What are some of the more unusual items you have in your survival kits ?

I keep a small roll of hockey tape. It holds gauze down better than surgical tape, can hold a clean cut closed tight enough that gauze isn't usually needed, but comes off of skin without yanking too many hairs. I've also used it over my socks to prevent blisters if my boots start giving me hot spots and I once used it to hold the sole of my boot to the upper after I kept my feet to close to the fire. Held up for 1/2 a day of hiking.

HH
 
racegunner said:
That's the funniest thing I've seen around here in a while...a survivalist actually carrying Altoids in an Altoids tin! Don't you realize someone probably makes a titanium cylinder to carry those things?
Leave the Altoids tin for serious gear :)

I carry finger nail clippers. I don't think I've ever seen anyone include those before...
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I carry finger nail clippers too, but I have the larger toenail size ones, they are from the fishing department of wally world...Berkely fishing clippers. they have a small knife blade, hook sharpener, clippers (of course LOL) and a lanyard hole. more functional then a regular pair of clippers. I am a freak about having things with multiple uses. I demand maximum useage from every ounce.





The one thing I carry that I have never seen anyone else have is.....drumroll please...........a Forklift/Heavy Equipment key. It can be used for a staggering array of vehicles. I don't condone stealing, but in a true survival/emergency situation it might be handy to be able to quickly start a loader/fork-lift/bobcat/dozer.

I also have a Sill-Cock key in my kit for urban enviroments...it is the T-handle brass ''key'' used to open public building/store's water outside water faucets...The ones located in say a box store's garden centers, the ones that don't have a faucet handle. In a urban emergency, it can get you water.
 
thrillbilly said:
The one thing I carry that I have never seen anyone else have is.....drumroll please...........a Forklift/Heavy Equipment key. It can be used for a staggering array of vehicles. I don't condone stealing, but in a true survival/emergency situation it might be handy to be able to quickly start a loader/fork-lift/bobcat/dozer.
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Post a picture of it. My keys tend to be universal keys...because they're not keys anyway. :D

I also have a Sill-Cock key in my kit for urban enviroments...it is the T-handle brass ''key'' used to open public building/store's water outside water faucets...The ones located in say a box store's garden centers, the ones that don't have a faucet handle. In a urban emergency, it can get you water.
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Yeah, forget about picks and bypass tools, I watched discussions on Sillcock Keys on two different forums devolve into other members saying that they would shoot anyone they found using them. Because, well, you know, stealing is stealing. Reminds me of the guy who went down after Hurricane Katrina and he had a bunch of bottled water that he was selling for over $5.00 a bottle. One side said the guy made the investment and then traveled so he was legitimate and a lot of other people just thought he was an opportunistic dirtbag.
 
I try to keep a piece of jewelry (a precious stone or a bit of gold accessory) just in case I lack cash and have a hard time locating an ATM. :)
 
someone said they would shoot a person for using a LEGAL EASILY AVAILABLE TOOL to get CITY-SUPPLIED TAXPAYER FUNDED water from a Target store!!! WTF?
 
I guess that's precisely what they meant because most people, I have never seen this, don't have them on their outside spigots at home.

I have watched that type of behavior when it comes to lockpicks and some other things. I think if anything bad really happens in this country, you are going to see a lot of gun owners who fancy themselves as the old vigilantes in the west doing a lot of things they don't have any business doing. And, I'm 100% pro-gun. I don't care what people want to own, handguns, semi-auto, full-auto, suppressors, shorty shotguns, carrying concealed - I'm all for all of it and an elimination of 95% of all weapons laws in general. So, my comments should not be viewed as some type of rabid gun control freak in disguise because nothing could be further from the truth. Even in the WSS Forum in the past, the faint smell of this sort of behavior has wafted through from time to time.

I really believe if something terrible happens in this country, we are going to have a lot of problems and what a lot of people discuss as being possibilities, government internment camps and whatnot, those are going to be the least of our worries.
 
I've got a set of nail clippers, too. Goodness knows that tearing a nail because it grew out too long can put you in a world of hurt, and they come in handy for lots of other stuff too! I also have a Lenox Tri-Fold saw, which folds and accepts standard recip. saw blades and hacksaw blades. Works for wood, metal, or anything else you can buy a blade for. ;):thumbup:
 
along with my .22 ammo, i keep 2 of each of these in my bag, 12ga .410 9mm .25 .38 7.62x39 .223 .308 30-06 even tho i dont have the guns, i figure if it really was bad.. and i had to leave my home.. chances are i would run into a different gun down the road somewhere.

i should also add that i didnt go buy these bullets lol, one of my friends or family has atleast one of these and i asked them for a couple rounds.
 
I forgot one. Another I carry that I haven't seen anyone else have...is a small funnel. It weighs almost nothing, takes up a tiny ammount of space, and if I'm using time, energy and fuel to boil water, I don't want to waste any transferring it from the boil-container to the storage-container! Now this is in my full BOB, not sure if I could warrant carrying it in a small belt-bag or satchel type survival kit.
 
Funnel is a pretty good idea, especially if you have coffee filters or something to smash down in there, then you can use it as a pre-filter as well, etc.

I think the most unusual thing I have adopted for use in a kit, but have not actually placed it in one yet...I bought one though! Errah, is an aquarium net. Idea from George Jasper's "Six Ways In and Twelve Ways Out."
 
Don Rearic said:
Funnel is a pretty good idea, especially if you have coffee filters or something to smash down in there, then you can use it as a pre-filter as well, etc.

I think the most unusual thing I have adopted for use in a kit, but have not actually placed it in one yet...I bought one though! Errah, is an aquarium net. Idea from George Jasper's "Six Ways In and Twelve Ways Out."
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The lil dipper for dead fishes net? Hmmmmm, I am wracking my pea-brain for a use for that...or at least a use that would dictate carrying it thru the woods.








...OK I give up, what is your intended purpose for it? I hope this is good LOL
 
"And one other unusual piece of equipment, the net from a household fish aquarium. Just the net, cut the frame and handle off with wire cutters. Then in the field a thin green, flexible stick can be fished back through the net edges and lashed back into the shape of the original wire handle. The larger green nylon nets work well. Now you have the ability to scoop minnows and small perch from shallow areas of the water."





I have found it! my Google-Fu is strong today! (took me 6 minutes to find it and read it.)





That use is about what I figured...I was thinking a minnow net.






Lucky #100 Post for me BTW! Woot Woot.
 
an orange smoke flare for the day
small projectile flare for the night
some of that cold weather balm ... won't save my life but maybe part of my nose or ears.
reflective tape ... the surveyor's tape is great, unless the rescuers are looking at night.
In the first aid kit, a bolin chest seal for chest puncture wounds and some celox for some nasty arterial bleeding
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
an orange smoke flare for the day
small projectile flare for the night
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When I was in the USAF, I spent some time riding in the helicopters at Sea Survival School. That convinced me to forget about the smoke flare - worthless The projectile flare for night will work only if the rescuer is looking right at it when you fire it, unless you have a pretty big one. A mirror is the best day attention getter if you're in the open and you have sunlight.
 
some paper coffee filters for water filter or small basket to hold stuff.
won't leave home without nail clippers.

and an airplane sized bottle of EVERCLEAR. 190 proof alcohol, clean some wounds, light some fire, and if you get swimmers ear ( my kids do when we hit the creek) a few drops will dry it up and quiets the down. I don't drink, but you could make a cocktail if ya needed one.
 
Humm.. I don't post here very often (as you can see I'm sure) but this is a great thread for inspiring thought.

I am surprised no one has mentioned condoms? Of course you want plain latex, no "additives"... great for storing things that MUST stay dry (documents, film, fire tinder etc.) that you may happen on to. They make great tourniquets, and if you cut off the closed end they will slip over an arm, foot/calf (depending on how big a guy you are) to keep a wound dressing dry in wet environments (such as monsoon season/ rainy weather etc.). IF your careful, you can usually fit a hand in one, making a biological barrier (surgical glove). Of course surgical gloves are preferable, and cheaper for that matter, but take up a lot of room in that "altoids tin", where one condom will fit nicely.
You can of course carry some water in one, and if you support it by placing it inside of a sock, the sleeve of a shirt, or a discarded shopping bag... you can carry quite a bit of water (couple liters) in one item that takes no space at all in your kit.
Everyone knows about placing them over the muzzle of a firearm to keep moisture and dirt out of the bore.
It has been said one can start a fire with one by placing some water in it, and reflecting sunlight through it.... this can be tricky and fickle with an actual magnifying glass and I have never tried this my self...
I have seen sling-shots made with condoms for small game (I would starve to death because I can't hit a damn thing with a sling shot!)

anyway... there really are a lot of great uses for a light, tightly rolled up latex tube in a the survival world...
 
I've carried the same thing in every pack sense boy scouts, my 1980's smut catalog that I stole from my friends mom. As haggard as it is, it still get's the job done on those long lonely nights.
 
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