Last night my girlfriend's dog was sleeping in my backpack trying to escape chaos of Christmas and avoiding abuse he gets from my 110 lbs Lab. When she was taking him out of there my PSK fell out and her being curious opened everything up and put it out on the table. She liked it a lot and tought about it as a great idea so she asked me to make her one. I will be glad to do it. Is there anything special that woman should have in her kit as opposed to a man?

Matt

If it were me putting the kit together, I'd include her in the process so she could add input as to the items that are included and it'd also give me an opportunity to find out just exactly how much she does and doesn't know about the use of each item.

I agree with Longbow.

A PSK is close to useless to someone who has no clue about survival/campcraft.

NOTE: i am NOT saying or implying that women are useless/slow. Anybody who has not researched survival/campcraft would probably not use a PSK to its full capcity. I'd definantly add a book (SAS Survival Manual, etc.) and as much practical expirience as possible. But, make sure she has fun, and try not end up lecturing her. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

A few generalizations might help. First, women's body mass are lower than males. All things being equal; this translates into a greater need for insulation and food intake. Risking the perception of sexual stereotyping, women react to adversary differently also. This may be due to societal roles. I find women tend to organize a base camp ( home and hearth) with immediate comfort and safety taking precedence over rescue. Us guys are trying to re establish the status quo " I can find out where we should be and make a spear to kill big bears. How does this translate into a PSK? Perhaps a greater emhasis on shelter materials; extra garbage bags, paracord etc. There is also the patronizing trap of 'showing the little lady how to do it.' I have yet to see a stress situation where the macho guys withered while some cool headed woman or unassuming man blossomed <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I agree with Chris, I have seen women acting more reasonable in disaster situations than men when it comes to long term survival. While men go for heroic(!) acts the women try to keep everything together. Here we have a saying "The female bird builds the nest" <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Something to consider.

regards
Burak

Well my girls answer to a "what's one thing she would love to have on deserted island?" question is "I just want to take Matt with me". I always take care of everything: set up stove, fire, tent and than I will cook, take care of the kayaks etc etc... Per your guys recommendation I will create a PSK that is more female frendly. I will put her favorite piece of candy in there, band aids, some neosporin, sewing kit, tylenol, tampon (?), bag of tea, razor blade, rain poncho, small flashlight, $20 (10+5+1+1+1+1+1), tape, some aqua tablets, rope, signaling device, prepaid calling card and small pen. I will make the tin look nice by painting it yellow or blue. Starting next hiking trip I will give her more tasks and make her participate in stuff I'm doing around the camp so she has a general idea of how things work. She doesn't have to know them asap but since most camp tasks are repetive she will at least be able to join me at some point in finsihing the task.

Matt

ps.
Burak... That name bugged me because I knew I've seen it before so I decided to look it up and I called my mom. Burak translated from Polish means beets... But I'm sure you already know that. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Servus Matt,

LOL no may I would know it:) You learn many things here. I am Turkish and the name Burak means something like pegasus indeed. I met many and worked with some Polak people and all were nice and friendly with good sense of humor.

Take care
do zobaczenia
Burak

reading your post got me thinking-we (my girlfriend and i) often go backpacking now heaven forbid anything happened to me i would want my girlfriend to know what to do and how to help without causing more damage than good-she is a nurse but has very little outdoor knowledge-she would struggle to put up a two man tent-no offense to women but on the other hand i have very little knowledge on eye shadow-i'm not being stereotypical-i know a hell of a lot of female vets much stronger than me, wear no makeup and are a hell of a lot clever than me!!!!

To get to the point-we must train to some degree both our partners and siblings-BUT in a very apoproachable and enjoyable way which is very fun and feels as though you AREN'T being dominated or patronised!!!!!

Mark

<< She liked it a lot and tought about it as a great idea so she asked me to make her one. I will be glad to do it. Is there anything special that woman should have in her kit as opposed to a man >>

Matt,

I'd say "no", but it's a qualified "no".

1. You're talking about a PSK as opposed to the general stuff - which the two of you collectively already know (regardless of who packs things up, one of you already knows her needs and wants w.r.t. planned outings - TP, menstrual supplies, clothing/equip for metabolic preferences, etc.) You'd need a folded n-space Altoids tin to fit a meaningful amount of menstrual supplies in - heck, even to fit a meaningful amount of TP - so don't try. If all you've got is the PSK, there are other challenges - dealing with female hygene is merely one of a long list. Women who are willingly away from the stores rise to meet the needs in my experence.

2. There is GREAT value in standardizing contents amongst folks who are frequently together. I cannot over-empasize that point. But does it matter if you prefer 2 X-acto blades and she prefers 2 scalpel blades? No - as long as you each have "two blades" or whatever your "standad" PSK contents call for. This is also of great value in personal first aid kits ("PFAK" for discussion) - when something is needed from a PFAK, it should always come from THAT person's PFAK, not from the person rendering aid. Leader or group FAKs - like a Medic's bag - are unique, of course - only talking PFAK and PSK stuff here. Standard container, standard contents, standard packing method, as common knowledge and "training" as is feasible for PSK and PFAK - and the more pressing the need for those items, the more valuable this standardization is, right down to "where is it stowed?", if feasible. I could go on and on with this, but - it's a very valuable practice, as real life has demonstrated over and over for me.

3. She admired your PSK - why change it? She likes the concept of you being prepared and wants to emulate your preparedness... you're her expert. However, if it is feasible for you two, involve her in the specifics of building hers to the degree she is interested (that's pure "guy-gal" advice with no scientific basis, LoL). Maybe you have a tiny black Victorinox in yours and she would prefer red - who knows? A little OT, but by way of example: my wife prefers different knives than I do - I gave up on THAT a long time ago. I give her choices of suitable ones and let her pick - if she picks "none of the above" I go back and find other suitable choices.

Strike while the iron is hot... duplicate your kit with her involvement. Hope this helps!

Regards,

Tom

O.K., since nobody else was foolhardy enough to make this observation I will. The greatest, most comprehensive PSK in the world is a woman's purse <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> I have observed; revolvers, food and water, 1/4" drive socket sets, Stoicism by Marcus Arelianus, serenity candles ( strawbery) Canadian, Mexican and Hong Kong currrency, a hibernating Kangaroo rat and pepper spray <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />