Survival

Despite what any might believe, politics is not my life; nor is it even my comfort zone.  Strange, and yet true, my comfort zone is probably in agriculture ... but that's beside the point.  When I was much younger I did survival hikes (camping trips).  So I've always kinda wondered what the best survival kit would be.  A strong argument could be made for this, though I would combine that with my long barrel .44 mag. 

When I even contemplate going into the woods anymore, I consider the safety issues ... leaving my beloved a map of my intended goals, taking the GPS unit, and packing all of my high end equipment, complete with batteries.  Is that really survival?  So, as an impending cold spell bears down on the state, I ask my Montana compatriots:  What would you take as survival gear into the wilds of this land?  (Which is still pretty wild ... at least for a while.)

Comments

[grannyinsanity]

A good reliable lighter, layered breatheable clothes, a swiss army knife, water treatment kit, and I have a special affinity for wool hat, gloves and socks.

[JP]

That's a great little pack. I stumbled upon this modification to a great knife that would make for a nice addition. That way you could have the knife/sheath, and the survival pack attached to the sheath.

http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Ghurka/Khukri%20Modification.htm

[Nancy]

Ok, this is meant in fun, not seriousness, but a little body heat is necessary for any trip into the wilderness....

[Michael Umphrey]

A cell phone, please. Sunday I participated in an 18-hour extrication of a climber with a broken leg a mile (by air) up the Mission Canyon. We would have gained an hour of daylight if he'd had a phone. We could also have checked on his condition, which would have helped plan the response--getting what we most needed to him quickly.

[Patia]

When I was 17, I did a 21-day survival trip in the Cabinet Wilderness. I carried:

-plastic poncho/tarp
-wool blanket
-canteen
-folding knife
-magnesium firestarter
-one change of clothing
-a bandanna
-a tiny notebook and pen
-a book

I think that's about it. Everything fit inside the blanket and tarp, which were rolled up and secured with rope, then slung around our shoulders as packs.

We were given one pound of granola and one pound of flour per week -- we made ashcakes with the flour. We also got ham and M&Ms once for treats, and supplemented with huckleberries and anything we could catch or kill. I ate A LOT of frogs. And some badger.

[moorcat]

As a knifemaker, I am somewhat partial to my camping knife set (a large camp knife and a smaller utility/skinning knife in one sheath) with my belt pouch survival kit. I carry them almost everytime I am in the woods - regardless what the circumstances are. In most wooded places in Montana, heat is usually not a problem but in areas like the high plains, heat becomes a little more problematic. I would pack a different kit for those kind of places. Same goes for the rare occations I have gone ice climbing (in Washington and Oregon state).

Food is usually not an issue in most of Montana and water usually isn't as long as you can make a ground still.

A cell phone would be nice but I have (so far) refused to be leashed that closely (a holdover from my time at Intel...). A signaling device would come in really handy, though (have one in all three of my survival kits).

All three of my survival kits are set up for the area and circumstances they are designed for. My belt pouch kit is a general purpose, wilderness kit. My car kit is more designed for holding out in some kind of road emergency, and my house kit is designed for a short period interuption of basic services. They are all quite different but essencial.

Moorcat

[Eric Coobs]

I traded off my 7 1/2" .44 mag years ago, because it was too big to pack along without being reminded I was carrying it!

Patia has a good list, but I'd add a good knife and a good hatchet to it.

[Justin]

I carry basic comfort/survival gear on my ATVs/snowmobile, hatchet, army shovel, small saw, small backpacker type water purifier, chemical heat packs, about 200' of parachute cord, small first aid kit, butt wipe, emergency mylar sleeping bags, a few of those 99 cent disposable rain ponchos, a couple humongous black garbage bags for shelter if needed, a magnesium fire starter, extra matches dipped in wax and stored in a sealed pill bottle, bug repellant, sun screen, a canteen full of water, a few cans of sardines or other non perishable food items like jerky, as well as a few tools and spare parts like spark plugs. I carry a tiny 12 volt air compressor and tire plug kit on the ATVs as well. Sounds like a lot but the whole mess fits in one of my front fender bags and only weighs a few pounds, except for the hatchet and shovel which are fastened to a rack that I built on the front bumper. I've made do with a lot less but since all of this fits in such a small area and I have the room, I figure why not? This leaves the racks open for more essential gear, like the beer cooler. ;)

If I'm on foot I cut it back quite a bit, water, a small amount of food, (I like MREs since they require no seperate cooking equipment), and basic survival gear like the stuff in the pack you linked to, (that's a good idea by the way, I like the way they built a saw out of the can, although I can't really think of anything it would be good for since it's so small, anything you could cut with that could be broken in two or cut with a knife with a lot less effort)

Of course I never go anywhere without a knife or two. As far as guns, a .44 or larger is a good idea in bear country, but if I can get away with it I usually just take my .22 pistol, I have a Ruger Mark II but I think a single six would be a better choice. Mine's relatively light weight, extremely accurate, and a .22 allows me to carry more ammo. In all of my years of plodding around the mountains of Montana I've never found myself in a conflict with a bear, I hope that if I ever do, it's not one of the times that all I have with me is the .22. My cousin told me one time that a friend of his (who's a hunting guide in Alaska) once told him that if you're going to shoot a bear with a handgun make sure you count your shots, that way you can save one to put yourself out of your misery when the bear gets done chewing on you. ;)

[Mandy]

Hey not to be an ass or anything, but a CELL PHONE for survival??? In Montana??? I can't even drive to work without being out of range for a period of time. I'd hate to rely on it for my survival.

Here's my list: Enough supplies to live a month (comfortably) in the wilderness for every two days I plan to be gone. LOL

[zack]

you say montana is still wild? do you really believe that? I left montana and pointed my truck north and didnt stop driving until I reached alaska...even here, wilderness is relative...though alaska is 4 times the size of montana, with less than half the population, it still feels crowded at times...certainly, there arent too many places in montana that modern man hasnt explored...not so in alaska...in montana, I knew I would always run into other people in the woods, mountains, prairies etc...it hasnt happened but a couple times in the 11 yrs Ive been in alaska...montana is no longer the "last, best place"...so keep montana, its ruined...to all montanans: stay south of the 60th parallel...the last, best place is alaska, the last frontier...and its alllll mine so stay the hell out...