Help making a 3 day desert kit.

Wow.. Thanks for all the input guys!

I sat down at lunch today, and started putting together a "Want to buy" list.. this was just off the top of my head, on a napkin, so this is by no means a thorough list. (Italics are Items I have already)

Storage
Camelbak BFM Desert Camo
2x Maxpedition M1 waistpacks (Tan)

Fire/Water/Food

Katadyn Guide Filter
Nato Matches
(Antigrav gear) 3cup Cookset w/ Pepsi stove
Extra 100 oz Camelbak bladder
2x Thermobaks (12 Liter total)
Blast Match
2x Mil-type canteens

Sleeping/Shelter
Eureka Spitfire
Sil Tarp
???? Sleeping Bag ???

Navigation/ Electronics/ Lights
Silva Huntsman
Princeton Yukon Headlamp
Surefire G2
5x Garrity Glowsticks
Topo Maps of the area
GPS

Knives/Tools
Becker BK-7
Leatherman Wave
SAK
Ka-Bar
Mora
Wyoming Saw

In Regards to Tannerz..
You did not mention your skill set, so I will just add a few words of caution.
(Note, I was born and raised in Phx, lived there for 33 years, camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, backpacking, you name it... )
Major thing to remember, Florida heat and Phx heat are two completely different critters. I went twice as fast/far in Fla summers than I ever could have in Phx. You can easily suck through 3L of water hiking Camelback Mountain, and that only takes 3 hours or so. (Camelback Mtn is a great test of your summer water use under excercise)

Understand snakes. Spiders I wouldn't worry about too much, you can get back home before you are dead. The rattlers will make your day deadly...
Click to expand...

As far as my skillset goes.. I've taken both the Naval and Marine Corp survival classes. I'm a certified Paramedic, and just redid my certification here in Arizona. I did a lot of Spelunking (or as much as you can do in New York) before I moved to Florida. I've been a member of the National Herpilogical Society for about a decade. I've handled every thing from a Milksnake to a King Corba. Reptiles are no problem..
Spiders.... I know nothing about. but good god you've got some weird ones out here. Brown Recluse, Widows.. Tarantulas..
Speaking of Bugs... are any of the Scorpions out here deadly?

Ok... and I need to Clarify 2 things.. and need a straight up Yes/No answer to these.. and if you can.. provide a link.. I've been hunting through Arizona Laws for the last hour, and can't find a definitive answer.

Does Arizona Require a "Pistol Permit" to purchase a handgun here?
Click to expand...

and

Do Private gunsales here require a background check with the cops/State??
Click to expand...


And for clarification on the second one, I can pass a background check in a heartbeat.. just need to know what I need to go through here. In New York.. the answer to both was yes... in Florida, the answers were both no.
 
You do not need a "permit" to purchase a hand gun in Arizona, however, I would highly recommend the Concealed Carry course to anyone purchasing a hand gun even if they have had experience with them. Very good course and might save you a lot of problems.

I assume by private purchase you mean buying a gun from a private party. If this is the case... the goverment would have no knowledge of your purchase so a backgroud check would not be necessary. I would think this would be the case in all 50 states. Maybe I am mistaken.
 
phxbigdog said:
A side story about the Saguaro,
Once a man took his brand new AR-15 out in the scrub and decided to test it out on a 100 year old Saguaro. The guy open's up and almost cuts the big cactus in two. As the man is changing mags the Sagaro gives way and falls on top of the poor guy, killing him. He had to be cut free with a chainsaw.
Click to expand...

The desert is full of things, including lots of highway signs, shot full of holes by a certain type of critter. Such vandals also like to toss beer bottles and cans out the window of their vehicles, being great believers in the Gravity Method of trash disposal. Anyone wonder if it's a good thing that most such vandals live to offend again - and to pass on their genes (which amounts to the same thing)?
 
Arizona doesn't require a permit to own or carry (in the open) a pistol, rifle, or shotgun. You will occasionally (but rather rarely) see someone just walking around with a gun on his belt. It does tend to draw some odd looks in most urban settings. Also, I believe--double-check before betting your freedom on it--that Arizona law says that a HOLSTERED gun carried out of sight in your CAR is not a concealed weapon.

That said, there are some exceptions worth noting. MANY stores, etc., have "no weapons allowed" signs up, and one has to comply. There are also special rules in effect on some federal properties (including some of the national forests or monuments, perhaps--and there's a LOT of acreage in Arizona that is in that category) and Indian reservations (also lots of acreage in this category).

Bottom line for someone like you (and me) is that you'll probably be happiest spending the weekend and the $150 or whatever the combination of background check and course will cost you, and get a concealed-carry permit. I finally went out and got one after a couple of street gangsters from the other side of town chose my quiet and low-crime suburban neighborhood as the venue for murdering some rival they'd tied up and were driving around (my wife and I heard all 10 or so shots--it was a couple hundred yards from our door). The Arizona Sportsman chain, if I remember the name right, has pretty good deals on the concealed-carry course.

As for the other venomous invertebrates (I mean, other than the street gangsters I mentioned above), the black widows are a problem--they'll set up webs in any dark corner with a steady insect supply; learn to recognize their webs (chaotic, no pattern, and with heavy-duty web that makes a crackling sound when you tear it with a stick), and learn to be cautious when moving around in such areas; also just spray any you find, and teach your wife and kids to avoid them. They are not too aggressive, EXCEPT the big females when they've got an egg sac in the web, in which case they come charging out in response to disturbances in the web. Nothing to be paranoid about, but worth respectful caution. Bites are rarely fatal, most often to small kids or people otherwise much-weakened by other physical conditions. Brown recluses: again, learn to recognize them. Good news here is that the Arizona version is actually a less-deadly subspecies than the kind they have elsewhere. Bad news is their bite causes local tissue necrosis, so you'll often have a survivable bite that leaves a nasty permanent divot in your hide and underlying tissue. Scorpions: yeah, Arizona has a lot. Two species are potentially deadly to healthy humans: they're both in the genus Centruroides, and I think the species may be sculpturatus and gertschii. Again, fatalities are rare, and most common among the very young. They tend to follow cricket populations, and are often most common in neighborhoods near where some developer is building new housing, forcing the scorps to relocate. Again, nothing to be paranoid about, but there are some tips that help. First, keep your home as free of prey bugs as you can. Second, ask around among the neighbors and see how often they find scorpions--this can vary greatly even in the same town. Third, get a portable, battery-powered blacklight and shine it around at night: scorpions glow under black light, and can easily be seen. Fourth, get everyone in your family in the habit of shaking out each shoe in the morning before putting it on. Bottom line: heart disease and automobile accidents are much more of a problem here than the local critters, and I wouldn't let the latter get in the way of enjoying the state. Welcome!
 
Thanks for the input on guns in Arizona! I think I'm gonna take JD's suggestion and take the CCW classes here when I can find the time.. but it's good to know that in the meantime, I can still purchase and carry a handgun in the desert. I know Mountain Lions are rare here.. they're rare everywhere.. but with my luck.....

Another question.. Is there a decent Digital camera system that can handle the rigors of the outdoors? I use to have a Canon G2, and included in the kit was an Arcylic case that protected it from water/sand the camera still functioned while in this case. Is there anything more current that can do the job?
 
knowing your skillset and knowledge, you will have a blast in Az... The herping possibilities alone make it worth the move.

ROTJD: I've got one of those recluse divots in my arm... For me the only good spider is a dead spider.. :)

The holstered in your car info.. Correct, any holstered gun, in any location in your car is not considdered concealed, UNLESS that place is somewhere on your person. Found that one out the hard way.. had a ccw to save my can though. Also note, no firearms in bars, most restaurants (the alcahol thing again), schools (within 200 feet). Again, as stated, check all laws yourself to be fully aware, don't take my word for it... :)

forgot to add to my list:
Lip balm of some sort.. ALWAYS have some in your pocket.
 
It's weird.. but I haven't seen a single herp out here yet.
I've seen 3 species of venomous spiders.. and a bunch of scorpions.. but not a single snake or lizard..

Oh, and I saw a roadrunner today too.. Kinda disappointed at the lack of the "Meep Meep" -JK :)
 
HK, out of curiosity, what part of Arizona are you hanging out in? Maricopa County? Pima? Elsewhere? Sounds like you're not in the high country.
 
Justin - I suggest reading 98.6 degress, The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive. Covers the physiology behind survival and well as a survival kit. Best of Luck!
 
Return of the J.D. said:
HK, out of curiosity, what part of Arizona are you hanging out in? Maricopa County? Pima? Elsewhere? Sounds like you're not in the high country.
Click to expand...

Gila.. not that high.. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top