When and what have you used from a survival kit?

I've been trying this stuff a lot, since I'm training now to become a survival instructor.

I've found that the most important stuff is :

- A large (I mean large) knife for chopping. A machete is great. You make just about everything with this one, from cutting wood for fire, etc. You also can use the big knife for light work. A small knife for hard work, though, is not good.

- Fire. A few Bics are just fine.

- Small mess kit/casserole. Useful for boiling water, cooking, eating, collecting fruits, etc.

- Fishing stuff. Hooks (many), line, and such.

- Thin white metal wire (for snares, traps, etc.).

- 9x5 nylon tarp.

- 550 Paracord. Useful for many things... I never used more than 30 feet of it. Probably always less than that.

- Space blankets (don't bring just one... they tear apart and wear down fast. With two, you can sleep in one and use the other to refect heat from your fire. With three, you can make a shelter lining too. I now often end up bringing up to 4 or 5 with me. A lot of comfort in a tight package. But don't dream, they will let you plenty of time, in colder nights, to remember how nice it is to sleep in a good sleeping bag ;^)

- A smaller knife (large folder or small fixed), useful for precision tasks.

- 2-3 large garbage bags (great for carrying stuff, water, etc.).

- I've used a few cyalume sticks to attract fish at night. Worked well, but there was not a lot of fish... I suppose that a flashlight or even just fire would work too. Never tried. Otherwise, light is not *that* useful... I can help you save time/working at night, but that's it.

Cheers,

David
 
89-97 with scouts canada(2-3 trips a year, a week at a time, groups of 3 with nothing but a backpack each for gear)... spring 96-winter 02 with Air Cadets(2 trips a year, friday supper to sunday dusk, groups of 4-5 with nothing but what you can hike into the bush 3+ miles.

the essentials, from my experience:

long post...

WATER: each person, either h20 treatment supplies and patience for collection, or 1-2l per day for water, depends on actvities. obviously the week long trips we had backup water if you wanted to hike 4-5miles out to the cars, but usually had water for 3-4 days and by then started working on the collection points that had been going since day 1.

FIRE: 1 match fires are easy, if you have dry tinder. I usually carried a primer, such as a can of zippo fuel. I have learned 5min bonfires(6' high of fire), so a 5min cooking/warmth fire is simple. out on your own, fire is your friend... only put it out if you are leaving camp, otherwise keep it going(saves matches and tinder). I carry at least 3 methods. waterproof matches(box or 2), normal sized bics(2-3), flint and steel things from the scout-shop($5 and keychain size, hacksaw type of striker).

SHELTER: I can do a nice house type shelter in 2 days of relaxed buiding, a rather solid leantoo from branches(and dry durung a rain) in about 3hrs myself. Still prefer to take a small utility tarp or a chunk of 4mm plastic(construction stuff) around 12'x15'), small enough to stuff in your pack and still light. plastic is lighter by far. I build fireblocks to reflect heat back with branches about 4-5' other side of the fire.

FOOD: I'll eat grubs, berries, plants... and the jerky, buns and cheese that I have in my pack. I'm not a fish person, though I will eat it I'll not go out of my way to depend on fish.

OTHER GEAR:
*50-100' of 1/4" cotton braided rope is more than enough. I have 8 strand stuff(1/4") here that I can hoist myself into a tree with. ran me about $15 for 100 feet).
*modifed axe. 3lbs head on a 18" handle. Will do most of the chopping you'll find.
*machete. not as useful as the modified axe, but will do firewood when the axe isn't the safest to swing.
*pot: old coffee can, use a metal coathanger for the handle. Will boil water, will cook supper(soup or fried). for eating out of buy tupperware.
*compass: buy the military ones, glowing face on them, mirror(can use to signal if needed). well worth it.
*flashlight: night orienteering can be a blast. military 90deg "elbow" lights are great. 50-60hrs on a set of batts, and changeable filters. always carry a spare light though, even if just to find the spare batts and bulb for the main.
*breakdown saw. if you can swing the axe, the saw isn't as useful. though there are times you can't swing.
*firstaid kit should be able to handle a pretty wide variety of tasks. around here snakes aren't a concern, though bears and other critters are. Burn cream(I use aloe vera gel, 99% pure), gauze wraps, tensor bandages, moleskin, and assorted bandaids do most of the work. also have lots of cleaning stuff and pian killer.
*bbq fork is useful for open fire cooking.

BACKPACK: As I said, I've hiked a fair distance with my main pack on. I tend to carry a 30-40lbs total. As soon as camp is up, I change to a smaller 5-10lbs pack.
 
A while back I took my daughter out for a two night trip on a mountain near here. We hiked up to our campsite and there was a small spring just above us. It was pretty cool to have running water there as much of the area is like a desert. Anyway, we filled our water containers and when I got the Potable Aqua from my canteen cover I discovered I only had 8 tablets! It was enough to treat the water but there was nothing extra to treat it with apart from boiling.

Later that evening I remembered that I had a small packet of Potassium Permanganate in my wallet. It turned out I didn't need it...

Two weeks later I had to go out to a small rural village and spend two days out there. I brought my "PSK" which is actually a small belt pouch filled with stuff that makes like easier in the third world. I went to treat my water and discovered that I hadn't replaced the Potable Aqua that I had transferred to my canteen cover! (I'm a busy man, give me a break!) This time I broke out the Potassium Permanganate and it worked as advertised. Mac
 
brought my "PSK" which is actually a small belt pouch filled with stuff that makes like easier in the third world.
Click to expand...

Cool -- what's in the PSK kit?

-- Dizos
 
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