Practice makes perfect ...
So here I was this evening sitting alone in the house bored then it came to me while everyone else is out now would be a good time to practice making a fire using just items out of the garden and my survival kit.
So i collected some dead twigs from around the bottom of some trees in the garden snapping them into small lengths, then i located some more slightly thicker twigs and so on making 4 small piles of different thicknesses of twigs.
then i had to find some tinder .... easier said then done as it had been slightly raining earlier.
i managed to find some cut grass that had been blown under the bushes in the garden. There wasn't alot but enough to hopefully get it started.
( looked dry so i had my fingers crossed there would be enough. )
Next i opened my survival kit.
Upon inspection i found i had several means to make fire so i started with my favorite. the magnesium block and striker. After shaving the block ( mental note to replace new magnesium block ) i made a small pile of shavings ready to put onto the tinder which i did.
after a few attempts of making sparks from drawing the striker down the flint section the sparks were flying ... but with the strong wind that was blowing the sparks werent really catching onto the tinder ... upon a very close inspection of the tinder i found that the tinder was ever so slightly damp so plan A went out of the window.
so i took out of the survival kit 1 piece of cotton wool ( i carry 3-4 pieces for this purpose ) and i fluffed it out and placed it into the middle of the tinder.
1 strike was all i needed to get the cotton wool to light ... but the damp tinder still refused toflare up even with a little extra help from me blowing on it while holding it all at head height away from myself. so i took out my candle that i use for this very purpose ( mental note to replace candle ) and with the still lit cotton wool i light the candle and using this i managed to get the fire going .
After this little problem ( the tinder ) adding the small twigs to build up the fire etc etc was easy.
Sitting there watching the fire burn away quite happlierly thinking about what could of done an how to improve i came to the conclusion that due to the wind an not as dry as i thought tinder hampened my efforts but using the contents of the survival kit and not just 1 part of it made me think and use what i had in the tin.
next time i do this i really need to find some really dry tinder or maybe some dead dry tree bark instead.
As always I hope this helps you in some way.
Please feel free to join this blog and add more to the list to help each other out.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Bug out bag's and contents
Bug out bag’s and contents.
Ok first thing you are going to ask is what is a bug out bag and what is its purpose . Well the answer is easy a bug out bag is exactly what the name says … it’s a bag that you grab when you have to bug out of a location . Aka a grab bag… this bag is meant to keep you alive and fed until you can get to your nearest cache of supplies.
Remember this bag is meant to be lightweight so you can move quite quickly while carrying it.
Anyway here is a basic contents of what you COULD put in it.
This is for a adult to carry … children should carry a extremely lightweight version of below… water / food / warm clothes / survival bag only!
Sample contents…
Bottles of water ( 4/5 )
A survival bag and /or a space blanket
MRE’s / food ( 4 )
Primary survival kit
Full change of clothes
Small wash kit
KFS ( knife fork spoon )
Metal mug
warm hat and gloves
A warm lightweight jacket
Ammuntion for your personal defence weapon
A cleaning kit for your weapon
Map and compass
F.A.K ( small first aid kit )
Mess tin
Bug spray
Drinks pack
Web gear
Waterproof jacket / trousers ( if warm jacket above not waterproof )
Any personnal vital medications
A small radio
A couple of tins of pet food if you intend on bringing your pet with you if you bug out.
This is just a example of what you COULD put in a bug out bag … in real life it is really down to personal choice what goes in the bag and what is carried by whom.
Ok first thing you are going to ask is what is a bug out bag and what is its purpose . Well the answer is easy a bug out bag is exactly what the name says … it’s a bag that you grab when you have to bug out of a location . Aka a grab bag… this bag is meant to keep you alive and fed until you can get to your nearest cache of supplies.
Remember this bag is meant to be lightweight so you can move quite quickly while carrying it.
Anyway here is a basic contents of what you COULD put in it.
This is for a adult to carry … children should carry a extremely lightweight version of below… water / food / warm clothes / survival bag only!
Sample contents…
Bottles of water ( 4/5 )
A survival bag and /or a space blanket
MRE’s / food ( 4 )
Primary survival kit
Full change of clothes
Small wash kit
KFS ( knife fork spoon )
Metal mug
warm hat and gloves
A warm lightweight jacket
Ammuntion for your personal defence weapon
A cleaning kit for your weapon
Map and compass
F.A.K ( small first aid kit )
Mess tin
Bug spray
Drinks pack
Web gear
Waterproof jacket / trousers ( if warm jacket above not waterproof )
Any personnal vital medications
A small radio
A couple of tins of pet food if you intend on bringing your pet with you if you bug out.
This is just a example of what you COULD put in a bug out bag … in real life it is really down to personal choice what goes in the bag and what is carried by whom.
Options ...
Your options when an event happens … starve or survive!
When an event happens to you the first thing out of your month I promise you will be something like OH ####! So I decided to throw this little bit in between the topics that I stated when I first started this blog, just because I had a little extra spare time for once ! WOOHOO !
A government website states we should have 3 days worth of food and water per person in the household in case of a emergency as it will take the government this time ( 3 days ) to get help to us.
However as Hurricane Katrina proved that the government couldn’t get all the necessary support staff and logistics in place within there own stated timescale! So a lot of people suffered for a long time until the government help arrived.
So I personally suggest that you should try to stock up as much
food and water ( remembering that you want to be aiming for 1-2 gallons of water per person per day! )
Some people I know of have stocked up to over 1 yrs worth of food and water ( using bottled water and a high class water filtration system.
So I’d recommend at least 3 months worth of food for the household.
Yes I know your probably thinking right now “ what is he thinking! that’s a lot of food to buy , that’s a lot of money! “ however if you start buying a few extra cans and jars of items every time you go food shopping it soon builds up I promise you.
OH and make sure you only buy stuff you like to eat. Once you get to a nice base level say a months worth of tinned food think about buying rice in bulk like for example 50lbs as this will boost your amount of food supplies vastly! Also make sure you rotate out the tins of food as you don’t want to waste your money if food goes bad cause it goes out of date! Bulk food items can be stored in 5 gallon pales which are available from lowe’s or home depot for about $5 inc a lid.
This will hold about 30-40lbs of rice per pale.
Remember to get things that can be used to change the flavor of some foods like spices , oils , salts etc
don’t forget paper plates and cups and napkins as well …
This hopefully will get you started and pointed in the right general direction .
As always I hope this helps you in some way.
Please feel free to join this blog and add more to the list to help each other out.
When an event happens to you the first thing out of your month I promise you will be something like OH ####! So I decided to throw this little bit in between the topics that I stated when I first started this blog, just because I had a little extra spare time for once ! WOOHOO !
A government website states we should have 3 days worth of food and water per person in the household in case of a emergency as it will take the government this time ( 3 days ) to get help to us.
However as Hurricane Katrina proved that the government couldn’t get all the necessary support staff and logistics in place within there own stated timescale! So a lot of people suffered for a long time until the government help arrived.
So I personally suggest that you should try to stock up as much
food and water ( remembering that you want to be aiming for 1-2 gallons of water per person per day! )
Some people I know of have stocked up to over 1 yrs worth of food and water ( using bottled water and a high class water filtration system.
So I’d recommend at least 3 months worth of food for the household.
Yes I know your probably thinking right now “ what is he thinking! that’s a lot of food to buy , that’s a lot of money! “ however if you start buying a few extra cans and jars of items every time you go food shopping it soon builds up I promise you.
OH and make sure you only buy stuff you like to eat. Once you get to a nice base level say a months worth of tinned food think about buying rice in bulk like for example 50lbs as this will boost your amount of food supplies vastly! Also make sure you rotate out the tins of food as you don’t want to waste your money if food goes bad cause it goes out of date! Bulk food items can be stored in 5 gallon pales which are available from lowe’s or home depot for about $5 inc a lid.
This will hold about 30-40lbs of rice per pale.
Remember to get things that can be used to change the flavor of some foods like spices , oils , salts etc
don’t forget paper plates and cups and napkins as well …
This hopefully will get you started and pointed in the right general direction .
As always I hope this helps you in some way.
Please feel free to join this blog and add more to the list to help each other out.
Survival Kits
Survival tins also know as survival kits.
Survival tin contents is really a personal thing as some people like to have items others would never even think of having.
Also survival tin contents is not a fixed must have list. For example if you were in the desert and as there is no water then a fishing kit might not be the best thing to have in it. I hope you have the basic idea.
Any how here is what I carry in my tins.
Yes I said tins, I bet your thinking why does he have 2 survival tins an not 1.
Well the answer is easy if you think about it, you have a secondary survival kit which never leaves your person and the primary is stuffed into your gear that you carry. So if you are separated from your gear you still have a fighting chance using your secondary tin of surviving.
Anyway here is a list with explanations of what some of the items do.
Matches
Water purification tablets
Mini compass
Flint and steel
Candle
Wire saw
Knife
Signal instructions ( morse code / ground to air signals )
Small sharpening stone
Pencil and paper ( making notes / leaving messages / tinder )
Sewing kit
Fishing kit
Cotton balls
Whistle
Safety pins
Non lubricant condoms ( water storage / carrier )
Please feel free to join this blog and add more to the list to help each other out.
Survival tin contents is really a personal thing as some people like to have items others would never even think of having.
Also survival tin contents is not a fixed must have list. For example if you were in the desert and as there is no water then a fishing kit might not be the best thing to have in it. I hope you have the basic idea.
Any how here is what I carry in my tins.
Yes I said tins, I bet your thinking why does he have 2 survival tins an not 1.
Well the answer is easy if you think about it, you have a secondary survival kit which never leaves your person and the primary is stuffed into your gear that you carry. So if you are separated from your gear you still have a fighting chance using your secondary tin of surviving.
Anyway here is a list with explanations of what some of the items do.
Matches
Water purification tablets
Mini compass
Flint and steel
Candle
Wire saw
Knife
Signal instructions ( morse code / ground to air signals )
Small sharpening stone
Pencil and paper ( making notes / leaving messages / tinder )
Sewing kit
Fishing kit
Cotton balls
Whistle
Safety pins
Non lubricant condoms ( water storage / carrier )
Please feel free to join this blog and add more to the list to help each other out.
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