You have probably heard of a television show called Survivorman, hosted by Canadian survivalist Les Stroud. Les has himself dumped into a survival situation and left alone to survive for one week with few if any supplies. What amazes me is that he never has any of the basic supplies that any outdoorsman on an expedition should have. That's right, no personal survival kit.
A personal survival kit is an absolute requirement for anyone going hiking, boating, hunting or any other activity where there is a possibility of getting lost or stranded in the outdoors. The key to a personal survival kit is it's size. It has to be compact enough to go on your belt yet big enough to hold a variety of survival tools and supplies.
Here is what your kit should contain:
Food items such as an energy bar or two and maybe some trail mix.
Hot drinks like instant coffee or tea bags.
Dried soup mix...a little goes a long way.
These should be stored in a waterproof pouch like a ziplok bag or a home vacuum sealed pouch.
Matches or fire starter. Get waterproof wood matches or better yet, a magnesium & flint fire starter.
a piece or two of waxed cardboard fire starter would be a great idea if space allows.
Fishing line and a few hooks, lures, sinkers etc. Get small spinners and all the terminal tackle you can. These are small and fit compactly into your kit. If you get stranded near water you can fish for food. Remember, there are no freshwater poisonous fish.
Snare wire, enough for three or moor loop snares for catching small game.
Para cord, as much as you can. This can be used for shelter making.
Aluminum foil, folded small for use as a reflector and cooking. Form it into a cup to boil water for purifying.
Emergency blanket...these are small and cheap. Great for shelter making and they are reflective to help keep you warm.
First aid supplies, I know, 3 triangular bandages makes for a lot of bulk.
Get the basics, various bandaids(knuckle, fingertip and regular).
Alcohol or antiseptic wipes.
Roll of gauze.
First aid tape.
Latex or nytril gloves.
Anything else usefull that will fit.
Signal device......flare pen, whistle, signal mirror.
Finally,instructions.
Snare wire will do no good if you don't know how to use it. Go on the internet and find some intructions with pictures. Print it out and fold it up in a ziploc bag with your first aid guide.
Notice that I seem to have forgotten a pocket knife....well no. Your knife should be with you anyways at all times, in your pocket where it belongs.
Keep this kit on your belt at all time in the wilderness. If you put it in your backpack, you risk losing it if your canoe tips or your pack is somehow lost.
This is something I learned to put together in scouts and has stuck with me ever since. So just one question for Les Stroud.....
No personal survival kit?
What are you thinking?
I'm not a big fan of Stroud, although I respect what he's trying to do. Sadly, I think all the humping of the camera gear detracted from the business of trying to show people how to survive. Well, that and the harmonica playing. As you point out, no personal survival kit, but he always had the damned harmonica.
As for your list, I think it's a good idea if you can carry those things on your person. I also think very few people will, especially in summer.
I would say a PSK is important, but so is keeping down its size so you don't just say to heck with this bulky thing. My PSK contents list is a bit simpler:
25 ft Paracord
Medical tape (6-8 feet)
4 gauze pads
4 bandaids
4 Petroleum Jelly Cottonballs
Firesteel
Some tinfoil.
This would all fit in a fairly small ziplock bag but I actually made a small cloth bag for it, with belt loops and lanyard holes to give me carrying options. I occasionally modify the contents to suit my activity, usually adding a bit of food or throwing in a space blanket.
The key to having good gear is not having tons of it. It is having it with you when you need it. A PSK is basically just enough to keep you going for a day or two, or to enable you to provide for yourself for a longer term, not to be the whole longer term on its own.
My two cents.
One giant glaring omission as far as the survival kits go... WATER. Carry water, or a means of purifying water. A little tinfoil cup isn't going to provide you with enough clean water to consume the 2 to 3 liters that you should be drinking per day in order to maintain fluid levels and prevent serious dehydration, or even the fatigue that comes with mild dehydration.
Fire and shelter are important - but neither one of them will matter much if you have nothing to drink and die of dehydration shortly after getting dry and warm.
Water is the number one concern for survivalism. Personally, I have 3 gallons in the trunk of my car at all times. My bug out kits has a half gallon of unscented, plain bleach for purifying. As for this topic, we are looking at a small kit that can fit into something the size of a small fanny pack. Purification tablets would fit well, as well as some large freezer bags for gathering water. Hopefully, you have a 1l canteen at minimum. Hydration packs carry a bit more, but I personally don't likethem much. If you are carying a backpack, 2 or 3 1l bottles of water would be a good idea.
When I was backpacking around Southeast Asia I carried a 20L collapsible "Reliance" water jug, and an MSR MIOX water purifier. Almost no weight and takes up very little space.
I love hydration packs - no stopping to drink while on the move, and a full 2L hydration pack packs nearly flat unlike 1L water bottles. My regular hiking daypack couldn't hold 2 1L Nalgenes and its regular contents, but it holds the hydration bladder and the regular gear fine.
I agree that water is very important, but the topic of this post was more of a small pouch type kit to take on a belt for day trips while fishing, hunting, or just a day hike from the camp site.
You could have just talked about survival gear without bashing Les. If you knew his show you would know the premise is that an avg. Joe gets in trouble while out on a days bike ride, or a plane crash, etc. It is not about lugging a 30 pound survival kit or a 10g Altoid kit.
Your points about always having survival supplies on you when going into the wilderness is valid, but there was no need to even mention Les especially without knowing the whole idea behind the show.
This is the one forum that I would like to see that talks only about prepping and not going on about TV shows or which "Expert" is real and which is not.
I carry a multi-tool, pocket knife, lighter, Fisher Space Pen, 2 bus tickets, 2 quarters all in my pants pocket. More in my jackets (each jacket has the same gear). and a 2 pound survival kit in my daypack in case I end up hiking straight after work.
Why did I join Canadian Preppers Network?
Well I was going to join the UK Network but those bloody Brits don't know how to speak proper English! 😉
Sorry to have hit a nerve, Haliboy. This was not meant as a Les Stroud bashing post. This is an informational and teaching blog. My point was to show readers a popular example of why anyone who regularly makes day trips in wilderness situations should have a small, pocket sized survival kit. I think you would have to agree that if you had such a kit with some basic emergency supplies, you would be able to avoid most of the problems faced on the show. The post makes only a glancing reference to Les and, at length, covers the REAL issue of assembling and carrying a personal survival kit.
As a side note, I am a regular watcher of his show and a fan of not only what he does there, but also an admirer for what he has done in real life.
Les is an accomplished and talented musician, a respected teacher to the Canadian and US military, and a pioneer living off grid in the Ontario wilderness.
Thanks for clearing that up.
I am not a fan of Altoid type kits as I think it is better to use your pockets for a full size professional signal mirror than using an inside lid, a full pealess whistle than something you get at the dollar store, a full size lighter rather than a few matches, etc. However, a good starter PSK is the AMK/Doug Ritter PSK if you can afford it (I thought for the effort and cost, and perhaps multiple shipping costs, that the $30 bucks wasn't a bad deal). You will need to add something for shelter and water purification but the packaging is honest about this.
If money is a concern (and you aren't heading out this weekend) then pick up a little each payday. A Fox 40 or Storm brand whistle one payday, a signal mirror another payday, etc. Things like Zip-lock bags and Bic lighters are easy and cheap to get. Go to the medical section of the dollar store or drug store and get wax/cotton earplugs as fire starters (they are dry but work like cotton balls and petro jelly but CB/PJ is an option too).
Why did I join Canadian Preppers Network?
Well I was going to join the UK Network but those bloody Brits don't know how to speak proper English! 😉
old post bump
I'm not a big fan of Stroud, although I respect what he's trying to do. Sadly, I think all the humping of the camera gear detracted from the business of trying to show people how to survive. Well, that and the harmonica playing. As you point out, no personal survival kit, but he always had the damned harmonica.
As for your list, I think it's a good idea if you can carry those things on your person. I also think very few people will, especially in summer.
Ah, but he does have his multi tool, I'm not a fan of Stroud either, since he does blaring dangerous mistakes that can get people killed and has. Yes he is a good herbalist but that is as far as will go to praise him. Most SAR agree with me on this point.
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."
Not at all a fan of the show. Its was made for TV entertainment and little else. Citiots and concrete dwellers perhaps get amused but anyone serious about survival skills pass off show like that a mere joke. If you want to survive in the wild, try spending some time there. Television drama and fiction will not give you experience, only time in will do so.
If nothing else Les demonstrates quite well that if you're out in the woods for a week unprepared you'll pretty much starve the whole time.
If nothing else Les demonstrates quite well that if you're out in the woods for a week unprepared you'll pretty much starve the whole time.
😆 like anyone is going to think of that if they don't prep
