I just finished an article on Critical Survival Items you can carry in a Lifejacket. The basic scenario is you are standing on the side of a wilderness river or lake: cold, wet, possibly injured, and likely hypothermic. What should you be carrying in you lifejacket to help you survive. Here are a few of the pictures from the article.



The article is at: Lifejacket Critical Survival Items. The article contains additional pictures and my explanations for the choices that I made.

I look forward to hearing what additions and deletions everyone thinks should me made. Remember that I wisely limited myself to using and not modifying a Coast Guard approved lifejacket and we can't carry handguns up here in Canada (at least us non-criminal types).

Admittedly I only speed read your article, I didn't see a strobe or PLB mentioned.

Good article and site link Bruce,

CANOEDOGS did a similar post a while ago found here
http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=10186&Number=115815#Post115815 and feedback here http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=10191&Number=115895#Post115895

I understand that you are really tight for space in the pockets of a lifejacket, but would there be any room for the following useful items?

- AMK Heetsheet Blanket
- small knife sharpener (emery cloth or diamond sharpener)
- water purification tablets
- water container (plastic/mylar bag)
- insect repellent
- marine flare or strobe

Mike

Hi Bruce. Nice set-up for the PFD. I only have one pocket on my PFD but have a second mesh pocket on my paddling jacket which can also hold a number of items. And of course I normally wear some sort of cargo pants/shorts. One thing I don't see in the kit is any sort of extra vision! I don't know about others but I am getting increasingly reliant on reading glasses and so I always store a set on my person -- it's really the only way I can read maps nowadays.

Good kit considering the size constraints which are a significant limitation.


A PLB would be great because the first thing I'd be looking for in that situation is a way out of it. Obviously no room for that item.

Another item I thought was missing is a good signal mirror, but that's included in the Ritter PSP.

Hopefully an itinerary was left with someone and you will be missed.

Interesting - I'd do something similar with a fishing PFD. More pockets including a large one on the back.

Where I go its all about staying warm;

- fleece hat
- Platypus water bag, purifying pills
- spare vision devices ( contacts, glasses)
tro





( I'd also have a zip-shut pocket on my shorts and safety pin it shut as well.)

Are extra/spare vision devices considered critical survival items? I guess they could be if you were seriously near sighted and as was mentioned they could be critical in reading a map; but is the map itself a critical survival item? I imagine that depends on the definition of critical.

I have a magnifying glass to use for reading maps and other things. I use off the shelf 1.25 reading glasses and sometimes they aren't quite enough for the small print.

The question for this thread is that if there is a significant space limitation, do reading glasses have a high enough priority to bump something else out? Are the glasses critical or nice to have?

One degree of compass error = 92' in one mile. The vikings managed to hit Canada's eastern shore with a lot less in the form of a lodestone and the story of Saint Brendan the navigator.
Personally, I want more than a magnetised bit of iron and some irish priest's word. Some people would look at your Mora as a 'toy' also. Put the button back in. It's better than nothing.

And nothing is your main consideration. Have you jumped from a highboard into a pool with this rig on? my one Lifejacket kit use was at Tilllamook Bay Oregon. I was a rescue swimmer and managed to get 3 people to shore in the rapidly fading light. My survival belt with all my kit was rippped off. I had my secondary Camillus folding sailor's knife inside my wetsuit on a paracord lanyard and little else.

Somehow I managed to make a friction fire courtesy of some dry wood and coals from an recent beach campfire and a really lousy spindle and board. The Oregon Coast isn't exactly noted for the dry conditions in Arizona when i learned firemaking as a little boy.

You try to explain to a screaming CPO your knife,strobe light,penflares and Lifeboat matches were in the Pacific Ocean, the MK 1 Lifejacket was less than exemplary and when you're done castigating californians, I think my left hand is broken.

I carry a SPOT Beacon, but it was to big for the lifejacket so it goes in my Olive Jar

My bad, I thought you were gearing up for overboard in the ocean, if it's a lake then your signal group is fine. I would not recommend your kit for any ocean adventures for the signal group. I would recommend a PLB though.

Your waterproof primary lighter, I would add a small FOV with extra lighter fluid and a ferrorod. Army firesteel FOB

Shelter, I would add a GoLite Poncho Tarp, very light weigh,small and longer than normal ponchos for using it as a tarp. (it has tie down points built in) Poncho shelter

Get rid of the cord you have and go with 25 feet of military grade type IV parachute cord.

Add 1 guyotdesigns (worth there weight in gold) water bottle and put some of your smaller kits in this bottle.
This bottle will allow you to cook food, signal and boil water in it, you can store some of your kits inside it when not in use (it will be waterproof inside of the bottle) and will merge into the space some of your kits are in.
Water bottle

Some of your gear (like your first aid kit for example) is not waterproof plus in your scenario everything will be soaking wet so your first priority will be shelter and fire, so that means shedding the cloths and I would put a MSR ultra lite towel in your kit (waterproof everything of course) to dry off as quick as possible before getting into a heat bag. Time for hypothermia is critical when dealing with cold weather.

Although I haven't tried one but Doug recommend it was the Land Shark Bivy though (I'm a poncho liner man myself but you would not have the room for a military poncho liner)for use in to quickly build back body heat. NEW Military issue poncho liners!!

Hand warmer and glow stick are extra weight and can be replaced with a strobe with extra set of batteries. It will last you a lot longer and can be seen at night allot further out. (strobes at night are worth their weight in gold) If you have room for hand warmers and stick then fine but it's extra weight and space IMHO.

Although this one is big (I can't remember where I saw a smaller version of a waterproof wind up light) but you'll get the idea. Batteries will fail so you would want another source of power rather solar, wind up or what have you.
Waterproof wind uo flashlight

Other options if the ocean is involved.

Rescuestreamer

ACR Firefly 2 waterbug 200ft depth

ACR PLB