my main survival concern is what would happen on a wilderness solo canoe trip if i lost my canoe and gear in a swamping or fell and injured myself on a portage trail.
like most canoe trippers i have added what gear to my PFD i think it would take to stay safe untill i was found.
for those of you who don't recall the post i did last year here is a quick re-run of my first try.

the vest with a whistle and flasher on the outside and pockets with a "food" and "shelter" sides.

here is the shelter side pockets contents.
when i ran this i asked for feedback and got a few good ideas so this year i have made the following changes.on the food side i replaced the paper sugar packs with cubes of the same raw sugar in order to get more in.also fit in a quart size freezer zip lock for water storage.as this is a canoe trip i'll be next to water but having some in the shelter area would be handy.the water is clean enought to drink without treatment and i do that all the time.i also carry a full water bottle on any long carrys in case of a fall in the woods.
the main change of the food side is that i have added a bail to the Swiss Army canteen cup that i would cook my soup and tea in.i looked high and low for something to cook in that would fit the PFD pocket and the cup was the best i could do.if i were to make up a new vest i would buy a covered metal container first and find a PFD with pockets large enought to fit it rather than the other way around.i have seen fishermans PFD's with huge pockets.here are a couple shots of the bail.



first i tryed out just where to put it.long ways or just the short way across.


the long way seemed the most stable and made drinking out of the cup easy.i just used a short lenght of stainless wire.yes i did think about using something that could be used as snare wire but this is not a bail-out over Labrador it's a dump in a park.

i also swapped my foil sleeping bag for a Heatsheet Bivy,added a single blade SAK so i would not depend on the single edge razor blade for cutting the nylon line to make a shelter.
we know what they look like so no photo is nessary.
the other main change was a fire starter made from a Green Heat can.

i wanted something i could handle and open with cold,numb fingers so i used JB Weld to attach a large loop of cord to the back.



and a few drops of Super Glue to hold a loop to the pull tab on the top of the can.without that glue the cord would slip around and not be in the right spot to pull the lid off.


this is how it would work in real life.the large loop could be put over a branch or held down with my foot while the top is ripped off..with my teeth is need be--i used the can because it seemed to be the fire starter that would light fast and burn a long time to dry out damp sticks and get that first and most important fire going.Triox tabs are ok but can fall apart to dust in their foil packs and the new Army gel is hard to light..so thats the ditch vest for the 2009 two week solo.
the vest is worn on the carrys in case of a injury so bad i could not make it back to the camping gear packs at the other end of the portage.

Thats a really checked out idea with the heat can dude. Nothing worst that trying to do stuff with frozen hands. Have you tried it in the field yet? The only concern I would have would be if the string pulled the tab off of the can without opening it just like those dammed fruit cups. Then again, its nothing that you can't solve with a good twist of your knife.

Lets us know how it works for real.

I may end up attaching them strings to my beer cans on my next hike. Those suck to open with cold hands as well.

I am impressed by both of the modifications.

Do you have a way to carry some sort of rescue beacon somehow?

Canada Guys--first off i will not know how the fire starter will work untill i really try it.i have not found anymore of these small zip top cans of Green Heat around Minneapolis. i got two of them with a survival stove kit..two cans and a flat that bends into a sort-of Esbit stove.the first can fired up and burned for quite awhile.i assume this will do the same.
PLB??SPOT??..i have been mulling this over for most of the winter.PLB is cheaper and on a canoe site i'm also on the word is the Coast Guard has them in their gear and gives them high marks.the SPOT would be good for keeping in touch with my wife now that i'm in my 60's and i'm sure it would make her feel better knowing that all is going well.SPOT over the years would run over a thousand bucks for a $125 gizmo..but like i've said it's a park with people and rangers about and aircraft checking for fires and not a bail-out from a burning aircraft over Labrador.if i do get a SPOT or PLB it will go on the life jacket.

I thought I heard something about being able to rent them now, but I am not sure if it is true where you are.
If it is true it might not be a bad idea.

I love the fuel can! That is very, very cool. From your other post, I'm not going to get my hopes up finding it, but I'm not going to stop either.

Nice kit. It's tough to cover all the bases, especially when you're solo and with limited space.

As you well know, firemaking is brutally tough when approaching hypothermia. (To you southerners, try lighting a Bic with two concrete blocks and you'll get the idea.)

Random thoughts FWIW:

- line the firemaking pocket with a large Glad freezer bag

- line the other pocket with a bug-proof head net (they are utter b@stards)

- can't remember if a light fleece toque (watch cap) and light leather gloves are included, but they're indispensable IMO

- a second space blanket is a useful signalling device; it's great big country; tie between two shoreward trees if you want to be seen

- if that canteen cup is aluminum, paste a couple of stripes of white first-aid tape where your upper and lower lip touch; helps a lot with the "scorch" factor, and doesn't noticeably change the flavour of your tea

this is the food side of the PFD from last years post.pea soup tabs,fruit and nut bar,tea,sugar--now replaced with cubes--MRE coffee,tomato boullon cubes and other odds and ends i could fit into the canteen cup.this years gear is already sealed in or i would post a photo of that.the shelter side is not sealed yet so i will add a head net.i have one that packs down very small unlike the kind with the hoop to hold it away from you face.there is no room for gloves or a watch cap but i do have a silk balaclava that i wear under the hood of my winter parka.it's very light but covers my head,face and neck--think bank stick-up--.i'll get it out and see if it stuffs in.it might be a toss up between it and the head net...good tip with the tape on the cup.because i would be heating the water for the tea in that cup my thought was that i could lower it into the lake to cool the metal down before drinking from it..the soup would be spooned out with the cut down MRE heavy plastic one..but this is all Blue Sky thinking.a buddy who canoe trips with me once every few years said the freeway drive out of Minneapolis would pose more danger than two weeks on the canoe path..

Is this supplemented with anything on your belt or pockets?

Teacher..not really,i carry a Mora 2000 on my belt,a watch and LED in my shirt pocket,maybe a BIC and a Power Bar.my main bit of survival gear is caution.over 25 some years i know bad water when i see it,i don't shoot rapids and on the portage i only carry one pack at a time or the canoe.that makes for five walks across but that way i'm not carrying a heavy load or blocking my view with a pack in the chest carry position and the other on my back.clean drinking water is everwhere and with the forest full of pine and birch firewood is easy to find.like my buddy said it's the 290 mile drive that could be a killer.a few years ago i had not even cleared the city when a flatbed truck starting shedding stamped metal fence parts all over the road.me and a bunch of other cars did one of those weave and dodge at 70MPH dance things..a bad day on Lac La Croix was never like that..