Help Lynn build Personal Survival Kits

[ThePeacent]

The problem with filters is they are either bulky, or expensive, or both. A Life Straw might not cost much or be too large. I'd consider it.

Still... that's more money. Trying (in vain) to keep cost down on these.

Personal Survival and cheap do not often go together and end up well 

[Don Pablo]

The problem with filters is they are either bulky, or expensive, or both. A Life Straw might not cost much or be too large. I'd consider it.

Still... that's more money. Trying (in vain) to keep cost down on these.

Understandably, you could add some cheap paper filter (coffee filter), that would at least get rid of a lot of the murky stuff.

Then you can add the bleach afterwards. 
At least you shouldn’t get BAD poisoning.

[styx]

The problem with filters is they are either bulky, or expensive, or both. A Life Straw might not cost much or be too large. I'd consider it.

Still... that's more money. Trying (in vain) to keep cost down on these.

Personal Survival and cheap do not often go together and end up well 

oh come on, what could go wrong with that? next you'll be telling us that 99 cent sushi from a gas station might not be the best idea

[Lynn LeFey]

On water purification. 

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/drinking/Backcountry_Water_Treatment.pdf

So, this took me a while to read up on, because the governement ALSO recommends using bleach for water disinfection HERE...
https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water

So the question THEN became, is bleach any good at killing Cryptopsporidium. To which the answer is ...No. To the order of 'essentially totally ineffective'. I'd looked at a LOT of stuff on water disinfection, and your post was the first thing I'd seen on bleach not working on crypto, so thanks for that. 

Maybe unrelated, but maybe somewhat related, and partially in response to coffee filters. Yes, those are easy to pack along, very cheap, and have a number of possible uses. I've talked a bit about flocculation before, which can be done with readily available alum from most grocery stores, but I found flucculation first makes FILTERING way more effective, because all of the particles causing turbidity. (clowdiness) are filtered out WAY better if clumped together from flocculation first.

What I HAD been carrying for small-size water purification is Chlor-floc. As in 'Chlorination/Flocculation'. WTF? This is the stuff issued to troops and it doesn't kill f'ing Cryptosproridium?

Well... see? THIS is why it's best to have a lot of people look things over. You learn something new, and hopefully don't die from crapping yourself to death.

[styx]

On water purification. 

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/drinking/Backcountry_Water_Treatment.pdf

So, this took me a while to read up on, because the governement ALSO recommends using bleach for water disinfection HERE...
https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water

So the question THEN became, is bleach any good at killing Cryptopsporidium. To which the answer is ...No. To the order of 'essentially totally ineffective'. I'd looked at a LOT of stuff on water disinfection, and your post was the first thing I'd seen on bleach not working on crypto, so thanks for that. 

Maybe unrelated, but maybe somewhat related, and partially in response to coffee filters. Yes, those are easy to pack along, very cheap, and have a number of possible uses. I've talked a bit about flocculation before, which can be done with readily available alum from most grocery stores, but I found flucculation first makes FILTERING way more effective, because all of the particles causing turbidity. (clowdiness) are filtered out WAY better if clumped together from flocculation first.

What I HAD been carrying for small-size water purification is Chlor-floc. As in 'Chlorination/Flocculation'. WTF? This is the stuff issued to troops and it doesn't kill f'ing Cryptosproridium?

Well... see? THIS is why it's best to have a lot of people look things over. You learn something new, and hopefully don't die from crapping yourself to death.

still might happen. just imagine a grizzly rushes you and then crypto in the water won't matter much
but yes you've got a point and i'm as usual going way out of context

[Lynn LeFey]

still might happen. just imagine a grizzly rushes you and then crypto in the water won't matter much
but yes you've got a point and i'm as usual going way out of context

What? An MT.O thread going off topic?!? Noooooooo! 

I'd be more likely to crush a piece of coal in my butt into a diamond than poo myself with a grizzly attack.

Actually, I'd just calmly and logically explain that I'm nowhere NEAR its natural range. Hurry on North there, big fella! 

[Alan K.]

Of course that will work because charging brown bears have long been known for being reasonable and thoughtful, and, some would even say polite.  Especially the Canadian ones.
 

[Choozoo]

Shelter.  I'm not making a lean-to or debris hut not if I'm hurt especially.  A simple tarp with space blanket with appropriate cordage.

This.

As you've already mentioned the greatest danger is exposure to the elements. Shelter is absolutely essential. At the very least consider a 55 gallon or larger trash bag. They have endless uses (LINK)...raingear, shelter, ground insulation when stuffed with leaves/ground duff etc etc. Combine it with a small tealight candle and you have a personal heated shelter aka a Palmer Furnace.

How are you planning on dealing with conductive heat loss through the ground?

Don't forget that knowledge/skill is more important than gear. Make sure you spend time setting up & using everything in your kit BEFORE you need it.

hiraethus may have been joking about the 'fancy handkerchief', but the fact that most cultures have a traditional scarf/shawl that is essentially just a large square of fabric should give an idea of just how versatile such an item can be. The Shemagh, Tagelmust, khăn rằn, Lliclla/Manta, Bandanna/Wild Rag and so on. Even the modern neck tie is descended from the cravat which was nothing more than a piece of cloth worn around the neck by Croatian soldiers. So yeah go down to the local fabric store and find an appropriate piece of cloth that is 3-4' square.

[Lynn LeFey]

At the very least consider a 55 gallon or larger trash bag.

I know all about the ultra-mystical powers of the 55 gallon trash bag, and... no. I don't want that to sound too harsh but i have my reasons.

Several points.
A 55 gallon trash bag, rolled about as tight as it can get is still... HUGE. about a half liter in volume.
Second, they are massive overkill.
Third, if you can stuff them with leaves and such, you can ALSO just make a pile of that stuff, use a poncho on top as vapor barrier (if that's even needed), then use a survival blanket on top of that.

So, due to space issues and redundancy, I'm passing on it. But I appreciate that it came up.

Next thing... back to water.

I scrapped the chlorine in favor of ... well... a different kind of chlorine, I guess, but one that kills cryptosporidium. Katadyn Micropur MP1 water purification tablets. I'm still trying to figure out a cheap, compact, collapsible water container.

Some minor progress...

[styx]

how inexpensive do you want to go? thewatercottlestore.com has some collapsible options from multiple companies but any decent size is over $10
Vapour and Nalgene are generally more expensive because of their brand name, Aquatina falls into the category of good luck finding them if they even fit what you're looking for and HydraPak might be too much of a compromise (lower volume and not as compact as other options)

[Lynn LeFey]

how inexpensive do you want to go?

Well... understand that at the moment, I'm considering a quart-sized ziplock freezer bag, if that puts the price range into perspective. 

[styx]

how inexpensive do you want to go?

Well... understand that at the moment, I'm considering a quart-sized ziplock freezer bag, if that puts the price range into perspective. 

Hmm, maybe it could be done if you could find some sort of a nozzle and an end cap that could be mounted to a freezer bag effectively making something similar to the Platypus bags

[Boonies]

Lynn....these work well, are reasonably puncture resistant and can be rolled up into a tight tube that will fit in your kit.  I think he has larger quantities for auction also.

https://m.ebay.com/itm/3-Whirl-Pak-1-Liter-Stand-up-Bags-Emergency-Water-Collection-for-Survival-Kit/331348527510?epid=20012035665&hash=item4d25e94996:g:G3kAAOSw~bFWLsCC

The “Hot Beverage” bag out of a MRE is also a possibility......

[Aloha]

Lynn, glad the water info helped.  Heres a bit more to read.   
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/resources/childcare_outbreak.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/gen_info/filters.html

Looks like filtration is recommended and is widely accepted as the first step followed by chemical in many cases.  I have a Lifestraw and LifestrawGo bottle.  My daughter got me the Lifestraw which she purchased on sale. 

The Lifestraw is on sale now $15 from Amzn.     





 

[kmanct3]

The problem with filters is they are either bulky, or expensive, or both. A Life Straw might not cost much or be too large. I'd consider it.

Still... that's more money. Trying (in vain) to keep cost down on these.

   +1 for the Lifestraw

[Old man Chris]

Mmmm... not sure you read that first post. I have the pouches already. Thanks for the input, though. 

I'll check out those bottles. EDIT: The Walmart one looks within reasonable price. I'll have to look more.

On water sanitization. There are tablets, but they expire within short order and are fairly pricey. While Chlorine also expires, it's extremely inexpensive to replace. Part of my thinking for that over the tablets.

Look into iodine crystals , any compounding pharmacy can supply them , and a 25 ml screw capped bottle. pour water into bottle , swizzle it until it becomes funky looking , pour funky water into suspect water . Very long shelf life , if you dry out crystals after use .

Hope that helps ,

Chris

[Smashie]

Another alternative to chlorine is Potassium Permanganate, it has several uses other than water purification as well