Okay, yet another idiot wanting a rating on his survival kit. I’ve worked on this kit for quite a while, and with the exception of a couple of items I think I’ve pretty much nailed it, having adequate survival gear for my temperate New England climate, while meeting my desired size and weight. I’ve broken it down into a ‘tier’ system, which is nothing new. However, I’m sure there are holes in my preparations, and I’d like them pointed out. My experience level is good, my training is okay (2-week military survival training, my own personal practice and study, EMT-Basic along with military medical training), but these things could always be better. Gear is merely a substitute for what you carry in your head – but the better the gear….you know the drill. I tried to get pics up, but every time I do my internet quits. Thanks in advance.

Tier One – On person 99% of the time, but offers the least amount of protection
1. Knife – Emerson CQC-7
2. Keys
a. Ferrocerium Rod – I need to add a suitable striker that can be carried on airplanes. Any suggestions?
b. MKII Photon
c. Bison Tube, small – Contains a bit of cotton tinder and a tightly rolled $100 bill.
d. 16” Lanyard (of my own making – doubled 550 cord)
3. Watch with Suunto M9 Wrist Compass
4. Belt – Always!!! Can be used as a lashing, tourniquet, etc.
5. Cell phone – not relied on as wilderness comms!
6. Firearms – I don’t always carry, but when I do, it is typically a Smith and Wesson Model 60-15 - .357 Magnum, 5-shot, 3” barrel, stainless steel. Ammunition varies by application.

Tier Two – In my car. More “stuff” than 1st Tier, but not always handy.
1. Gerber Model 600 Needle-nose multi-tool – Glove Box
2. Surefire G2 Nitrolon Flashlight and spares carrier (6 Batteries and extra lamp) – Glove Box
3. Extensive First Aid Kit – I drive a Nissan X-Terra, and upgraded the factory first aid kit with more 4x4s, sterile 4” gauze, 1 HemCon (hemostatic dressing), a pre-fabricated tourniquet (CAT Tourniquet), 8 gauge needle (for chest decompression), 1 NPA and a set of trauma shears. In addition to first aid items, I also added some general survival items, listed below:
a. 50’ 550# Cord
b. CRKT “Stiff Kiss” fixed blade knife
c. AMK Heatsheet x2
d. Magnesium Block
e. Hurricane matches
f. Emergency candle
g. Mini-maglite with extra lamp and batteries

Tier Three – My backcountry kit. Offers the most protection, but is frequently not handy. Also, this kit is carried in addition to my Tier One kit.
This kit is contained in whatever pack I happen to be hiking with at the time (Camelbak Rim Runner in summer, Kelty Redwing in winter), and invariably the pack will contain a map of the area, appropriate wet/cold weather gear, 2 Nalgene bottles, and a steel cup. However, these items are used normally. Instead of listing everything I carry with me while hiking, below are the items that are dedicated for emergency use only.
My kit is carried in two parts – the survival kit ‘part’, which is contained in a Coghlan’s waterproof pouch (large), and the first aid kit ‘part’. The first aid kit is housed in a red Outdoor Research organizer (unfortunately, I don’t think these are manufactured anymore). These two pouches are stored together, and considered the same kit.

1. Fire Group
a. Spark-Lite – Aluminum version with replaceable flints. I upgraded the container with extra flints and the appropriate hex wrench, and additional tinder.
b. Magnesium Block – Doan, of course
2. Shelter Group
a. AMK Heatsheet x2 – Can also be used as signaling items
b. 550# Cord – 75’
3. Navigation Group
a. Suunto A10 Compass
4. Water Group
a. Katadyn Micro-Pur tablets x12
b. Coghlan’s Large Waterproof Pouch (Product # 8417) – This is an extremely rugged watertight bag. In addition to serving as the container for my kit, this bag is handy for a number of tasks, including water storage and transportation. Also, if inflated, this bag might make a decent flotation device.
5. Signal Group
a. Signal Mirror
6. Food Group
a. Fishing kit, containing line, hooks, sinkers
b. Snare wire
7. Survival Tools
a. Knife – Gerber Air Ranger. Not the sturdiest knife out there, but decent, and this knife is merely a backup to my EDC Emerson CQC-7.
b. Gerber knife sharpener
c. Photon Micro Light – Can also be used as signaling item.
d. Needles (3) and thread (contained in fishing kit)
e. Rite-in-the-Rain Tablet
f. Mechanical Pencil – Maybe I should replace this with a non-mechanical number two?
8. Personal Comfort
a. 100% Deet – 1 oz. Bottle is taped shut.
b. Coffee Bags (Maxwell House Coffee Singles) – 8x, with sugar and cream packets. Not essential to survival, but definitely a “nice to have”. Also, stopping to make a cup of Joe would slow me down and force me to re-think my situation, possibly keeping me from getting myself into more trouble. Building a fire to heat the water would also make me more likely to stay put afterward.
c. Crystal Light single serve packets, 4x

9. First aid kit
a. Bleeds
i. CAT Tourniquet – carried outside the pouch, loosely around it.
ii. HemCon dressing (hemostatic dressing)
iii. 2 combine dressings
iv. 3 4” sterile gauze
v. 10 4x4” gauze pads
vi. Latex Gloves – 1 individually wrapped pair, in case I’m not working on myself.
b. Airway
i. Asherman Chest seal
ii. 8 gauge needle (for decompression)
iii. NPA
iv. Petroleum Gauze – 2, can be used for 4-sided occlusive dressings, among other things
c. Burns
i. WaterGel (1)
d. Minor
i. 1 - Cravat
ii. Neosporin – 5 single serve packets
iii. Bandaids – various, various sizes
iv. Eye drops – 4 single serve packs
v. Advil – 2 single serve packs
vi. Immodium – 1 single serve pack
vii. Chapstick – 1 fresh tube

Nice job overall. Well organized.

Suggestions:

Whistle, mini fishing lure(s), Kevlar thead, antihistamine, Aleve, eyewash, toothbrush, baking powder, disposable razor, mini EMT shears, half a comb, bandana or two, hard candy or sport energy gel packet or two,

Consider adding a Wenger / Victorinx Air Traveler to your Tier one.

I don't know how much space you have in your bison tube, but you might want to change the single $100 bill for 5 $20 bills. Who has change for $100 these days? Makes it harder to spend in an emergency.

Got beat to the punch, alternative striker use a p-38 on your keyring. Add a whistle and bandanna to your tier one. Definately the whistle to your tier 3 if not tier one. Not flight firendly but for edc I carry a swiss tool, many here carry a multi tool of one make or another. Working in a warehouse I can't see being without one, but you may not require one. Just something to ponder.
All in all looks like a great set-up.

-Bill Liptak

In an emergency I'd have no problem using my knife to strike the rod. Multitools have lots of sharp edges for striking.

Personally I wouldn't use heat sheets as shelter if I had an option. get a silnylon tarp or tarp/poncho and use the heat sheet as a ground sheet or poncho liner to wrap around your shoulders.

You might add food+ water to your #2 kit.

There's barely room for one bill wrapped around a tiny scrap of cotton tinder - I have to work to get it in there. I struggled with what denomination to put in there (20, 50, or 100) for the reason you mention, but bottom line - when it comes to cash, more is better, and this is for emergencies only. In most cases I can imagine I'd have my wallet with smaller bills. If this was all I had, however, and I needed money that badly it would be an emergency ideed, and change would take a backseat to necessity.

I definitely need to add food and water to the #2 kit. How do you store it to survive the temperature extremes of hot car in summer/waaaay below freezing in winter?

Why not throw a commercial 72-hour kit in the car. The stuff is already set up for long "shelf" life.

Other first aid kit thoughts (I finally checked my list):

Nitrile instead of latex gloves
Hand sanitizer packs
Wound cleaning wipes
Second skin
Sunblock wipes
Safety pins
Disposable thermometers
Electrolyte tablets
Topical poison ivy / oak relief
After bite insect relief
CPR mask
Micro-light

What is “NPA”?

Note: Sorry, but if you carry a survival kit, you don't qualify as an idiot. An idiot expects (demands) that someone else will bail him out.
;-)

Okay, thanks.

I am not ready to try to use any of the airway devices. Is their use covered in any Red Cross courses available to the public?

I'm not sure it the Red Cross covers that or not, but an NPA is wicked easy to use, and I much prefer it over an OPA (the "O" is for oral). It can be applied to consious patients (indeed, you can apply it to yourself), maintains a good, patent airway, and it doesn't require a degree in brain surgery to be successfully applied.

Also, hanks for the tips on the first aid kit side. And thanks to everyone else who has contributed thus far...I've gleaned some good ideas here.

>yet another idiot wanting a rating on his survival kit.

Not idiot. Glutton for punishment maybe. Maybe. But not an idiot.

>Ferrocerium Rod – I need to add a suitable striker that can be

P-38 is good, bit of hacksaw blade is better. Or a small, square tipped needle file that has been cut down, but they are not all created equal.

>Firearms – I don’t always carry, but when I do,

Let me guess... Vermont, or maybe New Hampshire. I say that because MA, CT and RI are a pain to get a liscence for, and ME isn't so easy either.

>Fire Group
Lighter or two, tinder.

>Shelter Group
Something a little larger than the heatsheets. I like a nylon tarp that is silvered on one side.

>Signal Group
Whistle.

Dental floss- good, multipurpose stuff. Duct tape, a little aluminum foil.

But a very good kit as is.

Nope. Hard, but not impossible; you have to want it.

Is the 8 gauge needle to decompress your own chest or someone else's?

I'm trying to imagine punching a needle into my own thoracic cavity...

Are you a working EMT? I am, and I can't decompress anyone's chest with a needle, not if I want to keep working anyway.

John E

Tools - a saw? Out in the woods it might be handy esp. if your knife isn't especially sturdy

It's for whoever needs it. No, I'm not a working EMT - I just picked up the qual in the military.

I'm sure you could decompress yourself if you had to - I know a guy who has done it. Compared to whatever caused the tension-pneumo, I don't think the needle hurt that much...

Good point about the pain but I'd still be very leery of doing it in the field to anyone.

When it comes to scope of practice, that's pretty much off the charts for an EMT.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what you'd be trying to do but it makes me a bit queasy.

John E

Forgot to mention 2 other things. First, looks like a pretty good kit so far, especially with some of the additions/changes noted by others. Second, where did you get the CRKT Stiff Kiss knife? I've been trying to find one for a while now, they quit making them several years ago according to the folks at CRKT.

John E

just clarifying...................8 gu needle.

do you mean 18?

18/16/14 is most common vs. a pneumothorax kit (ie. using a trocar) unless you choose the chest tube route.


-just curious.


Thanks

Figtree - I don't know why I put 8 gauge. Anyway, I ran downstairs and double checked - they're 14 gauge, 3.25" catheters. They are sold by North American Rescue as a decompression "kit", which is really just the catheter in a nifty plastic storage tube.

John E. - I appreciate your concerns, and I'd never attempt a decompression on a random individual within range of definitive care (i.e. at the scene of a car accident). However, in the woods, it might be a different story. If were my wife or I, I'd do it in a heartbeat (without waiting for late signs like JVD or tracheal shift). If I ran across someone I didn't know in the backcountry who began to exhibit late signs, it would be a judgement call - I'm not trying to get sued. I definitely respect your decision not to attempt this, though, as it would adversely affect your livelihood. If you like I'd be more than happy to explain more about my choice in this matter via PM.

The Stiff Kiss...I purchased it at a military PX about 8 or 9 years ago. It's the half-serrated tanto, and I wish I had a couple more of them. They're great, sturdy little knives. Check ebay - there are a few on there right now.

Quote from JustinC: "How do you store it to survive the temperature extremes of hot car in summer/waaaay below freezing in winter?"

The only way I have figured out how to keep my emergency stuff in the car from getting too hot or cold is to cover it with thick padding. I tried a cooler, but it still got too hot. So now I cover it with thick padding like a wool blanket, foam pad (folded twice/4 layers) and anything else in the car that can keep the heat from penetrating in to it. The items I most worry about getting hot are - food, water, meds, butane canisters for the camp stove, and sensitive first aid supplies. I check it often on hot days. Like yesterday it was in the low 100's, so I checked it several times and it was still cool.

Some of the water I keep in the car has a 5 year shelf life and can take hot temperatures. I also cover it with padding. So you might consider that if you haven't already: http://www.nitro-pak.com/product_info.php?products_id=383

I am not sure what to do about keeping your water & food from freezing. I don't have that problem here. But I imagine if you wrap it up completely with enough thick padding it might work. Maybe someone here knows of a good insulating material (that would be safe around food) that would keep your stuff from freezing.

Joy

Nice set up, about the only thing I would add which I might have missed by the other posters is a pair of EMT shears to your medical kit.

I used to think that just having a pair of scissors on either my multitool or in my car would suffice but I have changed my mind, I think blunt tipped shears are necessary now.