Do I really need...

[TheGame]

I think this is personal preference. No, you do not need one. However, if you get caught out there, you will wish you had one. And you know what they say - best to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Cpl Punishment

OK, I'm still going to disagree a bit.
Note to everyone: I don't mean to argue, but to present an alternative view. Each person needs to make up their own mind on what is needed.

Well put. I don't see our discussion as an argument either. I think it important that different points of view are discussed.

2.) You only have one firestarter (although it's probably not the only one you carry). Fire is critical, IMO and with minimal shelter, can mean the difference between living and not. Also can help with water purification should you run out of tablets. Maybe my area is just a lot wetter than yours, and fires are not a sure thing, so multiple methods are called for.

The Alcohol prep swabs that came as a standard item in my FAK's will act as a secondary firestarter if needed, although I really prefer to save them for use as a flash antiseptic.

And your right about differences in climate. As a general rule, starting fires here isn't a problem.

Mostly just differences in perspective, I guess.

:thumbup:



Kind regards
Mick

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Doc

Hey Mick, you do know that a digital watch works (almost) as well?

Yeah they do, I just prefer an analogue (maybe I'm old fashioned )



Kind regards
Mick

 

[Zaner01]

I think there's a problem with the whole "survival kit" concept. It makes a lot of sense in some contexts, less in others.

Carrying a kit makes sense if you're just hopping in the car/jumping on the snowmobile/lifting off in the floatplane/ etc. and you might slide into the ditch/break a belt/make a forced landing/etc. and then have to get by until rescued. In this context, you wouldn't necessarily be carrying any gear, and all you would have is the kit, so you need a complete, self-contained survival kit.

Carrying an extensive, self-contained kit makes much less sense if you're backpacking/canoe tripping/etc., as you're already carrying everything you need to live in the wild. Being separated from your gear is usually a remote possibility, and real-world examples repeatedly show that in the worst-case scenario, people are able to get by with very little.

I do think it makes sense to carry a few light, compact items, regardless. A whistle, signal mirror, knife, firesteel, tinder, cord, duct tape, etc. take up very little space and weigh little. But some of those items are things you would use daily anyway, so this wouldn't necessarily be a self-contained "kit."

 

[raybadge]

I think, when it's all said and done, what you need in a survival kit depends on your skill and experience level. So, it becomes pretty personal. I think all I absolutely need is a canteen, canteen cup, and a fire steel. Given rain geer, I can make do. But I'd always include a mora, some fire starters, a small first aid kit, compass, whistle, some GORP, and some sort of flashlight. Most of this stuff I can put in my pockets or attack to my belt with a laniard. But I don't think I need all this stuff to survive until SAR finds me. Sometimes I think we loose sight of the difference between survival and wilderness living.