Making a winter(warfare) survival kit

[vigilus]

This is what I have so far, with a lot of input from a SAR tech.
Water Canteen
Knife
All Weather Note Book and/or Sheets of Paper
All Weather Pen (writes in the cold) and/or Perm. Sharpie
Orange Flagging Tape
Dryer Lint (fire starter)
100% all Natural bees Wax Candles
Snare Wire
Basic medical kit w/ added- Safety Pins, Thread / Needle and Tylenol
Whistle on Lanyard
Water Proof Matches in a Water Proof Container
Bottle of Liquid Honey
Heat Sheets Survival Blanket(s) & Heat Sheets Repair Kit
Signal Mirror
Paracord (at least one, two preferred)
Dental Floss
Wool and Wicking lined Socks
Extra Large Zip Locks
Toilet Paper
12 Large ORANGE Garbage Bags + 1
Water Purification Tablets (Possibly optional - depending on the location, boiling the water may be all that is needed)
Mess Tin or other ‘small’ light weight metal item that can go over an open fire for boiling water & cooking food.
Toque / Mitts
Blistex
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(2) Survival Gear List – Additional Optional Items (21)

Multi Tool
Food
Flight Light w/ Extra Batteries
Striker
Magnesium
Compass
SPOT
Unscented Deet
Carabineers
GPS
Survival Guide Book
Aloe Vera
Duct Tape
Disposable 10 hour Heat Packs
Disposable Travel Wipes
Hat (full coverage)
Hand Sanitizer
Snap Light Sticks
Tea Bags
Playing Cards
MEC Turtle(s)


SARtechs (here anyways) don't usually operate in war fighting mode as much as I can see so some of this stuff I'd scale back BUT it seemed like decent list to start from.

One point the brought up which I don't think is common knowledge is that unless you have a readily supply of water, don't eat. Eating will dehydrate you if you can't replenish the water your body uses to process the food.

Here's a few interesting comments.

100% all natural bees wax candles -
bees wax candles burn hotter, longer and brighter than other candles and... once they have burned down, you can eat them, so in addition to light and heat, they are a source of food. I’m not sure what the nutritional information is like

Bottle of Liquid honey -
It has no expiry date, it is an antiseptic, boosts energy levels, builds/strengthens the immune system, assists w/ preventing fatigue, it has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, plus it assists w/ speeding up the healing of wounds. All that and it’s a food item.
Food -
Refined sugar gives energy, but not sustaining energy and causes a soar and then crash and burn to energy levels. Additionally, refined sugar also suppresses the immune system and increases the chance of infections and makes one more susceptible to becoming ill. Foods containing sugar should be avoided, unless the sugar is natural such as that which is found in fruits and vegetables. One can usually find foods sweetened w/ honey or forms of fruit at organic and natural foods stores and even some regular grocery stores, it’s just a matter of reading the labels. All natural fruit leather, all natural sun dried fruits and all natural sweetened w/ honey and/or fruit juice granola bars are usually easy to find.

Dry foods such as crackers require more water from your body to process than foods which are already hydrated. Eating dry foods takes from your body essential and necessary water stores. If you are going to pack dried foods, then pack dried food items which you cook prior to consuming such as packages of Lipton soup, lentils, oatmeal (plain) or multi-grain rice.

IMPORTANT -> -> -> No or little water =’s no eating. Once it is established that water is in short supply or there is no water, then even if food is available, one should not be eating. Eating food w/o consumption enough water to replace the water used by your body to process the food is potentially dangerous and may cause an un-necessary life threatening situation.

As far as foods which are not meat nor dairy based, pumpkin seeds has one of the highest rates of protein and are a great option for those who are allergic to peanuts and/or almonds.

[hungryjoe]

Good work GS.

Along with teaching the antiseptic quality of honey, you might also mention that eating charcoal will help alleviate food poisoning. This is especially important when it involves fish.

Love the dryer lint. Makes a good tinder for catching sparks.

Small bottle of instant adhesive (super glue) is good for patching cuts. With blades of grass, it can be used as stitches if necessary. They actually make an adhesive now for use in lieu of stitches, dependent upon the wound.

[DayOfTheJackass]

golden retriever

[Muerteds]

These are two winter survival tools one should never be without.

Now, feel free to Trollshido this, but I couldn't help with the "Spies Like Us" reference.

[MEGALEF]

Make sure to check them on knowing not only what layers of clothing to wear but which order to put them on; Wool and other moisture transporting layers closest to the body, cotton and other moisture absorbing stuff after that and wind protection farthest out.

Birch bark (don't know if it's actually called bark?) is awesome to collect for starting a fire. It's easy to set fire to and a little piece will burn for a surprisingly long time.

[3moose1]

Make sure you tell your men to KEEP hydrating, even if they aren't thirsty. We had a LOT of guys go down for dehydration.

[vigilus]

I just went down last night with dehydration, it was fucked.
I wasn't even out hunting seals and Eskimo's on the back of trained polar bears or anything.

I was shooting infidels in the face with my blinged up M4 in ModernWarfare 2 [ MoverFourOne if any of you jerks play ] with a buddy online and around midnight I started feeling odd. Hour and a half later I'm violently throwing up playing toilet twister which lasted until 1pm the next day. I was so dehydrated from the fun that my legs arm and started cramping up. Thighs were the worst. At one point I had 4 charlie horses at once. Learned a really big lesson about dehydration and how fast it can **** you up even when your fine before. Only took about 2 or 3 hours of loosing body fluids to **** my system up.

On the bright side I have 2 days off work [Volunteered for hatiti packing my **** and hope I get to go] my wife is weighting on me hand and foot and I discovered my black lab (who stayed by my side for the 13 hour puke and **** fest) fetches water bottles out of the kitchen on command.

[[Tycho?]]

Just a little note on Duct tape.

Its pretty bulky in roll form, and can be hard to find space for. I carry around "pocket duct", which is just duct tape folded into squares. You don't get a huge amount of the stuff, but more than enough for patching a whole in a tent or fixing your bag. Very portable, super cheap as well.

[Rock Ape]

I just went down last night with dehydration, it was fucked.
I wasn't even out hunting seals and Eskimo's on the back of trained polar bears or anything.

I was shooting infidels in the face with my blinged up M4 in ModernWarfare 2 [ MoverFourOne if any of you jerks play ] with a buddy online and around midnight I started feeling odd. Hour and a half later I'm violently throwing up playing toilet twister which lasted until 1pm the next day. I was so dehydrated from the fun that my legs arm and started cramping up. Thighs were the worst. At one point I had 4 charlie horses at once. Learned a really big lesson about dehydration and how fast it can **** you up even when your fine before. Only took about 2 or 3 hours of loosing body fluids to **** my system up.

On the bright side I have 2 days off work [Volunteered for hatiti packing my **** and hope I get to go] my wife is weighting on me hand and foot and I discovered my black lab (who stayed by my side for the 13 hour puke and **** fest) fetches water bottles out of the kitchen on command.

Grant.. I started reading your post and assumed you'd gone man-down whilst out in the ****, then I read the COD4 comment and I thought OMFG. You went down whilst playing a game !!! LMFO the patrol kit you were obviously carrying was too much troop.

Hope you're well bro.

[WhiteShark]

Man I can't find it right now but one of the coolest things I've seen is how to melt snow with a reflective heat sheet.