do u guys take a kit out into the bush with u?

if so, how extensive is it?
what does yours include?
anyone have an experience where they really had to use the kit for the purpose intended?

cold zero

Cold zero,

I don't have a single kit as such, but do carry quite a few items of this nature depending upon the circumstances; I prefer this layered approach as I feel it more flexible.

It starts with my keyring. Apart from the usual car keys it has a small "flint" fire starter, a small, light gerber lock knife with a 1" blade and a whistle on it. Next comes my wallet. In there I have a couple of plasters, some puri tabs, a roast bag (for boiling water) and a few hooks to trace .There is also a credit card sized double side plastic signalling mirror with a few yards of fighing line would around it.

In winter or when i hunt any really remote place, my hunting jacket has a bivvy bag in the a large pochers pocket at the rear (doubles as a sit pad)and at least one maybe two bic lighters.

If I need to carry a canteen,it is either metal or has a metal cup associated with it so I can easily boil water. A also have a small first aid kit which contails a few other survival items, but things like a couple of tubes of fuel-gel are hiddened in my bum bag or roe sack "just-in-case"

Regards,

Pete

WOULD really depend on whether you are walking or riding.

I ride a BMW R1100GS cycle, their on off road version.
Once a year I try to get out west and ride the Rockys off the beaten track and have a watrproof bag that carries everything I need for overnighting on a mountain top if I want.
Small heat tab stove, heat tabs, PVC 6X8 tarp, knife, paracord, couple mres or freezedried, waterproof matches, a space blanket, small coffee pot for heating water for whatever, couple of packs of hot choclate mix, first aid kit.
gets me through the night.

My kit is a little different, I have enough freezed dried food to keep me going for 14 days. Two space blankets, two unopened cans of sterno, 5 candles. 5 boxes of water proof matches. Fire starter, a fire stick. 1 signal mirror. three pairs of socks sealed. 22 cal rifle with ammo. Rope, string some hooks and leads a folding saw and a small axe. I make adjustments depending on where I am. Winter is different from Summer, and that goes for say on land or at sea. Since I fly for a living, my kit is a little bigger than what is required. The main thing is you need to be able to stay dry,warm and most of all safe drinking water. You can live for a long time with out food, but for a very sort time with out water, and if you get wet and cold, then your chances of staying alive deminishes greatly. I know of a fellow that when down in an airplane, not far from and airport. they all survived the landing, no real injuries other than a few brusise, but since he when into a swamp, they all got wet, over night temps were in the low 20's, they didn't live to see morning. This happened in Connecticut some 20 years ago. The last thing you want to do is get wet and have no means in which to get dry and get warm. In this case, a couple of changes of cloths and some cans of Sterno would have been enough till morning. In a place like Saeeds home, it would be shade and lots of water and salt tablets.

[ 11-10-2003, 05:29: Message edited by: George Semel ]

CZ,

I'm sure you knew that survival kits would vary wildly depending on the area. I'm also sure they vary in New York too, so add in the size of Alaska, and it's probably even more extreme.

For S.E. Alaska my kit is pretty typical. Since 90% (yes, pulled that number out of my arse ) of hunting here involves boating, I keep my survival kit in a orange waterproof box. I don't call it a survival kit, I call it 'my going ashore box' and it get's in the raft everytime I do. Then once ashore, I may grab an item or two from it, then stash the box safely above the tideline.

Here's a picture...



You should be able to see a...
small GPS
a handheld marine VHF
mini-B EPIRB
strobe light
hand held flares
aerial flares
tidebook
and a Ruger Redhawk in 44 Rem Mag

...things not in the picture include cheap knifes, lighters, matches, etc.

I have had to use the VHF to call for an early pickup from a high alpine lake, when we got snowed on hard. We couldn't hunt Mt Goat anymore, and wanted down. It took some hiking to get reception, but once I did a quick call to the marine operator got us patched into civilization.

The reason for the handgun, is that I'm not always hunting when out boating. So I don't always have a rifle with me.

Survival Kits are a easy concept. Keep them light so you can take them anytime you go in the woods. In fact every Item that the guys above listed are great. My fanny pack that I use is my survival kit! If I step into the woods I'm wearing it period. To many times in the past a little peek over the hill ends up into a few mile trek. One time up north around pump station 2..I found myself on one of those treks and the weather turned BAD. Luckly, I hunckered down in a low spot I found and hour later the weather stopped. If it would have continued I would have been so screwed. So now I never ever go into the woods/tundra without my fanny pack. It is amazing how much good stuff you can pack in good fanny pack. I use a fanny that uses the shoulder harnesses like a back pack so I'm not limited if I need to pack something heavy. I like the buddy lock system so I carry two water bottles that can be easly refilled with my water purification system. I also have a survival book that I have vacumed sealed to keep for a reminder of any survival skills that maybe needed if you find yourself in a bad situation

In November of '82 (when I was considerably younger etc.) I was on a hunt on Afognak for deer, bear and elk (in those day's it was a registration hunt for elk and bear)anyhow I slipped on some frozen ground at about 2,000ft alt. and fell a short distance, as they say it's not the fall but the sudden stop that will get ya. I broke my left leg in two places, had to spend the night since I got seperated from my buddies, due to darkness. My kit at the time was a box of waterproof/windproof matches, a can of sterno, a candle, small flashlight and two tea bags. The sterno, candle kept me warm, the flashlight alerted the search party on the beach and I chewed the tea bags to keep awake. I laid there all night till the next morning about 9 am when I started to drag my self down to brush line. To make a long story short, I survived (one legs shorter than the other since I set it myself) my friends found me the next day and got the Coast Guard to come and pick me up, what a ride that was being lifted on a cable in 40 knot winds...

Now days my pack is a little bigger and I don't do anything that requires a lot of climbing on frozen ground.

You have to be careful out there. I was real!!!!lucky!!!!

John

I got in the habit of a carrying a survival kit after living in Colorado in the 90's. Mine is a small nylon kit that has belt loops or can be thrown in a butt pack or stashed in a cargo pocket on BDU-style pants.

Off the top of my head:

folding Buck knife
stone for knife
magnesium/flint
waterproof matches
Military firestarter (Sparklite, IIRC) and tinder cubes
trioxane fuel bars for fire
portion of hacksaw blade
wire survival saw
waterproof paper and pencil
compass
space blanket
2 large trash bags
poncho
550 cord
nylon decoy cord
small fishing kit
small first aid kit
signal mirror
duct tape
Photon Microlight
aluminum foil
Orion Pocket Rocket and flares
water purification tablets
3 water storage bags (300ml each) - (I found these bags that are used to store breast milk! They take up very little room, yet are very durable.
http://www.drugstore.com/qxp55061_333181_sespider/gerber/seal_n_go_breast_milk_ storage_bags.htm )

If I am going very far, I usually have a military canteen with cup and stove nested on the bottom

The absolute best website for first aid kits and survival kits is www.equipped.org

[ 11-10-2003, 07:43: Message edited by: Duckear ]

Never used it.

I put the following in a response to the Brown Bear Packing List:

My day pack for work has Coghlan's fire starter, candles, matches in a match safe and disposable butane lighter, Acme Thunderer whistle, 50' of parachute cord, Case sheath knife w/ 3.75" blade, Ezelap diamond sharpener, pocket first aid kit w/ moleskin, Coghlan's Nylon repair tape and a small eyeglass repair kit, all in a small ditty bag in the side pocket.

Then I have a Silva Ranger compass, a handfull of Wash'nDri towelettes, bug dope, Minolta 8x21 binoculars, Leatherman tool, lip balm, mechanical pecnil and a couple of granola bars in the front pocket. The other side pocket is reserved for the water bottle.

Inside the pack I have my rain gear, leather gloves, a space blanket (the large type, red and silver, not the little emergency pieces of junk), a small sewing kit (needles, safety pins, a couple of spools of thread in a small ditty bag), and lunch. Depending on conditions I will carry a stainless Thermos of tea or a couple of small cans of tomato juice to warm up in the lunch fire. An extra pair of socks in a Ziplock bag is nice to have if the feet get wet.

Most of these items stay in the pack year-round. The matches and such get replaced as they get used. I have it all in a LL Bean "Continental" pack. The space blanket is handy for a clean surface to lay meat on when boning out a deer. It is also very nice when out in snow and one needs a place to sit.

I think I may add to this a set of Skyblazer flares as I see in Brian's photo. I have carried a strobe light in the past, but that weighs a fair ammount and takes up a lot of space compared to the flares.

-Kees-