I’d like to ask the folks here to help me with some brainstorming. I thought it would be interesting to come up with a list of survival reference information. By reference info I mean facts and figures that most people don’t use every day or commit to memory, but would be very useful to have in a survival situation. For instance, when using bleach for water purification, I don’t remember how many drops per gallon now, never mind after a hurricane hits.

I wouldn’t get too much into how-to’s unless they are simple tasks that have some hard to remember detail or formula. Here are a few things that come to mind at the moment:

finding north with an analog watch and the sun
wind chill chart
list of poisonous plants
emergency telephone numbers (call the head of FEMA directly and ask for a trailer to be sent to you)
magnetic deviation “east is least, west is best”
medicine contra-indications (don’t give asprin to a child or a bleeding victim?)
table of generic vs. trade names of OTC medicines (you want some Tylenol but your fist aid kit only has acetaminophen)

I dunno, what can you folks add?

Here's an awesome book to read that has a lot of good info in it, and a lot of pictures. It may give you some better ideas, I haven't got a cheat sheet, which is an excellent idea. I know that for compass heading is easy, just stick a stick in the ground and place a rock on the shadow, wait 15 min later and put another rock on the shadow. Put your left foot on the first shadow rock and the right on the last shadow rock and your facing north.

Camping &Wilderness Survival

What are you asking for? How to do those things, or a handle list of some common knowledge type things?

Here are a few you might want to add:

* radio frequencies (ham repeaters, police, EMS, and military)
* working/available fallout shelter locations
* state CCW info states with reciprocity
* important websites
* bill of rights/constitution

I don't see how a list of poisonous plants would be useful. You would also need some detailed pictures and descriptions to identify them as well, and the vast majority of people, even on this forum, would not be able to scavenge a significant amount of food from wild plants anyway. If anything, descriptions of wild edible plants that are common in your area would be more useful, but still not much for the above reason.

I don't think knowing the exact wind chill would be of any use either. If you're cold, thats all that matters, and you know you need to get warm.

As for generic vs trade names, unless someone's allergic to one, it doesn't really matter(the packaging or FAK inventory should indicate the use and dosage of all meds in the FAK).

Sorry for the criticism, I can't help nitpicking.

Meline - I was thinking "a handy list of knowledge type things"

For instance, imagine one of those pocket sized give-away notebooks you get with trig tables, time zones, area codes, math formulas, unit conversions... But with survival-specific info instead - what would be in it?

BTW, constructive critcism is welcome!

Telling time to sunset by number-of-fingers technique.

Phone numbers for poison control, public utilites, animal control,

Standard table of tangents to calculate heights or distances.

Ways to stay warm (hot bricks, furniture fort, lexan hot water bottle for sleeping bag, etc...)

Proper orientation of debris shelter to wind.

Useful cordage plants.

Where water/food can be found in workplace.

Proper tire inflation pressure.

How to fix a flat tire (repair as well as replace).

Best local radio stations for news/traffic/weather/emergency info.

Where to find water (dry stream beds, seashore, homes).

Important knots (bowline, truckers hitch, lashing).

Burn times of common cannon fuses.

Calculating wattage loads of electronic devices so you don't overload your generator.

Distance and common weather patterns between you and sites likely to be nuked.

Cricket chirps to temperature conversion.

How to jumpstart a car.

Ground to air signalling.

Proper wood choices for spindle and hearth for fire bows.

Location of nearest natural salt lick.

Dosages of medicine for babies.

-Blast

A copy of Doug's cheat sheet, more knots, basic weather indicators. Map of the area (even if just good road maps).

For other items is this a wilderness kit (if so, where and what anticapted duration), bug in gear, bug out gear, car kit? I ask because cordage plants doesn't mean much in the city, nor does a map of the local subway system mean anything more than tinder once you are out of dodge.

I wasn't going to narrow it down to urban/wilderness/bugin/bugout - I was curious to see what would spill out once I opened the topic.

I was thinking more general (continental US) rather than local (maps, etc.) although you could provide blanks to fill out for local telephone numbers and other customizable info.

A list of poisonous plants is useless, as, for instance, in my neck of the woods, I will NEVER see a saguaro cactus in the wild. And, in Arizona, you probably wont run into too much poison ivy.
One thing to add would be the "rules of three"
3 minutes without oxygen
3 days without water
3 weeks without food.
Also, add the fire triangle to that. Heat+oxygen+fuel=combustion.
An example of a snow shelter & a debris shelter.
The psychological mindset of a survivor (this has proven, more often than not, that someone totally inept in the outdoor world can survive with a good mindset).
Thats all I got for now.

Get one from Utah, we have one of the most reciprocity with other states and we'll give one to almost anyone.

My recommendations:

"The Boy Scout Handbook". It really is a wonderful guide to outdoor skills.

There is also a Boy Scout "Field Guide". I thought the older versons were better than the current version, but it is still a great read.

Also, "98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive!" by Kody Lundin. A very fun and useful book to read.

I'm currently reading "Deep Survival", but that is more "deep" than the others. Still great information.

Of course, let's not forget http://www.equipped.org .

Ken K.

Saguaro cactus is prickly, but it's not poisonous. As for poison ivy, you definitely can find it in Arizona (as I can tell you from personal experience ).

Other reference info:

If you have a rifle, the hold over at different ranges.
If you have anything with a two-stroke engine, the amount of oil to mix with a tank of gas.
The length of your pace.
Various useful lashings.

Impressive list, Blast!
...
- how to find Polaris (and may be a simple star chart with RA and Dec marks);
- sunset/sunrise charts;
- Moon phases calendar or formula;
- density values for different real world materials and liquids;
- metric/imperial/universal values conversion formulas;
- calendar for several years;
- US map with cities, timezones, and Lon./Lat. grid;
- Morse code chart;
- printed ruler and protractor (to measure an angle);
- common deceases and injuries symptoms and methods of treatment;
- water collection and purification methods (not only bleaching);
- skinning and gutting small game manual;

Is there an online place to take a look at this cheat sheet?

http://www.equipped.org/psp/index.htm

PDF doc.

In that case, I'd put in a Pocket Ref, chapters 16 (survival) and 18 (first aid) and parts of 15 (knots) from the Ranger Handbook, and a small (3x5 or so) hard bound pocket diary type book with what ever was needed that wasn't there (critical data like credit card numbers that have a dead simple encryption, etc). All in all, not huge- say 3x5x2- and put it in a plastic bag.

There was a mention about fuel oil mixes being written down- I'd put that right on the equipment, even if it means enamel paint and a small brush.

I'd be tempted to just carry either one of these little guys:

SAS Survival Guide - Collins Gem Edition

Survival, Evasion, and Recovery - Multiservice Procedures For Survival, Evasion, And Recovery, a condensed version of the USAF survival manual.

You can see Doug's review of them, and others, [url=][/url] [url=http://www.equipped.org/books.htm#latest-1]here[/url]...

Survival Bandana

Cameron

Or, find an older pilots survival scarf-the ones with a map on one side, & survival infor on the other.
Blackeagle, that was the only name of a cactus that I know . Well, I know prickly pears, but I know you can eat those. Didnt know about the saguaro though. And, I had no idea poison ivy could be found there. I was under the assumption it was an east coast plant. I learned something new!

We have a lot of poison ivy's cousin, poison oak, out here in the wild west...

The Boy scout Handbook is a great source for info, it has pretty much all the basic info needed. The older ones are definitely better though, I have ones from the 5th (1950's), 6th(1960's) , 9th (1980's), and 11th editions(2000+), I think anything from the 9th edition and earlier have lot more useful information. The later version seem to eliminate a lot of older, but essential information such as plant and animal identification and firemaking skills, in exchange for bigger color pictures and a safer "environmentally friendly", attitude.

Saguaro and barrel cacti are both excellent sources of water in a desert survival situation. But don't try it for kicks, for two reasons.
1. They taste REALLY bad.
2. It's illegal (in Arizona anyway) to destroy the Saguaro. They take 75 years or so to mature. Too many a**holes were using them for target practice.

Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) License Reciprocity State By State:

http://www.ccrkba.org/reciprocity.html

Personally for me, in a TRUE survival situation CCW reciprocity is the last thing I am going to be concerned with.

"Personally for me, in a TRUE survival situation CCW reciprocity is the last thing I am going to be concerned with."

Like a friend of mine says, "I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6".

Sue

This thread has prompted me to start a running tally that I could put into a computer folder in order to printout and put into my wife's, children (when they get to that age) and certainly into my own vehicle(s). Things like using a watch (with hands) to indicate direction, using the stars for direction, and the basic information that I normally take for granted, would be shared.

Just another "preparation" project my wife would eyeball me and think, "He's paranoid!"

A few references for you to copy/learn info from:

"The Mariners Pocket Companion" from the Naval Institute Press
An annual calendar with significant survival info in the front of the book. Also list significant dates in US Naval history.

"The Boy Scout Handbook"
It lists sections on basic firemaking, camping, survival, activities, basic tracking, etc.

"The Field Hunter's Guide"
Shows photos, tracks, and discriptions of the various animals indigenous to North America.

"United States Coastal Pilots","USCG Tide Tables", "USCG Tidal Current Tables", "USCG Light Lists"
These US government publications provide descriptions of the areas adjacent to Navigable waterways, port facilities, Hypothermia charts, and a host of other information that applies in general as well as in the maritime environment.

"Nuclear War Survival Skills" by Kearney
Available on the internet, free. Just put it into a search engine and it will come right up. I feel, That Chapter 4 - Evacuation is the most applicable and valuable assets to have in the home. How to do an emergency bugout in 2 hrs time.

"Dare to Prepare" by Holly Deyo. Website: standeyo.com "Prudent Places" by Stan and Holly Deyo
Very well researched and written advice on preparation for manmade & natural disasters. "Prudent Places" lists the various hazards associated with specific areas/cities which in turn, tells one what realistic possibilities exists that pose a threat to you.

That's all I can remember off of the top of my head (I am @ work)

Hmmm...too bad we don't have a "noted survival author"
kicking around. These are some great little bits of
useful info.

I'd certainly buy a copy of a survival oriented pocket ref.
Or a packet of PSK sized cards. I have a fresnel lens, already.