Originally Posted By: benjammin
For car storage, I would want something like a 0 degree sleeping bag and lots of water. I might not want to cook anything, but it would be nice to have a way to heat things up, so some chem heat reactors would be nice. Cans of spanish peanuts have lots of food energy in them, and seem to store well hot or cold. Spam also seems to do well in vehicles. Packages of Ramen noodles seem to last forever and also seem to do well regardless of temp. You've got all that space, you should be able to capitalize on it better than just a couple bags of jerky and some candy. I could imagine packing supplies enough to last a couple weeks in some of the worst conditions, with the ability to signal rescuers really well, and still not be overly encumbered.


If we're still talking cold weather, storing water in a car is a problem, 'cause sooner or later you're going to have a canteen/bottle/hydration bladder full of ice. Our winters here involve plenty of ice and snow, so there's usually plenty of that just outside the car if you get stuck. What you need is a means of melting it that doesn't reduce your core temperature. I keep a Nuwick emergency candle in the car. I can use a pop can, Altoids tin, or the cup from my car emergency kit to melt snow. The Nuwick also brings up the temperature in an enclosed space a little bit.

I also keep a poncho liner, 2 military ponchos and sportsman's blanket rolled up together in the back all year long. I put a Mainstay 3-day ration pack in the car emergency kit for food. The kit also has plenty of fire-starting gear, tinder, whistle, compass, mirror, flashlight, spare knife, small FAK, etc. I also throw a wool hat, wool socks and a heavy pair of wool mittens in the back, and this year I'm going to add my old insulated boots (as soon as DW buys me the new ones for Christmas). And, of course, my trusty short-handled snow shovel and a bag of sand.

I consider the above a minimum winter-emergency car preparedness kit (I always have my cell phone with me). In a perfect world I'd add another ration pack, a couple of wool blankets, snowshoes, a set of winter coveralls, flares, an axe, a pistol and a handheld CB radio with extra batteries. For one reason or the other (usually the other), I haven't added them yet.


Frank2135, who sometimes thinks that global warming wouldn't be an entirely bad thing...
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