- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
- Messages
- 637
Hi,
Thought I'd show what I've set my three kids (actually now young adults) up with. They've had a fair amount of time canoeing and remote camping, since that's pretty much all we do for holidays since they were little. As they're starting to leave home and head out on their own, it seems important that I set them up with some small portable kits that they will be able to have with them on all outings, including day hikes. I've spent so much more time learning about this topic (thanks to this great forum :thumbup
than they will likely ever do... it would be terrible not to try to pass on what I can to the kids.
I realize this kit isn't comprehensive, but I tried to be realistic about what they might be willing to pack along on a small hike. They also have small first-aid kits separately, so there isn't first aid gear in these PSKs.
I tried to focus on fire and shelter, water, and signalling... I believe these would be the priorities for them if caught out in our climate. I feel that the ranked priorities are:
1. First aid - address immediate threats to well-being caused by injuries, the most pressing of which would be airway and bleeding issues.
2. Thermoregulation - ie. maintain core temperature. In my climate that will be prevention of hypothermia; in other parts of the world this might be trying to seek shade and keep cool. Fire and shelter will address this, but circumstances may dictate which should be focused on first
3. Water
4. Signalling
5. Food
I provided them with:
- a 5x8 Siltarp. I attached a 10 ft length of paracord to the 4 corners, as I have found it handy to have pre-attached rope to get things started on the setup
- a "Prepared to Survive" DVD, featuring Doug Ritter. I was impressed by the quality of material in this DVD, and the fact that it's fairly succinct. This would be something for them to view at home, to help consolidate an approach to a survival situation
- a belt pouch (a Baby Utili-shingle pocket from Emdom)(Edit: I'll add a small Photon light in addition to the whistle):
- Pouch contents include 33 ft of blaze orange paracord (can also be used to mark trail); an Adventure Medical Kits Heatsheet blanket; the instructions from the Adventure Medical Kits pocket survival kit; and some gear in the tin that comes with the Ritter RSK Mk5:
The kit contents are below. There are ten NATO matches with striker strips, a firesteel and Super Striker from GoingGear, 4 Tinder Quick, duct tape, signal mirror, Ritter RSK Mk5 (I used a strip of cardboard rather than a sheath due to space reasons; the hope is this blade won't be seeing much or any use), 8 tablets of Micropur water purification tabs, small compass. As I mentioned, a small First Aid kit is separate:
Thought I'd show what I've set my three kids (actually now young adults) up with. They've had a fair amount of time canoeing and remote camping, since that's pretty much all we do for holidays since they were little. As they're starting to leave home and head out on their own, it seems important that I set them up with some small portable kits that they will be able to have with them on all outings, including day hikes. I've spent so much more time learning about this topic (thanks to this great forum :thumbup
than they will likely ever do... it would be terrible not to try to pass on what I can to the kids.I realize this kit isn't comprehensive, but I tried to be realistic about what they might be willing to pack along on a small hike. They also have small first-aid kits separately, so there isn't first aid gear in these PSKs.
I tried to focus on fire and shelter, water, and signalling... I believe these would be the priorities for them if caught out in our climate. I feel that the ranked priorities are:
1. First aid - address immediate threats to well-being caused by injuries, the most pressing of which would be airway and bleeding issues.
2. Thermoregulation - ie. maintain core temperature. In my climate that will be prevention of hypothermia; in other parts of the world this might be trying to seek shade and keep cool. Fire and shelter will address this, but circumstances may dictate which should be focused on first
3. Water
4. Signalling
5. Food
I provided them with:
- a 5x8 Siltarp. I attached a 10 ft length of paracord to the 4 corners, as I have found it handy to have pre-attached rope to get things started on the setup
- a "Prepared to Survive" DVD, featuring Doug Ritter. I was impressed by the quality of material in this DVD, and the fact that it's fairly succinct. This would be something for them to view at home, to help consolidate an approach to a survival situation
- a belt pouch (a Baby Utili-shingle pocket from Emdom)(Edit: I'll add a small Photon light in addition to the whistle):
- Pouch contents include 33 ft of blaze orange paracord (can also be used to mark trail); an Adventure Medical Kits Heatsheet blanket; the instructions from the Adventure Medical Kits pocket survival kit; and some gear in the tin that comes with the Ritter RSK Mk5:
The kit contents are below. There are ten NATO matches with striker strips, a firesteel and Super Striker from GoingGear, 4 Tinder Quick, duct tape, signal mirror, Ritter RSK Mk5 (I used a strip of cardboard rather than a sheath due to space reasons; the hope is this blade won't be seeing much or any use), 8 tablets of Micropur water purification tabs, small compass. As I mentioned, a small First Aid kit is separate:
Last edited:
