You die in:<br><br>3 min without air<br>3 hours without shelter <br>3 days without water<br>3 weeks without food<br><br>Could you survive for 4 weeks on your PSK? If theses are the priorities what should the PSK contain and remember you could be in a jungle, mountain, desert, artic or sea environment and the PSK would see you through. The kit would have to be as small as possible so you would carry it at all times. I think you would have to have some different items for the different environments.<br>If SAR does not find you in one maybe two weeks the chances of them continuing to look for you would be pretty small. You will have to make do with what you have and find your own way out. Would the PSK hold up by itself or would you have to add items like a knife, canteen etc. Remember the kit would have to be a small grab and go kit otherwise you would not carry it at all times.<br><br><br>Is this a fair test for the PSK?<br>

MCSE,<br><br>In a word...no. Or, at least, probably not.<br><br>The PSK is designed to keep you alive for a minimal amount of time. Hopefully long enough for you to be found and rescued. The PSK is not designed for an extended period such as you describe. <br><br>Keep in mind that this assumes an Altiod sized kit. A larger kit would help, but is still no guarantee. Also, given favorable weather conditions, and adequate water supply, your chances increase immensely. Life is uncertain, even in the best of conditions. YMMV.<br><br>All for now. Take care.<br><br>Andy<br>

Four weeks is probably a severe test for any reaonably small PSK. However, circumstances could vary the experience tremendously. For example, I could easily make it for a month in the Channel Islands, just living on tide pool critters. Since I would be active in aiding searchers - signal mirror and marker panels by day and a pillar of fire by night, unless the searchers are looking in a completely erroneous area, the search ain't gonna last more than a few days. <br><br>There is a record of a lady surviving on Anacapa Island for fourteen days following the sinking of her vessel (her two male companions perished in the sinking) in 1946. She stayed in a fisherman's shack on the island - probably didn't have either a PSK or an Altiods tin.<br><br>Historical records indicate that willpower and simople will to survive are really important. There are many of records of survivors who shouldn't have made it according to accepted guidelines. It is the person who survives or dies, not the PSK.

Oh Gee, My Purification tablets are running out, and my matches are all gone. By the light of my Photon 2 (in the wrong color for night vision ) I see 72 hours have come and gone and something is MOVING in those funny looking bushes. I guess I better give up and die now. The PSK is to provide what cannot be EASILY improvised and fabricate what CAN. Yes, you better have a knife and more important the mindset and training to think " outside the box" especially the one that says Altoid.

I think perhaps just a bit of forum jargon is intruding here...<br><br>Most of the time I think that we are talking about a small package of items when we say "PSK" - a candy tin, a tobacco tin - something that fits readily in a pocket.<br><br>"EDC", or every day carry, includes other things we carry - perhaps a PSK is part of ones EDC.<br><br>If I am deliberately out-of-doors, I will have those things and more with me. Four weeks unplanned could be very difficult or a lark, depending on many things. But if I were transported from my present work environment to a "use what you have on you" 4 week sojourn, it would be a very difficult situation.<br><br>Is your 4 week figure arbitrary or is there some situation that you conceive of that would merit a 4 week stint?<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom

I will not have the PSK without a pocket to carry it in. That pocket will most likely be on an outfit like the one I usually wear - Wool pants, nylon shirt, Wool Vest, and If the weather permits a jacket. All of the other pockets and the belt of that outfit will be carrying other neadful things. Such as: 6'X8' ripstop waterproofed nylon tarp, Nylon Poncho, Mosquito Netting, Altoids sized FAK, leatherman Wave, Leatherman Micra, SwissTool, Whistle, SwissKey, Large garden sized trash bag, MagLight FlashLight, CellPhone, Ham Radio (TriBand 2 and 6 meter and 70 cm), 2 Bandanas, 1 Hankie, Fountain Pen, Ballpoint Pen, Mechanical Pencil, Standard #2 pencil, Notepad, HandHeld computer, Baggie of GORP, Spare Batteries for all carried appliances, Roll of TP, Package of facial tissues, 200' or nylon cord (similar to the sheath of paracord without the inner strands maybe 150 - 200 lbs breaking strength) - thats without the jacket. If the weather permits or requires the jacket it will also contain a watch cap and gloves. Without the jacket I atleast have my tin cloth cruiser hat. <br><br>If I am allowed to be dressed as well as carrying the PSK then I think that my odds of surviving the 4 weeks go up dramatically. With Just the PSK, some luck and decent weather in the first week things might work out. Let's rundown how in a forest. ( my skills don't include jungle, artic or desert environments.)<br><br>Presumed: <br><br>1) I am not injured,<br>2) I am in temperate forest environ<br>3) It is somewhere between May and October - late spring to early fall<br><br>PSK contains wire saw which alone is sufficient to improvise a debris hut.<br>PSK contains snare wire.<br>PSK contains Tin Foil for improvised pot.<br>PSK contains paracord for holding things together and strapping things on<br>PSK contains a 13 gallon trashbag for carrying or waterproofing as need be.<br>PSK contains compass for orienteering around camp and towards home.<br>PSK contains fire starting materials (sparklite and tinder)<br>PSK contains tape (duct and electrical) <br>PSK contains twine <br>PSK contains sewing kit.<br>PSK contains super glue<br>PSK contains iodine tablets<br>PSK contains whistle<br>PSK contains balloon for water storage<br>this is my kit<br><br>First Day) Use wire saw as needed to construct debris hut weave the structure together w/o paracord (conserve that). Start Fire for warmth and signal. Locate water supply. Pass first night in this as well as I can. If it is not raining then don't use the trash bag from the PSK. <br><br>Second day) Set out snares, (I carry enough for two squirrel / rabbit sized snares). Layer dirt and debris onto debris hut - properly constructed this will be waterproof and insulated. Obtain water and improvise water purification through boiling in Aluminum foil. Do not let the fire die unless I must move. Start to improvise fire-carrier from charred log - this is a valid use of paracord to hang the fire carrier on a stick for walking. Watch for SAR and maintain signals - fire, smoke and if there is a sign of someone, mirror and whistle.<br><br>Third Day) If the snares produce then eat 1/2 and make jerky. Stake out the skins for later use skins might be staked out over the debris hut to add to waterproofing. If the snares don't produce then search for fishing opportunities. Start looking for advanced improvisation opportunities such as Clay for making containers for cooking and water, Vines or fibrous plants for making cordage, Birch Bark or other better waterproofing for shelter. Watch for SAR and maintain signals - fire, smoke and if there is a sign of someone, mirror and whistle.<br><br>Fourth Day through fourth week) Repeat third day improving the camp a little and start working on improvising a larger shelter that can be heated. This can be a found cave or a wigwam or other large structure that would safely contain a fire and a standing individual.<br><br>Failure points:<br>1) inadequate shelter on first night<br>2) inadequate water supply by end of second day<br>3) inadequate food by end of first week<br>4) no improvised boiling container by end of first week (when iodine runs out and foil burns through.<br>5) Extreme cold temperatures ( see failure point 1)<br>6) Extreme hot temperatures (see failure points 1 and 2)<br><br><br>I would expect that the low point would be around 72 hours. Around that time frame I should have finished establishing a camp with shelter, water, and food. From that point onwards everyday I improvise an improvement on that starting point. If the camp is good enough and the weather holds I might stay and wait. If my clothing is sufficient shelter or the camp site is bad enough (above treeline, no water, no game) I might stay put long enough to establish a fire carry and then move out. I wouldn't move at night and I wouldn't let the fire die after starting it. A decent fire carry can be improvised by burning / carving a hole into the end of a log and lining it with mostly dry moss, add to this a large chunk of ember from the last fire you built and stop frequently to maintain it. You should be able to carry the fire through the day and have a start for the evening if you need to be on the move.

Well Put!

It would be tough but I think the kit would do it as is and I bet you Doug would agree. The PSK is well thought out. I think if a plastic shelter were included it would make things a whole lot easier.

<br>I was not trying to be derogatory Chris. I am trying to understand the priorities. You see I think that a kit has to get the job done whether it is one day or several weeks that is the bottom line. SAR will stop looking after awhile and you will be on you own and that is that. I do not understand why you responded to me that way. Do you think something is wrong with the question?<br><br>

That is quite a list you have. Have you been in a real life survival ordeal before?