Personal Survival Kit; v 2.0.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

After a great deal of experimentation and soul searching, I've decided that I need to re-do my PSK.  I've decided that my main use for it will be for when I'm doing outdoors activities; hiking, camping, etc.  I want something I can keep with me so that when I'm away from my camp and/or pack (such as out gathering firewood), I'll have a small pack of essentials with me so that should I get lost or injured, I've got things to make fire, shelter, effect self-rescue, etc.  It must also be modular enough that I can toss it into anything, my hiking pack, my backpacking pack, messenger bag, etc.  I've tried using one of my MaxPed EDC organizers, but I just can't seem to make it work well that way.  So, yesterday I ordered one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LUU734/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

It's yellow to help with visibility, and has a good selection of small internal pockets for the things I'm going to be filling it with.  Hopefully it'll get here in the next few days so I can put it to good use.  I'll give a report back ASAP.

[thesuper]

looking foreward to seeing what and how you put in it mate. very cool thats its made from recycled plastic bottles 

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

My wife and I have taken some survival and outdoors skills classes through the East Bay Regional Parks District here in the bay area.  The people who taught them have done Cody Lundin's survival training classes, so the way I build it is going to be strongly influenced by that experience I've had.

I've already got a selection of items, it's just that they're living in my hiking pack right now.  Some of the stuff I'll be putting in is the following.

2, 3 mil contractor grade extra large garbage bags (for shelter)
mylar 'space' blanket (heat reflector for fire)
2, large ziplock freezer bags (water containers)
10 ft. of duct tape
disposable butane lighter
fire-steel rod
20 micropur water purification tablets
3" x 5" 50 sheet notepad
Quark Mini AA w/extra battery
BK14 neck knife
2" x 3" signal mirror
Storm whistle
20' of paracord

I also am going to be putting a small SAK or MT in, but I'm still undecided about what to choose.

But, that's it in a nutshell so far.

[Zed]

sounds like a nice set up mate, i found this on ebay,ive made something sinilar but with my kukri 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230774252291&viewitem=

plus tonys custom carrot MK1


this was the hultafors GK set up i did

kukri set up

i can add the pouch to my other kukri ,plus i made a custom firesteel that thits on the little holders on the sheath,

my favourite knife is my opinel #8, i have a leather pouch for the knife and steel,with paracord around it,

[AimlessWanderer]

I've just started down the road of upgrading my gear, and my survival kit is under review too. I'll be taking a slightly different approach I think. Here's my thinking so far ...

Shelter: Mylar space blanket, orange poly survival bag
Lights: Paklite (9v battery can be shorted out for firelighting if desperate), plus a Petzl e+lite for hands free
Fire: Exotac Nano Firestarter, butane lighter, Hammaro tinder card
Signalling: Mobile phone, mirror, Fox 40 micro (survival bag and mylar blanket can also be doubled for signalling)
Water: Filtration straw (I will be the storage container but survival bag can also double up)
Multitool: potentially a Wenger Rangergrip 90 (awaiting arrival)
First Aid Kit: Basic and lightweight
Miscellaneous: Duck tape, superglue, cordage, sewing kit, button compass

[Lynn LeFey]

I'm not going to say that the Altoids size survival kits are worthless, but I do think they're too small. I came to the conclusion that about the size you have here is what would be needed, if you want to bring any kind of shelter building supplies. So, I think your scale is dead on.

The only real suggestion I'd give is to bring some kind of hard water-container with a wide mouth opening. This would allow you to pack a great deal of material inside the bottle where it is waterproof, and have a solid water carrier when needed. I used an empty PETE peanutbutter jar (thoroughly cleaned, obviously). The opening is very large, it was made of clear plastic, and it was essentially free. It also happened to be about 1 quart/liter in size, which is the volume of water that is purified by one of my Chlor-floc packets. The clear plastic allows me to use it for SODIS (which I'd likely never need short-term). The jar isn't really water proof, just water resistant, but good enough for me. You may want a stainless steel or Nalgene bottle instead.

Just a thought.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Thanks Lynn, it's a good idea.  Hadn't really thought of that.  My main concern is keeping things small, without being too small. 

In terms of shelter building, I'm not trying to be too ambitious; In one of the courses I took we learned to use the garbage bags and duct tape with pine needles and the like to make a makeshift sleeping bag.  They can also easily be made into a poncho and rain pants if necessary, or into a tarp as well with the duct tape.  Combine that with the paracord and you can make a portable lean-to, and use the space blanket as a reflector on the inside of the tarp to help concentrate the heat from a fire into your shelter space.

For water carry, I'm deciding to go with the ziplocks because they also have multiple other uses, including keeping things dry.  In fact, I'm thinking I'll throw a couple more in as well, once I start putting it all together.

I've seen that some people put wire saws, snare lines, and the like in their kits, but that's not my goal here.  I just want something that will work for being lost or injured in the woods for a couple of nights and days.  I'm not making this for long term use, so hunting/fishing equipment isn't a priority for this kit.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Zed, nice knife!  Looks a lot like one of the CRKT Razel knives.

[jzmtl]

I had to do the garbage rain poncho once, when it started pouring while I was fishing and had no rain gear. All I'll say is try the bag on first, make sure it's actually big enough so it doesn't look like plastic spandex on you.

As for space blanket, the heat sheet stuff is a lot tougher than generic mylar type, it'll stretch instead of tear.

[Zed]

Zed, nice knife!  Looks a lot like one of the CRKT Razel knives.

cheers mate, its my prized possesion, tony took a rusty bit of metal and made this, tony is good with rust    it performs really well for a small knife and great at batterning and feathering, so all in all a usefull little knife,    ive never seen CRKT razels so looked them up, they are similar 

[Waterlander]

Hey Zed, that looks like a practical blade, like foodprep. Very nice!

[Sparky415]

 

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,27957.0.html

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Okay gang, here it is.  The pack arrived a little while ago, so I dug my gear out and did what I could to put together a kit that fits into the pack.  It is a little on the small side, but I managed to get it set up pretty much the way I had envisioned it. 

The pack:



The gear:


Contents (in no particular order):

1x 3 mil contractor grade XL garbage bag
1x mylar space blanket
Keychain compass
Keychain thermometer
Cricket adjustable disposable butane lighter
10' of duct tape
ferro-rod and striker
12x micropur water purification tablets
1x 2 liter platypus collapsable water bottle
2" x 3" signal mirror, in optical cloth sack from an old pair of sunglasses
Customized Vic Hunter
4x medium band-aids
4x small band-aids
2x finger-tip band-aids
2x knuckle band-aids
3x disposable disinfecting wipes
1x 50 sheet 3"x5" notepad
printout of essential survival tips
1x Quark Mini AA
1x extra Energizer L91 for Q-mini
20' paracord
emergency whistle

As I mentioned before, my goal for this kit is to have something small I can keep with me so that when I'm away from camp and/or my pack, I've got a small set of essentials if I get lost, injured, etc. that will hold me over for a night or two away from camp.

I expect that I'll most likely have another knife and light on me as well, but I decided I wanted to have backups of those items just in case.  The Q-mini is a twisty, so there's no switch to break, increasing its reliability and durability.  It's also small and plenty bright, and all my other gear that uses batteries use AA's, so it's the best choice for me.

I also take regular medications for existing conditions, so I will take a small pill container and put a couple of days worth of my pills and put that in there as well. 

The ferro-rod and striker are redundant with the lighter, but; we often camp and/or hike in early spring or late fall, and lighters can fail, so I want to make sure I can make fire if I'm in a situation where it'll make a real difference.

So that's it for now; let me know what you guys think.

[AimlessWanderer]

Looks good Paul  One thing I'd add is that experience has taught me to carry a bottle of superglue too. If you're worried about leakage you could carry one of those hot glue sticks instead. A little bit of tinder would be nice too if you could squeeze it in. How about a bandana or buff? It's a water filter, wound dressing, wick, handkerchief, towel ... and headgear 

Aside from that you seem to have knowledge (reference), shelter, fire, signalling and water pretty well covered 

[Sparky415]

How about some cable ties? 

Its hard to know when to stop adding stuff, I'm trying to make a small firelighting kit but keep trying to add 'just one thing'   

[Zed]

Looks good Paul  One thing I'd add is that experience has taught me to carry a bottle of superglue too. If you're worried about leakage you could carry one of those hot glue sticks instead. A little bit of tinder would be nice too if you could squeeze it in. How about a bandana or buff? It's a water filter, wound dressing, wick, handkerchief, towel ... and headgear 

Aside from that you seem to have knowledge (reference), shelter, fire, signalling and water pretty well covered 

looks good paul, i agree with tony on zipties and Al on superglue, 

[AimlessWanderer]

  I know what you mean.
I'm going to need to take the car on my hiking trip at this rate 

[Zed]

I know what you mean.
I'm going to need to take the car on my hiking trip at this rate 

   its knowing when to stop, but its like general edc ive learnt what i need and dont, for example as work i get asked weekly to change fob watch batteries so i carry a supply of batteries and tools, same with zipties they are handy for lots of uses like superglue, i also added locktite as needed it a few times at work and its small so no big deal  my backpack houses most stuff i would need in a emergency of survival to a point folks say if the sh## hits the fan stay with paul   

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

I know what you mean.
I'm going to need to take the car on my hiking trip at this rate 

   its knowing when to stop, but its like general edc ive learnt what i need and dont, for example as work i get asked weekly to change fob watch batteries so i carry a supply of batteries and tools, same with zipties they are handy for lots of uses like superglue, i also added locktite as needed it a few times at work and its small so no big deal  my backpack houses most stuff i would need in a emergency of survival to a point folks say if the sh## hits the fan stay with paul 

Hey guys... thanks for the comments. 

The zip-ties sound like a good idea.  I'll have to think about that... 

I actually found that the Mountainsmith pack was just a bit too small...  I'm sending it back to Amazon, and I reclaimed a slightly larger bag that my wife had swiped from me for taking to the gym.  (She didn't want the Mountainsmith...  )

Same basic set of stuff, but one more XL garbage bag, more MicroPur tabs, a real pen, a couple of bandanas, another extra L91 (total two), and about half a dozen more band-aids.  I was thinking about putting my Zebralight H51w in, but not sure about that yet.  If I do, I'll take out the Q-mini, and make sure I put the pocket clip on the H51w and not include the headband, purely as a space saving measure.  Who knows, I might be able to fit that in too. 

I also added a small pill container with two days of my regular meds, and a few extra Adderalls (for an extra boost if needed; I actually take Adderall as part of my daily meds).  Eventually I'll get a Fisher pen and a Write In The Rain pad, but I'm totally tapped out right now, and still working on paying down my CC.   

I'm not sure about the superglue... it does sound like a good idea, but I'm already fighting bloat...  the thing is already as big as I want it to get, and I'm not going to go up to yet a larger bag.  I'm standing pat on this one, and I might revise my contents, but for now I think it's 95% ready for duty. 

[ironraven]

A ferro rod is never redundant, IMHO- it's my main form of starting fires, everything else is there for times where I need a real flame, right now, and not some sparks. Redundant would be a second lighter and a thing of lifeboat matches and a highway flare and a hip flask of lamp oil.

What can I say, I'm getting old enough that I don't like being cold.

Only three recommendations for swaps and two recommended additions.

The note book looks like one I had for about 24 hours- then the sweat from my leg made the glue into something that wasn't glue. *laughs* I like a couple of index cards, they're cheap, reasonably water resistant.

Replace the pen with wooden pencil.

Replace the mylar. I hate the baked potato sheets, I find them slightly worse than just crawling into a garbage bag becuase the garbage bag keeps me warmer and is quieter and is still shreaded and soggy in the morning. Personally, I recommend the 2 person-sized AMK Heatsheet. Quieter and stronger, and it's a great big piece of blaze orange saying "here I am".

I would also strongly suggest a small tube of neosporin- not only for the FAK, but also it's basically petroleum jelly with stuff. It's napalm's healthy half brother!. Or Carmex, the minty, soothing half brother, or just plain old vaseline, the slippery happy one.  Of course, it works better if there is a tiny bit of jute or cotton wool around...

And a small, like 10-12" square of aluminum or tin foil. Not for a cup, but to give you a dry place to build a fire. I've never made the cup trick work, but I find it so much easier to have this under my tinder if it has been raining or snowing, and you can bend it into a cup if it is really windy.

Other thoughts...

Zip ties are good. Super glue can be useful. But I also like about 5-6 feet of a good stainless wire- it can take heat!

Maybe swap the duct tape for a higher visability color unless it is really good duct tape.

Dental floss, and two-three good needles (you'll drop one sooner or later). Clothes are your first line of shelter, and the dental floss is reasonably strong and stronger than a lot of thread. I keep the needles taped to something in almost every kit I've built, and you can get 50' spools of dental floss that are about as big as the end of my thumb. For the size you can't really go wrong, and it's a lot more useful than the totemic fish hooks that everyone carries.

Take it, leave it, just my two cents. My concern is always at what point is it big enough that when you go to pee at two am are you not going to take it with you. Or have it on you if canoe decides to throw you out.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Well, I said the ferro-rod is redundant only in the sense that it's a second way of making fire.  Since I've packed the lighter, I'm going to use that first, unless it's out of fuel or it breaks. 

I never use the space blanket as a blanket; they're worthless for that.  It's in there to be a reflector to put up in a space behind me to concentrate the heat of a fire.  That's a Cody Lundin trick I learned from some classes I took by our local park rangers who were trained by him.  I also learned how to use the garbage bags, duct tape, and pine boughs or leaf litter for a makeshift sleeping bag; that's why they're in there.

Yes, I would like to eventually replace the notepad with a Write In The Rain one, but as is, it's a good source of tinder for starting a fire, as well as a convenient way to make / leave notes.  It's a smurf of a lot cheaper too... 3 of them at CVS for $0.99.  I'd really hate to end up using an expensive, weatherproof notepad just for fire tinder...  I know, cost shouldn't be an issue, but I think it'll work better if I need to use it as tinder than weatherproof paper will. 

I had also thought about a pencil instead of the pen, and might still do it.  The graphite and wood in a pencil would also be a good source of tinder for a fire as well, but I don't think it'd be a good substitute for the notepaper.

My duct tape is not Gorilla Tape, but it's red and black and highly visible.  I can also pack about twice the length in the same space as Gorilla Tape, which is why I went for it.  I also have become fond of using duct tape as stand-in band-aids, and it's also a good substitute for mole-skin for blisters and the like.  In fact, I like using it that way better than mole skin; it's standard in my regular hiking pack now, and I've used it ver successfully a number of times as mole skin. 

The needle and floss thing are something I've thought about... I might do it, but for now the duct tape can also be used for short term clothing repair.  Again, I didn't build this thing for long term situations, just a night or two out in the woods if I'm lost or injured while gathering firewood, etc., but thanks for the thoughts... definitely things to consider.

[ducttapetech]

Looks good to me. Only thing i would add hands down is some super glue. Great for fixing stuff and great for cuts that are to big for band aids. Might be couple of thing I would if it was mine, but for what you want it for it looks sound IMO.

[AimlessWanderer]

For me, this was the moment when I decided that including super glue would have been a really good idea ....



The sole had come away all the way back to the heel. Thankfully that fix saw me through the 7 miles back to where I needed to be, but thankfully the going was good and the trail was dryish, otherwise I'd have been in a bigger pickle. Superglue has been part of my kit ever since

[Waterlander]

Have you thought about sharpening?

I don't take much myself, but fair amount of cash, ducttape, cordage, superglue, vaseline and fielddressing.
Injuries are my main concern on a hike. I think your clothing is essential, always on you, part of survival.  I don't keep everything in one bag. Just my 2 cents out of the top of my head.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Have you thought about sharpening?

I don't take much myself, but fair amount of cash, ducttape, cordage, superglue, vaseline and fielddressing.
Injuries are my main concern on a hike. I think your clothing is essential, always on you, part of survival.  I don't keep everything in one bag. Just my 2 cents out of the top of my head.

Yeah, I have... I have a Smith Pocket Pal that I keep in my hiking pack, but didn't want to put it in my PSK because I use it semi-regularly for touch ups and it's a little bigger than I'd like for the PSK.  However, I was in Home Depot yesterday getting some weed killer, and I picked up a carpentry pencil (it's orange!) to replace the pen with.  The pen was in a dedicated pen pocket in the bag I'm using now (an REI Lode), and I have a pen/pencil style diamond rod sharpener that I've put in that now available pen pocket. 

I think I can live w/o the superglue... I can live with duct tape on a boot or my clothes for a day or two if need be. I also don't want to deal with the possibility of it leaking or spilling inside the pack, and storing it in a ziplock would just take that much more space. 

I may still put in some floss and a couple of needles though... still not sure.

But, I've already gotten it refined better than I thought I would without actually using it.  Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!   

[marty1990]

Started doing one of these myself, just have a question about the fire starter. Is that alright just tossed in a small bag with cotton wool along with my other stuff? Or should I wrap my fire starter/cotton wool up in something?

Thanks.

[AimlessWanderer]

Started doing one of these myself, just have a question about the fire starter. Is that alright just tossed in a small bag with cotton wool along with my other stuff? Or should I wrap my fire starter/cotton wool up in something?

Thanks.

Keep your tinder dry in a waterproof container of some sort. No harm in putting a ferrocium rod in the same pot though it does keep it all in one place. A pencil sharpener is a useful addition to a fire kit too for making paper thin shavings. Funnily enough I was looking at putting myself a smaller fire kit together earlier today.

I'm just sniffing around for the right container and will probably be using a mini-match starter (a small mag-block style) and hammaro tinder card as the base. I will also if possible be including a small butane lighter too. No point in making life harder than it needs to be 

[Grathr]

Inspired by this thread I decided to make my very own survival kit. 
I used a old camerabag for a digital camera I dont use anymore as a pouch.

From left to right:
A ferrocium rod
a couple of ziplock bags
a flashlight
water purification tablets
smal survival tin containing: small compass, signal mirror, fishline and hooks, water proof
                                      matches, a needle, cotton tinder, alcohol swabs.
Victorinox Hiker
Space blanket
Condom (for carrying water)
Bear grylls suruvival guide. (Something to read to keep me motivated and to freshen up my survival knowledge.)

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Nice practical rig

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

I actually have changed my bag now.  I've got a small hydration pack that I use now.  I even added a little tube of superglue, and a small bottle of that alcohol sanitizer gel.