Critique my kit.

[Leanwolf]

far more people die from bee stings than snake bites. this is fact which is why i carry a sawyer extractor. even though i'm not allergic to stings i tried it out once when i got stung by a bee while putting on a pair of pants fresh off of the clothes line. i could see the poison coming out of my skin when i removed the extractor i had a small red bump on my leg but no pain or inflamation. worked for me so i keep it around.

i would not know about snake bites and its effectiveness however.

Witchhunter, same experience I've had with the Sawyer Extractor. Twice stung by Yellowjackets, and my wife stung by a large bee of some kind. That Extractor works wonderfully on stings. As you said, I could see the poison being extracted from the stings.

As with you, I don't know what it would do on a snakebite.... but if that was what I had at the time, I'd damned sure give it a try.

L.W.

 

[CShepherd]

frank K,

Looking for sunscreen and bug dope in packets or some small tubes to put them in. Good idea. Have already added the poncho. Working on a way to carry some duct tape but there doesn't seem to be anything to wrap it around. Guess I'll have to do a flat roll or something. Orange bandana is on my shopping list (shouldn't be hard to find here in TN) and will add some aluminum foil. I carry a Gerber multi-tool on my belt when in the woods. Unfortunately it doesn't have a saw. I've been experimenting with carrying a wood cutting jigsaw blade and fashioning a handle when needed and that's working well. I really like having the scissors from the tinker- use them more than the blade.

As for the other things you mentioned, extra this and that. I carry almost all of that in my pack. Trying to keep the survival kit to a minimum so that I will actually carry it. Thanks for the tips.

Normark,
I'll see what I can do to add more tinder. I do currently count the magnesium bar as tinder even though I know it can be a pain to get enough. The plan is to replace it with a nice ferro rod but can't find them locally. Silly to pay shipping on just that and currently haven't been able to get up an order for much of anything else yet. Hopefully will soon though. Any recommendations for a good rod?

ironraven,
Hadn't thought of the breast milk bags. Should be easy to get since wife is pregnant and planning on breast feeding. Thanks for the list of things to do with foil. Just hadn't thought it through that much.

Thanks again to all who responded. It's getting there.

Charles

 

[Normark]

Hey CS...

The best thing to do is buy a couple of them from a dealer on the net..
You'll probably have a hard time finding anyone that knows what you are talking about, let alone one the carrys them..

If you have an REI around,, they may carry them...

I would suggest the Swedish "Light My Fire" Army model...

That is probably the standard rod everyone uses...

The Scout is good as well,, but too thin in my opinion..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST

 

[nemoaz]

They work well enough, but they are a major pain to fill. I like a gerber breast milk bag (the baby food gerber, not the knife gerber) or turkey roasting bags. Both fill easier, both hold more for most people, and both are stronger.

Agreed. Condoms are hard to handle but you'd be surprised how much they hold. http://www.therangerdigest.com/Tips___Tricks/Water Purifcation Kits/water kits.htm Their advantage is extremely small size. But they are tougher than you'd think. Of course, get unlubed and no spermicide.

The others are nice choices too if you have the room.

As for aluminum foil, didn't see a major need since I had the cook pot.

Say you are boiling some water in the cook pot and decide to also cook a fish. Or many other reasons. I always carry foil or those small aluminum baking squares (with the sides folded down). They are just so useful at improvising and weigh almost nothing.

Then again, I carry a little less than many folks. I don't have a pot in all my kits (go bags in each vehicle, at my two worksites, and in my kit and the backpacks for my wife and each of my kids). And I tend to see my "kit" as more of a survival only thing. When I'm hiking or camping, I carry anything I may need in it's full use rendition...that is a tarp-- or maybe a tent-- instead of garbage bag etc. So I have a mess kit or canteen cup at least when I know I'm planning on being out for a while when I'm hiking or camping.

If my survival kit gets too big, the danger is that I'll "forget" to put it on my belt when I'm "just going for a short hike."

 

[task force k]

Women are funny. I took my GF camping to the desert. Guess what she does? she put on a nice dress and make up. Im what are you doing did you forget where we are going her answer she is still a women and wants to look good for me..... no complaints there. After all she can start fire with fire steal picks up on survival things very fast. but it better be cute and intresting or she is off somewhere else .

sasha

When I was on a field exercise in Korea, I had to break up a fight caused by borrowed lipstick. I confiscated it and dropped it into the pit latrine.

During a night raid exercise, I had to find a tactful way to tell a First Sergeant that I was able to detect her from a distance because of her perfume. I found out that there is no tactful way to TELL a First Sergeant anything.