Good evening,

I know we have posted about this topic before but I had an experience today that made me question my method of packing/storing equipment.

I was working in the bush today on a snowmobile and covered about 150kms. About an hour into the trip I talked with a group ice fishing from a hut. The man in the party had sliced his "pinky finger" quite deep with the blade on the ice auger. The group had no medical supplies at all but had wrapped some toilet paper around the finger.

I offered the guy a couple of bandages, he at first declined but then accepted to my help. I know I have at least 3 first aid kits on my snowmobile; a small one under the seat, a medium one in my pack and a large one in the cargo box.

The trouble was that to access any of them I would have to unlash the storage container, then break the waterproof seal to open the kit; all for a couple of bandaids. I also keep bandaids in my wallet so after taking off my floater coat, belt and dropping my floater bib pants I was able to provide 2 fabric bandages. The guy was very grateful and it only took a minute to patch-up his finger.

As I snowmobiled along I got thinking that I package my equipment too tightly, there is never any space left unfilled; but this is done at the cost of easy access.

Later in the day I got the snowmobile stuck on its side when I tried to drive over some trees while turning around at a dead-end trail. What I needed was my axe but it was wedged against a tree stump under the left side of my machine. I have a folding saw in my pack and a bow saw in the cargo box but again it would have been a hassle to unlash everything to access them. I tried cutting through the trees with the little saw on my Leatherman Wave but it was not up to the task. Instead I hammered on the axe with a tire iron from my partners toolbox. This freed the axe (but broke the holder strap) and I was able to chop the trees out from under the snowmoble and get back on the trail. My partner had a good laugh at my expense (he had done a multi-point turn on the trail) but it was an exhausting 30 minutes wading in deep snow to free the sled.

So the lesson I learned today is that although protection and amount of equipment is important, easy access must also be considered.

Mike

Sometimes, it is not the ease of access, but the ease of repacking. I have been guilty of knowing I had what I needed, but tried to make due with something else because I didn't want to endure the repack.

SOE for a packstring is a bucking saw,axe and shovel to clear or rebuild trails.Normally these go on top of a mantyed load in scabbards with the saw lashed on top for immediate access.
I was bringing up the tail end of a huge, 18 mule string when everybody sort of banged into each other like a freeway pileup.
A huge Douglas Fir had fallen across the trail. The lead riders hollered back what was gong on. And, it was then the other guy riding back with me and I noticed:The saw,shovel and axe were within easy reach- two mules ahead of us.
You want humiliation? Try squezzing on a 2' wide cliffpass past 16 john mules giving you hell for being dumb as a rope.

This also to me marks the difference between every day use stuff and genuine survival kit - and reminds me why if it isn't on your person you can't be sure you can reach it.

My fishing kit can be buried in my kit - my torch never

Good points. Valuable reminder.

Security of packing, sealing the containers, will always be a compromise between easy access and being bombproof. I tried sealing my first-aid kits with foil tape but they weren't much good for first-aid sealed that way. By the time I cut through the scrim reinforced foil tape we could have built a hospital.

If you use unreinforced tape you can sometimes lay a bit of wire under the tape to make a 'rip-strip' that speeds access. Be sure to try this a few times at home to get a feel for how to maintain a seal and work right.

Careful consideration of what might be be needed quickly should guide the order you pack stuff. A tourniquet and a couple of combination dressings ride on top of my immediate use medical kit. I can whip them out without even loosening the satchel straps. Quickly at hand is good.

Not only can I relate to this, but also being guilty of not wanting to use/consume that last really cool "whatever" because I know that I'll never be able to locate a replacement again, and am saving this one for another time when I "really" need it.

Jim

I just went through the hassle of dumping, checking out the contents of, and repacking my BOB. Although it is a pain it's needed once in a while. I found some things in there I didn't need, had a couple of items I didn't even know I had, and did a total re-arrange.

It's a little bit lighter, more organized, and (the perk that's pertinent to this post) the main stuff inside is easier to get to.

no matter what i need always seems to be near the bottom. happened twice yesterday.

If it is accessible, it can be used. I tend to toss things in groups in ziplocks, then pack the ziplocks into bigger bags.

It served DW well today. We were at a location when she had a slight emergency (further detail might be frowned on by DW). I had one of the best tools for helping with this emergency, inside a ziplock, in a canvas bag, in the back of the car. The item for which I was looking was in the second ziplock. DW was happy it was easy to find.

I can pack a lot, but I don't tend to pack so neatly.

That is why off the black top, the most critical items (FAK, fire, water, socks) are duplicated between my big pack or packed gear, and a vest that is never off me unless I'm sitting around the camp. And then it is never more than two steps and a reach away. It means I'm carrying more gear than I might need, but...

So much better to have and not need rather than need and not have!

It happens to everyone. In the end you learn to keep the emergency gear in a readily accessible place. Just a few basic first aid and survival items.

But you know ... any time something like this happens my mind always goes back to an old TV episode with Steve Irwin (the Aussie Crocodile man). He had one episode wher eis was driving around the middle of nowhere in his truck, and stopped to get something out of the back. Couldn't find it, and would up tossing all the gear he had on the ground before he located it. The point being ... he did the whole process while grinning. That guy just managed to keep the best possible attitude about life, even when things were really screwed up.

Pete

One thing I do is keep the first aid kit in the outermost pocket of my pack for very easy access. I feel it is one item that I need to have very fast access to.

And my pack is plenty big enough (Voodoo Tactical Tobago) that I don't have to pack all the stuff into it too tightly, so re-packing it isn't that big of a deal with mine.

This sounds like a classic case of Murphys Law. But you did have the gear and the only hassle was getting to it, not having it. So good job.

i a'm planing to hike not hitchhike cross country about 150 miles . atlanta to the coast of sc. i'm 5'7'' and wiegh 145# . what would be the prime wieght of my pack and how do u get that =

Getting in a hurry is what gets you into trouble.

I try to pack so as to get the most in a pack or whatever, but not so tight there is only one way everything will fit. In other words, don't forget to pack some slack.

If you need something, get it, use it , put it back.

At best hurry is expensive. At worst, deadly.

"Pack some Slack",

Nice saying Duckear, I am going to quote you when I use it in teach our youth group.

Mike