I was thinking about putting together a kit like this.

It would be kept in my car or even in my backpack ( i usually have a small backpack where ever I go... something to always carry with me.. i know im weird).

I would have to fit in something like a small to medium tupperware sized container.
Some examples i was thinking about.

Waterproof Matches
My Leatherman (Wave)
String
Emergency/Space Blanket(mayb 2)
2 or 3 Large Industrial Strength Garbage Bags (i can do so much with plastic bags)
Compass (not really necessary but good to have)

If anyone has put together a small kit like this, any examples?
Anything else.

i would put in some razors and ofcourse a sling :o duck tape is always a life saver aswell and a pocket knife

I live in England, and am not much of a traveller anyhow, so my survival kit would be

"Mobile 'Phone
Spare battery for mobile phone
£5.00 note for taxi fare."

But if you are a roamer consider some food.  Sure, you can hunt for food, but it's easier to find food if you are not shaking from hunger-induced fatigue.

Kendal Mint Cake tastes nice-ish, and is a good source of Energy. Add in some mixed nuts, dried fruit type mix for longer.

Pat

ahhh i forgot duct tape... and ive made many things from that stuff... lol  definately added
my leatherman has a knife as well as many more tools so its a pretty good investment

food... that is a good idea. I think 1 or 2 mre's would be great. They dont taste that good but will last FOREVER (well almost) and not spoil.

yeah i made my slings with tape :P work great too :D

i suggest tossing in some power bars.  chock full of vitamins(that's how they give you that energy boost) and they CAN taste good, if you pick  a good flavor.  they take up little space, and you will eat them way before they expire.  they are also good if you are just looking for a snack while you are out, but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a sandwhich or something.

also, in my emergancy kit(not "survival", but emergancy) i usually carry a spool of black upholstery thread(good for lots, i can't break it with my hands) with a sewing needle stuck in the threads(pop blisters if you absolutely need to, or repair almost anything)

i also keep a small mint tin full of my medic kit with me when i am out and about.  
-a little tube of neosporin(omitable if need be)
-some bandaids
-anti hystimene(common allergy remedy)
-nasal decongestant
-asparin/tylonol
-a card that states your medical info, allergies, etc is a good idea


i will post a complete list of my emergancy kit later, kept in my shoulder pack(i suspect it to actauly be a map case style pack, but i am not sure)

well, i just had about a page typed up, but then my computer hiccuped and the whole thing was gone.  other wise i would be posting that instead of this.  soooooo...

it is going to be a while longer before i post it.  


man!  i hate it when that happens :'(

okay, so here is the info.  i am working on the pics as you read this, unless i have them already up, which may happen.:

i carry an emergency kit with me whenver i go out in public, as long as it is somewhere that the ingrediants will be allowed.  when i go to, say, school, or washington DC sightseeing, or going on a plane, i leave most of my ingredients at home, in a bag that you hand to the
security guy at the door that you get back when you leave, or i put it into one of the stowed bags.

i generally wear a map case style shoulder bag when out and about, so
i find it convenient to carry most of the stuff in that, rather than on
my person.  here are the lists:

in a felt bag that i put together(to keep things organized and easy to get to) :

-fish/snare kit(1)
-a small mirror
-nailclippers
-a spool of thin kite string
-10 gallon garbage bag wrapped in a rubber band
-a peice of synthetic mesh (5" x 6 ")
-a spool of black upholstery thread and a needle tucked into the
strands
-a baby fork
-a couple of backup slings(2)

in the little pouches that are inside the bag :
-a small multi tool knife
-a med kit(3)

on my person(in my pockets) :
-a three inch lockback drop point knife
-my two favorite slings
-my wallet, containing between $10 and $20

i put a tool kit into the bag sometimes, depending on my intentions for
the trip i am taking:
-reversible pliers(one flat nose and one needle nose)
-a biggish file(i have filed just about everything with this)
-a little file(i have filed everything else with this)

(1) i have built a little fishing/snaring kit, with three snare wires, 15 ft of thin kite string, and 4 homemade fish hooks.  it is wrapped in some synthetic mesh, wich could be fashoined into a small net.
(2) two of my older slings that i don't use much anymore.  split pouch and apache style, but longer.
(3) a small mint tin full of my medic kit with me when i am out and about.  
-a little tube of neosporin(omitable if need be)
-some bandaids
-anti hystimene(common allergy remedy)
-nasal decongestant
-asparin/tylonol
-a card that states your medical info, allergies, etc is a good idea

the reason that i call this kit my "emergency" kit as apposed to my "survival" kit is because i would not be able to use this collection of stuff to preserve my well being if i were captured into a life or death
situation using the items contained in the kit.  though i may be able to make it because i have studied extensively many guides and manuals having to do with suriving.

even though i may not be able to "survive", i will be prepared for most of the situations that i will come across.

here are the pics that i took of my gear.  i think that i might have ommited some things on the list, but they are all in the pictures.

the whole kit, packed up, with the map bag:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e197/siguy/S3600356.jpg

here is the felt bag:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e197/siguy/S3600362.jpg

here is the med kit:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e197/siguy/S3600360.jpg

here is the tool kit:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e197/siguy/S3600357.jpg

thanks siguy
looks great for an emergency kit

yeah, so far i have not had to use it, which i suppose is a good thing.

the nice thing about this is that i can(and do)use the same stuff for when i go camping/backpacking/hiking, so i don't have to unpack and repack stuff.  i just toss some more things in on top.

so you say this is ur emergency kit

any1 have an actual bare minimum survival kit?
im talkin about the essentials you should have that you can carry inside of that medium sized tupperware kit.
Would you add anything ot the things i have already listed?

 Greetings, fi3l2,                                                                          
     I used to do some deer hunting around here and found that I had a similar need, that is, I needed some emergency supplies "just in case" but only stuff that I could fit into my pockets. I would usually be out with friends in central MA and by myself in southern NH just for the day.                                                                                            
     You seem to pretty much have it covered, but let me just point out a couple of things based on my ( admittedly limited ) experience.
     I like to think that I know some of these woods quite well, but once I found myself walking in a circle! The day was very cloudy so I could not tell direction from the sun. This was an unnerving experience, to say the least. Also, like the frontiersman Daniel Boone, I have been, not "lost" but "confused" on a couple of occasions. Now I always carry TWO compasses, as they are very small and lightweight.
     A friend who is a very experienced hunter carries at least 3 methods of starting a fire, and so do I. There is a lot of forest floor debris in the woods around here, but it tends to stay DAMP and hard to light even many days after a rain. You can easily use up an entire book of matches to no avail. I say this based on actual experience! You should practice making a fire where you are if conditions are similar.                                                                                            
     Space blankets are cheap insurance and work well. There are even space blankets available that are like a cocoon or sleeping bag. These might be the most effective. One odd thing about space blankets, though: if you unpack one, you can never roll it up as small as it was originally.                                                                                        
     Maybe your number one concern should be WATER, as a human can only go for a matter of hours without water before getting into serious trouble. I used to carry a hip flask in my pocket ( filled with WATER. LOL ) but around here the woods are not that big. If you live in an area where roads are several miles apart you would definitely want a canteen and maybe some water purification tablets.              
     Hope this helps.                                               .......Dan            

yes, perhaps you should carry some water, and also a plastic water bag for filling up if need be.

Plastic bags, very good indeed. Nowt worse than finding yourself thirsty on top of a moor in the wind and sun.

Pat

thanks for the tips Slinger_Man_Dan, i usually go hunting in areas that I know very well but just in case something like this ever does happen it would be great to have a kit with a compass and space blanket(s)

how well do water purification tablets work? i seem to remember a Discovery channel show of some type that said most people depend on them too much and it really doesnt work as well as they say they do.
That being said, i would think now about carrying maybe 1/2 of a metal can in my pack. This could possibly be used to boil water when I got a fire started.
I always carry some sort of water bottle on me anyways but it would be good to have.

well i was outside today and i cut my thumb when i became  a little overzealous while wharpening my knife.  i was glad that i had my first aid kit with me, as i had almost decided to leave it inside.  i didn't want to take my whole shoulder bag with me, so i just tossed a couple of things in a little fanny pack, nearly deciding to toss the med kit back with the felt bag.  

well anyways, it sure feels good to be prepared.  it was also a good test of my gear and my abilities, albiet a small one.

to put into my med kit: a small ziplock "snack" size bag, for the wrappers that come off of the band aids and alcohol pad.  i had to stick them in my pocket, which was a little wet at first.  

You can also keep your medical suplies in a plastic zipperbag. If your packaging is not really waterproof your supplies are degrading, a little layer of plastic improves it a lot.
And when needed, the plasic bag can be used as a trashbag too.

Willeke

i used to keep the stuff in a plastic bag, but then switched to the candy tin wrapped in a rubber band because it compressed all of the stuff, thus taking up  less space.

It might be better to put together a "What If" kit with supplies for a wider range of possibilities. What if I get cut, lost,caught in the rain, attacked by dropbears, etc. ;)

wrote on Apr 27^th, 2006 at 6:03pm:

You can also keep your medical suplies in a plastic zipperbag. If your packaging is not really waterproof your supplies are degrading, a little layer of plastic improves it a lot. And when needed, the plasic bag can be used as a trashbag too. Willeke

                                                                                                     
  Actually, Willeke, you are quite right about the plastic bags! One common brand is called "ziplock" bags ( available in various sizes ) and they do indeed seal with a sort of molded in zipper. I have been out in the rain on several occasions and I find that even if the rain does not soak all the way through my jacket, the contents of my pockets will tend to become damp. Thus a book of matches may become useless. We would usually carry our stuff in bags and even 3 or 4 extra bags as they are very lightweight and, as you point out, make good trash bags ( for candy bar wrappers, etc. )                                    .......Dan

 fi3l2,                                                                                        
     I'm not sure where you are located, but you should take into account your local conditions. As I said, the woods here in New England have a lot of debris on the forest floor: dead twigs and branches of all sizes, dead leaves and pine needles, dried grass and ferns, etc. Thus there is plenty of fuel for a fire, BUT, as I said, it is usually damp and hard to light. ( In fact, this spring has been unusually dry and we've had some brush fires. ) This may sound silly, but you really should PRACTICE your firemaking technique ( while observing all safety precautions. ) It took me several tries before I could reliably get a fire.                                                                
      Most of the guys around here, including me, carry matches, a good cigarette lighter ( not very primitive! ) but also, perhaps you are familiar with the magnesium firestarters. These work very well as the magnesium shavings provide a very hot ignition source. Highly recommended!                                                                                
     As for the water purification tablets, try googling POTABLE AQUA.
I have never actually tried them, and they apparently make water taste bad  :-X but they are not expensive and bad taste is not as bad as illness. We keep 3 or 4 packages with our emergency supplies here at the house. Another brand is REDI CHLOR.                          
    I generally use a small hip flask rather than a full canteen because around here if you can walk a straight line for one mile you will almost certainly come to a road. Whereas a friend of mine who hunts up in Maine tells me that he could walk a striaght line for FIVE mile before coming to a dirt road with no houses on it. Obviously, he carried a lot more water with him up there.                    .......Dan  

in my area of northeastern pa, I also have a lot of debris in the woods. A supply of fire materials is always available.

I actually have used magnesium firestarters before and I plan on adding one to my kit.  I have practiced my firestarting capabilities before (even using a bow drill) and I know that even in slightly damp situations (which has been rare to not be able to find dry materials) i am capable of getting a good fire going. I love being a larger individual, my body weight really helps in starting those intial coals.

In the area where I go hiking and hunting, it is very possible for me to walk 2-3 miles in any direction and not get to a road. In conjunction, i usually carry 1/2 gallon if not more water on me.

Looking for water purification pills and stuff at the local and not so local outdoors suppliers next time i get up there.

Haven't had a chance to read this whole thing, so I'm not sure if it's already been mentioned, but...
(Clorox) Bleach can be used to purify water. Call their questions/comments line for proper dosages. One small container of bleach may be far more valuable than half of a gallon of water.

I've heard of it on the web anyway....

personally i will NOT drink anything that has ANY bleach in it  :-X call me a wuss :P i don't care :D

you know CanDo,that seems very familiar to me. I will definately call them up and see what doses.

Talki, I would imagine you definately eat much more harmful things (toxin buildup in food).

Its just the idea of "bleach".  In a survival situation, if that bleach will kill off anything harmful to me in the water that  I need to save my life, I will do it.

If they say its safe to purify water with bleach,I will definately keep a small liquid tight container in my kit.

I hear moss is good for a little pure water. I think its also good for filtering water.

wrote on Apr 28^th, 2006 at 9:49pm:

personally i will NOT drink anything that has ANY bleach in it  :-X call me a wuss :P i don't care :D

  Taiki,                                                                                    
     If you happen to drink some water that has NOT been treated with iodine or bleach and it is contaminated with beaver S@#$!  .......uh, I mean, ahem.......beaver "excrement".......then you will ingest the parasite Giardia Lamblia. You will then experience severe vomiting ( that is, you will "Puke your brains out!"  :-X :-X :-X ) and then you will have FLAMING DIARRHEA.  :o :o :o                          
                                                                                                 
      Well.......take your choice.                                     .......Dan

Taiki,
And do you know what they use to treat the water that you get from the tap?
We have had times that they used chlorine, is such doses that you did not want to drink the water without a strong tasting addition. (Like making it in coffee, tea was not strong enough.)
And drinking just softdrinks is not a way out either, first they often use tapwater to make them and next whatever water they use, they have to clean their tanks and the residu of that does come in the drinks. (Do you remember all the kids that got sick after drinking cola a few years back?

My emergengy kid is not as big as that of most.
round here you can not walk in a straight line for 3 km without running into a town of village.
But I do always carry a compass, some painkillers and plasters, a whistle and when traveling from home a knife.

It is my biggest frustration that in the situation that I might need the set most I am not alowed to bring half of what is needed.
The only real reason for me to have a real survival pack is in case of plane emergency landing in a far-off place. When traveling by plane you are not alowed anything usefull as a knife and the only accepteble substitute is glass that can be broken and sharpened. (If you look at the small print sharpened glass and non metal knifes are even worse to have as a normal knife.)
A lighter is alowed, but no powerfull one, nor the kind of set that is needed to make fire in any conditions.
I do own a flint and steel set, but I have never been able to light a fire with it, and will not trust on them as part of an emergency pack.

Willeke

   :D Willeke,                                                                        
            As I am writing this I am sipping on a really nice cup of Darjeeling tea sweetened with a mildly flavored honey which will not overpower the subtle overtones of the Darjeeling. This house was built in 1890. Even though much of the plumbing has been replaced, it is still old. Also, the city water here has a lot of minerals in it. The water is safe, but it tastes funny so we always filter it for drinking. Actually there are several Millipore type filtering devices on the market which can make even swamp water safe to drink, but they are not pocket sized ( although they will fit into a backpack.)                        
              Taiki, perhaps you would be happy with one of these filters. They can be expensive to buy, but remember the alternative: VOMITING AND DIARRHEA  :-X :o !                                            
                                                                               .......Dan        
                                                                                               
                                                                                                   
                                                                                                   
 Note: A Millipore filter is a ceramic filter that has pores ( holes ) that are so small the filter can even filter out viruses.

 My Dear Slingers,                                                                    
      Please excuse the indelicate.......and, uh,even.......scatalogical.... line of this discussion. But, safe water is a major concern if one is lost
in the wilderness, and so I guess we are on topic even though we are talking about VOMITING AND DIARRHEA   :-X :o !           .......Dan

In a tv show on a Dutch chanal there was a new invention recently.
It is a drinking straw that allows you to drink water poluted with contagious diseases straigth from the source, ie the water in your house after a flood, or the water in a waterhole or ditch that might have been infected.
It might even help against some chemical polutions too.
It did add a funny taste to the water but water in those conditions often does taste funny anyhow.

The production price is suposed to be around one dollar/euro when the production line gets working at full power.
One of the worldwide aid organisations is helping the development of these straws along, figuring they better hand out straws at one dollar cost than medicines at more or having many death making the situation worse all the time.

When this straw comes available on the market I might buy one (or a box full) for my emergency kit.
Length of use would be a week or longer, and the size is 2.5 cm (1") diameter by 30 cm (12") if I remember right. But it has become a little blurred in my memory.

Willeke

Those two will dehyrdrate you very quickly. You may not be able to drink enough water as the rate at which you're losing it. Throw in other concerns: staying warm, staying dry, food, signaling for help. And you're chances aren't looking very good.

Dosn't giardia take something like 10 days before symptoms show up?

During Katrina I was apalled at the stupidity going around. Does nobody know how to BOIL water. Does nobody know how to filter it. Does nobody have purification tablets. And if I'm right, why didn't the government or the media tell people that they could just use bleach?!?!
I know that some of the above wouldn't be effective against some toxins, but it would at least have saved some lives.

The media enjoys sensationalizing things while giving no useful information.
Only a 98% chance of survival? OH NO!
I wouldn't blame the people at all in these kind of situations, they panic and group mentality takes hold. Either that or emotional attachment to property.

Willeke, when that straw product becomes available, I will definately include those in my kit. Even if need be and they're not sold here in america, i will get family in italy to send them to me. Something like that would prove to be invaluable in different situations.

i have read websites in which poeple include such straws in their survival kits, but the ones that i saw were pretty small; looking like those bendy straws that you get at freindly's(an american restaurant) , and i have seen one that looks more like the one you describe in a magazine article talking about the development of the straw.

either way, these are great things, and make life easier for alot of people.  the article that i read a while back discussed how the  people in 3rd world(it looked more like 4th or 5th world to me, from the photo) countries could now drink from the ponds and lakes in the area, instead of walking several miles to a source of clean water(like a well).  

science is truly a great thing.

wrote on Apr 29^th, 2006 at 1:55pm:

science is truly a great thing.

Completely agree

During Katrina I was apalled at the stupidity going around. Does nobody know how to BOIL water. Does nobody know how to filter it. Does nobody have purification tablets. And if I'm right, why didn't the government or the media tell people that they could just use bleach?!?!
I know that some of the above wouldn't be effective against some toxins, but it would at least have saved some lives.[/quote]

nobody could boil water because their stoves were underwater.  so were their washing machines and bleach.  how many people have purification tablets lying around?  also, the mentality was that it would be another close call but miss the city.  so unless you were a person who thought ahead of time to be prepared for something you didnt think would happen, there was nothing you could do.

Yobolobobo, if you were in your house, and all of a sudden the water started to come and flood your house... Would you stay there or leave?(that being said they recieved aid as it was a national disaster and not to mention all of the fundraising done around the nation to help the ppl out)

it is just a matter of being prepared. They lived in an area that did get hit by Hurricanes often. Not occasionally but almost every time one came through. Katrina just was a really bad one. Being prepared should be a part of their livelihood if they are living there.

Most people were apalled not by the destruction of the property, that happens every year. People were apalled by the senseless actions of unprepared people causing destruction.

Is this the filter you're talking about?

http://www.redesupply.com/catalog/images/REMC0100.jpg

This one currently costs $15.97

Altay where'd ya manage to pick one up? I think that is exactly what he is talking about.

yes, that looks alot like the one i saw in an online survival kit.  i wonder about the larger models that willike described.  

As I said, I saw just a tv show some time back, I do not remember wxactly what the thing looked like, but this seems to be the same, or at least the same kind of thing.

Sorry, I do not remember more.

Willeke

here is a little bit of data that i compiled from a google search:
the prices i found on aparently the same straw were(from a few sources)
-$9.97
-$15.97
-$6.95
-$11.00

here are some similar straws that i found, and their prices:
-http://www.escapeout.co.uk/ecom/product_info.php?products_id=310
for 6.99 in Euros

-http://www.nutritionforhealth.com/filtration1.html
for $13.95

-http://www.multipoweredproducts.com.au/prod118.htm
for $34.95

just goes to show, there is alot of range out there on the market.

wrote on May 3^rd, 2006 at 12:08pm:

Altay where'd ya manage to pick one up? I think that is exactly what he is talking about.

http://www.google.com/imghp ;D

There is an important factor as to why the prices vary so much. Some of those straws (the cheaper ones) rely on iodine or other chemicals to kill the harmful pathogens and last only a very short time (until the chemical agent is used up). The more expensive ones use microfilter membranes in order to filter out the harmful pathogens, lasting longer (will filter more water before wearing out) and not effecting the taste of the water as much.
Coops

Hmm. your survival packs are quite BIG. I think you should be able to pack everything you need in a cigarette case, that fits the pocket..

I would pack.
- a condom, (or 2) for carrying water under the shirt (~1 liter) Nice to have sometimes  :)
- 3-4cm long folding knife.
- fishing line,& smallest hooks (small fish is easiest to catch)
- a way to start fire.
- a small (thinnest) space blanket

Extra, less necessary things.
- 1-2m of wire rope, to make traps.

Around here the water isn't a problem. and moustly it is clean enough to drink (could get you sick in a week or so, but then the situation is hopefully over anyway.. )

i like your list anaconda and for an emergency survival kit that is a good list. I am going to add the water purification straws to that list and that would be good enough.

THe only really thing that i would have to practice is to make a fire. That takes practice but if you include a magnesium stick combo(love using those things), then fire starting isnt a problem.

I had one of those magnesium fire starters with the flint bar glued onto one side.
I never did like the magnesium... I just shred up birch bark extremely fine with my finger nails, it works excelelntly. It catches just as well or easier than magnesium and it burns a lot longer.

A word of caution: in the cold, the glue failed and the flint bar popped out of the magnesium. All and all, it's a quite nice invention, though for the space, just take a lighter.