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© Huntnlady 2003

The Survival Kit

"If I had known this was going to happen,
I would have come prepared!"

Some brag about being able to walk naked into the wilderness and surviving, but most modern men have neither the skills nor the mindset to do that. Rather than being the McGuyver of the woods, we should be the Boy Scouts and "be prepared".

There are two things everyone who goes into the woods should have in their pocket- a folding lock-blade knife and a butane lighter. These are not the "kit" items that you would take, but are the every day items that you carry all the time. Unless you are going onto a commercial airline or entering a courthouse, make it a habit to have a pocket knife and lighter on you. I've been carrying a pocket knife since I was 12. I don't smoke, but I've always got a lighter, too.

I should say, too, that all folding lock-blade knives are not created equal. I have seen more and more the trend toward blades being half- or completely serrated. A serrated blade is only good for cutting rope or bread. It is lousy for your survival needs. It is difficult at best to sharpen. It is not for whittling or skinning an animal. If your favorite blade is serrated, the best thing you can do to it is to grind the blade down to a straight edge.

Steel quality is a consideration of knives, too. High carbon steel takes and keeps a good edge, but it rusts easily. Stainless steel, you had better know how to sharpen and have a sharpener.

The foremost item for my survival kit is a trash bag. And not just any trash bag, it must be 3 mil. in thickness. I found these bags at WalMart for $7.95. It would have been ideal if I had found these in orange for signalling and visibility.

The trash bag can be used to gather plant materials or water inside. It can be used as emergency raingear by cutting a slit in the bottom to poke your head out through. It can be filled with leaves for insulation and you can crawl into it like a sleeping bag. Or it can be cut apart on the sides and propped up as a roof over your head. It is most useful in making shelter.


Notice the rubber band holding it, which will burn well for fire starting.

To round out my shelter building supplies, I've got 50ft. of 550 Parachute Cord. The real stuff has strings in the center that can make 5 more strings if broken down; to tie together branches and tarp. A few feet of each one of the smaller strands can make an adequate snare for small game, too.

So now I've got the makings for shelter, but what about water? I solve that by taking 2 liters with me in the form of a pack with a water bladder made by Camelbak. This not only holds water and everything I need to carry, but is light and vented to reduce sweating on my back. I hardly know it is there.

The next thing I need in my kit is a can.