This is just random thought and just for fun.

What do you think the future of survival tech,gear will be like?Or what you would like to see.

I would hope a new type of fire making comes out. Or a led light thats the size of a penny that gives you extraordinary light.
OR even some kind of ultra compact tent shelter.
or maybe a james bond like watch that has 10 different functions.

yes i know there is gear already out there that already fits the bill

On a side note:the weather sucks! i almost died yesterday. Roads were so icey where i live.Are all of you being affected by this bad weather?

I'd like to have a fire starter that would be a waterproof flare like device with a pull string to ignite it. This would undoubtedly be banned as arsonists, boobytrap makers & terrorists would find it too convenient.

0311--- there is already a flare like that it's call a Mark 6 I belive by the Navy, I have one there is Orange smoke on one end and a red flare on the other.

A military training aid trip flare is just about what you describe. No, I don't think they are for sale at the gun shows:)

Where did you get it? As for trip flares, they used to sell them at gun shows. I bought two. I was thinking smaller, i.e. 1/2 matchbook size.

My guess is sometime this century we will come up with the physics that will allow a small portable power source capable of providing enough energy that engineering will come up with man-portable electro-mechanical devices that will allow for some nearly unimanable conveniences. Robotics also will advance sufficiently that some form of 'intelligent' mechanical conveyance with the footprint of a pet instead of a car will become as commonplace as a PDA is today.

Imagine having a hovering box follow you around all day, untethered, capable of stowing perhaps 50 kilos of misc goods; able to go anywhere you are able to go, and providing you with a host of communications and security functions, including PLB functionality and the ability to diagnose distress even if you become incapacitated.

Pretty cool, huh?

Consumer GPS is getting cheaper. Pretty soon it will become ubiquitous. No one will ever get lost again <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I would like the future of gear to include some in subdued earth tones, and not have all the new clothing, packs, etc in those darn bright yuppie colors.

The survival equipment is just fine.
I just hope that in the future, more people would have the sense to carry it!

Maybe they'll invent something to get un-lost, like some kind of thermal detector, allowing you to backtrack. Or some type of chemical sniffer, tuned in to your scent, that would allow the same thing. Kinda like revers engineering animals.

I hope that for day-to-day issues the common mobile phone becomes advanced enough to work even in today's non-celled areas or at sea - maybe via satellites. I also suspect that they will become something more like the PBLs in their ability to direct help to the user's location.

I hope science can identify a fabric/material that can provide the results we'd hoped GoreTex would provide - tough, waterproof, yet completely breathable - for weather protection. This would also do wonders for winter gloves, which are a real problem for me. It would also make tents considerably lighter (no more rain flys!).

As someone else had mentioned, I do suspect we'll be surprised by the improvement of LED light technology. Hopefully battery or fuel cell technologies will also advance. I'm a big Palm PDA user, but wish its battery would last longer without charging.

Speaking of the snow, here in NE Illinois we got lots of snow. In most areas its over the top of my rubber barn boots (16" or so), though the TV says we only got 10-12". Last spring I invested in a new John Deere 3320 4WD tractor with a front end loader & rear blade, so I was "equipped" for the snow. Lots of fun!

hey KenK

The sophisticated technology has filtered down to survival gear. You can get top quality gore tex gloves or mittens from outdoor research company. This company makes state of the art winter gear that James Bond would be proud to use. I own their expedition winter mittens. I used it for winter camping in Canada. I can attest to its ruggedness in severe weather. The inner liner is made of dense high quality fleece that dry out fast. The gore-tex shell is made from thick cordura shell. Cordura can endure rough abrasion.

hey, I love bright Yuppie color. Earth tone can be dull on dark winter nights. It is nice to wear bright yellow, red, yellow-green color. The colors identify the user to rescuers if campers get stranded or lost. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

are civilians allow to buy those Mark 6 flares?

I carry a GPS in my BOB and know how to use it. I also carry 2 compasses and know how to use them for when my GPS' batteries die.
GPS is a great thing but like all technology it has it's limits. Sometimes the "old" stuff works when hi-tech won't.

I remeber as a kid I used to watch dragonball z, and in the show they had these things called capsules. They were bigger than pills and each capsule held different things in them. So one would have a car,motorcycle, a small house, all kinds of things.All you had to do was press the top,toss it, and poof! As a kid i thought it was so cool. Now that would be some bad survival gear! who knows maybe in the far future..................... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> think about it....lost in the woods? just deploy your capsule house.lol

Im sure if you have kids they know what im talking about.

"Imagine having a hovering box follow you around all day, untethered, capable of stowing perhaps 50 kilos of misc goods; able to go anywhere you are able to go, and providing you with a host of communications and security features..."

There's already such a device. My wife calls it a "husband"

Izzy,

What is up with your .sig link to your blog? Whenever I click on it it brings me to some weird site promoting the Power Of Persuasion (http://iwantmo.info/).

-Blast

I would like to see everything available now, but at 1/2 the price <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

It isn't about what gear is available, it is about what gear you can afford.

Hmm,

I'd take that one step further, and say that it isn't about what gear you could have, but about making what you do have work.