Add a map to your survival kit

One thing I notice gets left out most of the time, when people talk about survival kits, is a map! I have a map of 50 x 50 miles roughly. Make sure it's a topographical map (with altitudes or visual mountain ranges). I actually found a great one on planefinder.net; here it is for the San Francisco Bay Area (Southern area):




Not everyone is setup for wilderness survival but if the need arose I'd sure want a map like this in my kit!

If you have a Kinkos or office store around you they may be able to laminate it for you for a reasonable price.

If you're looking for something more precise with actual elevations etc try the USGS (if you're in America).

reply to post by Thermo Klein


great advice

SnF

I actually keep 3 Kentucky State Maps...

One to draw on if necessary... one not to...

and a back up incase I have to give one to someone...

A good map is key!

I also keep hiking trail maps, etc
Kentucky has a lot of trails and parks...

Stat charts are also a great thing to have. Exspecially for traveling in the desert at night. And definitley a compass. Navigation is one of the most important aspects to survival. Any maps or star charts in a survival kit should also be studied prior to actually having to use them in a real world situation. Just a few tips from an experienced "grunt".

Done !!! did that and practiced triangulation location...... my next process it to mark out specific locations...

been planning on scouting out some off road areas of travel and shelter.... caves and so forth...

if i don't use them for bail out then i can find some kick ass camping spots

Found a great map at wal-mart for $5.00 entire map of the U.S, Mexico, and Canada (for those of us here in the U.S.). It isn't topographical, however, it does cover every state and pretty much every road that you can travel. It is a good map for keeping in your car for a survival situation. Or keeping in your large backpack.

don't forget to take a compass or three with you as well, and make sure you're adept at using them before you ever need to. Starred and flagged.

Also get the maps on Tyvek paper when possible, it is much more rugged. You can also print the maps on this your self if you want to.

reply to post by Thermo Klein


a great source of topo maps, is your local trail associations.
where i live, the volunteers that take care of the trails give topo maps for free at local festivals.

a good trail map will help you avoid swamps and walking towards a dead end.

Another type of map you may want to include is if your state puts out a hunting atlas. Kansas puts out annually a map of the entire state and the public hunting areas, including what game is in them. In a survival situation that list becomes a menu, and the different areas restaurants.

They also work as a good ad hoc road map as they show many of the back roads as well.

reply to post by Sir Solomon


Thanks! I checked some out. Found Atlas of Biodiversity for California. It shows which trees, plants, animals, etc are in specific areas.

Gonna do some research on it, maybe I'll make a thread if the info is easily usable

Good call, didn't even consider this.

If for any reason I need to grab my BoB... there is a great chance my smart phone will not be able to get a signal, so no Google maps.

I also carry a Goodes worl atlas as well. It is added weight but with this book you have Topo maps, resource maps, population maps, and any other map you can think of all in one. A farmers almanac would be onother great thing to have, you just need to keep it updated and replace it every year.

reply to post by Thermo Klein


topo maps are the best tool for teaching young children to read maps.

by showing them the black square that is their house, the neighbors, the local school, where they get ice cream,
the street outside the window,etc.

the road numbers, even east-west, odd north south.

globes are best for geography.

i babysat kids that could pick their home town on a world map before they started school.

with a topo map, some fun games, they learn without making it a painful task.
and knowing how to read maps is part of survival, especially if you lose modern technology.