MAKING OF A SURVIVAL KIT
Survival kits are as personal as Fly Fishing gear and styles. This is my take on what could be carried in a personal survival kit while fly fishing. I carry two kits, depending on the season, summer and winter.
MAKING OF A SURVIVAL KIT
Survival kits are as personal as Fly Fishing gear and styles. This is my take on what could be carried in a personal survival kit while fly fishing. I carry two kits, depending on the season, summer and winter.
The main thing I like about this article is not so much picking out of your kit what I need to carry as it is that it makes me think... Being from a back ground of alot of outdoor time, I always have in mind some type of survival, no matter what I'm doing, even if its just a day for a picknic up in the park. The basic's for me would be heat food and water. Cold can get to me alot quicker than heat. I could go on but no need. Your write up here will cause alot of folks to think about it, and having a mind to think in a bad situation instead of panic is the first place to start...
PS: I also carry with me one or the other, a buck folding knife that I have had for umpteen years, (that is razor sharp) or a Marine issue Gerber (that was made of course for survival) and is a special gift from my "little" Marine brother...
Last edited by Grubb; 09-13-2010 at 12:05 PM.
"Because by the Grace of God I can, be on a beautiful mountain stream with a friend , have the water boil from a 12" Native Brookie taking a self tyed dry,and feel it on the end of my cane... It don't get no better than that..."
Thanks for the thought-provoking article Raymond. Most of the time I just head out the
door for the nearest river without giving too much thought to wandering off the beaten
path, but I do need to remember to carry my bear spray this time of year.
Roger Bozeman, Montana
goinggear.com type in grizzly firesteel... I have one in my kit which is better than any other fire making tool ive used... I also keep a good knife, diamond sharpening stone, dryer lint, a canteen and its metal cup it fits in and about 200ft of para-cord...
A.S.F 5th GP ...TO FIGHT SO OTHERS MAY REMAIN FREE...
If needed I have my fly line as cord or rope, and my wading and pants belt material can be pulled apart and is one long zigzag piece of string, can't remember the name of the material now?
Knife is sharp, at all times, I have used dryer lint in the past, but was given a Combat Pilots survival fire starter kit and it is great.
Is that one of the "old" army canteens? That metal cup is aluminum, and I would not drink from it too too often! I carry a 1lt BPA free Nalgene bottle, light and very strong, and water purification tabs. Start the day out with Tang or G-aid, and then if needed in an emergency I would refill and purify.
Again it is a matterof what you are 1)familiar and comfortable with, 2)have confidence in, 3) realistically useful in your given situation or possible life threatening emergency.
As in the Army, I have never had a bad day Fly fishing, some damn uncomfortable days but never a bad one!
Everyone must believe in something and I believe in Fly Fishing and Fly Tying and believe I will
Member of Project Healing Waters & Fly Fishing Canada, Project Healing Waters Canada
The ones (canteen cups) we had in the service was stainless steel... Much better than the alluminum ones...
A.S.F 5th GP ...TO FIGHT SO OTHERS MAY REMAIN FREE...
You are lucky then , the ones we had in the CF were aluminum I believe!! May explain a few things !!!!
Ours had that black almost graphite like black smudge stuff inside where the plastic canteen sat and touched the sides of the metal, and did not smell like SS. You did not always have time to clean it out when you stopped for a brew up, get into you and get on the move again..
No wonder dropped fly hooks sometimes stick to my belly!!!!!
SS = Stainless Steel.
As in the Army, I have never had a bad day Fly fishing, some damn uncomfortable days but never a bad one!
Everyone must believe in something and I believe in Fly Fishing and Fly Tying and believe I will
Member of Project Healing Waters & Fly Fishing Canada, Project Healing Waters Canada
This is a great post! Evidently you've ALMOST been stranded without First Aid at least once in your life time. That is usually what spurs us that know we need first aid to do this. I was raised in Boy Scouts... started in the Cubs when I was eight and went through to Eagle. I stayed in scouting until I was married at age 21, then when we had our first child, a son, I was back in scouting as soon as he was old enough. We learned everything over together, and now I wouldn't be caught without my first aid. It stays with me in my truck wherever I go. The one thing I need to invest in is the Satellite Personal Tracker. But I have not (yet) really been off the beaten path to need one... the GPS in my phone works fine.
Kudos for the great story and pictures to remind everyone how important this is!