Outdoorlife article: Survival Equipment, Car list

What does everyone think of this new article from outdoor life?

Anything missing from this list? Anything not needed?

Hope this hasn't been posted before and I have missed it...

Cheers,
Nemo

First-aid category: - First Aid Kit...sigh

Otherwise looks decent. Not sure if I'd take a tent though. Staying with your vehicle and all that..

It looks more like a full-sized BOB than a Car-kit, but that's just me I guess.

they failed to mention work gloves in the first clothing list. never leave home without a good pair or gloves(which reminds me, mine are falling a part and need to be replaced).
they didn't say how much water to store, which may lead the uninformed to just toss a few Deer Park bottles in the trunk.
They need to say more than just "First Aid Kit." as everyone here knows, all FAKs are not created equal.

It's not a bad list but there are some things that I thought were very funny for a 72 hour kit for your vehicle . . 3 sets of underwear , bar of soap , shampoo , razor , deoderant , hairbrush , paper plates and cups ????? I shower and change my undies everyday and shave almost everyday but in a 72 hour emergency situation , LOL . Shampoo and a hairbrush in an emergency kit , LOL.
Also thought it was strange that they would recomend "an extremely LIGHTWEIGHT sleepingbag" . And why a tent if you're in your vehicle . Are you going to get out of your vehicle and pitch a tent during a blizzard .
Also no mention of something for self defence - always part of my emergency kit .
I guess if your all sqeeky clean and well groomed and eating your power bar on a paper plate , then no one will want to give you any trouble or take your stuff .

I thought the samething there was a bit of frill in the kit. Not much else to say that handyman has said.
cheers

Tow Strap
I didn't see candles mentioned.

In my car kit, I have a tube tent, heat sheet, 2 emergency ponchos, 3 wool blankets (laid flat, lining trunk), and an orange tarp, no lightweight tent though. I need to get to get off my butt and get some heavy plastic sheeting, as I think it would be very useful if some joker smashes my window out or if I lose a window in a crash. I think the best bet is to improve the vehicle as a shelter if necessary, but also have a fall back if the vehicle is unsafe.

"an extremely LIGHTWEIGHT sleepingbag"

That's got me confused also. I carry a sleeping bag in my car at all times. Lightweight during summer months and a heavyweight for winter months.
I also keep a very heavy blanket in the car too.

Beeswax candles are the way to go. Paraffin has a nasty habit of spewing tons of schmutz and CO.

All candles release CO. ANY burning of any kind releases CO.
ALWAY crack a window when using.

As I've said before, there's a difference between SURVIVING and COMFORT.

Paper plates are not needed for survival...they do provide a touch of civilization which can be a moral booster.

I'm reminded of an episode of MASH where the camp had to bug out...everyone was told to take only the essentials (they were abandoning the camp, not taking it with them)...Charles had his phonograph and a huge stack of records...he swore that he was taking only the barest of essentials. Come to think of it, why weren't they better prepared for a bug out in general??

I think I'm going to write an article...practical kit lists...no lace hankies allowed!

A lot of people are going to need simple to use items and even simpler instructions on how to use them...I'll put that on my list of projects.

Thinking about the deodorant (and back to the civilization thought) reminds me of that Right Guard commercial a few years back..."because you don't want to give off a malodorous air...Right Guard, because anything less would be uncivilized"

Great! Now the masses are going to be “prepared” by getting those cheap pieces of crap that have button cell batteries hidden in them because the “dynamo” is nothing but a noisemaker clicky-toy. They should have either been less specific by saying “Flashlight” or more specific by saying “Flashlight (Batteryless, e.g. Freeplay or NightStar)”.

Lot of head scratcher stuff- missing items (gloves, tow straps, maybe I missed the Slime/Fixaflat), badly defined items (FAK, water), and why bother (tent?!?, deodorant?)

And a P-38 with nothing to open...

Maybe you'll run along a raccoon with a can of pork and beans.

Maybe you'll use it to open a sunroof in your car...

Maybe you'll be stranded on an abandoned army base and trip over a 60 year old C-Rat can....

Maybe it's an emergency suicide tool when you run out of shampoo...

Who knows?

True. I still carry my first one, got it in 'bout '68. I don't use it much anymore, but still carry it...

Or maybe just a raccoon?

In a shelter-in-place longer term situation paper plates are nice because you save water from not having to wash the dishes though.

I've read that any non-running vehicle is a heat sink and in cold weather it's better to build a shelter outside of the car to prevent hypothermia, like a snow trench or even a tent when there's not enough snow.

Where did you read this?

Anybody have experience with these products?

http://www.philoxia.com/survival.htm

And Monty Alford's home made Yu-Can survival stove made with nested cans and tea candles is good for melting snow and you can use your survival tubing as a straw to drink directly from it.

Frankie

I suppose that depends on the weather, the vehicle and how comfortable the seats are I'd like to see how well a mummy bag in a car does compared to a mummy bag in a tent.

Considering that the seat and carpeting are keeping me up off the ground and dry, and that I expend zero energy in building a shelter, I'll continue to plan on using the truck cab as an expedient shelter.

In Winter Wise by Monty Alford.

Thanks, it seems like a nice book.

This part of the thread is starting to look like Russian Matryoshka dolls with all its nested quotes.

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You think?

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You think? [/quote]

yep

This part of the thread is starting to look like Russian Matryoshka dolls with all its nested quotes. [/quote]

You think? [/quote]

yep [/quote]

Really? (alright, I'll stop)

This part of the thread is starting to look like Russian Matryoshka dolls with all its nested quotes. [/quote]

You think? [/quote]

yep [/quote]

Really? (alright, I'll stop) [/quote]

Sorry I couldn't help it.

I think a car or truck would make for an alright shelter as long as you have a thick wool blanket and heavy sleeping bag. Plus you probably have your heavy winter coat. Plenty of insulation. All I would really want is for the car to stop the wind.

T-shirt should be avoid as emergency item in winter kit. synthetic polyester long johns, polartec, should be included in the kit.

We like the tent option. Sometimes you might want to stay in the vehicle, others you might want to move out of the vehicle and into the tent. Of course, along with the tent we carry insulated pads and mummy bags...

Sheltering in place usually doesn't involve the car kit, and cleaning dishes in winter is easy- snow works well. Just make sure it isn't the color of any car fluids, grey-brown, or yellow. :P

Indeed. The paper plates and plastic ustensils idea is more for a home kit where you have plenty of room and an emergency food pantry and want to save water. It looks like they copy-pasted a home kit and modified it for car in a hurry.

Frankie

A car is a heat sink at night and a solar collector by day, IF you were in the open and managed to point it toward the south.

I don't know if a tent would be any better, but the lack of metal might give it a slight edge.

Some of their suggestions seem to indicate that the person who wrote it did a little light skimming of survival, and called it good.

Of course, maybe the p-38 was to cut the raccoon's throat and gut it, and the razor was to shave off all the hair before cooking (singeing would be faster). But you would still need a SUBSTANTIAL FAK after wrestling with a raccoon.

Sue

With the inclusion of the the paper plates, toiletries and the like it looks more like he cribbed heavely from the Red Cross 72 hr. home kit. Then tossed in a couple of things for a vehicle.

Defenately not that impressed.

It's like, would you hike in temperature below freezing with work boots that have steel toes and plates? Your feet would freeze quickly due to conduction.

The problem with tent, sleeping bag and pads is that you can't put them in the trunk as they could get stuck in an accident and the sleeping bag will become too cold.

"...temperature below freezing with work boots that have steel toes..."

I have stood in snow for eight hours or more (standing, not moving much, which is colder) wearing my Matterhorn boots (insulated) with steel toes. Didn't seem to make a bit of difference, my feet stayed pretty warm and toasty...

Your foot mileage may vary.