Survival Gear - what do you personally carry with you?

bush pilot · Post by **bush pilot** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 4:44 am

PLAYBOY

I knew I forgot one thing.

Blakey · Post by **Blakey** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 4:51 am

bush pilot wrote:PLAYBOY

I knew I forgot one thing.

Might help you keep that flashlight charged up!

bush pilot · Post by **bush pilot** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 5:25 am

well done blakey, good humor

Hedley · Post by **Hedley** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:22 am

Holy sh1t! Have you tried to take off with all that crud? Cherokees are not known to be the best climbers ....

What survival gear you need depends upon where and when you fly, but you can't go wrong with a CD, a leatherman and some matches, maybe a blanket if you're dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and perhaps bug spray if it's the spring. Bug bites won't kill you, you'll just wish they did.

What on earth do you need a CD for? Well, it's probably more important than everything else - they make a great signalling mirror for the SAR flying overhead that doesn't see you. CD's are cheap and light and they're not exactly hard to find, and have a nifty hole in the center for sighting. If you have to carry only one piece of survival equipment, make it a CD.

My next choice for survival equipment would be an MP3 player and a voltage divider so you can recharge it from the +12VDC battery.

Why the MP3 player? Well, it doesn't weigh anything, it keeps your spirits up and hopefully it keeps you from doing anything dumb like trying to walk 200 miles from the aircraft to the nearest town.

I know, all this electronic stuff is useless. Reminds me of the pilot that crashed up north decades ago, and instead of playing with manly survival equipment, hooked up some wires to his battery and broadcasted an SOS his Lat and Lon in morse code with his home-made spark-gap transmitter.

It worked, of course - they flew directly to his crash location and picked him up - but I'm sure he was considered a fag for not trying to walk out like a REAL man, struggling to carry 200 lbs of survival equipment.

ettw · Post by **ettw** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:28 am

I realise its a little heavy but I would not be flying south of the treeline without an axe, with a handle at least 28 inches long so that it is less likely to catch you in the shin if you are not careful.

It will obviously cut, use it as a hammer to pound stakes into the ground, deadly as a defense weapon, use it to cut apart the aircraft if you need to build shelter.

You get the idea.

niss · Post by **niss** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:35 am

I have a Gransfors Bruks hatchet I plan on putting in the plane for the winter.... best axes you can find on this earth.

gulfan · Post by **gulfan** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:45 am

The SAS Book you have in your kit is actually a real good bathroom read. Tons of good stuff on it, from hunting, building shelters, finding food (pictures of good plants / bad plants). It's worth the $10 for sure.

CarbIce · Post by **CarbIce** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:12 am

I've read the SAS book, and it has some interesting stuff, but it tries to cover all climates and areas and can get a bit much. I doubt you'll be doing much flying in the tropics, but you can always skip those parts...

From a purely survival and rescue perspective get the Psychology of Wilderness Survival by Dr. Gino Ferri. Ive taken a few of his courses, and they are fantastic... focus on the 5 key survival requirements, and specific to Canadian forest regions in all seasons. Check: http://www.survivalinthebushinc.com

The water filter is a great idea, but if it gets clogged, broken or lost youre up a creek.. while you can boil water in your steel cup, you will have a hard time meeting the 1l per hour requirement to prevent dehydration. Suggest you use a tin apple juice container, and add a coat hanger hook at the top so you can hang over a fire. You can boil 1-2l easily, and it makes a great container to organize your smaller, and more fragile kit contents. Also, Ziploc bags are great for organization and waterproofing.

yak driver · Post by **yak driver** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:31 am

You guys are making it way too complicated:

Chocolate bar, bottle of rum, and penthouse magazine.

niss · Post by **niss** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 2:44 pm

Dont forget the lovelube and tube sock

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 3:01 pm

CarbIce wrote:I've read the SAS book, and it has some interesting stuff, but it tries to cover all climates and areas and can get a bit much. I doubt you'll be doing much flying in the tropics, but you can always skip those parts...

From a purely survival and rescue perspective get the Psychology of Wilderness Survival by Dr. Gino Ferri. Ive taken a few of his courses, and they are fantastic... focus on the 5 key survival requirements, and specific to Canadian forest regions in all seasons. Check: http://www.survivalinthebushinc.com

The water filter is a great idea, but if it gets clogged, broken or lost youre up a creek.. while you can boil water in your steel cup, you will have a hard time meeting the 1l per hour requirement to prevent dehydration. Suggest you use a tin apple juice container, and add a coat hanger hook at the top so you can hang over a fire. You can boil 1-2l easily, and it makes a great container to organize your smaller, and more fragile kit contents. Also, Ziploc bags are great for organization and waterproofing.

They include all areas so you can crash anywhere in the world and then use the other chapters as tinder or toilet paper whichever you need more. In a pine forest I know what I would use those pages for.

CarbIce · Post by **CarbIce** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 4:17 pm

Lurch wrote: In a pine forest I know what I would use those pages for.

Watch out for paper cuts.

Greg87 · Post by **Greg87** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 5:55 pm

shitdisturber wrote:You're missing the obvious survival kit requirement. As I was told when I took ejection training in the airforce, every ejection seat pack contains a deck of cards. Why you ask? Simple, in a survival situation get out the cards and play solitaire; withing minutes somone will appear to tell you "red jack on black queen."

How true!

Why take a survival kit, all you really need is..... a cell phone! Of course, by the time you got reception you would be on top of a cellphone tower!

Gurundu the Rat · Post by **Gurundu the Rat** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:42 pm

If you still have room back there get some pepper spray for the bears, and it will make the squirrel meat taste better.

canwhitewolf · Post by **canwhitewolf** » Thu May 21, 2009 5:40 pm

deleted -double post by error

beaverbob · Post by **beaverbob** » Thu May 21, 2009 5:47 pm

How about a rifle. I have 2 Carter Arms 22 long survival guns. Good for rabbit stew. You know the kind where the barrel, trigger mechanism and clip all go into the stalk for easy carriage and storage. They are also semi automatic. Good little guns and float and are waterproof. We won't talk about registration here though!

BB

beaverbob · Post by **beaverbob** » Thu May 21, 2009 5:49 pm

Iridium sat phone and the new satellite portable tracking device
BB

canwhitewolf · Post by **canwhitewolf** » Thu May 21, 2009 6:03 pm

this woodman's pal might be a useful tool as an addition to a survival kit

http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0049088517835a.shtml

or SOG tactical axe

http://sogknives.com/store/F01T.html

and this

trailstove
http://www.trailstove.com/

review of stove

http://www.thebackpacker.com/gear/stove ... lstove.php

vidoe of stove with blower

http://www.trailstove.com/video.html

also man tool maybe

http://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/Product.asp?PG=1970

Slats · Post by **Slats** » Thu May 21, 2009 6:30 pm

Got alot of the same stuff in mine. Also got a couple good lengths of rope, a tarp, a little Gerber hatchet, Gerber saw, a couple good knives and some other little odds and ends that I've collected. Will soon be adding a Remington 870 Express Tactical with appropriate slug/00 buckshot combos.

Blue Side Down · Post by **Blue Side Down** » Thu May 21, 2009 7:28 pm

One thing the float peeps need to consider is that if an upset were to occur, there's about five seconds between 'Oh sh-' and 'Getting out, Now'. In the actual event, the mind will probably just be going 'blub, blub, blub, up periscope' and you'll be running on some sort of instinct. Not quite enough time to swim back, rummage through all the debris that a few moments ago was your load, pull out the ammo can fulled with your 'survival essentials', find the shotgun case, look for the water filter, and evacuate with your hands full. We can all hope that the plane floats, and the water is warm, and the shore is close, or in the event of surviving putting it in the bush, that it doesn't burn- but hope holds little power over reality, so its reasonable to plan accordingly. I don't go anywhere without my little Camelbak pack- in the net pocket it had I have a double ziplock bag filled with what I need to stay dry (two garbage bags, one orange), make a fire (steel wool and a spark-maker; works even when wet), purify water (tablets), tie a tight knot (snare wire- don't kid yourself that its for trapping bunnies either- luck like that can't be counted on), cut stuff (a knife), and eat (a few granola bars- these are very very very important, as I have learned- hunger's gonna get you down fast when you're waiting to be rescued). I always keep that pack within arms reach, preferably before full extension. If anything happens, I reach down grab it and go... if I can come back to the big survival kit in the back and take it too, bonus, but I'll never count on it.

When it comes to a survival firearm, the shotgun is the only thing that makes a lick of sense at all. A .22 is the most useless gun to bet your well-being on- and I only say that because I've been shooting them pretty actively for the past few years. The survival versions are marginally accurate at best and pack little to no punch. Not to say they aren't capable, you can take down a deer or elk in a desperate situation with them if you play things right, but that's a poor gamble. The shotgun on the other hand- you can pack birdshot to pick off partridge or rabbits with a single kabblam if you so desire, and have a handful of slugs for things that go bump in the night if they concern you. Simple, effective, and probably cheaper to buy than that .22 to boot.

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