Survival Card Packets

If you were to design a series of survival card packs of tips and hints, what categories would you include?

The idea is for packets of cards similar to the Brunton Pocket Survival kit.
http://www.equipped.org/brunton_kit.htm

3 or 4 thin plastic printed cards to a packet.

The cards fit into a plastic envelope that would in turn fit a credit card slot in a wallet.

I am not really looking for what exactly would go on each card but the general categories of each packet. Details will come later.

An Example would be a First Aid pack. The cards would list general first aid tips. Such as How to do CPR or pressure points chart to control bleeding ETC, ETC.

The idea of the cards would be to jump-start the brain in an emergency situation. Another use would be you are stranded with a group. You have the knowledge but can only be in one place at a time. The group is broken into small parties to perform different tasks for the group’s survival. Each task party could be given the packet that it covers.

While all the skills for the task could not be covered this beginner or basic information can get the jobs started.

So what areas should be considered?

Check BillVan's, now infamous, PSK Cheat Sheet

I think if you search around the forum we have touched bases on this subject before. My own opinion is; I would not encourage the use of these cards for First Aid. A quality First Aid course should be the first step, followed by study and practice. Too often people are willing to forego the training, if they think they can jump-start from a “reminder” card or cheat sheet. Like many things the more you practice, the more it will become second nature to you. In some true emergency situations, the ability to act through pure instinct via repetitive training is required for a successful outcome. Pete

Raspy
Campmoor has a printed set of cards they sell plastic conected by a rivit or something like that for around 5-6 bux.

Lee <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Raspy: These aren't suggestions for whole cards, but among the kind of info I think would be suitable...

- fishing knots (I tie them so rarely)
- formulae for common water treatments (how many tabs, minutes, etc.)
- watch and shadow methods for finding north

Also, don't forget that these cards may be all the first aid information your buddy or co-survivor has, so some kind of first aid pointers might be worth including.

I have known about the cheat sheet for years thanks anyway. Yes I know the cards at campmore. Yes the Brunton cards are limited. I thank you all for the suggestions.

But there seems to be some misunderstanding. What I am attempting is to develope a series of cheat sheets. to be printed up on cards and tucked into a case something simulaler to the Brunton cards. 3 or 4 to each slip case. Then these could be carried in a second wallet as a reference resource.

I have a series of catagories already planed. I am fleshing them out over time. What I am asking is what catagories you people think should be included.

I intend to then post asking for what might be included in each packet. One every few days. To try to get better dicussion I would hold my list for a couple of days. The post my list plus changes from the recommdations listed seperately.

Some of the catagories I have come up with already are .
First Aid
Fire making
Fishing
and more.

Hi Raspy,

I carry a card with different cliches in several languages which I probably need when I´m on travel.

Another idea could be a list of important phonenumbers, a wiring diagram of your car, some matrix for calculating, a foil-type-napier-slide-ruler, ...

Molf

I took a look at Bill's PSK Cheat Sheet, borrowed some from ETS with Doug’s permission, fired up PageMaker and made my own version since it seemed like a good idea. It covers what, to me, are the basics that I may need help remembering or that someone else may need if I can't communicate with them:
- STOP and the 6 priorities, Medical Care, Shelter, Fire, Signaling, Water and Food.
- Signaling, with mirror, whistle, smoke, ground-to-air.
- Water Treatment, with bleach, iodine, boiling and Potable Aqua.
- Finding Water, Water Collection, with transpiration bag or solar still.
- Fire Starting, location, kinds of tinder, etc.
- Fishing Knots, because I don't fish and would never remember them.
- Finding North, with wristwatch, shadow stick and the North Star.
Yes, it’s minimalist, but it has the basics, albeit in an abbreviated form. I left of first aid for several reasons: space (bulk), but mainly because brevity in first aid instructions can do more harm than good, in my opinion.
Like Bill’s sheet, I made a .pdf of mine so it can be reproduced, and I’m always tinkering with it!

Broad categories -

Medical

Fire

Shelter

Water

Orienteering

Food

I wouuld tink that you could put together a full four cards on any of these topics. That adds up to 24 cards of info.

I'm not too sure I would want to find the room to carry a deck of cards for reminders in my pockets. I have and carry the brunton cards with fresnel lens and floating compass. I also carry a printed / laminated (and customized) version of BillVann's cheatsheet in my PSK. Much more than that and I will be out of pocket space. An entire extra wallet of cards for reminders would displace my inspirational mini-book (currently "The Art Of War" by Sun Tsu)

Molf ,
Was ist ein slide rule? Das ist zu alt fur mich. <img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Hmm, I think i'm missing an umlaut....how do you do those on an american keyboard? <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Maggot - is that file something you'd consider sharing/uploading?

- Steve

Have to second this. It would be nice to compare this to the other cards. I am always open to learning new things.

Maggot and miniMe you are both on the right track. What I am trying to design is a Wallet Survival Kit. miniMe as you can see from the Brunton cards the whole pack is talkes up the space of a single credit card. So far I have come up with 25 catagories and 8 card sixe equipment cards. I can usually stuff 2 or 3 cards in one slot. So about 8 slots on each side plus a bill area and a change type pouch for other additions.

Yes this would be a rather fat wallet but doable. The Idea is balance. Most that carry a wallet in one hip pocket sit crooked. This woul even out the arangement. If printed on paper like the Bill Van's one [that's 5 cards] the waterproofed instead of laminated even 25 would peobably be less than 1/2 inch thick.

But primarily an exersise to keep thinking.

I agree that balance is a good thing. For a while I had a rather large wallet on one side and large chiropractic bills to go with it. When I got into preparedness I started carying a flat rolled hank of nylon cord on the other side. Balanced things out nicely but I discoverd that having that sutff back there still caused me a pelvic tilt that was very bad for me. Now All that is back there is empty pockets. I make up for the lost pocket space by wearing a Filson vest with enough cargo capacity that I can camp without a pack. It's all about the choices.

Certainly you could carry quite a bit of information in this manner. Another possibility is carrying it on microfiche. There was a thread on this that included some small colapsing loups for reading later. Search for microfiche in the last 3 or 4 months on the forum search.

I think that you will rapidly run into capacity problems trying to substitute reading material for training. A wise selection of traveling companions and EDC gear will take you further than any instructions that you might have with you when you are in the muck of the situation. I think that the flat roll of 200' of nylon cord that I carried would be more useful to me in a situation than an euivalent weight of reading material. The problem is that if I know how to use the stuff and I have enough of the right stuff then I don't need the reading material, OTOH, if I have some of the stuff but need to sit down and drain the battery on my Photon II in order to learn how to use it then I will have bled out before I get off the dime. Emergency situations are not always urgent but they often are. In an urgent situation the last thing I want to be doing is reading to find a solution of waiting for someone else to read about the solution. In a non-urgent situation I am more likely to want the dice game or the micro-sized deck of cards or the miniature bible or selected verses to keep my spirits up while I huddle in my debris hut warming my face to the fire just outside the door.

Only time that I see this sort of thing being useful is during training or during the situations where there isn't any urgent need but the duration could be effected largely by our actions. Example - lost without knowledge of proper signalling or orienteering. In this situation one could wait in vain without signalling or walk deeper in without proper orienteering skills. It is certainly possible to learn to use a mirror from a small wallet sized card but if the individual purchased the cards and carried them in place of the mirror then what? They read the card for the first time and discover that they should have bought that mirror before taking the trip - I hate it when I do that!

Duhhh...sometimes I wonder if my brain is permanently switched off. Meant to do that with the original post. Here is the link: Mini PSK Cheat Sheet
...and no laughing allowed at the rather eclectic content of the rest of those pages!

Thanks for the link, will peruse in detail later, after some sleep. Got called in to the ICU last night.
Of course, had to check the forums before going to bed.

Let me relay one experience with “cheat sheets” or “reminder” cards for emergency medical care that has shaped my negative opinion on relying too heavily upon them for immediate care interventions. Many EMS providers carry both homemade and/or commercially available pocket reference books on a wide range of topics including but not limited to: drug dosages, triage guidelines, treatment algorithms, vital standards, etc. There are even quick reference charts, measuring tapes for pediatric drug doses, I.V., E.T. sizes all produced to reduce the time and potential error in treating life-threatening conditions. Many EMS providers have much of this information committed to memory, either though study and/or experience.

A few years ago, my partner and I were evaluating a relatively new paramedic; we were dispatched to a serious motor vehicle accident. As part of his evaluation we expected him to take charge of the patient care and direct us and other EMS providers to perform the necessary care and treatment. Upon arrival, the first thing he did was to pull out his pocket reference, he stood there for several minutes reading and trying to decide upon a course of action. My partner and I, seeing that he was not making decisions fast enough for the current circumstances, went ahead and proceeded with patient care. In this particular case, delay in treatment would have led to less than a survivable result. After the call we debriefed the individual and let him know in no uncertain terms, the time to check his “cheat sheet” was not at the scene, but either back at quarters or in route to the scene.

Too often people put on the backburner the need to obtain training and then practice what they learned. Personally, I see little difference, in fact I would consider it a more significant “sin” for those who purport to prepare for emergencies though putting together kits and supplies for emergencies, but fail to obtain the necessary training or to practice/train lifesavings skills, then those individuals who rely upon others for equipment in times of adversity. Pete

I completely agree that Being trained is by far the best.

Yes proper selection of traveling companions is nice.

The problem is if you get into a bad situation you rarely have a choice of when or where. Also you may have "0" choice who is there with you.

It sure would be nice to know ahead of time when an emergency was going to happen. We could either avoid it or have all that we need to deal with it.

Cheat sheets do 2 things. First they have a calming effect even on the most experianced person. Have you ever drawn a blank. Sure you know it like the back of your hand but you just can't get started. second others around you may not be as knowledgable as you. Maybe you are the one out of the action.

Sure you could bleed out rr die from a heart attack while the other guy is reading how to help you. But at least if the material is there your chances are better.

I carry 150 feet of paracord but in the form of a belt.
slatts rescue belt
http://www.slatts.fsworld.co.uk/slatts-knot.htm
Mush more conveniant.

I also fully agree that in many situations you have to do it now or else. But also remember the first thing in the STOP or SURVIVAL acronyms is to stop and sit..

Good post Maggot, but you could simplify your priorities to:
Protection: First aid, Fire, Shelter
Location: Improvised, Passive and active aids
Water: Procurement and purification
Food. Types, sources and list edibility test.
Makes it all simple and leaves room for extra cards on rescue tips and pointers for a particular region your in?

True enough. I guess the beauty of this system is you can tinker with it endlessly to get the cards exactly the way you want them. I put that mini-PSK cheat sheet up becase it was a good "generalist" one that could be used in a variety of situations. Since I have desktop publishing programs, it's not a big deal for me to customize my own cheat sheets, but for someone else, getting them just the way you want them can be a challenge using a word processing program or something similar.