Brad,<br>Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>Allowed by Gov't document "Citizens' Preparedness Guide" published on FEMA site (US regs -- don't know about Isreali or other.)<p><hr></blockquote><p>Oops, right. Thanks. All of my planning has been regarding U.S. travel. I have rarely traveled abroad. Obviously, different countries will have different rules. So will different airports. So will different airlines. So will different Security Officers. Nothing is certain.<br><br><br>I had some more thoughts to share on this thread. I hope no one minds. I've been thinking about this a lot, and it's fun to be writing it all out. Writing is also helpful for me, as I find my thoughts crystalizing better when I have to be tangible and specific.<br><br><br>Both carry on and checked baggage have size & weight limits.<br><br>Maximum checked weight in the U.S. tends to run about 70lbs/31kgs. British Airways might limit checked weight to 66lbs/30kg or 51lbs/23kg & China might limit weight to 44lbs/20kg! Domestic travel within some countries (not the U.S.) often limits weight to 44lbs/20kg.<br>Maximum size tends to run about 62in/157cm total linear measurement (length + height + width).<br>Checked bags must have a name & address visible from the outside, and should also have it again on the inside to help with identification & proof of ownership if lost.<br>Most airlines recommend checking only bags that lock. It won't stop a determined thief, but will deter more casual pilferage.<br>Electronics like laptops cannot be checked.<br><br>In order to be allowed on any flights anywhere, carry-on bags should weigh less than 13lbs/6.5kg and have dimensions less than 45cm x 35cm x 20cm, which is just under 18" x 14" x 8". This is not a lot of room/weight, so choose carefully what you really want to carry with you. Check where you will be traveling and investigate what the regs are. It would be a shame to plan out a great carry-on survival bag and have to check it because it's an inch too wide for some country you're flying through. Some airlines have somewhat larger allowances, so you can tailor your bag to specific trips if you're willing to do the research work. If you're gonna carry full gear, though, it's gonna be hard to squeeze that laptop in. Maybe a PDA... or a second bag... you only get so many...<br>It's probably a very good idea to have your name & address on both the inside and outside of your carry-on bag(s) too.<br><br><br>Wayneburg,<br>Gas-reservoir lighters are allowed. Liquid-reservoir lighters are not allowed. And again, one single box of non-strike-anywhere matches on your person is allowed. Of course, that's just policy and policy is overruled by Officer Jones At The Gate. So, FWIW, and from personal experience, no one has ever given even a second glance to my Cricket or Bic disposable butane gas lighters, even since WTC. To help that continue to be the case, I don't carry full-sized ones, nor multiples ones, but merely one single mini-sized one, and only the cheap disposable kinds, never anything nice. Heck, you can buy them at the stores inside the airports past the Security areas. Also, like I said in the earlier post, I changed from the odd-looking Lifeboat match bottle to the more normal-looking Coughlan's Windproof/Waterproof box.<br>A sewing kit would include needles. While small sewing needles are not specifically prohibited in the U.S. Citizen's Preparedness Guide, nor any online sources I have found, knitting needles most definitely are. Of course, Officer Smith (Jones' buddy) will have the final say about that. I'd rather not try it, because I don't want to carry anything questionable. Once they confiscate/refuse one thing, I can't help but figure they'll be just that much more likely to confiscate/refuse another thing. And if one officer in one country at one airport says yes, another somewhere else will say no.<br>Aluminum Foil. Right. Should have mentioned that. Odd item. I think, like most of the odd items, it would be most innocuous in the First Aid Kit.<br>#0000 steel wool & a 9v battery. Hmm... the steel wool might look odd. I can't think of a medical reason for it. A PALight would look perfectly normal in a first aid kit and provide an excuse for a 9v battery.<br>I have used Super Glue for closing smaller cuts. I think it's a good item to include in a normal first aid kit. I wonder if it's considered a Hazardous Material by any airlines...<br>I love the ideas you gave about a soda can. In the movie, "Bad Boys," Sean Penn used several soda cans in a pillow case as a fearsome club. Hmm... my spare pair of socks with a couple of soda cans?<br>Thanks.<br><br><br>In my earlier post, I talked a lot about what we might take and how. But, when discussing or thinking about how to get stuff through the checkpoint, I think we should all be responsible and make sure we don't take anything we shouldn't. Some items which are harmless at ground level and in open environments can be troublesome or dangerous at high altitude or in enclosed spaces. We've discussed a lot of this in earlier threads, but I don't know how not to reiterate some of it as I type my additional thoughts on this thread.<br>Only certain types of pressurized items, especially of odorous or flammable fluids, are allowed, and only in certain quantities. If you had a leak or spill, you would be unpopular and, possibly, in legal trouble or even genuine peril.<br>Compressed oxygen is a no-no.<br>Wet-cell batteries are off limits. Most of our kind of stuff runs on dry cell batteries anyway, so that's not a big deal.<br>Compasses generate magnetic fields, but only very large compasses will make fields big enough to interfere with airplane systems. Small ones are okay.<br><br>More thoughts on after-crash survival equipment:<br>One toiletry that might be worth mentioning is tissues. They can be used for their intended purpose or as tinder or as the rarely talked about but always needed toilet paper while you wait for SAR.<br>Dental floss would substitute for thread, fishing line, light cordage, etc.<br>Potassium Permanganate is an oxidizer, so you can't carry it. Iodine and chlorine tablets are okay, but I think I'd rather have a filtering/purifying water bottle dedicated for flying, as it looks less like "survival gear".<br>Incendiaries are right out! No flares, smoke signals, etc. I don't know about marker dye -- I've never tried to take it nor read anything about it in any of my research. Hmm...<br>Oxygen activated heat pads probably are not allowed, as they work through oxidation. Phooey.<br>I mentioned breaking a mirror and wrapping the shards with duct tape. This should be a mirror dedicated for such a purpose, perhaps kept with your toiletries. A dedicated signal mirror should also be kept separately, perhaps with your first aid kit. This one you will not want to break.<br>Fat wood doesn't look dangerous. Especially short blunt pieces.<br><br>Purely hypothetical thinking about floating in the ocean for extended periods of time:<br>All important gear should float or be in something that floats. Perhaps a good carry on bag would be a purposefully designed boat bag?<br>Many ocean divers consider a snorkel to be mandatory equipment. Trying to breath while floating in ocean swells is difficult. The longer you're out there, the more water you will swallow. The more time the SCUBA divers I have known have spent in oceans, the more they like their snorkels, even though they're a pain to carry when underwater. And divers have some choice about how long they're going to be out there. In a crash, we may not have any choice -- we'll be there until we're rescued. Swallowing salt water will lead to nausea, vomiting and dehydration. This will only make motion sickness that much worse. Five minutes may be no big deal, but five hours?<br>A mask & snorkel might look funny to someone searching your bag, but... would they really look "suspicious"? I don't... think... so... maybe. I've seen small two-piece folding snorkels made just for ocean SCUBA divers to keep in the pockets of their BCs for when they are on the surface. They are made to keep out of the way in a pocket when under water. I wonder if one of those might be worth taking. Maybe not a mask. Maybe a nose clip & goggles? That would be smaller. I don't know. I'm just sort of thinking about it as I write.<br>I emailed Doug about snorkels in Ditch Bags once a long time ago. He didn't think it would be that helpful, given the long immersion times often involved. I figured just the opposite; the longer one was adrift, the more important a snorkel would be. Any other thoughts since then, Doug? Any comment from the Coast Guard, Chris? Any ocean SCUBA divers out there with experience along these lines? I'm really curious.<br><br>Regarding first aid kit contents:<br>Anti-Emetics (for motion sickness) are an excellent idea. These can be oral or topical. Or both.<br>A compressed dehydrated sponge, large clear poly bags (both for biohazard clean up) and short length of teflon, surgical or aquarium tubing (for tourniquets) wouldn't look too terribly out of place, and could help with water procurement, if needed.<br>Mercury thermometers are not probably your best choice. Mercury and aluminum don't like each other, and, until we find something better, aircraft will continue to be built from aluminum. An electronic medical thermometer will work, as will "Tempa-Dot" or other disposable thermometers.<br>Hydrogen Peroxide is an oxidizer. Don't carry it.<br>Alcohol is a flammable liquid. Don't carry it.<br>Ammonia Inhalents (aka "Smelling Salts") are not a good idea.<br>All items included should be subjected to a similar scrutiny as the Hydrogen Peroxide, Alchol and Ammonia Inhalents, to make sure that all items are appropriate for such an unusual environment as an airplane. Or raft.<br><br>Miscellaneous thoughts about packing:<br>No packages should be sealed. Just as gifts should be unwrapped, so should any tins or kits be easily openable and searchable. And repackable. I work hard to utilize every bit of volume in my PSKs for something. This won't work for Security Checkpoints. They'll need to open it up, dump it out and go through it. You will need to dump it all back in and be able to close it easily. This means you will need more empty space in your bags & boxes.<br><br><br>Whew! Brain dump finished. For now...