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-   -   Safety gear everybody should have! (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=80429)

Sig600 12-26-2011 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC10Chief (Post 609791)
By the way, if you watch that survival guy, Bear Grylls, he sucks. He's a total tool bag. That's shock TV. Some of the stuff that he shows you on his show, would likely get you killed in real life, out in the wild.

Don't worry, I wasn't planning on trying to drink water from elephant ****. And contrary to popular belief, no you can not drink your own urine and survive.

az_gila 12-26-2011 04:54 AM

Another consideration.

Put a nice easy to see strap on your emergency equipment bag/container.

Have this strap clipped/taped/hung somewhere easy to see, easy to grab and above all of your luggage.

If you do need the stuff and you have to exit the plane real quick, the last thing you need to do is hunt for the emergency bag under all of yourr other stuff....:rolleyes:

I found orange 1 inch webbing did the trick for my emergency kit. The container I used is a stuff bag from the camping store.

Bruce 12-26-2011 07:31 AM

Great thread
 
I have been to the same courses except the cold weather one and here
is a list of a few items that are light weight and can be put in
pockets of a fly fishing vest:

Compass
Iodine pills
collapsable container--zip lock freezer bag
whistle
signal mirror
small first aid kit--butterfly bandaids
emergency blanket-foil-2 oz
Gun and Ammo--check laws
wire saw
Book--How to catch live animals:D

All of these items are easily put in the vest and then all the other items
that are listed on the first two post.


Good Hunting
Boomer

flion 12-26-2011 07:49 AM

If it's not on your person, don't count on having it. Consider Todd's RV-10 explosion (sorry, Todd). If it had happened after even a nice off-field landing in the wilderness, any survival gear he had been carrying would be gone.

I wear a Casio Pathfinder, everything else I need could go in my pockets though a vest would be handy as a carryall along with being some extra clothing. I do like a bush knife when hiking or camping but wouldn't be able to wear it comfortably in a plane - it's a 12" blade, serrated on both edges and 3/16" thick at the tang. I also have a Gerber multi-tool in a holster on my belt; heck, I use that often around the hangar.

Add some strong twine, a space blanket, a small first aid kit that includes some sutures, and one of those magnesium strikers and I should be able to get out of the woods in a few days, if I'm ambulatory. If I've got the vest, I'd be sure it carried a water bag.

Better still, the best thing you can take with you is your brain. Stock it with training. Real survival courses are less about tools and techniques and more about attitude and planning. I can't name any good ones because my uncles took care of it when I was a kid; they and my mom grew up on a farm in Mississippi. I don't know where you can get that kind of training anymore.

Bruce 12-26-2011 05:02 PM

There is some good reading material here:

http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/index.html

GusBiz 12-27-2011 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce (Post 609825)
Book--How to catch live animals:D

This should be placed along side your "how to pick up women" Book

Both Text are equally as effective.

There is a certain art to both of these practices that need some experience or else you will be as effective as a blink man looking for a black hat in dark room.

kevinsrv7.com 12-27-2011 08:11 AM

A firearm and bear spray is good to have as well in remote areas.

Danny7 12-27-2011 08:52 AM

the petzl tikka comes in a variety of options (red cover for night vision, etc) and is better made than some of the other headlamps.

you could use hi quality energizer or duracell batteries, but one thing i've liked to do recently is use eneloops- available at costco for a good price. they used to sell them with the charger but now they come without it.

http://www.eneloop.info/ why are they better than other rechargables? they keep their charge longer.

CPSONE 12-27-2011 11:04 AM

Survival gear
 
This is one of the items I carry in my baggage compartment, along wih a full survival kit and a Spot. The knife and Hatchet are built like a tank.

Timberline Alaskan Bush Pilot's Combo


Jim F 12-27-2011 02:13 PM

Emergency kit
 
One of the things I have not heard any of you mention is a pot or vessel of some kind to heat water or melt snow.

My "Possibles Kit" is housed in a #7 can (Juice can size) with a wire bail and a wide mouth quart plastic bottle inside. Inside the bottle are all the bits and pieces of the kit (fire-starter, first-aid, needle & Thread, tea, Kendall mint cake, para-cord, wire, wire saw etc.) The whole kit weights about two pounds and can be grabbed with one hand. I wrap some sheets of plastic around the bottle before squeezing it into the can.

The object of the can is to enable me to heat water, melt snow, and keep hydrated without a lot of further improvization.

Bob Kagle, the guy who taught me most of this had the philosophy, "you can simply survive, or you can survive simply" if you surviive simply, (aka comfortably) you are probably also doing it safely.

I have practiced these skills on the NOLS course in the Wind River Mtns and in the winter in the Cascades, and find spending the overnight on snow in the mountains to be nothing more than an inconvenience if I have the above mentioned gear. It doesn't have to be an ordeal.
Jim


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