Survival Kit - PNW

Survival Kit (Local Area) – During the construction of my kit, I thought about the 5Cs of survivability from Dave Canterbury and the Pathfinders Institute – Cutting, Combustion, Cordage, Container, and Cover. In addition, I try to carry the tools which will allow me to fabricate the things I need, as fabricating tools themselves is difficult, and requires specialized materials and a skill-set that can take years to develop.  I also like the items I carry to have multiple uses, thus increasing redundancy.

Cutting – I generally carry a Buck folder in my pocket, a fixed blade Condor Bushlore on my pack, but in my kit I carry the following back-ups.

Mora Classic #1 – Not a primary cutting tool for me, due to a number of factors (e.g. not full tang), the Mora makes a great back-up knife, which maintains are great edge and is razor sharp out of the box.

Leatherman Wave (Orange) – A great multi-tool that serves a variety of functions, but also includes two separate blades. Other functions include a file (sharpening blades and hooks), screwdrivers (repair or tear down of resources), saw (good backup saw), scissors, and of course pliers. The wave can make any number of improvisional tasks much easier.

Razor Blades – Small, lightweight backup cutting tools, can be used for processing game, small carving tasks, cutting cordage, making shaved tinder,  etc. and at minimal weight and space are good 4^th back-ups.

Combustion

Ferro Rod – I like longer versions, I seem to be able to get a better more accurate spark from them. Getting fire started can be essential in survival situations. Ferro rods will produce sparks in any conditions. Getting a fire started with a Ferro rod is another story, but I have practiced enough to feel confident in my ability.

Bic Lighter x2 – Small, lightweight, functions in numerous conditions, Easy to use, 100s of starts.

Altoids Tin – Can be used for making Char-cloth (charred cloth which takes a spark readily), filled with jute twine and cotton balls (both good tinder). I can use the cotton and twine in conjunction with Neosporin anti-bacterial petroleum jelly in severe conditions.

Cordage

100’ of 550 paracord – Paracord can hold 550 lbs, and can be broken down semi easily into smaller strands for snares, fishing, sewing, or can be braided to support even more weight.

30’ Tarred Bank Line – Useful for snares and fishing applications (smells like shit so I put it in a Ziplock Baggy)

Container - I do not carry to standard container for purifying water and/or cooking. I like my EDC kit to be small so I don’t debate bringing it. I do however carry 2 gallon size zip-loc baggies, and 4 quart sized baggies. I can use these to gather water and carry it, collect and keep food, keep tinder dry, and any other number of tasks.

Sawyer Mini - To satisfy the basic water requirement of the container, I also carry a Sawyer Mini filter. The Sawyer can filter thousands of gallons of water; I can drink directly from any water source by carrying the straw attachment, and I replaced the standard backflushing device with a 5ml syringe that can backflush (with more effort and time) but requires much less space that the backflushing device included with the kit. In cold weather scenarios, I can bag snow in baggies, use my body heat to thaw, and drink directly from the straw. Another feature I love about the Sawyer mini is that it will thread on to any water bottle and allow for filtration directly from the bottle as well.

Cover –

Mylar Emergency Blanket – retains/reflects 90% of heat. Great immediate cover and then utilizing in shelter building in more permanent situations. This blanket could also useful for signaling applications, due to the reflective surface. 

Clear Plastic Poncho – Small, lightweight and great for staying dry wet weather, can be used for shelter building, or if needed you could improvise a solar still or transpiration bag with a little engineering.

Garbage Bag (Black) – A backup for the other two – can be used for immediate shelter, used for improving your shelter, a make-shift poncho, carrying water or anything else, melting snow, making into a pillow, etc.

Additional Stuff

A Cliff Bar (Carrot Cake flavor) - That shit is delicious and has a bunch of calories. This can also be used to bait snares or fishing hooks.

Vitamins (10 1/day) – Staying healthy and focused in high stress situations is vital for survival. Vitamins can give you a boost and make sure your body has the required micronutrients.

Tylenol (10) – Pain reliever, self-explanatory.  Helps you stay focused on getting out alive instead of pain.

5 hour power (1 bottle) – I’m addicted to caffeine, I don’t want to deal with a horrible headache on top of everything else – can potentially give you a needed boost, you could carry a small amount of something in the empty bottle if needed.

Fishing Kit – I carry a small light kit, with about 100 small hooks (3 sizes) a small bobber, some fishing line, 2 small jigs, and 2 sizes of weights.  With these items I can effectively catch fish with minimal effort.  

Needle Set – I have a small set of needles (3 curved, 3 standard) which allow for repair of garments, fabrication of other implements, sewing up myself (I’ve had to do it once), etc. It lays flat, weighs nearly nothing, and can make a ton to other tasks doable without fabricating the needle itself.

Compass x2 – extremely small circular compass. These allow me to get an overall direction sense with minimal effort.

First Aid Kit – minimal kit carried in a polyethylene test tube – I carry 6 or so Band-Aids, some gauze, and a few alcohol prep pads, and moleskin. In a pinch I can use the gauze, band aides, alcohol pads or oil patch for fire starting applications.

Test Tube Container - The test tube is water-tight can be used for a makeshift fishing hand-reel, to keep tinder dry, and carrying a small amount of anything (pine pitch, berries, etc).

Spare Batteries – AA and AAA.  I use a GPS which runs on AA batteries, I don’t have any other reason for having them, accept getting lost sucks. AAA are good for my headlamp.  I’ve heard you can start fire with batteries, but I haven’t learned how yet (Gum wrapper or steel wool works supposedly)

Mini-Lamp – Seeing in the dark is good. I carry a very small clip on type LED light as a back-up to the headlamp in my pack. Also good for signaling (in the dark) if needed.

Whistle/ Signal Mirror – Both are small and lightweight and allow for signaling to potential rescuers.