This won't be a comprehensive site, but I hope what you find here will be of use anyway.
Survival and related subjectsChoosing survival equipmentThe most important thing is mental preparedness. Without that, nothing else really matters. The second most important thing is knowledge and skills. Without that, it doesn't really matter what objects you have with you.
So, to determine which survival equipment you need, this is what you do:
1.You need to first determine what you need to be able to do.
2.Next you find out how to do it.
3.Then you learn to do it and as a part of that process you'll learn what kind of equipment you need and get some of it.
4.As you practice, it will become clear to you what works best for you, what you really need, as opposed to what's nice to have (I'm not against that sort of thing at all!) and what's actually just a "security blanket" to make you feel good as long as you're not in trouble.
Usually, the conclusion is that there are very few things you need to bring, but those you need, you need very much indeed.
Many of the "nice to have" things can be very useful in situations which aren't exactly all that threatening and make it easier for you in those that are, but you have to be clear on which category they belong to.
Examples of survival equipment lists
•Required equipment when flying in remote parts of Sweden.
•Swedish recommended home survival equipment.
•The Swedish air force's Combat Survival Vest.
FoodMuch of the survival literature contains lots and lots of pages on how to trap, hunt and prepare animals to get food, but not as much on edible plants. I think that for most environments this doesn't exactly confer a good sense of priorities, since as long as you have body fat to burn you can utilize it if you only get enough carbohydrates per day (approximately 550kCal) to metabolize it (if you don't, your body will use your muscles for energy instead of the fat). So clearly, plants are a better source of nourishment in most cases.
When it comes to plants, there sometimes suggested different methods (to be used sequentially) to determine if the plant can be eaten or not. This way doesn't always work and when it doesn't at best you're eating something which won't sustain you or you get ill from it. Neither of which you can afford in a survival situation. It's better to learn to recognize a few edible plants and use only those. (One of the suitable ones in Sweden looks similar to and sometimes grows together with two poisonous ones, so it's not always easy.)
It's possible to cram some emergency food with the survival equipment and I think it's a good thing to do, since going totally without makes you worse at making decisions. Typically it takes about 0.15 kg of "energy bars" to sustain you for one day, so it doesn't have to be a major part of a survival pack.
Food and cooking links
•Simon's Survival Cooking - Not just about that, but food and cooking in general.
Fire makingOf course ordinary matches and lighters work well most of the time, but not always. Then it could be useful to have trained making fire some other way.
•I like ferrocerium rods, like Light My Fire's. I prefer the larger ones as they are easier to hold and the larger surface and length makes for larger sparks.
It's easier to light a fire if you press hard against the rod and push slowly.
•Waterproof storm matches. Test yours to see that they're really waterproof. (Some of my older ones weren't.)
The equipment needs to be taken care of.
•Ferrocerium rod corrosion.
•Match waterproofing which doesn't work very well.
External links•Primitive Ways - A site dedicated to Stone Age technology. Very good if you're interested in methods to make fire and tools, with detailed articles.
•Equipped to Survive - "The Definitive Source for Independent Reviews & Information on Outdoors Gear and Survival Equipment and Techniques".
•The History and Primitive Technology Page - Fire making, flintknapping and more.
•Hollowtop Outdoor Primitive School - Some informative articles.
•Filter Pumps & Purifiers - Overview of different kinds of equipment.
•Aviation Survival - Mostly aimed at military aircrew it seems, but parts of it may be useful for other applications as well.
LightsSome of the lights I like best and use most•Princeton Tec Matrix - headlamp for 2 AA batteries, 3 white LEDs, constant light output.
•Inova X5T - Five LEDs, 2 CR123 batteries. Very good even light. More flood than spot. Long battery life. My regular daily carry.
•Surefire KL1 on E1e body. - Single 1W LED, one CR123 battery, good flood light. Often with me.
•Princeton Tec Impact - Single LED, 4 AA batteries. Reflector and refractor gives the LED a relatively good throw and it should have very long battery life.
With batteries it weighs about 160 g, dimensions are about 150 x 42 m.
•Inova Microlight - Small, light and cheap light. Convenient to carry. Beam shows a ring pattern. Especially the green is very visible, so I use when dark clipped to ferret harnesses. When it hangs down there's a very bright spot on the ground, which I think work better than the blinking read dog collar LEDs.
•Princeton Tec Eclipse - This small light gives a good even white light. I'm not sure the ability to separate it from its clip is much use compared to just unclipping it. The different modes, output and blink, are useful, but I'd like one without a 7 min auto shutoff. Usually wear one on a (breakaway) cord around my neck.
•Underwater Kinetics Penlight - 2 AAA batteries, single bulb or red LED.
Other useful ones•Lucido Lightwave 2000 - 3 AA batteries, 4 white LEDs. If you don't want to use litium batteries, this is probably one of the better general use LED torches you can carry.
•Princeton Tec 20 with LED module - Compact hand light with much in common with the Matrix.
•Underwater Kinetics 4AA Worklight - High output, not too large, uses ordinary batteries which last long enough.
With batteries it weighs about 150 g, dimensions are about 150 x 40 mm.
External links•CandlePowerForums - A good place to get information about and discuss this sort of equipment.
•The LED Museum - General information and product reviews.
•thelightsite - Modifications and reviews.
•Dan's Data - LED light reviews.
Miscellaneous•Photos from a survival course held in Sweden, May 2001.
•Photos from a survival/outdoor safety course in July 2002.
•There's a separate section for knives.
Using a map and compass•How To Use a Compass
•Field Manual 3-25.26, Map Reading and Land Navigation
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This document last updated 2004 Jan 05 by Urban
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