Scratch the raft. I'll stay on the island until I'm rescued.

Points on scratching the water purifier have also been made, especially if you have the tarp. Include tarp.

The first aid kit in the picture looks comprehensive. A comprehensive first aid kit can be used for things besides first aid so it's a multi function option: Lister bandage scissors or EMT shears, rolls of tape, alcohol pads for tender, iodine for purifying water and a possible emergency blanket. Comprehensive kits tend to have miscellaneous non-medical items.

I have shelter, either natural or the tarp. I need fire. If the knife includes a fire rod, include the knife. Otherwise, use matches.

I may not have enough resources for a signal fire so I would still need the mirror.

Jeanette Isabelle

My 5 minute take on this scenario. Probably could think of a lot more if time permitted.

Fishing rod
Aside from the obvious use for the rod. The fishing rod provides a means of catching fish 24/7. Depending on the locale, there are not too many islands where there are not some species of fish to be had. Remove one of the rod eyelets and it can be improvised into a fishing hook with very little effort. Just ensure that the hook is crafted into a circle hook style in order to better the odds of the fish staying on the hook. Also, most fishing reels - depending on fishing line size (normally rated as test), can hold anywhere from 150 yards or more of line. Keep about 100 yards of line on the reel and use the rest for a multitude of survival uses.

Tent
Much better and versatile option then the tarp.
Keeps the mosquitoes and bugs at bay when sleeping at night and also offers shelter from any wind.

Cut the tent floor out. During the day, use as a tarp, rain collector funnel etc. At night, put back inside tent and use as a ground sheet.

Bonus points if the tent has a fly. It can used to make an improvised carry bag, poncho etc.

As for the tent poles. I would remove the poles and replace with thin, flexible tree branches instead. Hint, I know this would work. Years ago on a hiking trip, we somehow forgot a tent pole that had been removed from the tent bag in order to have the cord replaced. 10 minutes work with a knife on a suitable tree branch, we had a workable replacement. It would not take much more effort to make 3 similar for the tent depicted in the image. With a bit more work and using some of the removed shock cord or fishing line, getting the tent to stand not be difficult. The tent pole sections and shock cord can now be used for a number of purposes. In particular, the aluminum ferrules on a tent pole section can be squeezed down then sharpened on a smooth rock to make a spear point of sorts. Lash the tent pole to a suitable and straight tree branch, you have a makeshift spear for any small animals or even to spear a fish.

If the tent did not have a fly, it would be easy to cover the tent in leafy vegetation in order to help shed rain.

Knife
Debated about the knife or the hand saw. Both can be brilliantly used in any survival situation but the edge (no pun intended) goes to the knife.

Pot
Too many good uses not to include. Cooking vessel, water collector. Depending on locale temperatures and assuming you have fire, at night the pot can be filled with small rocks then heated on the fire until hot before bedtime. Bring the now heated pot (with the rocks still in it) into your tent to use to keep the chill off. You would be surprised how effective the pot will radiate warmth in the tent.

Folks living without the benefits of modern technology (matches) tended to keep a fire going for very long periods; even carrying hot coals wit them when transferring to a new location. Your matches, used sparingly, and supplemented with other techniques, could last a very longtime .

True, but cultures that don't have modern fire tech have many methods of building fire that most modern Western people won't be able to do. Think bow drills, hand drills, fire plows, etc. A lot of city folks don't know how to even select wood, much less prepare it in a way that will allow them to successfully build fire even with matches or a lighter! I've seen folks at campgrounds that can't get a fire going easily even with a can of lighter fluid.

Fun topic! It would be hard to pick the items without knowing more about the island. If it was an island in Alaska then shelter and fire tools would be high priorities to me. But on some equatorial islands there may be high enough temps to not really need fire and of course no suitable wood to build a fire to begin with. In a situation on the latter type of island a reverse osmosis desalinator would be very useful!

Just off the cuff I'd say a tent, mirror, matches and flare gun would be pretty handing in any situation. If there is wood to burn then the flare gun would be a bit less important.

Ok, I'll play. I'm going to assume that we're somewhere tropical, and that we're naked and afraid. LOL! No EDC stuff in our pockets, and my eye glasses got smashed on the swim into the beach.

FAK - If this sucker is well stocked it will provide a lot of options. It would be ideal if it includes penny cutters, gloves, triangular bandages, iodine, potassium permanganate and glycerine, magnifying glass, mirror, purelle/rubbing alcohol, cotton, plastic bags, safety pins, pen light, re-hydration stuff, etc....

Tent - This will provide shelter and possible resources for other projects. I'm hoping it has a decent fly that I can use for water collection, protecting the fire, etc. I can cut the floor out and use it as a tarp. The mesh windows could be made into a fishing net. I can use some of the cordage and maybe the zipper pulls to fashion a fishing rig. Lots of options and some built-in bug/little critter protection!

Knife - I'm hoping to I can use it and my brain to find a good rock to strike to make sparks, and to make things using the resources on the island, including the gobs of washed up garbage that we should find there.

The fourth one was a tough choice. I debated between the matches and the boots, and then I picked the pot. My thought is that I can use it to get a fire up off the ground, collect and boil water, for cooking, for making a sea-water still, for protecting fire embers, etc...


As a related aside, did anyone watch the Les Stroud series called "SOS Island", the Bear Grylls series called "The Island" or History Channel's "Alone"? There was the expected controversy around the authenticity of the shows, but I found them interesting to watch.

Great point about garbage washing up on shore; it is virtually ubiquitous. I have found working flashlights (dive lights), an unopened can of Pepsi (didn't stay that way for long!) navigation charts, coils of yellow polyester rope, and glass and plastic net floats, just to name a few.

All in all, is you must be thrust into survival mode, let it be along a coast somewhere (add fresh water and you will be in pretty good shape).

Knife - the single most important tool.

Tent - immediately solves the shelter problem, which is more urgent than water or food. Protects against sun, rain and insects, helping to get a good night's sleep. It also is made of a great deal of material and cordage, which could be used for improvising various things if necessary. In my experience, tents collect dew overnight, and if that works on the island it's a water source. It would also collect rain water. I don't see why anyone would pick a tarp when they could have a tent.

Matches - if there's one thing Naked and Afraid has taught me, it's that without a proper fire-starter you're stuffed. Even if you know bow-drills, getting one to work on a strange island where you not familiar with the local wood is hard. If you don't get fire quickly, chances are you'll be too tired and dehydrated, or sick from drinking bad water, to get it at all.

Pot - needed to purify water by boiling. Could also be used to carry fire around. This is the choice I'm least sure of.

I was actually quite tempted by the sunscreen and insect repellent. Sunburn can be debilitating, and insects can make sleep almost impossible. However, I figure the tent will deal with both. First aid kit could be useful, but I don't know what's in it. Few kits have potassium permanganate, for example. Boots: but I'll already have footwear, won't I? A mirror would be useful for signalling, but hopefully a fire would work instead.

Is this island tropical, temperate or sub-Arctic?

I thought about the tent and chose the tarp because I assumed that the tarp would be the size of the one I have, which is 11.5 feet by 15.75 feet. It seemed to me that much material could be cut and fashioned into a variety of useful things. Also, the large size would collect a lot of rain water.

Most tarps have a silver side and blue side, which might also help in setting up some sort of signal.

It seems to me to be more flexible to meet different needs than a tent. But no doubt the tent would be more comfortable and effective shelter.

That's an excellent point, one that gets overlooked far too often. Many times I get the impression, also from following various discussions on these boards, that we put a lot of focus, probably way too much for our own good, on modern gadgets and gear in general as opposed to the basic albeit mundane survival skills such as fire building.



True as well, even though I think it has much to do with our lack of skills, or better put a general lack of hands-on practice in the field because there are so many other modern, convenient fire starting methods available.

Starting fire with a bow drill is not neccessarily a very difficult thing to do. As a matter of fact, it may look deceptively easy under the right circumstances. If the environment is dry and with lots of wood and natural tinder available it doesn't take all that much skill IME, providing you know how to build a fire correctly in the first place (a skill sadly not all that common these days).

I have been able to start a fire with a bow drill using different kinds of wood. Oftentimes, the actual selection of wood doesn't even seem to matter as long as it has the right properties - hard to describe but fairly simple to figure out through a little trial and error. The wood should be neither too soft nor hard and above all as dry as possible.

That said, in anything less than ideal conditions the chances of success drop dramatically. Rain, wind, too much moisture in the wood will ruin your odds very quickly. Also, the bowdrill method requires two hands (or better yet three ) and it takes a lot of physical effort. Hard to pull off if you're injured, in poor shape, dead tired or with a skull-splitting headache.

I would definitely recommend practicing primitive fire starting techniques, the bow drill being my favorite and probably the easiest by far (I have had little luck with any other method). It could come in useful sometimes and under the right circumstances it is surprisingly reliable. So it might work reasonably well on an arid island, maybe even in a tropical environment with little recent rainfall.

Unfortunately, when fire is needed the most the circumstances tend to be anything but ideal. Add a little Uncle Murphy and it becomes a gamble. So in terms of survival preparedness there is all the more reason for carrying a ferro rod and prepackaged tinder, plus a BIC lighter for good measure...