I was wondering if anyone elts keeps survival instructions in their kits? here are mine if your interested.<br><br>SURVIVAL NESSESITY IS ALL DEPPENDING ON THE CLIMATE, SITUATION, AND PROBLEMS. IN THE UNITED STATES SOUTH EASTERN AREA THE NESSESITY ORDER IS FIRST AID, WATER, SHELTER, FIRE, AND FINALY FOOD. KEEP CALM THINK ON YOUR FEET AND DELIGATE DUTIES.<br>FIRST AID- RANK INJURED IN ORDER OF HARSHNESS, APPLY FIRST AID AND DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP FROM OTHER EMERGENCY MEMBERS.<br>WATER- OBTAIN WATER FROM MANY SOURCES, OCEAN, SEA, LAKE, SPRING, DIG, BUILD A SOLAR STILL, CONDENSATION, AND CONDINSATION OFF OF FOILAGE. NOW IT MUST BE PURIFIED BY CHARCOAL. DISTILL WATER FROM SEA TO MAKE IT SAFE. BOIL WATER, OR PURIFICATION TABLETS. WATER MAY ALSO BE CONTRACTED FROM A FISH SPINE AN ANIMAL EYE VINE OR ANYTHING ELTS. <br>SHELTER- IS THE HARDEST TO DESCRIBE. JUST BUILD A SIMPLE FRAM OF STICKS AND USE THE AID OF NATURAL REASOURCES. THEN ADD FOILAGE OR MAN MADE MATERIALS TO WATERPROOF SHELTER. YOU CAN BUILD THE FIRE AT THE ENTRANCE T0 PROVIDE HEAT.<br>FIRE- THIS IS ANOTHER IMPORTIAN NEED. IT CAN BE BUILD FROM LIGHTER, MATCHES, FLINT, FRICTION OF A BOW AND DRILL. WHEN BUILDING FIRE START WITH A LARGE LOG AND LEAN TINDER AGINST IT. THEN AFTER INGITION ADD THE KINDDLING? WHEN BUILDING A BOW AND DRILL MAKE DRILL OF HARD WOOK BASE PLATE OF SOFT WOOD WITH A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE, BOW MUST BE A GREEN STICK 5 FT AND THE STRING OF A NATURAL MATERIAL.<br>FOOD- THE LEAST IMPORTIAN OF ALL. WE ALL GET HUNGRY BUT YOU PROBLY WON’T DIE. IF WATER IS PLENTYFUL THEN GO AHEAD AND HUNT, BUILD SNARES, AND FISH.<br>*IF YOU HAVE COMPLETELY READ THIS MANY TIMES AND ARE DONE SETING CAMP THIS REFERANCE BEST MAKES A FIRE STARTER.<br>

I don't keep "survival instructions" in my kit per se. I prefer to stick a copy of the Gem edition of the SAS Survival Guide in my shirt pocket. The Sierra Club also has a very thin (< 0.5") book on wilderness survival, but I don't like it as much; I have a copy in my Backpack Survival Kit.) I also have a Space Blanket which has survival instructions printed on one complete side (black print on survival orange background).<br><br>If I were going to include survival instructions in a PSK, I'd want them to be extremely basic, because they'd be intended for use by my companions in the event I was incapacitated.<br><br>For first aid, if they don't know AR & CPR, there's no way they're going to learn it off a 5x7 sheet of paper. My recommendation for "First Aid for Dummies" would be:<br><br>1. Don't move a casualty unless you absolutely have to.<br>2. Apply direct pressure until bleeding stops.<br>3. If not breathing, tilt head gently back.<br>4. If this doesn't work, and you don't know what to do next, they're dead. Deal with it.<br><br>(Okay, I'd probably leave off the last one. ;-)<br><br>My advice on building a fire would be even simpler:<br><br>"DON'T WASTE MATCHES! There aren't any more."<br><br>If I had a radio, I'd want to provide a list of emergency frequencies and some basic instructions on how to operate it. <br><br>I'm not saying your advice isn't good, but ISTM for the people who need it, it's too late; and for the people who don't need it, it's a waste of paper that they could use for something else.

I also have a copy of the SAS Survival Guide in my pack. It's the best $10 I've spent in a long time.<br><br>John McIntire

the emergency/survival handbook published by the american outdoor safety league is a pretty good basic little book, it's pretty small, contains some usefull, easy to understand, basic information. it's mainly got first aid info in it, but i think that for someone without any survival skills/knowledge first aid is going to be the most important thing. it's far from ideal but it's a pretty good little handbook. it's the kind of thing that could make a big difference in the imediate aftermath of a plane crash or some kind of accident in the wilderness, which is, as far as i'm aware, the main focus of this forum.<br><br>take it easy<br>stuart.

just another little thought, i think we're assuming that the survival cheat cards, or a book of some description are intended to be carried along with our PSK's to be used by someone else in the case of us being incapacitated in some way. well i'm just curious as to how we expect this other person to know that we're carrying these things? <br><br>take it easy<br>stuart

Hi Stuart,<br>I´d suggest a little note in the wallet (just in case someone tries to find your ID or medical notes). When you still can talk, you could tell the other person.<br>Apart from that most of the people, who know me, have an idea of the stuff I usually carry.

Sometimes during an emergency situation folks may panic or lose sights of priorities. Also, folks cognative capabilities diminish with dehydration or from shock following an injury. In these situations, having a cheat sheet can provide focus. One of our contributers experimented with dehydration on an outing last year. After 2-3 days he lost complete sense of decision processes you and I would view as simple, normal decisions. He did this test with a friend as a fail safe to make sure he didn't hurt himself or go too far. As I recall, his friend started to have a difficult time with him after 2 days and it took a great deal of effort to revivie him, even with food and water on hand.<br><br>I have also seen the effect of panic first hand, although it was not a survival situation. A non-swimmer in canoe and wearing a PFD (Personal Floatation Device) tipped over in 3 feet of water. He thrashed and floundered as if he were drowning until 2 of his friends pulled him out. He was wearing a PFD and ould have simply stood up at any time. But the fear of drowning caused him to panic to the point he was incapacitated. I will never forget that scene.<br><br>Never become over confident because you cannot always control basic instincts.

I use notes in my PSK, as well. To conserve space, I<br>- use almost no capitilization<br>- use a smaller font size<br>- abbreviate where possible<br>- if needed, drop letters (possible becomes posible)<br>- use no indentation. All my paragraphs run-on.<br>- reduce the amount of space between lines.<br>- use both sides of sheet of paper<br>- round corners and adjust characters to utilize every space <br> in the corner area.<br><br>Doing all the above sure takes time, but is quite fun.<br><br>Xavier - Phx, AZ<br>