Posted on 11/04/2009 8:11:03 AM PST by ChocChipCookie
I've read dozens, and I mean dozens, of lists telling me everything I need to have with me to survive. Usually there are no surprises. I know a flashlight, pocket knife, and water are musts, but every now and then I come across something that makes me say, "a-ha!" Here are thirteen of my favorites.
Lightsticks. You can pick up one of these every time you wander into a Home Depot. They don't need batteries and can be hung around the neck with a string making it easier to spot everyone in your party when it gets dark.
Wool socks and sweaters. People have literally frozen to death wearing their layers of cotton knit tees and hoodies. For true survival conditions, nothing beats wool.
Upholstery needles and thread. What if a sleeping bag or tent rips and you have no way of mending it?
Roll of quarters. Handy for phone calls, but if you put it in a sock and wield it like a sling, you have a handy-dandy weapon!
Pencils. Forget the pens. They can run out of ink and freeze in cold weather. With a pocket knife, you'll always have a sharp pencil.
Super glue. Professional hockey players always have this on hand to seal up small cuts, and the glue itself is harmless. Unless you get it in your eye, like I did. But that's a story for a different type of post!
Rubber bands. String just doesn't cut it when what you really need is a rubber band.
Tampons in a cardboard tube. Did you know a tampon can be fit snugly into a bullet wound? Guys on the battlefield carry these with them. Honest! I've also heard they're good for kindling.
Paracord belt. It's an accessory and survival tool in one!
Waterproof wrist watch. Makes perfect sense. I had just never thought of it.
Animal repellant trash bags. Use these when you're camping and animals will stay the heck away from your trash.
Safety pins.
Dental floss. Besides helping to keep your teeth clean, I've heard it makes sturdy thread for mending.
What have I missed?
“the ‘flame stick’ which when rubbed with iron/steel makes prodigious fire starting sparks.”
Which ignites 0000 steel wool instantly to make a fire starter .
Spare batteries for the remote control. How would you like to be in a survival situation and have to get up to change the channel? Or worse, be stuck on CNN? (shudders)
And how disturbing that that was the first thing that I thought of....;-]
If you were, then you probably don’t.
If I had a dime for every time hubby asked me “WTH are you *doing*?”, I’d be rich.
[what? doesn’t *everybody* poke a stick in the ground to see what time it is??]....LOL
From the Ozarks born, from the Ozarks bred, in the Ozarks is where I'll be dead.
Ready Ping
Good on ya!
Lifelong Appalatchee, myself, from ancestors who’ve been here since the late 1600s.
[We’re born, live and die on the same mountain]....:))
When you run out of tubes you can stuff the tires with almost anything soft, like old clothing to make the bike ridable. A mountain bike survivalist once told me that even grass works in a pinch when you're out in the boonies.”
Good point, and good info. I'm considering filling my next punctured tube with some of that urethane-foam-in-a-can from Lowes or Home Depot to see if I can't make puncture-proof inner tubes. I know they're available, but last I checked too expensive for my current budget. Survivalism on the cheap can be fun, but also a PITA.
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