Survival Kit Blues
More Articles Related to Survival KitsThe other day I decided to go through my survival kit. It needed reorganizing after a year or more of neglect. Occasionally I had rummaged through the survival kit when in need of some cord, an aspirin or a bandage for a skinned knee, so it was a bit of a mess.
I keep my survival kit in a compact case at the bottom of my day pack. Being conscious of weight and bulk, I try to keep the contents of the survival kit to the minimum I feel necessary to ensure I can make it through most emergencies that may arise in the wilderness. Wrapped in a 5x7 space blanket, the kit I created contains the usual list of first aid supplies, means for building a fire, materials for shelter building, a candle, cordage, duct tape, flashlight etc. Articles that could come in handy should something break or an unexpected night out occur.
Of particular interest to me has always been firemaking. In the mountainous area I usually travel the nights are nearly always cool, if not downright cold, and winter holds sway for much of the year. In an emergency being able to quickly make and maintain a fire could mean the difference between life or death. So while putting things in their proper places on a whim I tried the butane lighter.
“FLICK”. Nothing happened.
“FLICK FLICK FLICK”. The butane lighter was dead.
“Well, not to worry”, I thought. “I still have my backup waterproof matches”.
The matches wouldn't light.
A year ago I had decided that having a butane lighter and twenty five matches would cover my firemaking needs so I ditched the magnesium firestarter. Since then I had been in many a bad storm, below zero temperatures, wind and cold rain. Fortunately I never needed to start a fire using the materials in my survival kit.
Think carefully about making fire - what is the one item for starting a fire that will probably always work no matter what the environment, no matter how long it has been stored, no matter how roughly it has been handled over the years?
The magnesium firestarter is now back in my survival kit.
Note: I have since found an excellent dependable butane lighter for the survival kit, but I am still not giving up my magnesium firestarter!
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Checking your survival gear is the most important thing you can do. I check mine once a month.