your basic survival kit

[Squirrel Bait]

Yall are scaring me !!! All this talk about condoms, syringes, scapels, duct tape, Sucking Chest Wounds and Tampons. I thought I had done got on the wrong site.      

[PurpleCajun]

Oh good, another topic that I might have something to contribute to!

My general purpose Wilderness Survival kit that fits on my belt, in a pouch about the size of a deformed softball.  

1 - LED mini maglite.
1 - container of iodine tablets
1 - film container full of vaseline soaked cotton balls. (There are very few better fire starters, regardless of ignition method)
1 - thick, resealable plastic baggy containing water proof paper.
1 - "metal match" (it's just as good as a bic with a small chunk of the aforementioned cotton.. not a whole ball)
2 - AA batteries for the flashlight or other electronic device.
1 - plastic poncho in a tiny thick plastic baggy.
1 - mylar "space blanket" in a tiny, thick plastic baggy (getting a theme here? These baggies rule)
5 - aspirin
1 - antibiotic ointment pack
3 - antiseptic towelettes (also good tp in a pinch, just be sure to refill!)
Various forms of bandages
1 - pair surgical gloves (sanitation, safety, water carrying)
2 - cliff bars
50' paracord - daisy chained
1 - Extra thick resealable plastic baggy containing the following:
1 - tiny finger compass
1 - spool thread
3' small gauge wire
3 safety pins
3' duct tape
1 square foot of extra heavy duty aluminum foil (can boil water in it, if you're careful)
6' nylon cord.
1 - pencil
1 - signal whistle
1 - Mirror

Outside of the pouch:

1 Gerber Multitool
1 big Hurkin knife
1 more pouch containing an "adventure medical kits" brand bivy.. it's tiny, neatest thing I've ever seen.

edit: forgot my nice new compass.. it's not on the belt, but around the neck..

All that fits on my belt, and doesn't weigh me down.

Some of it is unnecessary for pure survival, but it fits and doesn't take away from anything else that I'd need.  Sometimes comfort is a big part of an impromptu overnighter.

Most of the time though.. I've got a big pack with me that duplicates much of the function here, but better.. I'm not going to be a minimalist unless I have to, or unless I'm up for a challenge and nobody else is counting on me.

[JBiorn]

This is turning into a good thread for reminding us about certain items we may be forgetting.

[Three Arrows]

Doesn't take much to be prepaired for cuts and broken limbs.  It sucks to get an arrow caught on vegetation and tree limbs and have it come out and cut you.  It also sucks when one falls out and sticks you in the thigh.  Be prepared... only takes a minute or less to go into shock.  We carry all kinds of gadgets and stuff with us to go climb trees with sharp objects.  I fell out once with a backquiver full of arrows.  I had an arrow come out of a bow quiver.  I even had one poke through a bow quiver and hip quiver.  If a bleeder blade comes off inside an animal and sticks to a rib bone, it could get you.  So yes, I carry what I need to stop bleeding and make splints and survive.  Paracord, bandages, scalpel, gauze, fishing line, rubbers, rubber tubing, clothes pins, quick clot, super glue, rubber gloves, electrical tape, iodine, 2 lighters,and a leatherman.

[Rico]

I'm along the same line as KS just a cell phone for the most part.
 If I did need navigation gps would be my primary and secondary a map and compass.

 How many have cell phone/gps coverage but refuse to add to survival pack?

[woodchucker]

A good knife

A RELIABLE fire starter

The KNOWLEDGE of how to stay ALIVE

[JBiorn]

A GPS should be your secondary! Your primary nav should always be based on a compass and a map. They don't require batteries and don't mind being wet as much.

 DR navigation is a primary skill.

[PurpleCajun]

I'm firmly convinced that those who created GPS and manufacture the units had nothing to do with the Pacific Northwest.. It's quite the challenging game to not lose your signal once you hit the forest out here.   As such, I'm a big fan of my compass, GPS unit for me is a good way to mark locations.

[Hermit of LongHollow]

It may have been mentioned and I missed it but a large leaf size garbage bag takes little room and can be used to get water, a dry place to sit, etc.  Best use is as emergency rain coat - just poke out for eyes and nose.  Don't pull over head or stick your arms out through - not nearly as waterproof then.

[-Achilles-]

wow some of you guys go all out...all i can add is to stress the importance of a knife...a knife can do many things...BUT...if you dont know how to use it then it does you no good

[PurpleCajun]

Something else that may be worth discussing is the packing of these tools.  

I like to break down my kit into certain levels where different types of gear is kept.  As a general rule, the closer to my body, the less I'd like to lose the item.  Of course, losing anything is a bad idea....

That's why I keep the emergency survival pouch on my belt.  I never take things out of it, it's there to save me in a pinch.  If I'm in the woods, it's on my body.  My knife is just as important and also kept close, strapped to my leg.  Then we go outward with more pouches or packs, places I more readily take items from for general use.

Then there's the matter of shelter, it also starts on your body, the same general rule of "closer to you" applies for me.  My shelter builds up from my long underwear, to the jacket, to the emergency ponchos, all the way up to the two man tent in my backpack... although I suppose, I'd probably want my gore-tex more than a T-shirt.. but hey, aren't rules meant to be broken or something?

[Widowbender]

Great thread Guys...some version of a survival kit is a good idea no matter where you hunt...A nasty fall can turn a 40 acre patch of woods into your own little corner of hell. I can't add any items to anyone's list that isn't listed here, but I found some to add to mine!!

David

[PurpleCajun]

So I told a friend about this thread (he's a black powder guy), he asked what was in my kit so I told him... When I got to the vaseline soaked cotton balls, he asked "Think Neosporin would work?"  I told him I'd call him right back.

So I ran upstairs and got the Neosporin, and some cotton balls, went out to the grill and busted out the metal match.  It worked like a dream... and when I poured some water on the ball, the treated part of the ball burned a little longer than the non-treated bit.  

So.. Now I may be replacing my Vaseline with the neosporin.. Gotta keep the containment sanitary, and I don't think I'd use these firestarters as a means of treating cuts... but there is a Neosporin  that contains a pain reliever that should work for general aches...   That's a dual purpose fire starter!   I urge experimentation before utilizing.. I know I'll be doing more testing myself before completely changing over.

And again.. I certainly wouldn't try to stave off infection with the neosporin on the cotton balls, once it's out of the tube I consider it "used"... but like I said, for general aches on non-open wounds.. the pain relieving version might be useful.   Of course.. you could just carry cotton balls & neosporin.. then you get it all.

[Curtiss Cardinal]

Well I wasn't going to post this and then I thought, "Why Not?"
The fieldcraft gang aka bushcrafters aka survival nuts, or trackers say
"The more you carry in your head the less you have to carry on your back."
To which I usually reply, "The more you carry on your back, in your pockets and elsewhere about your person the better the chance you'll live off the land and not JUST survive."
Oh and I thought I'd share my wet weather fire starter recipe.
Several condiment(ketchup) cups from a fast food place.
a weeks worth of dryer lint from cotton clothes.
a block of parifin wax (melted in a double boiler)
one cup of pine saw dust
a cotton ball for each cup
in a bowl shred the dryer lint and mix with the saw dust. Put a large pinch of the mixture in each cup and pour in enough wax to cover. top with a cotton ball. Allow to cool and harden and place in a couble zipper extra thick plaric freezer bag. One good spark set the cotton ball ablaze and then it will burn like a candle for a good long time and allow you to build a fire with damp tinder.

[zwickey2bl]

The condoms are for carrying water from a source to "camp" or wherever you need it.

[JBiorn]

A pocket diamond hone?

[allanburden]

As stated before, GPS is a great tool.  But please do not neglect compass and map reading.  If GPS were foolproof the military would not still be spending nearly a week on land nav at basic training.  I can't tell you how many times during artillery fire missions we lost our GPS and had to use a compass, map, and surveyor's T-13 Theodolite to complete fire missions.  Same rules apply in the field.  If you get in heavy cover or in an area with rapid terrain changes, you will eventually lose GPS.  And old man Murphy likes to show up at the most inoportune times.  Great thread by the way, thanks for starting it JBiorn

[jon]

I can't add but one thing to this great thread. After moving from Florida to Montana, my kit has changed a lot. Since I hunt by my self most of the time, I bought my family an early Christmas present last year. I got a GPS equipped PLB. If I'm disabled for any reason, I can activate the thing and supposedly "help is on the way". Other than that, I carry pretty much what everyone else does (paracord, firestarter, compass, space blanket, multitool, GPS, TP, signal mirror, and a small first aid kit)except I have 3 small tubes of Durabond(medical super glue) in place of any suture supplies. My wife is an emeregency room RN and has convinced me of the ease in its use. You can get it from your doctor or from the nearest emergency room.

[Rico]

I'm all for a map and compass but if my gps is working fine why would I want to use the map and compass?
 JBiorn the hand held I have is water proff and floats. You do not need to leave it on so batteries could last for weeks months. Do you carry a gps in your survival bag.

[Dirty Bill]

You can't always get a signal on the GPS.