The unskilled survival kit

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shipwreck

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Hey guys, I keep having this idea in my mind of designing a kit that is as much as possible unrelated to possesing survival skills.

Help me out with ways of providing the basics of survival with the most expedient items that require the absolute lowest level of skill to utilize.

I have in mind your girlfriend, lost in the woods on a winter night with precipitation falling. Ok my girlfriend, then, someone with some common sense but almost no wood craft at all.

Let's set some limits on size, the kit can only be as large as a fanny pack. In your opinion what items do we include that will get that girl through the night and alive the next morning. And let's agree that the cell phone doesnt have a signal.

So what would you put into this kit? to cover the basics needs of a person in the above scenario? How easy could you make it for them?

Late Edit: (at the request of posters, Ive included this note here at the begining to let you know that to view the completed list you need to go to the later part of the thread, this thread is somewhat lengthy and you will be able to see how the list evolved over time)
 
an esbit stove or a sterno cooler from a catering store and a bic in a waterproof container would handle fire, a tube tent is pretty idiot proof tie string to 2 structures and done...if there is no structures you can still climb in side, a whistle an led flashlight...a can of pepper spray..some power bars a pre made fak a sak huntsman....(scissors and a saw and still pocketable)and a nalgene full of fresh water...and metal cup for boiling...also some fire starter would be good...
 
Hey mjdukefan23 thanks for your reply, good stuff. I want to play the role of devils advocate, if I can. If you grab a person with no woods craft, can they start a fire with a bic lighter? can they start a fire on a wet night? Would they know how to use the iodine tablets?, what would they put the water in? What about the rain or snow falling on them? is the space blanket enough?

Take a person you know and care about that posses no understanding of woods craft and little familiarity with the woods even but you have the chance to pack a fanny pack for them to get them through a winter night until they can be found. What would you put into it.
 
RescueRiley said:
an esbit stove or a sterno cooler from a catering store and a bic in a waterproof container would handle fire, a tube tent is pretty idiot proof tie string to 2 structures and done...if there is no structures you can still climb in side, a whistle an led flashlight...a can of pepper spray..some power bars a pre made fak a sak huntsman....(scissors and a saw and still pocketable)and a nalgene full of fresh water...and metal cup for boiling...also some fire starter would be good...
Click to expand...

I think this is getting closer toward the goal. Im still wondering about getting the fire started with what we have here. The tube tent without a space blanket wont be enough to keep them from dying of exposure without fire I think.
 
bic lighter or a zippo is a pretty safe bet... you cpuld throu w a space blanket in the tube tent but unless they get naked it's not going to be usfull and if my wife was lost without me I doubt she'd strip down for the night...maybe some type of ultra light blanket or sleeping bag the jungle sleeping bag sold on bepreparedtosurvive.com is a little pricey but'd fit in a fanny pack easy, it's good to 40 degrees F I think but with a liner and clothes on that'll ass another 20 on... road flares are pretty easy and simple way to get a fire going...If you'll have some sort of stove...even a bsa hotspark is really easy to sstart a burner with...
 
A whistle and a nice index card with the words written on.

DO NOT AIMLESSLY WALK IN CIRCLES. THINK ABOUT THE LAST PERSON YOU TOLD ABOUT YOUR TRIP PLAN. THINK ABOUT THE TIME LINE THAT THEY WILL DETERMINE THAT SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG AND WHO THEY WOULD CALL FOR HELP

STAY PUT AND BUILD A BASE CAMP. CONCENTRATE ON MAKING A SHELTER. USE ANYTHING IN YOUR PACK TO MAKE YOUR SHELTER WIND PROOF AND IF POSSIBLE RAINPROOF. BLOW ON YOUR WHISTLE THREE TIMES ONCE EVERY HOUR. IF YOU NEED TO, SECURE A SOURCE OF WATER AND BUILD A FIRE WITH THE ENCLOSED SAFETY ITEMS. PURIFY YOUR WATER BEFORE DRINKING IT (SEE INSTRUCTIONS). KEEP YOUR FIRE SMALL AND MANAGEABLE.

A nalgene bottle and water purification tablets with instructions enclosed.
 
You can get emergency bivy sacks (think space blanket made into a bag with a tough outer layer which is orange, Adventure Medical makes them) and they compact smaller than a fist. A glowstick or two (LED lights are good but fear of the dark might set in and they will want light on all of the time), maybe one of those crank LED/Radio things.
 
Yes, now we are getting into some good ideas, with the last post by rescue riley and kgd's index card, and also the sunshaker's points about the flash light and radio. I think the bivy sacks or possibly a the heavy duty hooded space blanket may actually be better than a tube tent in this scenario because it is so intuitive and expedient.

I still think we can do better with fire and heat. If possible I would like to boil this finally down to a list where there is a consesus of opinion about best gear to keep the unskilled person alive for the night. we have as much as a fanny pack will hold to work with.
 
Hmm, I agree that someone completely unskilled will struggle to light a fire even with a bic. And if they did, I would worry about them setting their plastic survival bag/blanket on fire when they sit too close or fall asleep. I'm paranoid and think the worst though...

Plus, if it's cold enough the bic won't work and they might not know to put it next to their skin for warmth. Use a zippo or good lifeboat matches.

I once saw some 'survival cards' somewhere; don't recall where. They had basic instructions on laminated cards. What to do if lost; how lo light a fire; how to signal for rescue etc. Brilliant idea! You could even make your own...

I think these cards, along with some directly related kit would be highly beneficial. Don't forget a light source (LED with primary lithium cell for a full night's use) so they can read the cards when it gets dark.

Be careful with iodine - many people (esp. women) are sensitive to it. Chlorine dioxide is better and safer.

The metal cup is good, and something to make a brew or two with (great moral booster). Some instant coffee/sugar/creamer sachets or whatever, and a good energy bar like kendal mint cake. I know they would live without it, but again it's a great moral booster for the inexperienced. It also allows the body to generate heat.
 
+ 1 on the road flare :thumbup:

ADD:
> large candle
> fatwood
> picture of a fire lay
> whistle instructions on that card
> watch cap
 
Yes foxyrick, I think the fire is possibly beyond, what for instance, my girlfriend could accomplish with a bic or a zippo. I think the idea of large cards, maybe with illustrations is exellent. And they could be attached to each gear item that provides for each survival need. Again I think those gear items need to be utterly simple and intuitive.
 
Ok, so the card idea with illustrations seems to be a winner and there is a consensus on that. Let's see if we can get it down to a list we can agree on. And we'll agree that there will be a card attached to every item. Possible the kit will be layered in order of how we would want the survivor to use the items.
 
I'd include some strong and lightweight twine; it's useful in any number of applications, particularly in shelter-building.
 
Yes but jack if you told my girlfriend to build a shelter she wouldnt have any idea, in other words we want the gear to do it all for her(the archetypical bewildered unskilled person) So Im trying to avoid them having to do too much building
 
Instructions for the tube tent need to emphasize correct orientation vs. the wind. Otherwise, it's a wind tunnel. Maybe some clips to close the ends somewhat?
 
Ok let me give this a shot. My clueless girlfriend is going to have to spend a night in the woods in winter it's below freezing and a mixture of snow and rain is falling, there is a strong wind. I have the chance to pack only a fanny pack for her.

In layers ,and with an instruction card for each, into the fanny pack goes:

Kgd's "dont panic instructions"
whistle plus instructions
a heavy duty hooded space blanket.
a watch cap
a tarp.

card with fire making instructions including picture of fire lay
a road flare
large candle
fatwood
a bic lighter

a bottle of water, full
a flashlight to last the night
three power bars
 
I dont know. Im not satisfied about the fire making. But it beats me. Maybe the whole fire kit comes sealed up in a big ziplock bag including bic,tinder, fatwood, candle, road flare? Us woodsman types take for granted how much skill is really involved in fire making and maintanence.

or could we give up on the fire?

I dont know?.... use pocket warmers?
 
Regarding fire, I would recommend a film container filled with petroleum jelly coated (not saturated) cotton balls. Pull one out, and light it with a spark source, lighter, match, etc. They will burn hot for five minutes, in wind and rain! This is how my son, then ten, was able to start his first real fire. (When we go camping, he always makes up a batch, since he is in charge of starting the fire.)

Signaling for help is also important. A whistle (three of anything is a signal of distress) and mirror are good additions, as well as some flagging tape for marking your camp to make it super visible.

Spud
 
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