish army have a nice, conveniently packaged 'kit' that you can buy?
In my unit, in the Stone Age, we used to carry the basic Swedish Army FAK, plus one extra one with a couple of Autoinjectors with various content and various meds in tablet form.

Both were roughly about 2 cm thick, 10cm long and 7 cm wide.