Survival gear

[T3-OleMan]

Originally Posted by Bravo 4

..........................
"Carry light, Freeze at Night!".

Like that one!

[BountyHunter]

Kind of surprised no one has mentioned some type of plastic sheeting or tarp. All good points on everything else but wet and cold you can die in just a few hours. I have recovered two bodies of military guys who died from hypothermia.

I would add small signal mirror and some type small water purification method.

There is a lot to be said for "Travel light, freeze at night." Learned that one the hard way!

Spent 24 years wandering the non-tourist spots of the world and learned why we taught the survival rules for "fire, shelter, water and signal".

[ken snyder]

Here where I am a survival pack will include benadryl, Bees wasps and hornets are the number 1 threat even in cold weather. An extra set of morino wool underclothes and a small towel to wipe out our supposedly breathable hunting gear. Perspiration will give hypothermia almost as fast as falling in a creek, stay dry or die! Now that we made it back to the camp or truck it should be stocked like the Hotel Hilton. Getting snowed in or washed out roads is when the survival really starts!

[Tikkamike]

Originally Posted by BountyHunter

Kind of surprised no one has mentioned some type of plastic sheeting or tarp. All good points on everything else but wet and cold you can die in just a few hours. I have recovered two bodies of military guys who died from hypothermia.

I would add small signal mirror and some type small water purification method.

There is a lot to be said for "Travel light, freeze at night." Learned that one the hard way!

Spent 24 years wandering the non-tourist spots of the world and learned why we taught the survival rules for "fire, shelter, water and signal".

The space blanket me ruined in the first post covers the tarp And mirror. And the jet boils covers the water purification method

[Bravo 4]

Originally Posted by BountyHunter

Kind of surprised no one has mentioned some type of plastic sheeting or tarp.

Originally Posted by ken snyder

Here where I am a survival pack will include benadryl, Bees wasps and hornets are the number 1 threat even in cold weather.

Originally Posted by Tikkamike

The space blanket me ruined in the first post covers the tarp And mirror.

BountyHunter,
I carry a folded up tarp bungee strapped to the inside frame of my pack, as does at least one member of each of my teams. They weigh next to nothing, especially compaired to the benefits! For the manner in which you served, I thank you.

Ken,
An epipen is in my kit as well. Like stated earlier I'm not a doc but had one tell me that if somebody is going into anaphylactic shock then injesting benadryl might take too long.

Mike,
The space blanket is a good idea but isn't nearly as rugged as a tarp, as you know. The small amount of space and weight of each are next to nothing.

I am no expert on survival either, I went through SERE well over 10 years ago and have forgotten more then I remember. What I got out of it was- I don't like being cold, wet or hungry. I really don't like being cold, wet and hungry!!! So I do my best not to be either, but as much time as I spend outdoors it's bound to happen more often then I like.

[jmden]

When hunting by myself (and sometimes with another person depending on the situation), I pack a watertight to 15', integral GPS enabled, Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) that's registered through NOAA to me. Before a trip, usually I'll go into the registration page for my PLB and write a little note about where I'll be and what I'll be doing.

[ken snyder]

What kind of fuel does a jet boil use. The reason I ask is because many times Ive had a hard time to get things to light without warming them up first or carrying the fuel under my clothes to keep it warm enough to light. I have even had my water bottle freeze in my sleeping bag during the night. really cold but it does happen!