Special Ed teacher needing neck survival kits

A guy on a backpacking forum has asked the below. I recommended visiting this site so maybe he will chime in.

"Hi, I’m a Special Ed teacher at a small school on the edge of the Bristol Bay in Alaska. In the winter we sometimes travel by snow-go(snowmobile) or single engine planes. My school district has a rule that each child must carry a small survival kit around their neck while in transit.

Question–Does anyone have any suggestions other than the ones I see on ebay and amazon? I would prefer ones that had actual usable components. The old ones consisted of a trash bag sized tube tent and a 5 cent compass with a candle…..

Thanks in advance…"

Medical- medical ID card, first aid kit for wounds
Shelter- sol emergency blanket
Fire-
Hydration- collapsible cup with aqua tabs
Communication- whistle, ?signal mirror
Navigation- compass, small led light
Nutrition- roll of lifesavers or jolly ranchers
Insulation- they are probably wearing it if Alaska
Sun protection- emergency blanket
Tools-

I would not waste my money on the usual preassembled survival kit. You can easily do better by assembling the kit yourself. in fact, I just finished an REI sponsored session on the gear for emergency preparedness in which the instructor also had a negative view of those kits.

How many do you need? one for each kid or just a few for those who might be in transit together? This could be a good class project...

Are there any criteria for what is judged sufficient by the school board?

Any emergency equipment on the snowmobile or plane itself?

Making your own does seem like a better idea.

A few other comments! It would help to know the ages and capability of the kids. If they are to wear them around their necks that would call for a compact, lightweight kit. And what a SERE-trained airman might carry would require skills those kids probably don't have. Will the kids receive training, even rudimentary, on survival?

For premade kits, I think the SOL Scout Kit is a decent place to start. It's relatively small and would be easy to wear on a lanyard. There's a space blanket, whistle, mirror and a small fire kit among other things. None of the stuff would take a ton of training to use. The blanket is at least a bit of shelter and protection.

For a "shelter in place awaiting rescue" kit, the challenge is making it appropriate to the users (instead of a token). Surely the authorities must provide some guidance on what is appropriate?

My thinking is that the objectives of the kit contents would be to support things like:
- stay calm, stay with the group, stay with the transport vehicle
- set up some signals to the sky, so people in aircraft can find you
- stay warm, stay dry, help others to do this
- try to find water, or melt snow

That's a lot for a kit carried around your neck. I think it's more about reinforcing a successful survival psychology and positive actions than anything else. If that can be kept going, other things become possible. Also, kids raised in the bush, regardless of their other challenges, may have more skills than we know about here, and the ability to apply them.

My 2c.

How old are the kids?

If in their teens I would say hands down center the kit around a palmer furnace, if you're traveling by snow mobile then you're in an environment where exposure will kill you faster than anything else. Obviously there is a burn risk and an assessment should be made if the kids can handle having a candle between their legs but for the size and weight I can think of nothing else that will provide lifesaving warmth in freezing temperatures with little to no prep. I'm assuming these will have to be made for lots of kids so cost will be a factor.

There are a bunch of ways you can do it to save money, from contractor bags (black or orange) on the low end to heatsheets emergency blanket + disposable clear poncho or if we're going premium then an SOL emergency poncho. Cheap candles from the store or tacti-cool exotac candles. You can even make your own inexpensively buying tins with lids in bulk quantities and melting beeswax in it with 2-3 wicks. Throw in matches or ferro rod, with a little cotton ball and Vaseline or tinder quik pre installed around the wicks and you can light with a spark. The supplies can be had for cheap enough they can have two, one to practice with and one to use. If you opt for contractor bags then two bags would be ideal, one to throw over them (and rip a face hole) and one to stuff with evergreen boughs to insulate from the ground.

Beyond that, maybe a couple of toe warmers, a whistle, signal mirror (can be had on aliexpress for $1 ea, can improvise with cheap dental mirror from most stores) and something to treat water. Some duct tape around a card is cheap, some bankline cordage. A $1 headlamp from walmart. You can vacuum seal the lot or use a ziplock baggie depending on expense and time and ziplock can be your water container in a pinch, marked at a quart / liter.

Not ideal but If it must be worn around the neck, can punch holes in the ziplock above the closure for a dogtag like chain, or duct tape to reinforce. or put the entire assembly in a kerchief, fabric pouch with drawstring closure, cargo pocket cut out of some old cargo pants, or even a pair of wool socks to help support it so it's not tugging on the freezer bag. I reckon it would be manageable weight wise.

If you want to splurge, a Coghlans pocket sierra saw is a pocket knife sized saw for $10, doesn't weigh anything and would fit in the ziplock with the rest and be fine for gathering some fire wood or assembling an A frame shelter, if help is more than a day away due to weather they'll want to convert to a different shelter with a campfire since the candle will probably be done getting them through the first night.

I would like to add that in my oppinion one of the adult leaders should be able to use a chainsaw in order to build a decent fire in case of emergency. Since they travel by plane or snowmobile the weight should not be a problem.

Is around the neck a hard rule? Would have though a chest pouch or hip pack would have been better.

Initial thoughts... and not a complete list.

Whistle
Signal Mirror
Flashing beacon https://www.cejayengineering.com/distress-beacons/outdoor-distress-beacons
BIC lighter https://us.bic.com/en_us/bic-classic-lighters-orange-12-pack.html
Stormproof matches https://www.ucogear.com/firestarting/matches/survival-stormproof-matches-10-pack-in-bag-mt--sv--bulk
Blizzard Survival Bag https://www.blizzardsurvival.com/product-category/bags-blankets/bags/

Second Ren's comment. If there should be a pileup/hard landing, something around your neck could have serious consequences, like strangulation. A waist pack would be much better.

White Petrolatum (aka vaseline) sachets: https://www.amazon.com/Dynarex-White-Petrolatum-Foil-Packs/dp/B009135I40/ref=sr_1_36
Cotton balls/roll.

Teach the kids to make vaseline & cotton balls if need a fire starter.

There is a lot of good information at http://www.equipped.org/

... including a Survival For Kids link http://www.equipped.org/kidsrvl.htm

... which has a Kid's Don't-Leave-Home-Without-It Equipment link that recommends the following items:

Identification and/or Medical Alert Tag or Bracelet
A Loud Whistle
1 or 2 Large Garbage Bags (Orange! Big enough to cover the entire body, with another to sit on)
1 or 2 Canteens of Water
A Pocket Flashlight
A Brightly Colored Bandanna (Orange!)
Cell Phone
If you know how to use them properly and safely:
Pocket Knife (a sturdy locking folding knife is best)
Firestarter (matches, lighter or flint and steel ... and add some good tinder too, such as petroleum jelly on cotton balls)

Thanks for all of your suggestions. The guy asking has not answered some similar questions over at the backpackinglight dot com forums.

check out Ranger Rick's Survival necklace on ETS


http://www.equipped.org/rangerrick_necklace.htm

I would think thermal regulation and hydration is of primary concern.
Therefore, I would gear the kit to accomplish this task.
It would also seem that a survival kit hung around the neck, would be very small. A kit this small would require more expertise than a slightly larger kit. I would suggest a small backpack or fanny pack.

1. A small pill bottle filled with petroleum jelly treated
cotton balls.
2. Ferrocerium rod and striker.
3. Mora 511 knife (if the children are competent and trained to
use one).
4. A bic or cricket lighter.
5. A small, easy to read pamphlet with survival tips.
6. Space blanket.
7. Contractor size trash bag.
8. 20 feet of #36 bankline.
9. A candle.
10. Small first aid kit.
11. Water purification tablets.
12. Small metal container for melting snow.
13. 1-liter bag to carry water.
14. High calorie/protein bar.
15. Whistle.

If the kit has to be worn around the neck, then items 1,2,4,6,8,10,11,13,14 and 15 could be carried around the neck.

It is difficult to develop this individual kit without knowledge of the gear carried on the plane or snowmobile, and for that matter, the length and duration of the trips. Any instruction given to the students? This could be the most useful item of all...