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#122799 - 02/06/08 03:03 PM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: Blast]
Hacksaw
Unregistered


Blast,

You can get bug repellant wipes like alcohol swabs. I forget the brand but they're perfect size for getting your face and hands...and they take up next to no space. I typically pack a little bottle of vintage 90% DEET Muskol in my bag next to the sun screen in the summer.

I keep a Coghlan's bug hat net thing (I think I paid $1.85)permanently inside my O.R. goretex hat. It never comes out unless I'm using it.

Good call on the fish net too. I'm not sure it's big or strong enough for fishing but it would be perfect for scooping minnows to use as bait.

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#122805 - 02/06/08 03:14 PM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: ]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Quote:
be perfect for scooping minnows


Bait, heck minnows are good eating in their own right! whistle

-Blast, who is rarely invited to go fishing anymore
_________________________
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#122808 - 02/06/08 03:38 PM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: Taurus]
thseng Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/24/06
Posts: 900
Loc: NW NJ
Looks like you have it pretty well nailed down, Taurus.

The one thing I keep getting stuck on is that I really like to have a metal cup. Even if its just rusty old tin can. The soap dish size & shape restriction makes this a major challenge. A small tin (perhaps minus the lid) would fit, but would be too shallow to be worth it, IMAO. Bandaids used to come in a rectangular metal box with a hinged lid and that's the container I used for my very first survival kit as a kid...

On the other hand, the restriction imposed on the use of fire mitigates a cup's usefulness somewhat. You have the MP1 tabs and a camelbak so there's no real need to boil water, its just a comfort issue. Oh - might want to add one more tablet so you can purify three full 3L camelbaks.

One more thing is the "IMP" the Canadian equivalent of an MRE? What luxury! I wonder if I would eat it all at once or stretch it over all three days as a "special treat" once or twice a day. Be sure not to "field strip" it like you normally would so you can used the packaging for tinder/etc.

Anyhow, where do I sign up?
_________________________
- Tom S.

"Never trust and engineer who doesn't carry a pocketknife."

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#122842 - 02/06/08 07:50 PM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: ]
frediver Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 215
Loc: N.Cal.
Can you use Ranger Bands to close your soap box?
They can work as fire starters as well as a smoke signal should the need arise.
Don't forget to switch out your shoe laces when you are done with the exercise.
What is the mil spec thread made from, Dacron or spectra? How would a person get some of it? If it is Dacron is it the weight on bow string material?
Mini Trangia mess tins will fit into a std. ammo pouch and likely contain all your survival gear plus give you a cooking container. These are mini versions of the std. British mess tins, about 1/2 liter size.
<<>>


Edited by frediver (02/06/08 07:51 PM)

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#122846 - 02/06/08 08:05 PM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: Taurus]
frenchy Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/18/02
Posts: 1320
Loc: France
If I didn't miss something, it looks like your only water container will be the camelbak.
Fire to boil water also seems to be out of question.
So you really need MicroPur tablets (or equivalent)
I don't have any clue about the size of the soap dish you are talking about.
Could you add a few paper coffee filters , to filter the water you will put in the Camelbak ?
Or maybe a permanent coffee filter ?

OTOH, the water may be clear enough in that area to not need any filtering confused
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Alain

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#122849 - 02/06/08 08:23 PM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: Taurus]
Leigh_Ratcliffe Offline
Veteran

Registered: 03/31/06
Posts: 1355
Loc: United Kingdom.
British army issue kukri. Your being hunted and you might have to engage the enemy. So take a knife that will let you kill an enemy combatant with one blow.

The only thing that you want in your soap box is sealable plastic bags, bug repellent and purification tablets.

The bags are to defaecate and urinate into.

One you get to the L.Z. you should construct a hide ( preferably below ground level). Insulate it as well as circumstances permit. Get into it and do not move. If you need to go toilet use one of the bags.

Forget about hunting, lighting fires etc. They are a quick way to blow your position.

Other considerations:

Your hide should be close to but not on the L.Z.
You should have more than one exit/escape route.
You should be able to observe the L.Z.
Gear that you disgard at the crash site should be thrown into the fire. Leaving gear around = note to the enemy.
When you leave the crash site make maximum effort to conceal your trail by:
Brushing your tracks out.
Move in a direction that does not lead directly to the L.Z.
Assume that the enemy is going to use dogs to track you. So find water and use it to conceal your scent.
The switched on and smart will have taken the trouble to cram as much food into their pockets as possible. MRE's with heater packs are a smart move. As is high protein and carbohydrate snacks like GORP, M&M's etc. Just make sure that the meals are not the spicy ones that can be smelt 100 m away.
_________________________
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#122869 - 02/07/08 12:34 AM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: Leigh_Ratcliffe]
Taurus Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/26/07
Posts: 458
Loc: Northern Canada
Paul810 – Trust me, it sounds like a lot but it is a fairly realistic scenario. A soldier is expected to have certain basic items on him at all times to fight and to live, they aren’t much of a soldier otherwise. The hardest part of this whole training exercise is not the surviving but rather not to get spotted and therein lies the big challenge. (Did I mention that they scan your location with NVG at night as well?) eek
This is just the basic survival course. The advanced lasts 10 days. (That one was no fun at all)

Blast – I fully agree that a metal cup is the way to go. We have the issued NATO canteen cup with stove just like man vs wild except they are green and a thermos instead of just a water bottle. (But they took them from us as well). That’s why I ended up wearing my nice hot drink, I had to improvise. (It just didn’t go as planned) oh well, foil does have its other uses. (Lesson learned) I don’t go far without my canteen cup otherwise. By the way, we have troops heading to Texas very soon for some joint training (fort Hood I think??) Any sights to see while down that way? We are sure to get a night or two off to visit.

KevinB – the double headed nails I use resemble the colored thumb tacks on top, With a sorta grove with two extended ridges. This prevents them from being driven flush with wood in the same way as a thumb tack can only be pushed so far into cork. The indented part is for a wrecking bar to be able to grab with its teeth. Since the ground is frozen here a lot driving a stick into the earth for a tarp tie down would be near impossible. I use the double headed nails primarily for this purpose. The double head holds a loop of string very well and you can easily lash to other things for traps, a frog sticker etc. There are a lot of things I am sure I can use a good sturdy nail for besides this.

Thseng – Yes. IMP stands for “individual meal pack” and follows the same principal as the U.S issued MRE. Unlike some countries who issue a whole days calories in a larger ration an IMP provides only a meals worth of calories. I stretched mine out over the three days as best I could and added other stuff by living off the land where possible. I am about 205 lbs and fairly active so I was ravenous for the first 2 days. After that I got used to not eating and it wasn’t so bad. On the advanced course you get only 6 for 10 days. That was a hard go. I lost 9 lbs in 10 days on that one.

Frediver – No, part of the rules are that no items can be around the dish in any way. (otherwise a smartass like me would have tried wrapping a sleeping bag around the dish) I have no idea what the Mil spec thread is made from(I will have to check) But I bet I could lift half my weight off the ground with it without it breaking. I get it issued in small mini spools but I have not seen it for sale anywhere.

Frenchy – Part of my list was a zip loc bag and micro-pur(MP1) tabs. You must have overlooked it. I really like that coffee filter idea though. For something so obvious as a way to filter water I didn’t think of it. (I used a piece cut from the top of my wool sock as a filter)

Leigh ratcliffe – in this scenario, the stranded troop still has his sidearm. If the Enemy is engaging me then chances are that he has a gun of his own. I don’t want to take a knife to a gun fight. If I had to engage it may as well be with my side arm, otherwise there is no point carrying it. There are only a few troops in the world that good at swinging Kukri knives to do it in such a way as to kill an enemy and avoid giving away their position. In fact, I think they invented the Kukri knives in the first place. You know who I am referring to! My skills with a knife are good but not compared to a gurkha. I try to sway from the tactics side of the house on the forum as much as possible but you have some awesome tips. I have had the pleasure only once in my career to work alongside the British SAS and these are exactly the kind of tips I would expect from those guys. (Almost word for word actually) You are obviously a person with military experience. One thing puzzles me though, why would you take bug repellant and at the same time be worried about the smell made by a spicy ration. If Dogs are indeed on your tail then they will smell the bug juice just as well( or better)
We couldn’t put stuff in pockets for this exercise. On all other occasions I carry GORP as a sustained energy booster.

Thanks for the feedback folks.
smile


Edited by Taurus (02/07/08 12:51 AM)

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#122873 - 02/07/08 12:54 AM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: Taurus]
haertig Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 03/13/05
Posts: 2322
Loc: Colorado
I've never been in the military, but I would think that some form of communication with your rescue team would be paramount while you're in hostile territory. Since you said you normally keep your signal mirror in your TAC vest and that gets left behind in the burning chopper in this exercise (I assume all your other communications gear as well), I'd want a second mirror in my soap dish! I'm not sure a whistle would do much to attract your mates in a rescue chopper, it would just alert the enemy wouldn't it?

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#122874 - 02/07/08 01:03 AM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: haertig]
Taurus Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/26/07
Posts: 458
Loc: Northern Canada
Quote:
The whistle is because your rescue team may be dropped off a distance away and come to search on foot. If you see that they are friendlies you can blow the whistle to get their attention first without causing surprise. If you come shouting and waving your arms while running out of the trees you may get blown away by the very people that are there to rescue you.


Quote:
The sunnto compass has a real glass mirror about the size of a credit card built in as a sighting mirror.

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#122875 - 02/07/08 01:04 AM Re: What would YOU bring ? [Re: haertig]
Paul810 Offline
Veteran

Registered: 03/02/03
Posts: 1428
Loc: NJ, USA
He noted that the sunnto compass they use has a pretty good mirror. If it's anything like the mirror on my sunnto it would make for an excellent signal mirror. I think with that, the flares, and the whistle he would have signaling covered. However, it's always good to have more than one if you can fit it.

Edit: Whoops, looks like Taurus beat me to it.

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