I have revised the PSK Cheat sheet we discussed several months back. I replaced the trapping and snare diagrams with Spark-Lite firestarter instructions and tips. The thinkingbehind the change is that fire starting is a more important requirement that trapping food and the instructions would be of more importance.<br><br>For those new to list, the cheat sheet is a accordian fold piece of paper with basic survial info, instructions and tips. It's printed on Rite in the Rain waterproof paper and is sized to fit in an Altoids tin PSK, right on top where it'll be the first item removed. The information covers things and skills I already know and have practiced (now that I removed the trapping <s>), but it still may be valuable if (a) I'm disoriented or panicy in a survival situation (I hope not, but you never know), (b) for use by another, less experienced, companion if I'm unconscious in a survival situation. <br><br>I can email a copy to anyone who sends me a private email. It's in Acrobat PDF format and is designed to print on the front and back of a single page using an HP 1200 print driver.

Thanks, Bill! It looks great - I appreciate it.<br>

I just uploaded the PSK Cheat Sheet to the Troop 149 Scouter website. This version is different than the ones I sent earlier this week. I fixed the missing border on the first page, removed the extra borders on the watch compass page and fixed the wire saw graphic, which makes some additional text visible that was hidden before.<br><br>Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement as well as the suggestions and proofreading.

Very cool, and prints easily. Thanks Bill!!<br><br>Any suggestions on waterproofing the sheet?<br><br>Peanut<br><br>P.S. Cliff, two of these come on one sheet,I've got a spare

P. S. Thanks<br><br> .....CLIFF<br><br>Just a prodigal scout's brother.....

Just buy some liquid map seal from Campor.

Bill,<br><br><br>Great job on this! I finally got around to looking at it. I had been cobbling a similar cheat sheet of my own together, but I have thrown it out and will use yours. Thanks!!!<br><br>One thing though, I took a look at the PSK you posted on the web site. You left the Potassium Permagnate in the kit (which is great), but you included no directions for it's use on the cheat sheet. This no problem for me, my PSK has enough room left in it for me to throw them in. It's your scouts I'm worried about. I wouldn't imagine that many of them know how to use it in a survival situation (I didn't, before I became a regular here), and at least a few of them are likely to produce carbon copies of the kit you posted. There are potential problems that I can foresee: They may just eat it. I'd like to think that this is unlikely, but like Heinlein said, "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." I know adults who have done stupider things. Ever wonder why silica gel packets have the words, "Do not eat," on them? While I doubt that eating it would kill them, It would probably make them very ill, which sure wouldn't help in a survival situation. Of lesser worry, they use it incorrectly, either using too much or too little, and make themselves ill that way. There may be other problems, but those are the ones that leap to mind.<br><br>If you are going to retain the PP, I think you should include instructions for it's use. If not, I think you should take the PP off the PSK list and use the room for something else. Just my opinion....<br><br>Thanks again,<br><br>Andy

Bill<br>Great cheat sheet! It will complement the medical cheat sheet in my PSK.

I thought I would mention that the folks that Rite in the Rain offers a $10 introductory offer that includes two pocket notebooks and an all weather pen. They also included a few sample sheets of their laser paper in the packet. This is what I used for my cheat sheet, instead of buying a whole ream for $25.<br>

I was thinking of using the label on the vial for very short instructions. I haven't thought it all thge way trhrough yet, but here's what I initially thought of doing.<br><br>A wrap around paper label with four horizontal segments. One for the content name, potassium permagnate (and perhaps "do not eat." ), and the remaining three for the carius tints and uses for disinfectant and water treatment. I'd like to add color strips for each of the three uses, just like test strips for chlorine and other chemicals. Does any one know where I can find examples of the three various shades. Or can someone give me the RGB equivalents?<br><br>Then perhaps the label and be sealed around the vial, which I bought through Blueline Outfitters, via clear shrink tubing. The tubing would hold the label in place as well as form a seal around the lid.<br><br>Comments?

Bill,<br><br>Seems to me that my wife got a whole bunch of paint color samples the last she went through the "let's change the house" phase. I seem to remember some that were about the right shades. She got them at Lowes Home Improvement, but any similar store (Home Depot comes to mind), a paint store, a home decorator, or probably even a local Mom and Pop hardware store should have something similar. Heck, if I I haven't thrown them out and I can find them, I'll send you mine if you like.<br><br>Andy

I can create an electronic color tab for the PSK Cheat Sheet or KMO4 vial label, but I personally on't know which shade to reproduce for the colors. Rose, purple and deep purple are all subjective. I haven't found anything on the web that helps, neither a layman's interpretation or a scientific direction (i.e., add 0.1 gram of KMO4 to 1 liter of distilled water).<br><br>Also, I was reviewing the cheat sheet (again) in light of this thread and wonder if I should change the order in which the diferent water treatments appear. The order may suggest an order of preferrence, which was not the intent. But if so, how would you rank the treatments? My order would be:<br><br>1. Boil water<br>2. Purification tablets (Potable Aqua)<br>3. Chlorine<br>4. Iodine<br>5. KMO4<br><br>How does that sound?

Bill,<br>I would rank the water purification options:<br><br>1 Boil<br>2 Potable Aqua<br>3 Iodine, Kahn-Vassher or tincture<br>4 Chlorine tablets<br>5 KMnO4<br><br>I might take some of the Potable Aqua instructions and make these general as I think they apply to all chemical options.<br><br>Strain cloudy water prior to any treatment option.<br>Shake container to disinfect cap threads for the chemical options.<br>Increase (double?) wait time for very cold water.<br><br>Even though I do not carry bleach, or Iodine tincture I like having basic instructions like these available with the PSK. It is likely that I would use these in an local emergency situation. <br><br>I do carry Iodine crystals (Kahn-Vassher method, Polar Pure) in my car kit which has good instructions on the bottle (also excellent shelf stability and will treat may gallons of water). I also carry a mechanical filter system (Katadyne), again with good instructions.<br><br>I would rank the mechanical filter 1st or 2nd in the list of options if we were not considering PSK sized options.<br><br>As for a color chart for KMnO4 dilution, I agree nothing seems to be very helpful. I found reference to a 1mg/L solution for water disinfection, with no supporting efficacy information. I think we all may be left to our own devices as to what is pink, rose, or purple. <br><br>Again, thanks for putting together this Great Cheat Sheet. <br><br>Randy

Bill, <br><br>Personally, I would switch iodine and chlorine. <br><br>I think it might be a good idea to state that it is in the order of preference, and that none are preferable to mechanically filtered water from a quality filter (it's just barely possible that one one of your scouts may have a filter in addition to his PSK in a survival situation). I'm sorry if it seems that I'm assuming your scouts are stupid. I don't think that at all, just trying to cover all the bases. I'm looking at trying get my oldest boy into the scouts now. I don't mind him going into the woods (it's actually my preference), I just want him coming back.<br><br>I'm sorry, I have no idea how to help with the color question, I had never considered that the use of PP should be that specifc...maybe I should. <br><br>In any event, keep up the good work and thanks again,<br><br>Andy

To the best of my knowledge, KMNO4 works directly by oxidization. I think that the "trouble" with trying to find this info is largely due to circumstances: All the mainstream treatses on use of KMNO4 revolve around munincipal use. Rather than get long-winded, there is some very interesting information here that I believe leads to some interesting conclusions for the careful reader. It seems that whacking coliforms is fairly simple; some other tough guys take higher concentrations. Besides the cost, the residual pink color is deemed objectionable in tap water, and the precipitation of manganese dioxide (think carbon-zinc battery black gunk) is quite objectionable if floculation is not used.<br><br>There are some useful inferences to be made from the studies on how much for how long kills what. I don't have any KMNO4 on hand, but someone who does could make up those "noteworthy" concentrations and obseve/record the colors... another approach would be to pre-measure smaller amounts for use in stipulated amounts of water - I have to give some thought to packaging, but it's feasible. Something like "use 1 for drinking water, 4 for antiseptic wash, and 8 for anti-fungal" (hope you like purple toes LOL) - these dimensionless numbers for illustration only.<br><br>Has anyone used the Chlor-Floc stuff yet? I see it's available and apparently (this snuck up on me) is the current issue water disinfectant. I think I see a potential drawback to it - does anyone else?<br><br>If I recall correctly, iodine-based disinfection is most likely to whack the nasties. Use enough and drink the result. One gets used to it - and I think iodine-stained instant mashed potatoes are kinda interesting anyway <grin>. Chlorine-based will not effectively take out some of the tough bugs at advisable dosages unless one is equiped to test for residual chlorine (Field Sanitation, Lister bags, test kits - arrrgh! it's coming back to me...) Am I remembering this correctly? Filters are filters - caveat emptor; read Doug's reviews, read other 3rd party reviews, etc.<br><br>In a "drink-or-die" situation, let's not forget that we can strain the big stuff out and simply drink the water if it's not loaded with mineral poisons (I try to not drink effluent from old mines no matter how nice it looks - got enuff heavy metal in me already - some areas it's not safe to assume that the stream you see isn't loaded up from old mines... I don't worry too much about the bugs as long as I'm upstream of the cow when it does its thing...)<br><br>I think that KMNO4 is really cool stuff, I've used it for algecide/non-toxic herbicide in various situations but I'm not sure I'll carry it in my PSK - it's in the category of "useful to know" info that clutters up my poor feeble mind, I guess.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom<br><br>

Hi Bill<br> By any chance do you still have a copy of the old format with the snares and traps? If you do I would love a copy.<br>Akraven asst scoutmaster

send me a private email at william_vannerson@ama-assn.org and I'll send it to you.

Interesting link.<br><br>>>> Under acidic conditions the oxidation half-reactions are … Under alkaline conditions, the half-reaction is … Reaction rates for the oxidation of constituents found in natural waters are relatively fast and depend on temperature, pH, and dosage. <<<<br><br>Basically, asking if there's a color chart for determining concentrations is a moot point as a concentration of "pink" will have different oxidation effectiveness under different water conditions. If I read the equations correctly, and it's been many years since I took chemistry, KMnO4 is more reactive in acidic water than it is in alkaline water. <br><br>>>> Potassium permanganate is a strong oxidizer and should be carefully handled when preparing the feed solution. … However, this dark purple/black crystalline solid can cause serious eye injury, is a skin and inhalation irritant, and can be fatal if swallowed.<br><br>I wonder if this alone would be a good reason not to include it in the kit, especially for Scouts.<br><br>>>> High dosage rates were required to accomplish complete inactivation of bacteria in three studies.<<<<br><br>This and other statements in the paper indicate that KMnO4 is not a cost-effective disinfectant for municipal water treatment. But I'm not sure that can be used to assume the same for a PSK. A high concentration in solution (pink to purple?) in the field may be effective treatment. However, the report states that long contact times may be needed for certain bacteria and viruses, up to two hours. Is that practical in the field for treating wounds?<br><br>I printed off the page to reread more carefully on the train tonight. But my initial thoughts are that maybe KMnO4 should not be included in my kit and that perhaps iodine may be a better antiseptic. Although I recall that it's more volatile and is caustic as well. I'll have to do some more reading and thinking.<br><br>Thanks, Tom<br>

Randy & Ade<br><br>Do you carry KMnO4 in your PSK? See my reply to Tom as I am rethinking my position on its inclusion.<br><br>The comments on referencing mechanical filtration are valid, but I'm running out of space, it's a cheat sheet mot a manual. But then, if I am to remain true to that thought, why include references to chlorine and iodine, neither of which is in the kit. Perhaps I should limit it only to PSK items.<br><br>Thanks for the order suggestion. It makes sense.<br>

See my replies to other posts on this subject.<br><br>>>>I'm sorry if it seems that I'm assuming your scouts are stupid. <<<<br><br>I never confuse ignorance with studipity. :-)<br><br>>>>I'm looking at trying get my oldest boy into the scouts now.<<<<br><br>Feel free to contact me off list if you have any questions on Scouting.

Bill,<br>I do carry Potassium Permanganate in my PSK. In my recent post on Potassium Permanganate (sorry I have not figured out how to link this here) I discussed my understanding of the various uses for KMnO4 and ended up concluding that I would carry it...I have convinced myself that the firestarting aspects make it worth carrying. I am a Chemist so these kinds of chemical reactions are "neat". This reason really does not hold up very well in a detailed analysis, but I still carry it. <br><br>I would use it as a fallback water purification method only if ALL my other options were unavailable. The EPA link posted by Tom certainly backs this up. There are far better options with more proven efficacy for the "bugs" we should be concerned about.<br><br>I have evaluated my risks and found that Urban rather than Wilderness use for water purification is more likely. Given that I carry Potable Aqua at all times in my Vest, and have a mechanical filter and Polar Pure (saturated iodine solution) options in my larger gear collections, I do not anticipate ever having to use KMnO4 as a water purifier. I am still glad to know some of the basics of the use, however.<br><br>Immediately after last years EarthQuake in Seattle, I had to evacuate my worksite. I could not get to my car in the parking garage, and was left with just the things I normally carry. This is the type of event for which my PSK has been designed.<br><br>I like having information on the Cheat Sheet that is not just for the contents of the kit. I think that you should keep brief notes on various water purification options on the Cheat Sheet. In an Urban setting, it is likely I could find bleach, tincture of iodine, and maybe mechanical filters. It is very useful to know how many drops of whatever chemical may work as a water purification technique. Standing under the shade of your Cessna wing in the middle of the Canadian NW Territories .....hum...at least you know you could trim off this small piece of the Cheat Sheet to use for something else . <br><br>As for the Chemical Safety of KMnO4. The dry chemical does present a risk of burn, particularily to the eyes or mucus membranes. It may not be a great choice in Scouts kits for this reason. I know I had this in my Chemistry set as a kid, and had purple fingers. It may not even be available in such kits now. The risks at least need to be understood so each Scout, their parents and ScoutMaster could decide.<br><br>Good Luck<br>Randy<br>

Willie,<br><br>Maybe backing up a moment would be helpful...<br><br>I think that your PSK cheat sheet has useful information on it as-is. Consider the likely user(s) of a specific PSK and consider what, if any, useful information that person or persons would not already know, and design accordingly. For example, your main audience right now are the scouts in a Troop based in an urban area. What things are those lads likely to need to know that they do not already know? If you have covered those bases, you're right on target.<br><br>For myself, for my PSK, the primary audience (me) does not need any instructions - yours or the one I pieced to gether. But - what if I am incapacitated and with another person or persons - would they benefit from such a crib sheet? Not knowing in advance (as we assemble the PSK) who that person or persons may be, it's too unknown to give a proper answer. Then there's the skill element. "Tell, show, do..." A crib sheet satisfies the first part of that process and is the only part we can "control".<br><br>Thinking of the few-hours to 3 days situations, whatever info we can put into the kit seems prudent. Beyond that... it's tough to put all the other info in and questionable in my mind if sufficient skill could be developed fast enough to matter. No harm in putting fishing knots on the sheet - as long as more immediately needed info is covered.<br><br>In a related (I hope) vein - we seem to be somewhat complacent about urban situations - not trying to be Chicken Little or alarmist, but is there a significant role for a PSK in urban settings? Does a PSK for the unskilled or unpracticed carried in an urban situation ("daily carry") need different crib sheets than a wilderness PSK or a general purpose PSK?<br><br>Audience, environment, risk-management - things like this should shape any crib-sheets. I think yours is fine - but there's no harm in tweaking it to be "better".<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom

Bill, <br><br>Yes, I do. It took me forever to find the stuff, too. I'm reconsidering carrying it now, but given that my PSK is larger than an Altoids tin and the stuff in it rattles around anyway, I'll probably keep it in there until I need the room (my PSK isn't finished yet). Thanks to you and Tom for the info.<br><br>Take care,<br><br>Andy

I understand that in a survival situation, we may forget how to use our firestarter or how to make a knot. But, I have been thinking that instead of including 'technical' information, that I might be better off with information that is a bit more 'morale' related.<br><br>For example, in my document, I have included a section straight out of Doug Ritter's information on survival, "...No matter how bad your situation, u can be sure others have survived far worse with much less". The typo that you may have just noticed was intentional to conserve space on the document that would be included in my tin.<br><br>On four (eight total, due to front & back) accordian-style pages, I have notes from ten different sources, including Tom Brown and John Wiseman, covering subjects such as Attitude, Priorities, Fear, Panic, Injury, Determination...<br><br>Yes, I could add the 'technical' document to my PSK, but, then, there's that forever nagging issue of space. Note that I do have the STOP details taped to the outside of my tin, with the contents list on the other side.<br><br>How do people feel about which time of information to include?<br><br>