Concerning your Question at the End of your Post, you may have some real Areas of Point, concerning Running Far and Fast! But this shud be Alleiviated somewhat by some of our Smaller Kits. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Ebakeev[/email]

There is an Excellent Book by a guy named "Ferguson" on GPS. As well a Good Few Other Good to Excellent Books on GPS or Related Topics. Here in America, Quality Bookstores such as the Larger Borders or Barnes and Noble are a Best Source. I Don't know how such a Book Acquisition system may be in your Country.

Sorry that I Don't know More on Ferguson right now than his Surname, -but I can Find such Out, along with the Title of his Book, Etc. And Post Back with that Shortly.

I Have Read / Soaked Up a Lot of What is in his Book though! Again it's Comprehensive and Excellent! I can Only Highly Recommend It!

Be Aware, as you may Already be, -that things like Forest Leaf Cover, Canyon Walls, and Many Other Factors such as he and Others Mention in such Books, -Can and Does Totally Interfere, with your GPS Efforts, Out There in the Field! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Ebakeev[/email]

I doubt that snares are a useful option when you move. IMHO it´s a waste of time to put them out for just a couple of hours in unfamiliar terrain. You have to look carefully where the animals come and you have to set up the snares and collect them before you move. This may well mean to invest some sweat. It may be better to rest instead. The odds for catching something that way are small at best. Beside of potential waste of water it could have a negative effect on your morale when you don´t have success.

Your bio and your post do not tell us what country you are from, but if you have neighbors with gardens or a garden of your own, I doubt anyone is going to report you for catching some stray rabbits.

Outbuildings tend to have field mice or rats and you can always snare them for practice. Just be careful to not set a snare where a pet like a dog or cat roams. If you want to taste cat, check your local laws or keep quiet if you snare one.

Bountyhunter

Guys, I gotta tell ya, I really don't do PSK persay, in that I don't carry anything on me that remains static, is bare essentials, or has limited function. I gave up trying to come up with something small that would contain everything I might find essential at any given time.

What I did was got a messenger bag, put things in it I use everyday, added things I think I might need once in a while, and every so often change some contents to suit the conditions I may find myself in. I carry a small assortment of esstential OTH meds, along with any current scripts I need. I keep my wallet in it, my security badge for work, wire ties, string, floss, some duct tape, a compass, a lighter, some matches, a mylar bag shelter, an LED flashlight, some paper and some writing utensils, a couple condiment sized peanut butter containers, money, a needle and some thread. I keep a Leatherman, a penknife, another lighter, more money, my keys, another LED flashlight (photon style),my sunglasses, and a hankerchief on my person every day.

That's pretty much it. I may add one or two items or take something out occasionally (like my PDA or my GPS). Otherwise, I do fairly well. I work out of doors at remote locations in wilderness settings under isolated conditions, so I keep other supplies with me in vehicles I use. Since I am a communications specialist, I also keep a cell phone, a programmable uhf and a programmable vhf radio with me when I am away from the office. I also have a small HF transeiver that I can use to talk around the world on using only a 9 volt battery.

There are things you can do to improve your chances. If you think the mindset daily, the messenger bag is no big deal, and you learn how to deal without the stuff you can't take with you. I like to eat, and a couple tablespoons of peanut butter aren't going to break me, but will make my stomach be quiet for a while without depleting my body of water needed to digest it too much (digestion of food requires the use of a lot of the body's water). When I was doing escape and evade, water was always the big concern of the group, not food. The one time we did hunt together, we caught and tried to eat an Armadillo. It was the worst tasting piece of pork you could imagine, and even after doing without food for 4 days, I could only gag down 3 bites.

When we got back to base, those flattened peanut butter sandwiches looked so good, I couldn't open my mouth to say thank you when the mess cook handed me one because it was watering so much. I also couldn't quit drinking water for two days, and got sick twice from overdoing it.

My first post on the boards and I'm a heretic. Oh well.

I dont have a PSK as such. I used to have the normal tobacco tin type but dont any more to much of it is of no use to me. I do have an EDC though.

I live away from home during the week and stay in temporary let accomodation or hotels. In an urban area. Live in a rural area at the weekend and have a 200 odd mile each way commute at the weekend by motorbike. I dont have access to the normal home items you have at home so I carry them with me. I also go hiking, climb and dive. My partner and I also travel a lot at the weekends showing dogs. Whole lenght and breadth of the country.

My emergency items are the ones I use all the time and dont keep a specific set only for emergency use. Set up to provide normal living in town as well as emergency use in event of breakdown or accident on the way home. I dont carry any foraging items with me since in the UK I am not going to be more than 3 days from help and I wont starve in that time. I do carry a SAK which gives a bottle opener, can opener and corkscrew along with a titanium spork to eat with - takeaways if that counts as foraging!. The only specific item of emergency not to be used kit I carry is a £20 note in a small spy capsule. My EDC is also split into 3 sets. trouser pockets, jacket pockets and small daysack. my lists are a bit different from everyone else and are very heavily biased towards FAK both for me and also for children and pets when at home.

Its nice to see someone else from the UK who has also made the decision not to carry food and foraging gear as emergency stuff. and for the same reasons as me. I feel slightly less heretical now <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

In my pockets now are: SAK, 6" needle nose vise grips, spy capsule with £20, inova microlight LED torch, maglight solitare, sliver gripper tweezers, swisstec utilikey, keys, mobile phone and some money. plus very small FAK - plasters and an antiseptic wipe.
In jacket pockets are wallet- ID, money and credit cards, titanium spork, silva compass, personal FAK and some meds, screw gate carabinner, bic lighter, spark lite and tinder, box of matches, magnesium block and ferrocerium rod, Fisher space pen. I tend to never be without that lot they dont take up much space or weight

In daysack - goes to and from work with me. Larger FAK and meds kit, 10m paracord, small climbing sling, 4 4" nails, screw gate carabinner and 2 carabiners. waterbottle and mug.

The one thing I do miss is a good knife and would like to carry a Falkniven F1. Legal problem in the UK for EDC though. But I do put it at the bottom of my pack when doing the bike commute along with a high vis vest, 4 light sticks and an Inova 24/7 torch

Welcome to the ranks of the publicly visible here.

Someone has wakened an old thread, and one in which I've already said more than I should, not a little of it about the seeming inappropriateness of focusing on food procurement, for most of us, for most kits. On this and some other forums that has, in the past, produced spasms of knee-jerk outrage.

So, welcome to the ranks of heretics, as well.

Key to message for "American" English speakers:

temporary let accomodation - rented rooms
motorbike - motorcycle
takeaways - "take-out", as in food
daysack - daypack
torch - flashlight
plasters - adhesive bandages, "Band-Aids"

Sorry, couldn't resist. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I am curious about the carabiners and sling. Do you find much use for them, other than climbing? I have such gear, but wouldn't have thought to carry it unless I expected to go climbing. Also, nails but no hammer. Please enlighten.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I don't carry some of the normal PSK type of things since I'm hardly ever outside of the city. If/when I do plan to go outside I have that type of stuff in my truck to it can be added to my carry. Also I don't carry and fisfhooks for example since eating fish makes me sick.

The nails come in handy surprisingly often. a 4" nail is quite tough and I have used it as a small prybar, the last time on the traditional tin of paint. Most people end up using a screwdriver or knife blade which isnt a good idea. If the nail bends you can throw it away and get a new one. The sharpened tip also make a very good striker for use on ferrocerium rods. You can also use it as a nail <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> In fact so useful that I would carry 1 in my trouser pockets if they didnt keep cutting through the pocket and falling out leaving me to repair the hole <img src="images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I dont carry a hammer as I can usually find a brick or stone to use to pound it if I have too.

I havent tried this personally but I imagine putting it in the corner of a windscreen or window and hitting it with something would be a good way to break glass in an emergency.

I used to only carry one but came accross someone on another site who carries 4 and makes a small stand out of them when boiling water in a sierra cup, havent tried this myself yet buy I reckoned carrying another 3 nails wouldnt kill me. I dont notice the weight at all. I suppose that they would be a quick way of making a trident type thingy to catch fish and frogs for those who feel that they need to forage to survive <img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

The carabineers are handy for a few things and with paracord can be used to pull/hold/drag/lift a surprising amount of weight. The sling I just sort of threw in there recently since I had the carabiners anyway. Doesnt weigh much but is stronger than paracord and as its a bit wider its easier to hold. I've used it a few times to jury rig things together. But not hugely successful. May well give way in my pack to something else.

One thing I forgot in my jacket pocket from earlier is water purification tablets

after reading again didnt explain about the carabiners. can be used to attach various things to your belt or pack for ease of use even the non climbing carabiners you can get. A lot of the things in my EDC seem to have loops on them or split rings. So one is useful. I added more since they are so handy <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> some examples I'm sure you could think of more

tie to paracord for a handle so you can haul on it without damaging your hands so readily

use on a loop on a pack to form a handle for ease of use or hauling (a friend of mine in the Royal Navy always has one on his rucksac since it can be used to clip said rucsac securly to the line when transfering between ships)

locking one makes for secure fastening on packs on the bike at "reasonable" 200 mile commuting on motorway speeds

along with tape sling can be very quickly looped round a tree trunk above a branch as an anchor point for shelter tarp (I know I could tie paracord but this is much quicker) or as an anchor for hauling gear up or lowering down a slope or a safety line

improvised knuckle duster to break car window in an emergency (note - havent actually tried this)