Another question for our esteemed membership (2)

[Wise Old Owl]

A "PKS" is your Pointed Killing Stick.

S.M.

Wow was that a poke.....Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

[Wise Old Owl]

Well seeing we are all sharing. On short trips in the woods in known areas

On the belt I carry
MINI Mag light LED
Leatherman Wave
carbiner for Water bottle with built in filter, or regular water bottle.


In the pockets
White Micro BIC & char cloth patch & pocket Fresnel magnify plastic
Smart Phone
Medicine in waterproof cap.
Small amount of hand sanitizer
Deep Woods Off wipes.

[DSJohnson]

Well Okay then. Thank all of you so much for your opinions, ideas, thoughts, and experiences. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.
You see I had never thought much about PSKs per say or layers or "primary/secondary" in regards to what I take with me either for everyday or when I am going camping/riding/canoeing. When I watched Pict's video and read that thread I was just kind of curious about how you folks thought about it. I always, always have a knife on my person except when I am on a public plane, or in federal court. Those are the only two places that I have ever run into that actually made me empty my pockets and still go thru a metal detector. Nowadays I also carry a ferro rod and most of the time a Bic style light in my pockets as well.

I will say that I am kind of OCD about fire starting capabilities and because of that besides what I carry in pockets, if I am "out in the woods" In my pack I have matches, wind proof matches, two extra propane lights, a magnifying lens, a mag block w/ a ferro rod, and of course PJtreated Cottonballs, some Jute, maybe some grass rope.

I carry a G.I. Metal canteen, cup and stove, and two different Sawyer filter systems plus a couple of two gallon zip lock freezer bags to hold water if I need to.

So I can not point to one pouch or lump and say "Oh yeah this is my Personal Survival Kit" But from listening to the video and reading that thread I thought maybe I was missing something.

I love sticks too. I almost always end up with a new stick every time I spend much time in the woods. What really sucks is when some idiot does not recognize what an amazing tool you have made and throws it in the fire! I use a walking stick/staff a lot and a Pointy Killing Stick would be one of the top things on my list in a real "survival" situation.

[Phaedrus]

Lately I haven't had many opportunities to remote enough to need much survival gear. But I do like to keep a small "last ditch" kit in a pocket along with a more comprehensive kit carried in a pack. My ditch kit is a Ritter/AMK PSP with a few additional items crammed in there. It's not ideal but if I'm separate from my gear it's enough to give me better odds. I feel it's important to tote the minimum stuff in a way that minimized the odds of losing it (duh, I guess, but it's hard to beat your pockets for small items that fit in them).

[Wildthang]

Most days I carry a knife and a lighter in my pockets, and a nice little get home bag in the truck. I am never very far from my truck so I am comfortable with that!
When I'm in the wilderness I wear my backpack and still have a few things in my pockets. I'm not going to have a lot of redundancy because it just gets heavy! I have never lost a backpack and do not plan on ever doing that. If I do I will just have to make do with the things in my pockets!

[TXyakr]

DSJohnson as much as I like backups there can also be too much of a good thing. When my "human" friends and I are giving kayak and canoe introductory lessons we go over various styles of PFDs and those with large pockets come up. One very experienced high level certified instructor likes to point out that if you fill these and your other pockets with heavy objects you can loose much of your floatation. Most "life vests" aka PFDs only provide about 15-17 pounds of floatation. Once the waterline comes over your mouth you are in trouble. If it does not fit you well and slides up in addition to this your lack of gills puts you in stress, then if your feet get entangled in tree roots, logs and rocks or the watercraft, lights out...

So whatever you have actually on your person not in a day bag or backpack or dry bag should be carefully thought out.

I have a tiny ferro rod 1" toggle (two holes) in the laces of my boots and also one on water sandals. It is a very difficult to start a fire with but can be done in a absolute worst case situation. Bracelets can easily get caught on something so unless they come off easily I don't like them.

All my First Aid Kits have very minimal fire starting devices typically a lighter packed so it will not easy get crushed and/or a small ferro rod also protected. I prefer gauze and tape over bandaids, because it is more versatile. May only have 2-3 medium - large bandaids, 2x1/2" roll of duct tape I rolled my self especially if in wet environment can go over gauze and medical tape to keep moisture out for several hours until after outdoor activities are over.

BTW Batch I rarely take a dog with me camping. A friend often takes one or more Labs. They have attracted puma which are fun to hear scream nearby. The lab has dug up nutria nests, also fun. I don't mind camping with dogs but unless it is a hunting trip they are more trouble than help. Most of my outdoor friends are from outdoor clubs that you can find on the internet and people from work, old university friends, folks I have known since H.S. or before. And people I work with on paid guided trips. I hope that was entertaining or possibly informative for you... Any more smart guy comments from the peanut gallery?

Always looking for new places to camp in places I have not yet been, when are we going you go camping down by you Batch?

[NightSG]

Bracelets can easily get caught on something so unless they come off easily I don't like them.

For a friend in LE, I did a paracord ankle bracelet with concealed polymer handcuff key and a few feet of 65lb test Spiderwire braided line (can saw through flex cuffs or zip ties, or just be excellent repair cordage) tucked into the paracord. In uniform, it's out of sight, (and anyone seeing it isn't likely to think a cute little colored ankle bracelet is an escape kit) and she rarely wears shorts or skirts anywhere she might get it snagged. She likes the polymer design so she doesn't set off metal detectors. I thought about making myself one when I worked security, just in case, but I usually just had a polymer key rubber cemented to the inside back of my belt and a regular key on a dogtag chain around my neck. (Even people who have been in handcuffs a lot aren't likely to be thinking about making sure the keyholes are away from the hands if they're rushing to get the cop or guard into cuffs. If you're worried, though, with a little practice it's not that hard to get a key on a neck chain into your mouth and unlock one cuff that way. Still have to get them in front first, but if you're unguarded, that's not too hard. If you're being watched, getting out of the cuffs on your own is generally a non-starter.)

[Rick]

I've found the easiest way to get out of cuffs is to not get arrested. By the way, a pink ankle bracelet would look good on you. It is all about accessorizing.

[crashdive123]

Nope. Not going there. Not gonna do it.

[hunter63]

Nor am I.......

[TXyakr]

I have lived many years and avoided outlaws or wild girlfriends hand cuffing me. If a law enforcement officer cuffs me I will not compound the situation by attempting to escape, but will call my attorney friends and ask their advice on the best lawyer for the situation I am in. Most likely mistaken identity like that tennis player, James Blake, in Manhattan:

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/09/terr...cuffed-by-nypd

His best Personal Survival Kit item for NYC's out of control police was the number of a good attorney.

[Rick]

"I have lived many years and avoided...wild girlfriends had cuffing me"

Let's not get carried away. Some of us pay good money to have women...never mind.

[Erratus Animus]

To the original OP ; I would like to be able to say always but having grown up in the country, hunting and trapping and still living on that same land I do get complacent. Now that I am older in years I think more about "an ounce of prevention ...." and do pretty much have in my pockets a vacuum sealed packet of bee'swax cotton balls, ferro rod , personal woods knife and axe. I made a sling sheath from some straps and kydex for carrying the axe and it rides so well I forget about it at times.

As for longer trips I focus on my clothing a bit more, and also have the above with me. When hunting a have a small packet on my belt with a leatherman, paracord, mora companion, surveyors tape, contractor bag, cell, and 72hr bar.

I had to use the kit once. I was hunting and not expected back till late that night and the weather was such that exposure would be a reality had I not been prepared. I fell from 16 feet up and severed my ACL. I couldn't stand, it was raining and in the low 30's nor could I get a cell signal. I preformed a initial survey on myself , fire fighter for 24 years, found only my leg injured. I used the kit to cut a couple saplings to make a splint from and immobilized the leg. For the next hour I low crawled up the ridge till I got a cell sig. another hour before I could find someone that knew where I was and could come get me out and to the hospital. I was on the verge of being hypothermic and had gotten the wet fire cube out and about to make a fire when my buddy arrived with his deer dolly.

I think of that event often when heading out the door and how fragile and precious life is as well as how unpredictable the world and others around us can be. Those thoughts alone remind me to be more consistent with my EDC regardless of where I am.

[Grizzlyette Adams]

+100% to Erratus Animus' post.

Wow, that goes to show how for every gazillion times we carry our "stuff," that ONE time it saves our butt is well worth it.

[Jimmy Whisper]

I have a PSK in an altoids tin that is stuffed into an old alice compass pouch with an emergency poncho. Its a last resort kit that I make sure I bring if I am wandering too far off the beaten path or if the temps at night start dipping into the 40's. Other than that I just try to make sure I have a means of starting a fire and I either carry water or have a means of purifying some. If I'm not packing really light, my possibles bag (modern, but I still use the name) will take care of a lot of my needs. Mileage will probably vary for folks in less populated areas than me. I struggle to find places I can hike all day without seeing anybody. If I was in real trouble, I could hike to a road with traffic in less and two hours in most of the places I frequent. If I am lucky enough to get out of this area and head somewhere more desolate, I take things a little more seriously.

Either way, I am a big advocate of a possibles kit or bag over a psk. People tend to pack a psk in such a way that they never want to open it. Thats all well and good for emergencies because it's there if you need it and it's not depleted or tainted. But if you have a possibles kit that you are constantly using and adding to or modifying based on your skillset and needs... Well... thats the one my money's on for getting you out of a jam. You are familiar with it and comfortable with it. It turns a bad situation into an unplanned and slightly uncomfortable camping trip.

[NightSG]

I've found the easiest way to get out of cuffs is to not get arrested.

Oddly enough, the inspiration for that was when her sister handcuffed herself to me, then couldn't find the key.

I'd had a crush on both of them for 20 years at that point, so I made a point of forgetting I had one on me until a bit later.

[Batch]

One of the things you read and hear a lot is what people plan or didn't plan to do. These almost always are how a real "survival" story starts.

I don't plan on getting lost, losing my backpack,I carry a lighter so I don't need to learn any other way to start a fire. I know people who regularly go out into some seriously bad lands without what we here would say is the bare minimum.

But, you can be a "survivor". You can go out with your backpack, clothing you consider "shelter" from the elements and mosquitoes. You can have your Bic, compass, knife, rifle, potable water, food, flashlight, even a cellphone and what ever you carry in along with your years of being a woodsman. Mr. Murphy has a long standing reputation of making the worst scenario happen.

An example of that Jamey Mosch. He walked away from Turner River Road in Big Cypress. He never planned to go more than 100 yards from the road. When he became lost he could hear his friends talking in the distance. He fired shots in the air and they fired shots in the air in response. They knew where he was and where he walked in. They called for rescue right away.

This is how Jamey would start 4 days in what he called hell. He says you take the worst jungle and times it by 10 and that was what he got lost in. He was close enough to Alligator alley that he could hear the highway.

$ days later he would be rescued by a search dog. He was still viable and mostly walked out on his own. But, he was humbled. Nature literally stripped him of all of his gear including his clothes. Now, you can say that this would not happen to you. But, with 100% certainty Jamey Mosch would have said it couldn't happen to him. everyone who knew him said for certain he would make it out and he did. They said that he was a very experienced hunter and woodsman. They all called him a survivor.

You can say, "that will never happen to me." Or, you could say, "what if that happened to me?"

That's how you should build your PSK or attach your gear to your person and packs. Having read about the people who actually experience these scenarios, what can you do if the unthinkable happens to you? What if it isn't you who is in Jamey's shoes. What if it is your hunting buddy, son, or daughter? What can you learn now before this scenario.

Being less than 2 hours hike from a road is how many miles? This man went 100 yards into the woods with everything you could ask for and emerged 4 days later all but naked and with none of the gear he went in with. We'll never know if he would have made it out eventually on his own.

His story in his own words.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/local...d-everglades-p

[Rick]

Amen. Plan for the worst.

[hunter63]

I don't think you would have to look hard to find similar stories, Batch....including personnel near misses...where one thing tend to put the situation over the top.
Great post and reminder.

.......And all the armchair Monday morning quarterbacks, that tend to pick over a story with shoulda, coulda , woulda........Were not there.

[DSJohnson]

One of the things you read and hear a lot is what people plan or didn't plan to do. These almost always are how a real "survival" story starts.

I don't plan on getting lost, losing my backpack,I carry a lighter so I don't need to learn any other way to start a fire. I know people who regularly go out into some seriously bad lands without what we here would say is the bare minimum.

But, you can be a "survivor". You can go out with your backpack, clothing you consider "shelter" from the elements and mosquitoes. You can have your Bic, compass, knife, rifle, potable water, food, flashlight, even a cellphone and what ever you carry in along with your years of being a woodsman. Mr. Murphy has a long standing reputation of making the worst scenario happen.

An example of that Jamey Mosch. He walked away from Turner River Road in Big Cypress. He never planned to go more than 100 yards from the road. When he became lost he could hear his friends talking in the distance. He fired shots in the air and they fired shots in the air in response. They knew where he was and where he walked in. They called for rescue right away.

This is how Jamey would start 4 days in what he called hell. He says you take the worst jungle and times it by 10 and that was what he got lost in. He was close enough to Alligator alley that he could hear the highway.

$ days later he would be rescued by a search dog. He was still viable and mostly walked out on his own. But, he was humbled. Nature literally stripped him of all of his gear including his clothes. Now, you can say that this would not happen to you. But, with 100% certainty Jamey Mosch would have said it couldn't happen to him. everyone who knew him said for certain he would make it out and he did. They said that he was a very experienced hunter and woodsman. They all called him a survivor.

You can say, "that will never happen to me." Or, you could say, "what if that happened to me?"

That's how you should build your PSK or attach your gear to your person and packs. Having read about the people who actually experience these scenarios, what can you do if the unthinkable happens to you? What if it isn't you who is in Jamey's shoes. What if it is your hunting buddy, son, or daughter? What can you learn now before this scenario.

Being less than 2 hours hike from a road is how many miles? This man went 100 yards into the woods with everything you could ask for and emerged 4 days later all but naked and with none of the gear he went in with. We'll never know if he would have made it out eventually on his own.

His story in his own words.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/local...d-everglades-p

Several very interesting things in that interview. Thank you very much for posting that Batch.