People have been conceived without Barry White's help for thousands of years. What's changed are advancements in medical care which have reduced the infant mortality rate.

We need good health care, not candle light and Barry White.

Jeanette Isabelle

As a long time reenactor of the pioneer era I have done extensive study of the clothing of that era and have also hand sewn almost every garmet a person could need right up to greatcoats and capes.

Keep in mind that there were no sewing machines in the average household until after 1850.

Pants are the most difficult items in the clothing inventory to make.

A women could stitch up a half dozen shifts or skirts and blouses before she could finish a single pair of pants.

The women also had tricks they used to keep their skirts out of the way and espically out of the fire. They would often pull the back hem of their skirts between their legs and tuck the hem into their belts, forming a type of kolocks.

The difficulty of making pants is one reason they put all children in dresses until they were 4-5 years old, when the boys were "breeched", or put into pants for school and social events.

Even the men did not wear their pants around the house. They wore a heavy "housecoat" or robe called a Banard, to save their regular clothes.

Thank you for your very informative post. I imagine your knowledge in this area will come in handy in this armchair survival exercise.

Jeanette Isabelle

Update: The game master has granted me an allowance. My player-character's Edge Pro sharpening system, and everything which goes with it, would not be affected by time. Otherwise she would have to have it with her as she makes the jump in time.

Also there is no restriction on the custom survival kit she would have on her. The only exception is, it would be in a black Pelican case rather than orange since orange would attract unwanted attention.

Soon I will be ordering a couple of books to help me design the custum survival kit: Build the Perfect Survival Kit by John D. McCann. Not only is this the only book I know of specific to building survival kits, I read a few pages of it on Amazon and I got an understanding of his philosophy on survival kits. For me, understanding his philosophy on survival kits is very important. The other book is EMERGENCY SURVIVAL A Pocket Guide by Christopher Van Tilburg, M.D. John McCann included this book in a couple of his premade survival kits. My thinking is, if someone like John McCann includes this book in his premade kits then he must have a very good reason for doing so.

Is there another book somone can recommend? If so, I need an explanation why.

Jeanette Isabelle

Comedic prose aside, Cody Lundin wrote an excellent book w/ photos & explanations on building a psk. It is 98.6 degrees the Art of keeping your ass alive.

Comedic prose aside, Cody Lundin wrote an excellent book w/ photos & explanations on building a psk. It is 98.6 degrees the Art of keeping your ass alive.

Brilliant book! "When All Hell Breaks Loose" is another of my favorites, but it deals with survival in broader terms, and spends comparatively little time on PSKs. It could be a helpful read though for this exercise.

I did not see anything in Doug's review of this book that makes me believe it would be beneficial. Why do you recommend this book?

Jeanette Isabelle

I have not bought the books yet. I am waiting, again, on the game master. I don't want to spend any money on this until I am reasonablely sure the game will continue. I need the books not only to finalize the gear my player-character will be using but also make decisions that will impact the rest of this armchair survival exercise.

This is an update of the gear my character will have on her as she makes the forty-year jump in time:

Mountain Medic
Quark 123², S2 Edition
Pocket Survival Pak™
RSK® Mk1

This custom kit was designed with a duel purpose in mind. My character designed it as a supplemental kit to the PSP but it also has to sustain her for a post apocalyptic world she does not know about:

Pelican® 1400 Case (No Foam) Black
Aurora Fire Starter - Silver
StrikeForce® Fire Starter - Orange
Survival Matches
Katadyn® Pocket Microfilter
Bottle Adapter with Activated Carbon
Nalgene® Standard Stainless Steel Bottle
VARGO Titanium Ti-lite Mug - 750 ml
Esbit® Pocket Stove - Small
Blaze Orange Bandana
Emergency Poncho - Clear
SOL Thermal Bivvy
SOL Survival Blanket - Two Person
Ultralight / Watertight .9
QuikClot® Sport™ Silver - 25g
SAM® Splint
RSK® Mk5
eGear PICO™ Lite - Red
trekker® Space Pen
Journal Stapled Notebook with Vinyl Cover - 4 5/8" x 7"
Emergency Survival a Pocket Guide by Christopher Van Tilburg, M.D.
IOSAT™ Potassium Iodide

If anyone has suggestions for this kit, let me know. I also picked some camping and survival gear (titanium, stainless steel, aluminum and books) that will remain in her room during the forty-years she is gone.

Jeanette Isabelle

Sorry for joining this thread so late in the discussion. Looking at the scenario and the current list, a few things occured to me. I am assuming that cost is still not an object.

-- I would suggest replacing the Pocket Survival Pak with the Plus version. The benefits are that it includes the Mk5 and the EGear Pico light, plus a few water purification tablets and a spare water bladder at a cost of very little additional space.

-- I would include a light source that doesn't require batteries, such as the Garrity 3 LED Crank Light (or equivalent). If that is not acceptable, then perhaps your character had spare set of Eneloop batteries in her kit, while the solar charger remained in her room. There is a good chance that solar panels could survive 40 years if left undisturbed. Since your new society is agrarian in nature, there has to be a sufficient amount of sunlight for solar power to work.

-- The Aurora, while robust, has a lot of superflous metal associated with it, and it requires two hands for proper operation. Perhaps you should consider substituting Ultimate Survival Technologies' Blastmatch, which is lighter, is covered (albeit in plastic), and can be operated with one hand.

-- A spare filter for the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter would be ideal. However, if that is not a consideration, then many guides that address the care and handling of portable water filters suggest carrying coffee filters or fine plastic (or rust-resistant) mesh wrapped around and secured to the intake to reduce the amount of particulate matter and thus extending the life of the filter.

-- Snare wire and a small fishing kit is not unreasonable for a PSP, and would come in handy for food acquisition during an unforeseen trek.

I hope you find these suggestions useful.