Agent's 'kinda wild' U.K sit-x/survival...on a budget thread.

reply to post by Ahabstar


Dude... your preaching to the converted here... but I totally agree with some of the points you make.

However, what ever makes you comfortable really is what you should use... and I totally agree with a hughe wedge of fishing line, some good hooks and the like. Fish are plentiful and full of nutrition.

Originally posted by Ahabstar
Your number one (or at least my number one) choice to grab will be my journal.

That's a damn good point and an item that has as yet never been mentioned in any of the numerous survival threads

At least 3 100-page A5-size notebooks and seperate ziplock bags to keep them dry should be included in ANY BoB along with a plentiful stash of pencils as a personal log...

Everything from distance/heading travelled over a timed duration should you need to retrace your steps, observations, encounters, OS grid-referenced resource locations, information-trading should you come across another group you wish to barter with, illustration medium for communicating ideas in visual format to other group members (such as fortification/shelter/defensive position layouts and designs) to courier-messaging of RV points to other distant friendly groups...the list of possible uses is a long one...

definately an essential and lo-tech/lo-cost piece of kit!

A journal ?

Not even in my top 100 things. As for multiple journals ? No way.

But... if its what you want to carry, be my guest. just don't expect me to share your load when you get tired.

reply to post by Dan Tanna


load? we're talking half a kilo at the very most of a valuable condensed portable library-resource and guaranteed to be EMP proof unlike a 3Kg laptop that needs the battery pack recharging after an hour or two's use and prone to BSOD

[edit on 28-6-2008 by citizen smith]

reply to post by citizen smith


Hell dude, as the great Peter de la billier once said ..

'over rough terrain, keep your packs below 25 Kgs'.

I intend to take heed of that for the first flight out to the wilds.

As for my stashes.... they got a bit extra in them

Originally posted by Dan Tanna

Hell dude, as the great Peter de la billier once said ..

'over rough terrain, keep your packs below 25 Kgs'.

Good advice. Training with a 15kg pack up and down Hadrians wall is bad enough.
After full fitness has returned I want to take it up to 50kg though ..Break those lungs and bust those legs..
That way when I head into the hills with my 35kg worth of swag it'll feel like a stroll down moonlight bay..
Being of the 'more sturdy stature' I'll carry a couple of 'luxuries' until they become impractical.

reply to post by AGENT_T



LMAO.

Full fitness is a 50 Kg load ? a 100 lb bergan ? Fred_T, I don't want to sound harsh, but a fifty Kg bergan is 1 mile an hour over good to moderate terrain.

Over rough terrain you can drop that to 0.5 miles an hour.

Dude, thats not escape and evasion speeds, that... thats browse through wal-mart speed.

Originally posted by Dan Tanna
reply to post by AGENT_T

 

LMAO.

Full fitness is a 50 Kg load ? a 100 lb bergan ? Fred_T, I don't want to sound harsh, but a fifty Kg bergan is 1 mile an hour over good to moderate terrain.

Thats a carryable load if you sling it all in panniers on a mountainbike...would take a fair bit of build-up training to haul that load x-country over a long distance but is certainly doable and at a far faster pace than on foot


[edit on 28-6-2008 by citizen smith]

reply to post by Dan Tanna


I used to be a mule in a past life.
I never said I was sane

I've got 105kg to put behind it and work involves lugging a few 100kg's worth of gear up and down..
Still I hear what ya saying.
Only thing to do is train with more weight than you intend to carry..and then leave a trail of excess gear behind you or get a set of panniers and a big dog.

Originally posted by AGENT_T
leave a trail of excess gear behind you

the discarded gear would make perfect bait to trap for inquisitive humans too!

cannibalism! nom nom nom!

At least I don't have to worry about packing my boomerang now. That saves 100gms..
I heard Norway has discovered a very odd shaped fish floating off the coast.

reply to post by AGENT_T


Speaking of which...we haven't gotten onto waterproof gear...or should it be called 'what not to wear when you need to be waist-deep in water'?

reply to post by citizen smith


Yeah I'll cover 'wet' clothing later..
Suffice to say it's best not to have your mobile phone and wallet with your car-tax money in your jeans pocket when you go retrieving boomerangs etc from the sea..

Not that ANYBODY I know would even need telling that..

reply to post by AGENT_T


note to self...a boomerang that doesnt come back is called a stick

reply to post by citizen smith






Nice. Note to self: Ask T why he didn't just pick up another stick....

As for long loads over distance. A bike is a good idea for semi rough terrain, but when push come sto shove its just extra weight to carry when you really least need the extra weight.

Stashes. Its all about the stashes of gear you thoughtfully prepared after a long week on ATS boards and had a bright idea.

reply to post by Dan Tanna


Well, it isn't really that fancy. About the size of a paperback book with maybe 100 pages tops. Fits easy in a large coat pocket, weighs little enough to not be a burden, has plans on about 15 different simple traps ranging from fish to birds to small furry critters. Classics like the dead fall, squirrel snares on a stick (my favorite) and what I like to call the big one that didn't get a line to snap, tangle or just plain lose a jaw to get away.

We all know the leaves of three, leave it be nemonic but universal tests throw me especially when out of native areas. The handy reminder of how to prepare catails is better than chewing on that bitter part and getting stomach cramps later. And I know some that don't know that an animal's brain has just the right amount of tannins for tanning the hide without having to resort to oak inner bark pealings soaking in water.

Won't ask you to carry your own, but if you somehow find I won't be needing it anymore by all means have at it.

People usually ask about the tin snips more than anything. Well that abandoned car with the empty gas tank has lots of metal if reduced to a easy to carry size for various projects including use in sand casting molds after a nice trip in a truely hot fire. Then file to desired functionality. The included tire iron and a good jab lets those snips get a good start for cutting.

15 traps you should know off by heart - fire starting, camp building, traversing snowy terrain, navigation, every thing there should be off by heart - you should also be able to pass this knowledge onto others in a clear easy manner.

Wild plants I agree are harder to remember and I have a small set of cards in clear waterproof plastic to use as reminders.

I just... I just don't like the idea of folks running around the hills needing to stop and whip out an A4 pad every time they need to do some thing.. it sits alien with my way of being.

HOWEVER - if it works for you - then by all means as its your survival kit and not mine.

One thing I will say is this - Dammit, wire snips should be in every ones BOB. Arrow heads and fish snaps made from metal are awesome.

Oh I know them...don't get to put them to practice as setting of trap around these parts are not looked at too highly out of season. Not even sure when "random unlucky bird season" is. Fish traps, especially the rock channel method, require time and unpesky eyes to come prolling by.

I agree that A4 size would be way too large to be useful. Think more along the size of Henry Jones's Grail Diary in the Last Crusade. I did have the laminated cards once. Spent quite a bit on different sets. Damned if I can find them from all the moving I have done since purchasing them. Yet I still have that set of Radio Shack Electrical Engineering booklets despite their irregular size.

It is a personal quirk I am sure, but I found that if I take the time to write new things in painstaking detail and speaking the steps as I write and review it tends to be commited to memory a lot better when being able to practice is not an option like building a full scale cabin with mud motar in the gaps.

Now, when the time comes I hope I don't accidently grab the book beside it instead since they are the same size. While reading Confucius and Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching is spiritually rewarding I doubt it helps me recall the correct recognition and location of raw material and ratios for making gunpowder for larger animal "traps". Or best wood for procuring lye for soap making, again ratios come into play here too as too much lye burns especially in more tender areas.

We all like this solar still for getting clean water fast.

But this one produces about 3 gal/day and should be easy to build for long term situations. Which I should state is what I see coming for us in the next few years, long term survival.




[edit on 29-6-2008 by Ahabstar]

On the subject of water purification. I just spotted a lovely little new item.
It's just starting to gain popularity and hit the 'net stores..

www.bwtechnologies.com...

Again.. for water 'on the move'.. fill from an available water source and don't have to worry about boiling..

Flexible/packable and filter will last a decent time.(Few months).

£40

reply to post by AGENT_T


Great catch T I'm just looking at it now...looks like a good buy the replacment filters are £30 to so you could stock up on some of them and be good for a few K litres.

Think I might have to add this to my "to buy" list