..For those of us who don't live in the extreme south, summer is slowly ending and the winter months are approaching! Do the contents of your PSK change in any way? Is there something you add or remove? If you have kits in your vehicle, do they undergo a substantial re-arrangement? Do you replace batteries now? Since winter coats are basically larger and bulkier do you find yourself carrying even "more" items with you?

I'll throw a couple of winter coats and a couple of wool blankets in the truck. Batteries will get checked but always carry extras, new wipers and winter service comes up pretty quick for the truck. My personal carry kit will stay the same. Perishable goods get rotated from the kits to the pantry and new added to the kits. Will probably try and update some of our gear too.

The mid-Atlantic states are far from the coldest area around- I grew up in places with more serious winters.. but, yes, I do make some changes with the season.<br><br>I don't really change what's in any of the mini-kits. I keep some "Grabber Mycoal" chemical heating pads in the vehicle kit year round. I favor those rated for longer life at lower heat. They need to be renewed every couple of years. In the fall I usually shove a couple in my commuting shoulder pouch as well.<br><br>The shoulder pouch also carries a fleece cap and neck gaitor. Sometimes I take them out in the summer, sometimes I forget- they weigh almost nothing, so it's just a little extra padding. I also take more care to be sure that I have spare cell phone batteries in the pouch and that they're charged.<br><br>As the season progresses and the weather starts looking dubious, I throw a large down parka with hood, goretex gloves, Sorel Canadian boots with vibram soles, and a collapseable snow shovel in the back of the 4Runner (the vehicle kit has a Gerber/Fiskars tri-fold as well). When the forecast is for serious snow, I unhook a couple of down sleeping bags in their storage bags from the wall of the garage and throw one in the back of each vehicle. The vehicle also contains a handheld CB radio with car-plug adapter and lots of spare batteries, car-plug adapter for our cell phones, and those sealed liquid-fuel emergency-light lamps you see from time to time. No open flame is particularly safe in a vehicle, but these last a long time, won't spill, don't set the carpet on fire if they do burn down, and put out enough heat to make a difference in a vehicle.<br><br>If the forecast is serious cold, I take the water bottles out of the vehicle. I hate to do it, but I haven't found that a plastic-clad block of ice is particularly useful for either dehydration or hypothermia, and I'm always worried that they'll split.<br>

This means nothing where I live, but I learned a real lesson about windshield wipers as I spent last winter in New Hampshire. The next time I travel north in cold weather I will stop and get windshield wipers with boots on them before I have to pay $50 at a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

I take the water bottles out too. I wonder if there's some way to "anti-freeze" them, such as by adding sugar to drop the freezing point. Any ideas?

Actually, I asked that question myself on this forum at least once, and got no responses.<br><br>I know that boaters and RV folks use commercial products of some sort to keep the freshwater systems aboard from freezing up in the winter.. but my impression is that, while it's supposed to be "non-toxic", they still try to flush it before use.<br><br>Vodka works to some degree, but may have unintended consequences. :-)<br>

"Vodka works to some degree, but may have unintended consequences. :-)"<br><br>That was my first thought. <br>If you are willing to experiment, why not try this. Dont fight the freezing weather. Allow the bottle to freeze. Water expands one tenth its volume when it freezes. Do a rough calculation on how much water can freeze in a container without rupturing it. Then freeze it in your kitchen freezer. <br><br>I believe that I will try that with a 2 liter Coca-Cola bottle. This particular bottle says that it contained 67.7 fluid ounces. I imagine that if I fill it and then remove one cup (8 ounces) I will be well into the range of what it can handle without rupturing. <br><br>If you are wondering why I am working in ounces....well, I dont have any metric measuring cups.

Sure- I've had a number of water bottles freeze solid on me without damage to the bottle.. but, as mentioned, the problem is that it's not terribly useful once frozen, so there's not much point in letting it happen.

"but, as mentioned, the problem is that it's not terribly useful once frozen,"<br><br>I seemed to have overlooked that part. Oh well, if I was worried about sticking my foot in my mouth I wouldnt ever speak up. <br><br>That does bring up a pet peeve of mine. Its getting very hard to find a metal canteen. I dont mind putting a metal container close to a fire or on a hot engine block. Or on a car hood on a 95 degree Georgia day. (today for example) Anyway: thats a whole other issue.

Personally, even though I live on the coast now, I moved here from Alaska, and I still have that mindset in me in making my winter preps. The biggest differences now are the weight of the boots, coats, and sleeping bags. I no longer need -40 rated stuff, I can get away with 0 rated stuff.