Basic Survial Kit Recap

I take with me the very smallest I can get away with safely and still be self reliant.

Shelter, fire, water, food. Any thing else is a none essential or a nice 'snivel gear' add on.

I will say though that a SAS survival guide book is a good buy, especially if you get out into the wilds and practise some of the shelter building ideas / food catching i.e. snares and fishing ect.

Unlike Dan, I carry everything. My bob/vest weighs a ton, however, I can and have hiked over 10 miles through Alpine tundra with it, so I know its not overwhelming. I can go minimal, and do so a few times a year, just to test myself. However, my bob/vest is set up if I had to be out for a year or more. I believe that after being out of "society" for that long, eventually I would want to get away from surviving and merly existing, and get into living and enjoying the my world.

But to each his own in this regard, we all know what we need and what we can carry.

This is basically my expedition camping setup, but it could certainly double as a B.O.B if needed.

A.L.I.C.E pack. Some swear by them, some swear at them. In my experience the Alice is superior to any civilian pack.

Tent, summer sleeping bag and extra woolens are in the blue waterproof sack. The pants are ECWS. Its tough to see but theres a mummy winter sleeping bag and some swamp overalls from the Korean war era. Everything fits in the Alice pack(except the winter mummy which attaches to the bottom externally), with pockets to spare for the water bladder and a 2 liter bottle/MRE's. The mummy bags are life savers but they are bulky.

Survival bag is there on the bottom left along with a cigar tin, Scanner radio, AM Radio, Puma-Gamewarden folding knife, fixed blade knife, multi-tool, GPS, chord, flashlight.

Survival bag contents...

It is also essential not to forget Mans best Friend


www.bob-oracle.com...


[edit on 7-8-2008 by METACOMET]

Great Pictures and Ideas! I keep on seeing members write to bring a SAS guide book, or survival book.

These are great tools, but when in a hurry, or your survival is at stake, I'm not not sure you want to be breaking out that book.

In my experiences, and experiences of fellow campers and outdoors men, we have found that there are 5 priority steps that if followed, can save you and take control of the situation:

1. PMA
2. First Aid
3. Water
4. Shelter
5. Food

1. PMA
Positive Mental Attitude! You cannot survive a situation if cannot beleive that you are going to survive. Its PMA that is going to get you through the dark, cold, rainy nights. PMA can be as simple too as building a fire to keep you company, trust me it helps.

2. First Aid.

Once you have your PMA down, you must treat you injuries if you have any. Any injuries will inhibit you to survive.

3. Water
Once you have your PMA and have treated you injuries, you must establish a clean drinking water. A human can only go for about 3 days without water. It is important though you find SAFE drinking water, some diseases can be caught through tainted water and will make you even more
dehydrated.

4. Shelter

Once you have established the above, you must find shelter, my bet is night is closing fast, and you need shelter. It can be as easy as a fallen tree with some branches and leaves over it. You can establish a more permanent shelter if necessary later. Shelters will keep you warm, and most importantly dry. I know people that have contracted hypothermia in June and August because it was wet and cool outside.

5. Food

Last but not least, food. Food may seem high on your list, but you would be amazed how long you can go without food. An average human can go almost 3 weeks with any food consumption! Natural resources are great for finding food. Refrain though from eating natural plants and berries unless you are an expert at identifying these, because poisonous ones can kill you if your in a survival situation.

Fast and light.

Break those two rules and you are a burden on your fellow survivors. If you carrying over 30lb your going to lose alot of speed and flexibility.

reply to post by truth_seeker3

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No, but BEFORE the sh!! hits the fan, learn from it. Go outdoors, sleep in a forest, make a fire in a cave entrance, catch your own fish and slow bake it.

Then, when the going gets tough, you know the basics. The rest you can learn at your leisure once SITX has calmed down and you can enjoy your new outdoor life style.

Exactly! If it gets too heavy, endurance and alertness will suffer, and your calorie and water intake requirements will go way up.

Double agreed! I'm on about 30 lbs exactly and I think that's pushing it a bit.

For food get yourself some MREs or boil-in-the-bag type rations, they keep for eons. Failing that just a pack of rice and a can of beans.

Stay fast stay low when TSHTF and see whats next!

reply to post by Dan Tanna

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To clarify. Fast and light is fantastic, I agree with you on that. I have a smaller set up as well, with very basic items. Bare minimum. This is what I would grab if I had to leave right now. Contents are a knife, small axe, water purifier, fire starter, basic fishing gear, and para cord. I always carry a firearm and two spare clips with me as well.

However, my heavy bag rests in my truck. Provided the time constraints, should I have the ability to take my larger gear sack, I would.

Just because I can survive out of doors with very little gear, doesnt mean that I must. Say for instance, I need to go in January. Where I am, a little extra gear can be the difference between life and death.

As far as being a burden to fellow survivors. Ive mentioned in a different thread awhile back, I am currently set up on private land in the middle of nowhere with some friends of mine. All I need to do is get to "camp" and we can take care of each other. Under the assumption that we will all be arriving via different means, and at different times, I will be traveling alone, and wont have anyone to slow down.

Like I said, everyone has different needs. Some want to go it alone, and need to be very light and flexible. Others plan on having a stationary setup.

reply to post by salchanra

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Then let me apologise for the misunderstanding.

If your good to go with a truck to pre-prepped land, then yeah, take a huge load as it will make life gucci. I totally agree 100%.

If in january STHTF, yeah i'll be pushing the load weight up a wee bit too.

Good luck, and I hope it all plays out well for all us who have a little 'set aside for a rainy day'.

30lb's???

Currently heading North of that.. Still looking for a pack that'll fit my Steinway in it..
Gotta have music after the lights go out.

edit..
PLAN A..


[edit on 7-8-2008 by AGENT_T]

You just crack me a the fnck up. Your sarcasm and wit alone would make SITX a pleasure to go through - I can see it now.
" Any one for musical chairs?"

35 lb is my max out. That is enough to get me to a stash even in mid winter.

reply to post by Dan Tanna

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Hehe cheers

Actually ...and realistically..After a chat with Fred I just got myself a wee MTB..The plan being to load up the van with provisions and bikes racked on the back..I already live North of all the Major UK cities..so as long as I'm on the ball ready-wise.. I can get a head start..when the deisel's out.. load up the bikes n BOB-trailer.. as edited above

In a minimalistic situation I'd only pack enough food for travelling..after that it's foraging time and tapping trees/reeds for carbs.
winter's trickier but not too daunting..just have a pocket book specialising on fungi ID.. it's still the one thing that scares me.

On a survival exercise we were all sent out to forage for dinner. A few of us went of to the river as our task, others got sent for fungi and berries.

We came back three brown trout up, to find the biggest heap of Cortinarius rubellus you had ever seen. Armfuls of it. Some already chopped into pieces.

In the dark they had mistaken it.

moral of the story? don't pick or eat fungi in the dark!

One cannot truly be prepared for SITX. It can contain many variables, which we cannot control.

Dan Tanna,

You said 30-35 lbs max. I can totally understand that. After having backpacked in Idaho with a weighted 50 lb pack, at 5-6 thousand feet. Thirty lbs is a very viable option.

Picking fungi and other berries is sometimes a great option, and sometimes is not. From some backpacking I did in Wyoming and Idaho, picking Huckleberries off the trail was a good meal, but we have to remember to watch out for poisonous berries. Over here in Minnesota, I have personally gotten sick from eating the wrong types of berries, that is why I am emphasizing that. It is NOT fun to clear out your bladder after that....

Agent_T, I think it was you that mentioned carrying a fungi id book. If I were to bring a book, that's what it would be+ berry and wild plant id book.

Also, another idea... if you had time, you can remove food from cans, and vacuum seal them. It may be decreasing the age of the food slightly because of the contact with air, but if its vacuum sealed, it should keep up its life-span, and since the can is removed it reduces weight and space it takes up.

Just buy pre-sealed food dude. Saves on the mess and possible bacteria contamination after exposure to air.

Other than that, dude, you ate wild berries without knowing what they are? wow - thats a steep learning curve. LOL.

Some good ideas in here. AGENT_T, fungi book or skills are a MUST in my opinion.

reply to post by Dan Tanna

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Man that's bad. Such a quick and easy way to get dead VERY quickly.

After trying to make out the shapes and colours out of Lofty's book I went for a pocket book with NOTHING except fungi ID.. It adds a huge amount of available food to your list with a MUCH decreased risk of poisoning through misidentification.
mushrooms

I bought this with "food for free".. Cheap,small,light and hugely useful

reply to post by truth_seeker3

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Hey TS3 missed your post, but yeah. the link above is the one I got and has the others indexed with it.. 'edible mushrooms' seems to be another highly recommended one but I can't personally vouch for it as I haven't read it..
I know the Collin's Gem one is VERY clearly illustrated..very little chance is mis-ID-ing with it's location description to back up the pics.

I REALLY would be hesitant to try and commit the amount of variations to memory..
NOT as easy as toads v frogs or hemlock v wild parsnip.

Maybe an interesting fireside game though.. wild-food russian roulette

[edit on 7-8-2008 by AGENT_T]

reply to post by Dan Tanna

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Trust me, I thought they looked light wild raspberries, but after that, a few years ago (I was just out of high school), I am definitely more safe about what I eat..

Your right, pre-sealed food might be the way to go, but is often more expensive, and has less food net weight per dollar, if buying in bulk. I just saying that because I have use food vacuum sealers with canned food, and it was a good option for my backpacking trips.. interested hearing more from you on that..

That link is AWESOME!

In all seriousness, start a thread. Wild fungi needs its own dedicated stuff and that book link would be awesome if you said 'I got this, its good' and did a little review of what you found using it!.

Daniel.

reply to post by truth_seeker3

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vaccum sealer

You know, I may actually have to have a little look at one of these for the days I go multi day up in the mountains.

It looks good dude, real good.