I'll toss out my thoughts for both your posts. It's true food is low priority in a detached appraisal. But then, so are the spiritual texts Doug mentions. Not everyone in a survival party will have the same discipline or dispassionate view. A child, or inexperienced adult can be calmed by a bit of food, toy ( teddy is wearing my Seattle gas mask here, he comes first), even a tiny light from a candle. Craig, as to 'comfort food' as I call it, anything that keeps well with a little rotation is appropriate with sufficient water. I keep a can of beans, trailmix, jerky and instant drink mix with 5 gallons of water in the car. It used to store under the seat, until the beans rolled out and jammed under the brake pedal.<br><br>

I had problems with the spiritual advice given in an emergency preparedness text I bought. I don't consider myself spiritual at all. I asked my wife's opinion of what the author had written, read it to her verbatim, and she explained how I actually do follow what the author says, even though I don't think of it that way. Not only does my wife understand me, she can explain things to me I would otherwise instantly dismiss as not applicable to me. One of the many reasons I married her.<br><br>

I’d be the first to agree that my priorities would be different if I had kids and were factoring them into scenarios. As it is, for just me, the kits represent what I personally think I might need to survive… and, with very few ounces and very few cubic inches available in the carry kits, I’m afraid items that are based on comfort, physical or spiritual, are not likely to make the cut.<br><br>A similar heresy is that I take a dim view of the first-aid materials in most kits.. please don’t misunderstand, I’m not extending this to criticism to real first-aid gear, but a 2-inch gauze pad, some band-aids and two over-the-counter pain killer pills are not going to save a life. If that gear stops the bleeding, it was going to stop anyway (I have scars to vouch for this attitude). I tend to relegate such superficial gear to the “comfort” category as well. Not that it’s not nice to have, but there’s no room in a tiny kit for comfort items. All those tea bags, bouillon cubes, aspirin and band-aids are taking space that could be filled by something potentially crucial. <br><br>A home or vehicle kit is another issue- but even there, I stand by my comments about comfort and complacency being real enemies to survival in a lot of situations. As Americans, we are reflexively concerned about comfort almost without thought. It’s not always appropriate.<br><br>>>I keep a can of beans, trailmix, jerky and instant drink mix with 5 gallons of water in the car. It used to store under the seat, until the beans rolled out and jammed under the brake pedal.<<<br><br>In many areas, water and maybe some provisions in the car just makes sense. Unfortunately, in much of the country, in the very period when you’re most likely to need it, water and canned goods will freeze in the vehicle at night. Even if the containers survive the expansion, a one-liter block of ice is of considerably less use in winter than one liter of water… and no one is likely to stick with a regimen of moving the stuff to and from the car every time it’s used. It’s a problem.<br><br>

I found the few medical items to be lacking also. My solution? A duplicate kit dedicated solely to medical gear. Acquire a duplicate to your altoid tin etc. The "one or two" meds,bandages and topicals are now exponentially greater in number and usefullness. Remember too, a small folding knife, matches for sterilization, bandanna for sling or compress, sealing tape for tins are all first aid items. Who invented the single pocket tin rule anyway? I carry one in each breast pocket or riding chaps. They keep me from veering to the left now and constantly taking new compass bearings.<br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Chris Kavanaugh on 10/03/01 11:20 AM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>