[Kartographer]

Just be ready virgil283 to hear from the Scoffers. A few weeks ago when I suggest a much small version and ask if that was to much trouble I was heard from a number of FReepers who couldn't believe I carried what I did. Seems even here on FR there are people who rather stand stranded, hungry, cold and maybe sick or hurt than and wait for FEMA or the National Guard to come along with a bottle of water, a MRE, a warm blanket and a kiss for thier boo-boo rather than take steps to take care of themselves.

[smokingfrog]

Add a Mossburg Persuader with 200 rounds of buckshot to protect yourself and stash.

[Cold Heart]

Don’t forget a modified kit when you travel by plane.

[virgil283]

"Just be ready to hear from the Scoffers"... yep, sad but true.....[Yet there are more people that take these things and put together a small kit like this but they don't post here. I read articles here for a long time before I commented.]

Buy thing you are going to eat anyway, like peanuts and jerky. Trail-mix goes soft right away, I think its because of the dried fruit - so experiment. I like the Cream of Chicken Cup-o-Soup for example....It doesn't take long to put a few thing in the car and later add to it...

[Rannug]

First I am in full support of the Boy Scout motto.
I disagree with a couple of the author’s suggestions tho. I would never advocate using a can of Sterno inside a car. If the can gets knocked over, accidents do happen you know, you will stay warm. For about an hour. Enamel cups may have their uses, but drinking a hot beverage from one is not one of the uses. You may well need your first aid kit for your burned lips. Oh yeah, don’t forget about the two eight pound ice cubes in the trunk.

[Vendome]

Yeah, that is really short sighted thinking on their part.

I wish I could tell all the stories I’ve thanked God I had my backpack in my car and found myself to have just the thing needed for the situation I was in.

Heck, last week my sports therapist water massage bed broke.

So he turned it over and started to take it apart. The engine that runs the waterbed massager is very heavy and unweildy.

To top it off he needed the engine to stay where it was so it wouldn’t crack one pipe and he needed a particularly small phillips head to finish with .

Just so happens I have a Wave Leatherman which had that tool.

I also had 500 feet of 550 paracord in my backpack, all my climbing gear and 6 Nite Ize carabiners.

Using the paracord and two Nite Ize carabiners I made a simple pulley system that would allow us to hold the engine in place and raise it or lower it wherever required with ease.

I am healing from my third shoulder operation and really couldn’t help with the engine, so having a nice pulley system that would easily cleat off without fancy knots made the work easy....

He finished the repair in about an hour and gave me a three free sessions of Sports Therapy.

Awesome!

Except the part where I cut off 25 feet of paracord.

But, that’s why I carry it.

And I’ll carry food for my passengers so I can shut them up while I work out the problem of being stranded....