New PSK

DaleW

DaleW

Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
2,194
I built a PSK around the Trangia 210 mess kit I got last week. I've been looking for a bag to haul it in and got a dry bag style fanny pack today for $0.99 in a thrift store.

PSK1.jpg


Starting about 12:00:

Neck lanyard:
Silva keychain compass
ACR whistle
LED Microlight
SAK Stayglow Classis
Swedish Firesteel and striker
Mini Bic lighter

Cyalume small light stick
Cyalume 8hr. light stick
Platypus 1 liter bladder with sport cap
2 Micropur chlorine dioxide tablets taped to Platypus
6, 3"x5" note cards
Cross ball point pen refill
REI ultralight signal mirror
Trangia 210 mess kit
Snare wire taped inside Trangia lid
2 single-edged razor blades taped inside Trangia lid
Breast Cancer wrist band to hold lid on Trangia
Hotel give-away sewing kit
BCB Commando wire saw
50' braided nylon seine line
100% DEET in small vial
Sunscreen in small vial
Esbit fuel tablet (fire starting)
Hard candy
Twist-on fishing weights in matchbook style dispenser -- thin lead weights that twist on the line and tear out of the dispenser like a paper match. :cool:
Fishing leaders with small snelled hooks
25 yards 12# test monofilament fishing line
Adventure Medical space blanket
NATO Lifeboat matches
Solid core roll duct tape
Victorinox Trekker knife
Cascade Designs SealPak dry bag fanny pack
SAK sheath
Pelican Mini Flasher 2130 LED light


psk2.jpg

Trangia mess kit with small items packed for storage. Space blanket and Platypus bladder store alongside the mess kit in the dry bag. The large SAK rides in a sheath on the fanny pack waist band.


psk3.jpg

Packed and ready to go.
 
The 210 is similar to the British messkit tins I carried for years X-C skiing. My main concern was warmth and energy so it had an Esbit stove, power bars, hot cocoa mix, military signal panel, pen flares, orange smoke grenade, and a few other goodies. I was not concerned with catching fish or snaring game. This kit was carried in a Life Link X-C ski pack with my day to day ski stuff. Oh, it was packed in a meskit tin pouch with a big trash bag.

Nice kit, well thought out. I never had much luck with light sticks, I hope you do.
 
2dogs said:
....
Nice kit, well thought out. I never had much luck with light sticks, I hope you do.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I've had good results from light sticks, but they need to be reasonably fresh. They are best when it is really dark and your eyes adjust. I see them as useful for a "nightlight" to give a sense of security in an emergency bivouac. The LED micro light is much more useful for doing real work.

Neither are much good for navigating trails at night. This is back-up stuff. When I hike, I have a decent LED headlamp that can light things up enough to make trail walking safe.
 
Nice Kit, Simple, but covers the basics,

I have had good and bad results with light sticks, on a recent sar exercise three out of five of mine were expired and dim, thankfully I had alternative ilumination with me

I do still use them, I just check the dates more frequently, The are especially good when traveling in a group to mark yourself or your shelter.
 
EmsRescueGuy said:
Nice Kit, Simple, but covers the basics....
Click to expand...

Simple was the idea. I've always thought that a PSK is the most basic kit you would dare to depend on. This is wilderness-based with an eye to compactness and weight. The criteria that I think should be covered, in no specific order:

Signalling
Navigation
Fire
Shelter
Water
Food gathering
Repairs
Improvising

It should be noted that my kit does not cover first aid. I do carry a small first aid kit, an Adventure Medical 0.5 with some added meds like Bendryl, Immodium, and more analgesics.

With both kits, my idea was to have good quality basic gear that can be dropped in my pack, knowing that I have all the essentials with me. The bag has a couple d-rings and I've just added a light shoulder strap and cut the waist strap off one side, leaving the other side and buckle as an attachment point for a knife sheath or other gear. I don't think much of fanny packs and as a matter of fact, I'm going to start a thread on PSK carrying options.
 
what other gear do you carry, also, does the way you carry this kit inhibit the way you carry the others?
 
Fonly said:
what other gear do you carry, also, does the way you carry this kit inhibit the way you carry the others?
Click to expand...

My PSK does not include first aid items and I carry a seperate first aid kit -- an Adventure Medical 0.5 with some added meds.

Both the PSK and first aid kit are part of my hiking system and I woudn't go without any more than I would go barefoot, so there's no impact on how I carry them and the other gear. Both kits are kept updated and stocked, so I can drop those two containers in my pack and know that I have the bases covered. I carry far more gear this way than the extreme ultralight hikers, who take a few bandaids and some moleskin for first aid and carry an SAK Classic or Leatherman Micra as their only tools. I just can't go out like that!

When I'm hiking, the PSK is to cover the essentials. I'm always carrying water, food, and extra clothing-- rain gear and an insulation layer. I have an Adventure Medical bivy bag in my day pack too. I carry a sighting compass, map, sunglasses, and possibly a GPS.

My multi-day kit has identical contents, but I use a titanium pot and the kit is carried in a silnylon roll-top stuff sack. The quantities of sunscreen, insect repellent and hand cleaner are larger. My solo hiking shelter is a poncho/tent and I use a synthetic sleeping bag, so I carry a space blanket for CYA and leave the bivy for day hiking use. I have a ground sheet and sleeping pad on multi-day hikes too.

Knife options can change. The SAK Trekker has a saw and is a good compact tool. Depending on the conditions I expect, I have a CS Bushman, Becker Necker, mora, or a Browning Mako that I could take for fixed blades, as well as a Geber Sport saw and a golok. At this point I think my knife choice would be based more on whim than anything else. I normally cook with a stove, so the only day-to-day use I have for a knife is minor food prep and some level of personal protection.
 
DaleW said:
My PSK does not include first aid items and I carry a seperate first aid kit -- an Adventure Medical 0.5 with some added meds.

Both the PSK and first aid kit are part of my hiking system and I woudn't go without any more than I would go barefoot, so there's no impact on how I carry them and the other gear. Both kits are kept updated and stocked, so I can drop those two containers in my pack and know that I have the bases covered. I carry far more gear this way than the extreme ultralight hikers, who take a few bandaids and some moleskin for first aid and carry an SAK Classic or Leatherman Micra as their only tools. I just can't go out like that!

When I'm hiking, the PSK is to cover the essentials. I'm always carrying water, food, and extra clothing-- rain gear and an insulation layer. I have an Adventure Medical bivy bag in my day pack too. I carry a sighting compass, map, sunglasses, and possibly a GPS.

My multi-day kit has identical contents, but I use a titanium pot and the kit is carried in a silnylon roll-top stuff sack. The quantities of sunscreen, insect repellent and hand cleaner are larger. My solo hiking shelter is a poncho/tent and I use a synthetic sleeping bag, so I carry a space blanket for CYA and leave the bivy for day hiking use. I have a ground sheet and sleeping pad on multi-day hikes too.

Knife options can change. The SAK Trekker has a saw and is a good compact tool. Depending on the conditions I expect, I have a CS Bushman, Becker Necker, mora, or a Browning Mako that I could take for fixed blades, as well as a Geber Sport saw and a golok. At this point I think my knife choice would be based more on whim than anything else. I normally cook with a stove, so the only day-to-day use I have for a knife is minor food prep and some level of personal protection.
Click to expand...


Eh, thats perfect, exactly what I was looking for.
The reason I ask is because some carry a psk in a belt mounted configuration, then some in a messenger bag style and so on. But I allways wonder when a psk is in a messenger bag, how it effects carrying a pack, or wasit pack, but if you just stick it in your pack, your good to go ;)
But thanks for the info.
 
Only 2 quarts worth of MP1 tabs is not enough. On a tough day you will have them gone by lunch.

Light sticks are not worth their weight unless for signalling. They dont throw any distance.

A small sturdy H2O proof led headlamp is the way to go.

Nice kit.

Skam
 
Nice kit! I do agree with adding a few more Micropur tabs. Other than that, you have everything pretty much covered.
 
troutfisher13111 said:
Nice kit! I do agree with adding a few more Micropur tabs. Other than that, you have everything pretty much covered.
Click to expand...

You're very right about that.

I actually carry a half dozen in my first aid kit and I use Aqua Mira liquid as my main water purifier, so the two on the bladder are pure CYA. Two liters would take me quite a ways with a light load or sitting still and waiting for help. I plan to add more when I buy more. I've spread out my supply over several kits. I don't use the tabs so having too many around means I'll have to toss them all when they expire. I thought it was a good idea to have them right on the bladder :cool: The main reason I have worked to get a cook pot worked into my PSK is for boiling water. If I run out of whatever water treatment system I'm using, the pot is there for boiling.
 
skammer said:
Only 2 quarts worth of MP1 tabs is not enough. On a tough day you will have them gone by lunch.

Light sticks are not worth their weight unless for signalling. They dont throw any distance.

A small sturdy H2O proof led headlamp is the way to go.

Nice kit.

Skam
Click to expand...

Thanks. I have three different LED headlamps and I always hike with one and spare batteries, so the lighting items in the kit are minimal/cya. The Atom Cyclops headlamp would be a good choice for a PSK-- $5 on sale and they weigh just an ounce. I keep one in my day hiking bag. I think light sticks are good for shelter nightlights and a last ditch option if your batteries have crapped out. They keep kids a little calmer at night too. A light stick would be useless for walking down a trail. Weight isn't so much an issue with a light stick in a PSK as the space they take up. I had one and could afford the space, so I threw it in. The LED microlights are my choice in terms of battery life/lightoutput/weight/cost. They have gotten so inexpensive it is easier to carry another complete light rather than spare batteries. County Comm has good ones for $1 each, so there's no reason not to have them all over the place.

That little light stick is one I picked up in a fishing store and I thought would make an interesting lure on a trap line overnight. It would be nice to crawl out of a pile of brush in the morning to find a lunker on the line for breakfast. Of course, I would bite it raw and whole like Bear Grylls :rolleyes:
 
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