The unskilled survival kit

FLIX said:
This kit is quickly becomming way too large to expect a noob to carry. I like the instruction card idea, but it seems thsi is getting carried away. Spools of twine and paracord? A tarp and a hooded (?) space blanket? FIVE chocolate bars? An Esbit Stove? I'm afraid this is becomming a "Dream List" of what you wish your girlfriend had with her if ever stranded. You might soon be editing the list to add a double bit axe and instructions on building a log cabin! :D

A tarp requiers skills to make an effective shelter. Space blankets are hard to use even with skills. I can't tell you how many people I've handed a lockback folder to who either couldn't figure out how to open it or how to close it. A SAK might be better.

I like the idea of the blaze orange watch cap and the whistle. A lightstick isn't the most effective light source, but it may be best for this scenario. Since LED micro lites don't really take up any space, it might be worth including one of these as well. Seems to me a couple of orange contractors bags would suffice for a night or two's shelter and have signalling value. A couple of chemical hand warmers would make keeping the person's core temp up easier, and a sealed mylar bag of water wouldn't be casually drunk by the person prior to the crisis. If water purification is an absolute must, then one of those water bottles with a filter strraw built in seems much easier. Throw in a couple of tootsie rolls and call it good.

As with any kits we discuss, climate and season could suggest items.

Sorry if I'm comming across grouchy. I've just spent the past couple of days freezing my butt off being humiliated by mulies!

-- FLIX
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What do others think? do we need to start subtracting items to lighten the load? Anyone else the lockback should be a SAK? Can we keep the sterno can? What about flashlight model? and lightweight suggestions?
 
Please excuse me if I read the thread incorrectly......

But isn't one of the main priorities in a survival emergency situation is to be found as soon as possible.

With this in mind, and taking into account that the person in the situation has no or little experience...............

Then wouldn't be the best item to carry be an EPIRB

http://www.ja-gps.com.au/epirb.html
 
shipwreck said:
Signals group:
instruction card for signaling stating: .

"Blow the whistle consistantly at whatever rate is comfortable without becoming winded or tiring yourself out. Listen for replys. If you hear something increase the amount."

"Make your camp easy to find. Tie multiple long flags of tape where they can be seen from every direction. Attach long strips on a branch (eye level) They will attract more attention when they blow in the breeze. Mark your campsite in a big circle 100 steps out."
A Whistle
Trailmarker tape


Hypothermia prevention group:
instruction card for preventing hypothermia
a heavy duty hooded space blanket.
a watch cap and mittens.
chem heating pads
a tarp.

Fire making group:
card with fire making instructions including pictures.
large candle
a bic lighter
2 or 3 trioxane bars
sterno/esbit stove

Hydration and Energy Group:
card with instructions
a bottle of water, full
a flashlight to last the night
five chocolate bars
hot chocolate mix and tin cup to go with the sterno can.

Tools Group:
card with instructions
a small lockback knife
spool of paracord.
spool of twine
Click to expand...

Got a couple suggestions - an AMK Heatsheet - it even has instructions printed on it. I carry the 2-person version since it's a space blanket that'll hold up better than your average sheet of mylar. I've no idea if the instructions are any good but I suppose they're okay.

I'd add socks in a ziploc bag to the hat and mittens. Step in a cold creek and an extra pair of socks can be a real blessing.

Maybe two bic lighters in case the first one fails for some odd reason.

As far as lightening the load - sure, it'd be nice. But if there aren't skills to replace the gear, then the gear is needed. If you can't construct an adequate shelter from materials you find, you've got to have a tarp or something else to keep wind and precipitation away. Coated nylon tarps can easily fit in a fannypack - or a tube tent.

I'd definitely add micropur tabs, or iodine tabs, or a survival straw - something to make potable water. If a fire can't be started you've still got to stay hydrated. Electrolyte add-ins (like eletewater) might be something to consider as well. A few basic first aid items should be included. Injury is a likely cause for a survival situation and some analgesics can help take the edge off the pain.

The most important thing for someone unskilled (or skilled for that matter) is proper clothing for the environment. Waterproof/breathable laminate (goretex) shell, synthetic base layer, fleece for the core.

EDIT: And a compass! Even if a person has zero orienteering skills, a compass can keep you headed in the same direction.
 
rayfloro said:
Please excuse me if I read the thread incorrectly......

But isn't one of the main priorities in a survival emergency situation is to be found as soon as possible.

With this in mind, and taking into account that the person in the situation has no or little experience...............

Then wouldn't be the best item to carry be an EPIRB

http://www.ja-gps.com.au/epirb.html
Click to expand...


Duh! THat occurred to me last night after I went to bed!

-- FLIX
 
List still looks great to me, kind of tempting to duplicate it and go out in the woods for a weekend to test it out. The only difference would be my knife and I have those iodine tabs.

I would still put my vote in for some kind of med kit. Maybe some of those big gauze pads, light as a feather and as thin as paper, but cover up almost any cut or abbrasion. You could use the tape as mentioned above to use for the gauze pads as well. This would spare the bandana for water purposes.
 
A tarp and a hooded (?) space blanket?...Space blankets are hard to use even with skills.
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I assumed we were talking about the heavy duty space blankets with a hood and pockets in the corners you can stick your hands into to wrap the thing around you. Those are much sturdier than those worthless Mylar sheet space blankets. They are bulky, though.

In my small kits I used the AMK 2 Person Emergency Survival Blankets - (60" X 96"). They were originally developed to distribute to disaster victims and only later came onto the American market. They are a larger than the mylar space blankets, but a lot more compact than the thick space blankets. I also find room for a bright yellow heavy duty garbage bag.
 
I can’t figure out how to edit. In the last entry, by bulky or compact I mean the space the things take when folded for packing in the kit.
 
texastonydobbs said:
spend more time with G/F in the woods,teach her basics... great thread though.....
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... and when you take her out in the woods, give her this kit. That way if you die she's not boned.

Some people just have no interest in bushcraft, also, as inexplicable as that is. It's a lot easier to make someone take a kit than make them learn.

The kit would be a good place to start teaching bushcraft too. After all, you have the easiest to use and most effective things that you most need... Then you can go from there to learning other things like using a firesteel once they know how to build a fire.
 
agree with akennedy73 re: socks, spare lighter and compass. I was also thinking about survival straws.

I'd like to see this kit; to see how(if) it fits into a nicely sized/weighted pack.

rayfloro: yes, probably, but what if SAR is not alerted and the person *has* to survive for a day or two? I'd feel better knowing I or my SO had some kit (and something to occupy their time) while *also* being as visible to SAR as possible. Let's not put all our eggs in one basket here!
 
Shipwreck, I think this is a useful thread. I can see the value of having a "Survival for Dummies" kit laid out. We often talk about kits for ourselves and the requisite skills necessary. Here, the scenario was creating a kit for someone without either specic survival knowledge or even necessarily any outdoors skills. I think that is tough for this group, given our level of obsession :).

The positive brainstorming went very well. I get very frustrated when early on in the creative process some naysayer comes along and pisses all over it with "That'll never work!" To the extent my post had that effect, I'm sorry.

To paraphrase Doc, a total ignoramus has no business out in the woods, and to the extent possible, we should educate those we love or dissuade them from putting themselves in danger. That being said, to get the most out of this exercise, we need to withold our impulse to just say, "educate them" and process what items would be of most use to such a person stuck out overnight.

-- FLIX
 
This also makes decent BOB content sense. While my wife and kids may not go out and get stuck in the woods, should they need to get the heck out, so to speak, and I am traveling for work, this kind of info could be invaluable to someone like me wanting to prep my family on what to do, and what to take with them should a situation causes them to get away from where we live.

Outstanding thread!!
 
YES! Darn you "Idea" guys! *says while crying out loud* I'm going to go make my own thread because my kit is better than yours! :jerkit:

This thread was made as a way to get a "good" and "realistic" list of items going for an uneducated person in the wilderness. We all have "OUR" kits which we all know only WE can use because it is customized for us. This thread was made for finding a list of things for a general audience who has no outdoor background. I have a kit too, so I put in my .02 about the gauze pads, what about your contribution bearbutt?


(not actually mad, but sounds better imagining that I am. lol)
 
Hey guys lets not lose the point of this thread. I dont think anyone of us can make a kit that even a fool cant foul up. Its something that a person with some common sence would use to make do for the 2-3 day it would take to find them. And hopfully they can make it easier for the SAR guys to do there job. I dont know about you but i picked up a few pointers for my self too. We do have lots of kit pics and i must admite i like to see them But this thread is GOOD. Cause its not for someone that thinks about it alot like we all do.

Sasha
 
Flagging tape should be used so you can see the next marker clearly no further. Attaching long strips on a branch (eye level) attracts more attention when it blows in the breeze. Mark your campsite in a big circle 100 steps out from center using strips. You can write notes and information on the strips to help searchers find you.
Click to expand...

I like that Skammer. Yours has better details for the unschooled than mine did.
 
That tape idea im going to go for too. Maybe not carry the big roll but take some with me and make sure i can leave a note on it too. Must be the best way to help people find you. I just dont know why Skammer never told us about it before... ^L* ...........

Sasha
 
I always keep a good amount of the tape by wrapping simple items like a Bic in it. It makes the item more visible and you always have spares.
 
Sorry guys been busy.

About the water boiling. It is on the net just bringing it to a boil but cant bother to look for it. I teach it in my courses. A friend of mine (also a SAR type) is a Phd in micro biology and he confirmed that ALL DNA is detroyed below the boiling point. As we all know every living thing is made of DNA so nothing will survive bringing water to a rolling boil.

The flagging tape idea has come out of SAR operations as SAR teams mark their start and end points on flag lines they run with sharpie H2O proof markers.
We put info like what team tasking number we are, the beiring, the time, info for the
lost person if they should run into it etc... The same can be done by someone else lost or not. Just make sure you use a waterproof pen or marker.

We find some people by following their litter, candy wrappers or cig buts etc...anything can be used to mark your direction. We look for clues not the person as their are 1000's of clues but only one person.

Skam
 
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