Tic Tac pocket survival kit – what would you include?

[John S.]

Another water bag people use is a reynolds oven bag cut down to hold one liter. It can pack down small. I just bought tic tacs to see what I could get into it (for hiking out after losing pack scenario) and settled on fire, hydration and navigation stuff:

fire- matches/striker, trick candle, tinder

hydration- container (gerber milk bag holds 6 oz), aquatabs, straw

navigation- compass, led light

Separately, I might carry a thin garbage bag (or emergency poncho) to use as rain gear. I saw a video interview with a Grand Canyon ranger and that is what he carried in his pocket…a plastic bag of some sort.

[Matthew / BPL]

I like the priorities you have identified, John. If I was going to carry a kit like this I’d probably carry what you are carrying.

It occurs to me that you could hold/treat water in the poncho/garbage bag. I don’t know if eliminating the milk bag  would be worth the effort but it might be if everything by could fit into one container.

[jscott]

“Recall reading climbers stocking up on calories with peanut butter slathered on sausage pre-big climb.”

I could have been a big wall free climber except for the diet. I went into bookselling instead. I needed thrills and a new Harry Potter novel was my El Capitan.

 

 

[Monte Masterson]

What’s more the pocket survival kit provides a backup to lighter, knife, headlamp and water filter. Those are the 4 items that need redundancy.

For a back pocket I like an 82″ X 52″ aluminized survival blanket. Weighs 1.7 oz and is of course waterproof, windproof and it will supposedly reflect body heat to provide considerable warmth for its weight. However I find that the blanket isn’t even noticeable in my back pocket if I unfold it from its package size and then refold to fit perfectly in my back pocket. It stays in better and since the blanket is thinner and wider it isn’t bulging and uncomfortable while sitting down like it is with the factory fold. I put the blanket in a sandwich size ziploc. Together with the Tic Tac pocket kit my chances are good. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-82-5-x-52-Aluminized-Non-Stretch-Polyester-Emergency-Blanket/336932569 The emergency blanket also can enhance sleep system by placing on top of bag/quilt to add a few degrees or underneath to reflect warmth.

And here’s the factory fold, smaller but thicker. Fine (better) for a shirt pocket.

[John S.]

Good addition Monte. I was gonna bring up that lots of these essentials or backup could be spread to shirt and pants pockets instead of one kit. There are some that might wear shirts with no pockets though.

I have always carried gear in my zipped shirt pockets: wallet, car key, lip balm, compass, swiss army knife….and worn a whistle around my neck. My neck lanyard is not a safety or breakaway type though and maybe I need to change that.

[two pints]

OBX Hiker,

Those little pea lighters aren’t all that useful.  The fuel in them will evaporate over time.  I tried using one of those for a while in my regular backpacking kit and just found it far too unreliable, so I went back to the mini bic.  Based on my own personal experience, I would not recommend one of those for a survival kit.  (granted, YMMV)

[Murali C]

Why not just carry a fanny pack that you never ever remove with all of this stuff – you can even wear it to sleep and waterproof it as well. Space constraint can also be alleviated to a certain degree.

[HkNewman]

JS quoted:

.. reading

Personally think it’s better to read others survival hardships, with an eye towards “maybe that wasn’t so smart” .. or take good ideas to try on your own.   Holiday meals meaning more calories for (follow up) winter hiking/even snowshoeing  or mountain biking in this case.

Having been long distances hiking for awhile (with its own hazards), some habits (like 4:15 AM wake up to cold coffee) not conducive to, say, winter backpacking.   Even getting too comfortable with just one form of backpacking can go from discomfort -> survival situation if someone gets overwhelmed with excitement, like .. clinging to gear that worked the summer into winter-like conditions.

[jscott]

I thought it was clear that I was making a joke. I understand the rationale behind pb slathered over sausage. But come on.

Agreed that it’s a good thing to read accounts from people who’ve experienced hardship or worse in the mountains, and I’ve read a ton of such books. Bear attacks, all kinds of climbing narratives (Second Thoughts by I forget who covers climbing mistakes), 100 ways to die in Yosemite (or something like that) etc,etc. Good reading! And I do try to learn something from it all.

[Kevin Babione]

Scuba Magazine used to (and may still) have a 2-page section in every edition called “Lessons for Life” which, sadly, taught you what NOT to do (the main character almost always died), but the lessons were well written and hit home.  It’s always good to be reminded that doing something a certain way 20 times in a row without a problem doesn’t make it a good idea.

[Roger Caffin]

some habits (like 4:15 AM wake up to cold coffee) not conducive to, say, winter backpacking.
The sun is NOT up at 4:15 am in winter!
As for cold coffee . . .
In winter, an extra margin for safety is never wrong.

Alpine Guide Rule:
to restore the client to the bosom of his family waiting in the valley below.

Cheers

[HkNewman]

up at 4:15 am

Thats my hot weather/summer solstice wake up time to drink caffeine (usually cold Via .. shaken not stirred), and start rolling up the quilt etc..  I’ll usually be hiking by daybreak, but there’ll still be other hikers passing me with headlamps who started the day earlier.

In colder weather or more social outing, I’ll sleep in until the rest of the party is stirring.   Probably a little thread drift into planning.

[Monte Masterson]

Virtually all of the Vietnam era US military pilot survival kits contained ample amounts of Dextroamphetamine. Many who put together survival kits today include caffeine pills or pseudoephedrine in allergy and congestion relief tablets. I must say that 1 Claritin D capsule stimulates me to the point of being a little scary, but in a survival situation a stimulant which also decreases appetite can be a big plus.

US laws regarding the sale of ephedra supplements has been all over the place for the past 3 decades. It’s been hard to keep up with its status at any given time because of the banning and then subsequent appeals which have occurred. I think at present ephedra supplements are again outlawed. Most ephedra supplements also contain caffeine, willow bark and other ingredients which produce a synergistic effect. I bought the ephedra in the pic below at an Arizona supplement shop in 2012, so I assume that was during one of the ban reversals. I tried a few capsules and was amazed at just how much of an upper they truly are, to the point of being a little frightened really. I then started opening up and pouring out about 1/3 of amount to provide what I felt to be a safer dose. If I were to do a backpacking trip to a very remote part of the world I might consider putting some of the capsules in a survival kit (even though the expiration date has passed).

[Dave @ Oware]

Tools of choice for deep or heavy wet snow near civilization where fire is problematic to start or keep going is instead a large trash bag and a whistle. The trash bag prevents heat loss due to convection and evaporation as well as keep out the wet. People will be out looking for you soon enough, sunscreen, bug dope, fish hooks, knives, even matches are of little use. Find a tree well, pull the trash bag over you like a little tent, tear a hole in a corner where your face is and wait to here the snowmobiles, then use the whistle. If you have a cell phone, great. If you have something bright or shiny hang it on the limbs above the tree well. If you can pull some small branches with leaves or needles off the tree, use them to crouch on for insulation.

[Bruce Tolley]

@Monte I am a bit doubtful about stimulants for myself or even the average person in a survival situation because I fear they might mitigate the person getting past the initial stress and panic and into the calm state of planning and making decisions.

I think a nice comforting Ritter Sport semi-sweet chocolate bar with hazel nuts would be the excellent aid to the calming Stop, Think, Observe, Plan process.

[Roger Caffin]

Ritter Sport semi-sweet chocolate bar with hazel nuts would be the excellent aid to the calming Stop, Think, Observe, Plan process.
Sounds better.
The ‘rule’ in Australia is to sit down and make a cup of coffee. A little biscuit with the coffee is also good.

Cheers

[Dave @ Oware]

“The ‘rule’ in Australia is to sit down and make a cup of coffee. A little biscuit with the coffee is also good.”

Friend from OZ called it a smoko and a pink bun.

[Roger Caffin]

Yeah, a ‘smoko’, except that few of us smoke these days. We live longer.
Pink bun? Dunno that one.

Cheers

[Monte Masterson]

The aborigines are the ones who know survival on the big desert island.

If you’re lost, separated from your pack, feeling exhausted and demoralized, nothing like a fire and some speed to get your spirits up.

 

[Dave @ Oware]

“Pink bun? Dunno that one.”

This is what she described

Hostess Sno Balls in Pink, Even more healthy.

[jscott]

Hostess Sno Balls in Pink

I voted for including cyanide earlier, but the Hostess Sno Balls would be even better when hope has run out.

[Roger Caffin]

And he died with a smile on his face.

[David Thomas]

The annual “American Caving Accidents” was read avidly by active cavers both to improve our own habits and to see if we knew anyone involved.

They’d always be multiple incidents involving scout troops not rescheduling a trip during a storm to a cave with known flooding issues and “spelunkers” (a derisive term for the inexperienced) with one cheap flashlight between four people.
And there’d be a handful of cave-diving deaths, but we dry-air cavers consider those folks a different species.  A single death among experienced cavers would have us all reexamining our technique and approach and two incidents in a year would lead to big discussions at the next meeting/outing.

[Dave @ Oware]

One of my friends broke a femur far back in a cave. She used a trash bag pulled over her with her carbide lamp underneath for a little heated tent while she waited hours for rescue.

[Jasper O]

I carry many of the originally listed items plus both a signaling mirror and a whistle in my kit.

[Author]

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