Survival kits info.

[survivalhike]

The necklace thing works, but his is definately too much to carry around the neck. It's a soft tissue dammage risk. I carry a whistle, flint, and LED keychain light when I go camping and it really comes in handy. Sometimes a P-38 too. (GI can opener)

[Nativedude]

I have a couple of the P-51's in my gear.

[sh4d0wm4573ri7]

the necklace turns me off although a kit is worthy personally I don't want it around my neck what i have on my belt and in my pockets will do for short term survival if needed my kit is in a small daypack

[Sarge47]

Following Cody Lindun's Idea in "98.6..." I made my own necklace out of braided 550 Parachute cord & hung my own stuff from it. To make it "Break-away" I use a little bit of snare wire to hold it all together.

[HOP]

Sounds good sarge I have a buck Hartsook neck knife on striped 550 with an LED and a very small magnesum& fero rod with striker and smal compas break away works for me too.

[mad coyotee]

I make these fishing survival kits and have given them to friends and to some of my oldest son's boy scout members.

Everyone has said that they are neat, great, however, I would like the opinion of those in the survival community where these would be used. I have attached a picture of the kit hosted by image shack.

http://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ingkit1tr1.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5...kit1tr1.th.jpg

I am in the process of revising this kit to include a 4" x 3/8 dowel rod fishing pole.

Please give me honest opinions on what to change/add to these kits.

thanks in advance

mad coyotee

[Smok]

no plastic bobers they brake

[mad coyotee]

Smok,

thanks for the tip.

I assume that the styrofoam cigar shaped bobber would work better, instead. Is that what you were thinking?

mad coyotee

[Rick]

What test is the line and how many feet of it do you have?

[MCBushbaby]

I use a piece of cork cut into a coin shape for a bobber. I use wine bottle corks but I suppose you could use any kind.

[mbarnatl]

I use sticks for a bober. Works great.

[MCBushbaby]

Missing a few things, but I'll explain that later.

Unopened

This is the outside view of the unopened tin. Sorry 'bout the flash, it's an old digicam and I'm too lazy to figure out how to work it properly. Wrapped around the exterior is 25ft of nylon yarn (though it should be 50' of paracord, but I ran out a while ago).


Unwrapped and open

Here's the opened view. Now, because I'm missing a few things, it's actually less packed than what it should be. But you get the idea... everything fits inside without buckling the lid.

Spread asunder

Ok, the part you've waited for. Let's start from the top->down, left->right:
Bandages: I chose not to include any bandaid-type bandages because in the bush they won't stay stuck to you. Think about how long a bandaid stays attached to you after a shower or two... now how about a long hike to boot? I only included these just in case I have a major wound (something more than a wee sliver or blister).
Iodine tablets: Resealed in a small glass vial with teflon cap seal. Make sure you have a teflon seal as iodine will react with pretty much everything but. I got these tiny little vials from the local university chem lab. They can only be ordered in bulk (1000+) so good luck. The benefit is that you can now fit about 20ish iodine caps safely in your tin. You can also crush iodine tabs and add some water to create a paste and use it as disinfectant.
Crushed aspirin: The next vial has crushed aspirin tabs in it. I found that you can fit almost double the quantity if you crush them, though I didn't try with the iodine. Crushing them doesn't hurt their painkilling application, you just have to be aware how much powder to take versus pills.
Butane lighter: Yes I know, it's not flint. But because I carry flint on my person, I'd rather have a nice hot flame to light wet tinder over two flint strikers.
Altoids tin: The container, duh, but if you take your knife and punch a small hole in the top you can use it as a stove to cook your meat or make new char cloth.
MIA- Char cloth: Not shown. I think I used it as an oil rag, but I had half of a cotton handkerchief in the bottom of my tin to make into char cloth. I generally don't carry char cloth as is... just a preference?
Cotton gauze: I picked these up from the hospital. They're tightly woven pieces of cotton which could be used to gauze up bad wounds or, more likely, to start a fire. I have a tiny dimebag-sized ziplock which I keep them in for waterproofing (not shown).
5 sq ft aluminum foil: Foil is one of the most underrated things you could bring with you, and I've rarely seen it in survival kits. You can use it to cook/broil, fold into a cup or bowl and boil water, use the shiny side for signaling, etc. I used Reynold's but any brand will work, just fold over and over again until you get it into a tiny rectangle.
moleskin: Not really emergency, but blisters suck. period.
25ft nylon string: As I mentioned above, it should be 50ft of paracord.
Cork coin with hooks: Slice a section of a wine cork into a coin. Make sure it's not cracked or split... you want a whole coin. Then take any worm-style hooks and stick them in as shown. Great way to store hooks so they don't puncture or rip anything. The cork is used as a bobber.
Safety pins: Could be used as hooks, but usually are reserved for sutures or repair items. I suppose you could find some plant die and make a wildman tattoo if you want?
Can opener: Usually my multitool would have this handy feature, but dammit I can't find it anymore! So this had to step in. How annoying is it to wander 5 days without food to happen across a can of beans... only to realize you have no way of opening it. *Caveman bashing on rocks imagery*
Razor blades: Ideally these should be the pointy craft-type so you can affix them to a stick and use it as a fish spear. But these work fine.
50ft fishing line and weights: I forgot the test but you want something stronger than 12lb so it can double as sewing thread or repair cord. Attached is a single lead weight to bring the hook to the bottom of a slow-moving stream.
MIA-Hacksaw knife: Not shown. I made a nice little knife out of a hacksaw blade which fits perfectly in this kit. Why? Hacksaw blades are high-carbon by default so they can be flint struck. I put the blade of the back of the saw so I have a working hacksaw on the back of my knife, great for cutting through annoying cables or wires. Also, you can bushcraft much easier with old metal cans and junk with a hacksaw blade.
MIA-Snare wire: Not shown. I pack in 4-6 military snare wire loops but for the life of me I can't find these either. Must've run off with my multitool.

This is my standard minimalist survival kit. It weighs ~113g or 4oz and can be made for... o... $2

[mbarnatl]

I did not like the necklace kit, I preferred the keychain kit. I really do not like things around my neck. I would suggest making your own necklace kit as Sarge did following Cody Lindun's idea.

[Rick]

Mitch - My wife and I pan gold and you can get those bottles just about anywhere you can get gold mining equipment. You can get them in plastic, too. Try:

http://www.akmining.com/cart/vials.htm

I use a pelican 1010 box. It's crush proof and water proof and gives me a bit more room than the tin. Just can't cook in it. I looked a long time before a settled on it. Otter Box offers similar boxes.

I would add something to signal with. I have a starflash mirror in mine.

I also carry snare wire but I have a 55' coil of 24 guage brass wire in my kit that I can use for snares as well. doesn't take up as much room as the snares. I actually carry my snares separate because of their size.

There's a bit of a picture of mine on this thread:

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...2677#post12677

Look for post #30 on the thread.

Nice set up. I think everyone needs something like that ... just in case.

Thanks for sharing!

[Sarge47]

http://www.akmining.com/cart/vials.htm
I would add something to signal with. I have a starflash mirror in mine.

Rick, couldn't the inside of the lid double as a signalling mirror in a pinch? Although I'll admit that the "Star-flash" is better.

[MCBushbaby]

@ Rick: I realize you can get little vials nearly everywhere, but is the seal teflon coated? You don't want the iodine, or iodine vapors, touching plastic.

[Sarge47]

I think any type of survival fishing kit is cool. I put some small hooks in a 35mm film can along with some split shot. For fishing line I'd use about 10' or so of one of the seven nylon strands in my 550 Parachute cord and if I feel the need for a bobber just clamp the empty film can onto the line using the lid as a clamp. If you feel the need for a pole use either a long branch near-by, or, if you're like me and carry a long walking staff, there you go! That idea comes from Colin Fletcher by the way from his "Complete Walker" books.

[Rick]

What a great idea, Sarge. Thanks for sharing that. By the way, I just made a walking stick for my boys. I wrapped it with thirty feet of paracord using a common whipping knot. I wrapped another twenty feet near the top using the same knot and used a prusik knot for an adjustable hand hold. Thought it might be something you'd be interested in for your walking stick.

[Sarge47]

What a great idea, Sarge. Thanks for sharing that. By the way, I just made a walking stick for my boys. I wrapped it with thirty feet of paracord using a common whipping knot. I wrapped another twenty feet near the top using the same knot and used a prusik knot for an adjustable hand hold. Thought it might be something you'd be interested in for your walking stick.

I love it! A walking staff has many uses, maybe we should do a thread on that, huh? As far as I'm concerned there is always room for more "cordage".

[Rick]

Sarge - I've read a lot about signalling. CD vs. Lid vs. Mirror and the mirror comes out on top every time. The higher the visibility the better your chances of being found. If that's all you have, you bet but I'll keep my mirror. The StarFlash comes in a 2x3 size so it's pretty small. Besides, it's pretty handy so see those places your eyeballs won't stretch far enough to see. And military survival kits have them for a reason (wink).

Mitch - I don't know. I've never had that kind of a need. I don't use iodine because I don't like the taste. You might talk to the retailer if you need some. They could quiz their supplier about the teflon seal even if they don't carry them. They'd still be handy for your aspirin or other items. Another handy item is the plastic tube the M&M Minis come in. You'll have to suffer your way through eating the M&Ms but you're tough. They are pretty rugged and keep things from getting crushed. They come in manly wolf colors like pink. I've only had one raccoon call me a wussy. I think he just wanted the M&Ms, though.