The water bottle with the pack is a filtered water bottle that filters to .4 microns (IIRC). I also have some other stuff in the truck that can supplement the pack as needed like a sleeping bag, a full change of seasonal cloths (winter at preset) and a box with food stuff in it and a NEF pardner modle shotgun, so if I need to I can add to the kits as needed from the other stuff.
Monkeyman in you kit you say cotton balls covered in vaseline .... good fire starter How in the world does it work?
You take a cotton ball and wipe it in the vasoline and get it covered in vasoline then you can light it with a match, a lighter or a flint and steel to light it. They will burn fairly hot for 5 minutes or so. They dont work so much for lighting wet logs or anything like a road flare or something would but are super easy to light and will get small to mid sized tender like the size of a pencil or a little smaller going pretty well. The cotton lights real easy and kind of works as a wick with the vasoline and the vasoline burns longer and hotter to make it work better.
Oh, and just added my straight razor and a mirror to the pack as well. Makes it so I can shave if I want to but also can be used as a scalpule or whatever if needed, anything needing a SUPER sharp blade.
Monkeyman is right.... cotton balls in vaseline.... you gotta work the vaseline into the 100% cotton balls or pads... then when you light them ... pull up a little thread like spike or two of the vaseline soaked cotton... it will catch the spark or the match better.... you'd be surprised how easy it lights and how long it lasts.... you'd also be surprised how many you can stuff into a film canister.... Hey Chemicalgal.... if you like... I tons of film canisters.... I get them at the local film developer for free... give them to the school for their art projects for the kids.... I can send some filled for you... got clear as well as black ones.... clear is a little better... at least you can see how much is left in their.... heck... I'll even attach a metal match for you..... Wipe a bit of the vaseline on the tinder... it will help as well.... Attach a metal match to the film canister and you're ready to go.... its a good set up.... plus... vaseline has alot of uses ... so its double or triple duty in one simple set up....
That would be the best way of doing it but they do work well even if you just take a cotton ball and wipe up some vasoline out of the jar with it, even if the side you were holding is still dry. While this isnt as ideal as working it in or meltinng the vasoline and pouring it over some cotton balls, we were out of the fire starters for the stove this morning and it had died and gone cold so just broke up some bigger chunks of bark and sat them in the stove then wiped a cotton ball in vasoline and stuffed it down by the bottom of the pile and touched it with a lighter, layed a couple of split logs by the bark and 15 minutes later had a good fire going.
Oh, on a side note, especialy for a kit in the car the best thing you can have for fires is road flares. The same kind the cops use at accident scenes a lot of the time. You just strike them on the cap that comes with them like a match and they burn SUPER hot for anywhere from 15 minutes to about 1 hour (depending mostly on the size). I have started a fire with one before by putting one under some logs that were sort of green and soaked from the rain that had been comeing down all day, they work REAL well regardless of conditions. They are also good for signaling with the bright red glowing flame and can be used as a tourch if needed as well.
Complete Survival Book FREE and released to the public... http://www.thedisease.net/arcana/survival/Tappan.htm
Ric, Thanks for bumping this thread, good reminder for all of us. I was just looking over some of the stuff carried by some of the posters and discovered I already carry most of it in the truck. I don't leave food in the truck, but if do go anywhere, food goes too. If I carry a gun, it's usually a handgun, since I have my CCW. I'd have to do a complete inventory to make a list, though, for what things I do carry, they are there because at some time in the past, the need for them has presented itself. So next chance I had the demand was filled. A work in progress is what it is.
Lot's of Techie items in addition to 2-7 day backpacks for the wife and myself... A Crosman 1377C with 1,000 pellets takes a fresh supply of birds, rabbits and squirrels. Emergency Communications Kit with Pocket Tv, Hand Crank AM/FM Radio/Flashlight, Cell phone, Multimeter and 12 Volt Adaptor: One pair of FRS/GMRS radios. I swap the pair weekly to keep a freshly charged pair in the car:
Yes Ric, tell us a bit more about that air pistol, you've went and sparked my interest. I have a Browning Buck Mark. It is loud. Some form of ear protection is necessary. It does shoot the sub-sonic bullets and cycles fine, but it is still kind of loud.
Crosman 1377C is readily available and is a multi-pump... design. Extremely reliable. I lightened the trigger shortly after I got mine. Ric http://www.pyramidair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=198 A scope can be mounted with these mounts, but I prefer irons for quick target aquisition: http://www.pyramidair.com/cgi-bin/accessory.pl?accessory_id=190 <TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>Simple Crosman 1377C Trigger Job... </TD><TD vAlign=top align=right rowSpan=2>ricdoug (Login ricdoug) from IP address 69.19.183.51</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom colSpan=3><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>The heavy trigger of the Crosman 1377C seems to be it's only caveat. Here is a simple, effective fix. Remove the pistol grips (2 screws). Remove the only spring you see (1377-080). Slide this spring (1377-080) over a screwdriver and overcompress the spring with a large washer. Put the spring (1377-080) back into the pistol. If the spring is too light, the action will not work properly and the pistol will go off during pumping. If this the case, remove the spring (1377-080) and stretch it and put back into the pistol. A 2-pound pull seems to be a good combination of safety/functionality. As I understand, this mod works for many Crosman airguns. Ric </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I keep at least some non perishable foodsin the vehicle just in case I wind up stranded or just get hungry when I happen to be out and haveing to wait around or just dont feel like going home or to a burger joint. The big emergency spot for it though would be either if ran off the road and was maybe hurt and stuck there or if I had to unexpectedly leave in a hurry and stay gone for days or longer like due to a chemical spill near the house or some such. Just makes it ready for a camping trip with all the basic supplies already there.
Questions on Emergency Kit First of all, thank you for taking the time to put the kit list together! Most of it I understand, but there are a few items that I don't know what they are used for: "Tarred Nylon Cord" - not sure what it is or where to get it - can 550 Paracord take its place? - what is it used for? "Full card of Flints" - is this for replacing flints in a Bic-like lighter? - are they easily found/purchased? - why not buy a few extra Bic-like lighters? "770 Paracord" - I found a lot of 550 paracord on ebay, but no 770 "NEF shotgun" - found it: New England Firearms Finally, I've been thinking that I should get a "food-saver" to store the various paper products, extra clothing, and keep various things dry/waterproof. It would force carrying extra zip-lock bags, but it would also compress things to make more room. Has anyone tried this? Thanks- nvbeav
The tarred nylon cord is just the black string/cord line trot line cord that you can get at Walmart or lots of other places. The small stuff thats like 1/16" or so is like 150 lbs test and if you get the tarred kind it has a light coating of tar or some similar stuffon it that makes it more weather resistant and also hold knots better. The main advantage to itis that you get like 500-1000 ft of it on a roll smaller than a pop can. It can be used for setting up trout lines or limb lines for fishing, building shelters, makeing traps and basic snares if no cable is available and loads of other stuff. The full card of flints are the replacement flints for a zippo type lighter. They come like 5 to a card thats about twice the size of a postage stamp and are genneraly between 50-75 cents per card around here. You can pick them up at most convenience stores or places that sell cigarets, Walmart and so on. I lke zippos just because they are a little more weather resistant and can carry a small bottle of lighter fluid (naptha) and a couple cards of flints and refill it for constant use for a few months at least. The 550 paracord is fine, the 770 just has 7 strands inside the outer caseing and is just that much stronger. Cheaperthandirt.com is where I usualy buy mine just because they usualy have a really good priceon it. The food saver could be great in the respect of weatherproofing the stuff and so on but if it is compressing the stuff then it is a kind of double edged sword. If the stuff is compressed then for one thing you will be fitting more stuff in which can be good but also dose add weight, also unless you use up whatever it is when you open it then after you open it it puffs up and unlessyou havea way to recompressit then getting it back into the pack becomes an issue. It could be great for food stuff in serving sizes, an emergency set of clothes to be sure they are dry, and some stuff like that but IMO the method would be best tested out by camping out of the bag for a weekend or more before needed and stuffing everything back in the kit like you would to move on. It would suck to have to either have your arms full of stuff or leave it behind in an emergency situation because you couldnt get it all back in the pack.
Old BOB -- long time no see Started looking again at my old Y2K B.O.B. and found some interesting items that I didn't see mentioned here. It's been about 7-years since I've done anything with the (incomplete) bag, and I figured it's about time to get serious with it. Lord willing, I can bring it up to snuff:- Heavy-duty Nail Clippers: here's something that can save a lot of misery. It can also extend the life of your socks and shoes, not to mention your feet. - Toothbrush/Toothpaste/Floss: speaks for itself - Business Card Tool Kit: it's not useful compared to like a Gerber multi-tool, but it has a sewing needle. Still need to put in thread and/or other sewing equipment - MSR WhisperLite Internationale 600 Stove: it's at least 12-years old, but still works. The important thing about the stove is that it burns the following fuels using two different nozzles: white gas (G-Jet) - common but not sure how long lasting automobile gas (G-Jet) - hope I don't have to use kerosine (K-Jet) - I might have to pick up a bunch jet fuel (K-Jet) - fat chance of getting this - 2 Quart Army Canteens: just bought these!... which brings up that I need to clean my MSR WaterWorks filter and also buy replacement filters.
NV... I never knew my WL International had 2 seperate jets... I always thought the extra was a spare. Maybe I have them mixed up as my burn is funny on Coleman(White Gas) right now. THanks And good points otherwise.
