Survival kits info.

[Ratman]

Hi there Rubybeetle, thanx for the link. While reading through the threads here, I got the impression that most folks in here DO NOT have a survival kit already. Tell me I'm wrong peeps. We ALL need at least ONE Survival Kit, if we are going to be spending much time in here friends...I have a few...all hand picked components and hand packed by little ol' me.

Who else in here has a SK already?
lb

[/U]

LarryB, I have been working on a small survival kit for probably a year. I have read a variety of survival books and liked Cody Lundin's 98 Degrees The Art of Keeping Your *** Alive So I took his list and started putting one together. I have nearly all the 25 items he listed in mine, along with some items I bought before. So I have one that I put in a medium sized fanny pack so if I do leave home and go out into the wilderness I can probably stay alive for several days either until I get myself out or someone finds me if I should get lost. I certainly hope so anyway.

[Rick]

LarryB hasn't been on in a while. That post was from 2007. In any case, having a kit is definitely a good thing and following a list from a well known person is a logical place to start. But don't forget to take the kit out and use it. Make certain you know how to use all of the components and make sure each one is right for you. If something doesn't work for you then replace it. The kit needs to be personalized to your skills to make the most of it.

[southard]

Remember a survival kit doesnt have to be huge. Mine starts with just what I have in my pockets EDC (everydaycarry). 2 knives 1 locking 1 folding, 1 mini flashlight, a zippo (always topped off), matches, button compass, cell phone with maps stored on a micro sd card, Leatherman blast on my hip with flashloight in holster.
I then have a small kit that I can put on my belt with:
another flashlight
magnesium striker
minor sirst aid kit
needles and thread
glowsticks
matches and tender
water purification tabs
tea bags and electrlyte drink mixes
top ramen seasoning
compass
whistle
magnifying glass
space blanket
mini bic lighter wrapped in gorilla tape
pencil wrapped in tape
paper
emergency candle
micro flashlight
spare AAA batteries
spare boot strings
sharpening stone
And I wont get into my BOB and larger pack here

[Beans]

AS I have stated before. You need to layer your surivial kit.

Back pack
belt/fanny pack
In your pocket kit.

The items in your pockets need to be secure enough that you would need to lose your pants before you lose any items in them.
Use your items from your back pack first, then your belt/fanny pack and hope you don't have to use the items in your pants pockets

[southard]

I agree layering is the way to go, in my case driving truck cross country I never know what might happen. A water landing, rock slide, avalanche, fire (wild or auto) flash flood, or even tornadoe like what happened in Joplin or down south this last year. My pockets may end up all I have. Although I keep my "belt pack" by my driver seat ready to grab and leap. Right now I am planning and working on a kit for the mutt to carry in a harness pack.

[southard]

On top of the edc, belt pack, I also have a hydration pack by ful with loads of storage that is used. Then my big pack which everything else could be incorporated relatively quick.

[Warheit]

Flexibility and adaptability are huge factors when coming up with survival kits. My kits will change depending on the environment I am going to be in, why I am there and how long I am going to be there. You should always have enough, but never take more than you need in any circumstance. Believe me, having more can be an extreme burden and far more harmful than helpful in many scenarios.

The ability to create shelter, provide protection and aid in the efforts to hunt/sustain for myself are things I will consider with every item.

One thing I think a lot of people fail to realize is the importance of having a "kit" to survive at all times.

Even if I'm going on a three to four day camping escapade, I am never leaving my site unless I have the items necessary to survive if it magically disappeared after an hour hike.

[tj922]

I went to my local Barnes & Nobel, and picked up a field guide with over 200 color picture wild edible plants, (A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and Central North America Lee Allen Peterson, Roger Tory Peterson in Books). It seems to be pretty comprehensive. There is also a lot of good information on this forum. The thing I like about this field manual is it is small enough to carryin your pack, and it has preparation instructions as well.

[Rick]

There are a lot of good books on wilderness edibles. A lot of good books on wilderness et. al. They all serve as a good guide and a good starting place. As Sourdough says, boots in the field are required to put the knowledge into action. If you have the slightest doubt on a wild edible, however, take some pictures and talk it out with someone that will know what it is.

[wildman]

ello m8, that sure is some kit-i'm new to this site and this is my first post so i hope its not a pointless one. i think that 2 mouse traps should be added. tied off, they can be used as snares for small game. plus can be used as triggers for death traps for large game.

[SARKY]

Layering not only insures that you have a kit of some size with you, it also insures redundancy as each larger kit should have most of the items of the previous (smaller) kit along with different or upgraded items.

[flywheel]

One of my favorites in my Survival kit is a small and verry usefull net. You can get this from a onion net or orange net.
I have a bigger one to carry soccer balls. Folded, it is not larger than a fingertip!!

- Carry plants
- Seafood
- Filled with Grass as a pillow
- Landing net
- Hide Smoked Meat in a tree
- Fish trap

Live and try is the best teacher .....

20120325_102724.jpg

[flywheel]

What i miss ....

I like to have some salt in my Survival kit.
To carry it in the Box i use two straws. I melt the ends fith a Fire lighter.
U can use the straw and make them longer if you put them into each other.

If you like share my idea ...
20120325_102640.jpg

[flywheel]

My Basic Survival Kits

I use one knive combination for work and Towntrips. The other one is the one with the multitool and a bigger Firestick and more Paracord.
Both have some hidden secrets:

- Knive or Multitool
- Paracord
- Firestick
- 3 Fishing Hooks
- 1 needle
- 2 plastik bag
- 1 onion net

20120325_102621.jpg

[Winter]

Some good ideas there Flywheel.

[DavidSurvival]

If you dig deep enough, you can request that your own city provide you with some of these materials. I received a kit in Los Angeles and New York - a kind of 'prep' kit - free reading materials and many of the items listed here including first aid kit, workman gloves, and glow sticks.

[Adventure Wolf]

My survival kit consists of nothing but a knife. Anyone that needs more then a knife is a weakling that doesn't deserve to live!.....Kidding, Joke

I designed mine for about 2 days min.

- Backpack
- Folding Knife
- Multitool
- Knife Sharpener
- Fire Starter
- First Aid Pouch
- Compass
- Most Accurate scale map of area I can find
- Light Bedroll
- Thermos
- Water Purification tabets
- LED Flashlight w/spare batteries
- 50 feet of light rope
- Hatchet

Hopefully I can also grab either my 12 gauge Remington, .303 Lee Enfield or at the vary least one of my hunting bows and spare ammo. Then I would be set to hide in the woods for awhile if I needed to.

[Sarge47]

My survival kit consists of nothing but a knife. Anyone that needs more then a knife is a weakling that doesn't deserve to live!.....Kidding, Joke

Glad you qualified that, you'd be surprised how much some people believe that a knife is all they need! Many moons ago, before there were any mods on here, two guys showed up from Canada. The following thread tells the tale, you have to read into it a-ways, but then keep reading to find out what happened!

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...rness+numpties

[jfeatherjohn]

Layering not only insures that you have a kit of some size with you, it also insures redundancy as each larger kit should have most of the items of the previous (smaller) kit along with different or upgraded items.

This is such an important point, Sarky.
My pocket kit will go along way to help me survive, but it fits in a pocket.
Each solution is covered in my bag, but in a "bigger" way.
My vehicle bag includes food, plus xtra tools.
My kayak bag is not designed to go anywhere; it carries things, (like clothes),that I might change into or strap on someplace.
It is a "graded" response; just because its not in or on my bag right now doesn't meanit wouldn't be. Everything is situational.

[TheWind777]

This is such an important point, Sarky.
My pocket kit will go along way to help me survive, but it fits in a pocket.
Each solution is covered in my bag, but in a "bigger" way.
My vehicle bag includes food, plus xtra tools.
My kayak bag is not designed to go anywhere; it carries things, (like clothes),that I might change into or strap on someplace.
It is a "graded" response; just because its not in or on my bag right now doesn't meanit wouldn't be. Everything is situational.

Yep. I kayak, and a kayak is a quite different animal than a bicycle. I only kayak one-night, for one thing.

I tend to have three emergency kits. One is nylon cordura with a carribinger to snap it onto my beltloop. It is a greatly pared-down emergency kit I take on day hikes. It contains the barest essentials such as bandades, a multi-purpose tool, hand wipes, extra toilet paper in teeny plastic ziplock bags, chapstick.

You could never truly survive with the pared-down kit. It is more for bare necessity than for survival. I tend not to take things such as water purification tablets (in the Superstition Mountains one has no water to purify anyways, most of the year. Right NOW there is tons of water in the streams; but that's rare).

However, I don't take my emergency bivy or my biggest firestarter, etc. I take the teeny versions of such things. I tend to throw an emergency blanket in case it starts to pour if there's impending rainstorms (the Superstition Mountains are pretty reliable. You don't get rain all-of-a-sudden if there is zero chance of rain, for example).

One thing I always take is a tablespoon of cayenne pepper; being over 60 years old with a long history in the family of heart attacks and hardening-of-the-arteries. Cayenne has been known to stop a stroke or heart attack in mid-flight.

Also always carry baking soda in a teeny ziplock for when my Gerd backs-up. Tend to take one beer with me when I hike for when I stop, and that sometimes creates horrible stomach acid problems.

Carry a good compass in that kit, waterproof matches, a fire starter, etc. There's the luxury kit which is way too big to carry on day hikes. It has the huge stuff such as the Sigg box and such. Yes, it is what I take when I'm backpacking many days. That is definitely not what I take when I go hiking in the Superstitions on Saturday or Sunday, though. That is my long-distance camping kit... the one which becomes your home when danger truly arrives.

If you're hiking places where someone is bound to be by in a few minutes, the need for true survival definitely goes down. The Superstition Mountains has become overpopulated. Too much hype about it, which attracts the wannabees and soon there's people traipsing all-over. I've seen footprints out in the middle of nowhere-nowhere when I had just got up in the morning. What used to be wilderness is becoming someone's back-yard, now.


I also steal from the bigger kits to taylor what I need. Some will go into the gray tiny kit.