Life vest PSK (with pics)

I have never really carried a PSK per se, I usually just take the things I need in my pockets. I recently moved to a place with lots of water and have got back into kayaking. Since in a kayak I am only wearing shorts with no pockets, flip flops(maybe) and a life vest I figured there may be some merit to putting a few things in a small survival tin in case I wipe out and am left only with what is in my vest.
I hit the work bench the other night and crafted several of these to place in my vests.

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In no real order, each tin contains:

1. Starflash signal mirror
2. 6 lifeboat matches/striker (vacuum sealed)
3. ranger firesteel w/striker
4. Jetscream whistle
5. Inova squeeze light (white) in mini zip lock bag
6. mini compass
7. BCB wire saw with rings
8. 6 cotton tinder
9. 2 heavy duty safety pins
10. Mini Swiss army knife
11. Approx 20 feet of heavy duty nylon twine
12. 2L zip lock bag
13. Heavy duty sail needle (taped to inside of lid)

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Items packed inside tin.

Once each tin was complete I wrapped several lengths of gorilla tape round each to at least help with keeping out water and super glued a large strip of reflectivle/glow in the dark tape to the top and bottom to aid finding it if dropped. (in theory anyway)

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The tin is placed in a mesh pocket along with a heat sheats brand survival blanket in a small zip lock to prevent it being rubbed around too much in the vest. I secured the flap with a large safety pin to hold it closed in the event the velcro may fail. Not shown is a separate, small but stocked First aid kit which is secured in the opposite mesh pocket.

I intend to add some MP1 water purification tabs when I find some, but in the meantime the FA kit has a small vial of iodine should I need to purify some drinking water.

All my other gear is stowed in the compartments in the kayak but would be hard to get to in a hurry. If I get separated from my gear I will have this much at least. I am confident I could ride out a couple of nights with this if I had no choice.

Thoughts and ideas are welcome.

Thanks folks.

Hi Stephen. Looks good. The only things I can think you might want to add are a Mini-Bic and dental floss. And make sure you can unwrap the kit even with wet, cold, numb fingers.

possibly attach a sheath knife to the jacket in case of a line tangle...chemlight on the jacket

Attach that knife and it sheath upside down so that you can draw it with either hand. You don't specify what model of PFD you will wear, but consider one with enough pockets to hold marine flares and other items (SPOT?).

What are your water temps like? I would think something a little warmer than shorts would be appropriate for Ontario. Are we talking sea kayaking or whitewater? I am thinking like a sea kayaker.....

LED,

I would love to add a mini BIC. I stewed it over but theres just no room in the tin. The twine can be seperated into smaller strings which are still very strong and which will easily thread with the needle. Hard to tell on the pic.

Les, I forgot to mention I do have a sheath knife (Fallkniven WM1) Attached to the outside of the vest by a nite-ize s biner, as well as another whistle (fox 40) which comes with the vest. I also intend on adding a pellican L1 If.....when I go over I want those three items imediately at hand.

Hikermor, I tried with the WM1 and even though its designed for neck carry I don't trust it upside down on the vest. A quick pull on the lanyard and the knife will pop out with either hand. The life vest is Roots brand as seen in the pic. Not sure on the model. I have been meaning to find something with a few more pockets but I am worried about overloading the vest to the point where it will no longer float

The water/temperature is really warm in Ontario this time of year believe it or not. Maybe not southern cal warm but pretty good for a Canadian(30ish + deg deg cel) with a fairly high humidity index. As the season turns to fall I will add a wetsuit to the mix but hypo is not a big concern at the moment. There are massive firebans everywhere because everthing is so hot and dry. I am doing mostly kayak fishing with some whitewater as my skills get better. I love to sea kayak but the ocean is too far from my neck of the woods.


Thanks for the input folks

Looks like a very nice kit. Kudo's on your preps!

A few things you might want to think about, depending on your situation:

If you're on the water then there's a pretty good chance there'll be fish around. Adding a selection of hooks and some split-shot sinkers might give you a food option. Along with that I'd add some braided fishing line. (I'd much rather use bugs for bait than eat them!)

Instead of Gorilla tape try electrical tape: it's easier to get off when you need to get into the kit with cold, wet fingers. Fold the end over to make an easy-to-grip tab.

My tendency is to wrap the cord tightly around the outside of the kit and secure the ends with more electrical tape. This winds up allowing me to carry more cord and also have more room inside the kit for other items.

Use some of that twine to tie your striker to the ferro rod. If you fumble the rod at night you're much more likely to find the shiny striker in the grass than the dull, black rod itself.

Great idea, Stephen!

A good friend went fishing on a secluded lake on the weekend and stumbled upon this:





This guy went out for a leisurely sail and ended up stuck in the middle of a lake, overturned sailboat, no lifejacket, no cel phone..... A good reminder that it's a good idea to: wear a life vest, have a life vest kit like Stephen's, file a plan and have a way to signal for help.

Stephen,

My one suggestion would be to replace the S-biner with a locking carabiner. I have had the s-biners come off with just moderate activity. I use the MOLLE compatible Grimlocs like this. They attach to any one inch webbing, are easier to unlock using just a finger tip (even gloved) and will break away (at about 80 lbs of force) to keep you from being hung up or strangled if the gear gets caught on something. Never had one break, come open accidentally or fail in anyway. There's also a simple D-ring version as well. They're made of a plastic so won't rust. I've carried my water bottle on one for several year and have never had it come loose.

Mark,

The tape is tabbed for easy removal, once again hard to see in the picture. I find gorilla tape far superior to everything else I have laid hands on thus far. Man that stuff is awesome. It is strong and will re-stick several times before needing to be trashed. I am not fond of wrapping cord round the tin. I may be wrong but it seems it would be an awful PITA to have to unwrap it every time I wanted in the tin. OTOH, I should only ever need it in an emergency (or to swap batteries etc) so maybe I should consider it further. Good catch on the striker/firesteel. I will be tying both together promptly and prehaps put some glow tape on the flat surface of the striker as well. I thought about adding some hooks etc but it is really only intended as a very short term kit. If I am missing it won't take long before someone raises the alarm. I am a firm believer of always using a solid plan before heading out alone. OTOH, once again a few hooks weigh nothing so I suppose it couldn't hurt to have them. The twine may work as fishing line in a pinch.

BPJack,

You wouldn't have been at black bear beach the other day by chance? I saw a woman who looked identical to your avatar picture.(minus the winter garb of course)

That guy is lucky someone happened along of he may have been in the news in a bad way. I an no prepardness expert, but no life vest or phone? Wow.....I couldn't even imagine being that stupid. My life is worth more to me than that.

I just picked up a few pelican boxes today. One that specificaly fits my iphone/mophie case. That will fine a home in my vest as well. If I go over and need help, the phone is no good to me once I am safely on shore and the kayak is underwater or swept downriver. I think I would rather have it on my person vise in my gear which is secured to the boat in one of those button hatches. It floats too. The PSK however, does not. Found out the hard way today....

Andy,

Thanks for the int on the grimlocs. Believe it or not I have about 20 of these kicking around from overseas but have not used them yet. I had feared they would pop open on me. Survival aside I would be rather pi**ed to lose my favorite knife. 80 lbs is a lot of force. I will give them a try if they are that good. I have had no problems with an S biner either, but I am a little wary of the fact they don't lock. Will they pop if thet twist? (grimlocs I mean) Just wondering.

Helpful stuff guys (and girl) Thank you

Consider a signal mirror and some calorie-dense rations.

A signal mirror was the first item listed.

I would do away with the whistle, redundant since you have the Fox 40, pack it in a waterproof case like this one:
http://www.rei.com/product/723130/witz-keep-it-clear-sport-case

I would find a single AAA flashlight that is waterproof instead of the Innova (which seem to fail easily) and I would replace the cord with some of this:
http://www.bestglide.com/milspec_paracord_type_1a.html

This cord has inner strands that can be used or left intact for 100 Lb test.

I would add a small fishing kit like this:
http://www.bestglide.com/compact_emergency_fishing_kit.html

Also, try to get that mini-Bic in there. Soak the cotton balls in Vaseline or get some TinderQuik tabs.

Are you implying a waterproof case for the Fox 40 whistle?

When I am out in the canoe, the whistle is always securely attached to my PFD as the last thing I want to worry about is rummaging through gear looking for a whistle to hopefully attract the attention of other boaters close by, especially in colder weather and water where your life expectantly can be measured down to minutes. With the carabiner attached, there is enough length in it and the attachment point for the whistle to be used hands free once you place it in the mouth with no worry of losing it if accidentally released from the mouth.

As a side note. Our provincial .gov freely hands out 1000's of these Fox 40 whistles every year. Needless to say, I have a lifetime supply of these whistles stashed everywhere.

Not a waterproof case for the whistle, a waterproof case for the survival items. Keep the Fox 40 hanging from the vest.

Canadian Tire has the MP1 water purification tablets, if you haven't found them elsewhere yet, can't get much more convenient than that in Canada.

Nice kit Stephen!

I put glow in the dark tape and reflective tape on my gear for the same reason but I've never been able to find a tape that was glow in the dark and reflective. Would you know the manufacturer?

Thank you

Damn, another senior moment. Sorry.

Oh man, so many replies. Where to start

Widget - I have tried similar cases to those and they have all failed. Usually only to protect keys, cash etc but I have not found any yet that were good. Maybe I just had a bad run of luck. (they all leaked) I have since removed the inova and twine. I need something a little more waterproof so I was leaning toward the EO1(maybe) This is just a back up to my back up. I have a pelican pinned to the vest on the out side and a headlamp in the cargo area. I decided to add 15 feet of real para cord. I didnt wrap it around the tin but rather rolled it in a tight bundle and used an elastic to hold it to the side of the tin. I would like to use brighter colored para cord but I get all the OD stuff I could ever want free from work so I stuck with that.

Those tinder in there are the Coghlan's brand. You can soak them over night and still light them. Very amazing. They are pressed with some sort of wax I believe. I still can't fit the BIC in despite my best attempt. I have a brunton windmill lighter in my pack however.

Teslinhiker - Which province do you hail from that gives out these whistles? I have only just moved to Ontario so there are a lot of things I am still unfamiliar with. I agree the whistle must remain on the outside of the vest. I have one in the tin and one on the vest. It's not to be overly redundant, it's just that I built several of these kits exactly the same to be used for a variety of outdoor stuff. I know the contents are all the same. If I pull one out of my life vest and throw it in the saddle bag of my mountain bike I want to know my basics are covered.

Cfraser - Man... I just came from Canadian tire with a new kayak (they are going on sale now) new ramps for my truck, a new hydrolic jack and 30 L of oil. The only thing I couldn't find were the MP1 tabs. The CT in Edmonton always had them but not here. My PM it doing odd things. If you still want that "thing" we talked about shoot me a quick one and I will toss it in the mail. All the boxes are unpacked here now and I actually managed to find one.

Quietly learning - Sorry I don't. I bought this stuff at an American PX store while training down in the States a few years back. It comes on a roll and has an adhesive backing. It's checkred looking and has the same qualities as a reflective belt (plus it glows) The adhesive isn't all that good so I used super glue to give it extra stick. I have since added a little piece to some of the smaller parts of the kit. I think it had the name "cat eyes" somewhere in the name. But I may be wrong.

Dweste - No worries. I forget my keys twice a day and I am only in my mid 30's. At least you can use being a senior as a reason.

Thank you Stephen!

I believe I found it... LUMINOUS CAT-EYE MARKING TAPE.

More toys!!!

I am in BC.

As for the whistle, yes always keep it on your PFD. The whistle on my PFD is never, ever removed just in case the day I needed it most, I had forgot to clip it on. Free or not, whistles are low enough in price not to justify having one in every gear kit.

I like the idea of having PSK items attached to your person, but I have never been fond of the Altoid tin type kit. They are just to small to store any real Gear. One system I have used in the past and you might consider is using a spare container for your kit. Something along the lines of a 40oz widemouth kleen canteen will hold a good bit of gear, and you can boil water in it. You can attach it to the bottom of your vest with a carabiner, and let it ride in the floor of your Kayak.
I still do this when hunting. I have one bottle with water or gatorade, and the other is stuffed with cordage, small (2nd) compass -, fire kit, fist aid, bandana, AMK heat sheet (unrapped and stuffed to keep everything from rattling), Aquamira tabs, the list goes, etc. Just thought I would share.

Watch that Inova squeeze light. Not sure if you've used it long but I hated mine. After a while it would get knocked on at the slighted bump and burn out the batteries. Not something you want to happen to your emergency light.

Mark - up till recently nor was I. I just needed a solution for the vest and I had the tins laying around. They are actually tins from a Boker knife gift set. I just pulled out the foam insert. The 40 oz bottle won't fit in my vest and that was the whole point of making the PSK tins.(to get them inside the mesh pockets) If I get seperated from my kayak (it's happened before) I at least have something on me I can use. I would be worried that if I went in the drink I may be tangled up in the lines of anything attached to my vest by a cord. I suppose I got enough other stuff to tangle up in so one more wouldn't hurt. Solid idea though.

I just upgraded to a "sit on" kayak vs the "sit in" types. As I paddle alone self recovery is soooooooo much easier in the sit on type. The self draining feature is excellent. I am less likely to tangle in things if I do dump over. The dissadvantage is that everything on the deck gets soaked. I just got back from a 2 day trip and most.....wait...ALL of the gear not in Pelican cases was soaked. I haven't checked the PSK yet. It may be soaked as well. If so I guess I am back to looking for a solution.

BPJack - yeah, like I mentioned above I alreay pulled those out and just stuck with pinning something more reliable to the outside of the vest. I upgraded from a Pelican L1 to a Fenix.(don't recall which off the cuff) but its the 100ish lumen single AA waterproof type. So far it has lived up to it's hype because the Ottawa river drenched me for two days and it still lights up.

Sorry Stephen. I missed that update. My apologies. I like little keychain sized lights in my psk, and the price on those inovas is pretty good. You just need to be aware of their shortcomings and keep an eye on them. Better is better though so kudos on the upgrade!

Ouch! I put one of the inovas on all my kids backpacks until I realized a similar problem and quickly got rid of them and replaced them with photons. More expensive but safer and more durable.