Overlooked Survival Items

I thought i would start this thread because there are some items in survival that are overlooked. You can give one or many examples, i'm just going to give one

I have made bows, they aren't brilliant but good enough to hunt with. I'm sure a bowyer would look at them and laugh his/her arse off but they are accurate at a distance and very powerful, enough to kill a deer. The problem i had was the bow string. I spent an entire day making a bow string from nettle fibre. It worked well for a while, before breaking

This is where the overlooked items come into play. In my B.O.B i now have a length of bow string. It takes up virtually no space, weighs near nothing and yet is essential! I encourage people to try and make your own bow string, whether it is from sinew, nettle fibre, hemp fibre or anything else you can find. The strings, if you aren't practiced take a long time to make and tend to break after some use. If you are practiced (i am) they still take a number of hours to make and still break often enough to be problematic.

To give you an idea, i spent a full day, slowly twisting nettle fibre together, making sure every single strand was well alligned. The strength of the finished string was impressive but it broke after firing around 120 arrows. Hemp fibre lasted longer, sinew lasted about as long as hemp.

The factory made strings i now have will last for thousands of arrows per string and they cost very little. I don't need to spend a day making them either and can carry 10 strings without sacrificing any space (i just shove them into the bags lining).

So what overlooked items can you recommend?

Ever try hunting big game with a sling shot?
www.youtube.com...
www.youtube.com...

No more problems with the string...just bring extra bands.
Its less bulky to carry in your pack as well.



[edit on 11-8-2009 by DrumsRfun]

reply to post by DrumsRfun

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Well the actual bow can be made on the move, the string take up less space than even a sling shot

The sling shot is more difficult to master and is less accurate than a bow. I suppose that comes down to personal preference, i like bows However you say to bring extra bands, in the end strings take up less space than bands. Although they're both so small it's pretty much a wash You could easily carry both without taking up hardly any space. As i said i just shove the strings into the lining of my bag.

I would recommend a Hand Drill, with multiple bits Or if you can afford the weight a battery powered one.

Does not need batteries, it can be used to open locks or car trunks/doors, and is much lighter than bolt cutters That and if you have 550 cord or rope, you can use it to make a ladder or other useful things.

M.

super glue. It is a great alternative to stitches.

duct tape.

fishing line. Tied to a stick becomes......... you guessed it.

glow stick. Great source of light for finding your way back to camp in the middle of that first bugout night while you are searching for firewood.

snakebite kit.

emergency blanket - yep the tin foil looking kind. Reflects body heat and works great.

The weight of all of these items is negligable and they take up little room but are VERY necessay and Cheap too.

Everything listed above will cost probly ten or twenty bucks altogether.

reply to post by Moshpet

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A hand drill is an interesting idea. Although one of my hobbies is lock picking so actually i might add my small set to my kit

However yeah a hand drill is a fine idea.

garbage bags and ziplock bags. The uses are endless, in fact there is a post on just this. Dental floss is strong and small. It too has many uses. Wire ties come in handy for repairs. Safety pins, sewing kits, condoms[great for carrying water]Cotton balls wiped with vaseline, mechanics wire, parachute cord, duct tape wrapped around a used gift card, razor blade,

respectfully

reluctantpawn

I second that! These items should never be left out of a First Aid MedKit. (Yes, Duct Tape and Super Glue are a Field Medics best friends. The medical applications of both in the woods are legion!)

I would like to add the following to that list though.

At least 2 Hemostatic Clamps to control Arterial Bleeding. Otherwise, if you have a severed artery from an accident, you're dead in under 5 minutes. The plastic ones aren't even $1 a piece.

EMT Medical Shears. These lightweight shears cut a variety of items from general bandages, clothing, shoes, leather boots, seat belts, and even a penny in pinch! If you are injured and have to remove clothing from around a wound, these work far better than a knife. Also, they can be used in dressing your hunt. And for $3-4 a pair, you can't go wrong.

Dental Floss and Needle. If you need stitches beyond what Super Glue can remedy, then you need these.

Tweezers - You might be able to survive without them, but nothing will make you more non-productive than slivers underneath your finger nails, or a stinger in your foot.

Your bowstrings performed very well. They do get dry
rot though very easily. You may want to wax them or
apply pine pitch. Flax is very good (but it doesnt
grow wild here) but Dogbane (apocynum canabinum) is
better than nettle and and you get longer fibres so it's
much less work.

Do you use a flemish knot on the top? Just curious to
know. What are your preffered bow woods and what part
of the tree do use? I have an old video from John McPherson
that is really good on bowmaking.

I used to shoot a lot but due to a shoulder/neck injury I can
no longer draw a bow. i suppose I could in a survival situation
but in that case I'll just stick with my firearms thankyou. If I
need to be quiet I would just use traps instead.
As for overlooked survival items they are too numerous to
mention them all so the best I can do is list in order what items
would be my priorities.

Survival items:

sturdy through-tang knife ( i like the swedish moras, theyre
good and cheap)

Water filter - I have a PUR hiker model but the new Lifesaver
filter that the British special forces use is what I really want!)

Rain poncho/shelter half

canteen and canteen cup - army suplus, stainless steel NOT
aluminum

Wool blanket converted to poncho - serves as coat and blanket

Magnesium fire starter

first aid kit

flashlight w/ spare bulb and batteries

snare wires - I use old electric guitar strings or green
spiderwire

Hmm, we're getting into luxuries at this point.

Good thread! S&F for you. I hope others will find this and actively
think about what's in their bobs and contribute as well.

I'm afraid i used the most basic of knots and cut a deeper notch in the bow. It was simply an experiment in bow strings so i never thought about the knots sorry.

I only tested it with one bow wood, yew and it worked pretty well. I found a fallen tree with a nice straight limb that had a slight curve. The curve was very mild and that is important! A completely straight limb will work but a slight natural curve seems to give more power.

Again i will state i'm not an expert and any bowyer would laugh their arse off at my attempts. However my bow was powerful enough to take downa deer. I tested it on a tree and it sank in pretty deep. The acurracy was very good as well. The only problem is longevity.

Multiple use small items that, to me, are just good to toss in:

Dental floss
Fishing line
some type of wire (I have a small thing of floral wire in my storage, it's very flexible and useful. I buy the thin wire because you can double up to make it thicker, but you can't really make a thick wire more thin and flexible...makes great fishing hooks.)
Plastic tie thingies (like LEO's use for handcuffs nowdays)
Sand with WD40 added to it to clean things: knives, hands, etc and prevent rust on tools. Ok, that isn't a necessity but I wouldn't be without WD40, duct tape and electrical tape. =)
A good hammer (yes I know, you can pick up a rock or use something else if you have to, but if you've ever tried to break or nail something with a rock (wrench, book, whatever you can find) you know a hammer can be worth it's weight.
Tweezers (take up almost no space and beats the heck out of having to cut the splinter out with a knife or having the area get infected to push the splinter out.)
Can opener (I hope everyone has this already packed. Even if you don't have canned goods with you, if you are on the run, for example. Eventually you will have a chance to scrounge abandoned homes, restaurants, etc... And have a good one in storage! A cheapie takes up a bit less space but if it breaks...)
Those are just some things that popped into my head when I saw and read thru this. I hope it's the kind of thing you were asking about.
Good Stocking,
god bless,
~prep

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984

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Good point on the bow strings !

Here is my list so far, some items I won't list for various reasons:


01) stainless steel camp cooking gear *** done ***

02) multi-tool pocket knife , stainless steel so it wont rust *** done ***

03) camo mosquito/ insect netting suit *** done ***

04) Backpack with lots of pouches and 2 water bottles.

05) sleeping bag *** done ***

06) weapons: 30-06 with scope *** done ***
.22 LR 10/22 Ruger, .45 ACP works well, bought a laser boresight for 30-06 and boresighted. ( .45 will be in holster .22 LR in hands )
.30-06 is at RZ site along with most of the ammo.

07) hand crank radio and flashlight *** done ***

08) lensatic compass & directions *** done ***

09) fishing line, hooks, and bobbers *** done ***

10) backpack *** done ***

11) shake LED flashlight *** done ***

12) water proof insulated boots *** done ***

13) gerber folding hand saw *** done ***

14) 12volt dc power inverter - 400 watt - bought from friend *** done ***
may upgrade this to higher wattage @ RZ site

15) waterproof container - full of matches & 3 fire steel striker rod
bread bag compressed with 4 oz. dryer lint. - *** done ***
indian wood bow method works well too ...magnifying glass

16) strong binoculars 16x or better *** done ***
bought bushnells

17) food - cheap , long shelf life - *** done ***
most stored long term shelf life rice or other cached near rally point, multiple locations. ( at a few cache sites near RZ site )

18) desiccant for ammo cans - *** done *** at RZ site

19) pocket microscope - *** done *** at RZ site

20) 28 ga. galv. steel snare wire .5 miles - *** done ***

21) Texsport® Folding Pick/Shovel/saw - bass pro *** done ***

22) snake/poison kit - syringe type *** done ***

23) knife sharpeners *** done ***

24) israeli gas mask with airtight drinking ability *** done ***
$20 at maine military supply ( not the best mask there is )

25) Victorinox stainless steel bayonet(no rust knife) *** done ***

26) US army M7 bayonet (ferrous can use as striker) *** done ***

27) full CDV -777 geiger counter set *** done *** at RZ site

28) several 1 gallon ziplock bags - storage & mini evap. water collection devices - *** done ***

29) wiki books, survival info, wikipedia backup on DVD-r - *** done *** at RZ site and SD card copies carried.

30) aluminum foil for: - solar oven - solatubes - weak EMP shielding if done right *** done ***

31) non Genetic modified seed packs, getseeds.net pk plus
8,000 carrot seeds & amaranth *** done ***

32) battery hydrometer - for 12 volt systems we plan to setup
*** done ***

33) Combined Hybrid Custom Survival Guide - printed -
dbl ziplock bagged *** done***

34) speedy all, easy all - sewing tools for leather *** done***

35) wind belt - 12 vdc and volt regulator *** done*** at RZ site

36) natural remedy - anti fungal *** done***

37) p-38/p-51 or real can opener *** done***

38) battery recharger - triple a's for pocket microscope - D's for geiger and ionization meter *** done*** at RZ site

39) 400 yards of 550 para cord *** done***

40) 100 ft. of nylon rope *** done***

41) Gun cleaning kits - @ RZ *** done***

42) Sextant - and instructions *** done***

43) Spherical Trigonometry instructions *** done ***

44) Trash bags, heavy duty thick mil, work as water proofing or poncho, seal in heat *** done***

45) water purification USP sublimated iodine 1 oz bottles (2) *** done ***
also for ppl allergic to shellfish 4 oz of bleach in small carry tube, and eyedropper *** done***
10 drops of bleach per gallon per online site for water purification.
SODIS water purification plans *** done***

46) common edible/medicinal plant list for this region *** done***

47) 2 pair of extra clothes

48) 2 packs of playing cards

Thanks to everyone for all the stuff they mentioned, will add some
of it to my list.

Good Luck to you all !




[edit on 14-8-2009 by Ex_MislTech]

From experience, all I need to survive in the bush is a knife and a lighter. Secondary would be water, food, duct tape, and a tent. Coffee and toilet paper are nice too

A potato, toothpaste, salt, toothpicks and two wires

[edit on 14-8-2009 by HulaAnglers]

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

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Dooper maybe we should get together and show these guys how good it can be. However in my old age my hemoroids really need the charmin. So I guess you one up me on less is best.

respectfully

reluctantpawn

Here is my basic list of items for my BOB.

There is no such thing as a perfect survival kit, but having these basic items in your kit can help save your life.



* First Aid Items
* Water Purification drops or tablets
* Water Bladder
* Fish and snare line
* Fishhooks
* Candle
* Fire-starting equipment
* Signaling Items
* Food procurement items
* Shelter items, such as a tent, hammock
* Lighter, metal match, matches
* Knife
* Needle and thread
* Signaling mirror
* Wrist Compass
* Small hand lens
* Solar blanket
* Surgical Blades



Although this is a very basic list, some of these items may prove to be invaluable.

reply to post by Ex_MislTech

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a machete is an absolute must

it is useful for so many things

How bout..
Safety Pins?
Clothes Pins?
Ziploc bags