Wilderness Survival and Bushcraft

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Survival kits are believe it or not a controversial subject. Everyone has their own hard core beliefs as to what to carry in a survival situation. Look at this kit very closely. What do you think I left out? What else would you add? LOL I know these questions are burning you up to answer and you are most likely itching to tell me so.... why don't you?  Anyway back on track here. I didn't add a condom for water proofing or to use as a container for carrying water. I also didn't add a compass. Why? I will tell you. I firmly believe that one should exercise their survival skills. learn alternate ways of dealing with the problem. Navigation using the sun or plants and trees, and even wind. Making containers from dead and down wood for carrying and purifying water.  Do not rely on your equipment. Another WHY? Because depending on the particular reason you are in a survival situation you are not guaranteed to have your gear. Sounds hard to fathom doesn't it? Car accidents in the back country, small engine plane crashes, quad or motor cycle accidents...well the list can go on for quite a while. Think of this situation....You are off roading with some friends, yes you have your kit in the truck, strapped in nice and secure. Way out in the middle of boonieville your buddy gets a little crazy on the throttle and looses it down the side of a mountain. The truck bounces maybe rolls a couple of times, and in that ruckus the fuel line breaks, the fuel tank splits and the jerry cans are following you down the hill. All it takes is a spark from the battery or any other wires that may be hot and your kit is burned.

Maybe this sounds a little unlikely to you but I have had trucks burn before. Maybe not due to a a rollover or collision but to an electrical problem and even a backfire through the carburetor. This is when it is important to carry small light weight items in secured in your pockets and even strapped to you like on a belt. I have also learned the hard way to use a lot of my equipment with one hand incase of incapacitation.

  Well what was in the kit in the previous column? I added a small folding tool with knife blade, file, and screwdrivers. 100 feet of poly cord, the same stuff used to sew boots and saddles together. This stuff is really strong. water proof matches with the striker. The matches were wrapped in 10 feet of electrical tape. Safety pins, a fishing kit with weights, hooks, swivels, and 100 feet of line. Remember you can also use you fishing kit to set traps for birds and rodents. A small roll of green thread and needles. 12 feet of 550 cord and a Velcro strap.

This small light weight kit has dozens of uses. From making repairs, hunting and trapping, shelter, purifying water, navigation, first aid, and even signaling for rescue. Each one of these items can even be improvised in a survival situation in some way or another.               

Keep in mind, This kit is very small kit. The contents are useful as well as handy. The biggest intention of this article it to show an alternate way of carrying small items. These tins as well as Altoids tins are great for storing that small gear that would otherwise be lost or hard to find in your regular kit.

  This is the kit secured and ready for storage. Small, light weight, and versatile.

  Now what about the compass and condom I left out. I will tell you what I carry instead. For carrying water I usually have a G.I. 1 qt. canteen with cup stove and cover. This alone makes up for a lot of extra gear and it stores neatly and doesn't weigh any extra. The cover has an external pouch used to carry water purification tablets. I carry two small compasses in the pouch. Seeing how The canteen clips to a belt, you can drive with it on.

   In the beginning I would carry backpacks, LBE or load bearing equipment and a lot of heavy nonsense as I call it. Over the years I would listen to instructors and other experts. They all said the same thing. The more you know the less you need. I can not over stress how true this is. As I learned more and more survival skills and primitive technology I began to leave more and more gar at home or in the truck where I felt it belonged.

  I use a lot of equipment while camping because I usually have students, friends or family with me. Knowing that not everyone has the same skill level I always enjoy their excitement when I demonstrate ways of improvising various items. On a recent trip a friend asked me what would happen if you lost or destroyed your knife? I took him over to the creek bed and found some obsidian. What are you going to do with that he asked? I am making a blade. When I was finished he could not believe that I had made a hand drill set for fire, cord for shelter and traps, and I even cooked roast chicken and carved it with the blade. Pretty cool what you can do when you learn how to improvise.