Essential Items. Everything.

Interesting shortage of replies.........considering this is a survival forum. Maybe if we add a government oppression or political angle it would get flooded with replies. Or even better a gun and knife angle would help.

 

Good morning IBME,

I am prepared to evacuate under various situations / scenarios with on-person loads and even Keith's mentioned "hiking trolley". Mine also floats.

Dues to the variables, natural (eg weather) and public sector (eg NIMS Emergency Support Functions 1 and 13, transportation and public safety, respectively), my commentary would delve into advanced-level prep matters not appropriate for here.

Remember, only hours ago, a long post in re Iran had commented on Lyndon Larouche (from Loudoun County, Virginia) and Aspen Institute ( Washington, D.C. w/ resort at Queen Anne's County, Maryland). I'm sure you and Duncan know about Larouche ... one of the wives ran Schiller org ... and can appreciate/understand the restrictions I face addressing this thread's posed question.

 

This kind of answer requires more time than some of us may have right now (speaking also for myself). Lately, I am doing good just to read what is going on and shoot out drive-by posts.

My own bag is obscenely full and it would take a good while to list everything plus comment on each item, etc.

I hope to give details some time soon!

Now that Keith and IBME mentioned it, I would love to see details of your bags. I suspect that I would probably steal a few good ideas from you!

I know IBME well enough to know that he would likely rely on caches rather than a bag... So, to go along with the questions in the OP, it would be interesting to learn what items he considers to be important enough to cache, and why.


.

 

Some of my nearest to death wilderness survival events were hypothermia triggered. So I approach this from starting totally naked, now what do I require to live another few minutes or an hour. And that is how I always load my backpacks. There are many-many parts of Alaska that you simply can not build a fire.

So the single most essential thing is a high quality sleeping bag. And often the second most important item is a back-up or second sleeping bag. The next most critical item for my survival is a quality tent to keep the sleeping bag dry. With a sleeping bag and tent, I can be totally naked and stay alive for days, spending all the time naked in the bag, in the tent.

To stay alive I don't need food or water or clothes......only a quality bag and tent. Which is why I giggle when people talk about a good cheap pack and bag and tent.

My best packs are $700.00 each. My best sleeping bags are around $750.00 each. And my tents are around $650.00 to $1,100.00 each. There is no "Good-Cheap" gear for use in wilderness Alaska, not when it turns to survival.

 

Good afternoon IBME,

Understand the giggling ref good cheap stuff for the Alaska wilderness and survival. Yet, not needing clothes in Alaska - I'm not giggling - means you don't use body armor. Only quality body armor works - no pun intended - and the vests are not bargain-basement priced.

Whereas Alaska presents ruthless environmental issues like hypothermia, here a primary concern is the 2 legged predator. A Bobcat ATV is a target along with a lifeboat and both require $ plus maintenance $. My satellite phone, with plan, ... you know about them.

A tube tent can work here. The body armor, the smoke evac mask - one time use ~ $140 - (best model allowing for helmet). If I make next year, a HAZMAT suit might be joining the wardrobe. I participate in too much of the area emergency stuff to know what's required for what "might" be pending. Others are thinking this way also and perhaps HAZMAT suits will drop in price.

I might not evac because of HAZMAT matters. Fortunately for me I no longer worry.

 

Good morning Keith,

Real good loadout.

Can you say a few words about using a - sundial compass - ? I'm guessing some here are not familiar especially in contrast with the also listed compass.

Aussie English is different than American English. Here, "house wife" means I am a pack mule for Madam.

 

Good morning Keith,

Great post with pictures.

Admittedly, must look up Ranger Island. I know where Wizard Island was ... but Ranger Island ... must research.

 

Good morning Keith,

Appreciate info.

I had already looked it up but my research showed Roger's Island is around Fort Ticonderoga, Lake Chaplain, New York.

It's not important. That sun compass you have is an exact duplicate of the one found at Roger's Island that was of German "manufacture" ... surely actually hand-crafted by experts of the day. Since I'm a geography nut, it wasn't from "Germany" but from the Holy Roman Empire until Napoleon made some changes.

 

an odd item to have in pack if in areas of nut production.

 

anyone carry a magnet?

 

Good afternoon Keith,

Confusion not needed. Of course many islands with the same name.

The one I mentioned - believe in Lake Champlain (spell?) has the museum.

These New York places are like here in Lord Fairfax's successful colony. Every county around the York River claims Pocahontas was from there. It's the tourist dollars sought. The history is an annoyance.

As an aside believe she's buried in Kent, England.

 

Good afternoon Elkhound,

One of my governing prepper philosophies is for tools to be multi-functional. My offset slip joint pliers does the same job. Don't need the picks. I am benevolent and give to squirrels. Shells to fire.

Somewhat related; I can open a Brazil nut with a tool used for howitzers and a hatchet. Once got a "care package" of Brazil nuts and more calories spent opening 'em than the nutrition gained from the meal of nuts.

 

Good afternoon Randy T,

No, don't think so.

I have some evac instruments for celestial navigation and vaguely recall reading something about "magnet" but in practical terms to your real good question: No, do not believe so.

 

I wondered about the magnet. I don't carry one but I have used a magnet to pick up a lost screw, check a piece of hot iron for "nonmagnetic" just prior to quenching, picking up loose screws and nails. Sometimes I work on the docks and a magnet is great for pulling up a dropped wrench or hammer or some such. Pulled up a cordless drill once, the water did it no favors. I don't know if it would come in handy after a canoe mishap or not.

 

Good morning Randy,

Had just checked my navigation kit. The bag is in a large Rubbermaid bin.

I do have 2 (two) magnets in the kit. For a water evac ... I'm next to Chesapeake Bay - largest estuary in world - and to GOOD one route was a water evac. "Was" governs. New rules are in place prohibiting private citizen entry into bay under certain declared categories of emergency.

The 2 magnets are used to declinate a magnetic compass mounted in a metal boat.

With water evacs O.B.E. - Overcome By Events - will not have magnets in my evac kit.

Meanwhile, celestial navigation for land travel is "in" and the magnetic stuff is "out".

 

what tents do you use I live in Canada and wont to try winter camping and was wondering what tent to get

 

I am "NOT" trying to be rude or disrespectful.........but the tents we use "START" at $800.00 and go up to $1,200.00 so they are not for general recreational use.

Having said that.........you want a "True" Four season tent. They will start at around $400.00 and just because they call it a four season tent, does not mean Squat. A true 4-season tent has unique features.

And a good strong 4-season "North Face" brand tent will start at around $600.00

Sorry if I was rude..........please feel free to ask more questions based on the above info.

I will add that winter camping involves more gear and therefore a bigger tent. What ever the tent is rated for as far as number of people, divide that number in "HALF".

A so'called four man tent is barely workable for two people.

 

I found that out the hard way, although it was not a problem. There were only two of us, but we filled up a four person tent.

I will consider this thread a new challenge, and start rearranging things to see what I deem essential, and how it all packs out. My plan A is to bug in, so I haven't paid as much attention to portability as I should.

Another question: How many people are you planning for? Everybody can carry something, but there are obvious limitations.

 

Speaking of "QUALITY" winter tents.....check these out. But be sure you don't need to go to the toilet before looking at the price's. I have used these they are "Wonderful".

Warning: "Fairly Priced" Quality tents.

https://arcticoventent.com/tents/all-tents/

That two-place air plane is what I fly as a commercial pilot. They haul one passenger, and run about $135,000.00 equipped.

 

Here is a good review of the Arctic Oven tents that Sourdough posted a link to.

https://www.alaskaoutdoorssupersite.com/tent-reviews/arctic-oven-tent

I recall my first guided trip for a hunt in Alaska, an arctic Oven tent is what he had for us to sleep in. We were socked in with some nasty, windy and rain/snow mix and it proved it’s worth. The comments of going large on size was apparently lost on the guide, so we were in very close quarters for those several days. It was a 4 man tent for the three of us. But we stayed dry and warm, which is the important point!