My psk tips and advice are welcome

Hi there,

I’m following this forum quite some time and finely have made an account and here is my PSK and other general survival equipment that I carry ON MY BODY when involving outdoor activities.
I would like to here tips on how I can improve my kit.
I already know that my fishing kit is not big but have you ever tried fishing high in the Alps? Or on a vertical wall? That’s where my primary outdoor activities take place. So I wont really need it.
Any comments/tips are welcome

Rick


My neck lanyard is holding:
- Photon II white
- Perry whistle
- Small clasp knife
- My keys
- Medical ID tag

My psk

- 24 water purifying tablets
- 1 small fresnell lens
- 1 small roll of duct tape (9 feet)
- 1 sparklite
- 9 feet copper wire with around it 4 feet dental floss and 6 feet polyester sewing wire
- 1 small jigsaw blade
- 1 striker for matches
- 10 waterproof matches
- 1 small birthday candle
- 1 tampon
- 1 condom
- 1 brunton compass
- 2 paracetamol
- 1 bag of povidone-iodine
- 2 medium bandage’s
- 1 small square bandage
- 3 swivels
- 4 small golden hooks
- 2 medium silver hooks
- 1 large hook (gaff?)
- 1 spool with 25 feet 25 lb. Fishing line
- 1 x-acto blade
- 1 wire saw
- 3 needles
- 12 split shots
- 10 ranger bands (5 on the outside of the kit)
- 4 square feet HD aluminum foil
- 9 feet 4mm rope (700+ breaking strength)
- 1 box 95x65x30mm

This box with the aluminum foil and 5 ranger bands wrapped around it on the outside is sitting in a small bag that hooks to my belt with the 4mm rope on top of it.

Extra survival equipment that is on my body when involving in outdoor activities (mostly hiking and climbing in the alps):

Thickly padded bag (for a photo camera) is holding:
- 1 orange survival bag
- 25 lifeboat matches
- 1 small BIC lighter
- 9 feet 4mm rope
- Aqua Mira water treatment set
- Small first aid kit with:
o 3 packages povidone-iodine
o 3 safety pins (2 medium, 1 small
o 10 bandages large
o 5 bandages medium
o 5 bandages small
o 4 pain killers
- 2 pen flares with pistol
- Small roll duct tape
- Mini maglite solitaire with extra battery
All this is in a waterproof aluminum box that sits inside the bag.

In my coat pockets are also 2 waterproof wound dressings (military style), avalanche location/search device and a victorinox black nomad knife.

-no signal mirror !!!
-no instructions
-no water container
-no waterproof tinder, atleast not wenn it is opened.
-no sewning string ( fishing wire are horrible to sewn with and don't recal induvidual wire's in climbing ropes )

since your primairly activity is on cold area's
-more tinder, vaseline/coton is great stuff and cheap ( we blijven nederlanders <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )
-add a aditional bigger more powerfull ferosium rod, they work beter with harder kinds of tinder and i find them easier to use.
-chemical hand warmers

if ya rich maybe a avalung, a device that let you breath wenn you trapped in snow after a avalanche.


this is the list of mine old, everyday PSK, which i stopped carring. I got a more flexible kit now, which i modified everytime for the terrain and threaths.

PSK ( personal/pocket survival kit )
Contents:

SIGNALING GROUP
- 1x Perry "Lifeboat" whistle
- 1x Interior of Storage Tin lid serves as "Signal Mirror"
- 1x "Signal Mirror" ( shiny sheet protected by peel-away sheet ),
with instructions on the back

EMERGENCY DEVICES GROUP
- 1x Small backlock folder, 50/50 serrated/plain edge ( China )
- 2x Single edge shaving blades ( USA )
- 1x Scalpel # 27
- 1x P-38
- 1x Hacksaw Blade with "sharpened" end
- 1x B.C.B. Commando Wire Saw ( w/out finger rings )
- 1x 4 season Spark-Lite ( blaze orange )
- 5x B.C.B. lifeboatmatches + striker
-12x Coughlan's "waterproof" matches
- 2x Birthday Candle's
- 8x 4 season Fire-Tabs
- -- Tinder, Petrolium jelly infused Cottonwol ( NOT wrapped in to something )
- 1x B.C.B. Wet Button Compass ( 20 mm )
- 1x Brass Snare Wire ( 6 meter / 20 feet )
- 1x Fishing wire +/- 10meter ( 8,5 KG )
- 1x Fishing wire +/- 20meter ( 8,5 KG )
-10x Fishing Hooks, small
- 2x Fishing Hooks, large/medium
- 4x Fishing Weights, large
- 5x Fishing Split shots, medium
-12x Leaders w/ large swivel
- 1x Gaff ( XX-large hook )
- 1x Red Ledlight ( shortened Coast Cutlerly ledlight )
- 2x mini lightsticks*

WATER & FOOD GROUP
-10x Aquaclear tablets ( Chlorine Based )*
- 2x Ziplock bags ( 1 L )

MEDICAL GROUP
- 4x Plasters/Adhesive Bandages ( sterile ) asst. sizes*
- 1x pack of 3M medi-strips, 3 strips total ( sterile )*
- 1x Antiseptic swab**

MISCELLANEOUS & MULTI-PURPOSE GROUP
- 1x sewing awl
- 2x sewing needle's
- -- coton wire wrapped around needle's and sewing awl
- 1x Bobin of floss-wire ( +/- 45 meter )
- 1x Rubber band around tin
- 2x "Ranger bands" around tin
-10x Twist Ties, short, plastic covered
- 2x Twist Ties, long, plastic covered
- 4x Safety pins, small
- 4x Paperclips
- 1x Golf pencil
- 1x 2mm x 17 cm latex tubing ( water sweeps )
- 1x Platypatch ( to repair water bladders )
- 2x Alminium foil sheets (+/- 30x40 cm )
- 1x Alminium foil sheet (+/- 30x70 cm )
- 2x Ducttape ( 3.7x30 cm ) on peel-off backing ( note paper )
- 1x Gaffer's tape ( +/- 76x1.8 cm wrapped around tin )
- 2x Gaffer's tape ( +/- 30x3.8 cm wrapped around tin )
- 1x B.C.B. Waterproof Survival Instruction Sheet
- 1x Metal Handle for tin bottom
- 1x Storage Tin, tabaco type ( 11x3x8 cm )

I'll probably repeat some of PC2K's comments, but here's what leapt out at me.

- the sparklite isn't much use without tinder
- you could expand your meds to include: Benedryl, Immodium, Sinutab, antacid
- does the Aqua Mira set in your larger kit include a container for the water?

I think it's great that you can carry an actual shelter, too. That seems to me to be a great weakness in most kits. We carry shelter building tools, but not shelter material.

Bear

EDIT: And I forgot to mention that you have no message stuff, like pen or pencil and waterproof paper, for leaving notes or recording bearings and stuff. I carry a Write in the Rain notebook and use the first page for emergency contact information.

You are both completely right especially about the signal mirror a really big newbie mistake.
There is although 6 feet sewing wire in my PSK it sits around the copperwire.
While I’m typing the survival bag is vacuum packed by a hardware store. I replaced the tampon with 6 cotton balls with Vaseline in individual pieces of heat closed drinking straw.
And added 2 pair of hand warmers I have to find a better signal mirror the one I have added now is a simple 3x4 inch piece of sheet metal with some sort of peel away stuff on it.
As water container I have the aluminum box witch is containing all the items from my extra survival equipment (i.e. Survival bag, aqua mira set and so on) it can contain just under a liter/quart of water and is waterproof because of a rubber seal.
Maybe tomorrow I will ad 1 or 2 zip lock bags and some more cotton/Vaseline combo’s depends al on the room that is left and now is created by vacuum packing the survival bag.
I haven’t yet found good instructions I would like to use maybe I will make my one that is containing extra information about winter survival and frostbite.

Rick

you should consider replacing the copper wire with steel or brass. copper is very weak (you could probably break it by pulling with your hands) and the only reason it is so abundant is its electrical conductivity (and i assume that's not what you want it for). guitar strings are the best i have found.

Its a special kind of copperwire its something industrial grade and very strong.
They say its harder then brass so.

Rick

Everett

Which string do you use (low E/6th string etc/nylon/steel etc)?

re: Mini [email]M@g[/email] solitaire:

I notice you've got a photon on your neck chain; you might want to consider replacing the solitaire in the bag
with an LED light as well -- ARC AAA, AA or CMG Infinity/Infinity Ultra (in AA), depending on your preference.

You'll get a longer-duration light w/no chance of bulb breakage (& a better beam).

kf

I know but for some kind of reason I often get headaches from LED light, I don't know why or how but it just happens.
Thats why I have a mag in my kit.
@ Woft (I believe) with strings do you mean the things to catch animals with? if so I just use the 6 figure.

Rick


Rick

maybe snakebite kit

If you are one of us who depends on eyeglasses to some degree, I would suggest an eyeglass repair kit consisting of a small screwdriver and an assortment of screws. Takes up very little room and can save the day.

i'm not sure what size it is, but it's steel. knowing nothing about guitars i can't tell you much more.

Right now, my EDC neck lanyard is holding:
1. Arc AAA LED flashlight
2. Mini-Fox 40 whistle
3. REI button compass
4. Gerber LST Micro (tiny folding locking knife)