Survival kits? Not really. Making a dedicated survival kit was quite a bit of a stretch for me because there was absolutely no way to cram the survival item I consider most important into one: A shelter. I avoided the survival-in-a-tin-can concept for years, it didn't fit the way I did things.


That doesn't mean I wasn't prepared going outdoors. In between boy scouting, our own wilderness family trips (day hiking, day skiing) and most importantly: The mountain code which has been repeated on national public television ever since I was born. For years, I've been carrying a bivy bag and similar stuff around whenever I'm off the pavement.


Fitting the PSK into my mode of operation was quite a journey, but I finally got there. You can follow the process starting here (PSK sharing thread), with additional posts later in that thread. Come to think of it, I should make some updates to that thread, it doesn't deserve to die.

I still carry the same emergency stuff as before, but now in a much more organized manner. In particular, my small and large PSK is a huge improvement in my ability to repair and improvise stuff. And it is valuable backup for some vital items. And it makes packing for a trip much easier: It's much easier to remember PSK (big or small) than the sum of individual items.

Funny thing is, I carry less than before. Being more organized means I'm better at cutting away stuff that isn't really needed.

I can't remember a time where I wasn't interested in pocketknives, tools, and being able to fix things. As a handyman and a technologist, I'm keenly aware of needing certain tools to be able to get things done. Knowing how to do something but lacking the tools is a feeling I hate. Self-sufficiency is just something I've always tried to do.

I've read voraciously since First Grade. I read _The Hardy Boys Handbook: Seven Stories of Survival_ when it came out in 1980, and that led me into thinking about carrying tools not just to fix stuff, but to survive.

I was looking for knife reviews because I wanted to buy a good folder on the net and google came back with ETS, I started reading the articles on Doug's site and that was where I decided that I needed to be prepared for emergencies.

I was never a Boy Scout, though I am called that plenty of times each week.

I loved adventure movies in my youth (still do) and of course they always had exactly what they need exactly when they need it. Or they had a tool to make exactly what they needed. So I started packing items in my backpack like zippos, pocket knives, cordage, etc.

The military instilled in me, doing everything with nothing. Nothing is actually what you can tuck in your ruck between 40 lbs of ammo, 45lbs of water, 5 lbs of gummi bears and beef jerky and two pairs of socks.

Equipped.org taught me everything else.

I guess it started in Boy Scouts with me too... started... but I think the religion came in college, when we were on a "day hike" in spring up along the Presidential range in NH, and ended up spending a pretty cold night out in near zero visibility hunkered down with a lot less than a respectable Boy Scout should have had. It was humbling, and from that point, I have had the Be Prepared motto implanted in my head. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right:-)

My grandfather worked in Africa, so my mother basically grew up on an "American reservation" and from the time she was 8 she had a bug out bag, and plans for being alone and not alone, and what to do if she couldn't get to the beach (where the US and UK Marines would be landing). There was a grab and go bag for as long as I can remember, and when I was 8 or 9 my grandfather (who insisted I always carry a bag with water, socks, hat, jacket and a whistle when we were in the woods) showed me what could go into such a bag and helped me build my own. I was maintaining my own a few years latter, and now....

*giggles* I don't suffer from this insanity- I enjoy every minute of it. And I will, right until I turn into the smartest, sanest, wisest guy in the room according to the people who think this is a "morbid hobby".

Camping and hiking got me acquainted with the "Ten Essentials" in the 1990s.

A lengthy ice storm power outage and 9/11 caused me to focus more on preparedness -- for which the camping and hiking gear and experiences are handy.

Welcome to ETS!

I have been a "Be Prepared" type of fellow, but the scouts had nothing to do with that.

Being tossed out of a UH-60 Blackhawk (December 1989, look it up) into the wrong patch of Panama with only what was in my pockets and my combat harness / butt pack helped also.

My vehicle (with my ruck sack and all) was deposited in the proper LZ. About a week later, my spotter and I made it to our originally advertised destination on foot. We had each lost about 25 - 30 lbs and were a might dehydrated. I grew tired of bad water, bad substitute toilet paper, and bad folks who did not like my tourist plans.

I was later sent to SERE school, and it was a walk in the park by way of comparison.

I have since worked in environments that are distant from help, and obliged to make life difficult. I have yet to be as uncomfortable as I was in Panama, and I have no intention of being that poorly prepared again.

It was an effective weight loss program though....

I transferred as a sophomore to the University of Arizona after growing up in various parts of the flat midwest. I became quite fascinated with climbing mountains and the great outdoors of Arizona. As I read about climbing, i realized that nearly everyone spent an unplanned night out and that certain key items made the experience much more endurable.

As my trips grew longer, in due course, I had some unplanned overnight adventures. During my senior year in college, I experienced my first mountain rescue, a life changing experience. During a career in the National Park Service, I came to realize how important it was to practice preparedness at all levels. I and my family were sometimes one hundred miles from the nearest decent grocery store, and we had to be prepared to take care not just ourselves, but others as well.

There were several times when I realized that if you didn't have the required item on your person, you effectively didn't have it at all. I have tweaked my EDC for years.

I took my first survival course in the '70's while on active duty but that only trained me in the use of items in my kit. Typhoons in the '70's and hurricanes in the '80's got me thinking about preparedness (power outages and empty store shelves).

During all those years, kits and preparedness in general was sporadic; it wasn't until I got to California and was introduced to earthquakes (where you get zero warning) that I formalized kits rather than just stocking extra food and batteries.

Now it's multiple kits with each having its own purpose: Kits in the home, kit in the truck for daily local drives, a different kit for the truck on road trips, first aid kits inside the other kits as well as stand-alone FAK's. My flight bag is much like always, except now it has my PLB and Laser-flare as well as an FAK; however, a flight kit should be in a vest and that upgrade is imminent. I hope to get a Switlik vest soon which will become part of the truck kit and also go with me when I fly.