This is a mental experiment about PSKs that I've been conducting over the past few days.

I like the Rule of Threes more than the STOP acronym. Or maybe the Rule of Threes fits into STOP as the details of the the Planning stage. Anyway, I think the rule is a great guideline to use when figuring out what to include in a kit and when determining your priorities in an emergency.

Given that in North America I can hope to be rescued within 3 days, the only things I really need in a kit are the medical, shelter, and signalling components.

I agree that wounds you can treat with Altoids components probably don't really require emergency treatment. In other words, a bandaid is more of convenience or comfort than an emergency survival supply.

And if shelter is so important, I really should be carrying a shelter material proper, not just tools with which to make a shelter.

So I'm thinking of a kit that might go in two pockets, roughly one pocket for medical and one for shelter and signals. Here's the stuff I'd include.

Medical
- Israeli bandage
- Cling-wrap bandage
- 3 4 x 4 gauze pads
- EMT shears
- 8 oz betadine in squeeze bottle
- Pain killers

Shelter
- Silnylon poncho
- Mason's twine
- Butane lighter
- Candle
- Sparklite
- Tinder

Signals
- Mirror
- Flashlight
- Whistle
- Pencil and paper

Medical: I like the Israeli bandage because I actually can apply it with one hand, and it's a neat, complete package. The cling-wrap bandage, 4 x 4 pads, and EMT shears should let me create smaller dressings as required. Betadine in a squeeze bottle is my idea of the best way to irrigate a wound before bandaging. I thought of including some potassium permanganate or iodine crystals so I could purify more water for subsequent flushings, but that would defeat the "immediate application" theme I was trying for.

Shelter: I'm pretty sure I can find a silnylon poncho that compresses as small as a trash bag. That, combined with the twine, should permit immediate construction of several shelter options that would protect my core temperature. The candle is for additional heating within the poncho. The Sparklite and tinder are a one-handed alternate to the lighter, and could be used to create a campfire.

Signals: Pretty standard stuff here.

I think these items would cover at least a minimum of the trauma that could result from an accident. Note that, with clenched teeth, I'm omitting the inclusion of a knife or any other of my favorite, but maybe not really essential, tools.

That's what I've been thinking about. I also want to re-read Cody Lundin's book. I sort of glossed over the stuff he was saying about protecting your core temperature in my haste to get to the gear part. But the importance of core temp and shelter is starting to sink in better.

Bear