Have a Survival Preparedness Kit
Have a Survival Preparedness Kit You may need to survive on your own after a disaster. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days. In addition, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even a week or longer. Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:
Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both Flashlight and extra batteries First aid kit Whistle to signal for help Dust mask, to help...
Survival Tin
Survival Tin from SAS Survival Handbook A few key items can make all the difference in the fight for survival. Collect the things listed below. They can all squeeze into a small container, such as a 2oz tobacco or Altoids tin, that will be hardly noticeable when slipped into a pocket. Make a habit of always having it with you. Do not choose something bigger, you may find it inconvenient to carry and leave it out on the one occasion you actually need it. Experience has proven that each item earns its place, though some are more useful in some situations than in others: fish hooks, for instance, may be invaluable in the jungle but less so in the desert. Polish the inside of the lid to make a mirror-like reflecting surface and seal it, to be waterproof, with a strip of adhesive tape which can be easily removed and replaced. Don’t then just forget the tin. Regularly check the contents, changing any which deteriorate,...
Survival Blades and Tools
Survival Blades and Tools Leatherman Multi-Tool
When you make your own survival kit be sure to include a multi-tool such as a leatherman. A multi-tools small knife blades, pliers, awls, and other tools will come in handy whether you are in a survival situation or not. I recommend you also carry a fixed blade survival knife for larger chores and even personal protection. A fixed blade knife can be used for skinning game, making a spear, shelter creation, and a host of other uses. How to Choose a Survival Knife You need the best survival knife. Choosing the right survival knife is more than an exercise in individuality – your very life may hinge upon its proper selection. Anyone who has ever spent quality time in the outdoors will vouch for the usefulness of a good knife but to the survival expert his knife is one of his best friends and the most closely guarded of his survival gear. Like a good friend, his survival knife should...
Mobile Phones
Mobile Phones
The mobile phone is one of the great inventions of the twentieth century. In an emergency situation it can be a real life-saver. On expeditions where the radios have failed due to bad weather or the location of the victims, a mobile phone has been used to raise the alarm. A group on Everest got into trouble as they started their descent after summitting. They tried many times to raise base camp but without success. The leader phoned his wife in Hong Kong on a mobile phone and reported their situation. She then alerted Kathmandu, who in turn alerted base camp, Everest and effected a rescue.
Some phones are better than others so it’s worth doing some homework; it’s also essential to check the network coverage with the service provider before going abroad. Keep one in the car, they are priceless when help is required and a cigarette lighter is a convenient charger for the battery, providing you have an adapter....
Radios
Radios For a long expedition in remote territory a radio is a necessity. They tend to be expensive but are well worth the cost; if you cannot afford the radio, you cannot afford the expedition. Choose a model with the fewest channels available to suit your particular needs. The trouble with multi-channel sets is that people get confused and tend to use the wrong ones. Have a working channel that everyone uses at established schedules. Have a priority channel that you can switch to in an emergency so no one will break into your transmissions. If working with coastguards/forest rangers etc make sure that your radio is compatible and you know the emergency channel (channel 16); knowing the frequency of the World Service is also useful. Keep your radio in a safe place, ideally on a person and not in a pack. Prearrange a signals plan with scheduled calls morning and evening, especially when working in a large party. A signals plan...
G.P.S.
G.P.S. A G.P.S. (Global Positioning System) is an excellent piece of equipment and has taken a lot of skill away from the navigator. Basically these systems receive radio signals from satellites and can locate your current position, anywhere in the world, and are relatively easy to use. It is also useful to note that they are reported to have 95 per cent accuracy rate. However, in order to work, the satellite transmission must not have any obstructions in its way, such as a tree branch or movement, so to receive a clear signal you need to be standing still and out in the open. However, if we depend solely on technology our basic skills will suffer and we will become unstuck if it becomes unserviceable or is lost. G.P.S. is not effective unless you can identify where you are, so stick to the basics. Map read and navigate normally and use the G.P.S to confirm your navigation or correct it. When looking...
Stowing Kits
STOWING KIT If you expect to get wet, stow everything in polythene bags. Pack so that you know where everything is and so that the first things you need are not buried at the bottom. The sleeping bag is probably the last thing you need so that goes at the bottom. Your tent should be on the top, so should heavy kit such as radios, which are more easily carried there – though try not to make the pack too high, if you have to cope with strong winds, for a very high pack will be more difficult to balance and you will expend a lot of energy just keeping upright. Pack a stove and brew-kit in a side pocket so that you have easy access when you halt. Make sure that foodstuffs that can be easily crushed or melted are in suitable containers. In a warm climate you can carry food to eat cold and make plenty of hot drinks. In a...
Packs
PACKS You need a strong and comfortable backpack to carry all your clothing and equipment. Choose the very best you can afford. It should have tough and fully adjustable webbing, well secured to the pack’s frame or fabric. Heavy loads can quickly loosen poorly made webbing. It must have a comfortable hip belt. The secret of wearing a pack is to take the weight securely on the hips – the body’s strongest pivot – not on the shoulders and back, which quickly strain and tire. Do you want a pack with an external or an internal frame? Internal frames are lighter and make a pack more easy to stow, but external frames are stronger, ensure a more even distribution of the load and are especially useful for awkward or heavy equipment – including, in an emergency, a sick or injured person. A good external frame should carry the pack high up on your body, putting less strain on hips and shoulders, and...
Sleeping Bags
SLEEPING BAGS Two types are generally available. One kind uses hollow fill, man-made fiber, the other (and more expensive) is filled with down. Down is very light and gives much better insulation – provided it stays dry. If it gets wet it loses all of its insulating properties and is very difficult to dry out. For conditions that are likely to be wet the man-made fiber will be the better choice. Avoid getting your sleeping bag wet, however, as sleep will be seriously affected. Excellent bivouac bags made of breathable material are also available that will keep you dry in place of a tent, but in the long term you cannot beat a tent which can also be used for cooking and communal activities. Keep your sleeping bag inside the bivy sack and stow it inside a compression sack to make it as small as possible. Keep the bag clean and use a insulated mat or poncho to lie on....
Clothing
CLOTHING The correct choice of clothing is very important. If you start out right the chances are that you will succeed. Man is a tropical animal and can only survive naked if we are born in the tropics. The moment we leave this area we have to provide our bodies with a warm personal environment, hence the need for clothes. There is no heat in clothing, it only traps what the body produces. The wind and rain are the most dangerous elements in a temperate climate and the cold in extreme areas like the polar regions. If the heat that is trapped in the layers of clothing you are wearing is continuously being replaced by wind and rain, you are in danger of hypothermia. In cold climates layering is the answer, so pull on a sweater if it turns cold and waterproof clothing if it rains. However, if you wear an anorak while carrying a heavy pack, there is a danger of...