Pack your survival basics (matches, fire starter, tea bags, sugar, etc.) into a tuna can with a plastic lid snapped on top.
Plastic lids that fit tightly are found in the pet food aisle.
This way, you can use the can to brew tea if you're lost.
Most people make the mistake of creating survival kits that are large and cumbersome. As a consequence, the kit gets left behind because after a while, "It's too much of a bother, I'm just going over the next hill."
This kind of apathy can get you killed.
It's best to have a survival kit that slips into a coat pocket. That way, you'll always have it. If you need more, distribute the items throughout your coat pockets in water-resistant plastic bags.
Other useful items include:
20 feet of parachute shroud
A bright handkerchief for signalling and other mundane uses.
A small flashlight and spare batteries and bulb.
Space Blanket
First aid kit (elastic bandage, triangular bandage, Band-Aids, aspirin and any medications you may require for three days).
Whistle (plastic won't freeze to your lips in cold weather. Whistles carry farther than the human voice and don't exhaust you as much as shouting).
Extra matches and firestarter
Butane lighter or two
Small compass (but be warned, a compass is only good if you know where you are, how to use it, and how to get where you want).
Disposable poncho
NO one should venture into the outdoors without the basics. These few items, totalling less than $20, can save your life and the lives of others in your group.
Before you leave home, ensure that people know where you are going. If you change plans, let home know. Many searches have been initiated a hundred miles away from where the person actually was, merely because he'd changed his mind. Include the type, color, make and license plate of the vehicle you'll be in.
Before leaving your vehicle to hunt, write a note concerning where you'll be and leave it on the dash. Don't ever depend upon someone's memory to aid searchers, have it written down.
And when you get back, check in and let the person know you're back safely.
I was in a Search & Rescue group in the early 1970s in the Pacific Northwest. We searched for a guy for three days without luck. The search was canceled due to bad weather that became dangerous (deep snow). One group of searchers later found the guy --- 50 miles away in a bar! He'd forgotten to check in. His family, worried sick when he didn't call, assumed the worst.
His negligence put the lives of SAR members at risk. We weren't too happy with him, as you can imagine.
Friends and other hunters may laugh at you for your precautions, or consider you a Greenhorn. Let them. THEY are the greenhorns, for going into the field ill-prepared and not letting someone know where they are and when they'll return.
A survival kit and be cautious is a cheap life insurance policy.
Plastic lids that fit tightly are found in the pet food aisle.
This way, you can use the can to brew tea if you're lost.
Most people make the mistake of creating survival kits that are large and cumbersome. As a consequence, the kit gets left behind because after a while, "It's too much of a bother, I'm just going over the next hill."
This kind of apathy can get you killed.
It's best to have a survival kit that slips into a coat pocket. That way, you'll always have it. If you need more, distribute the items throughout your coat pockets in water-resistant plastic bags.
Other useful items include:
20 feet of parachute shroud
A bright handkerchief for signalling and other mundane uses.
A small flashlight and spare batteries and bulb.
Space Blanket
First aid kit (elastic bandage, triangular bandage, Band-Aids, aspirin and any medications you may require for three days).
Whistle (plastic won't freeze to your lips in cold weather. Whistles carry farther than the human voice and don't exhaust you as much as shouting).
Extra matches and firestarter
Butane lighter or two
Small compass (but be warned, a compass is only good if you know where you are, how to use it, and how to get where you want).
Disposable poncho
NO one should venture into the outdoors without the basics. These few items, totalling less than $20, can save your life and the lives of others in your group.
Before you leave home, ensure that people know where you are going. If you change plans, let home know. Many searches have been initiated a hundred miles away from where the person actually was, merely because he'd changed his mind. Include the type, color, make and license plate of the vehicle you'll be in.
Before leaving your vehicle to hunt, write a note concerning where you'll be and leave it on the dash. Don't ever depend upon someone's memory to aid searchers, have it written down.
And when you get back, check in and let the person know you're back safely.
I was in a Search & Rescue group in the early 1970s in the Pacific Northwest. We searched for a guy for three days without luck. The search was canceled due to bad weather that became dangerous (deep snow). One group of searchers later found the guy --- 50 miles away in a bar! He'd forgotten to check in. His family, worried sick when he didn't call, assumed the worst.
His negligence put the lives of SAR members at risk. We weren't too happy with him, as you can imagine.
Friends and other hunters may laugh at you for your precautions, or consider you a Greenhorn. Let them. THEY are the greenhorns, for going into the field ill-prepared and not letting someone know where they are and when they'll return.
A survival kit and be cautious is a cheap life insurance policy.
