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